First Age RPG Lobby

[Tuinor]

So, I've just recently read straight through the Quenta Silmarillion (Not the whole book, mind all, but the History of the Silmarils concerning the First Age) and having it still fresh in my mind I felt a great desire to host a Role Play within that time period. Hence this thread.

Anyone is welcome, so if you have a desire to join a First Age RPG, or are simply curious about the realms of Beleriand and the stories of the First Age, I hope you will go ahead and post your ideas and questions. I'll try to get back to you with a response as soon as I can.

However, before anything is started I want to make sure I can commit to such a game. I'm on the internet much more frequently nowadays, and feel I can meet such a commitment, but to make sure I will be keeping up with this discussion thread first for the next week or so ere opening any RPG thread.

[Tuinor]

So, things are looking kinda bleak for this thread, but just in case there are those who are curious about role playing in the first age but wouldn't know where to start, here I will be posting a list of playable races: first good, then evil a little later (I'm still working on that list) for those who may not know about the peoples that existed in the first age.

If any of these groups interest anyone, easy info can be found at www.lotr.wikia.com



Playable Races



Moriquendi: The Dark Elves, or the Elves who never beheld the light of the Two Trees of Valinor. These include:

Lathrim- the woodland people of King Thingol, ruler of Doriath out of Menegroth;

Falathrim-the coastal people of Cirdan, who ruled the Havens of Elgarest and Brithombar;

Laiquendi-the Green Elves of wooded Ossiriand who hold no lord;

Mithrim-kingless wanderers scattered throughout the Realms of Beleriand;



Calaquendi: The Light Elves, or the Elves who entered Valinor and beheld the light of the two Trees. These include:

Vanyar- The Fair Elves, first to arrive in Valinor and smallest of the three clans of Calaquendi, ruled by Ingwe, High King of all Elves;

Noldor- The Deep Elves, second to arrive in Valinor of the three clans of Calaquendi, ruled in Valinor by Finarfin and in Beleriand by Fingolfin and the Sons of Feanor in the northern regions of Beleriand;

Teleri- The Sea Elves, who did not all arrive in Valinor, for their clan was immense and ruled after their sundering by King Olwe in Valinor and King Thingol as Sindarin in Beleriand;



Edain: The Elf Friends, the houses of Men who won renown in days of old as the allies of the Elves against Morgoth Bauglir. These include:

The House of Beor- Allies of Finrod Felagund and oldest of the three houses of the Edain, they dwell in the realm of Estolad East of Doriath;

The House of Halleth- Known as the Halladin, a reclusive folk that dwell in the forest of Brethil, within Doriath;

The House of Hador-Allies of Fingolfin, and youngest of the three houses of the Edain, they dwelt in the realm of Dor-Lommin in Hithlim;



Naugrim: The Dwarves of Middle-Earth, the Adopted Children of Illuvatar, created by Aule of the Valar, master masons and smiths of the Mountains. These include:

Longbeards- Durin's Folk, and the people responsible for the realms of Mount Gundabad, Khazad-Dum, and Erebor under the Lonely Mountain;

Firebeards and Broadbeams- The Dwarves of the Blue Mountains of Beleriand, responsible for Nogrod and Belegost;

Ironfists, Stiffbeards, Blacklocks and Stonefoots- Clans that awoke originally in the far eastern parts of Middle-Earth and rarely ever set foot in the realms of Beleriand;

Petty Dwarves- Uncivilized outcasts and exiles from the original Seven Clans, they are found in very small groups scattered all throughout Beleriand and once hunted by Sindarin Elves who mistook them for Orcs;



Shepherds of Trees: The Ents of Middle-Earth, the Adopted Children of Illuvatar, created by Yavanna of the Valar, and the guardians of the ancient forests. These include:

Ents- The "Males" of their race who dwell in deep ancient forests and tend to the trees therein.

Entwives- The "Females" of their race who dwell in country sides and meadows tending to gardens of crop-yielding plants;



Maiar: The Ainur created to serve the Valar by Illuvatar before the creation of Arda, these rarely left the Valar unless bidden to by their leaders. These include:

Nature Spirits- Spirits of the elements who travel throughout Arda without form, though they may take form as need arises, and bear authority over their respective elements;

Istari- Wizards out of Aman, who walk in the form of aged Men and do the bidding of the Valar in Middle-Earth, wielding authority that is physically represented in their staffs;

Maiar- A rare few of the Maiar walk the world of Middle-Earth with waking forms that resemble the fairest of the Children of Illuvatar and have dealings with these;



Tame Beasts: There are some creatures of Arda who possess traits of the Children of Illuvatar and the Ainur, beasts seemingly inhabited by Spirits, or Feär, gifting them with knowledge and powers that the more common of their kind do not express. These include:

Great Hounds- The hounds of Orome, Huntsman of the Valar, whom he trained to help him in his hunting of the evil servants of Morgoth;

Great Eagles- The servants of Manwe in Middle-Earth, mighty eagles of enormous size and tenacious cunning, they dwell in the mountain eyries surrounding Morgoth's realm;

[Varnafindë]

What sort of events would you like to play?
If I were to join, I would be most interested in playing out interaction between canon and/or original characters during some interesting period or event - what about the split between Celebrimbor and his father in Nargothrond? Should start when Curufin and his brother and their people arrive at Nargothrond and include all the trouble they were involved in ...

I'm not interested in playing battles or much detailed fighting.

[Tuinor]

Are you talking about the mess that happened after Finrod Felagund left Nargothrond in the hands of Orodoreth to aid Beren in the quest for the Silmaril?

That sounds like it would be interesting. What would your ideas be for such an RPG?

I had in mind a quest story that would take a party across Beleriand (Possibly starting in Hithlum or Nargothrond even sounds like a good start) and possibly into Eriador, just after the Dagor Bragollac, but I had in mind a great deal of adventuring to be had, as well as several battles.

Were you thinking of a political intrigue story? I'd like to discuss it more if possible. Let me know what you were thinking about and I'll continue to work on the list of evil races.

[Earniel]

It is an unfortunate time to start a RPG in the holidays in my experience, a lot of people are away.

But there is a lot to choose from for a First Age game so I am interested to see what this game will be about. But I first have to sort out and see in what state the other games I'm in are, before I can even think of joining anything new. Like Varna I am not interested in fights and battles for fighting's sake, but I do enjoy quests with a few skirmishes.

I would in any case advise to keep the plot short, First Age games tend to be rare here: not that many of our role players are familiar with the material. So a long game is probably doomed from the start, unless it has some very dedicated players.

[feawen]

i would be interested in joining. its been a long time since i read the epic that is the Silmarillion. im probably due to reread it again. i was always interested in the interactings between the dark and light elves. having always played quite up beat chatacters id be interested in playing something a little darker.

[Tuinor]

Originally Posted by Earniel

It is an unfortunate time to start a RPG in the holidays in my experience, a lot of people are away.

I'm beginning to see that. I forget because I'm on permanent no-holiday.

Originally Posted by Earniel

I am not interested in fights and battles for fighting's sake, but I do enjoy quests with a few skirmishes.

I myself am more drawn to the idea of exploration and questing with a couple of battles mixed in... much like the way The Hobbit goes, as opposed to epic warfare as in LotR.

Originally Posted by Earniel

First Age games tend to be rare here: not that many of our role players are familiar with the material. So a long game is probably doomed from the start, unless it has some very dedicated players.

That's understandable, though I would like to have a long stay in the First Age at some point.

Originally Posted by feawen

having always played quite up beat characters id be interested in playing something a little darker.

I like quests with a tinge of darkness about them, so you'd be more than welcome if we can get any more players.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Tuinor

That's understandable, though I would like to have a long stay in the First Age at some point.

Also understandable.

Perhaps you can consider a structure of several smaller quests/adventures, in which you can easily keep old characters or include new ones, and that will not take years to reach some conclusion? (I myself am very lucky to have dedicated players in the Long Lost Leaves game as it is about to enter its fourth year and only now comes close to furfulling its quest.)

Also, having a leader at the helm in the game usually works better of keeping games from floundering. Completely communal efforts are worthwhile, but very often peter out before reaching a conclusion. Sometimes it really helps to have someone who keeps a firm eye on the plot, and occasionally moves things forward when others don't know what to post or where to go. Just a reminder.

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Tuinor

Are you talking about the mess that happened after Finrod Felagund left Nargothrond in the hands of Orodoreth to aid Beren in the quest for the Silmaril?

That sounds like it would be interesting. What would your ideas be for such an RPG?

I had in mind a quest story that would take a party across Beleriand (Possibly starting in Hithlum or Nargothrond even sounds like a good start) and possibly into Eriador, just after the Dagor Bragollac, but I had in mind a great deal of adventuring to be had, as well as several battles.

Were you thinking of a political intrigue story? I'd like to discuss it more if possible. Let me know what you were thinking about and I'll continue to work on the list of evil races.

That's exactly the mess I'm talking about
I suppose it might be political intrigue - although I'm most interested in the effect Curufin and Celegorm have on the people of Nargothrond. First the brothers persuade the Nargothrond people not to support Finrod, so that he has only ten companions going with him when he goes with Beren. But later the brothers mess up things with Luthien so that the Nargothrond people turn against them - even those who came with them in the first place, including Curufin's own son.

I have an OC which I've used in fan fiction (and will use in other RPGs) which would fit in here - I was interested in developing him in his Nargothrond days anyway. He's a relative of Nerdanel, and thus of the sons of Fëanor as well.

(I have also played his granddaughter in a 3rd Age RPG on a different board )

I would have it follow the canon events, not play any "what if"s. We needn't use the canon characters (but we could), it could be all seen through the eyes of the ordinary people of Nargothrond.

There is a risk of this becoming mostly discussions and other dialogue, and not so much action, I guess.

[Tuinor]

A sudden thought! How would some enjoy a starter story to introduce and develop characters and test the first age waters, so to speak, and then later on move into a more in depth quest and story line?

I was thinking that for those who wish to play as Noldorim (and any other random Valiquendi who came to Middle-Earth with them) the crossing of the Helcaraxe would make a fun, brief tale (with plenty of room for creative license) that could lead into a more intricate tale later on.

The only problems would be the development of Human characters, who would not live long enough to join any of the Elves in later quests. However, ancestor characters could be played, and their heirlooms and whatnot could be interwoven into the stories of their descendants.

This is just a thought, but if anyone else likes the idea I think I could make it work.

[Earniel]

Hm, I like the idea. The Crossing of the Helcaraxë has often been an unused period with lots of potential.

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Tuinor

the crossing of the Helcaraxe would make a fun, brief tale (with plenty of room for creative license) that could lead into a more intricate tale later on.

Needn't even be all that brief - some interpretations (or perhaps even words by Tolkien) are that it took about thirty years

But I would then choose parts of it and not cover all those thirty years in detail

[Aikanáro]

I'd possibly be interested in a crossing-the-Helcaraxë RP, particularly if it was on the shorter side. I have a few Noldorin original characters who'd have been around then, so it could be interesting.

[Tuinor]

Okay, I may be overstretching myself, but here's how I see this could be played.

I would like to try and make it an rpg with two sides to the story, the first being the forsaken Noldorim crossing the Helcaraxe for those craving more character building and less combat-oriented play, and the second being the Dagor-nuin-Gilliath for those who desire a game more focused on fighting.

Primarily, playable characters for Good should be Noldorim, but I could accept any other race (besides Mortal Men, for they have yet to awaken) if a creative explanation can be made as to why they have joined the hosts of the Noldor. However, for the Helcaraxe story I do not think there would be any other races besides the Noldor and perhaps one or two random Eldar of Vanyar or Telerin descent (however, a very good explanation would be needed as to why one of the Telerin has joined the hosts responsible for the kinslaying).

For evil (and I will be posting a full list of evil races later in this post) primarily orcs and balrogs would be played at the Dagor-nuin-Gilliath, as no other creatures were mentioned participating. I imagine that perhaps a few werewolves, trolls, and vampires participated selectively, but since Glaurung had yet to appear, I would have to say hold back on any dragon characters.

This story I would like to play a sort of "prequel" to any grand adventure to be had in the first age, so I would hope that players would use it to first introduce and flesh out their characters, but not worry if the story doesn't last very long for them (I'm not looking for this to be a multi-thread game by any means). If this does turn out to be a "hit" (I use the term loosely) then I will try and develop a more in depth game to be a continuation at a later date.

How does this sound to you potential players?

Anyway, here following now is a list of the baddies of Middle-Earth as I figure existed in the first age. Please correct me if I fail to mention something or have written something that is overly incorrect.

Playable Races


Fallen Maiar: Those lesser Ainur that Morgoth had led astray by the discord in the Music of the Ainur who now serve in unquestioning fear. These include:

Balrogs- Demons of Might who were once spirits of fire corrupted by Morgoth, who act as lieutenants in his dark hosts;

Vampires- Blood thirsty spirits given twisted forms of bats by Morgoth, bred in the pits of Utumno before the age of the Two Trees;

Werewolves- Ravenous spirits forced into the forms of humongous wolves by Morgoth, bred in the pits of Utumno before the age of the Two Trees;

Shape-shifters- Spirits who manifest themselves in many forms that change due to the need of the spirit, of whom Sauron was foremost in Tol-in-Gaurhoth;

Dragons- Out of the various drakes that haunt Middle-Earth the most wicked servants of Morgoth were those in whom he placed a Feär, usually one of a fallen Maiar, to do his evil bidding;


Orcs: The Elves whom Morgoth enslaved and twisted into a mockery of all life, the most prolific of all his servants. These include:

Orcs- The larger breeds used by Morgoth in warfare with the Elves of Beleriand;

Goblins- The smaller breeds used by Morgoth for the construction of his war mechanisms in Angband;


Trolls: Living stone enchanted by Morgoth in mockery of the Ents, bred first in the pits of Utumno. These include:

Cave Trolls- Dull-witted cave dwellers that live as beasts of burden for the goblins of the mountains;

Hill Trolls- Large brutish bandits that live in hollows in the hill countries and prey on unwary travelers, eating their flesh and plundering their goods;

River Trolls- Wicked creatures that lie in wait in subterranean caverns for any creature to haplessly wander by. They may also take a liking to dwelling under bridges;

Mountain Trolls- The largest of the troll breeds, used by Morgoth as shock troops and by Gothmog, the chief of the Balrogs, as his personal escort;


Twisted Creatures: Detestable forms of life corrupted by Morgoth in the days before the Two Trees in the deep pits of Utumno, some of which now exist beyond his influence in the deep places of the world:

Giant Spiders- Enormous and ravenous, the spawn of Ungoliant, giant spiders seek to devour all life and cover the earth in their twisted webs;

Worms- Massive reptilians, the first form of dragon to appear out of Angband, these creatures neither fly nor breathe flame, but they due wield power through sheer size and the wicked use of Dragon Spell;

Cold Drakes-Limbed descendants of the limbless worms, they do not breathe fire, but can still utilize the effects of Dragon Spell;

Fire Drakes- After the Colds came the Fire Drakes, first appearing in the Dagor Bragollach, the Battle of Sudden Flame. Though they do not fly, they have the ability to spew flames from their great and powerful maws;

Winged Drakes- The most terrible of the servants of Morgoth, these humongous, fire breathing reptiles did not appear until the very end of the First Age as the final assault from Morgoth on the forces of Valinor during the War of Wrath;

???- In the depths of the world there yet live nasty, creeping things that have long passed out of history, waiting and watching and feeding as the world slowly forgets of their existence, that is until they are come upon by the most unfortunate of travelers, very few of whom ever escape to tell of their encounters;


Wicked Men: Out of the east after some time came the mortal followers of Morgoth, Easterlings who he had twisted to his purposes. These include:

The Sons of Bor- Men who pledged fealty to Maedhros, though Morgoth attempted to bribe them;

The Sons of Ulfang-Men who pledged fealty to Caranthir, though Morgoth secretly bribed them;

[feawen]

i dont really have much knowledge on the crossing. i was interested in playing a native elf who had never reached the west. but i can bring them in on a later rpg. however im willing to play for evil peeps! at least them i can get in there and get used to peoples writing styles! if that is any help?

[Tuinor]

Originally Posted by feawen

i dont really have much knowledge on the crossing. i was interested in playing a native elf who had never reached the west. but i can bring them in on a later rpg. however im willing to play for evil peeps! at least them i can get in there and get used to peoples writing styles! if that is any help?

If you wish to play a native Sindar or Laiquendi, then it is possible that after the Noldor arrive in Middle-Earth and the Dagor-nuin-Gilliath begins and the siege that Morgoth had laid upon those peoples had been lifted, then any bold (or half mad) Dark Elf could follow the Dark Lord's hosts in secret and join the Noldorim in the major battle that ensued.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Tuinor

I would like to try and make it an rpg with two sides to the story, the first being the forsaken Noldorim crossing the Helcaraxe for those craving more character building and less combat-oriented play, and the second being the Dagor-nuin-Gilliath for those who desire a game more focused on fighting.

You may want to consider making two threads then. If I remember correctly the Noldor following Fëanor into the Battle under the Stars didn't cross the Helcaraxë and those that did, following Fingolfin, arrived much later. If you put both events in one thread, you may risk confusing people if they can't tell which character belongs to the Helcaraxë-event and which takes part in the battle.

I would most likely only play in the crossing of the Helcaraxë. Would multiple characters be allowed?

[Tuinor]

Hey, all. Sorry I was gone for a bit. School finals took over my life for a time, but I am returned.

Originally Posted by Earniel

You may want to consider making two threads then.

I am and most likely shall. As you said, it would get very confusing quick.

Originally Posted by Earniel

I would most likely only play in the crossing of the Helcaraxë. Would multiple characters be allowed?

Well, if only four of five people play, then I'm thinking that for any amount of in-depth play there would be a need for multiple characters at least on the parts of a couple of us. I intend (if I do start two threads) on at least playing two characters per thread (one canonical, another original). You're more than welcome to play more than two if you prefer.

[Varnafindë]

Originally Posted by Tuinor

Hey, all. Sorry I was gone for a bit. School finals took over my life for a time, but I am returned.

School finals (and RL events in general) have a way of doing that

Well, if only four of five people play, then I'm thinking that for any amount of in-depth play there would be a need for multiple characters at least on the parts of a couple of us. I intend (if I do start two threads) on at least playing two characters per thread (one canonical, another original). You're more than welcome to play more than two if you prefer.

For the crossing, I could play a family with children, part CC part OC - and perhaps another family with children as well, all OC - and perhaps even add a third character, OC.

The reason why I suggest that many, is that these all exist already in Varnafindë's family tree, so I know the connections between them in the future and would like to explore their past.

I have an OC which I've used in fan fiction (and will use in other RPGs) which would fit in here - I was interested in developing him in his Nargothrond days anyway. He's a relative of Nerdanel, and thus of the sons of Fëanor as well.

I was just thinking about him this morning and rereading that chapter of Sil and thinking what his part would have been in the Dagor-nuin-Gilliath (I think he goes south with Celegorm). I guess I ought to explore that ...

Edit:
And I just posted his short bio in the last post of my Varna's Family History thread.

[Earniel]

Originally Posted by Tuinor

Well, if only four of five people play, then I'm thinking that for any amount of in-depth play there would be a need for multiple characters at least on the parts of a couple of us. I intend (if I do start two threads) on at least playing two characters per thread (one canonical, another original). You're more than welcome to play more than two if you prefer.

Excellent! I'm thinking of playing a father-daughter team. Original characters, since I don't trust myself with canonical characters. Both are of the Noldor, the mother was Telerin, so she stayed behind for obvious reasons.

I do have another original character, one I've worked out in my fan-fic writings, but I haven't figured out yet if I want to include her as well, I haven't ironed out her history yet to my liking.