Characer Burning - Female Elven Ranger

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FantasyChic · #1 Post by **FantasyChic** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 4:30 am

Sorry guys, I've neen busy with work but I'm definitely ready to get into this. Is there a link to get to a character sheet. Not sure exactly what I want but I've noticed a lot of dwarf talk. Is it possible to be an elf?

Marullus · #2 Post by **Marullus** » Sun Oct 04, 2015 12:22 pm

There is a character sheet downloadable here:
https://www.burningwheel.com/store/inde ... -pdfs.html

We'll have an online format for posting here in the forum, but that might help you for home use.

The online generator is helpful for browsing and considering lifepaths, too. See the links I posted here:
viewtopic.php?f=289&t=4891#p213155

As far as an elf, I'm open to it. It will take some dedication in character burning to make sure it explains why she's tied to this group of dispossessed, homeless dwarves and doesn't return to her homeland. A woodland elf wouldn't have lost her home to Smaug, but would've lost several homes over the last 900 years as they retreated further from the Necromancer, her king letting Greenwood the Great fall into the darkness now known as Mirkwood and drawing further into seclusion. Fulci, Rusty, and Enoch all have backgrounds that took them out of Erebor and potentially could link with you.

Elves also have a different emotional attribute - rather than dwarven Greed, they struggle instead with Grief at living eternally and watching tragedy around them. In Tolkien, this is what drives the elves to sail into the West and leave Middle Earth for the Undying Lands, never to return. Even as a young elf, she has watched a risk-adverse King Thranduil retreat multiple times to avoid putting eternal Elvish lives at risk, trying to keep them in states of frivolity and happiness rather than facing tragedy which weighs on them. (In the later Hobbit story, the elves engage in pop-up banquet parties in their northern bit of forest each night and they take all the dwarves captive in the dungeon for the crime of party-crashing.) She would need to be Born Wilder Elf for this region, but can branch into other settings appropriately. You might want to consider the Exile trait. (Or worse, the Slayer trait.). King Thranduil, his son Legolas, and their immediate kin are Born Etharch. This race/class divide is emphasized by Peter Jackson as the reason Thranduil finds Tauriel (who would be Born Wilder Elf) unfit for Legolas to have a relationship with in the movies.

FantasyChic · #3 Post by **FantasyChic** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 2:39 am

If I were to go the other direction, I wouldn't go as a sibling to Legolas. I may not know a lot of LotR but I know he's a main character and I consider it bad RP form to consider your character associated with a main, established character in lore. It's too hard to prove and just screams Mary Sue.

Though I don't have a problem being a...Wilder, is it? I have no qualms about that. I just don't like dwarves all that much as a race honestly. I like evles the best. I'll start poking around the book and the character burner to see if I can establish a nice background as to why she is there. Though I think it might be obvious having lost her home.

Marullus · #4 Post by **Marullus** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 2:49 am

Inspired me to go through and learn the elves, actually. To be honest, I've mostly ignored them before.

I burned a few in the engine to try it out, just as stereotypes for inspiration.

Enoch · #5 Post by **Enoch** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 1:12 pm

Dwarves aren't everyone's cup of tea (though dwarves as presented in Tolkien are vastly different from D&D dwarves). What is it that you like about elves? Perhaps we can help you come up with concepts.

FantasyChic · #6 Post by **FantasyChic** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 5:02 pm

I just don't like dwarves in any context personally, D&D, Dragon Age, etc. etc. What I like about elves is usually their look (I like the pointy ears) but also how they are generally seen as the "fanciest" race, or the most mystical, usually having a boost in magic depending on the game.

Marullus · #7 Post by **Marullus** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 6:27 pm

Let's talk about elves in Burning Wheel and Tolkien, then. In BW, they are highly regarded and highly attractive (with both the "Born Under the Silver Stars" and "Fair and Statuesque" traits). They are in tune with creation itself and possess magic in the form of songs. This is inline with Tolkien, where creation was sung into being by the Gods, and the elves (by personal association with them in the first age) learned much of this wisdom.

The magic in Tolkien and BW is typically subtle - dwarves have magic in tune with their nature as smiths born of iron and stone themselves, and create great works due to a semi-magical attunement in their natures. The elves have similar semi-magical skills where they exceed the works of men by their attuned natures, as well as songs that weave a subtle magic more similar to spells. There are human sorcerers in Burning Wheel, but these will not appear in our Tolkien game as PCs.

Burning Wheel is about your character's personal struggle, and the non-human races all have a particular struggle that influences them. Dwarves struggle against greed - they make great works but also covet them. Elves struggle against grief. Long lifespans which measure life in seasons rather than weeks have a unique perspective, and seeing the unavoidable death and ends that await most things is, well, depressing. The main elves named in Tolkien have lived 6,000+ years. Arwen, the main "impetuous youth" of the Lord of the Rings who falls in love with a mortal, is 2,700 years old when she meets him and still treated like a teenager by her dad. Burning Wheel will give you a young elf of 100-200 years old, but for our Tolkien game, we'll likely just script that with a x10 for flavor, making you just over 1,000 years old. When you were a child, the dwarves were still in Moria and your elven people lived in a fine city in the southern forest. As you've grown to your age (think that you're culturally like a 19-21 year old modern human), you've seen the dwarves lose their homes to tragedy four times. You lost your own home in the neighboring forest, moving no less than three times yourself, retreating northward before the encroaching evil of the Necromancer. Why retreating? When your race lives forever by not fighting, you need to think carefully about what you fight for.

Which is the core of a Burning Wheel character. What you believe strongly enough in to fight for is what the game is about, and to play an elf PC, I'll want to see strong development of that. (I want to see strong beliefs on every PC, really, but it is easier on the dwarves who just lost their homes and livelihoods.) The book gives you this:

Elves are often perceived as either aloof and cold or out of touch and bizarre. Neither perception is true. Elves are a passionate people, keenly involved in the affairs of the world. However, their long view of matters gives them a unique perspective. What might seem urgent to short-lived Men and Dwarves is a matter that can be considered at length for the Elves. But once their interest is piqued or ire aroused, Elves engage intensely.
Nor are Elves above the common struggle. They are as complex and internecine as any other people. In fact, it is the mix of their need to be involved, their temperamental nature and their immortal being that gives rise to their Grief. Often their aged wisdom allows them to predict that their affairs will come to a tragic end, but their fiery nature grants them little latitude to stop the calamity. Watching and living this endless cycle of strife nurtures within them a great anguish, ever growing across their endless lives.

I said you should be a Wood Elf by taking the "Born Wilding Elf" lifepath. At the beginning of the world, the Demigods invited the elves to live with and learn from them by travelling Westward to their land. The wood elves distrusted this, and remained in this part of the world. They are stereotypically more firey, more "rural" and less cultured than those that went to learn great knowledge. Your king, Thranduil (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thranduil), and the elite class of your society are Gray Elves who went west, then came back and shared knowledge with you. Thranduil lived through part of the First Age (being driven from his home as it was destroyed by flood) and the Second Age here in Greenwood the Great before becoming King (making him about 5,000 years old at that time). At the end of the Second Age, he marched with a great elven army to oppose Sauron (a great evil guy) and returned with 2/3 of his elven warriors dead including his father. Talk about an elf with a reason for grief! As he stepped up to be king, he took an isolationist posture for your whole kingdom. The last 1700 years have been spent falling back as evil crept from south to north, turning Greenwood the Great into Mirkwood, and the elves both secluded and safe. Orcs, giant spiders, evil warg-wolves, and presumably some form of ghosts or undead (since the guy was called "The Necromancer"), are things you know live in the forests you once called home.

Put yourself in that world, in that mindset, and tell me about your elf's reasons for action. There are a lot of reasons she could be choosing to act - going outside her King and her society to act in a world that he has warned them away from. I'd like you to define what they are. Once we know her personality and beliefs a little, we'll work on the rest.

Good?

Enoch · #8 Post by **Enoch** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 7:36 pm

Marullus wrote:When you were a child, the dwarves were still in Moria and your elven people lived in a fine city in the southern forest. As you've grown to your age (think that you're culturally like a 19-21 year old modern human), you've seen the dwarves lose their homes to tragedy four times.

It's worth noting, for the sake of knowing tragedy, that the elf probably first knew the dwarven kingdom as Dwarrowdelf--it only became known as Moria (meaning "the Black Pit") after the Balrog was awakened. It happened nearly eight hundred years before the start of our game. None of the dwarves would have been alive at that time...but an elf would have been.

Actually, that gives my dwarf a reason to seek this elf out. An elf would be the only one who actually has first-hand knowledge of that greatest of dwarven kingdoms.

FantasyChic · #9 Post by **FantasyChic** » Mon Oct 05, 2015 11:07 pm

I'd be down for forming a bond with your Dwarf Enoch. I enjoy having characters mesh in these types of games because it allows for more story progression and a good backstory.

Given what I heard and looked up (again, sorry for not being a LotR fan, I am TRYING though, recently picked up the first book), I think I have a general idea of what I want.

So she would be in her 1,000s then, and that is still considered young? That works for me regardless, it allows for her to know history, but also helps with her "grief" aspect.

I think what drives her is her determination to help her race get back to their "home." Continually being driven back from big baddies can get on a person. "Why not stand and fight?" she'd say. She'd be laughed out or told to step down, what could this "young" elf know, this young FEMALE elf! (I also know that females in this lore aren't plentiful, which drives my urge to play a female elf, because I think I can do wonders with her.)

So she would most likely go against her king's wishes, but also her family's wishes and strike out on her own. Depending on what Enoch wants, she could get with him and both of them could come to the dwarf place you mentioned, which would explain why she'd be there. Due to her friendship with the dwarf, but also her willingness to help to hopefully be the "avenger" to her race and family, she'd be more than willing to help them out.

I could tweak things depending on lore and such, but I think this is my general idea.

Marullus · #10 Post by **Marullus** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 12:57 am

I always encourage reading the books.

For a speedy adaptation (I can't believe I'm saying this) you would do well with the second Hobbit movie. (https://amzn.com/B00ISJSPXY) There really is very little about the Mirkwood elves for you to work with, and Pater Jackson's adaptation can give you some visuals. Such as this one: https://youtu.be/hzissiMcfRE and this one: https://youtu.be/psiu-rzkwsA Tauriel would be a Wood Elf like you, and she is confronting King Thranduil (who I spoke of above), resulting in banishment (the Exile trait). She is the only female Mirkwood Elf role model to look at (since Tolkien didn't write one). That said, she's pretty awesome to draw some inspiration from. The whole movie is the exact setting we'll be playing in, except you are ~160 years earlier than the movie, when Smaug arrives rather than when they return to kill him.

I think what drives her is her determination to help her race get back to their "home." Continually being driven back from big baddies can get on a person. "Why not stand and fight?" she'd say. She'd be laughed out or told to step down, what could this "young" elf know, this young FEMALE elf! (I also know that females in this lore aren't plentiful, which drives my urge to play a female elf, because I think I can do wonders with her.)

That's a good start! You can definitely work with that.

Lets ask this first:

1) How did she come to be with the dwarven refugees along Long Lake for our story to start? Was she already there visiting her friend(s)? Did she come to see and face a dragon? Did she come to provide aid to the dispossessed dwarves and men? Was staying in the City of Dale when the dragon arrived?

2) "Getting back their home" means "freeing Mirkwood from the creatures of evil which flock around the Necromancer" to me. What does it mean to you? How does she expect to do it? What role do these dwarves play in that desire?

3) What sort of skills and abilities to you imagine her having? (from which we'll offer some Lifepath options)

FantasyChic · #11 Post by **FantasyChic** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 1:27 am

1) How did she come to be with the dwarven refugees along Long Lake for our story to start? Was she already there visiting her friend(s)? Did she come to see and face a dragon? Did she come to provide aid to the dispossessed dwarves and men? Was staying in the City of Dale when the dragon arrived?

I imagine it being a "wrong place, wrong time" scenario. As she was venturing, she happened to be in the area as the Dragon attacked. Having done her part in aiding, she met up with her friend and that is where we have our heroes.

2) "Getting back their home" means "freeing Mirkwood from the creatures of evil which flock around the Necromancer" to me. What does it mean to you? How does she expect to do it? What role do these dwarves play in that desire?

It means taking back what is rightfully their's. Instead of appearing as docile and fearful, she believes they should be forming a united front against the creatures and the Necromancer and fight back. She can understand the Kind's unease, having lost many of the elven population, but she feels that, with the help of the dwarves and maybe of men, they could reclaim it. She doesn't mind helping the dwarves, but she would be lying if she said her goals weren't entirely selfish.

3) What sort of skills and abilities to you imagine her having? (from which we'll offer some Lifepath options)

It depends, what do normal Wood Elves have? Is there magic involved at all or are we thinking more stabby/shooty combat wise? I would need to look at the books and all that to determine what I think she'd be best at

Marullus · #12 Post by **Marullus** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 2:08 am

FantasyChic wrote:I imagine it being a "wrong place, wrong time" scenario. As she was venturing, she happened to be in the area as the Dragon attacked. Having done her part in aiding, she met up with her friend and that is where we have our heroes.

FantasyChic wrote:It means taking back what is rightfully their's. Instead of appearing as docile and fearful, she believes they should be forming a united front against the creatures and the Necromancer and fight back. She can understand the Kind's unease, having lost many of the elven population, but she feels that, with the help of the dwarves and maybe of men, they could reclaim it. She doesn't mind helping the dwarves, but she would be lying if she said her goals weren't entirely selfish.

That works for now. You'll need to think on what her plan is, but it sounds like it starts with "Recruit the dwarven people to fight for Mirkwood." That will be a challenge you'd then face early in the game. One of the places the elves lived would be the Mountains of Mirkwood - a small (comparatively) ridge halfway north/south between your people and the necromancer. You could use an appropriate wise (perhaps buy Mirkwood-Wise) to know of places you could offer them to live (for example), if only they help clear it out. You can use that option or pursue others of your choosing.

FantasyChic wrote:3) What sort of skills and abilities to you imagine her having? (from which we'll offer some Lifepath options)

It depends, what do normal Wood Elves have? Is there magic involved at all or are we thinking more stabby/shooty combat wise? I would need to look at the books and all that to determine what I think she'd be best at

It is best to go look at the Lifepaths. How did she progress to where she is?

The elven magic is in the form of songs that are part of their normal lives and tasks - you get access to them by living a lifepath where they are practiced and learned. When you look at the skills under a lifepath, they are marked with special symbols.

From what you said so far, you might consider starting with:
Wanderer (knows magic of paths and ways, can talk to doors to learn what is behind them, knows how to forage, starts with any Wise, like Mirkwood-wise)
Song Singer (Skilled at swaying a crowd, aiding the magical songs of other elves, singing to remove pain, and singing to deal with her grief)
Forester (Can sing to converse with trees, tree-wise, forest-wise, singing functions like astrology including horoscopes)
Huntsman (singing makes her a better hunter, can use javelin, bow, tracking, stealth, observation)
Rider (knows how to ride, loves to roam, can sing to talk to horses and to make them faster)
Or a more normal trade: Harvester (farmer), Gatherer (herbalist), Fisherwoman, Shepard, Weaver, Vintner, Miller, or Spouse.
If she spent her earliest years in the elven city rather than wandering the wood, she might take:
Student (songs of history, knows etiquette, good at swaying a crowd)
Novice (learns mending and related wises, opens the door to the Shaper lifepath which makes her skilled at crafting wood, stone, and metal)

If you want her to advance to a more martial route, you could aim for:
- Soldier-Protector (use armor and shield, know sword, now, knives, knows a magical song for alerting others as a sentry) --> requires Wanderer, Rider, or Huntsman above
- Ranger (adds stealthy, bow, and foraging. Magical songs for finding paths, easing pain, camouflage, healing wounds) --> Requires forester or Wanderer
- Spearbearer (Can use armor, make and use spearers, and fight in formation as an elven army, start with awesome spear at low cost if 4th lifepath)
- Outrider (Bow, spear, stealthy, etc, ability to shoot from horseback) --> requires rider
As final lifepath:
- Sword Singer (Can use armor, shield, sword, and knives. Knows magic song to enhance the sword. Start with awesome sword if 4th lifepath) --> Requires a soother, spearbearer, or soldier-protector
- Bower (can make bows, use bows, and start with awesome bow at low cost if 4th lifepath)
- Lancer (Lance, armor, shield, mounted combat training, plus combat-enhancing spells) --> requires outrider above

FantasyChic · #13 Post by **FantasyChic** » Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:08 pm

Ok I was debating on what I wanted and looked over much, and I think I got my lifepaths.

If I understand it correctly, I get 4 lifepaths, the 4th being the main one and the one that determines what you get (such as an awesome bow or a sword and whatnot).

I think for my lifepaths I want Student > Rider > Ranger > Bower.

If I need to switch any, lemme know, but based on what I picture her as, I think these paths work.

Marullus · #14 Post by **Marullus** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:39 am

FantasyChic wrote:If I understand it correctly, I get 4 lifepaths, the 4th being the main one and the one that determines what you get (such as an awesome bow or a sword and whatnot).
I think for my lifepaths I want Student > Rider > Ranger > Bower.

Almost there. Your first lifepath is "Born Wilder Elf" so really you are picking 3. There are also rules about how you can get to certain ones - for example, to get Ranger you'd need a pre-requisite (Forester or Wanderer, for you, most likely).

So, looking at what you picked, here's some choices that work, if you want to review and pick one.

Born Wilder Elf --> Wanderer --> Rider --> [Protector] Ranger
Born Wilder Elf --> Forester --> Rider --> [Protector] Ranger
Born Wilder Elf --> Wanderer --> [Protector] Ranger --> Bower
Born Wilder Elf --> Forester --> [Protector] Ranger --> Bower
Born Wilder Elf --> Rider --> [Citadel] Student --> Soldier-Protector
Born Wilder Elf --> Rider --> [Citadel] Soldier-Protector --> [Protector] Bower

FantasyChic · #15 Post by **FantasyChic** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 1:44 am

I'll pick Born Wilder Elf --> Wanderer --> [Protector] Ranger --> Bower

FantasyChic · #16 Post by **FantasyChic** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 2:38 am

Could be what I had in mind. Again, I did say her motives weren't entirely selfless. She may help out, but she has her own goals and agenda on the horizon.

Was my lifepath decision good? If so, where do I go from there?

Marullus · #17 Post by **Marullus** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:00 am

FantasyChic wrote:Was my lifepath decision good? If so, where do I go from there?

My post got lost further up the page.

Marullus wrote:
FantasyChic wrote:If I understand it correctly, I get 4 lifepaths, the 4th being the main one and the one that determines what you get (such as an awesome bow or a sword and whatnot).
I think for my lifepaths I want Student > Rider > Ranger > Bower.
Almost there. Your first lifepath is "Born Wilder Elf" so really you are picking 3. There are also rules about how you can get to certain ones - for example, to get Ranger you'd need a pre-requisite (Forester or Wanderer, for you, most likely).

So, looking at what you picked, here's some choices that work, if you want to review and pick one.

Born Wilder Elf --> Wanderer --> Rider --> [Protector] Ranger

Born Wilder Elf --> Forester --> Rider --> [Protector] Ranger

Born Wilder Elf --> Wanderer --> [Protector] Ranger --> Bower

Born Wilder Elf --> Forester --> [Protector] Ranger --> Bower

Born Wilder Elf --> Rider --> [Citadel] Student --> Soldier-Protector

Born Wilder Elf --> Rider --> [Citadel] Soldier-Protector --> [Protector] Bower

FantasyChic · #18 Post by **FantasyChic** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:08 am

Yeah, I posted my choice.

Born Wilder Elf --> Wanderer --> [Protector] Ranger --> Bower

Marullus · #19 Post by **Marullus** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 3:38 am

Aha! Sorry I missed it.

Okay, so you have:
Time: 20+75+46+20= 161 ; +2P, +1M/P; 10 Mental and 20 Physical to distribute
RPs: 5+5+10+8= 28 rps
Skill Points: 4 general, 2+6+10+5 = 23 skill points
Skills: Observation*, Elven Script*, Bow, Foraging, Mending, Stealthy, Any Wise, Bow-Wise
Magical skills: Bowcraft*, Song of Paths and Ways (Orienteering)*, Rhyme of the Pathfinder (Tracking), Song of Soothing (Herbalism), Lyric of Healing (Healing)
Song Spell Skills: Air of Gates, Threne of the Chameleon
Traits: 1+1+1+1 ; Gray Mantle, Sprinter, Circumspect (1pt to spend)

From there, take those numbers and walk through the example that Enoch posted. See if you can arrive at some decisions and then we can adjust. Note she doesn't have a melee weapon - I suggest you take one with a General Point.

For your resources:
Gear: Elven Bow, Run of the mill arms (any other desired melee weapons), Reinforced leather breastplate, Elven clothes, Travelling gear
Personal Item:Define one item she keeps for sentimental value.
Minor Reputation (1D): How are you known?
Relationship (minor, other family): Define a relative who remains in contact with you and supports you.
Relationship (minor, hateful): Define someone who either hates you or is your rival in your main goal.

FantasyChic · #20 Post by **FantasyChic** » Wed Oct 07, 2015 4:21 am

I'll be honest, I don't understand anything that's being discussed in that post. Not sure what is what, what goes where, etc.

Characer Burning - Female Elven Ranger

Characer Burning - Female Elven Ranger

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