Wilderness, Weathertop, and Wild Things Discussion Thread

[rutslegolas]

Well I have done my post about hunting a rabbit and finding something more intresting

I am ready to kick some major orc butt

[Saurreg]

So i take it that my character arrives at weathertop first? Or do I arrive later and witness a grand battle between the first group of investigators and the villains.

Need guidance. Help! Help!

[Nuranar]

Saurreg,

I'd rather Andas didn't get to Weathertop until well into the battle. "Well into" signifying after the first group (Veryadan, Aidwain, and Osric) and possibly after the second group (Luinien, Thoronmir, and Menecar). You could even have him show up right at the end.

The point is that he'll be with them and he's trollbait if he goes back to Bree. I don't mind if he participates in the battle somewhat. But I'd like you to think it through first: Is he more likely to cut and run (like the old Andas) or to jump in the fray with both feet (like the new Andas)? Will the sight of violent death and in-progress battle cause the new Andas to revert to the old? Will it have the opposite effect?

Just to jump-start your thinking. Let me know what you decide, or pose a specific question and I'll discuss it some more. Carry on!

Nuranar

[Saurreg]

Great! I'll take up your suggestion Nuranar. My character will arrive only when the battle is raging furiously. And compared to the other characters, I can assure my character's response will be distinctively Loudewater.

So when I fill up my save, it will still be loudewater on the way to Weathertop. I will keep an close eye on developments and slot in another save where most appropriate.

Where Loudewater goes on from there will be purely RPG interractive.

BTW, just a reminder, Meneltarmacil and I have come to an agreement that his character will be injured trying to save mine. But that will be much later.

[Envinyatar]

I've gotten Veryadan's group to the top of Weathertop . . . and left it open for the Orcs and Trolls to attack.

Nuranar - do you want to do any posts first that bring the other two groups closer? Or shall the skrmish just begin, and the other two groups along with Loudewater just appear?

[Nuranar]

Yikes! Believe it or not, Luinien & co. kinda slipped my mind. Hmm, they should have investigated probably yesterday, game time.

Meneltarmacil, if you want to do an investigation post, please do so. Put it here and we can fit it in earlier. Or you can do a traveling post, as they're on their way back to Weathertop, in which you just discuss what you've found/concluded.

Otherwise, I think it'll be ok to leave it out. I'd rather keep the battle continuous as much as possible anyway. As for Tarondo and Silruth, there won't be much to see along the road. They'll show up in time, though.

In answer to your question: Chronologically from this point, posts will be concerned with the battle. If Meneltarmacil wants to we can put in their investigation PRIOR to this point. I can't do it myself right now - I'm actually in the lab, supposed to be working on a project.

I hope that was clear enough. It's hard to tell when I'm confused myself.

[Envinyatar]

I moved my post forward, leaving a space for any 'prior to the battle posts' that are needed to be put in.

[Primrose Bolger]

Kransha

I can begin the battle - or would you like to have first post?

[Kransha]

Feel free, Primrose. I'll probably get a post in relating to my various orcs tomorrow.

[Primrose Bolger]

The attack has commenced.

The wise Orc captain has not deployed all his troops. He knows there are only 3 at present on the hill top. Grimm and Broga and 4 Orcs have been sent up to harry them.

Broga is 'seeing to' the horses. Grimm is advancing on Veryadan. Osric and Aidwain have run to assist Veryadan. During this distraction, 4 Orcs have come up opposite the Trolls and are attacking from the rear of the 3 man search party.

The other two Trolls and more Orcs are waiting as reinforcements once the rest of the search groups arrive.

About Grimm and Broga: Broga has a long, large oaken club. Grimm carries a great warhammer. They stand just a few inches taller than most Dunedain and are massively muscled with thick grey scaled skin.

I prefer that they not be killed or injured seriously. They can however be wounded and slashed and knocked over with a concerted effort to slow them down.

They are not graceful or quick creatures, relying on their might bulk to win over their opponents.

The Orcs I've written are fair game for serious hurting - but they are not clumsy fighters . . .

By the way - in RPG fights, I've always found it best to have your character aim a blow, cut, whatever at your opponent - then let the other writer determine how much damage it will do to his character. Just a thought.

Have at it!

[Meneltarmacil]

If any saves are still open, here's something for one of them. If my party's role in the attack comes before Wednesday afternoon, I don't think I'll be able to post... although I could always do a quick flashback.

PLACED ON GAME ~*~ PIO

"Well, I think this is the spot," Menecar said, coming to where the shepherd had been killed.

"Appears that there's not much left." Thoronmir observed. "Whoever killed him has pretty much disposed of the bodies."

"Over here!" Luinen said, pointing at the ground. Several tracks were leading off in the direction of Weathertop.

"Looks like several orcs were here not too long ago," Thoronmir said. "I'd say these tracks are only a few days old at most."

"There are some much larger tracks leading out of this ditch," Menecar added.

"Trolls." Thoronmir looked worried. "They're about the same age as the others. We'd better see if there are any more."

They searched through the area and found many more tracks leading in the same direction.

"Thoronmir, what is it?" asked Luinen. "What's wrong?"

"Shepherdspurse," he answered. "If he got any word out, the time of these tracks would be consistent with the time it would take for them to respond to an andvance notice from him. Meaning our friends are probably going to be in serious trouble..." He looked over toward the line of hills on the horizon, where Weathertop was faintly visible.

[rutslegolas]

I have written about the general attacks of the trolls ,now can someone come and resuce us ??

[Envinyatar]

I'll second the request for reinforcements!

Veryadan is now quite out of commission.

Osric has his hands full with the last two Orcs.

The two Trolls have turned their attention to Aidwain, whose arrows actually are having some effect on the ungainly creatures . . .

[Nuranar]

I've put up a save for the reinforcements - that is, Luinien, Thoronmir, and Menecar. If all goes well I should fill it by the evening. (I'm in the lab once again.)

Kransha, if you want to get in first, you can have my save.

Meneltarmacil, way to come through! One request: We were supposed to investigate the merchants who disappeared, not the shepherd and flock. An easy mistake to make. Would you like to modify that?

GREAT work, everyone! I'm thrilled how swiftly we're moving along.

Nuranar

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EDIT BY PIO:

Nuranar and Meneltarmacil

I'll just go ahead and change the word 'shepherd' to 'merchants'.

[piosenniel]

Alaksoron

Clear your PM's please.

Place a note here on the Discussion Thread that you have done so.

~*~ Piosenniel, Game Moderator

[Alaksoron]

Thank you, Piosenniel. PMs all clear, Cap'n!

How long do we have for the battle, again? And can I get an idea of how many orcs there are? If there's only like 30, I'd have to limit how many my character kills (which is never fun).

[Kransha]

Nuranar - I think that I'll wait until the good-forces' reinforcements have arrived. As far as I can tell, all 4 of the orcs initially sent in have been slain, but Bazzog is not a very prompt commander. After Luinien, Thoronmir, and Menecar arrive, he'll send in a larger second wave, which will include Kransha and Bubkur (which means, in short "watch out!").

Kransha, the orc, is needed for a later job, so don't kill him off or wound him please, but Bubkur, Bazzog's second-in-command, is fair game during this battle. The second wave will consist of Kransha, Bubkur, and 6 other orcs. 8 in all. But, save Kransha and Bubkur, the orcs are not the most lithe warriors. Speed and agility can beat most of them.

I'll have the post including the initiation of the second wave up after Nuranar's save is filled...

[Fordim Hedgethistle]

I too will await the good guys to show up, then Arrald and Dim will come roaring in, large as life and twice as stupid.

Kransha, hope you will not mind if a few of your orcs get splattered by accident.

[Kransha]

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

Kransha, hope you will not mind if a few of your orcs get splattered by accident.

Not at all. Splatter away.

((Record Breaking short post))

[Nuranar]

I'd like the battle to end tomorrow (Thursday the 21st). Functionally, that means the fighting should be over by Friday morning, because some people might do their posting in the wee small hours.

Kransha, bring up your reserves. Osric didn't leave us any Orcs to deal with, so we've just arrived and are attacking the Trolls. Broga has an arrow in the arm and Menecar is going after him. Osric and Thoronmir are ganging up on Grimm. Aidwain and Luinien are carrying on the good work with the archery. Everyone's positioned pretty close together except for Luinien, who is a bit further back toward the east side of the hill. Remember, she's a wicked archer. Veryadan is nowhere to be seen.

Envinyatar, do you have any details on your injuries?

Saurreg, I hope you're planning when you're going to step in. *hint hint*

I'll leave my previous save up for a little longer in case someone wants to add something.

Game time, it's still before noon. Battles move much quicker than you think.

Carry on!
Nuranar

[Saurreg]

One badly shakened farmer from Bree coming up!

[rutslegolas]

Aidwain has now injured a troll ( Baddies can you decide which one of them with an arrow in one of his eye ),and he is now looking after Veryadan's state of injuries.

[Saurreg]

Question: is the battle taking place at the summit of the hill beside Weathertop, or some distant downhill between the woods and the hillside clearing?

ED: I'll wait and see if anyone else wants to deliver his/her coup de grâce to a very unfortunate orc before posting. Am I right to say that so far only Primrose's trolls are leading the assault supported by a small number of orcs?

Can we see more orcs?

[Kransha]

There are currently no orcs on Weathertop.

If anyone puts a post up after my save, that person may assume that there are orcs on the summit. I have already described the dimensions of the second wave (See Post #217 above). My save, unfortunately, cannot be filled until tonight, so do not wait for it to be filled if you want to do some hacking at the orc company.

[Saurreg]

Ooooohhh...

Fordim just threw a curve ball. Nasty.

On the side note:

Save the farmer! Save the farmer!

[Envinyatar]

About Veryadan's injuries:

The lone Orc had circled round him, and arcing his jagged blade in a two handed grip cut the Ranger deeply on his flank. Aidwain had by this time brought down the Orc with a deeply driven arrow. Veryadan’s sword slipped from his grasp as he clutched his bleeding side. He staggered back from the Troll whose leering face now looked down on him with a sort of feral glee. The foul creature swept his club round about, catching Veryadan hard on his upper arm.

The Ranger has a long, deep gash on his left flank from the Orc blade and possibly a fractured upper left arm where the Troll whacked him. Also he is probably not conscious at the moment since he was thrown on a pile of rocks by the blow.

[piosenniel]

Kransha's plan for the reinforcements from earlier on the discussion thread:

After Luinien, Thoronmir, and Menecar arrive, he'll send in a larger second wave, which will include Kransha and Bubkur (which means, in short "watch out!").

. . . The second wave will consist of Kransha, Bubkur, and 6 other orcs. 8 in all. But, save Kransha and Bubkur, the orcs are not the most lithe warriors. Speed and agility can beat most of them.[/b]

So: there are 6 Orc underlings to be done in.

Plus the fiercesome Orc duo of Kransha and Bubka, whom you can fight, but not kill.

---

rutslegolas

How many arrows does your quiver hold? Your character should probably take time out to gather a few of his arrows back.

[Alaksoron]

I understand you're busy, Pio, but could you please answer these questions:

1) approx. how many orcs are there and 2) what is a tark?

Thanks!

Psst, Saurreg - farmer saved, farmer saved

rutslegolas: if you do regather your arrows, I would advise you to do so quickly (orc blood is like acid and will corrode metal if given enough time) Just a thought.

[Kransha]

Originally Posted by Alaksoron

I understand you're busy, Pio, but could you please answer these questions:

1) approx. how many orcs are there and 2) what is a tark?

I'll feel those. 8 orcs in all: Kransha, Bubkur, and 6 nameless ones. Tark is the Black Speech (orcish) word for "man on Numenorean descent." In other words: tark most likely means 'Dunadan,' the plural being 'Dunedain.'

Save to be filled shortly.

[Nuranar]

Yikes! Methinks my poor little she-Elf needs some rescuing. Hmm...

Meneltarmacil, if you want to put up a battle post of your own, I recommend you do it now. The Trolls you have been harrying are already in retreat, according to Primrose's save.

I'll be posting shortly. Kransha, are you going to want to get in a final post when the Orcs retreat? We won't be able to flee the field immediately because of Veryadan, so your people are going to have to leave us in command of the field

I will extricate Luinien from her Fordim-induced pickle before I leave for a meeting tonight. Does anyone else want to get in anything before Tarondo and Silrûth show up? State your preference or put up a save, because after I get back the cavalry will arrive. Unless Esgallhugwen posts first or puts up her own save. Your choice, m'dear.

Yours truly,

Blood 'n' thunder Nuranar

[Nuranar]

Ok, Luinien's left arm is out of action but she's not. Yet. (Gee, Fordim, what was I supposed to do? I didn't want her smashed up - that's Veryadan right now! )

IF YOU WANT TO GET SOMETHING IN BEFORE TARONDO AND SILRûTH ARRIVE, PUT UP A SAVE NOW. I hope to put that post up by midnight, Central Daylight Time.

[Meneltarmacil]

I won't be able to post here from Friday to late on Sunday, just to let you know.

I'm also wondering if I can fight Bubkur several more times until I finally kill him (before Kransha injures me though). Just thought a little enmity between the two of us wouldn't hurt.

[rutslegolas]

Pio

My quiver holds around 15 arrows and I have only 1-2 arrows left now.

Nuranar

My character now has a broken ankle and I have left an opening for Tarondo and Silruth to arrive .

[Nuranar]

No one kill any more orcs. Please let Kransha finish the battle.

Fordim, Arrald and Dim are retreating. Arrald has a damaged Achilles tendon, a stab wound in the knee, and an arrow through the flesh of his forearm. Both he and Dim have other miscellaneous cuts and shallow wounds.

Kransha, if I'm counting correctly 5 out of your 8 are dead. Osric's taken care of 3, while Thoronmir's killed 2 (maybe 1?) and is battling Bubkur. That leaves Menecar with Kransha and The Last of the Unnamed. Tarondo is coming to the Rangers' assistance.

Esgallhugwen, if you want to get some action in, keep chasing Arrald and Dim off the hilltop in a vaguely northern direction. And maybe come back and look after Veryadan? Poor guy's bleeding with no one to care for him.

rutslegolas, Andas Loudewater is a man of Bree, not a hobbit. Can you fix that in your latest post, please?

Alaksoron, please respond to your PMs.

Isn't fighting fun?!

[rutslegolas]

Nuranar

Post edited,and who is going to treat the wounds of Veryadan someone expert in medicinal herbs of Middle-Earth ??

[piosenniel]

Please Note:

Tark refers to a man of Numenorean descent and was also used to refer to men from Gondor. It does not refer to Elves.

It is most likely a debased form (Black Speech) derived from the Westron or Common Speech word Tarkil (Man of Numenor), which in turn is probably a variation of the Quenyan word, Tarcil (Ship King)

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Alaksoron

Where in Tolkien's writings is your reference for the fact that Orc blood is like acid and can corrode metal?

[Kransha]

Thank you, pio. I knew that, but my mind is rather muddled at present. The whole Black Speech mini-dictionary is back on Page 2, if I remember correctly. Your knowledge of canon is far more immediate thank mine.

OK, to sum up, it appears that there are 3 orcs left. One nameless orc, Bubkur, and Kransha. Bubkur is in combat with Thoronmir, and is apparently wounded. The unnamed orcs is good to go down, so I'll let him be slain, though Kransha will be the one to resolve that the orcs must flee the field, probably because of the lack of troops and the heavy injuries done to the trolls.

Since I cannot actually post until circa 6 o'clock EST tonight, I'll put up a save now. You all have the details of the retreat, so post at your leisure in the wake of that save. Sadly, these past few days have borne an extremely chaotic chain of real life events for me, which has limited my surfeit of posts, but that ends tonight. Final notes: Meneltarmacil, your idea of building an unspoken enmity between Bubkur and your character is a good one. If it is manageable, I'll have Bubkur engage Menecar several more times before the battle at the Stone Trolls.

Is all this doable, coherent, comprehensible, and legible? I certainly hope so. I have to go take a couple of orc-brand aspirin before I fall over. As per my post above, the retreat save will be up between 6 and 7 o'clock tonight (Eastern time, by the way).

[Nuranar]

Both Envinyatar and I will be out of town this weekend. Kransha, carry on as you're doing.

Everyone's doing great, and I apologize for the abruptness of this. Wrap up the battle and then we'll move on!

Nuranar

[Kransha]

At long last, my save if filled:

The battle is over. The orcs have retreated. Of the original 8 orcs, 2 remain (Kransha & Bubkur) who have fled off of Weathertop and back to the main force. As far as casualties go, Thoronmir has got quite a wound in his shoulder, but not a debilitating one. If one wishes to study the medical implausibility of such a wound being non-debilitating, feel free, but by the time you find out the truth, I'll be long gone *insert villainous cackle here ala Bela Lugosi* Andas Loudwater almost got his quailing posterior skewered by an orc arrow, but has come out unscathed, thanks to an ill-timed command.

I did notice that, in the various battle posts, more orcs were killed than there actually are in the area, a curious fact. In my post, I mentioned the original 8 only, and excluded the couple of orcs who several people made up and killed, to keep consistency and contrinuity alive, even if only in spirit.

[Primrose Bolger]

Perhaps Orcs reproduce quickly under stress? (A previously undiscussed theory of Orc reproduction, I think)

I set us up to get the King's hired hands cut off from returning toward Bree and to get them herded eastward.

Will revise as needed.

--- Prim