Book One: A Hobbit's Tale

[Grimbold]

"Ahh " the man nods. "I am Celemor. Nice to meet you." The traveler smiles. "Best be on our way, now right? Be careful!" he says as he begins to continue on his way.

[ManWithDoor]

The hobbit blinks a few times, really confused as to the ebbs and flows of the man's attitude. Wilfred shies away from the stranger as he passes, then starts pulling again on the reins of his horse to get things moving. Hopefully Bree will be within his eyesight before he knows it.

[Grimbold]

Wilfred walks on, down the road to Bree, passing some trees and looking out at the hills and forests of Eriador. Suddenly, a 3 foot wasp comes out of a patch of trees. It races straight for the hobbit, buzzing angrily!

Display

Let's try out combat. Before starting, we need to finish up your guy. pm me about training packs and other skill choices (as well as talents, if you want some).

[ManWithDoor]

Wilfred almost falls to the ground, yelling out a rather silly expetive. Something along the lines of "sweet honey!" or the like. He whips out his favorite sling from his belt, grabs a rock, and starts it swinging. As soon as he can, he lets loose at the errand wasp. The darn thing is as big as he is!

OOC

I took the 'Speed Loader' Trait. So I have to spend 1 round loading, and the 2nd round firing, from what I can tell. I don't expect there are super fancy maneuvers for ranged combat, but I just want to whack the darn thing.

[Grimbold]

Initiative

Wilfred 30; Dumbledoor 26

Wilfred Baggins quickly loads his sling with a rock (he does have some in his pocketss), swings it around fast as the Dumbledor approaches buzzing madly. The rock flies and it hits the insect right on the face and wings. The Dumbledor goes down to the ground, flopping around for a few seconds on broken wings before lying still. All is quiet again.

Display

Combat actions: Look here for our combat action house rules: http://brennor.dyndns.org/rpg/Forums/vi ... =3954.html
I am assuming that bows and slings require a half round action to load. With speed loader this is a free action once per round. So you get to attack right away.

So: Wilfred: load (free), ranged attack Dumbledor.

Combat roll: r"100" /good roll, now you may roll again and add it also: r84
So your total is:
rolled +100
reroll +84
OB +78
range +0
DB -60
Total: 202 - this is an exceptional roll!
Damage (from the HARP book "Hack & Slash")
Small Crush attack: Max result of 150, so 19W which means 19 hp damage and a W critical. A W critical reads: "Not only do you shatter bones, but you send the jagged edge of one tearing through a major artery. Foe drops to the ground and dies after 6 inactive rounds of screaming from the pain." Of course, we will have to adapt this for a Dumbledor, but the effect is the same.

Dumbledor

Dumbledors are only mentioned in the Hobbit poem, "Errantry", which describes them as ferocious winged insects. Their origin and history have been lost to Men.

They are stated as being nasty insects that live in bogs and marshlands around the Shire. They are somewhat similar to Neekerbreekers, also mentioned in Hobbit-lore.

[ManWithDoor]

Wilfred blinks in surprise, looking at the insect, to his sling, back to the insect, to the sling yet again, and finally settles on a grunt. "Well," he says to himself, "that sure was something. That sure was a one-in-a-million shot. Was just trying to scare the stupid thing off." Looking a little embarassed, he pulls on Ned's reins, getting his packhorse moving again. Hopefully the insect has no friends that will be showing up too. He wouldn't care to have to repeat that shot another time.

OOC

Dang-o! A crit right off the bat. Nice.

[Grimbold]

Wilfred continues on his way, and to the north, he sees some ancient Dúnedain ruins, sitting atop a hill overlooking the old road. Only a few shattered stone walls remain of this once proud empire. Someone has cast down a statue from the hill and is is lying there, closer to the road, broken. Mosses and vines cover it, as if Nature is trying to reclaim its own territory again.

A bit further on, he rests a few minutes, chewing on some bread he took along, still playing with the ring in his pocket.

Then he walks on and in the afternoon, he comes to a bend in the road as suddenly three men jump out! They are wearing grey travelling cloaks and two have longswords, one has a morning star. A bit behind the hobbit can see another one with a crossbow. "Stop here, hobbit! We are the Dúnedain rangers, and you have to pay before passing our lands!"

[ManWithDoor]

Wilfred is so surprised this time that he literally falls on his rear, his eyes wide as saucers. Ned looks down, unconcerned, and takes the stop to mean its time to eat and starts nibbling on the grass around them. The hobbit squeaks on his first attempt at speech, then manages to get himself back on his feet before trying again. "Um ... sirs? I'm sorry, I didn't know this was now a toll road. I'm just trying to get to Bree. I didn't mean to trespass. Should I have gone another way?"

[Grimbold]

"There is no other way, hobbit." His arm makes a sweeping gesture. "All the land here belongs to us" with that he points to the small brooch in the form of a golden star on his breast. "So pay up or face the consequences! I am Strider and these are my men and I do not have all day." He is a tall and slender man with weathered features and scruffy black hair.

[ManWithDoor]

Wilfred pales further, his fingers positively trembling with fright. He scratches his scalp, glancing back towards Ned. "Um ... alright. What's the toll? I don't carry much actual cash on me, I'm just taking some goods to Bree for trade."

OOC

I totally imagine the bandit pointing towards this 'Lone Star' sheriff badge at his chest. Golden star indeed.