The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post - The Fellowship of the Fourth Age (Part 1): A New Beginning Discussion Thread

Child of the 7th Age · 02-07-2007, 03:53 PM

I usually prefer to "go with the flow" and let characters respond spontaneously. But the meeting with the orcs is going to take some planning. My main concern is making it believable that these two groups might actually consider grudging cooperation. This is obviously not something Tolkien explored in his stories other than his brief comment in HoMe about the possibility of "mercy".

Durelin and I exchanged pms and came up with the following ideas. None of this is written in stone. Additional ideas/comments are welcome, especially since some of this action "makes assumptions" about your characters that may or may not be right. If you're not comfortable with something in this post or have another idea, please speak out....

First, it's preferable that any action with orcs takes place in the slavers' camp rather than at the original campsite where the battle occurred and where the injured are now recuperating. I can definitely see how an advance party of 12-15 good guys could ride over to the slavers’ camp intending to gather supplies; discover a small group of drunk, snoring orcs; and then manage to overpower them. But I don't think we have the manpower to clamp these orcs in chains and drag them off against their will back to our original camp. That means we have two choices: kill the orcs on the spot (not good for our storyline) or imprison them temporarily in the slavers’ camp until the others arrive and we make a decision.

Logistically speaking, it would be very possible to imprison the orcs temporarily. The slavers’ camp has pens, corrals, pits, manacles, and chains….very convenient for our guests. We could use those facilities and implements to keep the orcs in check till the rest of our group arrives. That could be the next day, or if we wanted, even a later day by use of a time condense post. Meanwhile, those left behind at the original campsite could use the time to recuperate from injuries, bury or more likely burn the dead, tend to the wounded.

We had an earlier discussion about numbers of male and female orcs, but never reached a firm decision. Overall there are 15 orcs. Could we go with 10 males (Makdush, Ishkur, Gwerr, Grask and 6 NPC) and 5 females (Zagra, Mazhg, Ungolt and 2 NPC) ? One male (Grask) and one female (NPC) would be under age. That means the fellowship will have to contend with 9 sleeping/drunk adult male warriors (3 uruks?, 6 regular orcs?) I am guessing that the females and Grask will not be totally drunk and will be able to hide and evade the intial round-up and imprisonment by the good guys….but that will be up to you.

I believe there are 46 living ex-slaves plus 7 fellowship members. Of the ex-slaves, I would guess that 26 are men and women who would normally fight; 20 are children and females who do not usually fight. Another 6 members of the fellowship are combattants; Azhar is not. So overall we have 53 good guys: 32 fighters and 21 non-fighters. That’s 32 against 10 fierce orc warriors… plus some angry female orcs as well! This sounds about right for the two groups to keep each other in check, with neither having the clear upperhand. Of course right now, the number of good guys is lower because so many are injured. Still, we probably have 20 or so capable of fighting.

A possible plot line….

1. 12-15 relatively able bodied fighters ride over to the slavers’ camp at dawn to check on supplies. There is a wagon in the slavers’ camp which they intend to use for transporting the supplies.

2. When this party arrives, they discover 9 drunk/snoring male orcs….. Women and children are nowhere to be seen????

I can see one of our good guys who hates orcs come into camp first and stumble upon a sleeping victim. He/she will draw sword and prepare to execute. Lindir, who nominally heads the party, will stop him. (Don’t suppose everyone will be thrilled with that!) Lindir will order the males chained and thrown into the underground pit while we consider our options.

3. Since Lindir has no idea whether there are more orcs lurking about, he feels it’s essential that everyone unite in a single camp as soon as possible. He sends one or two messengers back to camp along with the wagon and tells the entire group to prepare to leave the next morning (?) after a day’s rest. Those in camp will presumably be thrilled to hear this news. When the actual trip comes the next morning, the sick will be transported in the slavers’ wagon and on sledges. We can do this in a narrative post rather than get too bogged down.

The next day everyone arrives in the slavers' camp, and the debate begins.

I see 3 options: kill the orcs immediately, leave them chained at the bottom of the pit (which Lindir sees as equivalent to a sentence of death) or leave them free to go their own way. Surely, no one initially considered the possibility of cooperation.

Aiwendil, who has been delayed out in the wilds (I'll think of something!) comes stumbling into the meeting late…. The camp is already voting and the judgment is death. (I think this is in keeping with what people said earlier on this thread, but let me know if I am wrong.)

4. A few slaves step forward to execute the order. At this point something happens

. This is something the orcs will need to plan but somehow, someway, one of the orcs needs to make a plea for mercy….

5. I am planning on having Aiwendil step forward and explain what he has seen out on the plain in very clear terms. To put it bluntly, neither group will survive on the plains of Gorgoroth unless they cooperate against the overwhelming threat of the “olog-hai”.

The group hopefully reconsiders. Orcs and good guys agree to march in proximity, if not exactly side by side....

Will this work? Ex-slaves and fellowship….please let me know if you’ll be waiting behind in camp or going with the advance party to the slavers’ camp. Orcs….please let me know if your character is going to be imprisoned or out hiding in the bushes (or doing something else for that matter.). Everyone is welcome to respond on this thread or send a pm if you have something special up your sleeve.

*********

Speaking of sleeves....

Firefoot, check your pm's.
******************

P.S. Would anyone like to be the character who first stumbles on a sleeping orc and draws out a sword to slay him?

02-07-2007, 03:53 PM	#923
Child of the 7th Age Spirit of the Lonely Star Join Date: Mar 2002 Posts: 5,133	I usually prefer to "go with the flow" and let characters respond spontaneously. But the meeting with the orcs is going to take some planning. My main concern is making it believable that these two groups might actually consider grudging cooperation. This is obviously not something Tolkien explored in his stories other than his brief comment in HoMe about the possibility of "mercy". Durelin and I exchanged pms and came up with the following ideas. None of this is written in stone. Additional ideas/comments are welcome, especially since some of this action "makes assumptions" about your characters that may or may not be right. If you're not comfortable with something in this post or have another idea, please speak out.... First, it's preferable that any action with orcs takes place in the slavers' camp rather than at the original campsite where the battle occurred and where the injured are now recuperating. I can definitely see how an advance party of 12-15 good guys could ride over to the slavers’ camp intending to gather supplies; discover a small group of drunk, snoring orcs; and then manage to overpower them. But I don't think we have the manpower to clamp these orcs in chains and drag them off against their will back to our original camp. That means we have two choices: kill the orcs on the spot (not good for our storyline) or imprison them temporarily in the slavers’ camp until the others arrive and we make a decision. Logistically speaking, it would be very possible to imprison the orcs temporarily. The slavers’ camp has pens, corrals, pits, manacles, and chains….very convenient for our guests. We could use those facilities and implements to keep the orcs in check till the rest of our group arrives. That could be the next day, or if we wanted, even a later day by use of a time condense post. Meanwhile, those left behind at the original campsite could use the time to recuperate from injuries, bury or more likely burn the dead, tend to the wounded. We had an earlier discussion about numbers of male and female orcs, but never reached a firm decision. Overall there are 15 orcs. Could we go with 10 males (Makdush, Ishkur, Gwerr, Grask and 6 NPC) and 5 females (Zagra, Mazhg, Ungolt and 2 NPC) ? One male (Grask) and one female (NPC) would be under age. That means the fellowship will have to contend with 9 sleeping/drunk adult male warriors (3 uruks?, 6 regular orcs?) I am guessing that the females and Grask will not be totally drunk and will be able to hide and evade the intial round-up and imprisonment by the good guys….but that will be up to you. I believe there are 46 living ex-slaves plus 7 fellowship members. Of the ex-slaves, I would guess that 26 are men and women who would normally fight; 20 are children and females who do not usually fight. Another 6 members of the fellowship are combattants; Azhar is not. So overall we have 53 good guys: 32 fighters and 21 non-fighters. That’s 32 against 10 fierce orc warriors… plus some angry female orcs as well! This sounds about right for the two groups to keep each other in check, with neither having the clear upperhand. Of course right now, the number of good guys is lower because so many are injured. Still, we probably have 20 or so capable of fighting. A possible plot line…. 1. 12-15 relatively able bodied fighters ride over to the slavers’ camp at dawn to check on supplies. There is a wagon in the slavers’ camp which they intend to use for transporting the supplies. 2. When this party arrives, they discover 9 drunk/snoring male orcs….. Women and children are nowhere to be seen???? I can see one of our good guys who hates orcs come into camp first and stumble upon a sleeping victim. He/she will draw sword and prepare to execute. Lindir, who nominally heads the party, will stop him. (Don’t suppose everyone will be thrilled with that!) Lindir will order the males chained and thrown into the underground pit while we consider our options. 3. Since Lindir has no idea whether there are more orcs lurking about, he feels it’s essential that everyone unite in a single camp as soon as possible. He sends one or two messengers back to camp along with the wagon and tells the entire group to prepare to leave the next morning (?) after a day’s rest. Those in camp will presumably be thrilled to hear this news. When the actual trip comes the next morning, the sick will be transported in the slavers’ wagon and on sledges. We can do this in a narrative post rather than get too bogged down. The next day everyone arrives in the slavers' camp, and the debate begins. I see 3 options: kill the orcs immediately, leave them chained at the bottom of the pit (which Lindir sees as equivalent to a sentence of death) or leave them free to go their own way. Surely, no one initially considered the possibility of cooperation. Aiwendil, who has been delayed out in the wilds (I'll think of something!) comes stumbling into the meeting late…. The camp is already voting and the judgment is death. (I think this is in keeping with what people said earlier on this thread, but let me know if I am wrong.) 4. A few slaves step forward to execute the order. At this point something happens . This is something the orcs will need to plan but somehow, someway, one of the orcs needs to make a plea for mercy…. 5. I am planning on having Aiwendil step forward and explain what he has seen out on the plain in very clear terms. To put it bluntly, neither group will survive on the plains of Gorgoroth unless they cooperate against the overwhelming threat of the “olog-hai”. The group hopefully reconsiders. Orcs and good guys agree to march in proximity, if not exactly side by side.... Will this work? Ex-slaves and fellowship….please let me know if you’ll be waiting behind in camp or going with the advance party to the slavers’ camp. Orcs….please let me know if your character is going to be imprisoned or out hiding in the bushes (or doing something else for that matter.). Everyone is welcome to respond on this thread or send a pm if you have something special up your sleeve. ******* Speaking of sleeves.... Firefoot, check your pm's. **************** P.S. Would anyone like to be the character who first stumbles on a sleeping orc and draws out a sword to slay him? __________________ Multitasking women are never too busy to vote. Last edited by Child of the 7th Age; 02-07-2007 at 04:08 PM.