Male Elf (High Elf of Rivendell) Valour 3 / Wisdom 3; Endurance: 30; Hope 12/14; Parry 10
Galadhon is all ready to go. Anyone with any TOR experience, please look him over and give his stats a sanity check. I think everything is kosher, but you never know.
I backed off on specializing in Awe in favor of a slightly broader palette of abilities now that he's more counselor than leader.
I think I've got Mar done. I decided to save my Advancement points to get a higher rank in something later. If someone who has played this system before would be so kind as to take a look and see if I have it right, I would appreciate it. Edit:I switched her Calling from Slayer to Wanderer. It seemed to fit a bit more.
A note on fluff, Mar: didn't the band meet at Erebor, at a celebration of the victory at the Battle of Five Armies? So your character's already been to Erebor at least once.
It looks like we've got all four travel skills covered, and we've got a motley assortment of social skills. Things seem good already. I feel like the next characters should be a little freer to focus on taking what they want.
Really looking forward to this! Also new to the system, so if you wouldn't mind giving me the once-over, and if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions on my choices I'm all ears.
One is; have a good spread with your traits. Rather than focusing on one area, it's good to have traits that will apply to multiple situations so that you will gain Advancement Points more frequently.
Two is on Encumbrance. I prefer having a soloed 12-15 points of Endurance between my Fatigue and Endurance scores. You certainly don't have to, but remember that with higher Encumbrance you will become Weary more quickly.
Also let me ask, does anyone have Hunting at 3? I could swap out my Travel skill since it appears we have several players with 3 Travel
Male Elf (High Elf of Rivendell) Valour 3 / Wisdom 3; Endurance: 30; Hope 12/14; Parry 10
Anariel wrote:
Two is on Encumbrance. I prefer having a soloed 12-15 points of Endurance between my Fatigue and Endurance scores. You certainly don't have to, but remember that with higher Encumbrance you will become Weary more quickly.
This is an issue I really struggled with. I managed to get a 9-point spread. I don't want to give up the chain shirt, both because of the protection it offers and because I just don't picture Noldorin warriors wearing cow skins for protection.
Two is on Encumbrance. I prefer having a soloed 12-15 points of Endurance between my Fatigue and Endurance scores. You certainly don't have to, but remember that with higher Encumbrance you will become Weary more quickly.
This is an issue I really struggled with. I managed to get a 9-point spread. I don't want to give up the chain shirt, both because of the protection it offers and because I just don't picture Noldorin warriors wearing cow skins for protection.
I don't disagree. There are ways to get it down (rewards) but yeah, I like having more Endurance and just hoping I don't get Wounded :p
Heroes possess Endurance at a score determined by their Culture as well as their Heart rating (more for dwarves). Every piece of your war gear, as well as traveling gear, also possesses an Encumbarance rating. The total of all your gear's Encumbrance is your Fatigue Score.
When you take or deal damage in combat, it is Endurance damage. If you take damage that would reduce your Endurance below your Fatigue Score, you become Weary, which has several not so good in game effects.
Your Fatigue can also be increased by failing Travel checks during journeys.
Yeah, that all makes sense now, thanks. So in Brandoch's case I may even want to reduce my armor further (so it weighs 4 instead of 8) since my culture has a very low Endurance score? Or I might ditch my short sword?
I know that at present once I add travel gear for a given season my Fatigue score will increase by either 2 or 3. That's only a difference of 8-9 from my Endurance.
I'd suggest dipping the armor. As an archer you'll be engaged far less than the rest of us, so you'll take less hits, and the ones that hit will likely be normal blows. Remember, armor only helps against Piercing blows.
I see that there are Company assignments on the character sheet. Should we be working those out now? From my reading of the alternate travel rules we need to have a couple of the positions assigned when we travel. Am I understanding that correctly?
I ordered the Hardcover book from Amazon as a Birthday present for myself. I can see where I'm going to need to bookmark pages to refer too when we get going, and the PDF just wasn't working for my need to flip back and forth quickly.
I'm gonna start reading. I was under the impression we weren't supposed to start posting yet, so I'll try to catch up. I work tomorrow and then I'm off Monday.
Haha, yeah, I was just surprised at the burst of activity. There was a lot of OOC banter on how things work, and some posts were dice rolls, so there wasn't too much to catch up on.
But yeah, as a forewarning the days that I work I work 9 hours + a 1 hour wait because I carpool + 2 hours of driving. So, when I disappear for work, I might only get a chance to make a single post.
Also everyone should pick a Fellowship Focus; basically, if your Focus isn't seriously harmed, you regain a point of Hope at the end of the session. If your Focus is harmed seriously (Wounded or the like), you gain a point of Shadow. Also, you can essentially spend Hope to invoke an Attribute Bonus for free if it directly protects or benefits your Fellowship Focus.
Question for everyone; this would happen rarely, but I've a few ideas in mind that would lead to Mass Battle scenarios. Like I said, it would only happen maybe four times over the course of the campaign, but I did find rules for large-scale battles and they seem pretty nifty. Tolkien, as a whole, does not glorify war, but I could absolutely see pitched battles to, say, retake an ancestral home of Dwarves from evil Orcs and other Shadow creatures.
If we did do this, people would HEAVILY benefit from increasing their Battle skill.
Oh, awesome, thanks for compiling those for us, CR!
As the resident dude with Leadership, I am heavily interested in commanding forces in Mass Battles. I tend to enjoy that in most systems (I particularly like the mechanic for it in L5R 4th Edition).
I'd be fine with mass battle stuff coming up at times. I'm not sure Brandoch is going to be a warleader of any kind though, so him increasing Battle seems strange to me. If it makes sense in the story though (and it very well could as it comes up), then I'll start pumping points into it.
Pretty new here. would appreciate any help on getting settled in.
Thanks
Oh, you mean like completely new to the forums. Okay, I'll help.
So, firstly you'll notice I'm posting as Brandoch. My default alias is Inlaa, but players generally make new aliases per RP they join. I'll help you out there:
Go to the top of this page, the very top. Where it says "Hello, <your name>!" - there's a button that says 'My Account' to the right of that. Click My Account. Log in with your email and forum password.
You should see a section called "Messageboard Aliases." Create an alias, and potentially give it a fitting image, and from then on you can make posts with that alias by selecting the "Post As" button in the bottom of the writing-a-post screen.
Use the OOC tag - [ OOC ] without the spaces between the brackets and the three letters to make blue text which, well, denotes OOC chatter in the Gameplay thread. Like this - it's a bit harder to see than the standard black, and it's pretty distinct overall.
The rest should come pretty easily. Just play the game, doing stuff as prompted and as makes sense for your character. The pace is slower than a real life game, but it's fun.
If you want help on how to do the code for dice rolling and such, at the bottom of where you post there are some handy buttons. You can click on the "Show" button next to "How to format your text", and it will list how to do things like make your text bold or bigger and all that fun stuff!
Once you create your alias, you can go to the page for that alias and click on Profile. You can copy/paste your stats onto that page so you have it as an easy reference. If you'd like an example of how to set up a character for this game, you can click on my or Brandy's aliases and check them out.
By the way... I know I can use huge pool of Hope to add my attribute bonus to my rolls (or favored attribute bonus to favored rolls), and I know it's sort of like an HP pool for corruption/fear/stuff like that. Is there anything else that's handy about it I should keep in mind?
I ask since Hobbits have such a huge Hope pool I feel like I should use it to add bonuses to my rolls. Oh, do I declare I'm using the Hope bonus before or after I see the results? (I assume before.)
Oh yeah, I forgot that you don't actually get a lot of Hope back during the Fellowship phase... It comes slowly. Yeah, I'll keep that in mind and save the Hope for when I feel I need it.
You should have a Long Sword (Encumbrance 3), your Shield of the Citadel (Encumbrance 5 if it's a Great Shield, 3 if it's a normal Shield), maybe a Bow (Encumbrance 1), Traveling Gear (Encumbrance 2), and whatever armor you want (I wouldn't suggest more than a Mail Shirt though; Protection 3d, Encumbrance 12). All of that would put your Fatigue Score at 21, which is pretty gnarly, unless you decide to go with a Leather Corslet (Protection 2d, Encumbrance 8); that'll put you at Fatigue 17.
"The world is changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost, for none now live who remember it."
I have decided to try my hand at GMing online! I plan on running a LONG campaign, going through the adventures in both Tales From Wilderland and The Darkening of Mirkwood. We will be using The One Ring. More information in spoilers!
The Game:
Spoiler alert; the premise of the game is heroic sacrifice. Things will often seem grim, and they should. The game will focus upon the return of dark powers to Middle-Earth. The peace that has taken hold since the Battle of Five Armies will be threatened, and if heroes do not stand against seemingly impossible odds, all of Wilderland might find itself the thralls of the Shadow.
The game will start several years after the Battle of Five Armies. There has recently been a Gathering of the Five Armies, where members of all races have come together to celebrate their victory against the Orcs and The Fire Under The Mountain. That is where the party met. You all struck up a fast friendship, and have decided to band together for the good of all free folk.
Character Creation:
I am looking for SIX players. I will allow ONE Ranger and ONE Elf of Rivendell. Rules for character creation are as normal, however, I would like everyone to take FOUR additional previous experience points with which to customize their characters, representing a small adventure that your Company has engaged in.
All printed material is available for use. Even a Rider of Rohan or Man of Minas Tirith may have found their way to Wilderland, curious about the recent explosion of prosperity under King Bard. I would like at least one Dwarf as well.
I will expect a decent background as well as full mechanics in a profile. Feel free to just link the profile to prevent alias bloat. If you plan on submitting a Ranger or an Elf of Rivendell, I will expect a more expansive background.
Posting Expectations:
Once per day. Weekends...whatevs. I usually don't post on weekends so I'm cool with relaxing that. Extended absences are cool if you let me know. If you don't post for 10 days without any explanation, you'll be replaced.
Recruitment will last for two weeks. I will close recruitment on April 4. If you have any questions, let me know!
Dotting for now. Love middle-earth.
Love Tolkien's dwarves, so may look into that one.
I only own the german books, but with some help should be able to translate everything, or maybe look online for an English version somewhere.
I would be interested, but I'd have to gather copies of the books and look into it. I may submit something if I can find the materials. Either way, good gaming!
Definitely interested as the ElegantlyWasted one said, two at one once is something of an embarassment of riches.
This looks like a more traditional campaign than the other. Maybe a woodsman. Or maybe a Rider, but I'll have to look at that book.
The One Ring's rules are sort of strange at first but once you get used to them I find them very intuitive and very thematically appropriate. I'm happy to help if anyone has a question. Circadian, I sent a copy of my homebrew travel rules to someone else considering running a game. Want to take a look?
Okay! I like those, I think I'll use them. I'll put them up in Discussion when it's time.
Other house rules;
Rangers and Elves of Rivendell will use the Experience Point cost of all other cultures to advance. Otherwise they can lag 5-10 sessions behind other characters (they're not THAT much more powerful...)
Also, Rangers may recover one point of Hope from the Fellowship Pool per session.
Started work on Anariel. Making some tweaks and will be adding more background.
Conceptually, he's a Dunedain that's coming to gather companions to actively defend Eriador against the dark forces that threaten it. I think he might slide into the new calling of Leader, so I have to change that. I also have to list the effects of all my Traits and expand background, but that's a starting point.
Working up The Shepherd, a Woodman Warden. A fell wind from Dol Goldur stole his health when he was a baby and the only reason that he didn't perish in his cradle is because of Radagast the Brown's ministrations. He grew up sickly and still lacks in hardiness compared to his brothers but his long days in the Great Hall listening to the Chief's war council left him with an appreciation for strategy and cleverness. He's learned a great deal of leechcraft and song in addition to the art of warfare and has been entrusted with a song to staunch wounds.
The Shepherd longs to have a leadership position in Woodland Hall but he knows that it isn't in the cards- instead, he tries to provide good advice wherever possible. He adventures to gain new information about the Shadow and to encourage the fragile peace.
Dotting for interest. I've been reading the character creation rules because of the other possible game. Still need a little time to wrap my head around it, and what I might like to play. Edit: I do know she will be female. which is making it a bit hard because we all know in Tolkien's world female characters aren't big on the adventuring.
Well... Hm. I'll express interest. I'll either apply to this thread or the other one (both are good ideas for The One Ring, IMO). I'll need to brush up on the rules though.
What are your thoughts on someone playing a hobbit warrior type? I also heard that there are rules for playing a Dunlander, and that interests me a lot - would you allow a Dunlander application?
I'd like to try it, I do however not own any books or have any idea how the system works.
The die for the system are a lot less complicated than many tabletops. You will only ever roll d6's and a d12. You roll against a target number (TN) that is usually 14.
The 12 is the Feat die. You always roll that. The 6's are Success die, representing your skill.
So let's say you want to smack something with a sword. Your Long Sword skill is 3. So you roll 3d6+1d12.
Attack Roll:3d6 + 1d12 ⇒ (4, 2, 3) + (9) = 18
If my TN was 14, that would be considered a hit; an ordinary success. I would then deal damage based on what my weapon's damage rating is.
There are some extra bits there; if you roll a 6 on one of your Success die, and succeed at your task, you are considered to have achieved a Great Success. Two 6's would be an Extraordinary Success.
In combat, that means I would be doing extra damage.
If you roll a 12 on your d12, it's considered an auto success.
A roll of 11 is actually bad; that's considered the lowest roll you can get and is marked on the TOR dice with an Eye of Sauron. The die counts as a 0. It can also have additional effects.
That's the basic die mechanic. Character creation is pretty straightforward as well. Happy to help if you've got more questions!
The rules for a Dunlending are in the Adventurer's Companion. That book also has Wild Hobbits of the Anduin Vale, and they're pretty neat.
Oh. I bought the Horse-Lords of Rohan, which said it included the Dunlendings in it. Will that work?
Yeah, the rules are the same. Adventurer's Companion is basically a compendium of all the stuff printed so far (Dunedain and High Elves, for example). But it doesn't alter the mechanics at all so they still work the same.
Working up The Shepherd, a Woodman Warden. A fell wind from Dol Goldur stole his health when he was a baby and the only reason that he didn't perish in his cradle is because of Radagast the Brown's ministrations. He grew up sickly and still lacks in hardiness compared to his brothers but his long days in the Great Hall listening to the Chief's war council left him with an appreciation for strategy and cleverness. He's learned a great deal of leechcraft and song in addition to the art of warfare and has been entrusted with a song to staunch wounds.
The Shepherd longs to have a leadership position in Woodland Hall but he knows that it isn't in the cards- instead, he tries to provide good advice wherever possible. He adventures to gain new information about the Shadow and to encourage the fragile peace.
So on board with you having Staunching Song :D
Do you want to maybe have some character links? I think Anariel would be rather interested in The Shepherd and see his true worth, thinking him a worthy Woodman. I see Anariel as sort of a kingmaker, trying to get worthwhile people into leadership positions to stand against the Shadow.
Dotting for interest. I've been reading the character creation rules because of the other possible game. Still need a little time to wrap my head around it, and what I might like to play. Edit: I do know she will be female. which is making it a bit hard because we all know in Tolkien's world female characters aren't big on the adventuring.
I'm of the opinion that it's easiest to have a Tolkien-world female be non-human, just as existing canon stands. However, we're doing our own thing here, so if you want to be a fierce Beorning lady be my guest!
Well... Hm. I'll express interest. I'll either apply to this thread or the other one (both are good ideas for The One Ring, IMO). I'll need to brush up on the rules though.
What are your thoughts on someone playing a hobbit warrior type? I also heard that there are rules for playing a Dunlander, and that interests me a lot - would you allow a Dunlander application?
Either are good!
Pick what appeals to you. I'm not saying no to any printed material.
Okay, I think I'm going to make a Hobbit Treasure Seeker (who'd've thunk?) specializing in archery.
You said we start with 4 extra Experience Points, yes? Not Advancement Points? if so, I'll spend those on increasing my valor from 1 to 2 so I can grab a Bow of the North Downs. For my Virtue I'll choose Fair Shot.
I'll post my sheet soon.
ACTUAL FINAL EDIT: Actually, I'm not sure what Calling I'll choose. I don't want to overlap with anyone else, so it'll be one of the following: Treasure-Seeker, Wanderer, Scholar, or Slayer.
Edit: @Inlaa I was thinking Slayer for my Calling.
Alright then. I'll choose Treasure Seeker. I have a good idea of my backstory.
Also, @GM, am I correct about the 4 extra XP thing? Because now that I'm going through the character creation process, I see they give you a sort of generic XP pool to draw from at character creation, but then later split it into Experience Points and Advancement Points, and that's where I'm getting confused. I'll build this character without spending the 4 XP until I know what you intended.
Y'know, I had intended it to be bonus to the generic pool, but I have decided;
Your characters will be starting fresh off of a victorious adventure. I will describe this adventure after characters are selected but it was one involving combat against Orcs.
Due to that, you all begin with 4 Experience and 6 Advancement points that you may spend or bank.
May I suggest we all take a gander at this guide. It's not just character optimization, but also how to build a good Fellowship: The One Ring: Character Creation.
EDIT: Actually, I'll focus on Awareness, I think. That's a lot easier since I have 2 ranks in it for being a Hobbit... I might be able to make it 4 ranks at the start, even, and that should be plenty.
Alright, I think I finished my sheet. Meet Brandoch Marigold, a Hobbit who probably should've stayed at his uncle's inn.
I went ahead and used my 6 advancement points to buy a rank in Insight (which I made a favored skill at character creation so I could do that). I plan on eventually turning Search into a favored skill as well via Virtue.
Brandoch has Awareness 2, Stealth 3, and Craft 2, so he should be able to take on the role of the party Look-Out Man and provide crafty, tricky solutions to problems (aided by traits like Clever, Adventurous, and Burglary). He's also got plenty to offer in the social department thanks to that Insight and to being a Hobbit (Persuade 2, Riddle 2, Courtesy 3, Song 2, Insight 2).
Finally, he should make an accurate archer with the Bow of the North, Fair Shot, and 3 ranks in Bow skill. I eventually hope to get the Fell quality for his bow. I slapped a leather corslet on for good measure, so he should be alright if something decides to come smack him around.
EDIT: I think I'll swap my +3 and +2 Favored bonuses around. Body will get a +2 and Wits will get a +3. I DO want to get Small Folk eventually.
Anariel will be focusing pretty heavily on action. He'll have several ranks in Battle and should start with 3 in Travel, so he'll make a handy guide. He'll also have 3 ranks in Long Sword. I picture him being a bit of a switch hitter, using a bow as well as a long sword and shield. He'll be something of an all-rounder, for sure. Going to look at choices for Virtues and Rewards and see what I like.
At the moment I can't read through the books, but I'll give it a look later today after work. But as I have an idea for what I normally like to play in new games I wouldn't mind some advise on what to read most into for my classical knight with sword and board, been some time since I last played one.
Anariel is pretty well updated. Conceptually, he's being sent by Elrond of Rivendell to become active in Wilderland (and eventually Anariel will want to take Elrond as a Patron).
Anariel has 3 ranks in Awareness, Travel and Long Swords, and 2 in a whole bunch of other skills. He'll be the Guide.
In combat he will fight with a long sword. He has a bow for opening volleys but he's not great with it, yet. He will probably generally be in an Open stance. He'll likely switch back and forth between two handed and a shield as the situation dictates.
Of the social skills, Anariel will probably bump up Persuade.
Working up The Shepherd, a Woodman Warden. A fell wind from Dol Goldur stole his health when he was a baby and the only reason that he didn't perish in his cradle is because of Radagast the Brown's ministrations. He grew up sickly and still lacks in hardiness compared to his brothers but his long days in the Great Hall listening to the Chief's war council left him with an appreciation for strategy and cleverness. He's learned a great deal of leechcraft and song in addition to the art of warfare and has been entrusted with a song to staunch wounds.
The Shepherd longs to have a leadership position in Woodland Hall but he knows that it isn't in the cards- instead, he tries to provide good advice wherever possible. He adventures to gain new information about the Shadow and to encourage the fragile peace.
So on board with you having Staunching Song :D
Do you want to maybe have some character links? I think Anariel would be rather interested in The Shepherd and see his true worth, thinking him a worthy Woodman. I see Anariel as sort of a kingmaker, trying to get worthwhile people into leadership positions to stand against the Shadow.
