The Threat of the Trees: Discussion Thread

[Brinniel]

Ithaeliel- Thank goodness you're back! Good timing, too. [img]smilies/cool.gif[/img]

Child of the 7th Age- Ith and I appreciate any extra help we can get, so thank you.

Would you want to try and get an additional person or two to try and take up one of our missing characters, or possibly to play an Ent, Entwife, or a baddie?

That'd actually be quite nice if we could get some more people into the game. I don't know about someone taking over missing characters. Taking over Mattius or Radagast would require reading The Blue Mountains, though I don't think it would be a problem if someone took over LinGalad. We could definitely use an Ent and perhaps another baddie.

Finally, do you think it would do any good to go back to the original folk who did a profile and then vanished at some point without leaving us a note. (Are there some of those?)

There is one: Taralphiel, who wrote a profile for her character Ishbel then disappeared afterwards.

It would be unlikely to bring back those who withdrew from the RPG with a note, though I have noticed that it was several months ago that they withdrew and perhaps there is a slight chance that they would be able to rejoin. Here is the list:

-dragoneyes withdrew her character Aldor on May 25 because she was too busy.
-Evinyatar withdrew two characters (whose profiles I cannot find) on April 25 due to demands of the real world.

I kind of doubt we can bring these withdrawn characters back, though I suppose we could try.

If we are really short on people, we might be better off focusing our posts in one area rather than two. In other words, having most of us focus on the activity in Rhun which involves the freeing of the Entwives rather than delineating what's happening in Fangorn itself. It's always difficult to keep two subplots going.

I agree. I've always found two subplots a little confusing. Focusing on one area would be much easier to deal with.

Here is a list of dates players will be absent:

Brinniel: July 11-13, July 20 - August 2, August 5-12
Child of the 7th Age: July 23-28
VanimaEdhel: July 23 (or 24)- August 24
Lyra Greenleaf: July 26 - August 9

[ July 13, 2003: Message edited by: Brinniel ]

[DayVampyre]

I'll also be gone the last week of July but I'll be back early August.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Just noticed on another thread that VanimaEdhel will be gone till August 24th.

Aylwen is supposed to return tomorrow. (Yeah!)

Cami

[ July 07, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[VanimaEdhel]

Yes. That's when I will return. I may not get to post that particular day, as I'll be running around getting myself resettled in my house. Believe me, if I had my way, I wouldn't be going at all. I'll try to post as much as I can in the time that I have left, though.

[Lyra Greenleaf]

You could try Envinyatar, maybe. He just joined another RPG I'm in a couple of weeks ago- maybe he has more time? And what about Manardariel? Wasn't she in it?

[Bêthberry]

Just a little reminder that the first post in The White Horse Inn, Act II, lists all the gamers eligible to play in Rohan games. Gamers on the list in Gondor are also eligible to play in Rohan games.

Game owners can review these lists and check out gamers' posts if they wish to find replacements for the game here.

As gamers move up from The Shire, their names will be added to the Rohan list. If a gamer's name is not on the list for either Rohan or Gondor, he or she can join games only in The Shire.

Bêthberry
Moderator for Rohan

[ July 07, 2003: Message edited by: Bêthberry ]

[Brinniel]

And what about Manardariel? Wasn't she in it?

Manardariel is currently not available for gaming.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Envinyatar is also not available.

Cami

[Brinniel]

I just found out that I'll also be gone on vacation August 5 - 12. Just giving everyone a heads up. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[Child of the 7th Age]

Here are the list of current players:

Child of the 7th Age as Brethil
Ithaeliel as Endereth
Aylwen Dreamsong as Ajada
Brinniel as Calentoliel
DayVampyre as Avery
VanimaEdhel as Kalir
Lyra Greenlead as Lim

Now, here is who will be on vacation:

1. Brinniel: July 11-13, July 20 - August 2, August 5-12
2. Child of the 7th Age: July 23-28; limited access August 1-10 because of houseguests
3. VanimaEdhel: July 23 (or 24)- August 24
4. Lyra Greenleaf: July 26 - August 9
5. Day Vampire, ca. July 21 - early August

That means Ith and Aylwen will be the only ones posting in late July, the beginning of August.

Question: There are so many of us gone. Would it make more sense to lock the game till about August 12 and then reopen it? I always hate to see a game sitting open and dead in the water. You get the feeling it's going nowhere. I don't have strong feelings about this, however. What do others think? Has this happened before in Rohan?

Meanwhile, I will try and recruit one or two folk from the Rohan list as potential Entwives or baddies once we do reopen.

Perhaps Bethberry can offer some advice?

Child

[ July 14, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[DayVampyre]

See look..this is why it is a lame idea to make people set a time limit on RPGs.

because stuff happens in the world and people can't always be here 24/7 to make the RPG follow a schedule.

I think closing up the RPG is silly, seeing as we'll all be back soon enough anyway. its not like we're all taking off for Spain for a period of 2 months without computer access. Let the people who are here play it and then the rest of us can jump back in once we get back, it's not like we'll be completly lost 'cause we're moving at such a rapid pace. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

If I wasn't descriptive enough and you'd like me to embelish and flesh this out with a multitude of superfluous details, feel free to pm me on the matter...

[Bêthberry]

DayVampyre, there is a right way and a wrong way to address issues. Using anger and invective is the wrong way.

If you have a problem with the time limits placed on games, you should PM the Mod for Rohan (me) to discuss it. I'd be happy to listen to reasonable discussion and disagreement.

You should not use the occasion to attack people who are trying to make the game work. Child of the Seventh Age has gone to considerable trouble to help the game owners find solutions to the many confusions they were running into with this game. Having so few gamers around to post will only make matters worse--carrying that many other characters is a great challenge--especially since the game owners themselves have dwindled in number. And it's not like Child was calling for the game to be permanently closed.

And Child is the Bard for Rohan, after all, responsible for mentoring games here. She was doing what she is supposed to be doing, looking out for the bests interests of the game.

I think it in the best interests of the game to call it suspended until a majority of the gamers can return to continue it. At that point, the game owners can call all the gamers back, provide clear direction for the plot, and have replacement gamers ready for the Entwives and the baddies.

Thus, the game will be temporarily closed Tuesday at noon. Any gamers please feel free to PM me about the decision or for explanation of why time limits are important.

Bêthberry
Moderator for Rohan

[ July 15, 2003: Message edited by: Bêthberry ]

[Child of the 7th Age]

DayVampire,

I was just about to leap in and post when Bethberry beat me to it.

But I do feel compelled to say something more. I was sitting at the computer scratching my head in puzzlement after I read your post. I totally understand we might have different opinions about this or other topics. That's pretty normal when you get any group of people together.

I went back and eyeballed my post to make sure I hadn't written it after getting out on the wrong side of bed. But the tone didn't sound that horrendous to me. I was trying to make a suggestion and ask what others thought.

I don't think we've gamed with each other before. I've been in a lot of RPGS, but in the Shire (where I'm a moderator) and Gondor rather than Rohan. But if you have some personal concerns that I failed to pick up on before, just drop me a pm and we'll try and iron things out.

Meanwhile, you and I are probably going to disagree about the need for guidelines on the length of RPGs. One of my beefs about the old freestyle room is that the games dragged on and on, and three-quarters of them never finished. (Of course, the quality predecessor to this game was one of the happy exceptions.) That's what we're trying to avoid.

I hate the word "deadlines". If you say you hope to finish in say four months, it's not a "deadline; it's a tool to help in planning. And obviously people have to be realistic about those dates; sometimes you adjust them because different games have different circumstances.

Strangely enough, when I made my suggestion, the furthest thing from my mind was worrying about the ending date of the game. What I was thinking about was this: we started out with 14 posters including 4 founders. Right now we're down to 7 posters and 2 founders. That is a big load to carry and it loomed even larger after I looked at the vacation schedule.

I was also thinking about where we are in the game. We've reached the point when the questers will encounter the huorn and the Entwife and become aware of the existence of the Easterlings. Then we are supposed to head east. That is a totally new storylne which the original proposal didn't address at all. It requires a lot of planning and discussion. With less than a handful of people here, that would be difficult to do.

Anyways, I hope we do get these things straightened out and this game is reopened.

Child of the 7th Age

[ July 15, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[Brinniel]

I think temporarily closing the RPG is a good idea. Two RPGers cannot keep an RPG going for several weeks. Especially since Ith doesn't come on the BD very often (about once a week). Locking the game seems like the best solution to me.

The following are game characters we will need to carry once the game reopens:

Mattius
Radagast
LinGalad
Anarya

Am I missing anyone?

[DayVampyre]

First off, I'm going to address Child.

Toward you and this RPG I have no malicious intent and I'm sorry that you seemed to have read it that way. But I stand by what I posted. I find that you're a fine RPer and hold your skills highly. Even though I may be somewhat new to this board, but I'm not a newbie to RPGing. You asked for feedback and I gave it. And if it was fueled with anger, you would have known it.

Seeing as I'm going to mention the post above in mine right now, I will go ahead and say that I'm not 'attacking' Brinniel. There will only be 2 gamers for a few days, not several weeks. And it is not like there's been much if any activity in the RPG thread anyway, so what kind of benefits are there in closing it down? Reduced Medicare and Social Security?

Now onto to our beloved Moderater.

As for that post 'attacking' Child, yeah that's what I set out to do...flame someone I hardly know.

And how is closing down a thread 'looking out for its best interests?' It's not going to run away if we don't post on it. It's a beign object.

And seeing as we've only heard two opinions about that closing of this thread, I find that closing it down is very premature and childish.

[Bêthberry]

A very crucial issue has not been addressed in the discussion here: there are not enough gamers and gamers owners around to take responsibility for the kind of extensive planning and character development that are required for the next stages of the game.

There is too great a likelihood of characters being misrepresented, particularly those that have not yet been introduced. And new storylines need adequate discussion among all gamers before they are introduced. Perhaps the term 'game owner' is misleading; 'game master' might be more precise as someone who oversees the game. Games belong to everyone who creates them by writing posts; all gamers have a say in how the game progresses and certainly gamers have complete control over their own characters.

The fact that only two gamers have replied to the concerns of the two moderators also suggests a lack of adequate attention to the game at this time.

Also, here at the Barrow Downs we ask that people not use sarcasm or a flippant tone on discussion threads because they are liable to misinterpretation, as has happened here. Instead, we ask that posters treat each other with respect.

The game thread is now closed temporarily. It will be reopened after the game owners satisfy the Moderator and the Mentor (Bard) that the planning and personnel issues have been resolved. This should happen once a majority of the gamers can respond the expected two to three times weekly.

The discussion thread will remain open to allow for that planning. Posts which do not facilitate that planning will be deleted without warning.

Bêthberry,
Moderator for Rohan

[ July 15, 2003: Message edited by: Bêthberry ]

[Lyra Greenleaf]

So it's going to open again on August 12th? I guess I'll use the time to make bios for an Entwife and a baddie! Does anyone know good sources of info about easterlings? Or shall I just make it up?

[Bêthberry]

Lyra,

My post does not specify a particular date when the game thread will be opened. It identifies the conditions which must be met first for that to happen.

And, no, character descriptions are not 'made up' but imagined creatively and consistently within Tolkien's Middle-earth.

Bêthberry

[Child of the 7th Age]

Brinniel,

Of the people you have on your list, how many need to go with the company to the east, and how many will stay behind in Fangorn? Maybe those who stay behind won't need someone to "carry" them, but can be handled in some kind of narrative post describing what they'll be doing while they're waiting for the others to return.
However, if anyone heads east with the company, you probably would need someone to post for the character.

Lyra --

That would really help if you'd pick up one of the Entwives plus a baddie.

Right now I'm carrying Saelonia and Azunel and Peachblossom in addition to Brethil. Brethil (and Lim) will presumably stay behind. But that's still too much for me to handle. And we probably need more than two Entwives.

Brethil will presumably stay behind in Fangorn. But that still leaves two baddies and one Entwife. How about if I keep Peachblossom and Saelonia but drop Azunel. Then you could possibly develop some kind of a male character from Rhun. Maybe the person who owns the plantation with the Entwives and/or some kind of military leader. Would that work?

I will try to nose around tomorrow for some links that might help you with information on Rhun and Easterlings.

It would be nice to have an Ent come along on the journey. But that would probably have to wait until we see if we could pick up any additional posters.

Anyone else have any ideas on this?

Child

[ July 16, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[Brinniel]

Of the people you have on your list, how many need to go with the company to the east, and how many will stay behind in Fangorn?

Well, I think the only character from the list that really needs to go east with the company is Mattius. Since he and Radagast have been leading the company to Fangorn, it seems that at least one of them should go east, and Mattius seems most likely to do so.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

But someone will need to take up the part of Mattius, it would make more sense than just carrying him through our posts since he will be like the leader of sorts. So we can replace the gamer or leave Mattius in Fangorn...?

-Aylwen

[ July 18, 2003: Message edited by: Aylwen Dreamsong ]

[Brinniel]

So we can replace the gamer or leave Mattius in Fangorn...?

Knowing the character Mattius for nearly a year, I think it'd be a bit off if we left him in Fangorn, so I'll have to say replace the gamer if that is fine with everyone else.

The question is, who would replace him? If someone here wants to take over Mattius, that'd be fine (just make sure you can handle another main character). Of course, our other option is to recruit another RPGer from the Rohan list. Either way, if Mattius is replaced, I think it's only fair that one of the requirements for playing the character is reading The Blue Mountains since most of the character development for him is done there.

[Lyra Greenleaf]

Pio sent me a great link about Easterlings, so that's fine. I've been thinking, how would the son of the guy who owns the plantation be? He'd be a soldier, do you want him to have come with Saelonia or not? I could have "my father" as a sort of carry along character seen through his sons eyes. And when I said I'd make it up I didn't mean I was about to make them green skinned with magical abilities...

[Child of the 7th Age]

Thank you, Pio.....

********************************************


Lyra,

Your idea about the son of the plantation owner sounds excellent. I agree that we could see his father through the young man's eyes. Very clever!

Now, as far as the son goes, I think we might have to stop and think about the plot for a moment. Let's say he was one of the soldiers with the army, perhaps in some sort of minor command position?

In my last post, Selonia said she was going to return to Rhun and tell the Khan about the huorn and how they were going to create a military diversion to the west. Then, while the king's attention was diverted, the Khan was supposed to slip his army in from the east. Meanwhile, the huorn were to be led out of Fangorn to start pillaging as far south as the outskirts of Edoras and as far west as the outskirts of Isengard.

I think we need to have the Entwife escape. I could do a post where that happens when the game first reopens -- just as the huorn army is marching south towards the boundaries of Fangorn. Then you could do a post where Azunal commands your character to go tell Saelonia about the "unfortunate incident" of her escape and that she (and the plantation owner) should keep an eye out for her, since she may head back towards her enslaved sisters in Rhun. Since his father is technically the "owner" of the Entwife slave, this would make sense that the son would be sent with this message.

From that point, you'd travel east with Saelonia and return to your father. Meanwhile, the Entwife would be "rescued" by the members of the company and spill everything about her enslaved sisters. Then, the company would have to make a choice whether or not to turn east to help the enslaved Entwives. I don't think that would be an easy choice, not with the huorn beginning to go on a rampage. Perhaps there'd be disagreement between the different members.

Lyra --

Do you think this would work for your character? Would you prefer something else?

As to the green skinned part and the magical abilities...... [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] We'll discuss that later..... much later! Say in the year 2005.

Cami

[ July 17, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[Lyra Greenleaf]

That all sounds fine. Could you possibly follow this link and tell me if "our" Easterlings are the Swarthy men or one of the other varieties? Men of Darkness

[ July 20, 2003: Message edited by: Lyra Greenleaf ]

[Bêthberry]

My thanks also Pio. I'm sorry Lyra that I couldn't help. The 15th was my day for packing for a family trip out of the country and I was swamped with work here with inadequate time for BD stuff.

Mattius has PMed me. It sounds to me that he expects to have regular access again in September when he starts uni.

Bethberry

[Bêthberry]

Hello Tree, um, huggers?

Lyra's PM box is full, so I thought I would simply try to catch everyone here.

Brinniel, Itaeliel, Lyra, DV, and anyone else who is around and interested, now that people will be wandering back from vacations, will you be doing the planning here or via PM? If you want feedback on your ideas, remember that The Bard (Child) is here to help on this thread.

Don't let the game whither away. It deserves to be finished.

Bethberry

[Brinniel]

I'm back!

As to answer the previous question: It'd be best if we did our planning on this thread; PMs will just be a hassle.

I'm glad to hear that Mattius will be rejoining us fairly soon. He'll be useful to have around again. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

[Lyra Greenleaf]

Sorry to do this, but just as everyone else is coming, I have to leave! I no longer have the internet (I'm in an internet cafe) and so I have to withdraw. I'm really sorry to let everyone down like this. I've enjoyed this game and the BDs.

If I'm really lucky and it gets fixed in a couple of weeks, I'll see how far you've got and I'll be back. If it takes longer then good luck, I hope you get to finish the game.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Lyra,

I am really sorry to hear this. I hope you get your computer access back. It's possible this game may get off the ground a little later and you will be back. Let us know....

Pio or I will also be dropping you a note about Resistence.

Cami

[Brinniel]

I was informed by Ithaeliel yesterday that she will no longer be on the Barrow Downs. So, unless I can someway convince her to come back, she won't be participating in this RPG anymore. [img]smilies/frown.gif[/img]

Uh, just wondering: Is anyone in this RPG still here? I don't want this game to remain unfinished, but it's kind of difficult to continue if there's no one left participating.

[Aylwen Dreamsong]

I'm here. Just waiting for everyone else.

-Aylwen

[Child of the 7th Age]

Brinniel,

I thought this was a good game, and I am willing to help. However, I'm uncertain what to do.

Is there any chance of Mattius coming back in the fall? Didn't Bethberry mention that he might be back in September? If so, should we wait for him to return.

We've lost so many players. Wouldn't we have to go out and try and get replacements? There is one possibility I can think of. We could do a narrative post and have the "old crew" (i.e. those who'd dropped out from the game) stay in the forest and/or go out to fight the huorn who, according to my last post, were following the Easterlings out of the woods to launch an attack. They would then drop out of the storyline.

We'd have to recruit new posters for the main crew who'd be going east to rescue the Entwives, plus at least one other person to help me portray the enslaved Entwives and the nasty Easterlings.

Perhaps, the next step should be this:

1. Write those posters who originally signed up and see who's still interested if the game gets going again.

2. Contact Bethberry for ideas and help.

3. Think of people who might be interested in coming on board.

You can contact me by pm or my barrowdowns addie (childofthe7thage@barrowdowns.com), but just as Bethberry says in her post on the mail......please be very explicit about who you are and what you're writing about or I may delete you as a suspicious e-mail.

Cami

[VanimaEdhel]

I just got back from vacation yesterday. I would most certainly be interested in continuing. If you want, though, I'll hold off posting until we have a set core of Role-Players. Kalir and I are open to whatever you want to do.

[DayVampyre]

ditto-minus the vacation bit-

[Child of the 7th Age]

Yeah! At least, there are five of us....let's see what Brinniel thinks since she's the remaining founder.

Cami

[Mattius]

Is there any chance of Mattius coming back in the fall?

**From the shadows creeps foward a familiar hooded figure who has faced much tormoil and challenges over the past few weeks**

So sorry about leaving you all without much warning but I have been sorting out University and stuff like that.

Although I won't be able to post as regularly as before I may be able to post every three or four days. Please tell me if this is constant enough for the RPG because if not I will leave it to those who can.

I start University in about a month and move out of my house at about that time to. The good news is that the Uni. has a wenty-four hour broadband computer room with about 500 PC's in it!

All the best, Matt

**The hooded figure returns to the shadows from whence he came**

[Bêthberry]

Greetings Gamers for Threat of the Trees,

I am really pleased to see so many back. I think you have a chance to keep this game alive, with a very large emphasis on the "you."

My involvement as the Rohan Moderator is to be a facilitator. I will assist you to make moving the game forward less difficult, but I will not myself make the plans or determine the decisions. In Rohan, no Mod will ever take over the job of game owner or step in for a lost gamer. That is the responsibility of the gamers themselves. I do, however, have some suggestions. Most of them require you to think outside the box, to take a leap into improvisation.

First, you need game owners--think of this role as manager if you want--who will accept responsibility for organizing all the nitty gritty of gaming--nudging people who don't post, but more importantly responding to cues in posts and suggesting ways to develop the game and helping everyone reach decisions about what to do. This is a serious commitment and you need to have one or two people who will do this work.

Mattius, do you have the time to co-own the game with Brinniel? I would also encourage DayVampyre to consider taking on this role. Whether via PM or here on the discussion thread, you need to identify two people to assume these tasks. And then they need between them to identify just what each one will do.

Secondly, all of you need to think not in terms of what you once planned in the past, but of where the game can go now. If necessary, throw out the original plan. Improvise. Belin, Anglachel and I did that on My Crow Management; it ended in a way none of us, including the Game Owner, had originally intended or imagined, but in many ways I think it is a more unique game for that. The challenge of how to go forward in a different way forced us to think imaginatively. This was collaborative interactive gaming. That is what I would encourage you to do here.

Third, this game is too complex for outside gamers to come in and pick up an existing character. It is, after all, a sequel to The Blue Mountain, and so doing that would require a strong hand with characterization and much research. It is not likely that Rohan gamers would want to do that. (Not impossible, just very improbable.)

Thus, you need to think how to jettison some of the characters who have lost their writers, even if one of them is Mattius' character. After all, Aragorn had to go on without Gandalf. Nothing is impossible in fiction if it is handled credibly.

You also must determine what plot possibilities are possible with the gamers you have. If you are sad to see a good idea go, keep it for another game. One crucial point to consider here is that it is too much to ask one gamer to write both the captives and the enslavers; Child agrees with me. How are you going to resolve this?

So, all of you here, Brinniel, DayVampyre, Vanima, Aywlen, and Mattius especially (Child wants to see you resolve the problems, as she has done her job of setting out possibilities for you), have some serious work to do here. I am going to give you a deadline to accomplish this work: the following points must be resolved by the end of September.

1. Two gamers must come forward and commit to specific jobs as Game Owners.

2. All of you must decide what general plot line to follow given the gamers/characters you have active now. You must post that here and agree to descuss how to get there here in the Discussion thread.

3. You must have a set up so that the same person does not have to run both Easterlings and entwives.

4. You must decide how regularly you expect gamers to post. If you want to go with once a week, fine. If you want to leave it open, fine. Whatever choice all of you agree upon, you must hold each other to that.

5. You must make a realistic timeframe for concluding the game. Rohan is not a land of laissez-faire gaming or maybe-I'll-post-if-I-have-nothing-better-to-do. You must make a serious commitment to finishing this game within a certain time. I don't care what it is as long as you all commit to it and as long as there are at least two or three posts every two weeks. Whatever time frame you choose for concluding the game, I will hold you to it.

I will make one last requirement: The gamers here must resolve these points by the end of September. I had asked you to resolve the plot difficulties by August 15, but no one came forward to argue one way or another. If nothing happens by the end of September, I will say that you have forfeited the game. I am prepared to delete it if you do not accept responsibility for your gaming. (I will give a one week warning here before deleting the game.)

Ask me if you want help generating ideas, ask me if you want help with characterization, ask me anything else you wish, but take ownership for your own game. I am not a teacher forcing you to do homework. I am someone who loves interactiving writing and who wants to see all of you share in that excitement. And I am someone who is aware of how prescious are the resources here at the Barrow Downs, as well as the standard of excellence which the Downs represents.

This is your game. It is a great game and I don't want to see it lost. And I want to see you have fun. What are you going to do with it?

Bêthberry,
Moderator for Rohan

[DayVampyre]

Being as fond of the this RPG as the next guy, it would be a pleasure to help run the game and whatnot. PM me if ya'll want me [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

DV

[Brinniel]

I'm relieved to see this game has not been abandoned. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Mattius- I'm glad to see you back! Of course, you can stay in the RPG, if you'd like; we need you, even if you won't be here every day.

Two gamers must come forward and commit to specific jobs as Game Owners.

Well, I was one of the original game owners, and I am still willing to take up the responsibilty of being one, as long as there is another to help. Day Vampyre, you are welcome to help run the game if you wish, as I don't see a problem with that (unless anyone else objects).

Unfortunately, school has started for me, so might not be here every day, but I'll try to be on as often as possible.

As I can see right now, our abandoned characters are:

Endereth
Lim
Radagast
LinGalad
Anarya

As Bethberry said, it would be too much to ask for someone to replace these characters. But there are simply too many abandoned characters for us to carry. If possible, I would like to somehow drop a couple of these characters, depending on what we do with the plot.

Ah yes, the plot. We could use one of the previous plot ideas or make up a new, less complex one. A less complex plot would probably be best, but before I put much thought into this, I'd like to hear everyone else's opinions on this...

You must have a set up so that the same person does not have to run both Easterlings and entwives.

Hmm. I'm still thinking about this one. Perhaps we can have someone else take up Peachblossom since she hasn't developed much as a character yet. Or as Child stated awhile back, someone could take Azunel. If it is possible, I would still like to recruit people to play new characters (entwives and easterlings), as we really do need them. Also, if anyone is willing to take on a second character, that'd be great.

Of course, there is much more for us to discuss, but first I think we should discuss what we want to do about the plot, as that is the most important part of the RPG. As I stated above, I would like to hear opinions on this, so if anyone has ideas or suggestions for the plot, feel free to post them.