Maybe it’s a reference to Golems being originated out of Jewish folklore.
A Gollum Golem or something.
Just so.
Love Rhombus will be joining the game. He will probably have some questions about the game and what class/race to play.
I am also posting this as his PM Box is FULL. 
Hi Love Rhombus. So what brings you into this game?
A hearty welcome, indeed! We could do with another man (or woman) of Rohan, I’d suggest.
Hi, all. I was drawn into this game mainly by reading the last one. It looks like a lot of fun, and I’ve always been interested in this type of world and game. Sorry for the delay in the post, I had to run out for a quick errand that grew more than I expected.
Yes, I do have some questions and I’m happy to take any advice anyone wants to give. I’m very much a beginner at this kind of thing.
Bearing that in mind, l I’ve been advised that a caster wouldn’t be a good choice for a starter character. Also, that a Ranger could be helpful. I thought a Beorning Ranger might do well, since his bear senses could come in handy in a cave, say. However, you folks know the balance of the team much better than I, so I’m open to suggestions. I’ve been reading the D&D wiki page-will that help?
Agreed- another front-line fighter would be a solid choice. I’d like to see a man of the South, though; What Exit? hinted that they were specialists at being Monks and there’d be no end of roleplaying opportunities in explaining his (or her) presence in the North. Actually, I suspect Deor will eventually take a research hiatus in Minas Tirith, Rivendell, or Edoras, and I might try some such thing.
EDIT: Posted before I saw Love Rhombus’s response:
Yes, a ranger would be a great addition; we’re currently without one. But I’m playing a caster as my first and it’s not insurmountable. A ranger is the only real gap, but we’re not overloaded with any class, so play what you like.
Monk is a terrible starter character. It could be a good secondary/main character hiatus character but they are terrible starters. You really need a PH 1st Ed to play them and in a world with a goodly number of magic items I would have to do something to boost their abilities for game balance. I don’t know where my old notes on them went. You’re correct though that eventually some characters might need to drop out for a bit for various reasons. Glee and Gil-Gandel are two more good examples.
If you do run across those notes, you might hang on to them; I’ve had a notion for a Southron monk for a while now as a hiatus character.
I know why Ghan would take a break, but why would Gil-Gandel?
First, welcome aboard Love Rhombus!
Next:
I think this is a great idea and exactly what we need. We don’t have a PC ranger anymore and we don’t have a Beoring as part of the party anymore. I say run with this one, it’ll be a lot of fun.
Thank you.
I’m more interesting than the average bear, don’t worry.
Gil-Gandel will soon be a Bard in earnest and thus a spellsinger. He needs some training as he advances from a Druid or Radagast, probably Rivendell and maybe Tom Bombadil.
I’ll keep the monk notes in mind.
Bard training - I’m about to qualify as a genuine Bard (at my next level-up) and I presume Jim wants to actually take me offline rather than assume all my new powers kick in overnight. Also while we’re in this neck of the woods I have a hot tip on one humdinger of a trainer in song magic, if he’ll take me.
I’m hoping the break will be short but I can see why it makes story sense and in game terms it’s only fair if the Druid has to take a sabbatical too.
1st Ed monks are horrible as written and many attempts have been made to improve them. 3rd Ed is better, giving them d8s for hit points, excellent saves, AC bonuses for Dex and Wis (as if the latter were an extra Dex bonus), the ability to use “monk weapons” (nunchucks etc) for multiple attacks, and getting Str bonuses the same as anyone else.
On preview: I see Jim’s blown the big surprise about that unusual trainer. 
Yes, I just now checked the 1st ed. monk rules, and I was underwhelmed. Still, if it does work out, I’ve got a backstory in mind.
Humdinger, indeed!
For the record, Jim posted a little more information on racial traits in his world on post #37 of this thread. Beornings look better and better!
I hope Ghân’s break won’t be too long, though I’m confident it’ll be worth it to the party.
And welcome to Love Rhombus, whatever character he plays!
Sorry about the surprise.
I would clearly have to monkey around with the Monk to make it usable. The D8 HD and better saves are a good place to start. I know I have a list of modified abilities somewhere. I don’t plan on allowing numchucks, it just doesn’t not fit my world view and I want to keep the monks basically unarmed anyway.
I don’t own 3rd Ed and I don’t plan to pick it up. I’ve been a dinosaur this long, I might as well stay one. (I do have a bunch of 2nd Ed. stuff but I think 1st Ed. actually was superior overall.)
We might have the party take a break at the same time and coordinate the time off or have you and **Malacandra **play some of the existing characters like Elfstan, Brin or Miron. So we have some options that don’t put a burden on me.
That’s cool. 
I’ve been mentally roleplaying a trip to the Old Forest for months but it’d only be fair to telescope that.
Fortunately you can find out some of the interesting stuff online for free. But without committing fully to it, I wouldn’t suggest you use it for more than inspiration as it’s quite an extensive rework of the system.
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They’re both gone now. Kind of odd. I know Arneson was sick for a while.