Lamedon Square Market Discussion Thread

[Feanor of the Peredhil]

LAMEDON SQUARE MARKET FACTS:

It is the 4th Age, year 21. By the Shire Calendar it is year 1443 S.R. (Shire Reckoning).


King Elessar is on the throne of the Reunited Kingdom of Arnor and Gondor.


Mirkwood has been reclaimed by the Elves and is now called Eryn Lasgalen.


Peregrin Took, Pippin, is Thain of the Shire, (Thain is an honorary title for the military leader of the Shire. The title has been held in the Took Family since the position was first established in 3rd Age 1979 with Bucca of the Marish as First Thain), Meriadoc Brandybuck is Master of Buckland, and Samwise Gamgee is Mayor of the Shire, having succeeded Will Whitfoot in 1427 S.R.


Éomer son of Éomund is King of the Mark (Rohan in the language of Gondor).


Bard II and Thorin III Stonehelm rule in Dale and Erebor respectively.


The Lamedon Square Market RPG is an open “inn”-type RPG under the supervision of the Assistant-Moderators, Formendacil and Feanor of the Peredhil :
__________________________________


OPENING BLURB FROM THE MODERATION TEAM


The Barrow-Downs previous incarnation of the roleplaying fora had a long history of providing a casual, friendly environment for first-time roleplayers to get their feet wet and for returning and veteran roleplayers to relax with a plot-bunny of a character. The Green Dragon Inn ran for over 100 pages in 11 threads, and was succeeded by the Golden Perch Inn, which continues today as our flagship Inn. In revising the fora, however, the new Assistant Mods, Feanor of the Peredhil and Formendacil were asked if they wanted to spearhead the formation of a new Inn-type establishment which would reflect the discussions that led to the revised RPG community. Rather than replacing the Golden Perch, which continues to go strong, the Lamedon Square Market seeks to compliment preexisting Inns by serving a different purpose.



With this in mind, the two Assistant Mods elected to place their “inn” in Gondor, but with a new twist. Rather than create another Inn to compete with the Golden Perch and memories of past successes, such as the Seventh Star, Green Dragon, and White Horse Inns, the Assistant Mods looked for a new place where diverse people could meet together and rub shoulders randomly in public. The perfect place for such interaction was a market: where permanent vendors and travelling peddlers vie with each other for customers both local and foreign, and where you never know who you might bump into.


Because a market does not have a keeper, the roles assumed by the Assistant Mods, while indicative of the moderatorly role they may play, are not those of formal leadership. No one in the market has to interact with anyone else--but anyone could run into anyone else just as well. This is the stated intention of the Assistant Mods: to create an environment where any RPer can get the hang of characterisation. (Note: Fea is professionally trained for characterisation and took the Assistant Modship so that she could make this skill available more readily--you should consider Lamedon Square Market your chance to book a session at Mistress Fea’s School of Roleplaying). If you think of the Inns as a chance to practice interacting with other roleplayers, consider the Market a chance to practice creating those characters--though, of course, interaction is quite possible and indeed encouraged.


Above all, the Market is about having fun in a broadly Middle-earthen spirit. We hope that many Downers will join us, and do just that.


Formendacil
Feanor of the Peredhil
__________________________________


Description of Lamedon Square Market:


"He came at last by arched streets and many fair alleys and pavements to the lowest and widest circle, and there he was directed to the Lampwrights' Street, a broad way running towards the Great Gate." - RotK


Lamedon Square is a fictional location within the city of Gondor, situated where Blacksmiths' Road meets Lampwrights' Street. It is the first large cross way one discovers upon entering the city, and is therefore the location of the largest of the morning markets. As one can tell by the street names, this part of the city is dedicated to artisans, to craftsmen. The market itself consists of tables and carts, shouting merchants, and anything one might expect to see in a large city full of people that wish to exchange goods. The structures of the salespeople are impermanent, however the market is open every day, regardless of weather.

__________________________________


Character Description Form for the Market


Each player in the Lamedon Square Market is requested to submit a very brief Character Description form to the Discussion Thread. It can be submitted at the same time as you make your first post to the Market Thread, so that other players know the basics of the character they are interacting with.



Please use the following form and remember this rule of thumb: the only thing we need to know about your character is what we would be able to tell about him or her in real life if we saw him or her walk into a room. Details are developed through writing. The purpose of a character description form is to give other players a small amount of information so that they are able to interact with your character in a meaningful way.



~*~


NAME:


AGE/GENDER/RACE/WHERE FROM:


APPEARANCE (very brief physical description/or as detailed as the player wishes to be):


BITS OF CHARACTER/HISTORY YOU FEEL MIGHT BE HELPFUL IN DEFINING THE CHARACTER
(again, as brief or detailed as you wish):


Characters:


Characters allowed may include anyone who might travel to Minas Anor, including but not necessarily limited to:


- Hobbits
- Men (including Easterlings, Southrons, and other men from the former dominions of Sauron)
- Elves
- Dwarves
- Animals (but they must be played as animals, not as talking animals ala Narnia)




Characters in the Lamedon Square Market should therefore not include:


- Orcs
- Any other creature or persons not liable to be found in Middle-earth.
- Half-Elven characters, or mixed-species characters of any sort.
- Super-heroes, assassins, any one all powerful, martial arts proficient, or having any magical traits.
- Canonical characters appearing in the books. The purpose of this RPG is to roleplay original, ordinary characters--just regular people with normal abilities for their races only.


Ongoing staff characters/players for the Market:


* Baker (Asst. Mod) – Mistress Fea – Feanor of the Peredhil
* Captain of the Guard - Formendur “Capt. Formy” – Formendacil


About Elves in Barrow-downs RPG's:


Please use this description from Tolkien when crafting an Elf for use in the Marketplace:


Return of the King – Appendix F: Tolkien’s description for the Quendi (The Speakers) – the name given to the Elves by themselves after they first awoke in Middle-earth.


“They were a race high and beautiful, the older Children of the world, and among them the Eldar were as Kings, who now are gone: the People of the Great Journey, the People of the Stars. They were tall, fair of skin and grey-eyed, though their locks were dark, save in the golden house of Finrod; and their voices had more melodies than any mortal voice that is now heard . . .”


Please use this as a guideline for describing your Elven character’s appearance.
_____________________________________________


Please Note:


No 'SAVES' are allowed in the Marketplace.


With the exception of the Moderators, no OOC (Out Of Character) comments are allowed in the Market.


Only the Moderators move the timeline for the Market forward from one day to another.


Visitors to the Market will likely need to read the posts that come before theirs to get an idea of what time it is in the Market Square, what the weather is like, and what is happening.


Please be familiar with the rules described in the Barrow-Downs RPG Guidelines, found in the Roleplaying Rules and Resources section of the Roleplaying forum.
__________________________________


Time and Space with Regards to the Market


In general, all RPGing should take place in the context of Lamedon Square Market: either in the Square itself, amidst the vendors of the market, or in the nearby environs (perhaps at a tavern or inn). If a character who is going to be fairly consistent in the Market or will be returning now and again is somewhere else for a short time, it is possible to write Away posts.


If you have to write an Away post please put at the top of your post in Bold: Away - your character’s name - where he or she is.


For instance:


Away - Captain Formendur - Osgiliath garrison


Preferably, do all your writing at the Market. Away posts should only be used when necessary and not over done.


How time movement and the weather will be handled in the Marketplace:


The Time at the Market will be directed as the Moderators sees fit. Time will not be moved forward abruptly by the Moderators without being mentioned (and, if necessary, discussed) on the Discussion Thread.


Depending on what is happening in the Market, some days will be played out in full, others may start in the morning but end up skipping to the evening if nothing is happening, since it doesn't cut out any important part of the story line. There will also be times when the time will be moved forward several days.


If a player has a character who will only realistically be in the Market for a day or two (a passing traveler for instance), we are willing to try to direct time so that this player gets his or her chance to play out their visit as thoroughly as possible.


This being the case, if you want to join in with a character who will soon be passing on, it may be a good idea to ask on the Discussion Thread how long this particular day is going to be played out, in case time is about to be moved ahead.


Weather will for the most part be directed by Fea and Formy, and can be discussed, too, by the players on the Discussion Thread.
__________________________________


IT IS NOW VERY EARLY IN THE MORNING, IN LATE SPRING, WHEN THE FIRST FRUITS COME RIPE. THE WEATHER IS PLEASANT.


THE MARKET IS COMING BACK TO LIFE AFTER ANOTHER NIGHT.

____________________________________________


*** PLAYER /CHARACTER LINK LIST ***


Anguirel - Angelimar of Edhellond

blantyr – Bragel

Boromir88 - Lendir (Lenny)

Envinyatar - Bertufin (Old Berty)

Feanor of the Peredhil - Feane Cooper (known as Fea)

Folwren - Byrne (pronounced "burn")

Formendacil - Formendur son of Belecthor, "Captain Formy," or just "Formy"

Galadriel55 - Ghalakrìd (or Rhûnwen by the Gondorians)and her donkey

Kath – Eleth and Hil (dog)

piosenniel - Posy (or Zimzi – rarely called Zimziran); Derry; Garan and Goran