Rangers and High Elves in Mirkwood

[GANDALF970]

Is it appropriate to start Rangers and High Elves in the Darkening of Mirkwood. It is my first campaign and I have all the books. I was looking at these two and thought maybe they shouldn't be allowed to start a campaign in the Darkening of Mirkwood.

Let me know your thoughts.

[Deadmanwalking]

Thematically? Sure. Either could be invested in stopping bad things from happening in Mirkwood from a big picture standpoint.

Mechanically? Also sure...but probably not in the first game of ToR you've ever run. They're seriously different in operation from all the other Cultures (in several subtle ways they're actually notably weaker) and I thus wouldn't advise allowing them to players who hadn't played another culture previously in most cases, and certainly not as a first time LM.

[Falenthal]

Fully agree with Deadmanwalking.

They also have some individual rules that are different from the basic ones (Corruption healing for High Elves, different skill increase costs,...), and both you and your players will have enough stuff with the basic rules. Once you're all an experienced party during the Darkening campaign, players can retire their characters to go serve their hometown and create new heroes. Then you can all consider if a Ranger of High elf could come into play.

[GANDALF970]

Thank you so much for the advice. I am going to leave these to cultures out of my first game.

[Rich H]

Appreciate this thread has run its course but recently I swapped out a Ranger for a Beorning in my Darkening of Mirkwood campaign. The player has only played a Woodman before in TOR, and only for a few sessions, but it was quite evident after just a session of play using the Ranger that a more experienced set of hands was needed to RP one of the Dunedain - the main challenge stemming from the lack of access to the Fellowship Pool in order to use as a resource but also, significantly, to replenish one's own Hope. This is a massively significant element of play and is something that I suspect is challenging even for a veteran player. It is only compounded further if the character is away from their lands where undertakings are available to support their dwindling Hope.

[Glorelendil]

This is a massively significant element of play and is something that I suspect is challenging even for a veteran player.

I wouldn't call myself a veteran but I'm experiencing exactly this.

[Rich H]

This is a massively significant element of play and is something that I suspect is challenging even for a veteran player.

I wouldn't call myself a veteran but I'm experiencing exactly this.

Even if it isn't actual table time, G, I think you understand and get a lot of what the system is doing and the how many of the elements of it interact, etc. I would be interested in how people are finding the Rangers in play as I haven't had the opportunity to do so and likely won't for quite some time.

[Seosaidh]

Even if it isn't actual table time, G, I think you understand and get a lot of what the system is doing and the how many of the elements of it interact, etc. I would be interested in how people are finding the Rangers in play as I haven't had the opportunity to do so and likely won't for quite some time.

I've been running a face-to-face game. It has been rather erratic as far as when we meet, and we have only had 3 sessions spanning the Marsh Bell and Don't Leave the Path. I (perhaps foolishly) allowed the two races from Rivendell, and one player chose a Dunedain and another chose a High Elf. The Dunedain's player has been complaining about how it isn't fair that she can't draw from the Fellowship Pool, and doesn't think that she gets enough in return. Granted, since only 3 sessions have been completed, the full complement of Virtues and Rewards has not opened up yet, but just some food for thought. Part of the problem may be compounded by the fact that I have too many players (6!), and so just about all roles can be covered by the other races, even if each player specializes, and the Dunedain's player did not specialize. I also don't think that the player has a good grasp on why her character is East of the Misty Mountains.

[Glorelendil]

My Dunedain has been helping a lot of people pass their travel rolls, which is fun, but I've been incredibly stingy with Hope, which is less fun. I'm sort of stingy with Hope anyway, but with the Ranger I've only been spending it if a) it looks like it might be TPK without it, or b) it's a chance for some memorable storytelling.

[Rich H]

Interesting stuff...

Has anyone played for long enough that the different XP costs for weapons skills, Wisdom and Valour have come into play? Rangers start with 4 more 'previous experience' points than the Wilderland cultures but have a different scale when spending in-game XP. I suspect that 4 point advantage is going to get chewed up in a short space of time. Has anyone found that they end up being less capable than 'lesser' cultures what with this and their limitations on Hope or do their strong Virtues (things like Rumour of the Earth) really help to shape play?