Mhhh, that's sad ;-(
Sorry to see this end so soon.
Anyway, thanks for the good time everyone.

@Faceless: Can you shut down the campaign correctly, so that it does not zombie around our other active campaigns please? I think that can be done if you edit the campaign under the campaign info tab. Thanks.

Actually that should probable be a hit you got there.
And a got one, since you rolled a '6' in the damage!
"Just listen to your local dwarf, really!"

*** With Hartgard ***
"Aye, friend, it was a good one.
The long-ear was not a bad fighter and he had an impressive endurance.
I thought I got him good with my very first strike, but he stood his ground.
Never recovered from the hit though and my next swing floored him for good.
Probably better for Elves to keep with their bows though."
His last remark is an obviously humoristic one and he laughs at it deeply.

After having hailed his king, Baìn checks the beaten Elf.
If he's conscious he will extend an arm and will help him up, otherwise he will help the the supervisors of the fight to carry him off.
No need to cause any lasting grudge here and now.

Once that is settled, he will return in time to see Hartgard putting down his opponent with a final blow of his axe.
Clasping his shoulders, Baìn calls into the big warriors ears over the screaming crowd and the loud singing of a certain elf:
"Good fight.
You enjoyed it, yes?
Otherwise you would have ended it earlier, isn't that right?"

After having cheered the Bardinger, he will call out for Wulfgith.
"Come on, young-one, remember your footwork!
You have a better weapon than your opponent after all!"
Inspire if applicable: 1d12 + 2d6 ⇒ (11) + (4, 4) = 19

Breathing out a controlled, slow hush of air, Baìn calms as the Elf falls to the ground.
He though his opponent would give in after the first massive hit, but he had to give the man credit for his stubbornness.
Memories of a battle-ready army from the woodlands laying siege to the Kingdom under the Mountain flare up in him and the iron resolve that King Daìns speech has instilled in all his warriors in anticipation of battle.
He raises his Mattock high, towards the King's emporium and shouts: "For King Daìn Ironfoot, King under the Mountain."
I am back ;-)

We know what's good, eh :-)

Hi guys, I am going on vacations starting this tuesday.
I am venturing into the depths of the Scottish Highlands for two full weeks – boy did I longed for that :-)

Our far-off cottage is said to have (slow&unstable) wifi so I may be able to drop a couple of posts, but don't expect especially lengthy or regular posts until the 3rd July from me.

@GM: Could you please bot me when it becomes necessary?
My alias page(s) should contain all necessary numbers.

The books state that you simply can use a normal 12-sided dice and count a result of 12 as the 'G'andalf rune (=crit) and the 11 as the Eye of Sauron (=fail).
Note that it is quite important how they distribute them, since it reduces the average dice result (as one of the high number will result in a result of '1' instead of the original number).
@Doderic: That also would mean, that your roll resulted in a 11 instead, since the 11 is the eye of sauron and is counted as a '1' and also may mean that you auto-fail depending on the roll.
Being pitted with an Elf feels all but ideal to Baìn, considering the often ill-fated relations of their kin.
Nevertheless, he bows his head slightly to acknowledge and honour his opponent, before raising his mattock high and charges straight at the elf and his spear.
"Baruk Khazâd!"
The traditional war cry of the dwarves booms inside the arena, the voice of the merchant now deep and grinding like distant thunder or a rock avalanche.
Baìn throws a powerful swing against his opponent that will leave him wide open for a return strike - should his opponent remain standing that is.
Forward Stance Mattock TN 6+Elf_Parry: 1d12 + 3d6 ⇒ (10) + (3, 1, 3) = 17
Unless the elf has a parry of 11 or more, that should be a hit and does 8 damage.
And it is a piercing strike as well, since my mattock has a threat rating of 9, 10, 12.
Soooo, the elf's armour will have to save against the mattocks injury rating of 18 or suffer a wound.
My parry will be lousy 11 this round - but I should go first with the forward stance.

As King Daìn Ironfoot greets the collected people, Baìn will bow deep in the typical way of the dwarves.
Once King Bard signals for the games to start, he will take a proud step forward, awaiting a challenger.

Baìn looks up to the man in joy.
"Master Ormod, great to see you participating again.
Each year I am more impressed with your display.
You bring great honour to the King and your men."
Baìn will govern the introduction of everyone, such that in the end nobody know who everyone is - as usual in such circumstances.

"I would hope so, Master Elf, for the dull gem is worth only a quarter, is it not?"

"Ahh, Hartgard my friend.
Yes, it is my father's.
It has seen many Orks perish, but today, it shall swing more careful."

Baìn joins the others and it probably takes you a few looks to recognize him, as his appearance has changes drastically.
Where he was wearing expensive clothes, jewellery and a noble manner (most of the time at least) - he now looks like any of you would have thought of a dwarven warrior.
He wears a long, finely crafted chain mail that covers his entire body and a massive helmet crafted from steel, its upper end is modelled like a crown.
His beard and hair is is braided by simple bracers made of iron and brass and he hefts a heavy looking tool, that seems to be derived from a miners tool and has some resemblance with a pickaxe still.
But where the pick should be, a wickedly sharp blade is located and the other side features a small but dangerous looking wedge that probably is intended to make short work of armour and shields.
For some with knowledge of such matters, this is a dwarven mattock and the dwarves of King Daìn are well-known for using those 'tools' for deadly effect during the battle of the Five Armies and later on against the occasional Ork incursion.

Certainly not - been long enough I guess.

After stowing away the stand upon the drawing evening, Baìn returns to the others and lead them to the impressive barracks.
"Everyone who wants to participate in the melee, speak to Master Gundar over there.
I already signed up a couple of days ago.
Master Hobbit, judging from the songs I heard, you may want to talk with the Kings bard and join their contest.
You have enough talent to come far in that challenge as well, if I am not entirely mistaken."

Ahh, good old LotR citing :-)
"Good for your people to have your women be able to defend themselves - very good indeed in these times."
Now it is Baìn's turn to smile, even laugh heartedly.
"By Durìn's beard, dwarven women already, no more than a couple of hours after we first met?
Let me tell you this: you wouldn't recognize one as a woman even if I pointed one out to you, because we look and behave very much alike.
So yes, dwarven women do fight if necessary, although there are not many of them, much less then human or elven women compared to their male counterparts.
So the chance to meet one is rather slim, as we men do our best to protect them from any harm.
You know: dwarven protectionism of their treasures and all that."
At this last sentence, Baìn winks and laughs even louder (and deeper), then takes a long gulp from his ale.

Baìn follows the challenge of strength with amusement, cheering the winners and pays for a cup of dwarven beer for the winner but not joining himself.
Afterwards he turns to Wulfgith.
"I am rather surprised that a fine young Lady like you shows such an interest in the martial arts.
Most human women I know are rather opposed to such activities.
Do your people have another take on that than most?"

*** Later ***
Once the baths are ready, Baìn will excuse himself to return to his shop and finishing the days work.
He returns at the evening to take another meal with the others for some more talk and planing of the next day.
He will volunteer to bring everyone interested to the barracks to sign up on the event.

Still there.
Got a surprise visit of an old friend two days ago and he's still here.
Expect normal posting by Monday.

"Do not fear, Master Hobbit, the fights are until the last man standing. You can simply acknowledge defeat if your enemy is too strong and it will be accepted.
They do preliminary battles to pick the best candidates for the actual event: a big fight everyone on his own against everyone else.
It is an honour to your family and people to participate in it, for it keeps our warriors sharp and ready such that the likes of the thrice-cursed Smaug will never find us unprepared again.
I join the fight every time to honour my father who Fall in the Battle of the Five Armies.
Ahh, I nearly forgot - you can win a proper bag of gold by winning the tournament."

Does Baìn know something further about this event?
Is it a regular thing or long-since-announced, so he might have took notice?

+++ In Town +++
Baìn appears caught at Hartgards question.
"Well, how do I put this ...
We dwarves have a particular mindset.
If you make something, make it to last for ages.
Not only for your or your children's lifespan, but for their grandchildrens as well.
I miss that mindset in many - not all! - of the works of craftsmen that were not lucky enough to secure an aprenticeship with one of ours."

"That will be acceptable.
If I remember correctly, the dwarven room is quite large after all, intended to take up a small group of wandering dwarves."
Knowing the way, Baìn will lead the way down a staircase to the room.
Sharing a room with a Beorning, an Elf, that little girl from back then and a hobbit.
This day sure got unusual really fast, by Durins beard!

+++ Back at the market +++
True to his word, Baìn waves for a boy not older than 14 on a neighbor merchant stand. The small framed boy with short brown hair hurries over as fast as his short feet can carry him.
"Karl, remember that time when I told you that soon you would be able to manage a stand on your own?
This is today. Keep a good eye on my goods while I lead these fine men and women to the Lakeman's.
Keep in mind that the prices for the bigger figures are three times those of the smaller ones and that the rarer ones are twice the price on top of it.
Make good use of your chance boy and note down all sales in my book as I have teached you.
I'll be back in a couple of hours."

+++ The Way through town +++
Many merchants greet the dwarf during their walk, but the hobbit, Elf and Rohirrim clearly draw more attention.
People step aside once they notice a dwarf approaching - the mutual respect between the dwarves of the Kingdom under the Mountain and the men of Dale well visible.
During their walk, the dwarf points out several of the more important attractions in Dale with a proud tone. You may notice that he always names the maker of each work plus the respective dwarf or dwarven family he or she was trained by.
So either he is only pointing out those remarkable pieces that where made by dwarven-trained craftsmen or most High-Grade builders had indeed been educated by the dwarves of the Lonly Mountain.

+++ The Inn +++
Baìn greets the Inn keeper by name and a slight bow.
@GM: How comfortable are you with us making up NPC names up on-the-fly as I did with the boy or maybe with the inn keeper?
I have the experience that it deepens the flavour if every NPC has a name - even if it only used once before getting forgotten quickly.
"Good fortune, Master, I have brought with me a couple of travelers from far away this day.
I know some of them and we have a lot to talk about.
Tell me, Master, is the dwarven room in the basement already taken? If not, could you be so kind and send a boy to fetch my belongings from the Drunkenstone?
And one more thing, add Mister Hartgards room on my account as well."

"Of course you can camp out of town if you wish to ...
But I guess it would do you good to sleep a few nights in a proper bed.
I will pay for your bed, you earned it, Hartgard."

With a smirk towards the Elf, Baìn answers.
"There is the Drunkenstone...
Best place in town to drink a nice and strong dwarven brew.
You could get a bed there as well.
If you find a travelers-in, I would recommend the Lake Men's Rest.
Or the Missing Scale, for those of you who value soft beds and Noble clientele above everything else.."

What is that? She has two names...?
And one of them really sounds like that of an Elf...?
"Welcome to Dale, Wulfsgith, I take it you are the first time in the north?
You will have a lot to see, I can guarantee you.
Not the least of it..."
At this point, Baìn shouts a few sentences, clearly intended to draw in customers, as well as answering some of the questions of the strange group he half-overheard.
"Come here and see Baìn the Merchants goods, collected from all around the world!
Specialties from folk you never even heard of brought to you on this day of joy and celebration!
Taste the prized Beorning' mead!
Ever wondered what Elven way-bread looks and tastes like?
Come to Baìn and buy a crump of true Lembas-bread - bought from the guardians of the golden forest!
Complete your collection with the last model of Smaug the Cruel.
Come here and see Baìn the Merchants goods!"
Taking a sip of bead to oil his voice, he returns to Wulfgith with a smile.
"So ... How does your father fare?
Since you bear his sword, I take it he has retired from his duties in honor, yes?"

Totally absorbed by the talk with the Shield Maid, Baìn totally ignores the semi-question of the Elf for the moment.
He takes the offered sword with great care, nosing absent-minded at the woman's last sentence, starting to murmuring to himself.
"Thrice folded stainless steel...
double-edged and optimal balances ...
Hand guard made of steel and inlaid with gold and silver ...
Hilt wrapped in best Dalish leather ...
Pommel reinforced and tipped with a small gem ...
It is on of him, no doubt...
But which one ... Where is it ...
There!"
He is clearly reading something out loud that is written at the underside of the hand guard in the most tiny and filigrane dwarven runes any of you have ever seen.
"The Blue Mountains ...
Winter 2940 ... Third Age ... Middle Earth ...
Forged by ...
Naìn Longbeard."
At this point, he lets the sword sink down a few hands width, clearly in awe and respect.
"It IS my father's last one.
He sold it in Rohan ...
To your ... Father?
Then ... You are that cheeky little girl from back then??
My, my, you have grown into a fine young Lady!"
And with a fluid motion, the dwarf bows his head before her, offering her the sword back.
"Baìn, son of Naìn the merchant, to your service.
Keep this sword in honor for it is the last one my father ever made.
He finished it no more than a year before his death in the battle of the five armies."

The dwarf is clearly thinking hard and fast, then an idea, or a memory? is clearly dawning on his face.
"You're from Rohan ...
Let me see that Blade of yours, please..."

The face of the dwarf darkens visibly as Hartgard tells his tale.
"Even the greatest revenge cannot bring back those who are avenged - my folk learnt that lesson in front of the gates of Khazad-dûm.
My father told me, that most that returned felt like you.
They got their revenge on the goblins, but the dead where still dead and many dwarves have fallen during the battle to revenge them.
But, nevertheless, revenge on those filthy goblins and all that are allies of them, is a noble deed.
I judge it good, that you left the Vale and set out.
You need to see some other corners of this world, to keep your mind from milling over your losses.
Come here, sit down on my small chair and have a pipe of hobbit-weed.
It is oddly relaxing to sit down and blow rings of smoke into the air..."

Just as he produced a small chair from under the stand, he looks up at Wulfgiths exclamation.
Turning to face her, he seems surprised.
A Rohirrim ... shield maiden from the look of it ...
An Elf and a Hobbit.
Now this is an unusual group!
Now what is with the hair of that woman ... it certainly is unusual for a human.
More like that of an elf ...
It reminds me of someone I once met ...

"Aye, they are going good.
It certainly helps my trade that you and your people keep the northern passes open and guarded.
I have been to the west far more regularly than my father due to your people and the people there have lots of interesting goods to sell as you can see.
You will never forget your first pipe of 'Old Toby' weed and a lot of my kin and several noble men of Esgaroth and Dale pay huge for even small amounts of it.
And the kingdom under the mountain is flourishing you see, King Daìn has great visions and they are shape into reality with every swing of the pickaxe, every fall of the hammer and every moved rock.
You just wait, give my people a few more years to work on it and the Lonely Mountain will be the mightiest fortress of the North."
The dwarf stops to take a bag of coins from an old man in exchange for a bottle of elven whine.
"Oh, excuse my manners, Hartgard but you asked for dwarven work and you can't know how dangerous that can be.
We longbeards love to talk about our works and undertakings and it is dangerous to ask us of them, if you are not prepared for it, for we will just go on about it.
Enough about us for the moment, how are things going in the vale?
Excuse my direct questions, but ... you look like things have been rough for you lately?"

Having just sold another of the toy figures (a miniature Dale bowman) to a wealthy mother of three children, Baìn turns around to face the towering Beorning.
It is Baìn, that much is clear for Hartgard. But the dwarf certainly looks different than at the time you were sharing a fire in the wild.
Back then, the dwarf was heavily armoured with a long chain armour and massive iron helmet as well as considerably armed with a viciously looking weapon, looking like a cross between a halberd and a pickaxe.
But now, the dwarf wears expensive looking clothes of heavy red and grey fabric, proudly displaying the hammer and anvil sigil of the dwarven kingdom under the Lonely Mountain.
His braided black beard is held together by golden bracers with tiny rubies worked into the polished surface and several golden rings with gems sit on the dwarfs broad fingers.
Brown eyes lock on the hardened warrior, clearly searching his memories for a match until recognition dawns on the proud features of the dwarf.
"Hartgard! Of course, it was ... nearly six years ago, wasn't it?
That cold night near the Carrock, where we met and you and your men invited me to share your campfire.
Now this is really a gathering of folks from far away!
Come here and share a horn of mead with me, friend.
I bought it from your folk, half a year ago and its taste is simply marvellous."

That's certainly hight for human standards, so yeay, does sound about right?
I'd guess you would be half-a-head (or even more) above most Dale people, considering that they are descendants from a lesser folk.

<snarky remark incoming>
Coming from a region using non-crazy, physically bounded measurement units, those numbers do nothing to help me visualize Hartgard ;-)

The crowded marketplace is littered with small merchant stands, offering goods of any kind. Most stands are human-run of course, but at least a quarter of them has a dwarf offering the goods the longboards are well famed for: chain armor, swords and juwlery of finest craftsmanship. A few dwarven merchant also have goods of more joyous nature to offer: fine music instruments, filigrane toy figures made of silver and tin, depicting various participants of the battle of the five armies - all are fully movable!

One dwarven merchant stand might draw your attention in particular, for the simple fact that most of the dwarfs goods obviously origin from far away, far beyond Dale and the Lonely Mountain.

There is small cask of 'Old Toby' pipe herb lying beside a basket filled several fine pipes that a trained eye will immediately recognize as being Hobbit-made together with a barrel of finest Bucklebury ale.

There is, of course, a shelf filled with fine juwlery and dwarven instruments, but also a small stack of Lembas waybread, covered in the traditional Mallorn leaf and fine elven whine bottled in Thranduìns Hall.

At the other end of the stand, half a dozen great glasses filled with fine golden Beorning honey and several bottles of mead are on sold, together with expertly skinned furs of three wolves and a couple of boars.

Behind the stand, a large collection of carpets with foreign pattern and motives lay on display.

But the center of interest, is located upon an extra desk. There, the dwarf has arranged several dozen of the toy figures that must be a new dwarven creation, since you never saw their like before. The assembly of tiny figures, creates a model of the famous battle for the Lonly Mountain.
From time to time, the dwarf will produce a complex-looking key from his pockets and use it on one of the toys - like one would wind up a clock. The toy then awakes to a short life and take a couple of steps and swing his weapon against an enemy (never against an ally!) before stopping again.
Every party of the battle has at least one figure on display: dwarves, elves, orks, humans, several hobbits, a great bear and even a huge figure for the fearsome Smaug! Tiny streams of smoke rise from its nostrils and his wings are spread wide – keen eyes might even notice a miniscule blank area on the dragons belly: the place where one scale came loose and where Bards black arrow has stroke and killed the beast.
Every time the dwarf does animate on of his figures, the crowd around his stand cheers and one or two of the marvelous figures are bought by wealthy parents for their kids - or their own amusement.

Guess I'll start with a hook for everyone to bite on if they want.

Not today, it's already late here ...

Good idea!
***
Baìn and Wulfgith have met before (but she was a young girl back then). She is carrying a sword made and sold by Baìns father and he will recognize it quickly upon sight.
***
Otherwise, I may have encountered Hartgard or Doderic before on one of many travel runs.
A meeting with Hartgard is probably more likely than a meetup with Doderic though, since many trade routes run through Beorning-secured land these days, so plently of chances to have met him.
Maybe a simply case of sharing a nights camp fire in the wilderness before parting ways in different directions?

That's cool!
One character with a decent healing score is quite useful to have, should we get into a really nasty encounter or our GM tends to roll lots of 11 (Saurons Eyes).
***
I guess we're mostly ready now, aren't we GM?
Any thoughts on when we will going to start? :-)

Huh, they must have changed the dagger weight at some time.
My physical copy still lists it with 1.
Nice catch, thanks GM.

Both choices are strong.
- Parry 11 is really big, making you really hard to hit
- roll-2 fate die is also really strong since it not only increases your chance to hit but also to score a crit quite remarkably

I think you can go archer if you want. With Celebhend, Hartgard and Baìn we have three melee fighters (Wulfgith is mounted, but I think that counts as melee as well), so you have enough people to hide behind and snipe those pesky spiders in their too many eyes.
Going melee is good as well of course.

That's me.

Ah, that makes sense. I don't have that book, so no wonder I didn't find it ^^

Yes, depending on season.
But, I just figured out, traveling gear does not count against your fatigue value, which is just weapons + protective gear.
Which gives me thoughts ... should I take a helmet after all ...
I did not before, to not increase my fatigue too much, but if traveling gear doesn't count ... and you can remove it infight ...
hmmm...
Ah, whatever, I'll get one.
Baìn is a dwarf after all, and they are expected to wear good armor all around!

Not sure if you have something special or if I am calculating this stuff wrong myself, but shouldn't your total encumbrance (=Fatigue) be 14, rather than 6?
6 from Helmet + 6 from worn weapons

Yeah, I think we're good, aren't we?

@Wulfgith: Were did you find the stuff for horses? Since dwarves are rich and I am a merchant, I think it just makes sense, that I have at least one pony with me as a matter of custom. If there are rules for ponies & horses, than I'd interested in reading them.

Actually I would rather have our scout drop Awareness to 2 and pick up an average travel score.
You cannot have 2 look-outs anyway, so two people with high Awareness are good (you can never have enough eyes on the route) but not incredible necessary.
Travel 0 will likely mean that you will see yourself start to tumble around like Frodo after the Nazgûl attack after a couple of days off-road...

@Wulfgith: If things are mostly done&decided, can you post your mechanics somewhere so we can all have a look at them together more easily?

@Hartgard: You're welcome :-)

So, we have:
- Leader (Travel): Baìn
- Scout (Explore): Celebhend
- Hunter (Hunting): Hartgard
- Look-Out-Man (Awareness): Wulfgith
- Social: Doderic

Thoughts:
Solid line-up.
Hows everyones Travel skill doing?
Someone with heal 2+ would be cool. One dies if suffering from an untreated wound for more than a day. TN to treat wound is always 14. Which can be reached quite easily if using Hope (treating a wounded comrade should be both rare and important enough to spent a point of hope on it).

@Hartgard: This means, that whenever you roll a '6' on the attack roll, you add your massive strength to the damage. If you roll two '6' you add it twice - which likely means R.I.P. for most foes.

Correcting myself: Mattock 3 of course, 4 isn't possible with starting points.

@Combat: I guess Baìn will be fighting mostly defensive or open(?) due to a mediocre parry rating. With Mattock 4 he will still hit reliably and dish out a lot of damage.
With probably the heaviest armor and a lot of endurance, he can take a couple of hits before getting into trouble.
@All: Anyone having heal skilled?

Afaic, Encumbrance does not work that way, and there are no rules for that in the book.
Encumbrance features in stuff like "the weight is wearing you down over time" and such.
The only thing that will immediately adjust your encumbrance value is taking off a worn helmet. Everything else only readjusts after a rest.
Traveling gear features in all things you probably need. If you want something special, you have to state it and the GM is advised to have a look at your cultural standing (wealth) and traits, then decide whether you have it or not.
Beside that, its really just weapons, protection gear (shield, armor, helmets) and music instrument (if you want one) you have to worry about.

Wulfgith and I have written a couple of PMs back and fourth a while back (discussing background and stuff) and she sent me a intermittent char sheet.
At that point, she had noted down an awareness score of 3, so I guess Look-Out-Man is well covered by at least one person (Wulfgith or Celebhend - or both?).

Ahhh, can you smell this?
It's the smell of adventure, freedom and long forgotten riches!
Baìn, Son of Daìn will follow this smell, wherever it may lead to!

- Thanks for that, Shadow. I am looking forward for this ! -