Wilderness, Weathertop, and Wild Things Discussion Thread

[rutslegolas]

My second post is up

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

Arrald and Dim have met up with Grimm and Broga, so the ugliness is now near intolerable.

I have introduced a minor adventure for the baddies so that we have something to do until the arrival of the good-guys. A little dust-up with some farmers should be relatively quick to do -- perhaps in the aftermath of the attack, the goodies can come out to investigate and be attacked by the baddies? Just an idea.

A Note On Trolls (mine at least): I do know that the plan for the trolls is that they are having their treasure stolen by the orcs, but my read of trolls is that they don't really care for treasure at all (being too stupid for that). As my post reflects, they think that the real gain of the attacks is the meat not the gold. So they are being taken advantage of by the orcs, but they don't know or care -- I mean, what use does a troll have for gold? If this is out of step with the rest of the baddies let me know now so I can change direction.

[Saurreg]

Envinyatar - thank you for editing your post to suit my second one. Appreciate it.

[Nuranar]

Thanks to everyone who's posted! I had one of those days yesterday (of course, it would have been the day the game opened ) and am still not feeling just terrific, but I hope to have a post up later this afternoon. Note: We will not get down to business about our mission in the common room; after we eat we will move to a private room.

Alaksoron, we'll be carrying Osric just fine. Thanks for letting us know when you'll be gone.

A request: Please try to fill in "Saves" within 24 hours. If that'll be a problem, please PM me and let me know. (Kransha, this is not directed at you. Actually, thank you for reminding me to put the notice up!)

Fordim (and all baddies), please see your PMs.

Carry on!

Nuranar

[Meneltarmacil]

Dragon Elf and I have recently come up with some interesting ideas for the game.

First, a few proposed strategies for outsmarting the bad guys:

1. (This assumes they'll be waiting to ambush us at Weathertop when we get there) When we reach Weathertop, I figure the hill will look deserted, and will remain deserted as we climb the path to the top. As soon as we reach the top and have let our guard down, they'll attack from all sides and try to kill us all. Or they may think so. In reality, only about four people will be there when the bad guys attack. The rest will have climbed up in secret a few minutes after the first four started and will come up behind the bad guys and attack, having anticipated their strategy. If they don't use an ambush strategy, this will probably require less strategy and more brute force, but I figure they'll do something like this.

2. (I like this one better because the first idea seems too tailored to a specific strategy) Three people (probably those best at close-range fighting) will walk past the hill disguised as ordinary travelers. This will cause the bad guys to run out and try to maul them, taking them for easy prey. The good guys will wait until the bad guys are out in the open, then draw their weapons and attack. At the same time, other good guys hiding somewhere out of sight will shoot them from afar. They should set this up beforehand so that when the "travelers" ride past Weathertop, the others will have the bad guys surrounded. If the area around Weathertop is too wide-open to have any good hiding spots, the alternative would be to buy a large wagon with horses to pull it in Bree, then hide the ambushers in there.

Second: Dragon Elf suggested adding a sub-plot to this. His character would find an injured wolf somewhere early on and heal it. The wolf would then be grateful to Menecar and the rest of the party afterward and would show up to help out now and then.

Third: As for people getting injured, I volunteer Thoronmir for a severe injury (but not one that couldn't be completely healed upon reaching Rivendell). I'll have him get hurt somewhere in the Trollshaws after crossing the Last Bridge. (The Stone Trolls would be a good spot)

Just a few ideas that I think might work well. Feel free to accept/reject them as you see fit.

[Kransha]

Oho, Meneltarmacil, remember that you do not yet know the villains' strategy. Do not think that we shall fall into trite predictability. We orcs/trolls/etceteras are smarter than we look. *resumes maniacal laughter*

Alright, I've posted, and will make some points about said post.

I have introduced three named orcs, all of whom are completely expendable. When I say completely, I mean, don't kill them off right away, but if you feel like kicking orc posterior and you'd rather not be annihilating nameless pawns, feel free to pick off one of these three individuales importantes during combat. Mind you, the third is a more powerful warrior, and not quite as easy to get out of the picture. If anyone has to get it soon, it ought to be #1 or #2.

Búbkûr: Chief Lieutenant: Strong, thug-persona, bombastic, imbecilic.
Gráthgrob: Chief Negotiator and Vizier: Smart, logical, weak, pompous.
Kransha (dreadfully sorry for the self-insert, but I had to use this name for something): Chief Scout and Archer: Fast, silent, and an excellent marksman (Beware!).

And, for your convenience, here's an Index of Black Speech Words, since I used so many BS (convenient acronym, no?) words in my post. Mind y'all, Bazzog often slips into the Black Speech (also called Orkish, or the Black Tongue of Mordor) often, sometimes with just a word, and sometimes for oration. Since not much Black Speech is documented in Tolkien's works, I might take some liberties, but all BS used in this first speech is straight from the pages of the books.

Pushdug: Dung-filth
Bagronk: Cess-pool
Sha: Contemptuous interjection
Ash-bûbhosh: Great one
Glob: Fool

[Saurreg]

Nuranar - Post edited as pointed out. Have included the Rohirrim in Loudewater's observation.

Baddies - OUTSTANDING! Especially you Kransha!