# New Tharbad (OOC Thread)



## Firawyn (Jun 16, 2011)

Hello!!

As some of you may know from looking at the "active RPers" thread, I was once involved in a RP called "Tharbad Rebuilt", which was lost and then abandoned during "the great merge". I'd like to give the plot line another go, so this is the OOC thread for that project. This time I'm calling it "New Tharbad". 

This is an open RPG. Anyone can join. I, at the least, will be posting regularly. I'm hoping for a couple other dedicated players, but for starters I'll play two different characters just to keep the ball rolling. 

If you don't know it already, below is a map and a link to some info about where and what Tharbad is. As the end of the article on the LOTR Wiki, Tharbad was most likely rebuilt (it flooded before) in the early Fourth Age, under King Aragorn's rule. This was the general idea when we used this idea before, and it seemed to work.

View attachment 5098 
(Tharbad is right in the middle of this part of the map of Middle Earth)

See other info on Tharbad here.



*Okay, background covered. Here is what is happening at the start of this RP:*


King Aragorn has ordered a small group of Soldiers to take control of and rebuild the old city of Tharbad. There are remnant groups of Orcs and Urk-hai still roaming around, looking for trouble, and Aragorn does not want them to gain control of a city that is anywhere near the Shire. Also, Tharbad sits on a riverside, and it would not be good if Orcs or any other such evil forces were to gain control of a river port.
The man King Aragorn sent out to lead this particular adventure was an older soldier of Gondor named Bolin. At the start of the story, Bolin has just died of some fever, and so there is an inner struggle for power. Tharbad has been inhabited by men of Gondor and other Free-Folk passing through the area for about three years now, and though there is a council of five men (including Bolin), procedure was never dictated as to who would take the lead if Bolin, appointed leader by Aragorn, were to die. One of my two characters is a council member. That leaves four slots if anybody wants to take a councilman character. IF YOU DECIDE TO TO TAKE A COUNCILMAN CHARACTER, YOU MUST BE COMMITTED TO THIS RPG. IF YOU VANISH ON ME AND CANNOT BE REACHED WITHIN A MONTH'S TIME, YOUR CHARACTER WILL BE KILLED OFF AND REPLACED.
My second character is a half-elf who didn't go into the west, but is dedicated to ridding Middle Earth of the remains of the dark armies. At his into to the story, he had been tracking a rather large group of orcs, and ends up very wounded in the process. He seeks refuge the first place he comes to -- Tharbad. Unfortunately,the orcs who injured him decide to follow him to Tharbad, making an already chaotic situation (the death of Bolin), worse.

*
Do's, Don't, and don't worry about it's:*


If you join, please don't just post once and vanish. I'm okay with some players being semi-active, but please return and carry on your part of the story if you do post.
In this RP, we do welcome all sorts of players. Men, Elf, Half-Elf, Dwarf, Hobbit, Orc, Good, Evil, Crazy, Cats...(in the last version of this game, once character was a shopkeeper who had a bunch of large cats) *cough* HLGStrider *cough*
I know that before MERPG was merged into TTF, most RPers insisted on players creating character profiles in the OOC thread. Don't worry about it this time. If you develop a character in your head well enough to play him/her/it, that's good enough for me.
Don't commit to a major character and then vanish. I know "life happens", but if life happened in your real life and you had to back out of a commitment, you would at least tell the people that it concerned. I'm asking for that same level of good manners. I do understand if you need to back out for a while. Alot of characters in this story have good reason to come and go. If you need a break, make your character take a vacation to Gondor...or make your character get kidnapped...or make your character go on some mission elsewhere. If you just vanish and leave your part of the RP hanging, it will be my pleasure to kill your character. Yes, yes, it will be gruesome and painful.
HAVE FUN! I do want this RP to be flexible and fun. But I also want this to be long term and active. Part of TTF's charm has been how interactive it is, and I really hope that tradition will continue for years to come. But in order for that to happen, we need YOU! ;*)


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## Ghorim (Jun 17, 2011)

Ohhhhh boy. I am very happy to see this, Firawyn. Thanks for taking the initiative to get this one started back up.

I've got some ideas percolating, but want to make sure I know as much as possible about the setup before I jump in. 

Let's see what you've got for your next post first, eh?


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## Firawyn (Jun 17, 2011)

Yes indeed. A writer of your caliber would be MORE than welcome to join up. I'd be honored, in fact. I've never had the privilege of RPing with you before, though I've attempted to keep up with the All Roads Lead Home RP you and Chrys have going. 

My first post was a lame quicky. I may actually edit that one before posting another. I just wanted to get something out there so I could create the thread. Post should be edited and/or up by tomorrow. :*)


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## Peeping-Tom (Jun 17, 2011)

Give me a day or three (tomorrow or monday), and I'll have a helping hand arriving from the north, from the rebuilding of Annúminas. He's an elf from Imladris, who owes King Ellasar a favor or two.


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## Firawyn (Jun 17, 2011)

Excellent! Can't wait to see what you've got, Peep.


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## Firawyn (Jun 18, 2011)

Alright crew. I just posted again, and I think I've opened about twenty windows of opportunity. There should now be enough problems to solve to keep us busy for awhile. 

One of the best bits of writing wisdom I've ever heard was: "Create a good character, and then be as mean to him as you can be. Show no mercy. Find his worse case scenario and force him into it."


Happy RPing!! :*D


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## Peeping-Tom (Jun 20, 2011)

Sorry for the long and booring intro post... 

Hmm, somehow the pic didn't show right... I'll have to find a way around that...

*Firawyn*, can you supply us with a some info about what year and season it is, the weather type and such?

And I hope we have somebody watching the west gate...:*D

*Please, all you RP'ers... come on... show yourself!*


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## Firawyn (Jun 20, 2011)

Let's set it at FA 42. It's Spring. It's rained alot this year. 

See this link for a good idea of what is happening outside of Tharbad at this point.And better yet...what will be happening soon. :*)


Yea, RPers....let's move!!


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## Halasían (Jun 21, 2011)

Woo-HOO! Some RP action happening! Glad I checked TTF tonight! FA 42 is a perfect age for my Ranger #26 character. Hadn't really written much but an outline of his life at that time, so hanging around Tharbad can work. I'll take a good look at the start and write his intro, and will do my best to post at least semi-regularly.


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## Prince of Cats (Jun 23, 2011)

_YEAH!_  

I've learned that I'm not reliable enough to respectfully join the circle (I'm a bit of a Bombadil) but _I am *loving* the story_! :*up :*up Firawyn you did a wonderful job of creating the environment for me, I look forward to every coming page


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## Peeping-Tom (Jun 23, 2011)

The three (unnamed) watch-men at the West-gate are not NPC´s and will be out of my control and released for public use after my next post (I guess ;*)).


I don't know why RPG'ing seems to scare posters. Especially when it's an open/free RPG. You don't have to follow specific plot-lines, and you only make posts when you feels like it. You don't have to engage the other characters (though it is highly encouraged) if you don't like to. So come on... enter the city of Tharbad and just say "Hello"... don't mind about spelling and grammar skills, everybody msitsakes make...:*p

In doubt? Tell us why... Questions? Just ask...

More characters are desperately need... Warriors, workers, traders, worried wifes, cheeky children, snobby aristocrats, cooks, warehouse workers, dwellers of all kinds... you name it...

There's bound to be some RP'ers hiding, out there in the void somewhere...
Come in and join the fun...


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## Halasían (Jun 23, 2011)

Good writing Tom! I hopefully will have time to get things sussed and join the fray this weekend. Don't want to get left behind on this one.


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## Peeping-Tom (Jun 25, 2011)

Looking forward to your entrance, *Halasían*.



Btw : I have introduced some "baddies" for some guaranteed actions... The main character, *Praag*, can NOT be slain... you can try, but he, somehow always manage to escape, just to return another day. His band of Goblin-Orcs though, is another matter... feel free to find and slay them if you like... they'll just be replenished by the unnumbered Goblins of the caverns at the Misty-Mountains. :*D


I am personally counting on posting at least once a week... but hopefully more...

Hopefully, when plots are revealed and actions commenced, more people (and characters) will join...

Edit : I need some interactions and/or more posters before I can get my characters going any further...


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## Elora (Jul 4, 2011)

Ah - new RP, new ideas percolating. It's been a very long time since I was here last, so happy to provide further info on self if desired/required. Have written for some years under Elora, Elora Starsong and Naiore on various Tolkien boards. 

Would like to join the troupe, and have some concepts brewing.


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## Halasían (Jul 5, 2011)

_I agree Tom. You have done much to further this RP. I wonder where Firawyn thinks of the interest so far, and has gone to? 

Hi Elora, and welcome! Good to see you here again! I hope you join and contribute to this tale!_

Ok, I'm going to introduce a handful of characters. A company of men, ex soldiers from the War of the Ring. I will write a background post to cover the histories of how they came to be, and then post a lead-in for their arrival in Tharbad. Except for the main character, the rest will be semi-controlled by me and can be used by writers within their outlined character, and if the tale gets moving along well, some may be killed. I'm off to write...


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## Elora (Jul 6, 2011)

Thanks Halasían... will wait until a few others are able to respond before I jump in. Don't want to be hasty.:*)

My concept is to introduce a brother and sister, non military personnel. They're born into a vagabond/quasi bandit group that is ekeing out an existance as best they can in and around Tharbad. Not necessarily evil, per se, but definately morally ambiguous, the pair have learnt the hard way to survive and that survival can demand an exacting price.


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## Ghorim (Jul 8, 2011)

Hey guys! Meet Randal and Rickard. They're brothers, and very happy to be joining the New Tharbad family. Hopefully having a third poster will get the rest of you wallflowers jumping, eh?


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## Peeping-Tom (Jul 8, 2011)

Wellcome to Tharbad, Ghorim. And yes, we certainly need some more action...

And a wellcome to Elora and Halasían, who hopefully will join in soon...

I don't know about Firawyn... She hasn't been online for a week, but we need a GM to set up plots, otherwise we might end up with a chaos of different plots and stories.

My idea : Dínel is about to release the three renegades from guard-duty and order them to repair the dam, after all they are masons and not guards. After that, they are out of my control and can be used by everybody if wanted or needed. (Ghorim, don't be too harsh on them ;*)) I don't know how Dínel can slip away from a unresponsive Lord Dalin, but I'll make it happen anyhow. Next post of Dínel will, at the latest, be on the forthcoming monday (juli 11). Praag is just about to send scouts down the river towards Tharbad. (Remember, I don't control the Goblins in fights. The fight scenes you make up on your own, and can do with them as you please)


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## Halasían (Jul 10, 2011)

I posted a prelude post for my main character Hanasian, and his company of soldiers. Not sure how they will work into Tharbad, but for now they are riding north from Minas Tirith, and I'll write up a bit when they arrive at the ford of the river in Tharbad.


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## Ghorim (Jul 11, 2011)

Hey Halasian, I like that bit about dwarvish stone masons in your post (naturally).

I might have to run with that idea at some point. And here I thought I was about to finally break away from writing dwarves into these story lines...


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## Elora (Jul 15, 2011)

OK... well posted the first appearance of Rin and Loch, somewhat the worse for wear.

Without some central device uniting the arc of the tale, I have to confess I found it difficult to get some footing and leverage. Halasían, hope you don't mind but I had the paid encounter your company on your way to Tharbad.

Can adjust if that doesn't suit.


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## Halasían (Jul 16, 2011)

No adjustment necessary. I used it to pursue some history and bring in some of the company characters.

Not sure how this all will fold into this RP, but if anything it will be a good basis for another one if need be. :*)

Wonder where Firawyn is as its been a few weeks without a word.;*)


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## Ghorim (Jul 19, 2011)

Yeah, if I just may add my voice to the "Come back, Firawyn!" chorus. We need some gravity to throw all of these awesome characters into the same orbit, and she's the one who can provide it.


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## Halasían (Jul 19, 2011)

That's all fine and well Ghorim, and I'm sure a good RP would work out with a couple/few writers even if the starter of this particular thread is not involved. But I have to say that after this sort of criteria was laid out in the beginning...



Firawyn said:


> ... IF YOU DECIDE TO TO TAKE A COUNCILMAN CHARACTER, YOU MUST BE COMMITTED TO THIS RPG. IF YOU VANISH ON ME AND CANNOT BE REACHED WITHIN A MONTH'S TIME, YOUR CHARACTER WILL BE KILLED OFF AND REPLACED....


&


Firawyn said:


> If you join, please don't just post once and vanish. I'm okay with some players being semi-active, but please return and carry on your part of the story if you do post.
> 
> Don't commit to a major character and then vanish. I know "life happens", but if life happened in your real life and you had to back out of a commitment, you would at least tell the people that it concerned. I'm asking for that same level of good manners. I do understand if you need to back out for a while. Alot of characters in this story have good reason to come and go. If you need a break, make your character take a vacation to Gondor...or make your character get kidnapped...or make your character go on some mission elsewhere. If you just vanish and leave your part of the RP hanging, it will be my pleasure to kill your character. Yes, yes, it will be gruesome and painful.


 
... that the thread starter hasn't been heard from in a month. Just sayin... :*)


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## Elora (Jul 19, 2011)

I guess stuff happens to anyone. Best laid plans of mice and men, yada, yada, yada.

I'm happy to keep going and am confident that we can shape a coherent arc with or without Firawyn. It would be wonderful to have her (?) contributions, but we're also perfectly able to "make some magic". 

I'll work in a little character development now that we're stopped on the trail for a bit. *wink*

OK, so perhaps it's now time for some information. Lochared (Loch) and Rosmarin (Rin) are simply put the refugees of racial violence that occured in their homeland - Dunland. The growing tide of foreign settlement from southern lands, prompted by the peace of the Fourth Age and the rebuilding of the northern kingdoms, meant that southerners had started to settle new lands. This prompted sporadic, and violent uprisings of the Wildmen of Dunland - the native inhabitants and a hostile crew at best for outsiders. Small bands would embark on periodic "purges". The geographic remoteness coupled with the political and racial tensions made such affairs brutal. The siblings, we shall call them that for now, witnessed the violent end of their father (a farmer from Rohan) and mother (a woman of Dunland) when Loch was aged eight and Rin aged five. The chldren survived, the Wildmen are not professional soldiers afterall and overlooked them entirely thanks to their mother's efforts, and have been adrift ever since. The racial violence that triggered the destruction of their family also ensured that Loch was alienated. Neither side of their family were prepared to take the children in, given the risk it represented. Loch took on responsibility for his younger sister, but found it difficult to obtain work given his blended heritage.

Rin, on the other hand, was a pretty child who had no hint of Loch's lineage. However, pretty children unprotected can find themselves in dangerous situations. As Loch became her entire world, Rin never took the few opportunities for a new family and better life as they were invariably attached to losing her brother. Consequently, Loch and Rin have hovered at the edge of society and drifted. Rin, convinced that soldiers killed her parents, has a pronounced prejudice against them. Loch, however, is convinced that soldiers weren't responsible and believes that he can make a better life for himself and his sister if he knew his way around a sword. He longs to belong and to be accepted, and he's not without his talents. Hard living and the care of his sister required him to develop tracking and hunting abilities. His sister, whom Loch will say is the smart one, has her own abilities. She is, as I have hinted, a naturally gifted healer who is unschooled but has taken any opportunity to observe what she can at towns they have passed through and her own experimentation. Loch's inclination to rush headlong into things leads him to misadventure and provides Rin with ample chance to refine her skills. What's more, her deft fingers have a certain talent for pick pocketing (hence the incident that sparked their first encounter). It was Loch's plan to panhandle, using his sister's waifish appeal to draw them in and his own affable charm. Rin, not being quite in her own mind, didn't have a plan which is why she ended up habitually pick pocketing the two soldiers (Khule and Molguv) when they approached to see if she was dead.

What I have also hinted is the true lineage of the siblings. Loch, most certainly, is his parent's son. Rin, however, is not the biological sister to Loch. The bond of siblings is more than blood, and their parents died before the siblings could learn the truth from them. I've yet to decide if Rin's actual parents will ever emerge (and hence, who they might be). It is certain that she was raised by Loch's parents from a tender age and so has formed strong bonds with both her now deceased parents and her surviving brother. It is also certain that Rin's biological parents were indeed scattered remnants of the shattered Northern Kingdom. Rin will discover that she is not related by blood to Loch in due course. It will be a devastating blow for them both, as it will represent a second dismantling of their world - each other. Despite being highly intelligent, she is also stubborn and hard headed, which means she will discover this the hardest way she can find.

I will say that if it suits your character's purpose for Rin to seem recognisable to them, then feel free to pursue that angle.

OK, that's it for me for now.:*)

I do wonder if we'll reach Tharbad unattacked?;*)


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## Ghorim (Jul 22, 2011)

Hmm, good point, Halasian. Well, anyway, I've posted. Back to you, Tom. Sorry if I kept you waiting... I fear I'm not the most prolific of posters.


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## Elora (Jul 22, 2011)

Well done!


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## Peeping-Tom (Jul 25, 2011)

A simple question of God-Moding... is it allowed in TTF-RPG's?

I don't know if MERPG had any written rules or guidelines regarding Online Role Playing, but I haven't seen any on TTF. I ask, because I'm taught that, taking control over another players character is one of the largest NoGo's in the world of RP'ing.

Having somebody else making your character move or speak can really be devastating for the plans and ideas you have made for that character, and make it really difficult to make plans for further actions. And I'm not sure I can (or will) RP in an environment, where I don't have the full control over my characters doings and sayings.

I don't know what our missing GM (Game master / Firawyn) have in mind, but at least the participants should agree on the terms of this RPG.


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## Halasían (Jul 25, 2011)

Tom, are you having issues with what you perceive as god-modding, or are you seeing this being an issue in this RP? 

I've always been of the opinion that in collaborative writing role playing, some writer/character interactions are a good thing to keep an RP dynamic and free-flowing. Usually this is just some minor dialog and maybe a bit of movement that doesn't take anothers character out of the setting they were left in by the writer. I've always interpreted "god-modding" as a writer writing another writer's character WAY out of character. NCEs are usually share-written to keep the writers connected, and the main characters are for the most part written by their respective writers. Its been my experience that RPs become quite rigid, stiff, and hard work when absolute & complete control of characters that does not allow any interaction are involved. Maybe this is the difference between RP & RPG?

As for me and this RP... I subscribed to point 5 of the '_Do's, Don't, and don't worry about it's_'. I've been having fun. I have always been unsure how my character(s) would interact in the scene of Tharbad, so I started away from the city and would see how it would go. It's been promising with my interaction with Elora so far, but still unsure how the integration would go when the company arrives in Tharbad. If there is going to be issues about rules, then the tale that has started for me can be written in another RP thread or collaborative story in the Glittering Caves.


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## Elora (Jul 25, 2011)

I have to say that I've not seen anything on this RP that I would consider god-moding.

Unilateral hijacking of someone else's character is certainly bad form: poor etiquette and bad for the tale. I do believe that tales flow when characters integrate and interact. The story has a forward momentum that is utterly shattered if writers are restricted to only the actions/dialogue of only their characters. I guess I am of the "collaborative writing" approach to RPs.

I'm becoming increasingly convinced to think that Loch and Rin have made only a passing appearance here.


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## Ghorim (Jul 25, 2011)

Hey y'all,

Well, I fear that I'm really the one who should be answering the question, as it was my last post that sparked all this. 

I'm definitely used to more of a collaborative writing environment where folks can handle dialogue for other characters and, to some limited extent, their actions as well. I think there's generally a trust that no one's going to write something horribly out of character, or irrevocably alter the flow of the story.

I can alter or remove my post if need be, especially if you think I misguessed on important elements of Dinel's character, Tom.


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## Firawyn (Jul 25, 2011)

Wow. I have to say I'm rather stunned (in a good way) at how this RP has been received. *claps hands* 

I know, I'm a bad RPer, vanishing like that. I went on vacation, and then came back to a family member being taken to the hospital. Top that off with being pregnant, and well...that's my story and I'm stickin' to it. :*eek:

All that (aside from being still pregnant) settled, I am back now, and I am heading over RIGHT NOW to the RP thread to see what you've all come up with. By the sounds of it, you've carried on just fine without me, though I appreciate my character not being killed, despite the fact that I broke my own rule. :*o

Off I go!


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## Firawyn (Jul 25, 2011)

OK! 

Posted one for Dalin...that should bring him up to speed, and the story back into sync. I will post another for Cyryn later. I'm going to ponder for a bit...:*cool:

Does this pacify you guys? ;*)


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## Elora (Jul 25, 2011)

Great to have you amongst us! Hope everything's well on the family front.

As for pacification, no score to settle on my account. This rp has proven to become the genesis of a character and tale I had not foreseen. So I consider myself well ahead, as the concepts continue to develop.

I think that between Halasian and I, we have a broader tale taking shape. For that, I thank you.

By the way, folks, I have uncovered whose Rin's birth parents are. Aside from one character, it's unlikely that any currently in this rp will be able to guess at her true origins and from that, the implications for the Northern Realm.


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## Firawyn (Jul 25, 2011)

Haha, yea, that's one of the beauties of this RP concept. It was a few years ago, and it still is today. The town is the center place, but who is to know who is there, who is going there, who has been there, or who will get picked up and drug there! ;*)

Also, with a rickety old town, who knows what will fall apart!?! :*eek:


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## Halasían (Aug 13, 2011)

Doesn't look like this is getting much traction. Thanks to Firwyn and this thread for getting Elora & my tale going. It gave me the muse again!
Since our tale is clearly outside the scope of this RP, we decided to write ourselves out of it, and will be continuing it in The Glittering Caves. Namarie


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## Elora (Aug 13, 2011)

I would like to echo Halasían's sentiments. This rp was the creative Petrie Dish for a wider tale invoking our characters. My thanks for that. 

I wish you well in shaping this tale, should it be able to continue, and hope to be able to write with you again at some point.

Namarie


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## Tanglefoot (Aug 14, 2011)

Just curious if there's still room for characters. Well, one character in specific-- a hobbit named Django Tanglefoot. What can you tell me to bring me quickly up to speed as to the general disposition of the game? I'm thinking Django would be a newcomer to the berg, and so would not be familiar with much. I'd love to play, but haven't had a chance to read the board back to front. Anything I can know would be a great help, obviously


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## Tanglefoot (Aug 20, 2011)

So from what I've read in the IC thread, the Black Company is heading to Bree. Any chance an experienced hunter and cook with more than a bit of the Bucklander in his blood could join up, or maybe even follow them unknown? 

Been really impressed with the writing so far, especially in the players' ability to keep in the tone of Tolkien's prose. Definitely want in on this, but would rather not just barge in unannounced


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## Firawyn (Aug 21, 2011)

Feel free to jump right in! I'm actually due to post my own self. Looking forward to seeing new faces, welcome! :*)


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## Elora (Aug 26, 2011)

Hi Tanglefoot.

Unfortunately, Halasian and I wrote ourselves out of this rp given the gravitational forces exerted by a different tale.


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