Éadnes Andwiltan of Mirkwood - Peter C.

[Eadnes]

The folk of the Greenwood had always seen kindness in Éadnes and a joy in the telling of tales in his face. As a result it was no surprise he did not take to his training in weaponry. Like all of his kin, he was proficient but it was clear he was not ready to be one of the heroes of old. Whereas others would spend time learning to master the drill to fight with spear in line, Éadnes would rather tell the great tales of battle against the darkness and shadows. At the end of his training under the weapons masters Éadnes was destined to fight outside the rank, to skirmish and scout. Yet following his encounter with the werebeast, he knew his skills were lacking and he needed to take more seriously how he could defend himself against such powerful foes. Hence he moved his wandering from the land East of the Greenwood to the Greenwood itself.

[Eadnes]

The Greenwood about the Kindom of Thranduil was a safe place to learn and Éadnes started to practice his ability to move in the shadows. He found this easy and quickly found he could sit watching the life of the forest unfold about him as though he was part of the natural world. That his kin would not notice him without concentrating illustrated how capable he became and as such, he felt more confident in wandering further in the wilds. He encountered many on his path to learning but quickly found he would parry and jab as a technique when encountering difficulty. Retreating to safety was all very well but did not stop a determined foe. As an elf, his movement helped him and in squabbles with bandits jabbing with his spear and parrying with his sword quickly proved troublesome. His sword was simply too big and heavy designed for a pitched battle of mighty swings, Éadnes required something different. Speaking to the weaponsmiths of both the elven kingdom and Dale, it was suggested he seek a lighter blade similar to the curved swords of the Southrons. Experimenting with designs, Éadnes still could not find a blade that suited him, it needed to come out of the scabbard within an arm's pull, hence the curve neede in the blade, and needed to be able to punch through armour, rather than slash. As he experimented it became aware to another, Fierdican of Thranduil's Royal Guard that Éadnes was developing an unusual style of fighting incompatible with the regiementation of the army. Fierdican practiced with Éadnes and found in the King's armoury a sword fashioned as part of a ceremonial outfit that was ideal. Fierdican also suggested a metal collar for Éadnes' spear to better support a parry. Éadnes quickly developed an ofensive style where he could jab and parry with either weapon. Jabbing towards the leg and face with the spear and using the sword to punch through thea rmour of the body. A hidden benefit in advancing, was the curve of the sword allowed it to be withdrawn easily for the next act, a discovery of significant proportion when Éadnes was learning in the wild with Fierdican.

Out-of-Character ∴

My idea here is that Éadnes has a spear and the metal collar is about 24" long in the middle of the shaft. It really could be tough leather or even rope to allow a blade to be pushed away in a parry. So the longer spear allows him to incapacitate enemies by puncturing their leg or blinding them whilst at the same time being a method of pushing their weapon to the side. The short curving sword, 'falchion' can cut on its sharp edge, but being a one edged swrd has sufficient weight to punch through armour. I've suggested it is an elvish ceremonial blade and in the mythology it talks of enchanted elvish blades. I don't know the One Ring Rules to know if this applies to all elvish blades. To work with the next part of his history I am assuming so and will leave it to you to decide if it is too powerful. Again I am making no referrence to throwing knives at the moment but will do if you think it appropriate. I am assuming everyone can read this character history and it fits with their characters.

[Eadnes]

Out-of-Character ∴

The previous post rejected but I think I've fixed it.

[Eadnes]

Those that have heard of Mirkwood imagine a great forest, dark and fiercesome where trees stretch on for miles and miles. In their minds eye the forest is a flat impenetrable darkness, uniform in its dispair. Yet this is not so, like all lands there are hills, caves, running rivers and even rents in the land where the trees stunted and tangled strangle all light from ever reaching the ground. The wise say this is what attracted evil to the forest. The dark tunnels of the earth allow the secret passage of foul beasts to cast their stench over the Greenwood and the darkness protects the creatures of evil form the sunlight. It was such a foul beast the wanderers came across and thus through Fierdican and Éadnes, Thranduil learned of that evil was stretching its hand further into the Greenwood. How the creature came to be in the Mirkwood remains unknown but Fierdican and Éadnes came across a trail of destruction issuing from a cave, forest creatures killed and eaten raw. Following the trail they came across a hill troll. Engaging the creature its tough hide could not be penetrated either by Fierdican's bow or Éadnes' spear. It rage was such it charged with a huge hammer and swinging mightily it turned trees to shrapnel. The combat quickly became a strategy of the elves dodging and the troll charging. The friends were fast enough to avoid the creatures huge blows but the flying wood and rocks were a constant hurt. It was at the point where the creature charged Fierdian that Éadnes used his ability to disappear in the forest to escape the creature's sight. Appearing behind the monster Éadnes ran and lept at its back. Using all his might he thrust his blade against it tough hide and found his blade slid through the creature's warty skin. The curve of the blade took it's point to its heart and it fell. Examining the creature revealed little, a small token that perhaps could be seen as a misshapen hand. The Hill Troll was far from its home, the wrong side of the Misty Mountains. Did its cave lead back through darkness under the mountains? Fierdican immediately wanted to return to tell Thranduil of this creature, he felt the best way was to take its head. The return journey was uneventful as though a calm had fallen over the forest. Thranduil was disturbed by the news of this creature and issued a command that as many caves and holes be blocked. Turning to Éadnes he stated "It seems as if you are destined to uncover the wiles of our enemies. I see great use for you in these troubled times. You either meet the enemies of our people or are told of dangers to come. I will send you to discover what can be known in the direction of each of the compass points. Use the creatures you understand most to send back word to me of what you find, now go."

Since this time Éadnes has followed the King's wishes on journeys near and far. He has become known by some in the towns of men as a story teller as he turns up for celebrations and annual fairs, a time he finds ripe with gossip and useful information from far lands. His most recent longer journey was to the North West of Mirkwood. The elves struggling to keep the evils discovered at bay seeing the name Greenwood slip into the past. The destruction of Smaug has seen a resurgence in the free peoples claiming their inheritance in the North. Éadnes has reported to Thranduil that many Orcs seem to be heading south and the North seems less hazardous, but with the growth of the Shadow, will Thranduil's kingdom remain unattacked?

Out-of-Character ∴

I was going to finish the history part here. Let me know if there are any gaps or changes you think would be beneficial or I have got wrong. I have been thinking about Thranduil and his lack of appearance in the One Ring Cycle. I tried to create Éadnes to be an information gatherer allowing Legolas to be the Warrior Prince. I've avoided using Legolas in the story as I felt you might want to use him freely. If you decide Éadnes knows him, I'm sure you can let me know.

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Out-of-Character

Again, the story sounds great. Facing off against an Olog-hai Troll is NOT an easy thing to do, as they were created by Sauron to be a higher form of life even than the Uruk-hai, which were very dangerous in and of themselves. The stats I have in the game makes the Olog-hai VERY VERY dangerous, close to the stats of an Adult Dragon like Smaug, just smaller, but it still only has 3D for armor and 95 Endurance, so you're talking about a LOT of work to kill something like that, and only if the fight would contain a LOT of really awesome die rolls.

[Eadnes]

Out-of-Character ∴

I hope this works as I have totally different screen here on my work PC. I am happy to change the creature to something else. I was looking through trying to find something that was created in Lord of the Rings that could be released in Mirkwood as a test the characters could run into. Thus, giving the Valour part of the characters' background some validity. Let me know what you think. Also if this comes through OK on the forum.

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Out-of-Character

I'm uncertain I understand what you mean... had you intended to add an image to your post? As for what comes through on the forums, all you've written so far is great for content and integrity with Tolkien, as far as I know. You could actually have faced off against the Werewolf of Mirkwood and had an easier time earning Valor, especially in the eyes of King Thranduil. The Werewolf is... different, not as dangerous as the Olog-hai or a Dragon, and yet more dangerous because you can't actually kill the Werewolf. I can't say more than that.

Now, if you want a different creature altogether, one that would, indeed, be released by the Enemy to test your King's defenses, let me know and I'll see what I an find that actually is in the game.

[Eadnes]

Out-of-Character ∴

Sorry about the confusion. Today I went back to start the new term and used my work computer. For some reason the whole One Ring site looks and works differently. At home I am typing this able to see the last post and scroll back and forth. The ooc boxes are blue-ish and the normal boxes brown-ish. At work I cannot reply without opening a new window so I can't refer back. The whole site is different in layout too. So I wasn't sure if it was working or not.

Regarding facing off against a beastie. I don't yet know how combat takes place or the type of damage inflicted, so I was trying to describe a reasonable battle. I am making assumptions about the power and speed of elves as opposed to men and as one of these creatures faced Aragorn, I mistakenly thought that would match about two elves especially with one being exceptionally experienced. So, I guess I'd rather go for a different beastie as appropriate.

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Out-of-Character

Alright, let me do some research on some significantly nasty beasts you would best be matched with, and I'll get back to you. I have an Index I've constructed for all of the books I have thus far, so I should be able to find you something pretty easily.

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Out-of-Character

Alright, I've found you something... let's see what you think...

Hill-troll

"Taller and broader than Men they were, and they were clad only in close-fitting mesh of horny scales, or maybe that was their hideous hide..."

Holl-trolls are probably the most common breed of this cruel race, as they prowl desolate areas from the Coldfells in the north to Gorgoroth in the south. They are wild and beastly in battle, prone to bellowing and roaring to intimidate their enemies, but can be disciplined to use simple weapons and armor.

Attribute Level: 7, when most people have 5 or less
Endurance: 84, when most fall between 20 and 30
Hate: 7, which is a LOT compared to most of the monsters in the bestiary
Parry: 5 (+1), when most people have a 3 (with or without the +1)
Armor: 3d, which is pretty thick hide, especially considering how much Endurance and the kind of Parry this beast has

Weapon Skills: 3d in Heavy hammer, which is half of the maximum allowed value, and which does 8 damage on a regular hit, with an Edge rating of , which means it's not easy to get a Piercing Blow -potential to cause a wound- but, if you do get a Piercing Blow the save required is 14+. They also have Crush of 2d, which damage is done at their attribute level of 7, also with an Edge of , but a bit easier of a save at 12+.

Special Abilities: Great Size ~ Rather than becoming Weary when its Endurance is reduced to 0, or killed when its Endurance reaches 0 AND it suffers a Wound, the beast does not Weary until it's Endurance is reduced to 0 AND it takes it's first Wound, and is not killed until it takes a second Wound.

Hideous Toughness ~ Spend one point of Hate to reduce the Endurance loss suffered by 7 (for this creature).

Strike Fear ~ Spend one point of Hate to force all companions to make a Fear test vs. Target Number 14. If any companion fails, they may not spend Hope until the Fear-causing stimulus is done; from what our group just experienced in The Marsh-bell, not being able to spend Hope is a really bad thing to suffer.

Now, truth be told, this Hill-troll is four magnitudes of power beneath the Olog-hai Troll. Making comparisons with your own character, you might be able to tell that, regardless of the experience level, you really need a group to deal with a monster like this one.

Now, I can find another if this one doesn't suit, but this one's pretty dog-gone powerful, while still being manageable.

[Eadnes]

Out-of-Character ∴

Hi Paul,

Yes the Hill Troll will be fine. Do you want me to edit the last piece?

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Out-of-Character

Only if you want to. As long as the role-played telling of the story, such as if/when you go to tell the story through your character, is correct it's alright.

Were it me, it would bug the crap out of me until I changed it, hehe.

[Eadnes]

Out-of-Character ∴

Changed

[Fieranor of Imladris]

Out-of-Character

Alright, good sir, do you have more on the way?

[Eadnes]

Out-of-Character ∴

Hi Paul. I was going to write about wandering and puppet shows but now we've started I thought I'd leave that until there is a pause. Is that OK?