Basic Information
A pass is a (relatively) low point in a range of mountains at which it is (relatively) easy to cross from one side (or at least one valley) to another. Until the invention of large scale tunnelling a pass is likely to be the only way to get significant numbers of people or quantities of livestock and goods from one side to the other.
Depending on the volume of traffic across it a pass may be a barren wilderness or the site of a significant inn or settlement. Since mountain ranges are often national boundaries as well, the top of a pass may also host a border post - or even a fortress - to control the border. Even when they are not on a border, passes tend to be extremely significant in commercial and strategic terms and no sensible government will neglect them.
Finding new passes is a major part of exploration and expansion in the pre-modern era.
Sources
Game and Story Use
- Given their significance passes are often key sites for adventure - places to meet, or to race to ahead of the opposition, to clear of enemies or even simply to be located.
- Tolkein fans will remember that Moria was made to serve as a pass … but only after the Fellowship had failed to force their way through the more normal surface pass. The Gap of Rohan, the Gap of Minas Tirith, the Shelob's path and the Black Gate are further examples of significant passes in Tolkein.
