TOM's Tolkien Traveller

[TheObsoleteMan]

Me

Howdy! I've been around MW (and PbP in general) for many moons now. I did apply to this game over on the classic MW site, but had to drop out. I've dabbled in dozens of RPGs, and my tastes are fairly eclectic. In general, I've come to prefer more narrative games, with less "crunch" and focus on tactical combat. And I like playing similarly diverse characters, but definitely like those who have room to grow in interesting ways.

My LotR knowledge stems mostly from the original trilogy (both book and film versions), and The Hobbit (book only, thank you). I've not delved much into the "historical" writings or the new Amazon series, but I love the world and sense of wonder all the same!

System Preference

I'm most interested in the Ironsworn game. It's a system I've been itching to try out for a while. But I won't say no to a TOR game either!

Character Concept

Name: Brenior (she/her)

Culture: Rangers of the North

Background: 

Brenior grew up listening to the stories of the golden age of the Dunedain—of the lost kingdom, the sad fate of her people, and heroes who rose and fell throughout the years. Thus, she came to venerate the past. She longed to experience fantastic quests, fight heroic battles and enshrine her name with the greatest of her kin. This was not so unusual a thing, especially among the more youthful rangers, but Brenior in particular had become enraptured with the idea of becoming a legend.

There is a time, however, when daydreams and ambitions turn from mere distractions into true dangers. For Brenior and a handful of her fellow rangers, that time came when they ventured too close to Dol Guldur. Hoping to find a secret way into the dark stronghold, Brenior and her comrades thought to bring glory to themselves and their families through their cunning. This foolish act would cost them dearly.

Brenior and four of her fellows were captured and imprisoned in the bowels of the fortress. They suffered under the hand of the orcs of Dol Guldur, who tortured them for information on the rangers who patrolled Mirkwood and the surrounding area. To their credit, Brenior and the others did not break. Eventually, they found an opportunity for escape—Brenior was the only one to make it out. She never learned the fate of her brothers and sisters in arms, whether they still lived or not.

Mentally and physically distraught, she was eventually found by a party of Woodsmen from Rhosgobel. They brought her back to the town, where she was nursed back to health. Slowly, she began to recover physically—mentally, she bore scars that would never fully heal. With the dreams of heroism and the desire for glorious battle driven from her, Brenior rededicated herself, this time to the aid and healing of those who suffered as she had.

Personality: Brenior is a cautious sort, loathe to resort to violence and always preferring to use mind over steel. Still, she is quick to offer her aid to others, often charging headlong into danger, but now she does so for the good of others, rather than out of a desire to prove herself. She has a deep phobia of enclosed spaces, and often prefers to sleep outside or in a common room. Her self-confidence is in need of repair, but she seeks to follow the example set by Radagast and the other healers she met in Rhosgobel.

Image credit: Svetlana Kostina

[Vladim]

Everything looks good so far! Let me know when you're ready for your prompt options.

[TheObsoleteMan]

I've added some background and personality info. Let me know if you come up with any interesting prompts for Brenior!

[Vladim]

Ok, here's some ideas. Feel free to include, blend, ignore or modify as you see fit:

• When the Necromancer was driven out of Dol Guldur, his captives escaped and took the formerly orcish outpost of Tyrant's Hill, led by a man named Mogdred, the lost son of one of the Woodmen chieftains. Brenior knew some of them. Recently they were admitted into the Woodmen; they are hard men and not liked by all, but good warriors with a hatred for orcs. Write about the nature of her relationship with these people. Is she sympathetic and friendly? Does she distrust them? 
• From time to time, Gandalf pases through these lands, and often speaks to his fellow wizard, Radagast. Write about Brenior's last meeting with the Grey Wizard.
• Not so many rangers remain in Wilderland or amongst the Woodmen now; many have travelled eastwards, returning to Eriador. Why does Brenior remain when others have long left?

[TheObsoleteMan]

(Here's my writing sample. Enjoy!)

 

“I just don’t trust ‘em,” Edgart said with a grunt.

Brenior looked up from the herbs she’d been sorting and glanced around. The grizzled, gray-bearded man squatting next to her nodded toward a group of men holding a hushed conversation a few meters away.

“That lot from Tyrant’s Hill,” he clarified. “Mogdred and his band of merry orc-killers.”

“What’s not to trust?” Brenior asked. Edgart shook his head and stood, the joints in his knees and back creaking as he did.

“There’s too much darkness in ‘em.”

The truth was, Brenior had sensed that too. An uneasy air followed Mogdred and his fellow survivors wherever they went, and they were rarely met with a warm welcome upon entering Rhosgobel. But there was also something deeply familiar in them.

“They do help to keep the orcs in their place,” she offered. Edgart grunted again.

 “And that’s all well and good. but those men have a fire in their eyes that doesn’t go out, no matter how many orc heads they take. I wonder what makes them so different from the Enemy they claim to stand against.”

Brenior put aside the herbs and stood, placing a calloused hand on the old man’s shoulder.

“Those men have been through something you can’t even imagine, my friend. The kind of suffering they experienced in that dark fortress… well, there are no words for it.”

She turned her head and gave a sad smile to Edgart the gruesome scar on her cheek stretching wider as she did.

“Trust me on that.”

Edgart deflated slightly, and gave Brenior an apologetic nod.

“Aye, you’ve got a point there, I suppose. They haven’t done us any harm, in any case. No point in brewin’ trouble where there’s none to be found.”

Brenior patted his shoulder and went back to her herbs. Not all of the Woodsmen were as easily swayed as Edgart. It would take no small amount of work to keep the peace, she imagined. Only a few years ago, the idea of playing ambassador between two such groups might have seemed dull, perhaps even pointless. Now, it was a duty she could not turn away from—not least because of her connections to both groups.

It would have been simple enough to leave them all to their own devices. Nearly all her kinsmen had returned westward a long time ago. She had more memories than blood on this side of Misty Mountains. Yet, that in itself gave her pause when she dreamed of returning home. It was because there were so few Rangers in the East that she had to stay. If she truly wished to uphold the legacy of her people, then she could not simply abandon those in need—whether that need be great or small.

A boy, no more than 10, with a mop of shaggy brown hair raced up to Brenior and Edgart, skidding to a stop just before plowing into the old Woodsman.

“Steady on there, laddy,” Edgart said, mock displeasure in his voice. “Where’s the fire, eh?”

“It’s him!” the boy cried.

“And who is him?” Brenior asked, trying to mask her amusement at the boy's excitement.

“Gandalf! The Grey Pilgrim is come to take council with Radagast!”

Brenior felt a mixture of wonder and apprehension at the news. Would the wizard be bringing good tidings or ill? She gathered up the herbs into a satchel and dusted off her hands.

“Well then, let’s see what Gandalf the Grey has to say…”

Edited April 18, 2023 by TheObsoleteMan (see edit history)

[Vladim]

Excellent, thank you! I will mark you complete.