The Witch-king

### Titles

The Witch-king, Lord of Morgul, Chief Nazgul, Black Prince, Lord of the Nazgul, Black Captain, Lord of the Ringwraiths, Morgul-lord, Chieftain of the Black Riders

## Game Stats

### MERP Stats

St-101, Ag-100, Co-101, Ig-101, It-101, Pr-90

### RM Stats

St-101, Qu-101, Em-(100), In-101, Pr-90 (120), Ag-100, Co-101, Me-101, Re-101, SD-40 (100)

### Skills

Climb75, Swim80, Ride102, DTrap35, PLock75, S&H85, Perc152, Rune75, S&W100, Chan90, Amb9, Li10, AMov35, ADef35, MASt40, BDev20, Act75, Admin139, AnimT65, Arch133, Cave15, Cook25, Craf115, Dance35, Dipl149, Div10, Fals15, FAid5, For50, Fren20, Herd65, Math45, Med35, Nav85, PSp100, Row5, Sail75, Sig55, Smith65, SpMas45, Star55, Stra151, Subd25, Tac120, Track100, Trick60, WeaW85

### Directed Spell Offensive Bonus

90

The Witch-king was the absolute ruler of Angmar and Sauron's most powerful servant. Of all the Nazgul, the Witch-king was most capable of independent thought; he was totally subject to Sauron, but within this domination he constructed plans, military strategy, and political tactics to further his master's goals. The chief of the Nine was undead; he existed in the world of wraiths and shadows. His physical manifestation could at best be temporarily dispelled, but his destruction lay in the distant future - the Nazgul could exist only so long as the One Ring existed.

The Lord of Morgul was a powerful sorcerer, but he rarely used spells. In the Third Age, the Ringwraith had to mask his power since its source is Sauronic. If he was to utilize his magic to its fullest capacity, he would have revealed the existence of his master.

The Nazgul had no need of sorcery to daunt the hearts of men. His innate power and presence were so great that all must resist extreme terror at his arrival or flee in panic. The effect of the Nazgul's aura varied with range, and he could, if he chose, cloak his power. When used to its fullest, his aura had a radius of three miles. Those within two to three miles of the Nazgul felt uneasy, and the very fainthearted may have ran. Between one and two miles away reactions were stronger, provoking a desire to seek immediate concealment. Within one mile of the Ringwraith, most individuals could not behave normally: their anxiety inspired flight or concealment with no hesitation. Those within a thousand feet were overcome by dread and flee thoughtlessly. Anyone closer than three hundred feet froze in panic unless he overcame his fear through strength of will. A strong self discipline aided in overcoming the terror that paralyzed both man and animal. In addition to the great fear that the lord of the Nine radiated, those within three hundred feet may have succumbed to the black breath. The recipient fell into dark dreams and died in a manner of hours or days depending on his race. Eldar who had lived in Valinor were immune to these effects.

The Witch-king could not be harmed by most normal and magical weapons. Any that came in contact with his "flesh" would automatically shatter. There were exceptions to this case: Eowyn was fated to kill the Nazgul: the weapon she wielded was unimportant. Magic weapons may have done some damage, but shattered unless they were quite extraordinary. Both of the enchanted knives that the Hobbits wielded upon the Witch-king dissipated, although one did harm the wraith. These powers resulted from the ring that the Nazgul once wore upon his hand. The ring had other abilities: it consumed the flesh of the wearer and transformed him into an undead under the domination of Sauron, and it added thirty levels to the Chief Nazgul's resistance roll versus any kind of spell.

##### Origins of the Witch-king

The Numenorean Er-Murazor (A. " Black Prince") was the most gifted and powerful of the many great Lords of Westernesse. Although only a Prince, his might outshone all but a few of Numenor's Kings and, in the end, he lived longer than any of the Adan sons. Murazor's tale covers over six and a half millennia and is one of Man's great tragedies.

The Black Prince was born in the year S.A. 1820 in the port city of Andunie in the province of Andustar on the island of Numenor (Andor). As the second son of King Tar-Ciryatan (Q. "Shipbuilder") and the younger brother of (Tar-) Atanamir the Great, he traced his lineage to the first King, Elros Tar-Minyatur. His mother gave him the name Tindomul (Q. "Twilight Son"), for he was born during a solar eclipse and his hair was blacker than any she had ever seen. Those Lords of Tar-Ciryatan's court who favored the use of Adunaic (signifying their displeasure with the Eldar and the Ban of the Valar) called him Murazor.

Like his brother, the proud and greedy heir to throne, the Black Prince supported his father's ambitions and lobbied for the increased exploitation of Middle-earth. Tar-Ciryatan sought great wealth and sent his huge fleets to Endor in order to exact tribute, and both his sons embraced the benefits of his often ruthless policies. Both embodied their father's penchant for material things and power, which was hardly surprising in light of the fact that they witnessed their father force their grandfather from the Numenorean throne.

Atanamir, however, enjoyed the privileges and attention accorded to the heir to the Adan throne, and Tar-Ciryatan showed him his prideful love in a way he never exhibited to Murazor. The jealousies inherent in the family character eventually grew to frightening proportions in the Black Prince's heart, fomenting hatred and unbounded desire. Always aggressive and fiery, Murazor resolved to leave home and found his own empire in the vulnerable expanse of Middle-earth. He assembled a small fleet and set sail for Endor in the spring of S.A. 1880.

The sixty-year old Prince landed at Vinyalonde (Lond Daer) in Eriador, at the mouth of the Gwathlo in the Enedwaith. There. he debarked at the ancient haven amidst little celebration and, within weeks, he engaged in a brief struggle for dominance over the strategic port. His plans to carve out a kingdom in the fertile lands that Sauron's hordes ravaged in the war with the Elves (S.A. 1693- 1700) failed, forcing Murazor and his followers to voyage southward. In S.A. 1882 the Black Prince's ships dropped anchor in Umbar, where the Numenorean Lord proclaimed himself "King." Although successful in wresting control from the local colonists, he ruled for only a few months. The Numenorean adventurer's pretensions of rule faced an inevitable and overwhelming challenge from his father, Tar-Ciryatan, who ordered his recalcitrant son to return home to Westernesse. Murazor refused to follow the Adan King's bidding, but he dared not remain in Umbar in defiance of the edict from Armenelos.

The Lord of the Rings perceived the Prince's displeasure and offered him a means to achieve his goals. Sauron realized that both Murazor and his older brother Atanamir sought to hold onto their youth, and that they feared aging more than any corporeal foe. Atanamir showed his terror of death when he later refused to surrender the Scepter of Numenor until he died. The Black Prince, on the other hand, exhibited this fear by speaking openly of his bitterness toward the immortal Elves to whom he was related (through Elros Halfelven). Ever-vigilant and perceptive, the Dark Lord sought to corrupt Murazor by bringing the dissatisfied Numenorean to Mordor.

The Black Prince went to Barad-dur during the first week of S.A. 1883 and became a pupil of the Lord of the Rings. During the next one hundred and fifteen years, he expanded his knowledge of enchantments and spell-casting, becoming an exceedingly powerful Sorcerer. Murazor's knowledge of the Black Arts was second only to Sauron's, and he quickly rose to become the Evil One's most trusted lieutenant. His lessons learned. he submitted his spirit to his Master, who gave him a Ring of Power in S.A. 1998. The first of the nine Nazgul, the Black Prince was known thereafter as the Witch-king or the Lord of Morgul (S. "Dark Sorcery").

##### The Lord of the Nazgul

Throughout the rest of the Second Age, the Witch-king stayed in Mordor and served Sauron by coordinating the efforts of the other Ulairi. These years comprised the period of his complete transformation into a hideous Wraith possessed of an exceptional command of sorcery. His role as the Lord of the Nazgul testified to his awesome magical skills. Ironically, Murazor was the only Ringwraith who had not presided over a kingdom of his own for a considerable period prior to accepting his Ring of Power; however, his origins as a Prince of the Edain of Numenor provided him with inherent abilities that far exceeded those of his undead peers.

The Lord of the Rings gave the Black Captain all of the trappings of a King for, aside from Sauron himself, the Lord of Morgul was the mightiest servant of Darkness in Mordor's hierarchy. No one, not even Gothmog the Half-troll Warlord (and, later, Lieutenant of Morgul) or the Mouth of Sauron, enjoyed such trust from the Evil One. Their relationship flourished throughout the latter part of the Second Age, as teacher and pupil sought to build an unassailable kingdom and establish dominion over Men.

Unfortunately for the masters of Mordor, the corruption of Westernesse that they sought for so long produced a policy of imperialism. The goals of Numenor's Kings came to mirror, at least in part, those of the Dark Lord. Both powers sought to unite the Secondborn under one absolute monarch. Inevitably, this rivalry between Sauron and the Witch-king's Numenorean brethren erupted into outright war.

Ar-Pharazon, the strongest of Numenor's later Kings, led an armada to Endor in S.A. 3261 in hopes of crushing the forces of Mordor and establishing hegemony over Middle-earth. Landing at Umbar, he marched northward across Near Harad (then contested by Numenor and Mordor's client, Adunaphel the Nazgul) and met the Host of Mordor near the river Harnen in early S.A. 3262. The Adan King's army appeared too potent for the Evil One to contest, so Sauron surrendered and went to Andor as Ar-Pharazon's prize captive.

The capture of the Dark Lord left the Witch-king briefly in control of the Kingdom of the Shadow, but the omnipresence of the Edain forced the Ringwraiths and Sauron's other minions into hiding. This prevented the Lord of the Nazgul from waging any significant campaigns in his Master's absence. Although the Black Captain and the other Ulairi contested Numenorean advances in certain regions of Middle-earth, the Witch-king operated very quietly until Sauron's return after the Downfall of Numenor in SA 3319.

#### Gear of the Witch-king

Vasamacil

Nallagurth

Romoquenaro

Iron Crown

Thologaer Ciryatano

Morgul Plate

Witch-king's Morgul-knife

#### Special Powers of the Witch-king

Spells - The Witch-king knows all base Sorcerer lists to 60th level, all base Ranger lists to 10th level (MERP), and all Closed Essence and Closed Channeling lists to 10th level (RM).

Authority of Presence - The Witch-king's Presence is greater than those of the other Ulairi. Those coming within sight of the Morgul-Iord must make a RR versus a 9th Ivl Fear spell.

Fate - Glorfindel foretold at Fornost in T.A. 1975 that the Witch-king would not perish at the hands of a man, and his prophecy proved true. It was the woman Eowyn who slew the Lord of the Nazgul on the Pelennor Fields. Clearly, Eowyn was fated to kill the Wraith-king, and GMs might wish to interpret this prophecy accordingly. It is suggested, however, that the circumstances of the Witch-king 's death need not necessarily be so specific. To begin with, any female of the Secondborn and any member of another race will qualify as a non-man. In addition, any object or accident might be construed as being capable of felling him. (Of course, note the Nazguls' immunity to normal weapons.) Such a liberal interpretation might be better-suited for the circumstances of the GM's campaign, particularly if the events at the Battle of Formost or during the War of the Ring differ or fail to occur.

Feeling - In any given round. the Witch-king can concentrate and determine the exact location of the source of any one presence located within 10' (target gets RR vs 30th Ivl search).