Forochel—realm of the mysterious and reclusive Snow-men called the Lossoth, who have survived thousands of years of isolation and peril so near to the ancient realm of the Dark Lord’s greatest captain, the Witch-king of Angmar.

Forochel—the uttermost edge of civilized Middle-earth, a smothering white wasteland at the shore of a sea blocked by floating ice, unseen by the folk of the South for generations.

Forochel is a new frontier for the Free Peoples in the war against the Shadow in the North, accessible via the road north from Ost Forod in Evendim. Its harsh environment and fierce creatures can thrash characters leveled into the middle and late 40s. Even the elk and the water here can be a threat to experienced travelers. But this is also where the epic quests of Book XIII in Volume I: Shadows of Angmar—a tale of sea-monsters, ghostly kings, and desperate survival—finally unfold.

Thus your journey here is not just a test of your mettle or survival skills, but a mission to secure the survival of all Eriador against the looming Shadow out of Angmar.

Realm of the Lossoth

Even here, on the edge of Middle-earth, where the waters of the Great Sea are cold enough to kill and the memory of ancient evil lingers like a chill in the bones, the race of Man endures. Since the days of the First Age, a rare breed of Men has eked out a separate survival against the elements and without the influence of the nearby Enemy in Angmar. Once, they were the many tribes of the Forodwaith (literally, “North-people”). Now it seems that only the Lossoth remain.

The history of the Lossoth is both long and short. Though their ancestors have dwelled in Middle-earth through the three ages of the world, the quest for daily survival in this hostile land dominates the tale of this people.

Travelers from the south may find the wooded marches of Taur Orthon harsh but not so peculiar. Once across the glacier field of Jä-kuru, however, the lay of Forochel is dominated by frozen hills and the impassable Ice Bay, terrain altogether unlike that found in any other region of Middle-earth.

It says something about the Lossoth that they’ve built their greatest settlement, Sûri-kylä, as far from the rest of Middle-earth as they could reach, backed up against impassable mountains on the shore of a deadly sea. The Lossoth live far apart from southern Men in not only distance but custom. They skate across the ice on bone-bladed shoes and go about on carts without wheels. They wear bone and ivory jewellery, weave hardy and luxurious fabrics, and craft powerful weapons—yet they build no castles or cities of stone. They dwell in houses of shaped ice held up by rare and precious timbers or enormous cut tusks.

Now that the Gate of the North has been reopened at Cirith Rhîw, on the border of Evendim and Forochel, and the road to Taur Orthon is open again, adventurers and ambassadors from Eriador can forge new alliances with the Lossoth. They are shy and wary folk, to be sure, and while they’re slow to share the secrets of the crafts that keep them alive, they are merciful and welcoming to respectful travelers who are often unprepared for life near the Ice Bay. Forochel is too harsh a land for its people to refuse honest help and able swords. Aid the Lossoth, and they’ll aid you.

The stoic Lossoth have a deep understanding of the wilds where they dwell. It’s their plight to tread the narrow path between predator and prey, every day.

Many Lossoth speak the common tongue, Westron, which they have passed down from ancient times when the folk of Arnor and Arthedain traded with them along the road from Evendim. But the Lossoth often mix in words from their own language, especially when referring to the beasts of Forochel, which they consider distinct from their southern cousins.

Here is a short primer on the beasts of Forochel, so you’ll know what the Lossoth may ask you to hunt:
• a Norsu is a Mammoth
• a Kilpa-kita is a sabre-toothed lion
• a Peikko is a white-furred Snow-beast
• a Susi is a white wolf

Earn the friendship of the Lossoth, and they may reward you with precious cold-weather gear made using the ancient techniques of their revered craftspeople.

Forochel is Lossoth land, but the so-called Snow-men of the North are not the only folk to build and thrive here. In times past, wandering Dwarves have come to the lands surrounding the Ice Bay in search of ground to excavate and new treasures to unearth. These Dwarf-miners of old built what icy ruins can be found throughout Forochel, even be found within the forbidding glacier of Jä-kuru. Most of these ruins have lain empty for years and are only now being warmed again by the fires of the living.

In the west of Forochel, between the Norsu grave-fields and the steaming sulfur-pools of Länsi-mâ, the stout Dwarf-fortress of Zigilgund protects Free Peoples from harsh winds and marauders. Here, Longbeards from the south have established traders and a Stable-master, and they have worked with fellow travellers to create a safe base between the hill-camp of Itä-mâ and the remote Lossoth outpost at the north end of Talvi-mûri. From here, swords can strike out against the Dourhands to the west and feral Gauredain to the east.

As one Zigilgund Dwarf puts it, “We Longbeards are allies with the Lossoth against the traitorous Dourhands. It has been tenuous, but helpful to our cause.”

Incredible Light and Merciless Cold

Adventurers from the south gather in Forochel’s settlements to plan their strikes against the invading forces of Angmar and the plundering turncoats of the Dourhand family. Amidst the Lossoth icehouses, aglow from fires within, thoughts turn to the pressing quests and noble deeds that will decide the fate of the region.

But between the warm fires of friendly settlements and the cold steel of hostile blades stretches a grim and dangerous wilderness of blinding blizzards and brittle cold. Before you can storm the enemy keeps and strike a blow against the Angmarim, you must learn to navigate the land and survive the wilds.

Forochel is a brutal and merciless land, hostile to Free Folk and the agents of the Enemy alike. Fierce creatures rule beneath a sky both dark and bright.

Forochel can be bright and brutal by day, gleaming with sunlit ice and stalked by tusked lions determined to catch whatever prey the winter land affords. Beneath an evening sky, with the snow shining and falling like stars against the eerie aurora, Forochel reveals a beauty unlike anything else in Middle-earth—but it is no less dangerous. The northern lights do not dissuade the Shadow from Angmar.

It’s easy to get turned around on the icy fields of Forochel and wander into the territory of fearsome bears and strange, furry frost-worms. When not on the hunt, stick to the Lossoth trails which run in a horseshoe-shape around the Ice Bay from Zigilgund in the west all the way to the city of Sûri-kylä in the north. Watch for arches of crossed tusks and banner-walls of bone and flapping hides. The Lossoth leave these to mark the road in even the deepest snow. Numerous small camps stand along the roadside and offer respite from the cold.

Do not test the waters of the Ice Bay. The fish it gives up to the anglers on the ice sheets north of Itä-mâ are the limit of its mercy to the living. The bay itself is cold enough to rout the bravest explorer.

Warped and weird from ages spent in the frozen North, Ice-giants dwell in crackling gashes in the ice above hissing steam vents, caught between the brutal cold and withering blasts of heat.

The creatures that dwell in Forochel year-round claim and defend every edge they have for survival. Even the Ice-giants, who now seem to be as much ice as giant, must dwell near steaming fissures to withstand the relentless cold on the tundra of Talvi-mûri.

Yours won’t be the first fellowship to suffer setbacks in the wilds of Forochel. Seek the testimony of the Lore-master, Cenlieg, in Taur Orthon. His fellowship was scattered across the land by hardships that proved too much for them. But perhaps you are cunning and hardy enough to succeed where they failed.

A New Battleground

Winning the battle for survival isn’t enough. Victory against malice requires more than simply surviving. It demands courage and confrontation, valour against not just the elements but the Enemy.

Your enemies in Forochel are many. Even the cold animus of the air itself takes a hungry and violent form in the guise of rimy Grims, perhaps descended from the Dark Lord’s icy malevolence. It’s not enough to endure the cold. Now you must actually combat it.

The Witch-king manifests his evil intent in Forochel too. East of Jä-rannit, a road runs through a series of Dwarf-built walls and gates—now held by Angmarim soldiers—to a long and forgotten pass into Angmar. Via this passage, agents of the Enemy sneak into Forochel in search of ancient treasures and a new foothold in the North. From there, they plan to sweep down into Evendim and finally lay claim to all the reaches of the ancient Dunedain kingdom of Arthedain.

Even this remote place is not free of the strife brought to Middle-earth from the Ring-forges of Eregion. The Angmarim seek a treasure once thought lost with the Last King’s fleet: part of a lesser ring of Power. With Book XIII: “Doom of the Last-king,” Angmar’s aims in Forochel and the fate of Arvedui’s fleet become a part of your epic tale.

Meanwhile the Lossoth continue their ongoing war with the feral Gauredain. There simply aren’t enough essential resources in this frozen land for these two breeds of Men to coexist. To secure the aid of the Lossoth—and diminish the Gauradan threat against all Free Peoples—battle these ancient enemies and bring trophies of your victory to Sûri-kylä.

The Lossoth and the Gauredain vie for four key sites in Forochel. If you leave these sites unprotected, Gauradain warriors will drive out the Lossoth traders. If you clear out the threatening Gauredain, eventually the Lossoth will reclaim the site. Coloured banners on your map of Forochel mark these sites:

• Pynti-leiri lies in a steep vale southwest of Itä-mâ
• Karhu-leiri perches high on a hill overlooking the road from Itä-mâ to Jä-rannit
• Norsu-leiri hunches hidden in the wooden plateau above Länsi-mâ
• Hylje-leiri sits atop a low glacier in the bay east of Talvi-mûri, near the last remnant of Arvedui’s fleet

The battle between the Lossoth and the Gauredain is no longer a separate struggle. Happenstance has bound the fates of the Lossoth and the Free Peoples, intertwining their conflicts and enemies with one another. To combat Angmar, you must befriend the folk of Forochel, no matter the cost.