Bloodstained Elanor Planning/Discussion Thread

[Amanaduial the archer]

Once again, I must apologise - I have been following, of course, but haven't actively posted because there didn't seem much point unless I really had a good amount of time to put into it.

Anyway, a few thoughts...

- The Houseless - it does seem a pity to leave them entirely after all the planning which was getting quite exciting, but if you wish to leave them, well, alright. They were becoming the central plot and this maybe isn't what was required for this RPG - but hey, when we're done with this game, if anyone else wanted to continue along that line I don't think they would fall short of volunteers to play

1. remove the Houseless

2. have the orcs and easterlings take prisoner the envoy from Lorien to Mirkwood

3. have these hostages freed by the Mirkwood scouting party

4. Lorien Elves hold out until Thranduil can get there.

I like this plan, actually, very much.

The purpose of the raiding party??? The first two attempts to take Lorien have failed because the Lorien Elves are sustained by the power of Nenya. Sauron's idea? Send a third army against Lorien, the sole purpose of which is to draw off the border guards in a big battle to hold off the orcs; also, to distract the attention of Galadriel and Celebrimbor from the REAL threat, which is the super-tough band of 'commado' orcs-trolls-easterlings that our Lorien envoy/Mirkwood scouting party finds. The commando mission is a suicide attack on Caras Galathon itself to *gasp* kill Galadriel!!!

Maybe 'commando' isn't the word that might be used in Tolkien, but I think this idea could be nicely worked on. Sauron has realised that to get into the wood sucessfully he is going to need a little more than one attack based on brute strength, especially as he has used mainly just orcs before. He is going to need something more special and some sort of troops that can work from more than simple orders, as these aren't going to take the elves in, as has been proved from the previous failed attempts to break into Lorien. He also knows, obviously, that the power of Nenya is 'sustaining' the elves, and is getting irritated by their defiance; his plan is maybe not to take down Galadriel, although it is of course a plus - the elf is one of the oldest still in Middle Earth, and knows too much about Sauron's ways; to eliminate her would be excellent for him because of this and also because all the elves, not just those of Lorien, look up to her. If she was killed, it would lower moral considerably, and would weaken the elves' confidence in themselves, making them more vulnerable. His plan might be simply to destroy Nenya.

The easterlings are more intelligent than the orcs, who rely on brute strength, and are able to use initiative, something thatwhich is why they have been drafted in, along with some of the stronger and fiercer uruk-hai (maybe?) - this could understandably bring about quite a bit of resentment from the orcs at the insinuation that they are not good enough, which could make for interesting playing, obviously. The mission (as Fordim said) will probably be a suicide one...but the easterlings and orcs carrying it out don't necessarily need to know this when they go in *evil*

Imagine, the outside patrols have been distracted and are occupied by the bulk of the force that was sent ahead for that very purpose, and a smaller group can then break through the skeleton guard which has been left on the boundaries with the intent of getting to Nenya and destroying it (or that's the theory - to add yet another twist, maybe a few of the more intelligent easterlings have worked out that with the help of the ring to their own devices, they could get more out of this war than bargained for - just a thought). But they hadn't bargained for the elves who have remained deeper within the wood, guarding the Lord and Lady - but there are not many of them. When others on the boundaries hear the sounds of battle starting up from within the forest, they call to the elves already fighting the bulk force of baddies, and all who can be spared rush back in to the aid of the Lord and Lady, hemming in the easterlings and orcs, who may come to the sudden realisation that they have been tricked, at which point some of them may attempt to hot-foot it out and, pretty inevitably, be slaughtered in the process. But there are a fair number of baddies there already, even without the deserters, and things do not look good for the elves and the ring Nenya...

Meanwhile, the other elves are rushing back to Lorien as fast as possible against all odds - but will they get there in time?! (Tune in for another episode of 'Bloodstained Elanor' to find out.. *cue theme music*)

What do you think?