OOC THREAD

[Eclecticon]

Paul, before I put that stuff back, let me ask a question - do you not have a list along the left hand side of your screen that shows your campaigns and all the characters that are in it? [screen shot attached below]

No, I never had one of those.  Thanks for putting the drop-down back in - especially as keeping it up to date means more work for you.  It's not that I need to look at everyone else's character sheets, but it is interesting.  And it's handy when, like last adventure, we need to pilot another character around for a bit. 

Incidentally, I got a reply from BristolMatt:

Hi Paul, I'm on holiday, my sister is getting married this Saturday. No time for anything other than helping with wedding prep at the moment.

Hopefully we'll see more of him when all that's done. 

[GandalfOfBorg]

  oh ya, Europe gets a month vacation or so depending on the country and it comes in July or August usually

[Eclecticon]

It's more likely to be 'subject to operational convenience' as we say here in the land of Oz.  I'm not sure any European country actually says when workers have to take their annual leave.  'Cept maybe France.  French labour code be crazy, yo. 

[tomcat]

Hmm...interesting about your available lists on profiler. Maybe that is just a feature for GMs that use the campaign function.

I completely understand the need/desire to look over PC sheets. It is always fun to see character designs. It is also useful.

No big deal on putting it back and upkeep is not major, as we don't have a lot of character turnover.

[Eclecticon]

We haven't had a lot of character turnover.  Don't go jinxing things with your GM-words. 

[Eclecticon]

Okay, Middle-Earth loremasters, time to flex your brains!  This post got me thinking - where would the Woodmen be getting cinnamon from?  I'm assuming in this case it was probably bought at a trade fair that I recall Doug mentioning in Woodmen-Town an age of the world ago (but fairly recently in game time).  But whence came it prior to that? 

I could see a case being made for it being brought around the northern tip of the forest from Lake-Town, after the Men of the Lake brought it up-river from Dorwinion.  Prior to that, it probably grew in some unknown land on the other side of the Sea of Rhun (Dorwinion itself seems a bit too far north, but then tobacco somehow grows in a climate basically like southern England...).  This means that the spice itself a) is, measure for measure, probably the most valuable thing in Rhosgobel at the moment, and b) may possibly bear some unsuspected taint of Sauron-worshipers from the East. 

Thoughts?

[BristolMatt]

Hey all, I'm still about. Sorry for the silence, will be more proactive in about a week's time once all the wedding madness has died down.

Got both an AVIOC message alert email and a Google+ message, in case anyone was wondering, but only received one new email alert to a new thread being started.

[Telcontar]

The email alert is acting wonky, I am impatient so I just check the boards whenever I think about middle-earth. All the time basically.

Paul, I'll give that some thought....

[tomcat]

I shot out the email to Brandon to see if there is some setting that needs tweaked on his side regarding notifications. I am also checking the notifications configuration from my end.

As for cinnamon...I never thought that my post would create this kind of conundrum. I just wrote about a breakfast food / bakery good that I guess I take for granted.

So I will delve into this to see if I can keep a realism to our world of Middle-earth.

Cinnamon is a tropical evergreen tree that grows best at low altitudes in a moist climate. I have also read it can grow in sub-topical climes.

This said, I can see it being a potential import from the lowlands of Dorwinion, or as stated by Paul, somewhere from around the Sea of Rhun. I can also see it being an import brought in by merchants that ply the Bay of Belfalas. Trade is essential to most societies so I believe that merchant ships might still be welcome in Umbar or even further to the unknown south.

Economically speaking, the spice import all the way to Mirkwood and the wood-men would make it a valuable item and it might not be in the hands of common bakers. Perhaps the post should be changed to honey-buns.

But with all the above said, I can extend our belief a little by saying that Mirkwood is vast and countless herbs and spices would grow within. Maybe it is not cinnamon, but a cinnamon-like plant that grows locally and in abundance?

I don't know. It was not my wish to have a baked good become a question, but it certainly is fun to think about this stuff.

Anyway, I can change the item to baked honey buns, or we can go with my second option of Mirkwood harboring rare and tasty spices. I am not going to say that the baker in question has the wealth to have a rare southern spice imported to Rhosgobel - nor would they have the means to buy it off a random merchant van, as I believe it would be too expensive.

During the level of civilization that Middle-earth depicts, travel by people would truly be within close localities and thus their consumption of plants and animals would be limited to those localities, and thus strange herbs and spices might not be wanted - at least by the common folk. Wealthy lords might like rare and interesting fare, but commoners would stick to what is conveniently collected and edible.

So, again my argument will go back to the idea that Mirkwood offers up a cinnamon-like spice that the locals know is safe; that they like and cook with; and is common.

If Mirkwood does harbor these kind of treats, then we have just removed the value of cinnamon as a trade good. So, maybe they should be honey buns.

[Telcontar]

U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 8-11 are considered acceptable for some form of the cinnamon plant which grows at low altitudes in moist climates.This is pretty much north of the Ohio river into New England and into the great Lakes, which is surprising if I am reading the colors on the map right.

 

There are two non-mutually exclusive options:

Radaghast the Brown is a lover of all plant and animal life, this affinity of his is known to all who know him. As a result of having a semi-permanent home in Rhosgobel he frequently receives gifts and presents from folks that are trinkets or clippings of the flora and fauna from across Middle-earth.  Also being fascinated by the growth of herbs and spices the garden of the wizard often has items that are available that normally would not be suitable to the climate or region of the world.

As the wizard has no mind for the accumulation of material goods these presents often find their way to the Woodmen folk who dwell nearby.  The folk of Rhosgobel have only a limited idea of how valuable some of those resources are to the wider world and simply accept them as perk of having a resident wizard not truly realizing the exceptional nature of some of these simple gifts.

 

The sailors of fallen Numenor traveled all the shores of Arda east of the Undying Lands during their time as the masters of the water. Many strange and exotic plants and herbs were discovered that were not native to Numenor or Eriador. One such as this was cinnamon. The tree was first grown in Umbar and provided an excotic spice with seemingly magical powers.  This was soon traded and cultivated by the Men of the West and is still known in Gondor. While there is still a small source for the plant in Harondor, as well as legally questionable trade of the merchant Princes of Pelargir to acquire the spice.  While still uncommon cinnamon can still rarely be found in parts further north, mostly due to the Riverfolk who maintain a loose connection of trade along the Anduin River. The spice is hard to spoil and keeps for a long time, and is often traded for food or iron goods of more importance to the riverfolk.(the river Caravans are in either the Rohan book or one of the Wilderland books)

option 3. The spaceing guild
The spice must flow.

[tomcat]

Hey Tom,

How would you like to give us a phonetic spelling of your new character's name so I/we can say it when we read it?  

Would it be Mo-REE-roo-say?

[Telcontar]

Lol. Not my fault man, Tolkien was the philologist. I actually sat in the car yesterday while in traffic and tried saying it different ways.

More-ear Eww see? 

Its a Sindarin compound of Dark Wrath.

[tomcat]

Cool!

I like that better than mine.

[Telcontar]

And its Quenya, Sindarin is for the Vala loving tree worshipping wuss of heart.

Actually his using a quneya word for a name is a big F you to the Sindarin and actually shows his unrepentant nature for the deeds of the House of Feanor in the Kinslaying and other deeds of the Feanoreans.

[Eclecticon]

I'm going to enjoy disliking this guy.