06.1 · Morgoth

# Morgoth

## Morgoth / Melkor

Lvl: 500. Race: Vala (Exalted but Fallen). Profession: Mage/Alchemist (Sorcerer). Home: Utumno in northern Endor; later Thangorodrim in Angband (in northwest Endor); still later the Timeless Void. Aka: (S. “Black Enemy” or “Dark Enemy”; Q. “Mornagodo”); Melkor (Q. “He Who Arises in Might”; S. “Belegur”); Great Death (S. “Belegurth”); Bauglir (S. “Constrainer”); Úmahal (Kh. “Unmaker”)

RM Stats: St-135; Qu-120; Em-150; In-150; Pr- 150; Ag-140; Co-135; Me-125; Re-150; SD-99. MERP Stats: St-135; Ag-140; Co-135; Ig-137; It-150; Pr-150. Appearance: 01.

No enemy was greater than Morgoth, the rebellious Vala. An Ainu, he originated before the creation of Eä, and his talents were more formidable than those accorded any other being. Out of his revolt came the desire that gave birth to Evil, and indeed Morgoth was Evil incarnate.

Originally, Morgoth was Melkor, “He Who Arises in Might” The greatest of the Ainur, his power was beyond measure. But even in the beginning, he was not King, for he was never close to (his Maker) Eru’s thought. Instead, he shared power with the less powerful but more disciplined Manwë; and thus, began the rebellion.

## The Desire that Began Evil

Eru’s vision gave the Ainur the themes that would combine to form the Great Music of Creation. In turn, the Ainur sang and eventually melded their themes into the harmonious music that produced Ea. Only one voice created discord, that of Melkor, for the high Ainu sought his own way, his own creations. Never able to submit to the One’s conception—and thus create within the prescribed scheme—Melkor forged his own theme. This was the origin of Evil.

Whether Eru ever conceived of Evil or not is beyond knowledge. Only the One knows. His renegade, however, was truly unique and clearly offered the possibility for dissonance. Unlike the other Ainur who would compose the Valar, his myriad powers were quite general and no focus came out of his being until he renounced his birthright. Melkor was also one of fifteen Valar, the other fourteen comprising a balance of seven males and seven females. This strange role, whatever its destiny was to be, proved unstable.

It was desire, though, that bore the seeds of Melkor’s revolt. The Exalted Ainu burned with a passion to control his own Fate and desired to make things according to his own thought. He hoped to tap the Fires Eternal; he wished to be the one Lord. Thus, his fall was inevitable, for only a single vision could rule Existence; and Melkor, for all his might, was not the One.

## The Rebellion

Like the Smith Aulë, Melkor above all wanted to make things. He basked in the glory surrounding creation and loved his thought above all others. Unlike Aulë, however, Morgoth openly broke from Eru’s plan. Upon entering Eä as a Vala, he embarked upon his own course, and the Powers were sundered.

The other Valar worked to shape the World and the Heavens according to the symmetry ordered by Eru, but Melkor opposed their labors. Renouncing his loyalty to his Maker, he sought to be Maker of the new creation. As his brethren built, he destroyed, and the Battle of the Powers began. It was a terrible war which doomed Eru’s vision for all time. Melkor brought down the Two Lamps that lit Arda and obliterated the Vala home in the fair lake of Almaren. The World was remade amidst chaos and destruction. In the end, though, the Valar prevailed. Melkor was imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos for many ages.

Even incarcerated, however, Melkor’s unrelenting might manifested itself. His constant and clever pretensions persuaded his captors of his repentance and Manwë, forever forgiving, pardoned his awful brother. This unfortunate act, however inevitable, initiated the saga of the War of the Great Jewels.

Released from the Halls of Mandos, Morgoth returned to Valinor. There, he encountered Fëanor’s Silmarils, and he began plotting their seizure. Fëanor resisted his plan, revealing the Might One’s veil of deceit, so the Enemy fled into the shadowy wilds of southern Aman.

Although the Valar placed a great watch around the bounds of the Blessed Realm, Melkor returned to exact his revenge and take the Great Jewels. Accompanied by Ungoliant—the unspeakable Spirit of the Void—he crossed into Valinor unnoticed and assailed the Two Trees that gave light to the land. He and the spidery Ungoliant killed the Trees and despoiled the green upon which they grew. Ungoliant then extracted the dews from Varda’s wells. Once again, Melkor cast the World into darkness. From this time onward, he was known as Morgoth, the “Black Enemy.”

As he and his frightening ally fled northward within a shroud of impenetrable darkness, Morgoth slew Finwë, the High King of the Noldor, and stole the Silmarils the Noldo Lord fought so hard to protect. The Black Enemy escaped to Endor with his prize, and with the vengeance he had longed for during the ages he languished in prison.

After breaking with Ungoliant over the possession of the Jewels, Morgoth reestablished himself in Angband in northwestern Endor. There, he implanted the Silmarils in his Iron Crown and set about the building of a new Kingdom. He embarked upon the breeding of creatures to serve his horrible needs and spread his domination east and southward. Soon thereafter, the Black Enemy began the long struggle with the Elves of Beleriand that decided the fate of the Silmarils and, ultimately, the destiny of Middle-earth.

Morgoth nearly prevailed, but quest of Eärendil succeeded in unleashing the wrath of the Valar. Confronted by the Host of Valinor, Morgoth was once again vanquished and captured. His crown was reworked into the shackles that bound him when he was cast into the Timeless Void. Unable to return on his own, Morgoth’s spirit finally passed from Ea.

## Morgoth’s Nature

Morgoth’s passions were many and mighty, and they conjured all that would be Evil. His unending and insatiable want was never stayed while he remained in Arda. With each triumph, each acquisition, he strived for more. Eventually, however, he became tied to the World, weakening with each creation as labored over the course of time. His Iron Crown embodied much of this might—and it would have enabled him to stay in Eä despite the destruction of his body—but after his rebellion, Morgoth never gained any inherent power.

## Morgoth’s Minions

The Black Enemy’s most fundamental desire, of course, was to create life. Yet, he never could, for the Imperishable Flame burns only within Eru, and life abides only with the leave of the One. Even the birth of Aulë’s Dwarves can be traced to Eru’s forgiving thought. Morgoth was always frustrated in his endeavor to find and wield the fire that kindles the spirit and sparks life.

Still, Morgoth held the power to pervert that which was, and his breeding pits produced the races of Orcs, Trolls, Wargs, and Dragons, as well as a host of foul denizens which still haunt the depths of the Earth. He seduced the Fire Spirits and twisted their souls, yielding the awful Demons of Might—the Balrogs. On a still grander scale, he implanted the seeds of pride and despair that changed the very outlook of life.

## Morgoth’s Works

Morgoth was a master of many aspects of Eä, but above all he enjoyed a command of crafts and material things. He was, after all, closest in mind and character to Aulë. Like the Lord of the Earth, he understood and manipulated Arda’s substances. He erected the Iron Mountains to guard his Kingdom, and he raised the Misty Mountains in hope of stopping Oromë’s attempt to rescue the Elves of Cuiviénen. Morgoth delved the endless Halls of Utumno and Angband and carved the hideous citadel of Thangorodrim. And, just as Aulë molded the surface of Arda according to Eru’s vision, Morgoth remade it to suit his own desires.

Morgoth’s transgressions are too great to mention, although a few are most notable. His wars cost countless lives and incalculable damage and twice ended in utter cataclysm. He hated Light and thus brought down Illuin and Ormal, the Two Lamps that lit the World in the early First Age. Toppling the peaks that supported them, he felled the greatest mountains ever to grace Endor. Later, he smote the Two Trees and contrived, along with Ungoliant, the draining of the Wells of Varda. He even assailed the Moon, failing only because his strength betrayed him as he rose into the Heavens.

## Morgoth’s Legacy

His most heinous crime, however, was the legacy of Evil. Morgoth’s incarnation left a bequest that included a legion of wars, numerous twisted races, and a host of monsters. All the ills borne by such figures as the Balrog of Moria and Sauron of Mordor can be traced to his ire. Worst of all, though, he left the World with the painful sin that shall vex Eä until the end of the Count of Time.

## The Black Enemy’s Form

Morgoth’s huge fana was dark and exceedingly strong. Contrived to invoke fear, it burned with a visible and undying rage which betrayed his bottomless ire. No image before or since has ever been so terrible.

## Morgoth’s Principal Items

- Mace (Grond) · (Q. “Excavator”) +250 Hammer of the Underworld. A huge black Eog mace. 10’ long, it weighs 200 lbs and strikes as a flail. Each critical strike is accompanied by 1–10 impact criticals of equal severity, plus a Cracks Call spell (Mage, Earth Law list).
- Spear (Gebir Melkor) · (Q. “Melkor’s Stake”) A 21’ long enchanted, +200 black steel spear inlaid with red Ithilnaur. Its range is 2000’ (without range penalty), and it always returns to the wielder instantly after striking. Any critical strike the thrower delivers is accompanied by a 25th level Absolution Pure spell attack (Evil Cleric, Dark Channels list at 20th). RR failure results in target’s spirit being torn from his body. (It can only be returned by Lifegiving.)
- Ring (Corómorna) · (Q. “Black Ring”) A simple unadorned, black mithril band. Ring can change the dreams/desires of any target within 500’ who fails a RR. The ring is usable 5x/day and affects the victim for 5 days x amount of RR failure.
- Armor (Red-black Plate) · Unencumbering enchanted black Ithilnaur scale armor. It glows red with a continuous Aura spell (Open Channeling, Light’s Way list, 3rd lvl). Treat as plate (AT 20) with a DB of + 50.
- Forge and Tools · Morgoth’s mountain smithy is adjacent to his Mansions. It contains an enchanted forge and tools which enable him to create items at 50x the normal rate for a smith or alchemist.

## The Iron Crown of Morgoth

A simple, black iron crown inlaid with black Ithilnaur (which gleams white by moonlight or firelight), and adorned with the three Silmarils (later simply two). The symbol of his lordship over Arda, the Crown is Morgoth’s greatest creation. Its properties include:

- Its Jewels can glow to any degree desired by the wearer, even attaining a brightness normally ascribed to stars. In such case all within 500’ must make a RR versus a 250th Essence attack, with failure resulting in blindness;
- The Jewels’ inherent aura is so beautiful that all who come with 500’ of the Crown must make a RR versus a 130th lvl (Fëanor’s lvl) attack. RR failure results in victim being stunned and unable to parry for a number rounds equal to RR failure.
- Anyone touching a Jewel receives a “D” Heat critical each round he maintains contact, all results of which are applicable to that part of the body that touches the Jewel (e.g., a back burn might be applied to the victim’s hand or lips);
- Wearer receives a + 50 bonus for all activity;
- x20 PP multiplier that enables wearer to simultaneously concentrate on twenty different spells (their cumulative lvl not to exceed 1000);
- Crown will magically adjust to the wearer’s head size;
- Intelligent and inherently 75th lvl, the crown will expand to fall from the wearer’s head whenever it feels the wearer is unsuitable;
- Irresistibly Evil, it enhances any desire the wearer might have and, in time, anyone will succumb to their own inner feelings;
- Strong, the crown cannot broken unless it is heated in the fires in which it was made (see forge below);
- Of fire, the wearer can immolate at will, becoming engulfed in a flame which strikes all within 5’ with the equivalent of a +50 Fireball each round.
- Of darkness, the wearer can become a “shadow” at will, operating with a +50 hiding bonus at night or in darkness;
- Wearer’s spells, physical attacks, and maneuvers cannot fail.

## Morgoth’s Special Powers

- Vision · Morgoth can see perfectly, at night or day, as far as the horizon. He can note every detail, as if he were at the point he upon which he dwells, and his gaze penetrates the darkest of clouds, excepting that which is a void (e.g., one of Ungoliant’s shrouds).
- Voice · Morgoth can speak in any voice he desires, to anyone within his sight.
- Hearing and Smelling · Morgoth can hear and smell perfectly, regardless of condition, as far as the horizon.
- Ward of Iron · When Morgoth is in Utumno or Thangorodrim, his presence is extended out to form a ward with a diameter equal to 50 miles. Within this region, Morgoth can sense the number and basic nature of the presences whenever he concentrates.
- Authority · Morgoth can direct his voice or sight upon any one individual (within a range of 500’) in order to dominate him. The victim must make a RR versus a 250th level Channeling (MERP) or Mentalism (RM) attack. Failure results in the victim being under Morgoth’s control until the victim makes a successful RR. Whenever the victim leaves the 500’ radius effect area—or whenever Morgoth stops concentrating—the victim receives one RR per round.
- Earth-weaving · Morgoth has absolute control of all inorganic material which is affixed to or part of the earth within a range of 500 miles (i.e., 1-mile x Morgoth’s lvl). He need only concentrate in order to move and mold the earth, although such movement must be (i) continuous and (ii) confined to a speed which does not exceed 1 mile per hour. It also requires a # of PP equal to # cubic miles of material x10 distance moved (in miles).
- Earth-lore · Morgoth knows about the origin and properties of all inorganic substances.
- Cloud-weaving · Morgoth has absolute control over all light within 500’ of his person, as well as all the light within the confines of his ward (see the Ward of Iron above).
- Breeding · Morgoth can alter, through the process of domination and breeding, the physical structure of any race. The victim receives a RR versus a 25th lvl Essence attack, with failure resulting in a change to the victim’s offspring (before their birth). The prospective offspring will normally change to suit the victim’s own inner fears, but Morgoth’s needs will inevitably affect the result.
- Spells · 26,000 PP. Base spell OB is 250; directed spell OB is 500. Morgoth knows all spell lists.