Tears of Mirrormere Discussion Thread

[piosenniel]

Types of characters needed:

Dwarves, lots and lots of Dwarves! Specifically dwarves from the Iron Hills and Erebor, and I think that rogue Dwarves would be fine. Dwarf children and women are welcome in this game. (Please note that we have decided to have no beards for the females.)

All characters for this RPG will be of the Dwarven species.

Six male characters, with a maximum of three females and two children. We can be flexible if the number is higher than we expected.

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*** We have two Dwarves that are mentioned by Tolkien as being part of the colony, but we don’t have any information from Tolkien on. If any of the players want to take them as their own and interpret how they might have been, we’d happy to see them doing so.

These Dwarves' names are: Lóni and Náli.

NOTE: Lóni and Náli die off rather quickly in the Twenty-First Hall. It might be a good idea if someone wants to take up a secondary character as well.

[piosenniel]

Character types which would not belong: Anything that isn’t a Dwarf.

[piosenniel]

NOTE: First Posts for your characters are NOT required for this game – just your Character Descriptions.

[piosenniel]

PLAYER - CHARACTER LIST

Groin Redbeard – Trór 140 y/o; Nîsa 87 y/o; Nali 227 y/o

Thinlómien - Ori 194 y/o ; Vigdis 147 y/o

Legate of Amon Lanc - Óin son of Gróin 220 y/o; Onli 126 y/o with Vriti, his pet ferret; Lóni



Gwathagor - Frar 175 y/o; Buri 85 y/o

Durelin - Kór 88 y/o; Kórin 92 y/o

Lilly - Lilly – Lys 87 y/o; Tív & Tíva 7 y/o (secondary characters)

Arry - Vitr 101 y/o; Tív & Tíva (secondary characters with Lilly)

Dimturiel - Bain 80 y/o

Kitanna - Iari 10 y/o; Kéni 20 y/o (secondary character)

Folwren - Kénan 210 y/o

Boromir88 - Gror 95 y/o, messenger from Erebor

Himaran - Dalin 100 y/o

Ilya - Adela 52 y/o

Kath - Svior 130 y/o; Hepti 125 y/o

[piosenniel]

Groin Redbeard’s character:

NAME: Trór

AGE: 140 years old

RACE: Dwarf

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS: Trór is capable of using anything as a weapon, he is proficient in his skills with the axe, sword and spear. When fighting scattered enemies he favors a shield and a spear for thrusting. When the fighting gets dense, Trór takes up his strong single edged axe.

APPEARANCE: With an extremely strong build he stands at average height with a strong upper torso. Tror wears a braided, thick, dark brown beard and has a bushy brow. His eyes are piercing in nature and look as if they can read a man's thoughts. His face has the appearance of one who has seen many arduous trials.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Trór is loyal, trustworthy, dedicated, gruff, tough and is always prepared to sacrifice himself for a cause. For the most part he is blunt and callous, but can also be quiet and understanding at times. A leader in warfare he leaves no room for error and demands perfection from his colleagues.

Most of the time his ego gets in the way of what’s important. He has a temper that can explode at anytime and he tends to take his troubles out on the people that he loves. Although he is content with peace and quiet, he is a warrior first and his true home is on the battlefield.

HISTORY: Trór was born in the Iron Hills while under the leadership of Náin, and later Dain II Ironfoot. As a young Dwarf he was dedicated to learning ancient lore and maintaining his great physical fitness. It was not easy living in the mountains in those days, it was home to many fowl creatures not found in the south and when alone outside the protection of the great halls one had to be extremely careful. This rough lifestyle toughened him up physically and emotionally.

Náin issued forth one day from the Iron Hills to come to the aid of Thráin in the war between Dwarves and the Orcs. Trór was bitterly disappointed at missing this opportunity to fight for his king. Nevertheless, his disappointment did not stop him from harkening to the tales of the warriors that had fought there.

When he became of age (33 according to Dwarf custom) he became a soldier and was immediately singled out as a hard and tough disciplinarian and perfectionist. This attitude soon got him a promotion, now he was leading Dwarves instead of being led.

Trór fought in The Battle of the Five Armies with many other notable Dwarves such as Thorin, Glóin, Óri, Óin and Balin. The battle was Trór's first great test as a leader and warrior. During the battle, as a sea of Goblins and Wargs swarmed about them, he and his Dwarves stood like a rock. He was unmovable, despite being wounded twice by Goblin arrows (thankfully they weren't poisoned). After the battle he was privileged to meet Óri and Óin, he took an immediate like to them and they worked long and hard together under the rule of King Dain.

Erebor would be his home for around fifty years, and he was in a prominent position with the king and his counselors but the splendor and wealth of Erebor under King Dain’s rule was not enough for him, he wanted to restore the Dwarven race to it’s former prominence of old. At Erebor Trór became acquainted with Balin and several other Dwarfs such as Loni and Nali. Together Balin confided in them (including Óin and Óri) a plan to take back the great Dwarf colony of Khazad-Dum. Trór met his proposal with enthusiasm and did all that he could to help his new friend.

Together they drove out the hordes of Orcs the dark halls and accumulated wealth. When the colony was once again theirs, Balin appointed Trór as his second in command. Honored by this appointment, Trór did all that he could to help things run smoothly in Khazad-Dum. However, even after five years of a well lived life in the colony he can’t seem to shake a feeling of foreboding of a terror that has been rumored to still lurk in the shadows.

LINKED TO PLAYER - CHARACTER LIST ~*~ Pio

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Secondary Character


Name: Nîsa

AGE: 87

RACE: Dwarf

GENDER: Female

WEAPONS: Has never wielded a true weapon in her life, but has taken up the mattock to help with the work in the mines.

APPEARANCE: She stands a little shorter than the average Dwarf an has long dark hair. Her girth is normal for a Dwarf: thick and heavy, but is not at all unfit.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Nîsa is a kind and caring maiden to her people, devoted to the well being of others. She is a cook and somewhat of a healer, using the moss and roots that grow underneath the mountains.

She is currently in search of a husband and desperately wants to be loved by someone and to on day have children, but she has yet to find a Dwarf whom she loves. Nîsa is an outgoing maiden and is quite friendly to all who know her.

HISTORY: Nîsa is the youngest cousin of Trór and grew up with him in the Iron Hills. Her life for the most part was uneventful living like a typical Dwarf, but all that changed when she moved to Erebor at the request of her cousin. She was immediately taken in by Trór and was given a position of authority with the other ladies of the of the colony because of her family ties and her skills as a healer.

Nîsa became well acquainted with Óri and Óin when she settled in Erebor. On day Trór came to her with the news of his departure with a large army of Dwarves bound on a quest to the kingdom of Khazad-dum. She was saddened at her cousins’ departure with many of her friends and soon made up her mind to brave the dangers and follow him.

With the other Dwarves, she helped to rebuild the ancient city and met a Dwarf named Frar in the process. Nîsa is very happy in her new home and has no intention on leaving anytime soon.


LINKED TO PLAYER - CHARACTER LIST ~*~ Pio

[piosenniel]

Thinlómien’s character:

NAME: Ori

AGE: 194 years

RACE: Dwarf

GENDER: male

WEAPONS: Ori's old broad-bladed axe is simple and well made. He also carries two knives made by himself, one being about seven inches long and the other barely three inches but very sharp. These are designed to be tools more than weapons, though.

APPEARANCE: Ori's hair and beard used to be yellow, but partial greying has turned them into a dirty, unflattering colour. His eyes are brown with a hint of green. He's of average height and thin but strongly built. Despite his wealth, Ori prefers wearing simple clothes, although he has a soft spot for silver embroidery. He is most often seen in a grey cloak and a black or brown tunic. Even though he aknowledges its utility, Ori dislikes his chain mail and doesn't wear armour unless it's absolutely necessary.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Ori has always been rather quiet and reserved and has become a little grumpy as he has got older. Ori is not friendly, but he treats his friends well and is loyal to them. He is not easily angered, but his hatred is deep. He is often able to keep his calm while others are too grieved or furious to think rationally. He has never been particularily ambitious or greedy, but enjoys all the amenities wealth and fame have brought him. He values simplicity in life more than most other Dwarves yet still delights in objects of beauty and possessing them. As a craftsman, Ori is an ironsmith and his works reflect his values: they are simple yet beautiful.

Traveling has given Ori special skills and experiences that are not very common amongst his people: he has some idea how to survive in the wild and he is used to being content with very little. He is good with his trusted axe although he has never indentified himself as a warrior, and he is handy with a knife, thanks to his nimble fingers. Ori is a learned man and has an interest in history. Going through old documents, he has come across the Elvish script and seeing it as a more practical and aesthetic way of writing, he has adopted it and used it ever since. Another special skill of Ori's is playing the flute.

Ori is not socially gifted nor empathetic and he often loses patience with people who don't understand him or think too differently from how he does. Like any Dwarf, he is too easily motivated by greed or vengeance. He is also easily suspicious or envious of other people, and although he is not proud, he dislikes admitting his mistakes or apologising. Ori has always been rather uncomfortable around women and does not like them. He believes them to be inferior to men and doesn't take them seriously.

HISTORY: Ori was born in the early spring of year 2800 as the eldest son of an ironsmith. Soon he got younger twin brothers, Dori and Nori. All the three were brought up to their father's profession and while they did well enough in it, they never developed a particular interest in it. They never had a particularily warm relationship with their father anyway, as he was a strong supporter of Thráin's but mistrusted Thorin, who was much revered by Ori, Dori and Nori. It was indeed partly because of their will to prove their old father wrong that they joined the quest of Erebor.

The quest of Erebor became the turning point of Ori's life. It forced Ori to look at life differently and it made him and his brothers move to Erebor, and also suddenly made them rich men. There was no need for iron-working anymore unless they desired it. After the reconstruction of the Kingdom under the Mountain, iron-working did become a mere pastime to Ori, and he focused on books and ancient records in which he had lately taken interest. His life was happy, and as he grew older he started to wonder if that was how he'd spend the rest of his life.

But life had one more adventure in store for him. His old friend Balin started talking about the recolonisation of Moria, and by 2989 he was leaving. Even though his brothers were objecting, Ori decided to go with him. His loyalty to Balin was deep, and the old records he had gone through had awakened in him a great desire to see the great Khazad-dûm and help to rebuild it to reach its glory of old.

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LINKED TO PLAYER - CHARACTER LIST ~*~ Pio

[piosenniel]

Legate of Amon Lanc’s character:

NAME: Óin son of Gróin

AGE: 220

RACE: Dwarf of Durin's Folk

GENDER: Male

WEAPONS: Short broad sword made of steel, forged in Dáin the King's forges under the Mountain. A curved knife he keeps behind his belt. He has also a shortbow of oakwood, which he does not carry with him all the time, and a quiver of currently fourteen arrows he does not redeplete.

APPEARANCE: Óin is not very tall for a Dwarf, maybe a bit shorter than average. He is heavyset, but he was never particularly fat, even during his rich years in Erebor, and the stay in Moria did not help it much. He wears a short white beard and has almost shoulder-long white hair. He has bright blue eyes and wears brown hooded cloak, almost all the time having a light chain shirt underneath it, except when sleeping, but even that may change under drastic circumstances. Besides that, he has a leather cap which protects his ears, and sometimes wears with it an iron skull cap of dwarven warriors.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Óin is a true scout. He is very curious, but also stealthy, cautious, but at times also reckless and not thinking well enough in advance and not evaluating all possibilities. His personality is rather quiet generally, but when it comes to him, he can get really angry and start a fight because of otherwise unimportant things. He is stubborn, most of all, and when he chooses to do something, nobody will convince him otherwise. This played a role in his choice to go with Balin to reclaim Moria.

Óin is not very clever nor he has especially good memory, but there are certain things he remembers well and which simply stuck in his mind. He has a very good orientation sense and good memory when it comes to "architectonic" things: he can remember blueprints, he can even make them, he remembers instructions for various processes and is capable of thinking of directions needed to take to reach certain goal. He is not capable of that much manual work, unless it is connected with some mechanic work which follows a certain set of actions.

He is very good in making fire, he can light a fire almost in any circumstances even with the smallest bit of resources. He always carries a tinder-box with him, what more, he usually has one in reserve had he lost the first one, and that one he is carrying in his backpack (the other one is in his belt pouch).

HISTORY: Óin was born in 2774 TA and spent his childhood in Dunland, where he lived with his family among the folk of Thráin son of Thrór in exile. When he was 25 (very young still), he fought alongside his father in Azanulbizar. Thus, he was in the first assault lead by Thráin, and was among the others pushed back into the wood, and there he was separated from his father, as a large group of swift Orcs split the Dwarves. There he saw his uncle Fundin fall to a large Orc, who was later killed by Balin, who alone remained with Óin in the end, pushed to the corner by goblins, until Thráin came to their aid with Dwalin and others. At that time, Náin's folk at least came, and the Orcs were pushed back, but Óin did not rejoin his father until the end of the battle, and he did not see the battle in front of the gate when Azog was slain, and they were battling the Orcs who first assailed, but later tried to defend themselves in the woods, and they were there all night. Thráin had one eye blinded, and Óin was slashed to his arm by a poisoned Orc scimitar, and he nearly fainted. But by the morning, everything was well, and they joined the victors.

Óin was slightly disappointed when the Dwarves did not reclaim Khazad-Dûm after the victory in Azanulbizar, but his father was serious and told him that he is too young and too rash to understand, reminding him also of the death of his uncle.

In the following years, Óin was living with Balin and the rest of Thráin and Thorin's folk in Dunland, but shortly after they moved to the Blue Mountains. Óin partially did, but partially did not like that change: they could not see anymore the Mountains of Moria in clear morning air; they were longing for that sight, but at the same time they knew how it hurt to see them and know that underneath them, the halls of their fathers lie dark and empty.

Half a century later, Thráin left with several companions for a journey; Óin stayed behind, despite his good friend Balin went, too. But some time later, Balin and the others returned, saying that they lost Thráin. Since then, Balin seemed a bit different, but Óin kept close to him. Nothing interesting was happening until the time when Thorin Oakenshield gathered those of his folk for the journey to Erebor. Óin and his brother Glóin were there, too, and they got to know Bilbo Baggins, and went as far as Erebor and after Smaug's death, they fought in the Battle of the Five Armies alongside Thorin. This was for the second time when Óin fought alongside Balin surrounded by a host of enemies, and saw his friends die.

For the following half a century, he lived in Erebor, helping in arranging the trade with the Lake-Town and the rebuilding of the town of Dale. When the power and splendor of the Kingdom under the Mountain grew, many started to talk about re-occupying Moria. Óin was among those who accepted this from the beginning, he wanted to visit Khazad-Dûm and see for himself what treasures may lie there. And when Balin agreed to go, he was among those who wasted no time to join him and go.

During their first days there, Óin once again fought alongside Balin, but this time as victorious returned exiles, they claimed the Chamber of Mazarbul and Óin explored all the chambers he could, he went alone on several expeditions, supported by knowledge from old records provided by Ori. The most important was his discovery of the upper armouries on Third Deep.


LINKED TO PLAYER - CHARACTER LIST ~*~ Pio