Thoroncir the Sea-knight, born of a family of Linhir mariners and fisherfolk, is always happy to be back on the water. He brings his gear aboard and will have a word in Horse with the mounts of any of his fellow adventurers who wish it.
Some history of each party member:
Gwaelur: Battle hardened. He fought in the battle of Dale and was raised on stories of his Grandfather who fought in the war of Dwarves and Orcs. His father, however is a pacifist and possibly even a coward, and this has always made him a bit ashamed. He obviously had a great love for metals and is a trained armorer. He is one of the people who went south with Gimli to colonize Aglarond.
He distrusts magic & elves (some racial prejudices are hard to shake), but has come to accept that SOME elves might be ok. Don’t really see him ever wanting to use magic, but herbology or magic stemming from religion would probably be acceptable. (He has no problem with our Druid, but likely distrusts our Wizard) Gwaelur has a quick temper and has a tendency to look down on things that are not Dwarvish. He really likes to fight. Like…a lot
Bitur son of Bofur He is the elder son of Bofur. Bofur is a descendant of the Dwarves of Moria. He was born around 2802 TA. So he is 282 now and you were born 2904 TA. This makes him 25 years younger than Gimli but 45 years older than Gwaelur. He is an experienced veteran of Goblin wars and he fought at the Battle of Dale and Erebor in the War of the Rings. (65 years earlier) Hair : Auburn with Gray at the temples and touches of it scattered throughout. He is very well respected by most Dwarven communities for his engineering expertise and by the Smithy of Rivendell.
Ghân-buri-Ghân Ghân is a direct descendant of the Wose that guided the Rohirrim to the battle of Pelennor Fields. He wants to repay the people that saved his tribe and gave them a land. He has an affinity with Nature and has been fortunate to be accepted by Radagast to learn the Druidical arts. He prefers to use natural materials (wood, leather) His blowpipe uses only paralyzing substances. He does not like to fight, but is happy casting spells to heal and protect the party he works with. Ghân hates those who damage Nature, but is ready to retreat and wait to get revenge if the enemy is powerful.
The Drúadan (Woses) are short-lived (30-50 years) and not materialistic. They are excellent at Herbology & tracking in woods and general woodcraft especially foraging. They are perfectly happy using natural poisons on their small bows and blowgun darts. They may enter a meditative state for up to 6 days where they heal twice as quick and need half the sleep. By innate nature they can see well about 60’ at night under the stars. They take ½ damage from normal fire.
Sir Thoroncir is of the race of Men, and is now 20 years old. He was born and raised in Linhir, a seaport-town in Lebennin, Gondor, above the mouth of the River Gilrain. His family has long been comprised of humble fisherfolk and seamen. His grandfather fought under Thorongil, now King Elessar, in his struggles with the Corsairs of Umbar. Thoroncir (Sindarin ‘Eagle-ship’) proved his mettle as a mariner and a swordsman in the King’s ships on voyages and adventures along the southern coast and out into the great sea to the West, becoming a Sea-Knight of Linhir last year. Sent as a messenger to the Court at Minas Tirith a few months ago, he happened to meet Princess Gilraen, one of the King’s daughters, and fell in love at once, although he kept his feelings well-hidden. Having experienced much of life at sea, he now wishes to try his hand at adventure and service to the King ashore, hoping always to see Gilraen again and prove himself worthy of her love. Thoroncir is tall, dark-haired and bright-eyed, fiercely loyal to Gondor, slow to anger but implacable in battle. He is strong and steady, but soft-spoken, courteous, reserved, humble and somewhat naive. As a cavalier, his first thought is usually to protect others in battle.
Gilraen Telcontar is the second oldest daughter of Arwen & Elessar. So her father and her Uncles represent the greatest living Rangers in the world. Her education is probably better than any other 18 years olds in the world currently. Her Grandfather was Elrond the Wise and thus Eärendil (Star of High Hope) is her Great Grandfather and Galadriel her Great Grandmother on another side. She was a prodigy when it came to the order of Estë. She is quite beautiful though not as much as her other sisters. She is also the shortest of her siblings. Fíriel the youngest at 10 is nearly her height already.
Ceol was Born and raised in Rohan. Is a Knight of the Mark, as was his father. Is cousin to Deor and Theogrim, from the wealthier side of the family. He is pretty typical of the Rohirrim, tall, brave, honest, blond & blue eyed.
Hejren is a Wood Elf of the Havens so of course knows how to swim. You see a rather petite female elf, jet black hair tied up in a bun, a silver circlet around her head. She is adorned in a dark blue cloak and outfit trimmed with black, with black boots. Her turquoise eyes are both piercing and demure. She holds a thin white staff with a brilliant blue jewel affixed at the top. She is an accomplished historian and archeologist along with being a Wizard of Divination.
Felareth Took tells his tale in addition to what the Ladies know of him. Felareth was born a Took, the great great grandchild of Isembold Took, the fifth child of the Old Took (he seemed to be fairly prolific). He was born in the year SR1420, and grew up in the Great Smials. He was in awe of the heroes Peregrin and Meriadoc, of whom he saw much of, growing up close to them as he did. It was the stories they told that ignited his curiosity about the world. and eventually led to his leaving the Shire.
From them, he learned of Bilbo, Frodo, Samwise and the others of the Fellowship, and came to revere the Hobbits, particularly the departed Bilbo. In his Tweens, he began to pay particular attention to the lore that he gleaned from stories, and became interested in history and the songs and poetry preserved in the old stories.
When the chance came In SR1453, he moved from the Smials to the new settlement of Undertowers in the Westmarch (his parents refused to allow him to be part of the initial settlement rush, as they felt he still had some growing up to do). As part of the community of Undertowers, he heard the stories read frequently, and because of his natural charm and clear mind, he was allowed to study the Book sometimes. It was in this period that he learned the Elven script, although piecing the languages together came much later.
He learned to play instruments in this time; first the tom-tom, and later the pipes and mandolin. It took a few years to master the latter. By SR1461, or FA40, he had learned as much as he could from the Hobbits, and felt the need to explore widely, and perhaps learn from the Elves who still dwelt in Middle-Earth before they all left. In the spring of the year FA41, he left the Shire, heading east towards Rivendell.
Things in those days were relatively peaceful, but even so once in the wilderness of Arnor he became a little lonely. He joined a Dwarven caravan headed to Erebor for company. Even with the well-armed company, there were still incidents with outlaws and he was grateful to the Dwarves, and supported them with such healing as his bardic skills allowed him.
He spent about three years in Rivendell as a guest, learning much of the old lore. Leaving, he wandered south, planning to journey to Gondor via Anduin the Great, and with a letter of introduction from the twin Lords of Rivendell, Elladan and Elrohir, in his backpack.
He had reached the Dimrill Dale when an unfortunate event happened. Somehow he became separated from the group he had been travelling with, who wished to explore the great underground city of Moria. This proved not to be a good idea. They got no further than the great bridge, broken when Gandalf faced the Balrog,. Geldar, a Common Man from a small settlement on the west banks of the Anduin, decided to show off his balancing skills, and stood facing the rest of the group, with the balls of his feet on the bridge and his heels in empty air.
That’s when an Orc shot him in the backside. He jumped, failed to grasp the end of the bridge, and fell. The rest of the party escaped only because Felareth, in a moment of inspiration caused the party’s torch to flare and emit a blinding smoke. Under cover of the smoke they escaped, all bar Darrin Stonebreath who, confused by the smoke (and perhaps not wanting to leave his ancient home), ran in the wrong direction and fell into the abyss.
The remnant of the group paused outside to mourn their fellows, friends despite Geldar’s immaturity and Darrin’s obstinacy, awakening the echoes of another mourned at that point. It was during this period of reflection that Delareth came to realize that the quiet inner voice prompting him was that of a guardian spirit, and he accepted that he was to follow this voice. Doing so seemed to unlock a key in his mind, and he began to grasp the meaning of written Elvish words. Heading south, the team came to Lórien. There they encountered Elves who steered them around the inner forest; except for Felareth, whose letter of introduction meant he would be welcome.
Felareth spent a year in Lorien, widening his knowledge base and his new understanding, including gaining the ability to speak the Elven tongues. By the end of that year he was reasonably proficient in both spoken and written Quenya and Sindarin tongues.
He left Lorien en route for Minas Tirith in Gondor in the summer of FA45, journeying south along the Anduin in the company of a number of Grey-Elves coming from the Elven halls in the north of Mirkwood to join the new colony in Ithilien.
Entering Minas Tirith, he settled there. He went to Ithilien several times, volunteering for campaigns to settle and pacify areas formerly under the Shadow. He was always on the lookout for old items and fragments of knowledge, desirous or piecing them together into one framework. It was also during this time that he learned the knowledge of stealth as it applies to gaining advantage in combat.
He spent one year in the city, studying arcane arts to expand his repertoire of spells, particularly in the area of divining knowledge using rituals. During this time he was an occasional guest of the Queen, who wished to know how her brothers were faring, and he was introduced to her children, who he amused with conjuring tricks and tales of glory or romance (depending on the audience.)
Leaving the city in FA60, he journeyed home via the overland route, through Rohan, past Isengard and up the newly-settled lands to the Shire. He took a year in this journey. He left the Shire again three years later and wandered the North, seeing Fornost and the ruins of Annuminas on Lake Evendim before heading to the Gulf of Lune, hoping to be able to explore what remains of Beleriand since the cataclysmic ending of the First Age of the Sun.
Ghan alerts the party to two useful possibilities:
- he can cast Water Breathing (affecting 10 creatures) twice in the morning as a Ritual (each Ritual takes 10 minutes, but uses no spell slots
) - he can cast Pass without Trace (from his Rod Taurgol) on everyone within 30 feet, which lasts 1 hour (then the spell could be repeated
)
He trusts that Gwaelur will accept this ‘natural’ magic…
Thanks for the character descriptions, WE.
I presume Mirëgol and Hejren have no words of caution as to Felareth.
Not to worry Ghan. Druids make sense. It’s Wizards you can’t trust! Gandolf was good, but the rest? Devils, the lot of them with rare exceptions (previous party members). And then those non wizard magic practitioners? Especially elven ones.
(whispers so only Ghan can hear) I’m pretty nervous about Hejren honestly. A Wizard AND and elf? No good can come of that combination. But keep that between us. I don’t want her attacking me in the back with her elvish wizardry because she knows I’m on to her.
I assume Bitur’s engineering-based magic isn’t a problem for Gwaelur.
Artificer spell list is actually kind of interesting being a combination of Paladin and Wizard, focusing mostly on healing, protection, and utility. Almost every spell is abjuration or transmutation. The only evocation spells (other than healing) are cantrips. (Not sure why evocation cantrips are even on the list, because when you have spells such as guidance and mending and mage hand, fire bolt and ray of frost just can’t stack up, especially when you carry a large axe.)
We get a handful of the useful divination spells as well. And combat-based illusion spells such as blur.
At 40’ movement the party makes about 4.5 miles per hour until they head up the mountain. The overland trip from Wovell to Mt Sininen is roughly 200 miles. So the party should expect to take 6 days to get to the troll. There are nothing but a few hamlets and villages on the way north.
For the first few days travel is fairly swift and direct and the mounts are doing very well as are the riders for the most part. On the fourth day the party has moved beyond any habitation. That night Anca starts barking out warning in canine, “Wargs, Wargs, Wargs”.
It is maybe 1:00am and Gwaelur & Hejren are on watch along with the ever vigilant Grávund and Missy is rarely in a deep sleep.
I quietly rouse everyone else from their slumber. My bird is now under the forest canopy flying around in a 100’ circle. She then casts Wizard Armor on herself.
Hopefully Windwing is relatively safe up a tree.
There’s no time for Ghan to put on his Elber Bark Armour, but he does have his Wolfskin Cloak.
Ghan alerts the party by hissing “Wargs!”, then prepares to defend + heal behind the Fighters.
Anca and Fang will act as bodyguards to Ghan and Gilraen (also if necessary to the party’s mounts.)
(If there is time, Ghan will speak to the Mounts to reassure them.)
Depending how soon the Wargs arrive as well as how many there are, Ghan will first cast either Conjure Animals (wolf pack!) or Healing Spirit - and also Unicorn Spirt Totem (as a bonus action.)
Then he’ll concentrate on healing.
Gilraen arises swiftly and starts singing her Estë Prayer song which gives all the party a +d4 on any attack or saving roll. Missy in on her shoulder.
Gilraen’s horse Kali, Hejren’s horse and the ponies begin dancing very nervously.
Ceol quickly prepares for battle. If there’s time, he will pull on his chain mail, and will cast Shield of Faith on Gilraen, to protect the princess. If the wargs are nearly upon us, and there’s no time to put on his armor, he will, instead, cast the Shield of Faith on himself (as it’s a Concentration spell, he can only have one running at a time without difficulty).
He gives his allies a grim smile. “Nothing like fighting wargs to make me feel at home.”
No need for Shield of Faith, Gilraen can never use weapons but is always the least likely to be attacked (except for some strong wraith world undead.) You can go with another spell.
Putting on most armor:
| Category | Don | Doff |
|---|---|---|
| Light Armor | 1 minute | 1 minute |
| Medium Armor | 5 minutes | 1 minute |
| Heavy Armor | 10 minutes | 5 minutes |
| Shield | 1 action | 1 action |
Reminder, a round is only 6 seconds.
Good news, Ceol, as an old campaigner, you can sleep in your armor. Not the most comfortable but doable. Gwaelur, same armor.
The Barkskin armor of Ghân takes only 18 seconds but still 3 rounds.
Bitur & Felareth your armor takes a long time to don.
Thoroncir your armor counts as light, so only a minute at least. (10 rounds)
Hejren & Gilraen wear no armor.
Gwaelur has good night vision. Can he see the wargs?
He will also load his crossbow (if allowed) to prep it until and unless the boat is boarded.
You are 4 days north of the boat. This is a night camp on the journey.
If the wargs were within 120’ yes, so the bad news is they are only 80’ away.
You can take 1 shot in fact. You see at least 5 coming in.
Excellent. Ceol will cast Divine Favor on himself as his preparatory action, then. He’ll have his sword in hand – if it were light out, he might start with his bow, then switch to melee when the wargs get close, but at night, he likely won’t be able to see a target until it’s nearly on top of the group.
Hejren, assuming her casting of her armor is now completed, prepares a Slow spell, to be cast once they are within the 120’ range, trying to get at least the 5 sighted so far within the 40 foot cube.
[Yes, I understand that this is a Concentration spell, and casting anything else cancels it]
Thoroncir doesn’t have time to give an inspiring speech, it seems, but will don what armor he can, take up his shield and draw his sword. He says, "Gwaelur and Bitur, front and center, if you please, my good Dwarves. Ceol, let us take the left and right of the front line, respectively, with the others behind us. Felareth, please keep an eye on our flanks and to our rear, lest others try to approach us in stealth. Elendil!"
Bitur will draw his axe and shield and spend the next two rounds casting Mage Armor on himself and Aid on himself, Felareth, and Gwaelur.
I assume at that point the Wargs will be in melee range so he and Grávund will engage them in melee combat.
(I assume this uses up the Mage Armor for today, right?)
“Aye, Thoroncir, a good strategy.” Ceol takes up position on the group’s left flank, his greatsword in both hands, scanning the darkness for the first sign of the wargs.
Windwing should be safe and is ready to flee. Ghân helps to calm the nervous equines. He also conjures up 8 spirit wolves to help defend the party and hold off the pack of wargs.
Felareth casts Shield of Faith giving himself +2ac for up to 10 minutes. He uses his reaction to use Cutting Words on wargs trying to hit friends. It gives the warg a –d6 to hit or even damage.
When the wargs get close, Gilraen raises the Bauble and it flairs up to brilliance light up 60’ around her.
Gwaelur fires with deadly accuracy and hits a warg for 10 points. Then he prepares for melee as they are racing in and will be on the party.
Ceol gives himself an extra d4 radiant damage
Hejren has her AC up to 17 and is ready with her Slow spell, up to 6 wargs might be affected.
Thoroncir is at the ready extending the line protecting the camp. He does have time to mount if he prefers. Then he would be faster than a warg .
Bitur is ready with a solid armor class of 18 with his Mage Armor & Magic Shield. You get your 1/d back each dawn, so this works out great for Bitur