I am curious to other's thoughts on PCs from Bree-land. They don't seem to be scholarly as they have no idea who the Rangers are so guess Scholar is out. But, they know their letters. They don't seem very war like either so I assume no Slayers either. Maybe Treasure Hunter and Warden? FOTR states they got on well with Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits ,so maybe wanderer?

Your thoughts,

HN

I've given the Bree-landers a great deal of thought, as they are the default setting in my long-running game (I can't wait till C7 releases Errantries of the King ). I agree with your interpretations of the callings for the same reasons - I also intend to reconsider Scholar & Slayer, but will allow the other three.

That said, however, have you considered the possiblity of allowing your players to create Dúnadain from that area?

Yes, the narrative reads that no other men had dwellings within a hundred leagues of the Shire, et al, but the possibility for exceptions in the Bree-land enables you to write plots where they seek to become Rangers & tangle with the Ruffians.

BTW, I make the player-heroes who want to play Rangers have to meet one first, who then sponsor them before the crack company. The Rangers are rare! The candidates then have to pass/survive 'The Ordeal' (a race in the wild using their various skills) before the Rangers vote to allow them entry. The players usually love the challenge & extra touch, & relish their new-found status - if they survive .

Having played LotRO, I'd not say that Bree-landers don't have Scholars or Slayers ... just that they're Unusual Callings. There are a few quests and areas (the Scholar's Stair Archives and the Skirmish Camp) that would provide examples of folk who have these callings. I'd definitely say that Warden (several folk on the outskirts that provide quests that are not Dunedain are probably of this mindset) and Treasure Hunter (there are two separate groups of folk in the Barrow-downs that fit this calling) are Suggested Callings. Wanderer is somewhere in the middle. BTW, I reference LotRO as playing it really helped me get a grasp on aspects of Middle-earth that I heretofore hadn't considered.

I'm in the same boat you are, Thorsgold; but it's important to note that the LotrO game is not always Canon to the books; nor is the movie in parts;

BUT - it may be close enough for any given player-group so long as you don't have middle-earth sages and purists populating your game, what you learn in LotrO will no doubt suffice.


I have a blend - some who really know the books, some who only know the movies, some who liked the movies but don't really retain all the more subtle nuances of the lore; but where they don't know canon lore, they do play LotrO so they can relate to most of what we do.

I'd say Bree-landers could be slayers for sure. Scholars is probably their least likely calling.

And I don't think they don't "know" what the rangers are - they just don't trust them. Even the bartender in Prancing Pony pointed out to Frodo that Strider was a Ranger - he just didn't truly trust or understand all they were about - which most non-rangers of Dunedain don't.

What server do you play on? One of the stories on LotrO that I absolutely love but doesn't seem to fit into the Canon of Tolkien's wriitng (at least as far as I can find) was the story of Laerdan and his daughter Narmaleth (which you follow at end of Volume 1 Epic Book quest). I would love to put some of that into my TOR campaign. And what I've learned is that the players - even those who truly know the books - don't care one lick if you include something that they can't identify as some historic fact of a fictional world, because they still get to enjoy the game and the story regardless - and be surprised by something. So long as it doesn't break verisimilitude for them or break the canon (like changing Frodo to a dwarf), then it's a win-win for all.

Breefolk are related to Dunlendings aren't they? I view them as having become the Human version of Hobbits, probably due to their living right on the doorstep of the Shire.
Even their names are a bit 'Hobbity'.
I see the Ruffians as being 'treasure seekers' of a sort. The sort that doesn't dig treasure out of the ground but out of the pockets of accosted travellers.

For the most part the breelanders are a blended mixture . The are descendant of the Edainic folk who never crossed over the the blue mountains in to beleraind,this is found in the unfinished tales stories about the return of the numenorians to middle earth. Else where it is said the descend from the same stock of men who, like the dunlendings, lived in the white mountains.

Thanks for the replies everyone.

Sir Kicley, to clarify the book says that the Bree-landers knew nothing of the Ranger's origin ( ( 3rd paragraph At the Sign of the Prancing Pony) or their mission until the Rangers were away ( Homeward Bound the paragraph that starts "How long will that be?"


I though I don't play any MMO I have checked out LOTRO for info and inspiration and it does seem to have the right feel from my limited knowledge.

HN

It certainly has that! The only reason why I and the family still play it. It just feels right.


We've tried other MMO's; some good - some not so good - some horrible. None were as good AND felt right.

The new Star Wars is the only other comparable.


And so far I've gotten major influence for my TOR campaign from my hours spent on LotRO.