The Unseen Servant forums

Post your characters here. Besides the essential information, provide a name, enough background detail that we know why they’re in it, and a brief physical description.

Tarabim the King's Bard. A lithe and clever young fellow with shoulder length wavy blond hair and a bushy blond beard. His fingers are slender, long, and agile and he usually carries a lute slung over his shoulder. He dresses plainly in good cloth, and he wears boots of soft leather. He loves the king and the prince with all his heart and would go to any length to serve them.

Rhyming = singing, telling stories.
Carousing = charming.

Toughness 5. Fate 5.

Second easiest character generation ever. Also ... with a little ingenuity Tarabim will serve to restore Toughness and Fate at will.

Lofar the Bankrupt Dwarf Trader. An older but still spry Dwarf of the Longbeard Clan, now resident once more in their ancestral home in the Lonely Mountain! He has a long salt and pepper beard, and an outwardly stern persona belying a deep affection for those he considers friends or kin. Lofar's caravan traded for some years between Erebor and Gondor, buying the many tools and goods his rebuilding folk need to return their halls to old glory, but his latest journey met with disaster. After a storm, and a hard crossing over a flooded river, his caravan was set upon by Orcish raiders led by Varg No-Nose, his employees slain and goods plundered. In his flight, separated from his companions, Lofar fell back into the flooding river and was swept in it's current further south towards the lands of men. Flowing into the shallows he finally crawled ashore, bloodied and weary, his vision darkened with every breath and the dwarf was almost ready for death, when a great giant of a man came upon him. Carrying him to safety and treating Lofar's wounds with his magics, the wild man saved the Dwarf's life. Barwuf was his name, a Beorning, and soon to be one of Lofar's closest companions. They exchanged their tales, one of the wanderings and triumph of Durin's Folk, another of the wanderings of the Beornings in the wilderness of the north. Both cursed the Orcs, Wargs and Goblins in those conversations together, and as the two made a journey south to Gondor for Lofar's profession and Barwuf's learning they missed no opportunity to bring harm to either breed of wretches.

Carousing (Haggling)
Foraging (Guiding, Shooting)

Toughness 6, Fate 4

Lotho Banks

Stoor Hobbit Hunter from the Gladden Fields
Lotho left the Fields and headed down stream with some traders, eventually ending up in Minas Tirith.
Toughness 6
Fate 4
Foraging (Shooting/Throwing)
Sneaking (Hiding & Moving Quietly)

Barwuf is a big, big man. Standing at just over 7 feet tall, this normally solitary Beorning has developed a strange desire recently. Knowing that his magical healing honey cakes work wonders on the sick and injured, (an old family recipe that dates back to the days of Grimbeorn himself) Barwuf has decided to seek out the populated lands to lend aid where he can, and to eventually teach his precious gift to other healers, if he may.

After a short deliberation with his favorite Onodrim Twighair, his mind was made up. Leaving his glade in the Vales of Anduin was not an easy decision, but the dark, hairy human grabbed up his old yew bow and pressed onward all the same, eventually coming across the strangest of traveling companions, a soaking wet and downtrodden dwarf named Lofar. After hearing his tale, and healing his ailments, and despite his ancestral dislike for their kind, the pair eventually hit it off and decided to travel together for safety. Sharing a common hatred for the orcs and goblins, Barwuf was eager to eliminate a few of them along their travels that eventually brought them back into to civilization. Talk of going on a kingly adventure would likely delay his instruction for a while, but the big bear of a man wasn't about to abandon his new friend in his time of need.

Barwuf the Beorning
Foraging: Shooting/Throwing
Magic: Animal Form, Healing with Magic
Toughness:4
Fate:6
With several others choosing Shooting, I opted for Crafting/Building instead. If that is a terrible "in-game" idea, I would be willing to switch that back to a more combat friendly choice. Mr. S, let me know if you are cool with the connection or if you prefer something altered. Thanks!

OGRE MAGE wrote:Barwuf is a big, big man. ... Knowing that his magical healing honey cakes work wonders on the sick and injured, (an old family recipe that dates back to the days of Grimbeorn himself) Barwuf has decided to seek out the populated lands to lend aid where he can, and to eventually teach his precious gift to other healers, if he may. ... Sharing a common hatred for the orcs and goblins, Barwuf was eager to eliminate a few of them along their travels that eventually brought them back into to civilization.

...

Barwuf the Beorning
Crafting: Building
Magic: Animal Form, Healing with Magic
Toughness:4
Fate:6

With several others choosing Shooting, I opted for Crafting/Building instead. If that is a terrible "in-game" idea, I would be willing to switch that back to a more combat friendly choice. Mr. S, let me know if you are cool with the connection or if you prefer something altered. Thanks!

Just as a fellow player, I wonder about the match between Barwuf's backstory and his skills. His story is mainly about healing with a little fighting (and of course, animal form!). When has he built something?

I was looking at the map last night and realized that Bree makes a better starting point for a hobbit heading for Rohan. Also, if he's not from the Shire, he doesn't have to worry about being respectable, so doesn't have to be a Took. So...meet Halinard Rumble!

Halinard Rumble, Hobbit Wagon Guard
Toughness: 7 Fate: 3

Traits & Skills: Fighting: Hand-to-Hand Combat; Foraging: Wilderness Survival; Shooting

Background:

Halinard Rumble grew up in and around Bree. He was always seemed to get into more than his fair share of trouble as a lad. This behavior continued into his youth and he had a hard time keeping jobs.

Hal usually supported himself with whatever job was available: farmhand, laborer, shepherd, supplemented by hunting and poaching. He’d lose most jobs by just wandering off into the wild for days at a time.

When he wasn’t out wandering, Hal would eventually end up in a tavern, where as often as not he’d get into a brawl. The locals learned to avoid him, so it was usually a passing traveler or wagon guard who fell victim. The size of his opponent held no fear for Hal.

One night a canny merchant diffused Hal’s temper and aroused his wanderlust when he told the young hobbit: “If it’s fighting you want lad, I can give you plenty of that: bandits, goblins, wolves, the lot! There’s plenty of them where I’m going. I’ll even pay you for doing it!”

The next morning found Hal perched on top of a wagon of goods, heading off down the Great South Road, his trusty bow over his shoulder and a brand new sword at his side.

tibbius wrote:Just as a fellow player, I wonder about the match between Barwuf's backstory and his skills. His story is mainly about healing with a little fighting (and of course, animal form!). When has he built something?

Well, he built his home of course, all of his sheds and a large outhouse, and all of his bee boxes. But I didn't want to write up an entire novel about him.

Like I mentioned, I have zero qualms about changing that back to something that will fit an "adventure" better. You know, like.....shooting.

Sounds like a perfect idea. Met somewhere along the way and as the only 2 Hobbits around struck up a friendship.

Loving these characters so far. Tomorrow I should have more time to look things over and hopefully a start.

I guess our "smouldering" bard might have met everyone in his capacities as a rumor gatherer and event coordinator. Little miniature men like Lotho and Hal would be a sure attraction at the king's court, something to get all the nobles talking for a while about something not related to the king's indisposition. Same for the huge Barwuf: "I've heard that men from the upper Anduin can shift their skins and dance with wolves. Is that true? Are you ... fierce ... like a wolf?" simpered a lady of the court. The financially troubled Lofar could have come seeking a royal loan to get back on his feet?

OGRE MAGE wrote:With several others choosing Shooting, I opted for Crafting/Building instead. If that is a terrible "in-game" idea, I would be willing to switch that back to a more combat friendly choice. Mr. S, let me know if you are cool with the connection or if you prefer something altered. Thanks!

I'm really liking it actually. Lofar making it back to Gondor on his own seems less plausible, and a lot less compelling, than getting fished out of the river half dead by a noble wildman healer. I'll edit my sheet to fit! Lofar likely considers himself to owe Barwuf a large debt, and feels some sympathy for the Beornings' plight as being similar to that of Durin's Folk before retaking Erebor.

tibbius wrote:I guess our "smouldering" bard might have met everyone in his capacities as a rumor gatherer and event coordinator. Little miniature men like Lotho and Hal would be a sure attraction at the king's court, something to get all the nobles talking for a while about something not related to the king's indisposition. Same for the huge Barwuf: "I've heard that men from the upper Anduin can shift their skins and dance with wolves. Is that true? Are you ... fierce ... like a wolf?" simpered a lady of the court. The financially troubled Lofar could have come seeking a royal loan to get back on his feet?

In Lofar's case, I'd like to imagine he would have a few friends in the trades that could try and hook him up with credit. Erebor has a huge pile of gold after all, so getting reconstruction materials to them seems a pretty easy way of making the loan back. He's trying to help Gondor and his people by saving the prince and winning Erebor a powerful new friend, but he's also grasping at royal favor and generosity out of greed rather than necessity.

Just have to add that I think Rumble is a great Breelander hobbit surname! Again, the characters are all diverse and colorful. So this should be fun!

Tollin comes running up from behind the party, panting heavily due to his clearly mediocre physical statue, gasping to get out any intelligible words over the muffled clang of pots 'n pans in his pack. "Wait! Wait! I'm coming too!"

(Sorry I'm late to the party, recovering from surgery was way worse than I thought it would be)

Well, every party needs a "face" man, yeah?

Tollin Smallburrow the Hobbit Master Chef
Toughness: 3, Fate: 7
Riddling: Outwitting Someone
Carousing: Cooking & Eating, Charming

Background
Tollin is a Hobbit of slender build (even for a Hobbit) with short, curly dusty blonde hair atop his head and his feet. He normally sports a brown woven fabric vest with three golden buttons, to which his hands naturally find their way to the pockets of, over a white long sleeve collared shirt.

He says he left the Shire and joined up with the merchant company heading south "fer no good reason", but when probed deeper he quickly dodges the question by stuffing a sample of some tasty morsel that he recently cooked up into the mouth of the querent.