Hello from the American Southwest!

[Mithril Bib]

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[Taylor Steiner]

Welcome!

[Iodo]

Welcome to the forum

[Elleth]

Welcome!

... I think given your environment, second age Numenorean explorer makes quite a bit of sense. (Have you seen the latest newsletter? It's perfect timing, if Second Age is your interest)

[Mithril Bib]

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[Udwin]

I am struggling to nail down which culture I would like to base my persona on! I like geography and have some experience with orienteering and modern cartography (digital) and thought it might be nice to do a sort of military scout or perhaps a cartographer, but I have a hard time deciding on a specific culture.
I’m stuck between a 2nd Age Numenorean, Dol Amroth(ean?), Rohan, or Dwarf. Numenorean is the front runner, just because of how well-documented it is, but I’m missing a few inches of height to meet their typical stature.

Welcome! It's always nice to see newcomers already thinking about personas when they arrive. I wouldn't exactly call it well-documented, but given your location, a Numenorean scout/explorer in the general area of Umbar would probably work best (not exactly the same kind of desert, but better than nothing). Then the question to answer becomes, "how exactly would a Second Age Numenorean scout/explorer dress or be equipped?" because there's honestly not very much to go on. Good luck!

[Harper]

Welcome Ranger!

The 2A Numenorean explorer is a good fit.

Since you also mentioned a military scout/cartographer, an Ithilian Ranger might not be a bad choice if you want to put together a 3A or 4A kit. They are part of a military structure. They are also close to the desert climate of (inland) Umbar which fits with your current location and would still be valid if you move. While they seem to operate more as a unit than as a solitary Ranger, a plausible story can be cobbled together (special mission, retired, etc.).

[Cimrandir]

Mae govannen! Glad you see you made it!

Welcome!

... I think given your environment, second age Numenorean explorer makes quite a bit of sense. (Have you seen the latest newsletter? It's perfect timing, if Second Age is your interest)

Thank you all! I have read the most recent newsletter, very informative! I am very curious as to what you mean by this! Do you mean exploring a new land, that sort of thing?

So on the forum and with the MERS, we tend to encourage (but not require) the use of natural textiles in your pursuit of Middle-earth accuracy. This is both for safety reasons (wool doesn't catch light easily which is handy over an open flame) and for historical accuracy. Tolkien very specifically wrote that cotton was not known in Middle-earth. This typically leaves us with either wool or linen for our tunics and cloaks. Given that the average temperature in the Southwest is much higher than elsewhere, linen would be far more practical than wool as it breathes well and keeps you cool. Most of our more southern members use linen as the main fabric for their kit. In northwestern Europe, linen was mostly seen as a undergarment to wear under your wool tunic so folks just ditch the wool tunic instead. I'm a bit of an oddball as I don't really go out in kit in the summer so I have stuck with the wool for my winter treks.

All that being said, linen was used fairly frequently in the cultures that inspired Númenor. And much of their clothing styles also aid in keeping cool. Untailored flowing garments for air movement, etc.

So correct me if I'm wrong Elleth but I believe what she was trying to get across that for your best chance in staying cool and maintaining a high accuracy, you might look to Númenor since citizens of that island would look more to linen and flowing garments themselves.

[Eofor]

Welcome to the forums!

We've already chatted about your persona goals but just to cast the dwarven cat amongst these numenorean pigeons there are four dwarf houses that we know very little of that originate in the east.

It could be something for you to explore.

[Tom_Ranger]

Welcome Ranger.

Your desert life actually can be great advantage as your kit could and should be talored for that environment. We all could learn a lot from what you can come up with. I have made kits for the forest, jungle, ice and temporate environments but would be only guessing at how to set one up for the desert.

[Mithril Bib]

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[Iodo]

Dwarf is also very interesting, but their secluded nature does make me question just how open one would be to exploration, especially to a desert realm like Umbar.

There is always prospecting as a valid dwarven excuse for the exploration of new lands

[Elleth]

Ah - I was just talking about immersion in the natural environment, though clothing differences is also a consideration, yes.

In the southwest I could also imagine squinting a bit and seeing far Rhun, but I imagine the flora is different enough that would be a bit challenging sometimes. I imagine one doesn't smell much sagebrush on the steppe. Still, nice horse country in both places.

[Udwin]

2nd Age Numenorean seems like a very interesting choice after reading the most recent newsletter. The Mediterranean influence isn’t something I’ve considered in the past, but I do like. I am not seven feet tall though, so this would have to be taken with a grain of salt I suppose. Maybe Numenoreans that are shorter in stature are employed as forward scouts.

You're not far off! Our clearest description for 'Numenorean scout'-types is in UT (Gladden Fields, note 7), which says
"In war they [horses] were used only by couriers, and by bodies of light-armed archers (often not of Numenorean race)." If you don't think you can pull off a true Numenorean (let's face it, there are few who can!) that may be a seed for you to start with.

[Mithril Bib]

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