I'm down with that, Lothac. I envision Berethor as having fought in many border skirmishes with distinction before getting selected to the Tower Guard. Maybe Lothac gave a young Gondorian his first scar?
Maybe - but I think that Berethor should have been winning the fight at first. Quite frankly, he has the better setup for a warrior. But maybe Lothac pulled some sort of dirty trick on him, like feign surrender before yanking out a dagger and stabbing Berethor in the side or the leg before bolting? Or something like that. (I imagine him leaving the dagger in him, not even bothering to retrieve it, if we roll with that.)
EDIT: Actually, that might be TOO unheroic. Let's roll with this instead: Lothac was fighting with an axe against Berethor's sword, and he was losing - but then he knocked Berethor to the ground and brought out his dagger. It became a brawl/wrestling match with a knife involved - not the sort of fighting style the young Gondorian expected on the battlefield. And that's how Lothac gave him his scar. He had to run afterwards because the Dunlendings lost the battle, but yeah.
I dig it!
BTW, is anyone taking the "Leader" calling? I didn't want to do that on two separate characters but I think it's a cool one.
Not I! Questions are done, btw.
Oh yeah, my questions are also answered.
BTW, is anyone taking the "Leader" calling? I didn't want to do that on two separate characters but I think it's a cool one.
I stole it. Lothac is a Leader.
I sense some drama between Lothac and Berethor...
Oops, I didn't realise Elarinya chose Scholar. Should I choose another Calling for Tilly or is it okay for two scholars among the party?
Well, as built, Tilly is a Scholar by calling, but her Lore is low and her Riddle and social skills are high. It looks to me like she occupies a completely different niche than Elarinya's scholar, so I don't see any real issue.
My questions are done as well.
A little randomness :
So, I notice that Primrose has Gardening and I'm assuming Tilly has Herb-lore? Originally I chose Herb-lore for Lothac as well, but that seems like it could end up being a bit redundant. I like Herb-lore for this character (hey, I could auto-succeed certain Healing tests!) but I'm not sure if I should switch. So, I'm looking at other specialties.
Looking at my options, this leaves Fire-making and Beast-lore (Misty Mountains Lore doesn't sound useful in a game focused on Eriador, Story-telling and Herb-lore are taken, and I already have Tracking). I feel like I could use Tracking in a lot of situations I could use Beast-lore, so this means I can choose to keep Herb-lore or take Fire-making instead.
What all would Fire-making be useful for? Travel tests through cold regions? Craft rolls when preparing fire to use to fight ghosts and the like? Could I use it in conjunction with Search at night? Etc.
Either way, since nobody has Fire-making and two people have plant-related specialties, I think I'll take Fire-making.
I think you could also use it in certain social situations; tending the hearth of a host and creating a warm, welcoming fire. It would probably super help Travel rolls, too.
So, our party is made up of 4 females and 2 males. I wasn't expecting that, but it's rather cool nonetheless.
Spaz, I just realised you're Yirrik. Small world. ;)
Here’s what I’m seeing so far:
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Elarinya - Elf of Rivendell - Scholar (outstanding skills: Lore 3. Spears 3)
Primrose Bunce - Hobbit of the Shire - Wanderer (outstanding skills: Courtesty 3. Search 3, Stealth 3)
Lothac - Dunlending - Leader (outstanding skills: Explore 3. Hunting 3)
Tilly Appledore - Lady of Bree - Scholar (outstanding skills: Persuade 3, Insight 3, Courtesy 3, Riddle 3)
Berethor of Gondor - Man of Minas Tirith - Warden (outstanding skills: Inspire 3, Longsword 3)
??? (Spazmodeus)(Maybe a Ranger of the North)
Ready when you are, Spaz.
A Travel of 3 would be great :D
Honestly, I think 2's in the appropriate journey skills will be fine. 3 ranks is great, but frankly we'll make due.
I do kind of hate that both my 3's are in the same group (Survival), but it seemed like we needed a good explorer at the time. But then again, I have 2 ranks or a favored skill in every skill group, so hopefully I can advance just fine.
Looking at our setup: I'll be using Explore on Journeys, Elarinya and Berethor both have 2 in Travel and in Awareness, Primrose has 2 Hunting... That covers all our roles, doesn't it? Oh, and we have people with decent communication skills AND our melee fighters all have fairly high parry (or, in Berethor and Lothac's cases, abilities that say "I don't care about your PUNY DAMAGE").
What's damage?
It's a type of cheese.
But yeah, with Shield of the Citadel AND Shield Arm, Berethor can be pretty tanky. And Lothac can convert any hit that would make him Wounded or Weary into a Shadow point. I'll have to buy that Virtue that increases my Hope maximum at some point. And then Elarinya and our resident Hobbit essentially have 9 parry each (well, 5 for Primrose, but 8 if fighting anything larger than herself - most everything we'll find - and another +1 when she uses her shield). And Lothac has 9 parry with his shield, too, and will probably start using a Great Axe eventually (one that can be used with a shield, in fact).
This isn't dwarf tanky, but we're all pretty tanky (except for our archer, I think - but she doesn't NEED to be).
Mmmmmm cheese.
Torandor, can I use some of my extra 4 XP to advance my Virture : Dauntless Guardians? In the description it says I can get the two extra features of that Virtue by spending an XP as a new undertaking during a later Fellowship phase. Can I assume to have done so in the past?
Thanks
Okay, set up a character and finally have my stats and such finished.
This is Tilly Appledore, lady of Bree.
Torandor, can I use some of my extra 4 XP to advance my Virture : Dauntless Guardians? In the description it says I can get the two extra features of that Virtue by spending an XP as a new undertaking during a later Fellowship phase. Can I assume to have done so in the past?
Thanks
I had to let that one percolate for a while. This is one of the few Virtues that calls out a "later Fellowship phase", so I'm going to say no. Let's let it become part of your character's arc, if that's the way you want to take it.
Minor note, but I've given it some thought and decided to change Lothac's answers to questions 4 and 5. I figure this will give you more to work with, Loremaster. I also think it better explains how this character thinks than the previous answers. (See the alias page for more details.)
Lothac is going to be a broody boy if that ain't clear.
Minor note, but I've given it some thought and decided to change Lothac's answers to questions 4 and 5. I figure this will give you more to work with, Loremaster. I also think it better explains how this character thinks than the previous answers. (See the alias page for more details.)
Cool. I like it.
Spazmodeus, I need a character today, please.
Yeah, after a few false start finally got my concept sorted out.
Will have a completed profile up a bit later today...
K here's Spazmodeus's Ranger.
Just need to do background and questions...
Let's get that in tonight, please.
all done.
Okay. I'll do a review of the characters and give everyone a status tomorrow.
Okay, gang, here's some notes and questions on your characters:
Note that I've asked several of you to format your character in the same way that I did my character Galadhon. I also mentioned this in the first post. This isn't me being anal-retentive (okay, okay, it's not -only- me being anal retentive!). It's just going to be easier for me to look stuff up if you've all got similar character sheets. So please do amend that.
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Elarinya (CircadianRythms) -
* Need race in stat line
* Please format as Galadhon’s sheet.
* Question #5. What would cause you to give up #4? Anything?
* Does your ring have a name? Which ancestor forged it?
* The ring gives you a point of Permanent Shadow. Please show that on your sheet.
Primrose Bunce (CariMac) -
* Please format as Galadhon’s sheet.
* Did you know that your favoured skill of Explore is at a 0 rating? Were you planning on improving it in play? Nothing wrong with this, just something I noted.
* Please list your answers to the 5 questions on your character sheet.
Lothac (Inlaa) -
* Does your horn have a name?
Berethor of Gondor (ElegantlyWasted) -
* Please format as Galadhon’s sheet.
* Why has the Lord Denethor sent you so far afield to so insignificant a spot on the map?
* Is your father Thalion still alive?
Tilly Appledore (Ariarh Kane) -
* You say nothing could get you to give up #4 (your family’s well-being and safety). How does that square with going out adventuring?
Morwenn (Spazmodeus) -
* You mention that marriage might one day be Morwenn’s duty, given her bloodline. Do you mean only that she is a Dúnadan, or that she has some special lineage within the Dúnedain? If the latter, what is that lineage?
General Note: No one in the party has better than a 1 in Healing. Not saying you’re going to need it, but it’s the only skill out of 18 for which that is true.
Please let me know when you have addressed these questions and issues and we'll get the ball rolling!
Another note. I've been re-reading some of the adventures in print for The One Ring and have a better idea of their flow now. As a result, I'm going to change the starting year for our campaign. I realize now that although I purchased The Darkening of Mirkwood, I never got around to reading it. It's very good.
In The Darkening of Mirkwood, the story takes place over thirty years (from 2947-2977, ending with the death of King Bard of Dale). In it, each year is pretty much a single adventure, regardless of the length of time the adventure takes (often only a single month), with a Fellowship phase (also known as Winter) between each adventure. The mortal PC's go from being fresh-faced kids to rugged old heroes. I think that's kind of cool. It reminds me of the awesome "The Great Pendragon Campaign" which I've also always wanted to run.
Now, I'm not sure we need thirty years (or that we'll still all want to play The One Ring after thirty adventures!) But I'm thinking of giving our game greater scope by moving back the starting date. I had originally envisioned it happening over the course of three years and ending around the same time as the War of the Ring. I'll work on a more appropriate date and use it at the start of Gameplay.
Good point on Healing. I know we have Herb-Lore and Gardening, so those should help with Healing, as could Fire-making in certain environments/situations (cauterizing a wound, or just keeping the fire warm for a sick character, etc). I swear, every time I look at Fire-making, I find more and more potential uses for it.
Hm... On Lothac's horn: I hadn't thought to name it. I think I'll take a page from Boromir's book; just as he had the Horn of Gondor, this will be the Horn of... something. I'll chew on this. I may need to name his clan for this to work.
I'll also think about whether I should move points into Healing.
Just cause she's Dúnadan. She's proud of her heritage and realizes that her folk are dwindling.
As I mentioned, her father claims distant relations with Isildur...but she'd be quite surprised if that were true.
I'll move a point out of Lore and into Healing, bring that up to 2.
Because I was asked, I am -not- saying we're playing The Darkening of Mirkwood. I'm just saying that reading it made me think again about the time frame of our story.
Tilly Appledore (Ariarh Kane) -
* You say nothing could get you to give up #4 (your family’s well-being and safety). How does that square with going out adventuring?
Tilly believes that if she ventures out from Bree (and goes adventuring) she will learn and discover more than what she's heard and then she can bring that knowledge back to her home to be able to better protect her loved ones and village (she's one of the locals, so they would trust her word more than a passing stranger's). If she happens to help in removing an encroaching threat than all the better. I hope that makes sense. If not, I will change the answer to #4.
Tilly believes that if she ventures out from Bree (and goes adventuring) she will learn and discover more than what she's heard and then she can bring that knowledge back to her home to be able to better protect her loved ones and village (she's one of the locals, so they would trust her word more than a passing stranger's).Tilly Appledore (Ariarh Kane) -
* You say nothing could get you to give up #4 (your family’s well-being and safety). How does that square with going out adventuring?
Yep. There's even a mechanism in the game for that: Standing.
If she happens to help in removing an encroaching threat than all the better. I hope that makes sense. If not, I will change the answer to #4.
No no! I don't want anyone to change their answers unless they want to. I just want to explore with you your understanding of your character's motivations. There are no right or wrong answers! Any schmoe can roll dice and GN bad guys. We want to create characters we can watch grow and change.
As an aside, long ago I ran a four-year PBEM (play by email) game of the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game (ADRPG) for a campaign I called Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth. Something I said then became well-quoted within that very small circle of gamers, and I think it applies to any good RPG GM: "The GM's job isn't only to have the villain stab you in the back with a knife; it's also to ask 'How's that knife feel?'."
Yeah, I figured questions 4 and 5 were to have better ways of digging daggers in our characters' backs. XD I love that style of GMing, though - if the villains' actions are more personal, more driven, then the game usually feels better for it.
Well, it's true that I will try to make it personal in the way that destroying the Ring was about saving the Shire for Frodo, but the main reason for asking these questions is to help you flesh out and define your character as more than some sweet abilities. Those two questions in particular are designed to get you to think about -why- you'd want to risk your lives in a dirty, dangerous, thankless and probably fatal endeavor.
I think it's poignant that in the end, Frodo, who expected to die from the beginning, doesn't die, but instead finds that although he saved the Shire, he can no longer live there. In saving what he most valued, he lost it forever.
Oh, uh, spoilers. :-p
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In like vein, and apropos of nothing, I've always felt that the emotional heart of the whole story of The Lord of the Rings is in Gandalf's line: "The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many."
Bilbo did something hard and good and seemingly more and more foolish as time went on. Yet in the end, that one small act of charity to someone who definitely didn't deserve it saved the whole world.
Alternatively, another favorite quote is this one, from Sam: "I heard a good deal about a ring, and a dark lord, and something about the end of the world, but nothing important."
Personally, my favorite? "Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement."
I will admit, though, that The Hobbit has always been my favorite of his books.
Yes I'm going to gain explore in play. It just worked out that way.
Argh my five questions went poof. I wrote those when you first asked for them. sigh
Hmm. So Primrose will be leveling Hunting and Explore, which are skills Lothac has 3's in. Should I focus on Hunting, perhaps, and let you focus on Explore? And vice versa?
The points I spent on Explore could be moved elsewhere, and you could move your Hunting points to Explore if you like. It's up to you.
@Lothac: They are both favored skills. Her backstory has her as a hunter back in the Shire so it makes sense for me to leave it as is. I was planning on leveling explore when we get the points, and it would show that she's learning to make her way outside of the shire.
A couple ideas for previous connections:
Berethor: As an official agent of Gondor, it's possible that Morwenn was assigned to be your liason with the Rangers, having met up in an isolated grove near the Gondor border. They travelled together for a time, Morwenn taking Berethor along hidden paths until she left him for a time within sight of Bree. So actually, it's possible that Berethor and Morwenn have known each other the longest.
Elarinya:
As a Ranger, Morwenn would have visited Rivendell a number times in her travels; so there could have been occasion for the two to meet.
Tilly: Perhaps, some 10 years ago, Tilly got lost out in the wilderness near Bree and she was guided back to safety by a female Ranger. The Ranger spoke little and never gave her name. Last year a woman came to Prancing Pony and played music and sang. The flute was exquisitely carved of wood and when you approached the woman to ask of it, you recognized the voice...the same as that Ranger who helped you those years ago.
Primrose: As you spent a lot your years out hunting, could be on occasion you'd feel eyes on you and find a female Ranger watching you from a distance. With a nod, she'd disappear back into the forest.
Lothac: Can't think of any reason he and Morwenn would have met previously :)
Just suggestions...
Lothac: Can't think of any reason he and Morwenn would have met previously
At most, I can imagine that she might have watched bands of Dunlendings from Lothac's clan operating around Bree in the past that might have included Lothac in their number. We don't necessarily need a bond - Lothac has bonds with two characters already.
@Lothac: They are both favored skills. Her backstory has her as a hunter back in the Shire so it makes sense for me to leave it as is. I was planning on leveling explore when we get the points, and it would show that she's learning to make her way outside of the shire.
No matter, then. I'll keep my focus on Explore. Heck, we could even roleplay Lothac giving Primrose some tutelage on the matter of exploration while she gives him tutelage on how not to reach for his weapon when he first meets strangers (he'll need to level Courtesy eventually as he has 0 ranks in it; it's the only skill he hasn't trained).
Also, Loremaster, it seems Dunlending Clans are named after animals and beasts by and large. Ergo, I'd like to call his clan the Lion Clan - the animal they revere most is the mountain lion or cougar. Given that, his horn is named the Horn of the Lion.
Given that, his horn is named the Horn of the Lion.
Great! Please add it to your character sheet.
I think I have the sheet fixed and the questions answered.
Lothac I can see how we can learn from each other.
Given that, his horn is named the Horn of the Lion.Great! Please add it to your character sheet.
Done. I made a section for personal possessions. I may add to this later - non-combat related gear would be mentioned there, including the travel gear for whatever season we start in.