Want to Play?

Got a song, a tale, some news of far off places or Orcs gathering? Step up and loose your word hoard.

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Manveruon
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Want to Play?

Post by Manveruon »

Just thought I'd put an idea out there - does anyone want to participate in some kind of free-form RPG and/or collaborative story involving our various ranger characters, as well as any others we'd like to throw in for fun? I've been dying to do something like this for a really long time just as an incentive for me to actively do a little more writing, but then Ringulf's description of his dwarf ranger character really made me realize that I'd love to get to know everyone's characters better - and what better way to do that than letting everyone interact in a fun, creative-writing type format?

I figure we can create a Google Document that is editable by all of us, and then we can all just pitch in and let the story grow organically. We can set it in Middle Earth during the War of the Ring, or even after the events of the books take place (in order to give us a somewhat cleaner slate), or we could make up our own "Tolkien-esque" fantasy world and populate it with our characters. The advantage of using Middle Earth is that there are many maps and references readily available to us so that we all have a good framework to play within. The advantage to creating our own world is that it doesn't matter if we "know the lay of the land" - we just make it up as we go along.

Anyway, who's in? Let me know what you think!
Maerondir Perianseron, also called “Mickel,” Halfling Friend - Ranger of the Misty Mountains
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Ringulf
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Re: Want to Play?

Post by Ringulf »

I would be happy to do a Proboards type forum or open my present one to accomodate it. If you are interested You can see the format and writing style if you want to jump on Halt's Playground or My Dverg Stav proboard site. The Dverg Stav site was the perseonal site I set up to collect data on the martial Art that I practice and how I was using that to write my novel. Halt's Playground is designed for exactly what you are talking about and its threads are keyed to certain geographical locations were they are placed as subcatagories and anyone approved on the board can start a thread and anyone else can join in and interact.
We could even vary the overall headings to encompass specific dates. Golden age Erebor, Post battle of 5 armies till the fellowship, fourth age etc. All very flexible and is great for encouraging writers young and old. Quite a bit of teaching can be done in the course of a story as well as it being fun and enjoyably creative. :mrgreen:

http://araluenrpg.proboards.com/

http://dvergstav.proboards.com/
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Manveruon
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Re: Want to Play?

Post by Manveruon »

I think in the beginning I'd like to start pretty simple, personally. So basically, a single plot thread, set in a single time and place, which can then diverge and grow organically as we go.

That being said, I'm open to different formats or servers, I just figured a Google document would be a relatively easy way to get everyone in the same place without everyone having to join somewhere new or signing up for an account of any kind.

In any case, I think the first thing we need to decide is in which world we would like to set the roleplay/story. Do we definitely want to use Middle Earth? If so, I would argue to set our game after the events of the War of the Ring, during a time period Tolkien didn't document particularly well, so that we could then make up our own history as we go, rather than being bound to the events of Tolkien's legendarium. Otherwise, as I said, we could create our own "Tolkien-esque" universe in which to set the events of our game, which would allow us the flexibility to basically do anything we want with it, without being bound to the specific geography/history/cultures of Middle Earth - which could be quite fun.

So which one should it be?
Maerondir Perianseron, also called “Mickel,” Halfling Friend - Ranger of the Misty Mountains
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Ringulf
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Re: Want to Play?

Post by Ringulf »

Using Middle Earth would give us all the background that Tolkien already produced, maps history etc. and frankly if we do our own we are just doing a literary D&D which I have no problem with but I think we being Merf should invest in Tolkien. There are not many other places that this can be done with such clarity or intensity as here.

As far as a time period forth age is cool, it gets everything out of the way so we can't alter plot but I would also think that the time period between the Hobbit and the Fellowship would be a very rich setting with a driving purpose.
Where in the period would determine how pointed the campaign would be toward the beginning of LOTR and the events of the first book.
70 years of play between the Battle of five armies and Bilbo's party, if we made it thirty years after the Battle we would have a New Erebor, Woodelf cooperation, Woodmen and Beornings to play with( despite PJ's Tigger imatation saying Beorn was the only one) and that's just East of the Misty Mountains!
West we have the Northern Rangers operating in full swing, Bree, the Shire, the Barrow Downs, Fornost, Anuminas. Ered Luin is now seeing increased trade and travel on the East Road to reletives in Erebor and the Iron Hills. Rhuador is ever wild save for Imladris, Cardolan is pooched and unfortunately Tharbad is a crumbling Den of theives bereft of it's former glory, but would make a phenominal jumping off point to the Ruins of The Elven city of Ost In Edhil were the mysteries of the Elven Smiths still may lie under the rubble. Alatar's treachery may lead us to answers about the Rings and the one ring and help us plan for what the enemy is building towards. And Balins re-colonization of Moria hangs in the ballance also.

I do have a side quest all set up from my MERP days that could be a lot of fun for a varied group of Rangers and extras in that time. Rangers elves Dwarves Hobbits men of Rohan or Gondor or Woodmen and Beijabar. We can write in quite a bit without altering the cannonical timeline.
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Daerir
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Re: Want to Play?

Post by Daerir »

I think this would be an awesome idea! I had a thought to make a short story about late in the 4th Age, but nothing ever came of it except thrown away papers lol.

The fact that there are still wild-men, goblins, orcs, and uruks means that rangers would be needed to round up the remainder of them. With the majority of the elven folk leaving, their forests would easily be overrun by orcs. It would also be very easy for power seekers to rise up and claim the abandoned lands in the name of whatever they wanted. There's so many ways we could approach this, in fact I would be willing to take all the information we gather when its all done and sort of morph it into a small book on a Word Document if thats what we want to do.

I think the first thing to do though would be to establish everyone's character backgrounds and abilities
An archer practices until he gets it right. A ranger practices until he never gets it wrong
~Halt, Ranger's Apprentice
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Udwin
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Re: Want to Play?

Post by Udwin »

Sam, it is my duty to strongly remind you that the Drughu that you call Wild-Men are to be counted among the Free Peoples and have always ever been enemies of Orc-kind. As their Sindarin name (Drúedain) suggests, they are a part of the race of Man.
Additionally, in a Fourth Age scenario any Ranger 'rounding up' Drúgs would be breaking the royal proclamation of the King:
"'Behold the King Elessar is come! The Forest of Drúadan he gives to Ghân-buri-ghân and to his folk, to be their own for ever; and hereafter let no man enter it without their leave!'" (RotK, 274).
Personae: Aistan son of Ansteig, common Beorning of Wilderland; Tungo Brandybuck, Eastfarthing Bounder, 3018 TA; a native Man of the Greyflood, c.850 SA
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Ringulf
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Re: Want to Play?

Post by Ringulf »

That is very true! the Pukel men as they were sometimes called by the Rohirrim, that later settled in as neighbors, truly helped the Riders of Rohan get to Minas Tireth in time to save the day.
PJ kinda skipped that though, I have to be thankfull that he just left it out and did not completely contradict or rewrite it.

Do you think perhaps that by "Wildmen" in this reference one might be thinking of the Dunlending wild men that fought with Saruman against the People of Rohan. Good old Sarku stirred them up well before the battle of Helms Deep. :mrgreen:
I am Ringulf the Dwarven Woodsman, I craft leather, wood, metal, and clay,
I throw axes, seaxes, and pointy sticks, And I fire my bow through the day.
Come be my ally, lift up your mead! We'll search out our foes and the Eagles we'll feed! :mrgreen:
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Daerir
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Re: Want to Play?

Post by Daerir »

Ringulf wrote:That is very true! the Pukel men as they were sometimes called by the Rohirrim, that later settled in as neighbors, truly helped the Riders of Rohan get to Minas Tireth in time to save the day.
PJ kinda skipped that though, I have to be thankfull that he just left it out and did not completely contradict or rewrite it.

Do you think perhaps that by "Wildmen" in this reference one might be thinking of the Dunlending wild men that fought with Saruman against the People of Rohan. Good old Sarku stirred them up well before the battle of Helms Deep. :mrgreen:
Thats it! Dunlendings I couldnt remember their names =P I almost put wildlings but then id be mixing LoTR and Game of Thrones
An archer practices until he gets it right. A ranger practices until he never gets it wrong
~Halt, Ranger's Apprentice
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