The High King of All the Isles

One of my favorite conceits for a Tolkienesque setting is to combine Gondor/Numenor with the archipelago of Earthsea, which aesthetically feels like a slam dunk to me. Enjoy this little gazetteer of my version of this idea.

The Isles

Serd

A grand island, where once dwelt the High King of All the Isles. Serd is rich and beautiful, with pale sandy beaches and towering white cliffs, against which the bright flags and colorful tile roofs of the port city stand out. Many a seafarer longs to hear the merry bells of Serd calling their ship home. Serd also boasts a grove of ancient olive trees, one of the wonders of the isles. The eldest of this grove is the White Tree which grew from the archmage’s staff, planted in the Court of the Kings.

The Lord of Serd is known as the Keymaster or Keeper (as in “Keeper of the Keys”) of the Sea-House of Serd. The Keepers are descended from the stewards of the High King, and keep his house ready for his return.

The Tower

Not truly an island, the Tower is an ancient structure that rises from the sea just off the coast of Serd. The wizards of the isles learn their art here.

The rule of the Tower is given to the Archmage, who is chosen by the masters of the school.

Stoneships

The stone ships of Stoneships are one of the wonders of the world. Were they built in place? If so, how, and for what purpose? They are positioned as if run aground on the stony shore, but how could such vessels ever have floated?

The rule of Stoneships is given to the Master of the Map-House, where it is said that a copy of every sea-chart, sounding, and ship’s log in all the isles is kept.

Oaths and Feasts [Wilderlands, Orcmont]

 Another selection from my Orcmont draft, here are a couple of ways to inject a little more Tolkienesque, Iron Age flavor into your game. These rules make a couple of assumptions:

1. You are using GP-for-XP with BX/OSE experience charts, but are reducing the amount of treasure given.
2. Community leaders are expected to host feasts as part of their obligation as lords and ring-givers. Characters can reasonably expect to receive a feast in their honor after performing a great deed for a community, and there are also regularly scheduled seasonal feasts such as a harvest festival or yule feast. Securing invitations to those feasts is a good way to earn XP. 
1. If playing B2: Keep on the Borderlands, for example, a feast in the tavern might count as a village feast. If you can wangle an invitation to feast with the castellan in the inner bailey, however, it counts as eating at a lord's table.
2. You can scale the XP to reflect the relative prestige of a given place. For example, sitting among the lower benches at a warrior's longhall might get you 500xp, but a seat at the high table for that same feast gives you 1,000.
3. You are re-rolling HP totals every session, or at least before each new adventure. Comfortable accommodations let you roll with advantage, uncomfortable ones with disadvantage.

Once again, these rules owe a large debt to Rise Up Comus' Wilderlands setting. Feasts are essentially a variation on the carousing rules common to OSR circles (popularized by Jeff Reints, although many excellent variations can be found on other blogs), but modified to fit the social milieu of a vaguely Iron Age fantasy - less burning down the town or spending the night in the drunk tank and more embarrassing yourself in the mead hall because you ate too much blood sausage and the wolfhounds peed on you.

Their oath shall drive them, and yet betray them

Oaths

Swearing an Oath creates a new condition under which the character gains Favor when they are attempting to fulfill their oath. For example, a character who swore to “defend the King” would gain Favor when fighting in defense of the King.

If you ever break your Oath, you become Doomed. This means that at a crucial moment you will automatically suffer a critical failure.

You may have up to 3 sworn Oaths at one time.

Once fulfilled, an Oath is removed from your mental inventory. A broken Oath occupies its memory slot until someone with the authority to do so (generally the NPC the oath was sworn to or their designated heir) forgives the character. If the Oath was sworn to a person, that person can release a character from the oath at any time, should they wish to do so.

Feasting

In addition to finding treasure, the other main way a hero gains experience is by attending feasts. The amount of XP is determined by the lavishness and prestige of the feast:

• A village feast: 100–500 XP
• A warrior’s longhall: 500–1,000 XP
• A lord’s table: 1,000–1,500 XP
• A king’s court: 1,500–2,000 XP
• A fairy revel: 2,000–4,000 XP

Additionally, a feast provides an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your reputation by distributing gifts. You may spend at least 100gp per level in goods and/or coins, then make a Wisdom saving throw. If you succeed, receive XP equal to the amount spent.

Then make a Strength saving throw and roll d20 on the table below to determine what sort of trouble you got into while under the influence of food, drink, and good (or bad) company.

1. A Pleasant Evening: you had a great time and nothing bad happened.
2. Secrets Revealed: something you should have kept secret was let out. In the absence of other secrets, you are more likely to encounter a rival NPC party during your next adventure as you spill your travel plans.
3. A Game of Strength & Skill: you engage in some ill-advised drunken game. If you passed your saving throw then you receive an additional 100 XP per level. If you failed then you suffer some kind of humiliation in the attempt and subtract 50 XP per level from the amount you would have gained from the feast.
4. Got in a Fight: lingering injuries still trouble you – roll your HP for the next session with 1 fewer HD (level 1 characters begin with 1 HP instead). If you passed your saving throw you are now friends with whoever you fought with. If you failed then you stepped out of the hall and settled the matter with steel. The GM will tell you who you killed and how angry their relatives are about it.
5. You Are Insulted: if you passed your saving throw you kept your head and were able to make your insulter look foolish. You gain an enemy (as 16) but retain the good opinion of your host. If you failed then you gain an enemy and swear an Oath of vengeance against them.
6. Robbed!: you fell asleep in your cups and lost something of value. If you passed your saving throw, you may choose to lose either your money or a random piece of equipment. If you failed, you lose both your money and the item.
7. Made a Boast: you swore an Oath in front of witnesses to accomplish some grand deed. If you passed your saving throw, you get to choose what you swore. If you failed, the GM and the other players will choose for you.
8. Fallen in Love: if you passed your saving throw they return your love, but for some social reason you cannot be together just yet. If you failed, they’re not interested in you. Note: you may always choose to re-roll this option.
9. Sworn Your Sword: overcome with high spirits, you have pledged your service to your host or another local person of importance. If you failed your saving throw, your new liege is ready to call in that favor now.
10. Open-handed: you made someone a truly excessive gift. If you passed your saving throw, you can choose what was given. If you failed, the GM chooses. You can’t take it back without causing a scandal, but you may have made yourself an ally, or at least a good impression.
11. Drinking Contest: you engaged in a truly heroic bout of drinking. If you passed your saving throw, roll your HP for the next session with advantage. If you failed, roll with disadvantage instead.
12. Songs & Stories: you passed the night sharing tales of joy and sorrow. If you passed your saving throw you are buoyed by the experience and make your next saving throw with advantage. If you failed you are overcome with melancholy and make your next saving throw with disadvantage.
13. Received a Great Gift: your host or some other local person of importance has made you a gift. If you passed your saving throw, you receive an appropriate treasure. If you failed, you still receive a treasure but it carries some sort of complication.
14. Granted a Boon: your host or some other person of importance has promised you a boon. If you passed your saving throw, you may name your boon. If you failed, what you asked for cannot be granted, at least until you perform some service.
15. Someone Fell in Love with You: If you passed your saving throw, your life gets more complicated in a pleasant way. If you failed, your life gets more complicated in an inconvenient way. Decide if you return the favor or not, then work with your DM to determine the details of the NPC and the situation. Note: you may always choose to re-roll this option.
16. Insulted Someone/Made an Enemy: If you passed your saving throw, you may choose who you offended. If you failed then the GM chooses. In either case, their attitude towards you moves 1 step towards hostile.
17. Gained an Ally: gain a follower of level 1d3. If your new ally is higher level than you are, they will aid you for a single adventure, although they will remain friendly afterwards.
18. Outlawry: you killed someone, stole something, or otherwise instigated some calamity. You are exiled from this Haven until you can clear your name, and people from here will react more negatively towards you if they encounter you in the wild. It is legal for anyone from here to hurt, kill, or rob you. If you passed your saving throw, you may decide on the key details of the case, including whether or not you were falsely accused. If you failed, the GM decides.
19. Named the Master: you spoke unwisely and drew the attention of the Master of Orcmont. If you passed your saving throw, you are Doomed. At the worst possible moment, you will automatically suffer a critical failure. If you failed, you swore an Oath with the Master of Orcmont as witness. You are Doomed, and if you ever break this Deadly Oath your character will die by the end of the game session in which it was broken.
20. A Wild Night: Roll again twice, both things happened. You may choose to re-roll additional 20s, or let things spiral out of control.

Hosting Feasts: a player may host their own feast by spending 10x the amount of XP to be gained in gold (a modest village feast would cost 1,000 gp). A player who hosts a feast must also distribute gifts.

Note: These prices are not necessarily indicative of what it costs an NPC host to throw a feast and reflect the fact that PCs rarely have a hall, land, and dependents to draw upon.

Ideally your feast complications don't get quite this bad