I will be honest and say when I am GMing, that I reserve the right to fix any and all dice rolls in my game to ensure everyone is having fun and the game moves smoothly on.
That is not to say characters will not die, I just prefer to be slightly creative with the manner of their demise.
And it’s always more fun if the players do it to themselves. 
It’s all a question of style.
My group happens to take it in turn to DM, so we are all familiar with e.g. the die rolls needed.
We decided to roll everything in public, so it’s important to write a balanced dungeon and have alternatives for the players to find out information. But any character (including the DM’s) can be killed by unlucky die rolls… :eek:
We’ve had our first drop out of the game. CatInASuit will be leaving the game, at least for an extended period. Considering we’re three months into this campaign now, I am surprised we went this long.
We have several choices at this point.
It would feel weird to have no Hobbit in the party at all, this being Middle Earth an all. I would like to know how the players would like to see this handled.
I am leaning towards the idea that if anyone is following these threads and wants to jump into the game, they should have the first option. Other than that I am open to any of the above scenarios or to other suggestions.
I think there is a limited pool of SDMB D+D players; I’ve had a couple of dropouts in my game (which has now gone moribund as well :eek: ) and Malacandra’s Vikings! game took a long time to get a 6th player.
My preference would be:
I don’t want to see Mulligan as an NPC, because all NPC’s dilute the PCs’ input.
NPCs like Moose, Merry, Pippin, the Rangers and the Cavalry tend to dominate the combats.
I’m back and way behind…project work can suck sometimes. Will take me awhile to catch up on the live thread. Hope I didn’t die.
glee speaks for me. Sorry to lose CatInASuit, though!
my preferance would be to have a combination of Glee’s choice 2+3. It feels weird to permanently give Mulligan over to someone else. Having another player take him over longterms seems less weird, but still not right. Hopefully CIAS will be able to come back at some point and Mulligan will be able to rejoin the party, but until then I think it is best if he departs with Cat. If we can find someone willing to join us with a totally new character, so much the better.
Depending on what you’re looking for, I will volunteer to join you. I have been following all three of the D&D campaigns going on in this forum. I frequently read the SD boards (daily during the week, less on weekends). I will confess that I haven’t played D&D since 1st ed, but it seems like most of the rules are transparent to the players in this format anyway. My roleplaying will probably need polish as we progress as well. Back in the day, we were more into number crunching than serious roleplaying.
Anyway, if I meet your requirements, I would certainly consider some of the options presented. I think it would maybe be better to introduce a new character rather than try to pick up for CiaS, just in case he wants to come back later. Maybe a relative of Mulligan’s can replace him as he is needed for immediate family issues? shrug
Sounds good, my first question is how well do you know Middle Earth?
What kind of character would you like to play? (Class & Race)
I don’t think the posting requirements are very high and the weekends are always slower.
I have some emails with Zip files of information and maps I can send over, if you want to join in.
I like the idea of getting Mulligan back to Minas Tirith and leaving him there with Merry & Pippin.
Don’t feel locked into being a Hobbit or a thief. Gil-Gandel actually is a F/Th and if you are not comfortable playing a Hobbit, I would not want to see you force it.
Not as well as you or QtM. 
That said, I have a pretty good grasp of things during the end of the Third Age. I first read the Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit about 25 years ago. The last time I reread it was when the movies started coming out. I’m guessing I have read them all a minimum of five times over the years. The rest of my knowledge of Middle Earth comes from lurking in threads on the SD message board. I read most of them, but I’m too overwhelmed by the Tolkien geekiness displayed to post in them!
I’m fine with the idea of playing a Hobbit. I’m also fine with the idea of playing a thief or some mix. I’m a little less sure of my roleplaying abilities to pull off both, especially after the example set by CiaS. If you’re willing to prod me if needed, I’m willing to try.
I’ll check my account settings so you get my address or send it to you if your account allows it.
edit Email sent!
RogueRacer will have a character by Monday at the latest.
I think we lost another player though. OneCentStamp appears to now be a guest and has not posted in the D&D threads for weeks. So Theogrim might be out. I will Email him later to verify **but I think we will have another open slot. **
Well, welcome to RougeRacer! Sorry to hear about OCS. I liked Theo. Ah well.
I am sorry to that **OneCentStamp ** is leaving. This opens up another slot.
I will start with the large type approach again.
There is a second opening if anyone wishes to join the game.
Hey, that cuts off some roleplaying chances for me. OCS, if you’re lurking this, I’m sorry to see you go.
Yes, thanks to One Cent Stamp for playing. 
Bye OneCentStamp, we’ll miss our Knight of Rohan.
From one knight to another, thanks, OneCentStamp, and Godspeed… you’ll be missed!
Sorry for the delay, there were many distractions and I was sick on Friday & Saturday.
The character of Elfstan Fairbairn is on its way to RogueRacer.
Thanks, Jim! Hope you’re feeling better.
I am feeling much better and I will try to get new experience out tonight and by tomorrow at the latest.
I will also try to get Elfstan Fairbairn in by tomorrow. Mulligan is already remove and Elfstan will be a perfect replacement. Another Hobbit Treasure Finder but this one is the actually heir to Sam who was the heir to Frodo who was of course the heir of Bilbo.
On the Experience note, I already project that everyone has made level except maybe Gil-Gandel as he is a multi-class. More details later. I am allowing training in the week long camp.
Check out the item list and let me know if the division is satisfactory.
Theogrim will remain a bit longer with the party. There is no reason for him to leave Deor at this point. I think he will stay until the return to Minas Tirith but work more with the Riders perhaps.