OOC: Isles of Ice

[Kunio_kun]

Out of Character Thread for Isles of Ice
Roleplay Thread



I am new here but not new to roleplaying. Every now and then, I get the urge to create something. For this roleplay, we go to the mysterious Far North of Middle Earth, by the Bay of Forochel. While the place isn't mentioned much, some of you might remember this is where one of the Kings of the Dunedain, Arvedui, perished. The Encyclopedia of Arda has the information I gleaned for this roleplay, so a visit there is worthwhile. And since there's very little about the far north anyway, it'll be a short visit.
The Isles of Ice are purely made up by me, though it certainly doesn't seem THAT out of place I should hope.

This is the Fourth Age, in the reign of Telumendil, son of Eldarion, who in turn is the son of our old friend Aragorn. More than two hundred years have passed since the War of the Ring and the dark shadows of the past now looms over the Age of Men.

An expedition to the Isles of Ice is made, led by Errynd son of Eddyr, my character and overall run of the mill adventurer. Other adventurers, obviously where you come in, dear readers, are also on board for this merry trip into ice and snow. We are all currently aboard a small ship, soon to make landfall after weeks at sea.

To reiterate and add some details:

Time: 200+ years into the Fourth Age; middle of Spring

Setting: Aboard a ship at sea, in the far north of Middle Earth, somewhere around Forochel, soon to head into the Isles of Ice

Summary: A group of adventurers coming from all walks of life are recruited by Minister Duin of Gondor to gather information on the Isles of Ice. Suspected to hold something hostile and may be related to the frequent attacks on Gondor and Rohan by Easterlings, Haradrim, and the resurgent Orcs. No previous scouting expeditions have returned, and even trading ships straying too close to the Isles are never seen again.
A monetary reward and recognition of loyalty to the realm is the general promise made to the expedition, but each man or woman may have had additional deals assured them by either the Minister or one of his agents. Everyone has their reasons, in other words.

Characters Allowed: Men, Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits. Of Elves, not many of the Noldor remain in Middle Earth. So if someone already claims a High Elf character, I'd like anyone else wanting an Elven character to be Sindar, like Legolas. I think that's the term anyway.
A Haradrim or Easterling character is allowed, with proper explanation. Keep in mind that there are hostilities between these peoples and the West currently.

To Join: Create a profile following the profile skeleton in the next post. (You can use your own profile format if you wish.)


I'll begin the RP when I feel we have enough people to make a go at it.

[Kunio_kun]

Profiles

Code: Select all

[b]USERNAME:[/b]
[b]NAME:[/b]
[b]AGE:[/b]
[b]RACE:[/b]
[b]GENDER:[/b]

[b]APPEARANCE:[/b]
(a description, a link to a picture, whichever)

[b]HISTORY:[/b]
(Optional)

[b]SUMMARY:[/b]
(Basically your character in a nutshell, personality, and why he or she is a part of the expedition)

[b]MISCELLANEOUS:[/b]
(Optional)


_____________________________________

Current Characters

USERNAME: kunio_kun
NAME: Errynd
AGE: 25
RACE: Man
GENDER: Male

APPEARANCE:
Errynd is a twenty five year old man standing at six feet and one inch, possessing a slender frame weighing about one hundred and ninety pounds. His looks nominally mark him as an inhabitant of Eriador or thereabouts. His shoulder length hair is black and his eyes are a hazy sort of blue, bordering on gray. Errynd has a well-worn look about him, a near constant five o clock shadow, sun tanned skin, and tell-tale travel stains on his clothes.

HISTORY:
Born and raised in the Eriador region, Errynd loved exploring the wild country. As his mother and father were both traders, they brought him along many of their travels. When he grew older, Errynd took trips by himself and often went further off the path than necessary. While never a good trader, farmer, or worker in general, Errynd was a good explorer. When he was sixteen, he left his family on good terms and lived in some of the more distant settlements of men that bordered on the wilderness. He made a living as a hunter, scrounger, and guide, as well as the occasional mercenary work to chase off overbold brigands and whatnot off the usual roads. He's had his fair share of adventure and wandered far and wide in the process, making a small name for himself.

SUMMARY:
Errynd is your run-of-the-mill adventurer. He likes discovering new places, finding out secrets, and so on and so forth. He is one of those people that tend to look cool and collected, even if he's suffering some very grave misgivings. Not to say he is a stoic, by any means. He is free with his emotions, it just that those emotions are pretty laid-back, like hismelf. Minister Duin had heard some good words about Errynd from one of his many sources beforehand, and felt he would make a fine expedition leader. Errynd himself came to Duin by chance, on word from one of his sources that Gondor was looking for bold men and women for numerous missions.

MISCELLANEOUS:
Has a very worn copy of the Red Book of Westmarch

Name: Frodo Took
Age: 35
Race: Hobbit
Gender: Male

Appearance: He looks like most hobbits, but with golden hair and brown eyes. He wears the sword of Peregrin which he inherited from his grandfather. He wears the cloak of his grandfather, which came from Lothlorien in the War of the Ring. He is usually barefoot, as no hobbit in his right mind wears shoes.

History: Frodo is the grandson of the famous Thain Peregrin, and son of Faramir Took. Like most Tooks, he had the longing for adventure and soon became bored of Great Smials. He signed on with the crew going north. Like most hobbits, there is more to him than meets the eye. He was named after the famous Ringbearer of Baggins fame.

~

USERNAME:Hunter
NAME: Angus Rathburn
AGE: 42
RACE: Human
GENDER: male



APPEARANCE: Angus is a pretty average, non-descript guy. Average height, weight etc. I much prefer describing any characters I write within the story, so this is just the basic stuff. Black hair (worn short) streaked with a few strands of grey, dark brown eyes. As far as clothing and attire goes, well… this is set 200 hundred years after the War of the Ring…has much changed? Not much I’m guessing so I’ll stick with the attire I’m familiar with, worn boots, warm woolen cloak etc.


HISTORY:
Since Angus is basically a new creation, I’ll fill in more of his history as this story progresses. This much is set in my mind though: Angus is from the northern reaches of ME (Framsburg to be exact, a settlement on the eastern side of the Misty’s in the angle created where the Misty’s join the Grey Mountains. It is marked on a map in The Atlas of Middle Earth by Fonstad). In the time during the War of the Rings, his great grandfather (whom he is named for) was one of the leaders of a band of thieves and cutthroats who roamed the area. Since then, his family moved on to other more respectable occupations. His father is a respected merchant, trading in goods from both the northern and southern reaches of Middle Earth. Angus has traveled extensively throughout the northern climes in relation to the various business ventures of his father.

SUMMARY:
Personality…hmm pretty hard to say right now, characters grow and change within a story, but for a starting point I’d describe Angus as quiet, more than he seems once the surface is scratched. He is knowledgeable about the trading business, though he is not the bookish or merchant type, he is more a throwback to his ancestor. He is friendly, though not overly so and keeps pretty much to himself. He has joined the expedition at the request of his father, Burle Rathburn. The elder Rathburn was one of the first to report ships missing, (he has lost two so far) and sent a request (more of a demand) through the lines that landed on Duin’s desk.

~

Varno Morhaust

USERNAME: Frelga
NAME: Varno Morhaust (Black Bed. His parents weren't great at Sindarin. Anyway, it's time someone came up with a character whose name begins with Mor and who is not evil.)
AGE: 29
RACE: Mortal man, hailing from South Gondor, later of Minas Tirith
GENDER: Male

APPEARANCE: Just under 6 feet, medium build. Black, curly hair held back by a leather string, brown eyes, prominent nose. General effect is that of a slightly exotic, pleasantly masculine look. Varno dresses in practical clothes, green wool and leather. He wears a golden hoop earring in his right ear in memory of his father.

HISTORY: Varno comes from South Gondor, with a dollop of Umbar blood via his father, a sailor on a perfectly honest merchant vessel and in no way a smuggler. After the sailor was lost at sea, his widow and son moved in with their Minas Tirith relatives.

Varno is engaged in government-sponsored research aimed at preserving knowledge and technology now that the Elves have all but left the shores of Middle-earth. His specialty is steel, or more specifically, swords. Varno is considered a young but promising craftsman. He is often sent to travel all around the Reunited Kingdom and abroad, collecting specimens and learning more from secretive masters than they intend to show him.

Varno is absorbed in his studies and thinks a truly fascinating conversation must explore such topics as the relative properties of salt brine and oil for quenching. He would have the makings of a studious recluse, except for his natural affable good temper and his interest in people as well as their weapon. Since his studies require him to work with metal as well as scrolls, Varno acquired a muscular physique and decent practical experience with his favorite subject. That is, he can hold his own with a sword against a reasonably trained opponent. When an opponent is trained better than is reasonable, Varno relies on help of his friend, fellow enthusiast, and frequent tester, a dwarf nicknamed Rivet. Or possibly Rivette. You never know, with dwarves.

Username: GwenElf
Name: Falastor Galathil, Fal for short
Age: 36
Race: Man
Gender: Male

Appearance: About 5'9" and average build; he does a lot of travelling so he's in relatively good shape. Short(ish), dirty blonde, wavy hair; hazel eyes and tan skin. He could easily be lost in a crowd as there's nothing terribly distinct about him, except for the fact that he's always carrying (and dropping) way too much stuff.

History: Fal was abandoned as an infant and picked up by a group of traveling performers who raised and trained him. Unfortunately, all the training in the world could not make up for his inherent lack of musical and theatrical talent, and more often than not he ran off during performances to explore and chat with the locals. After a while he started collecting maps of the surrounding area from each town they visited and put them together to form a more detailed whole to replace the seriously deficient version troupe was carrying, which eventually resulted in his becoming the Unofficial Troupe Route Planner. He finally left the group after promising never to sing in public again and found his way to Minas Tirith, where he worked his way into a job as a cartographer for the government, who assigned him to this expedition.

Personality: Fal talks a lot, and to anyone who will listen, and about any subject that arises, even if he knows nothing about it. He understands that not everyone's interested in cartography and tries not to talk about it too much, but when the conversation lags, he tends to revert to alidades and coordinates. Having spent so much time around theatre people, he's known to say outlandish things that sometimes come off as insults when really he's just joking around.
Fal thinks he knows Sindarin and Dwarvish, but in fact he does not; he understands them very well, but when it comes to forming coherent sentences of his own, he's not exactly the guy you want as your communicator. This problem causes a lot of confusion, hilarity, and sometimes trouble. Bright as he is, he's never managed to figure out that it's his inability to speak the languages that's gotten him into tight spots.

Misc: Along with rolls and rolls of parchment and other cartography tools, he also carries a well-used bo-staff with which he defends himself when necessary. He's not a master with it, but he can hold his own.

[Kunio_kun]

Reserved For Stuff I Haven't Even Thought Of But May In The Near Or Far Future

[Kunio_kun]

And now the OOC is open for general posting. Ask any questions, etc. If I don't reply back right away it's because I hate you. That or I'm drifting in the real world.

[elerrina_narloth]

this sounds like a really great premise.....I don't have the time to join at this point.....but I will be reading to see what happens

[Kunio_kun]

I've been in a wintery mood despite the spring weather here, and so a roleplay of ice and snow. I want to weave a picture of biting wind, and cold, snow covered stone, if my prowess is up to the task. Hopefully, you'll enjoy reading it once it begins.

[Frelga]

Welcome to the Pony, Kunio! Mind telling us how you found your way here? Your premise sounds very enticing. I don't really have a character to offer you at the moment, although it doesn't guarantee that you are safe from me. Either way, best wishes to your story.



Oh, and I'm kinda hoping it's Santa.

[Kunio_kun]

How I found my way here? Click-click-clicking my way through to the words 'roleplay', nothing more. But thank you for the welcome.

[rwhen]

I would like to add myself as "interested".

My character would be female, human from Dale.

If that works for you, I will flesh out a character in the coming days.

Welcome to TORC.

[Kunio_kun]

Thus my legion grows, one roleplayer at a time.

I'll be looking forward to the profile, rwhen.

[Cock-Robin]

This really does look interesting. I'll have to think up a character to play here. Please give me time and I'll have one.

I'm thinking a hobbit, a grandson of Peregrin Took.

[Kunio_kun]

Yes, time is something of an abundance here, and I am not stingy. A hobbit braving the ice sea makes a picturesque scene.

[rwhen]

Nothing to see here, move along.

[Kunio_kun]

Lovely. The reference to the weather gives the history an ominous tone to me. Oh it's going to get so much colder all too soon.

[rwhen]

I am in hopes that we get more players, personally. For an excellent long lasting RP, it takes enough to keep interest going.

I know Frelga to be of the very best sort of writer and the work I have seen of CR also promises a fine showing. Both are otherwise involved in RP, as am I, but that never stops me. The more I write, the better it all gets.

Elerrina...do you go by rina? I do hope you will join in as well.

Kunio, I will keep all things crossed that this ship sails, no matter the temperatures.

[Kunio_kun]

::bows::

Since skimming through a few of the RPs here, I've known that whoever joined would be more than up to the task. The sentiment is appreciated all the same, rwhen.

[Tygarya]

Welcome Kunio

Could be interested, i will keep an eye on this to see what eventuates...although I would be on the side of evil to disrupt your plans...so I would need to wait and see if something can be fitted in along those lines

[Cock-Robin]

Well, here's what I have thought up.

Name: Frodo Took
Age: 35
Race: Hobbit
Gender: Male

Appearance: He looks like most hobbits, but with golden hair and brown eyes. He wears the sword of Peregrin which he inherited from his grandfather. He wears the cloak of his grandfather, which came from Lothlorien in the War of the Ring. He is usually barefoot, as no hobbit in his right mind wears shoes.

History: Frodo is the grandson of the famous Thain Peregrin, and son of Faramir Took. Like most Tooks, he had the longing for adventure and soon became bored of Great Smials. He signed on with the crew going north. Like most hobbits, there is more to him than meets the eye. He was named after the famous Ringbearer of Baggins fame.



This is all I have right now. I'll develop this character as I go along. I hope it's all right for a first try.

[Kunio_kun]

I haven't really hammered out the details on evil just yet. Santa or Rudolph? The red nose is rather eerie, but the man himself in all his horrific corpulence...

Oh, I've already got set in my mind my lesser antagonists and pseudo-antagonists, but I'm still unsure of the linchpin that holds it all together. Just a matter of making it fit to my satisfaction.

In any case, although our adventurers may be bold, daring types, or curious lore seekers, they're not necessarily scrupulous sorts. Just a thought to toss out.

Frodo Took looks more than fine, Cock-Robin. I've always been a believer in the develop-along-with-story method. Our hobbit will doubtless have his mettle tested most thoroughly.

[Cock-Robin]

Hmm... That sounds interesting. Although it definetely won't scare away a Took. Rhwen, I look forward to interacting with your character, it will be fascinating to say the least. Same with you, Frelga and Kunio.

I'll get a post up sometime this weekend. I've been working a lot of overtime lately and I'm tired, but I'll get to it.

[rwhen]

CR, I also look forward to interaction with you, we have some things already in common... I promise that all songs I sing will be Middle Earth related.

Tyg? You on board?

Kunio? Two questions, are you ready for the RP to start? or waiting to get all players on board (no pun intended). Second, is this a free-flow sort of RP, meaning...no discussion of what is being posted, other than general ideas, people run with their own creation? Or, as some are going the way of these days...full discourse and share/edit posts prior to posting in thread?

Thanks ahead of time.

[Kunio_kun]

I'd like to wait a little bit. Right now, including me, we have a grand total of three roleplayers. I'm going to wait until we get about 2 more before cutting the ribbon.

Of course, I have an all encompassing story hidden in the depths of the roleplay, but I don't want people reluctant to post because it might upset my plans. Feel free to be spontaneous within reason, though some edits might be necessary now and again. Free flowing creativity... it doesn't always work out, but I'm never opposed to it.

I should add that there will be complications actually reaching the island due to there being a lack of a safe landing site and the coming sleet/snow storm. Just something to consider when the day comes we are ready to post.

[rwhen]

Thank you, that answers my question perfectly.

I will await the *cutting of the ribbon* .

[Frelga]

Rwhen is much too kind.

I thought my character box was empty, but it seems something still rattles at the bottom. Let me see.

Frelga drags out a dark-stained teak chest. It's bound with iron hoops, hinges and a sneaker-sized padlock. Clearly what's inside is meant to stay there. Chains rattle, key turns. Frelga rummages, muttering, and emerges covered in cobwebs and holding two small figurines. One is tall, made of brushed steel, the other is squat and iron.

Hm, forgot I had you two in there.

How about this one, Kunio? Varno Morhaust, (I think it's time someone made a character whose name begins with Mor and who is not evil), engaged in government-sponsored research into weapons technology. He can be after some rare trace minerals, or perhaps exploring properties of steel in extreme cold, or something. A reasonable character all around - reasonably good looking, adventurous, somewhat geeky if I can pull it off. His main interest is in making weapons, but he can use them in a pinch. He has a dwarf friend who may or may not come along. You know how dwarves hate boats.

If the concept is OK with you, I'll put up a bio.

[Kunio_kun]

One mor for the road, HO HO HO! There shall be much more groaning ahead, I fear.

Looking forward to the profile, Frelga.

[GwenElf]

Ohayo, Kunio-kun! I'm interested in joining, though I don't have a character off the top of my head. Given whom you've got already, I'm thinking something along the lines of a scholar/cartographer.

I've got final exams this week and won't have time to actually start RPing till Friday, but if you still want more people, I could probably come up with a bio sometime this week.

Lemme know!

~Sil

*Glomps Frelga*

[Kunio_kun]

Oi! Take your time with the profile. Take mine too while you're at it, there's enough to go around. A scholar/cartographer will certainly be welcome amongst our number, GwenElf.

[Hunter]

~

Hello and welcome to Torc Kunio ,

Interesting idea for a story, it started me thinking about the possibility of joining your Rp. I dug through my cast of characters and came up with one but before I put up the information I do have a question.

When this Rp starts, do you expect this story to move along at a fairly fast pace? If so, I shall gracefully withdraw my request to join and just follow along reading and watching the story unfold, for I cannot promise x number of post per day or even per week. RL makes many demands on my life and I never know for sure when I will have the time to sit down and write a quality post in a short amount of time. But when I do join a Rp, I commit to following through with it until the conclusion is reached or the story slowly fades away because of lack of participation.

~

[Frelga]

Sil!

Hunter, I was just about to ask that same thing. I'm more of a once a week poster than one a day, although I also stick around for the duration.

[nienor-niniel]

I also hesitate terribly: the opening post is of great quality. i have never written that time set... I would ove to write with Frelga, one day. (same for Hunter, of course)

But I also hesitate to open my own RP...

We'll see.