I’m running (and going to post) a tolkinesque adventure - using the CODA system of Decipher’s LORD OF THE RINGS RPG (plus a bunch of house rules that we have been using for so long that I frankly can’t remember what is in the book and what is not). The characters already have some advancements and are from some stories I did offline. Since the stats are somewhat lengthy, I will not publish them here, but try to mention the relevant values when I make rolls. Timewise, we are ca. fifty years after the Battle of the Five Armies (the one at the end of THE HOBBIT).
Instead, here follows a potted history of our heroes:
Eriathorn is the leader of this little group - both by virtue of actually being the one who knows where to go most of the time (he is an experienced tracker, knows much about living in the wild and generally is a good judge of situations) and by being the central character in the group. He is a warrior by trade and a Dunedain, a Ranger of the North, and as such has sworn fealty to Aragorn, but unless his chief calls, he mostly travels around with his friends - not quite by choice. He actually often doubts that they are quite sane - for some reason he does not know (actually because it is one of his ancestors) he has attracted the attention of a Ringwraith, who - while trying to capture, not kill him - will cut down anyone in the way of his plans without batting an eye.
Ambidextrous, he is a superb sword fighter, managing twice as much as any normal fighter, but his biggest asset is perhaps his versatility- while perhaps not being able to do the difficult tasks, he has enough understanding of what is needed to direct the effort successfully. He is well-travelled and has a good working knowledge of the geography of the Eregion (and to a lesser degree the neighbouring regions), but has made a special study of the dress and adornments of the different regions - often he is able to tell from a quick glance where a person hails from.
Galwenion is a noble of the House of Elrond. He trained as an archer in Elrond’s host, but as soon as he could, he put down his bow again - he still can shoot better and faster than most men can ever aspire to, though. Like his cousin, he has a gift both for healing and for smithcraft, although they pale compared to Elrond’s and are closely tied together - he can craft you a scalpel so sharp it cuts its box, but can barely produce anything that can successfully function as a shovel. Horse shoes he only can do since Theolin discussed with him how they are basically metal bandages for the hooves, and he will still take a very long time for them. Once finished, they are superb shoes, though.
Otherwise he has a smattering of skills as befits any noble - in the woods he is better at remaining unseen than even the ranger, he can be quite persuasive, but also intimidating and knows the basics of this and that. His perhaps biggest flaw is his pride - like all elves, he can get easily offended and descends into pure pigheaded stubbornness as a result. Nowadays, he mostly takes on the role of one of Elrond’s emissaries, tackling problems at his command when the half-elf does not have the time or inclination to get personally involved. When he was send to meet a delegation from Rohan and to guide them to Rivendell, he was attacked by a hunting party of orcs and wargs. A ranger jumped into the fray and saved his life, cutting down the warg that had already his teeth around the elf - something Galwenion never forgets and that binds him deeply to Eriathorn. Still, even together they might not have survived that, but fortunately the Rohirrim were quite close and Theolin immediately ordered a charge, which rather solved the problem.
The Rohirrim went to stay in Rivendell and rest, but Theolin, their Captain, joined forces with the two others to find out where the orcs had come from. Another warrior by trade, he specializes in mounted fighting and is rarely separated from Nightfirn, his enormous warhorse (spiteful tongues claim that while one half might be Mearas, the other half is certainly Gondorian plow-horse). While neither the fastest nor the most graceful horse in Rohan, the stallion is battle-trained, steady and extremly strong and Theolin would not exchange him for the king of the Mearas himself. The horse’s name comes from his coat - an everchanging grey with black marks that looks like firn at night over dark stone.
His rider is kin to the king and has from birth been trained in warfare - he is the professional fighter of the group, has seen battle both big and small and will fight with an indomitable spirit and fury that is seldom seen - only standing down once the enemy is vanquished, no matter how bad his own condition. When not fighting, however, he is extremely good-natured, a sportsman and jester and never too proud to see to the practical side of things.
When time and space allow it, he can deliver a devastating charge attack, and knows how to handle nearly all kinds of weapons to some degree, but since a spear is not always the most practical weapon, he is also the only one in the group who is trained in unarmed combat. Books and book-learning are not his forte - he greatly prefers the outdoors and movement to sitting quietly and reading.
Melea of Tharbad is the last in the group, the only woman and non-fighter, and at first was included only because Elrond himself ordered it. She often feels a bit off amongst all these nobles - there never was any question that Eriathorn is more than a simply woodsman, Galwenion might try to hide it generally, but if need be, he can become the most lordly of all of them, and even Theolin had led slip accidentally that king Fengel is actually an uncle of sorts and that his position as leader of the delegation to Rivendell is one of high status. Melea in turn is only the daughter of a fisher from a small settlement at the edge of the abandoned city of Tharbad. Her mother had been ill most of her life and since she was a young girl, Melea kept her company and cared for her while her father worked. During that time, she read every book she could find and started to work as a scribe to supplement their income - something that became even more important when her father died. There are quite a number of books in the ruins of Tharbad, and Melea has probably read the majority of it - quite often while making beautiful copies to be sold to loremasters as far away as Gondor and Esgaroth. While she faithfully transcribed and translated every sentence, she began to understand how the forces of nature could be made to obey a strong-willed and gifted individual - which she was. Confronted with a dying mother and an ever-precarious existence, she began to explore that path, never wanting more than to ease her mother’s burden a bit. Unfortunately, even the best intentions did not prevent some mistakes - she could only learn by experimenting, after all - and the books that she had did not really teach the kind of magic that she needed. The closest she came to healing her mother was to make her appear more healthy, but the more she tried to force the matter, the more she actually twisted her mother’s life force.
By some good fortune (and a tip from his mother in law), Elrond (who had actually at one point aquired a book from her) came upon her before she could complete the path she had started on. He held her as she had to end the spell and let her mother die - even the halfelf could do nothing more but ease her pain at this point. He then took the young woman away to Rivendell - both to keep an eye on her in case the magic had already twisted her mind, and to keep her safe from those who would exploit her powers. He also quite hoped that Gandalf might have an idea what to do with her, but the wizard is of course at the moment otherwise occupied. Making Eriathorn take her along solved a few problems for Elrond - she would not get bored or feel a burden, someone else could keep an eye on her, she had some skills the group had been missing so far, and friends with good judgement would probably be the best help she could get to stay on the side of the Light. Elrond is the only one who knows the full extend of her powers so far, although Galwenion has recently begun to suspect them and has made her promise to confess to Eriathorn what she can do.
Instead, here follows a potted history of our heroes:
Eriathorn is the leader of this little group - both by virtue of actually being the one who knows where to go most of the time (he is an experienced tracker, knows much about living in the wild and generally is a good judge of situations) and by being the central character in the group. He is a warrior by trade and a Dunedain, a Ranger of the North, and as such has sworn fealty to Aragorn, but unless his chief calls, he mostly travels around with his friends - not quite by choice. He actually often doubts that they are quite sane - for some reason he does not know (actually because it is one of his ancestors) he has attracted the attention of a Ringwraith, who - while trying to capture, not kill him - will cut down anyone in the way of his plans without batting an eye.
Ambidextrous, he is a superb sword fighter, managing twice as much as any normal fighter, but his biggest asset is perhaps his versatility- while perhaps not being able to do the difficult tasks, he has enough understanding of what is needed to direct the effort successfully. He is well-travelled and has a good working knowledge of the geography of the Eregion (and to a lesser degree the neighbouring regions), but has made a special study of the dress and adornments of the different regions - often he is able to tell from a quick glance where a person hails from.
Galwenion is a noble of the House of Elrond. He trained as an archer in Elrond’s host, but as soon as he could, he put down his bow again - he still can shoot better and faster than most men can ever aspire to, though. Like his cousin, he has a gift both for healing and for smithcraft, although they pale compared to Elrond’s and are closely tied together - he can craft you a scalpel so sharp it cuts its box, but can barely produce anything that can successfully function as a shovel. Horse shoes he only can do since Theolin discussed with him how they are basically metal bandages for the hooves, and he will still take a very long time for them. Once finished, they are superb shoes, though.
Otherwise he has a smattering of skills as befits any noble - in the woods he is better at remaining unseen than even the ranger, he can be quite persuasive, but also intimidating and knows the basics of this and that. His perhaps biggest flaw is his pride - like all elves, he can get easily offended and descends into pure pigheaded stubbornness as a result. Nowadays, he mostly takes on the role of one of Elrond’s emissaries, tackling problems at his command when the half-elf does not have the time or inclination to get personally involved. When he was send to meet a delegation from Rohan and to guide them to Rivendell, he was attacked by a hunting party of orcs and wargs. A ranger jumped into the fray and saved his life, cutting down the warg that had already his teeth around the elf - something Galwenion never forgets and that binds him deeply to Eriathorn. Still, even together they might not have survived that, but fortunately the Rohirrim were quite close and Theolin immediately ordered a charge, which rather solved the problem.
The Rohirrim went to stay in Rivendell and rest, but Theolin, their Captain, joined forces with the two others to find out where the orcs had come from. Another warrior by trade, he specializes in mounted fighting and is rarely separated from Nightfirn, his enormous warhorse (spiteful tongues claim that while one half might be Mearas, the other half is certainly Gondorian plow-horse). While neither the fastest nor the most graceful horse in Rohan, the stallion is battle-trained, steady and extremly strong and Theolin would not exchange him for the king of the Mearas himself. The horse’s name comes from his coat - an everchanging grey with black marks that looks like firn at night over dark stone.
His rider is kin to the king and has from birth been trained in warfare - he is the professional fighter of the group, has seen battle both big and small and will fight with an indomitable spirit and fury that is seldom seen - only standing down once the enemy is vanquished, no matter how bad his own condition. When not fighting, however, he is extremely good-natured, a sportsman and jester and never too proud to see to the practical side of things.
When time and space allow it, he can deliver a devastating charge attack, and knows how to handle nearly all kinds of weapons to some degree, but since a spear is not always the most practical weapon, he is also the only one in the group who is trained in unarmed combat. Books and book-learning are not his forte - he greatly prefers the outdoors and movement to sitting quietly and reading.
Melea of Tharbad is the last in the group, the only woman and non-fighter, and at first was included only because Elrond himself ordered it. She often feels a bit off amongst all these nobles - there never was any question that Eriathorn is more than a simply woodsman, Galwenion might try to hide it generally, but if need be, he can become the most lordly of all of them, and even Theolin had led slip accidentally that king Fengel is actually an uncle of sorts and that his position as leader of the delegation to Rivendell is one of high status. Melea in turn is only the daughter of a fisher from a small settlement at the edge of the abandoned city of Tharbad. Her mother had been ill most of her life and since she was a young girl, Melea kept her company and cared for her while her father worked. During that time, she read every book she could find and started to work as a scribe to supplement their income - something that became even more important when her father died. There are quite a number of books in the ruins of Tharbad, and Melea has probably read the majority of it - quite often while making beautiful copies to be sold to loremasters as far away as Gondor and Esgaroth. While she faithfully transcribed and translated every sentence, she began to understand how the forces of nature could be made to obey a strong-willed and gifted individual - which she was. Confronted with a dying mother and an ever-precarious existence, she began to explore that path, never wanting more than to ease her mother’s burden a bit. Unfortunately, even the best intentions did not prevent some mistakes - she could only learn by experimenting, after all - and the books that she had did not really teach the kind of magic that she needed. The closest she came to healing her mother was to make her appear more healthy, but the more she tried to force the matter, the more she actually twisted her mother’s life force.
By some good fortune (and a tip from his mother in law), Elrond (who had actually at one point aquired a book from her) came upon her before she could complete the path she had started on. He held her as she had to end the spell and let her mother die - even the halfelf could do nothing more but ease her pain at this point. He then took the young woman away to Rivendell - both to keep an eye on her in case the magic had already twisted her mind, and to keep her safe from those who would exploit her powers. He also quite hoped that Gandalf might have an idea what to do with her, but the wizard is of course at the moment otherwise occupied. Making Eriathorn take her along solved a few problems for Elrond - she would not get bored or feel a burden, someone else could keep an eye on her, she had some skills the group had been missing so far, and friends with good judgement would probably be the best help she could get to stay on the side of the Light. Elrond is the only one who knows the full extend of her powers so far, although Galwenion has recently begun to suspect them and has made her promise to confess to Eriathorn what she can do.