Greetings all!

Further to some of the discussions around here, I'm beginning to put some thoughts down for a possible PbP campaign taking place here on these boards. I know myself, I won't be able to get a TOR campaign going here for some time, but would really really like to try running something.

To that effect, I'm looking for 4-5 stalwart adventurers who have been commissioned by the three Kings of the Wildlands to help patrol the roads and by-ways in the time after Smaug's defeat.

I'm thinking that an average posting rate of a minimum of once per day is adequate - though I understand there can be times when it could go faster, and some times when it could go slower. Also bear in mind that I am by no means an expert on Tolkien lore - and will only be using the material as presented in the TOR books and The Hobbit as canon to give all of us an equal footing.

I'll be using www.invisiblecastle.com for the die roller, unless someone knows a better place.

I'm still piecing together parts of the campaign, and am toying with the name of "The Setting of the West" as a title - but that's up in the air at this point.

So who want's in?

I'll play. I never get to actually play, as I run all the games that my group plays, and I would love to just play. I can easily post at least once a day.

And here is my character for Review

Sigvald son of Sigmund
Dragon-eyed Barding Warden
Cultural Blessing: Stout-hearted (On a Fear test, roll the Feat die twice and keep the best roll.)
Shadow Weakness: Lure of Power
Standard of Living: Prosperous
Specialities: Boating, Old lore, Shadow-lore
Distinctive Features: Cunning, Determined

Body 5 (8) | Heart 6 (7) | Wits 3 (5)
Damage 5 (5) | Parry 3 + 2 (shield) | Armour 2d
Endurance 28/28 | Fatigue 14 | Hope 14/14 | Shadow -/-
Experience - (-) | Valour 1 | Wisdom 2

Skills
Awe 1 | Inspire 2 | Persuade 3
Athletics 0 | Travel 2 | Stealth 0
Awareness 1 | Insight 2 | Search 1
Explore 2 | Healing 2 | Hunting 0
Song 1 | Courtesy 2 | Riddle 0
Craft 1 | Battle 2 | Lore 1

Weapon Skills
Long sword 3 | (Swords) 2 | Spear 1 | Dagger 1

Virtues
Swordmaster
When fighting in the Defensive stance, add the Encumbrance rating of the sword he is using (Long sword 3) to Parry.

Gear
Long sword | 5/7 | 10 | 16/18 | 3 | disarm
Dagger | 5 | G | 12 | 0
Shield | +2 | 3
Leather corslet | 8 | 2d | Leather armour

This looks good Caul

I'll keep this thread open for a little while longer - and failing any more interest, perhaps we'll look at running a solo style adventure somehow

Sure, whatever works!

i would like to get in on this. posting once a day should not be a problem. when i get home from work i'll figure out my character. now to tryout that dwarf template i've been eyeing....

I'm very keen as well - another always the GM never get to play. I like the patrolling idea. Daily posts would be no problem and we'd definitely need a hobbit right? Will post up some stats later today.

You can count me in too. I've never played an RPG any way other than face-to-face but I'd like to try.

Posting daily is no problem. I'll play a Woodman if that works.

Sounds great all!

Once the characters are together, I'll setup a thread with the intro and such. With some luck (and if I manage a break from my CIMA studies), I should have the intro post up over the weekend.

A little more background, you will be starting in Esgaroth - and once we have all the characters we can hash out how the fellowship was formed.

Just a small update here.

I've setup a wiki/area over at Obsidian Portal for this campaign:

The Setting of the West Campaign

I'm not sure how it works with respect to players - I'd imagine you can apply to play...somehow. Otherwise, feel free to PM your email address and I'll send an invite.

Ciao for now!

Wiki / Portal looks cool. Will PM you.
___
Lotho Rumble, A Hobbit and Treasure Hunter
Likes: Smoking, Story Telling and on occasion perhaps a little Burglary
Traits: Keen Eyed and Nimble
Favoured skills: Athletics, Travel, Stealth and Awareness
Gear: Short Sword (a favoured weapon), Bow (he is a Fair Shot), Dagger, Leather Corslet, Cap of Iron and Leather
___
By the numbers:
Body: 4 (7), Heart: 5(6), Wits: 5 (7)
Wisdom: 2 (Fair Shot), Valour: 1
Damage: 4, Parry: 5, Armour: 2d+1
Endurance: 21, Fatigue: 12, Starting Hope: 17
Skills:
- Awe: 0, Inspire: 0, Persuade: 2
- Athletics: 1, Travel: 2, Stealth: 3
- Awareness: 2, Insight: 1, Search: 2
- Explore: 0, Healing: 0, Hunting: 0
- Song: 2, Courtesy: 3, Riddle: 2
- Craft: 1, Battle: 1, Lore: 1

I'm another one who is always GM (now LM). Never role-played online, but I'd be up for it if the Fellowship can take one more. Posting daily should be manageable and I have a character concept for a Woodman in mind.

Augrim, Dwarven Slayer, Age 75

Background: A Lesson in Revenge

Cultural Blessing: Redoubtable
Shadow Weakness: Curse of Vengance
Talents: Smith-Craft, Smoking, Enemy-Lore (Orcs)
Traits: Bold,Hardy

Body-6(8) Heart-3(6) Wits-5(6)
Endurance-31 Hope-9 Valor-2

Fatigue-16 Shadow-0 Wisdom-1

Damage-6 Parry-5 Armor-3d+4

skills: (* are favored)
Athletics* 1

Awareness 1

Explore 2 Inspire* 2 Search 3

Song 1 Travel 3 Riddle 2

Craft* 3 Battle* 2

Mattock* 3 Short Sword 1 Dagger 1

Equipment:

Mattock (Grievious) D:8 E:9 I:18 Enc: 3
Short Sword D:5 E:10 I:14 Enc:1
Dagger D:3 E:R I:12 Enc 0
Mail Shirt Enc:12 Protection: 3d
Helm Enc:6 Protection: +4

The characters are looking good guys!

And with Eluadin speaking up, that gives us five PCs, which I think is good, so I'm going to close off recruiting for now.

In the meantime, I'm going to put the characters up on the Wiki - and if those who have not sent in characters or Wiki requests could do so asap that'd be great. I'm hoping to have the first post up at some point over the weekend (during one of my hopeful study breaks )

Cheers all!

what do we need to do on our end? should we register with Obsidian Portal?

Just send me a PM with your email address - I don't believe this forces you to register with Obsidian Portal, but it could. As a player - this is a freebie for you (as I pay the fees for the portal).

I'll have my character done later today.

No rush mate I'm going to be tied up some with studies anyways...I do most of this prep work while at work

Ok - invites to all emails have been sent, Augrim, Lotho and Sigvald have been setup on the wiki.

Those to whom I've sent emails - please do check your spam filters for the invite. If not, I'd suggest for simplicity create an account on the Portal (it is free), and then send me a PM there.

Note only maps, and "fluff" will be stored on the wiki - game play will occur here on the forums for all to see.

Ciao for now guys!

NAME: Alun “The Sparrow”
Culture: Woodman of Wilderland
Standard of Living: Frugal
Cultural Blessing: Woodcrafty
Calling: Warden
Shadow Weakness: Lure of Power

~TRAITS~
Specialties: Shadow-lore, Mirkwood-lore, and Leechcraft
Distinctive Features: Swift and Tall

~ATTRIBUTES~
Body: 3 / 5 Heart: 5 / 6 Wits: 6 / 9

~COMMON SKILLS~
Awe: 0 Inspire: 1 Persuade: 0
Athletics: 2 Travel: 2 Stealth: 2
Awareness: 2 Insight: 0 Search: 0
Explore*: 3 Healing*: 3 Hunting*: 2
Song*: 1 Courtesy: 0 Riddle: 1
Craft: 1 Battle: 1 Lore: 1

~WEAPON SKILLS~
(Bows): 3 Long-hafted Axe: 1 Dagger: 1

Endurance: 25 / Fatigue: 12
Hope: 15
Wisdom: 2
Valour: 1
Armour: 2d / -
Parry: 6 / -
Damage: 3

~REWARDS AND VIRTUES~
Natural Watchfulness

~WEAPONS~
Bow: D 5 / E 10 / I 14 / Enc 1
Long-hafted Axe: D 5,7 / E G / I 18,20 / Enc 3
Dagger: D 3 / E G / I 12 / Enc: 0

~GEAR~
Armour: Leather Corslet
Headgear: None
Shield: None
Travel Gear

I'm thinking about naming Lotho my Fellowship Focus...as he is small and must be protected.

and given that dwarves have low starting hope i will avoid naming any fellowship focus to lessen the chances of gaining shadow point. besides, dwarves rarely concern themsleves with the troubles of others

Um...don't you have to name a Fellowship focus?

Nevermind, just reread the section on Fellowship focus...

Really excited to play TOR, and keen to try PbP for the first time. But starting to think it would be better to be clear with each other what sort of game we want before we get into this. It may be we are all on the same page, but play interest and styles can vary widely so I'm keen to check before we get into this.

The first reason Madwill gives doesn't interest me at all. If this game is just about min-maxing and combat it's not for me and I'll happily bail now and let you guys get on with it. (I also don't agree it is good idea because without a Fellowship Focus you don't have a chance to get one Hope back at the end of an adventure either.)

The second is awesome, and is exactly what I'm keen to see. I love the image of a stoic dwarf who doesn't make friends easily, and I'd love to see when, how and with who he forms a friendship. I'd much prefer characters to change and develop over the game - as well as doing tough combats and journeys.

I'm playing a Hobbit because I think it will be interesting to see him grow from a comfortable Shire citizen to a tough hero through the trials of the world. This fits will Caul's suggestion of having Lotho as a friendship focus, and I think Lotho would pick someone like Sigvald.

I can min-max with the best of them, but I've deliberately tried not to make Lotho the best at either close or ranged combat (via a 2 / 2 skill split), because I want him to be versatile / handy at the start. I understand this is not as optimum as 3 / 1 skill choice which everyone else seems to be going for, but then playing a Hobbit is not optimum anyway.

Are you guys looking for challenge AND character growth or just here for the challenge? If the former, what potential ways do you see your characters changing over the campaign?

This is a great question! And, in a similar vein, I'm mostly about character development within a system really suited to the way character development occurred in all of Tolkein's stories.

That said, here is what I have in the back of my thoughts for Sparrow. (Pardon what might be a lengthy post, but here is some initial thoughts on character back story.)

Sparrow's parents died when he was young; before the Great Battle [of Five Armies] during an orc raid from the Mountains. While he had kin to look after him, he spent most of his time at Rhosgobel where his SWIFT mind [given his high WITS, I would like to make this trait apply to his mental faculties as well as his physical aptitude] caught the attention of Radagast. Enchanted by the tales and songs of his people, Sparrow finds himself following, more and more, the teaching's of Radagast.

[This next bit I hope to be quite important for ongoing character development] Among the many lessons, Radagast taught Sparrow people not only needed a strong-arm to safeguard them, they also needed protection [HEALING and LEECHCRAFT] from the physical ailments and blights leftover by the Necromancer to haunt the inhabitants of Mirkwood. [Here I want to stretch the conventional notion of a Warden, and create a tension between developing combat skills and Sparrow's ability to bring healing and succour.]

Now Sparrow's tutelage under Radagast was more than just songs, history and healing. As Gandalf says in the Hobbit, "Never you mind. I was finding things out, as usual; and a nasty dangerous business it was" (The Hobbit, 24), Radagst must be constantly finding things out? Among the many possible means [of which the Wood-folk probably know little but speculate a lot], he "finds" things out through his so called pupil's among Wilderlands' Wood-folk. And, this is where Sparrow's naming comes in: He's one of Radagast's sparrows, although of the two-legged and upright variety most certainly bound to the earth. [How this might play out, only the Wise can say. However, during character generation I developed his Travel, Explore and Awareness with this in mind. Hopefully this development can support not only the backstory but also tie in his cultural virtue as well. Nice and neat conceptually with oh so many possibilities for twists and turns I hope...]

Now Sparrow is still a young man of twenty or so; and, despite Radagast's wonderful tutelage, he hungers for a bit of the heroic. [A moment for confession, I love the idea of wielding a sword. It was difficult to resist the temptation to purchase skill in a long sword and have that be my main weapon. Yeah, then good sense intruded on my flight of fancy and I realized that is a lot of starting experience to burn when skill could be needed elsewhere in the company.] Sparrow's father was a Warden of his people as well. From his death was recovered his long sword, a rare item for a Woodman of Wilderland. Sparrow in some sense hungers for his father's sword and the skill to use it. He longs to wield the sword as once did his father in the defense of their people. [Thinking forward to future development and the decision between virtues and rewards, I would like to set up another tension in Sparrow. Naturally following Radagast's instruction would lead to STAUNCHING SONG and development of the skill SING. There is, however, this sword out there and that could provide a great future reward. But, then hard earned advancement points would have to go to develop skill in LONG SWORD. Does that happen before he gets the sword, or does he claim the sword while an incompetent swordsman? More importantly, does he pass idly bye his calling to protect through his skills of healing to run headlong into conventional heroism and a quick demise...maybe like his father? Wow, wouldn't that suck! Somewhere in the future to find out your father was more brash than valorous, proud than generous, more like a Boromir-type than a Faramir...?]

That's enough for one post. But, hopefully, this provides a taste of the campaign that holds my interest.

I'm all about story myself, and so far, from the other characters, I don't really see anyone that Sigvald would focus upon, save as I said Lotho as he views hobbits with a bit of awe (based on the stories his father told him of Bilbo) and as folk to be protected.

This discussion on characters has been excellent all, and has provided me with some fodder for the upcoming game I especially like Eluadin's backstory and how he tied his stats into it - very nice!

All characters save Narl's are up on the wiki now, and have been assigned to the respective players - so if you notice anything wrong with them, please go ahead and update if necessary.

I'm making the presumption that you all have copies of the game, and thus have a copy of the map available. Would it be helpful to post up some kind of editable map up on the wiki (if I can...haven't tried) to assist in planning journey's?

I can't think of anything else atm, so I'm hopeful we can start soon.

Cheers all!

Can't wait.

I've got two games of TOR I'm running right now so I think it is best to leave my spot in this game to someone who will have more time to devote to it. Hope you understand.

Oki doki fair nok Is it ok I remove you from the player list then on the wiki Narl?

So that means we have room for one more then - in the meantime, I'll work on getting the first post up at some point today then. If you guys can get a little more info on your backgrounds, and more importantly how you became a fellowship that'd be fantastic. Unless you guys would like to RP out the formation of the fellowhip?

Ooh ohh! Pick me, pick me!

LOL - ok mate yer in

Send me a request on Obsidian Portal and I'll get you setup asap. Just favourite the campaign there and I'll get you in.

And dangit - not getting email notifications again from here *grumble* - wondering if we can make the forum at the Portal work for our purposes or no? What say you all?

Sorry guys, bad news from me as well.
Just scoped out my new project at work today and there are going to be plenty of late nights, which means I'm doubtful I can keep up daily posting and even my regular group through this time.
I'd rather not fail to deliver after this kicks off, so I'm going to drop out now as well.
Hopefully there is another Kneverwinterknight out there desperate to get in so I don't leave you short (no Hobbit pun intended).
Look forward to reading about your exploits from the sidelines, with probably more than a little envy.
All the best,
Wightbred

Kalan - drop me from the player list on the wiki as per your other post.

No worries mate - crap happens Any chance I can still use Lotho ?

Thankfully my job tends to have some slow spots during the day so I manage to update things during the day - my evenings for the forseeable future are going to be hellish tho :S

Kalan - You can definitely use Lotho, but unfortunately I erased him on the wiki. Sorry, was trying to clean up and leave less for you to do. Is there a way to get him back easily?

kalan... any chance for a late joiner? I see people dropping out and I'm thinking... maybe there's a spot?

/wolf

Thanks mate - and no worries. I have all the characters backed up in a document file (since it's easier for me to create the wiki entries offline) So I have a full backup

Of course there's room for you mate

If you've been following the posts - I think you know the drill to join up

I felt like playing a Woodsman. I noticed that we all ready have one in the group, but I hope he don't mind: If he does just speak up and I'll play something else. But I think it would be cool if we could have a common background and share some village/family/history but still be rather different. So I took care not to pick the same traits, calling, virtue, etc to make us "different".

Name: Wolf Goodman Culture: Woodman of Wilderland Standard of Living: Frugal
Cultural blessing: Woodcrafty Calling: Wanderer Shadow weakness: Wandering-madness
Specialties: Beast-lore, Mirkwood-lore, Folk-lore
Distinctive features: Forthright, Hardy
Body: 3 Heart: 4 Wits: 7
Body (favoured): 6 Heart (favoured): 6 Wits (favoured): 8
-Common Skills-

• Awe: 0 Inspire: 1 Persuade: 0
• Athletics: 2 Travel: 2 Stealth: 2
• Awareness: 2 Insight: 0 Search: 0
• Explore: 3 Healing: 3 Hunting: 2
• Song: 1 Courtesy: 0 Riddle: 2
• Craft: 1 Battle: 1 Lore: 1

-Weapon Skills-

• (Bows): 2
• Long-hafted axe: 2 damage: 5/7 edge: G injury: 18/20 enc: 3
• Dagger: 1 damage: 3 edge: G injury: 12 enc: 0
• Bow: 2 damage: 5 edge: 10 injury: 14 enc: 1

-Virtues-: Hound of Mirkwood
-Rewards-:
-Gear-

• Leather corslet enc: 8
• Cap of iron and leather enc: 2

Endurance: 24 Starting Endurance: 24 Fatigue: 14 Hope: 14 Starting Hope: 14 Shadow: 0 Armour: 2 Headgear: 1 Parry: 7 Shield: NaN Damage: 3 Ranged: 3 Wisdom: 2 Valour: 1 Experience: 0 Total Experience: 0