OOC THREAD

[Telcontar]

Ahhh click the blue thingy. Nice.

[Telcontar]

I vill be der nexta man!

[Eclecticon]

Doug, you asked earlier about orcs having no penalty for darkness even when the rules are silent on the matter.  I for one don't have a problem with this - it's true to canon and a quick and easy way to make them more menacing. 

[Telcontar]

Since Tolkien Enterprise is very strict with liscensing only The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings we sometimes dont get supporting materials in our game products. So here's my two cents.

Since Orcs were created by Morgoth prior to the sun and the moon from Elves I would suggest that they have low light vision and require only small amounts of light to see by. (Same with Dwarves as there homes are described as having great lamps and light) their aversion to the sun is probably much like Gollums, but is not only due to living underground, but also part of their nature. I would give them only a penalty in total and complete darkness.

[Eclecticon]

This will be the end of this year and chapter. We will be having a Fellowship Phase after this thread. I will be giving narrative to Amfossa's home and then beyond.

Not before time, either.  That's two adventures in a row that have ended with a tense fight that grinds the company down to almost nothing before we get rescued by an outside agency.  I vote next time we hunt down a single orc, utterly kerb-stomp it and declare a great victory.  In all seriousness, though, it felt like an achievement getting through that fight.  I don't know how the others feel, but if I could reach across the Pacific I'd be holding my fist out for a bump about now. 

Some other thoughts:
- It felt a little weird knowing Rorin's fate ahead of time.  It's obviously not a game-killer, but I guess I would've preferred to do the rolling to find out how he handled the Shadow once the fight was over (and the survivors had had a chance to contribute through Healing rolls). 
- Naming the Nazgul was an interesting choice.  I don't know that I would have done the same (or possibly, I would've given it a title like the Spectre of Gundabad).  It was scary when it showed up, though.  Man, those things are tough. 
- What was with Essylt?  I kept expecting her to be important, but even after borrowing Bandy's sword she never did much. 

I want you all to think hard about your characters' ordeals. Arbogast has a family now and is facing death far away from them

Yeah, but I'm still having a blast playing him and he basically has wifely permission to keep on doing what he's doing.  I have ideas for backup characters, but no plans to switch at this stage.

Grimbeorn is finding he is at death's door often...

Grimbeorn needs to put some goddamn armour on!  I had debated switching to him as my fellowship focus, but I'd be racking up the Shadow points hand over fist if I did. 

...and has a people that he will one day rule

Making the improvement of his Standing a matter of some priority, otherwise he'll find himself ruling a people who won't follow him into battle and care little for his rulings in peacetime. 

Bandy is becoming darker by the day

Yeah, I'm interested to see where this goes.  His Shadow score is pretty high.  In fact, given his high Song score, I sort of get the impression that Tom is deliberately driving him towards a bout of madness as part of his character development.  I may be completely off base on this.

and finally Rorin...well, Steve is not here too much anymore.

True.  Of all of us, I can see Rorin having the most cause to retire.  He has a bright future waiting for him back in Erebor (remember, he can buy his way into a very respectable position), and there'll be plenty for him to do if he wants to get some work done with Bofri on the Forest Road.

[tomcat]

Rescued? I think you guys handled the Nazgûl rather well. He was down to 5 END and 4 Hate, so between the three of you I think things would have seen the same resolution.

I just had the Dúnedain there for the overarching story. Gandalf and Aragorn came to you in Mirkwood - so there is no reason that the Chieftain of the Dúnedain wouldn't have had his people out on the same mission, or there to aid you all in need.

As for Essylt - she was not meant to be anything more than a plot point. She doesn't trust ANY of you folk so she saw her chance to get away in the night and took it. Still, you guys now know that the Shadow is not discriminating as to whom he will use for his own purposes.

As to naming the Nazgûl - I like back story. I want to know what / where a character is about. We always here these were kings of men but nothing is ever elaborated upon. I elaborate - just my way.

As to Rorin - there is no pre-ordained story line that I have for the Dwarf. Mechanically, everything is as it should be. He rolled an against the Black Breath corruption test, which causes him to be unconscious for 8 days (the Nazgûl's Attribute Level). He will gain the number of shadow points for each failure that he rolled against a TN 14. The TN 14 comes from you guys providing daily healing tests, which you can do. Once awake, he will still be part of the company - just two added Shadow Points hanging over his character.

As to the generational rules - I don't want ANYONE to get rid of their PC if they are enjoying them. I really like this group of heroes, myself. I just wanted to put it out there as a reminder that it is an option. Play-by-post gaming can move slowly and literal years can pass playing the same PC - I want you guys to know you have the option to change and that the things endured thus far might be a good cause. Believe me, the PC's will still be part of our overarching story.

I hope everyone is enjoying our story. I am having a blast.

[Telcontar]

I too liked the grinding down of the characters. Previously I was concerned that we were untouchable with pur skills and abilities, but this was a great example of the game system having staying power. I really enjoyed this story arc, so thanks Doug it was great.

As for Bandy, as I mentioned in my earlier post I have toyed with setting him aside, but not sure its time yet. I also dont know what I would replace him with. I think Arbogast and Grimbeorn are critical to the story since the campaign is the Darkening off Mirkwood. The other characters are somewhat outsiders so i think its important that there is an internal perspective on the story. I wouldnt want to add another man character to the story. I feel lime it would lessen and not add to what we are doing. I thought about a dwarf, but again the warrior boxes are kinda checked.

I think that Bandy has more to add to the story and instead of setting him aside I may just use the Fellowship phase to maximum affect.
I have had thoughts about giving him a holding, having him get married, having him 'recharge' for a season.

I'll have to ponder it somemore.

[tomcat]

I too liked the grinding down of the characters. Previously I was concerned that we were untouchable with pur skills and abilities, but this was a great example of the game system having staying power. I really enjoyed this story arc, so thanks Doug it was great.

As I responded above with Paul's post, I don't want you to change your PC, I just want everyone to know that if they are wanting to try something new then we can use the generational rules.

I liked this chapter, too, Tom for your same reasoning. I liked that you guys had to draw on resources that were becoming scarce. Weariness was a good way to challenge you guys, but I will say it is getting harder to do so with tests and combat. Even though it took longer to combat, you guys still chew up the bad guys pretty well - even a Ringwraith.

I will be honest to say I am not sure how to create the next challenge without the impediments of fatigue. Maybe I allowed too much character advancement, too fast...eh, we live and learn.

[Eclecticon]

Something I've learned over 20+ years of GMing is that moral challenges are applicable to a party of any power level.  Give them several options, of which they can only pick one, and make it clear that there'll be bad consequences for all the ones they don't pick.  It's hosing the players, but they get to pick exactly how they get hosed, so it tends to go down okay. 

Also, with regard to the TOR system in particular, I've noticed that many weaker enemies are just as dangerous as one super-tough one, if only because the number of dice rolled increases the likelihood of damaging or (especially) wounding hits.  As we've seen this past adventure (which, parenthetically, I also really enjoyed), an early wound can alter the whole trajectory of a story. 

[GandalfOfBorg]

Well given most of the times Grimbeorn actually hasn't been pivotal in any if the combats except where in first encounter of Tauler was concerned, he's been mostly a literal meat shield soaking the damage.  As for armor, that's kinda out of the question for him lest he lose some bonuses.  I like playing Grimbeorn but actually don't mind switching characters too if the difference in time would be long enough for a new generation.

PS   Ren the Unclean is a name given to one of the nazgul from when ICE had the property 20 some yrs ago before Decipher.

[Telcontar]

The early wouds and the weariness really changed the whole dynamic. This season has been a running gun fight since we started out.

And while I think we have some exciting things to do with these characters I think Doug is right that we should take stock of how the events have impacted our characters.

[tomcat]

Ren the Unclean is a name given to one of the nazgul from when ICE had the property 20 some yrs ago before Decipher.

That's my go to, Matt.

I love the ICE/MERP stuff. It is a well-spring of material and history. Granted it is not canon, but it is awesome for content.

[Eclecticon]

And again, I don't know that I'd agree with ICE's design choice.  I'm not trying to be a dick here, I'm just ruminating. 

My take on the Nazgul is that, after 3000+ years, all of it spent in direct contact with the Eye, their mortal identities are long-forgotten even by themselves.  Men just can't stand up to that sort of force of personality for long before it tears all their individuality and self-motivation away and leaves them nothing but extensions of Sauron's own will.  That's what the invisibility or 'hooded rider' form mean, to me.  They're form without force - the shape (and capabilities) of a hero of Men without there really being a person in there any more. 

[tomcat]

And again, I don't know that I'd agree with ICE's design choice.  I'm not trying to be a dick here, I'm just ruminating.  

My take on the Nazgul is that, after 3000+ years, all of it spent in direct contact with the Eye, their mortal identities are long-forgotten even by themselves.  Men just can't stand up to that sort of force of personality for long before it tears all their individuality and self-motivation away and leaves them nothing but extensions of Sauron's own will.  That's what the invisibility or 'hooded rider' form mean, to me.  They're form without force - the shape (and capabilities) of a hero of Men without there really being a person in there any more.  

No - you're not being a dick at all, Paul.

I agree with you that the Ringwraith's probably do not self-identify at all anymore. They are nothing more than the hand of their master.

But I like the stuff because it allows for play in different eras. If I wanted to run a game in a little known eastern country in Middle-earth and follow the climb and fall of a king that would one day be one of the Nine, ICE/MERP gives us a wealth of non-canon, but good stuff to work with.

And like I said above, I like backstory. I like to get those small pieces of a character to make me think about the country Chey, and who really was Ren the Fire-king. Why did he pursue power to the end of himself?

Anyway, to each his own. I do like your suggestion, too, about him being called the Spectre of Gundabad...so that is what he is now known as in our story. All the Shadow-folk of the vale region refer to him as that, so thanks for your game contribution there!    

Lastly, everyone - we have a new player starting. He is another Matt. He is not replacing Steve, but since Steve has been scarce, the added player should provide more PC interaction. Rorin is not out of our game, but he will be present only if Steve is able to participate. I know he had a lot of Real Life stuff going on.

Like all PC's that enter our game, Rorin will not disappear but remain a character in our story.

[BristolMatt]

Hi all, I'm Matt, freshly recruited from the Google+ TOR Community. I'm a 36yo US-born Brit living in Germany with my German wife and 2yo son.

I grew up reading and rereading my Dad's hardback copies of the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. In my 20s I eventually finished the Silmarillion, but haven't read any Tolkien for 10-15 years now. That said, a few years ago I played a bit of LOTRO and found myself slipping back into the setting and lore like an old pair of slippers.

I've been roleplaying since the 90s, but despite my love of Middle-Earth, never ended up playing MERP. I owned some of the books, but could never get anyone to play, and was a bit daunted by the crunchiness of the system. In my late 20s, I joined a great local group in Bristol. They all love D&D, which is primarily what we play, but every time I get a chance to GM, I steer them towards other systems which encourage narrative over mechanics, like FATE, Edge of the Empire, Apocalypse World, etc.

Anyway, I own TOR and quite a few supplements (I'm an RPG collector, it's a problem), but I've not actually read any of it. This is also my first proper foray into PbP/F, and I've not really read much of the posts here yet (not sure where to start!), so please be patient with me!

Glad to be aboard!