Also, and I want to make this as clear as I can: You do not need to have read the Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, or any books other than The Lord of the Rings! You may find some of this a little confusing if all you've seen is the movies, but even then I'd let you get away with playing an uneducated character. I want to be as inclusive as possible!

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It is 19 of January, 3019 of the Third Age. The War of the Ring has begun. Men are marshalling in the south against the coming blow from the east. Armies from Dol Guldor march on Lorien and Mirkwood, and allies of Sauron prepare their blows on Erebor and Dale. So far, the major battles have not begun, but there is constant violence in Osgilliath, on the northern border of Lorien and southern Mirkwood, and Dunlanding raiders burn villages in the Westfold of the Mark.

But the Great War is coming, the great battles at that will be the End of the Third Age. Nowhere, not even in the peaceful Shire, are rumors of impending doom unheard. Will there be a Fourth Age, or only a renewal of the dominion of Sauron, but with this time, no Elves left to resist him?

But even in all of this, there is another danger, one that looms beyond the horizon. For even if a miracle happens, even if the One Ring were to somehow appear... and be destroyed, what would be left of the world afterwards? Evil stands much to conquer, but what does good have to preserve? And then, just what is 'good', or does 'good' defy the fate of the world?

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I expect this to be a fairly varied game. I have already planned lots of combat, a bit of mystery, some tragedy, and opportunity for at least character interaction, if not character development (that's up to the PCs).

The first topic is where the party will begin. I will tell you that the first task will be to get to Lorien, so where you start almost doesn't matter, and it's fine if the party starts in more than one place. A little village near the Rohan-Anorien (northern Gondor) border is one rather convienient place, complete with a tavern, if we want to be cliché, but other places are fine, too.

Each player may have one or two characters, a la Black Hound's For The Throne game. Aside from starting location, I need from each player, your character(s)':

1. Name. The reasons you need a name of some kind should be sufficiently obvious that I should not need to explain them.

2. Race. I will allow virtually anything that you could reasonably expect to encounter in Middle-Earth and yet be intelligent enough to understand the concept of a quest. I do allow lesser Maiar* (see Elurin's character Merandunë/Melelan in the Middle Earth 1980 roleplay - in fact, Elurin may play Melelan again if he likes). However, you're going to be working for Galadriel and a, ah, friend of hers, so keep that in mind. I will not allow Edain (they're extinct), or anything superpowerful (e.g. Dragons).

3. Sex. You can be male or female. (Answers like 'yes', 'hermaphrodite', or 'get-off-this-forum-you-pervert' are not acceptable answers )

4. Biography. This is a very important section because it explains why your characters believe and do what they do. I'd like at least a paragraph for each character.*

5. Beliefs. Belief is going to be an important part of this roleplay, and what your character values will be equally important. I particularly want you to include your character's thoughts on beauty, nature, fate, and magic, and you may define "magic" as broadly or as narrowly as your character believes. Again, you're working for Galadriel and somebody else with beliefs very similar to hers... and even if you could slip a bad apple past Galadriel, slipping one past this other character will be even harder.

6. Skills. Normally, I like a relatively fantastical interpretation of Tolkien (lots of what we would call "magic", even if the characters using it don't). For this game, I want to continue the theme that "magic" (with and without the quotes) is declining. Thus, I will allow characters who can cast spells, but just think about this. You should all be capable people - not necessarily the sort of people one would expect to change history (even though you may), but presumably who could at least handle themselves in a pinch (and you will be pinched).

7. Inventory. This section should be pretty self-explanatory. I allow for ancient items or items made with the ancient arts, but their powers should generally be fading.

8. Appearance. What do you look like? Does one half of your face look human and the other half like a cabbage ? What clothes do you wear? How much of your equipment is visible to a passerby?

9. Relation between your characters. How do they know each-other? This entry obviously does not exist if you have only one character, unless of course two characters of different players have some past history

*For those who have read The Silmarillion: This roleplay will involve several things from the First Age. There are three significant areas, in my opinion, in which LotR's portrayal of the world differs from that of the Sil. These are (1) the age of the Maiar, (2) the timescale of the First Age, and (3) the exact nature of the Edain. These elements can be discussed OOC (or elsewhere); however, I would like to avoid any players with Maiar characters recalling too many details of Ainulindalë, although in-character discussion of the underlying plan that Eru has for the world are welcome, even perhaps intended .

[This message has been edited by Beren V (edited 07-17-2004 @ 01:59 AM).]