So that would be Brand II, son of Bard II? (Like I can remember that far back…I’m lucky if I remember what I had for dinner the previous day)
Actually Brand II is the grandson, but I did not mention that anywhere. His father was Girion II. His oldest son is Brion and second and third sons are Bard & Bain.
I am going to hold off on the battle just a little longer.
I don’t know if you caught it, but against these goblins, you get two attacks instead of one as a Ranger.
Thanks, I did catch it (and Malacandra reminding me that while I am a D&D ranger, I’m not a ME ranger). Maybe with two attacks I should have added a few more dedications out there.
Grandson of Bard II. Hmmm, either Bard II and/or Girion II met early deaths, or Brand II is a fairly young king.
Girion II (FA8-FA51) died young in Battle and Bard II is young. He was born in FA32 and already has 5 children. Three sons and two daughters. The eldest son is 10.
I see that being King of Dale isn’t that demanding of a job, as he has a lot of time for…outside activities.
It’s good to be the King.
There hadn’t been a post to the controll thread in 2 days. That just didn’t seem right.
Moose asks Ghân what the difference is between elf, dwarf and wose jokes.
Ghân explains.
An Elf says “Is that a ferret in your trousers? Oh, that reminds me of something amusing that happened 200 years ago.”
An Dwarf says “Is that a ferret in your trousers, or are you just pleased to see me?”
A Wose says “Is that a ferret in your trousers?”.
Well played, well played indeed. **D_Odds ** should appreciate it too.
How many elves does it take to change an orc? (to goodness)
Two - one to talk to him and the other to wake him up regularly.
How many dwarves does it take to change an orc? (to goodness)
Five - one to talk to him and the other four to stop the talker chopping the orc’s head off.
How many Woses does it take to change an orc? (to goodness)
An entire tribe - one to talk to him and rest of the tribe to think of things to say.
Those long winter evenings in the Forest of Druadan must just fly by. :dubious:
Through some PMs with Glee, I have simplified the Herbology ability he has at his request. He found searching through a long list of confusing herbs less than fun. We compromised to something simpler.
I want to make the game fun and enjoyable. Whatever I can do within reason and keeping in the flavor of Middle Earth I am willing to do.
If you are, having any similar problems let me know. This first adventure is not well suited to a few of the human knight types, but in any given adventure, I believe a few members will not be at their most useful.
If you find the NPCs too overwhelming let me know. I am trying to keep them subtle, but obviously, Gimli in particular is way out of the party’s league. Merry is not as bad as he really is just a very healthy, old Hobbit. He is careful to conserve his strength and endurance and stick to doing what he does best. He feels this might be his last adventure before full retirement. Pippin is completely retired and much more the average health for a nearly hundred year old hobbit. Thus, he stayed behind. He knows his limitation.
The four new dwarves are on par with the party. Strong enough and armored enough not to be cannon fodder but at as much risk as any of you. Nor are they as strong. The Scout and Caramir you will learn about, but Glee already has some idea about Caramir.
If we consider the party to be on par with the Hobbits and even Gimli & Boromir, Merry & Gimli could be likened to the role that Gandalf, Aragorn and Legolas played of the much stronger guides and tied to an olden times. However, none of you are as weak as unskilled as when the Hobbits started and Merry & Gimli are in no way near the power and combat strength of Gandalf, Aragorn & Legolas.
But I like throwing cannon-fodder at enemies! One of my favorite tactics in computer RPGs. Without a Wand of Monster Summoning, I might never have completed Baldur’s Gate.
ETA: Why wouldn’t Gimli be equivalent to Legolas? Is it just the time factor? I’ve always rationalized that as the shorter lived races feel they need to do things in much shorter order, offsetting the extra centuries spent contemplating navels.
I would always place a ridiculously great Archer as far more valuable then a really great brick. However, yes the Gimli of now might be worth the Legolas of then, if you don’t favor the archers. I always think back to the fact that Legolas dropped a Foul Beast flying far overhead at night with but one arrow.
For game play, Legolas is almost off the scale at this point. He has been very busy with the Rangers of Ithilien clearing the area and helping Aragorn on his expeditions to the south. Gimli has actually been involved in less combat in the last 63 years and more about mining, smithing and administration.
As to the CG, well, I just provided tougher CF is all. We’ll see how it plays out. Evil mages will often target dwarves assuming the orcs are useless against them.
- I’m having a blast and am very pleased with how things are going.
- I understand that Thoroncir will not have lots to do all the time, but I’m very pleased with the pace and the level of his involvement thus far.
- Well… our party has grown rather large, hasn’t it? My vote would be for the fewest possible NPCs, and adventures that are appropriate for a small group our size unless, on rare occasions, we need lots of catapult fodder for storming an Orc-held castle or the like. Just my two cents’ worth.
I also am more than happy with how things are going. While my character, in-game, is displeased at all the running around dismounted and the sword work in darkness, I as the player am just fine with that. It’s good to have to adjust to less-than-ideal situations, and I imagine he’ll get his times to shine in his element in the future.
1 & 2) Good to hear.
- I actually agree, but this mission needed some extras. Also I am use to having 4-6 PC, not 8, so I need to get use to less NPCs as a ref. I am trying to find the right strong NPC to become a regular companion and I need at least one to make suggestions that could be good or bad and to occasionally do goofy things. This is a work in progress.
Ideally, in the end, it would be 2-3 NPCs as regulars and then the group would fit in with others as needed for larger scale actions. The nice thing with this format is it will be easy for me to provide just a narration of the larger events away from the immediacy of the players’ groups’ area of combat.
I like Caramir, but he will marginalize Brin’s primary abilities. So, I have to keep working on it. It cannot be Merry, which is a shame, as he actually is a good fit. He is strong and powerful and yet limited. He does not detract from anyone. I would shy away from Gimli as he is probably worth all the mêlée fighters together by himself. He might still be possible though as he only does the one thing in combat. However, if Gimli were adventuring, before long Legolas would probably be along. That would seriously marginalize the archers.
I have to see how Nanthor & the 4 dwarves work out on this section.
Hopefully someone will soon assert themselves as a party leader type, or at least Senior Staff Sgt. and take charge of the marching orders and watches.
OneCentStamp: I am sure there will be situations for a lancer and meantime you get to work on your melee skills. At least you aren’t a paladin in plate.
“…this mission needed some extras,” eh? Hint, hint.
I would have Thoroncir assert himself as a leader, except that he’s pretty young, inexperienced on land and, as I imagine it, somewhat in awe of Gimli, Merry, Gil-Gandel and now Prince Caramir. If he hears a good idea, he speaks up and endorses it. If he heard a crappy idea (and he hasn’t yet), you can be sure you’d hear from him, but given the company he’s now keeping, he’s not going to be seizing supreme executive power anytime soon.
(I’m also rusty enough in my D&D skills, frankly, that I don’t want to embarrass myself or irritate others by being Mr. Bossy).