Treachery of Men Discussion/Planning Thread

[Celuien]

Save filled. Let me know if anything needs changing - I wasn't sure how to introduce the idea of Mem's coming to the party.

[Child of the 7th Age]

Ang, Mithalwen,

I thought the Elves might appreciate being met by an armed posse.

As I understand it, although the Borrim are the "good guys", the Elves will not appreciate our loyalty or true worth, being deceived by the treacheries of the "Ulfang boys". I thought this would get our relationship off on the right foot. Believe me, Khandr will be apologetic and embarrassed once he's realized his gaffe. And, yes, you will get your invitation to the Hunt.

I don't know why, but for some reason this game gives me the feeling that we are playing out a tragic "western"......

[bill_n_sam]

CEL I had been thinking that perhaps Mem had something of a reputation in the settlement for her storytelling and songs, and that Ulfast would simply have heard of that and suggest she come to entertain. It's been a little hard for me to get a handle on the size of this "town". I know there was some discussion way back at the beginning, and I think it was like more than a village but not a big bustling metropolis (like Minas Tirith). I'm picturing something like a market town, with lots of outlying farms and fields and woods. So maybe Anguriel or Pio could be more specific. But still, I think it would be reasonable just for Ulfast to hear about Mem's "talents" and this might just be one more way for Ulfast to try to gain Dag's committed loyalty, or force it.

NOGROD I have been posting with the assumption that most of the Ulfings know something of the unhappy relations of the three brothers, especially Uldor and Ulfast, as Ulfast was somewhat in charge until Uldor returned. But I would think generally speaking they would not know much about actual plots or schemes, just the general dislike and distrust among the three. It seems to me in that situation, all the Ulfings would be on their guard and nervous because they could get caught up in that unwillingly but with no way to stay "neutral". Again, I guess that would depend somewhat on the size of the community, as to who knows what about whom. Those are just my thoughts.

[Celuien]

I had been thinking that perhaps Mem had something of a reputation in the settlement for her storytelling and songs...

Okay. I can make that edit. Will be done shortly.

[piosenniel]

This sounds good to work with for me.....but, Anguirel, please chime in here with your thoughts.

Originally Posted by bill_n_sam

CEL.....I know there was some discussion way back at the beginning, and I think it was like more than a village but not a big bustling metropolis (like Minas Tirith). I'm picturing something like a market town, with lots of outlying farms and fields and woods. So maybe Anguriel or Pio could be more specific.

[Anguirel]

I compared the settlement earlier to early mediaeval London; that's overegging it, but I think that, say, Saxon Nottingham, Oxford or Guilford wouldn't be far out...a more eastern feel I suppose, perhaps a bit like Buda, Hungary, or something similar.

Cobbled streets give way to mud. Older houses and huts give way to groups of tents, large and small. Like Edoras, the settlement's centre is the Hall of the Chieftain.

Many more Ulfings would live in the country than the settlement; perhaps a few thousand would be "urban" (not the right adjective) as opposed to agrarian farmers.

I'm uncertain in my mind myself and would appreciate the opinions of the rest of you...

Now, an NPC who will be needed for a nasty little subplot...

NAME: Torguar, father of Tora

AGE: Believes himself to be about fifty, but is uncertain

RACE: Human, Ulfing.

GENDER: Male.

WEAPONS: Torguar has lived the life of a farmer, not a fighter, but his people were nomadic marauders not so long ago, and if pressed he could handle an axe sufficiently.

APPEARANCE: Torguar stands about four inches above five feet, medium height among the Ulfings. His body is wiry, muscled and burnt by the sun; his face wrinkling and hair greying prematurely due to his hard outdoor life. His voice is deep and slow. He wears simple garments woven from flax, or a white robe if more formal attire is demanded.

PERSONALITY/STRENGTHS/WEAKNESSES: Torguar is a very shrewd businessman, and has got a reputation as a man who should not be double-crossed; but he is aware of this, which sometimes makes him bigheaded. He is proud of his children, especially of his fine sons and his grandsons, twin children of his oldest boy; his daughter is slightly overlooked. His wife is extremely quiet, and Torguar probably likes it that way. He is talkative himself, inclined to tell long, inexorable stories which his audience has usually heard before.

HISTORY: Torguar’s father was among the first wave of settlers in the west under Ulfang, but his son, born late in his father’s life, remembers little of him. Nothing much has changed in Torguar’s life, and he probably doesn’t expect that it ever will. He sees the world as a slow, upward struggle, and suspects that although great things will not come to him, they are destined to fall to his descendants, whether grand-children or great-grand-children. With this slow-burning ambition comes piety, and Torguar makes regular offerings of grain to a small ancestor-shrine commemorating his father, and by extension the fathers before him.

[Mithalwen]

Save filled - I may have jumped you gun slightly Ang - Tathren hasn't quite got the hangof diplomacy .

I will probably need to tidy a little ..I have edited so much I can't read or type straight now..

Let me know if I need to change stuff - I seem to have got over my mental block so should be quicker now..

[Child of the 7th Age]

Ang,

Shall I have Khandr respond to Tathren now or wait till your own save is filled? As Khandr is standing with a blade near his heart, he is feeling a bit nervous. But perhaps you intend to do something else to make us poor Borrim miserable? Either way is fine.