Homeward Bound Discussion Thread

[piosenniel]

Basic Storyline: The RPG Seed “For Their Sport” is adopted for this RPG, slightly adapted.

“The Easterlings are a cruel sort. You have toiled as a slave for these unkind masters, and now you have been chosen to meet a cruel end as quarry for one of their hunts. Released into the streets without weapons or gear, tired and malnourished from months or years of imprisonment, far from hope and home, you must use your wits and cooperate with your fellow prisoners if you hope to turn the tables on the hunters and escape to freedom by crossing the Anduin into Gondor and linking up with friendly forces.”

[piosenniel]

The purpose of the story is to: Escape to Gondor, cross the Anduin and meet up with a Gondorian Patrol.

[piosenniel]

Starting Location: Easterling City of Rhun, a harbor city on the eastern side of Sea of Rhun
Likely destination: Gondor

[piosenniel]

Timeframes:

This game takes place in the Fourth Age at around year 5.
The storyline itself or plot covers around one month.

This game requires a time commitment of indefinite length from me and from the major players.

[piosenniel]

CHARACTERS NEEDED

Player/Character List

1.) Eorl of Rohan - Mir Wainrider (short for Artamir) - (Easterling)
2.) Durelin - Regnár - (Gondorian Former Soldier)
3.) Thinlómien - Susca (Suscana) - (Gondorian Civilian Female)
4.) Dimturiel - Penram (Gondorian/Easterling Teenage Boy - BROTHER to little girl)
5.) Folwren - Merra - (Gondorian/Easterling Little Girl - SISTER to teenage boy)
6.) Eorl of Rohan - Ariel Silverwood - (Gondorian Former Soldier)
7.) Folwren - Hama - (Rohirrim)

~*~

8.) Rohirrim Former Soldier or Civilian – 1 – Male or Female STILL AVAILABLE

[piosenniel]

Character types which would not belong:

Elves

(I somehow cannot see Elves surviving under the brutal whip of the Easterlings for more than five years. It might have been possible in the days of the First Age, when the high spirit of the Firstborn was unwearied and true, but not in these days when even the remaining handful of Elves are melting into the shadows. If a player could come up with a plausible explanation for how and why their character managed to live through such brutal treatment, however, I would be open to letting them play an Elven character.)

[piosenniel]

Eorl of Rohan’s character: (I will be playing the morally ambivalent Easterling Guard character!)

NAME: Mir Wainrider (short for Artamir)
AGE: 36
RACE: Easterling (Wainrider Clan)
GENDER: Man
WEAPONS: Naegling, a blade that he received from his grandfather

APPEARANCE: Taller than the average, but still short and swarthy in comparison to the men of Gondor and Rohan. He is lean and muscular, the sinews rippling beneath the flesh, but somehow gives off the impression of being slight in build because he lacks the bulging muscles and the stoutness of his fellow Easterlings. Clad in the black and silver livery of an Easterling officer, he would have cut an imposing figure if the eyes half-hidden beneath the long tousled black hair was not so sad and wistful.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: He’s a seasoned swordsman, but if he had relied solely on the strength of his arms to keep himself alive then his white bones would be glistening in the morning dew of Mordor by this time. He is the least skilled in swordplay among Easterling officers, and is hopeless with a bow. He leads his men by plain common sense and an in-depth knowledge of all the dangers that lurk in the vast lands between Gondor and Seas of Rhun that was compiled by leading various raids into the wild. He is soft-spoken, cynical, and completely lacks a sense of humor. He was once brave and proud, but while it is said that when he was younger no man led so many raids into the hated northern lands or supplied the city of Rhun with so many Gondorian slaves, he contented himself with guard duty ever since he returned from the final war. The rank-and-file mutter that some tragedy must have happened in the battle, or after it perhaps, which broke the clear-voiced and idealistic young officer who used to hate Gondor with a passion and told the stories of the ancient wars with as much zest as a troubadour, and reduced him to this soft-spoken officer with bitterness in his words and a perpetual sadness in his eyes.

HISTORY: He is of the Clan of Wainrider, which was once a powerful confederation of Easterling clans who were united in their hatred against Gondor. Since he was a suckling babe, he had heard heroic stories of the Great Conquest of Ithilien and how he himself is the last of the direct male-line descendant of Liel Wainrider who slew King Ondohor and his sons in one fell stroke. He enlisted in the army when he was seventeen, a patriotic and idealistic young man who dreamed of marking his name on the pages of history like his ancestor Liel. He is a seasoned war veteran who led many forays into the outlying lands of the northern countries and fought in the War of the One Ring. He had the sense to round about the fleeing rank-and-file when the One Ring was destroyed, knowing that they would be hunted down if they fled alone and distraught, and with some Gondorian prisoners to guide the way managed to return to the City of Rhun with about half the number intact despite the many dangers on the way. Since then, he has contented himself with guard duty and left the leading of raids to the younger officers. He is a loyal and brave soldier who fought valiantly for the honor of their people, from the Easterling’s point of view, but apparently this admiration was not shared by the Gondorian prisoners that he captured . . . one of whom is currently baring naked steel at him, a cold smile lighting his countenance (See First Post for the game).

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Linked ~*~ Pio