Middle earth civ /qst/

Also posts ending in dubs or trips will cause a random event to occur, this can be a good or bad thing.

>>329058
*The "posts" must be replying to an OP post, and suggesting the next action, not just any post*

>>329047
>Human
Need that balance between intelligence and industry.

>>329047
>Hobbits

But anything except orcs is fine by me.

>>329047
Orcs. Quantity over quality, motherfucker

Rolled 30 (1d100)

>>329077
>>329267
rolling between these 2 (sorry orcs but these guys voted first), if it's an odd number=hobbits, even=human.

>>329349
>>329349
Human it is!

>note: one turn equals one month

So to begin let's name our leader/hero?

>>329360
Harald Woolshanks

>>329360
Would Billfrith Marshall work?

>>329360
Compromise with Harold Marshall?

Even though it sounds a little modern.

>>329377
b-but woolshanks because he's a shepherd with hairy legs

>>329377
I'll go for that if the other anon is fine with it.

>>329388
aight its cool

>>329366
>>329366
>Harold Woolshanks

Praise the leader (also dubs so random event: while out walking, one of the gatherers find two small children that fled the devastation of the town, they are too distraught to tell you what happened, but they happily join your group)


Starting the forest that we were sent to explore. We currently have 52 people(40 men, 10 women, 2 children), among these 50 were 20 soldiers sent to protect the scouting party. We also have 5 healers, 10 hunters, and 10 food gatherers. The remaining 5 people are scholars sent to study this forest.

After finding the town to be destroyed, the group returned to the camp (~2 days ride from the town)hidden in the forest. Your faced with several options:

>A.remain in the forest, as it provides protection and abundant food
>B. Return to your city/town/ruins to attempt to rebuild but risk running into the attacker(s)
>C. Leave this place and find somewhere new to establish
>D. Ride west for 7 days to the nearest town
>E. Write in

Also stat block underway

>>329424
>A.remain in the forest, as it provides protection and abundant food
We should think about leaving for elsewhere some time soon, but should prepare for the journey first.

>>329433
Agreed, forest is good enough for now, maybe when it's safer we can check out the remains of the town for anything good.

>>329433
>A.remain in the forest, as it provides protection and abundant food

Make sure all the children always stay inside the camp, at least until we're certain of the dangers of the area.

>>329433
>>329437

(Dubs again: one of the children found previously over the course of a few days has showed some signs of insanity. He has been overheard talking to himself about killing some of the women that have been caring for him. Just childhood imagination running wild? Or possibly a problem?)

>You decide to remain in the forest until you're better prepared for a long journey, you order all your hunters and gatherers to work tirelessly to have enough food to last for weeks.

Next move:
>write in


Stat block:

Turn:1 (1 turn=1 month)
Race: human
Population: 50 people (40 men+10 women)(+5 every 10 turns)
Military: 10 scouts( iron sword, leather armour), 10 archers (bow, leather armour)
Current leader: Harold Woolshank
Government: Dictatorship
Food: 40 (-2 each turn)
Resources: none
Industry: none

>>329456
Ok I think we should send Harald and a small party to investigate the ruins of the town. Also maybe assign a dude to watch over the crazy kid, and keep an eye on the other little 'uns while he's at it.

>>329472
Supporting this. Make sure the one watching over the child is a scout. Also I think we should send four scouts and four archers to the settlement, while keeping Harold behind to coordinate the preparations in the camp.

We should head off to find an entirely new place to settle after getting supplied and searching the ruins, as whatever fucked up our town might still be around.

>>329456
Seconding >>329472

Brief anyone dealing with the loopy boy that he seems to be somewhat strange in the head, probably due to trauma from the village's destruction, and they should take care he doesn't hurt anyone or himself.

>>329472

Harold gathers 5 of the scouts to accompany him to ride to the ruins of the city. He orders the remaining 15 soldiers to guard the camp.

After a lengthy ride the group arrive in the city 2 days later. They sneak into the outskirts of town, as to avoid detection by any possible inhabitants. Harold sees entire buildings crushed, bricks litter the road, and rats chewing on corpses can be seen anywhere you look. Harold believes that it must have been a band of trolls.

As the group venture further into the city they begin to hear noises. And upon arrival at the town centre, they find 9 trolls huddled around a fire, with corpses roasting over the flames. It appears they're have no plans to leave any time soon.

Next move:
>A. Attempt to talk to the trolls
>B. Attack the trolls with the soldiers you bought
>C. Return to your camp
>D. Stay and watch the trolls
>E. Quietly loot any valuables you can find, and flee to the camp
>F. Write in

(Also before you left your camp you had one of your scholars watch over the boy)

>>329501
Is it night right now, then, because don't Tolkienic trolls turn into stone if they're exposed to daylight?

>>329507
Do you think we could pull a Gandalf and trick them into staying outside until dawn?

>>329507
Yes it is night
>>329509
I guess you could try, I will be rolling for success, if that's what you'd like to do

>>329509
If they do turn into stone in daylight, we still need to know that in character or we can't use it deliberately if we want to. We need OP to clarify that.

>>329507
>>329509
We could just wait until they start heading off for their lair and engage them with our archers. To keep them outside long enough.

>>329517
That's a pretty good idea. Maybe we could distract the trolls and poison the corpses with some wild nightshade or something?

>>329517
The group of 5 soldiers you brought were scouts not archers sorry to say.

But throwing rocks could be just as effective.

So what's Harold's next move?

>>329527
That's unfortunate. My vote is still:
>D. Stay and watch the trolls
And then
>Attempt to stall them when they start to head off to their lair. (Only if within an hour or less of daylight).

At least then, even if we couldn't stop them, they'd still need to disengage as soon as possible.

Rolled 87 (1d100)

>>329517
People seem happy with this so rolling for success.

>You and your men sit hiding in crumbled tavern for hours, peering from the windows as the trolls feast on maggot invested corpses. Dawn is drawing near, and you order your men to gather bricks and rocks and to climb to the rooftops, when you give the order they'll begin the barrage to distract the trolls long enough for the sun to rise.

>>329543
Major success

>As beams of light begin to cut into the darkness, the trolls stand and begin to make way for the still intact town hall, no doubt their lair. You Spring up from the tavern window and throw a glass jug of ale out into the town square. The shattering sound rings out and the trolls look around with confusion, your men understand the signal, and begin throwing handfuls of rocks at the trolls. For several minutes they dodge and weave the trolls attacks on them, until finally the sun rises, saving them and turning their attackers into stone in an instant.

You order your soldiers down into the square, where you discuss the next course of action.

>A. Loot any weapons/valuables you can find in the city, and return to camp
>B. Return to camp, gather your people and bring them to the rotten, rat infested ruins, to begin rebuilding.
>C. Write in

Stat block:

Turn:3 (1 turn=1 month)
Race: human
Population: 52 people (40 men+10 women+2 children)(+5 every 10 turns)
Military: 20 soldiers: 10 scouts( iron sword, leather armour), 10 archers (bow, leather armour)
Specialists: 5 healers, 10 hunters, 10 gatherers, 5 scholars
Current leader: Harold Woolshank
Government: Dictatorship
Food: 38 (-2 each turn for usual consumption)(+6 each for increased food efforts)
Resources: currently in control of the ruins of a once minor city
Industry: none

>>329564
I feel like it's in character for us to smash up the troll statues after taking them out of the town, both to desecrate them and to stop them coming back to life if we don't know that they can't.

>A. Loot any weapons/valuables you can find in the city

While we're looting (not really looting because it's our own civilisation's valuables), send a messenger to the forest camp to tell them of our victory.

>>329567
Going with this. Might want to have said messenger send some people along to help move everything out if there's a lot.

>>329564
Fuck yeah, I come back to good news.

>>329567
What this dude said, lets get our 5 scouts back to camp for some well deserved rest, and gather some civilians to pick through the town now its safe.

is dis thread dead?

>>329564
>>B. Return to camp, gather your people and bring them to the rotten, rat infested ruins, to begin rebuilding.

>>329567
Going with this.

>After a succesful morning, you give your men the order to destroy the stone troll statues, they gladly smash them to pieces. Your men then spread out and begin searching for weapons, good, and jewels, that might be useful.

>You then pick the fastest man in the group the return home with news of victory. He rides to the camp in less than a day, tells them what happened, and returns to the ruins two days later. He brings you an update from the camp. Apparently things have become grim in the camp. The insane boy, Mik, has worsened. And the other child we found has gone missing, all clues point to Mika, but he outright denied it. The scholar you assigned to watch over him was following Mika, as usual one day, when somehow the boy came up behind him and smashed his head in with a rock. Three nearby soldiers rushed to the scholars aid, but he died shortly after that. Mika is now tied up in a tent, awaiting your judgement.

What now:
>A. Return to camp with all the weapons/valuables collected so far. (20 iron swords & 200 gold pieces)
>B. Continue to search the city
>C. Send a messenger to retrieve your people, and bring them to the city.
>D. Write in

>sorry I'm late but op needs sleep too

>>332044
Stat block:

Turn:4 (1 turn=1 month)
Race: human
Population: 51 people (39 men+10 women+1 child)(+5 every 10 turns)
Military: 20 soldiers: 10 scouts( iron sword, leather armour), 10 archers (bow, leather armour)
Specialists: 5 healers, 10 hunters, 10 gatherers, 4 scholars
Current leader: Harold Woolshank
Government: Dictatorship
Food: 46 (-2 each turn for usual consumption)(+6 each for increased food efforts)
Resources: currently in control of the ruins of a once minor city. 200 gold. 20 iron swords.
Industry: none

File: 1455213673452.png (3MB, 1080x1920px) Image search: [Google]

3MB, 1080x1920px

>>329484
>>332044
God damnit we should have put more emphasis on what anon said. A scout wouldn't be so easily outmaneuvered by a child.
He has no family and is a clear liability, I say we can't afford losing more people and resources with him.
Once we get back and confirm all the story, I would choose to execute mika or exile him.
What do we know about the other child? Was he stable? Scared of the camp? Did he want to leave for some reason?

In regards to the expedition, i vote A) to return. We have already done our job, we should regroup and plan the next step.

My idea is to divide our working forces for a turn. We could have the women, children, some scouts and hunters in the forest's safety gathering food, leather and wood while we send the rest of our men near the town to start cleaning it up. The next turn we should be together and in much better conditions.

>>332321
Also, is there anyone in the camp we can trust to lead a sub-camp? Effective, respected and aware?

>>332335
The leader of the soldiers is like the second in command, his name is Brillfith Marshall. He is currently watching over the camp awaiting your return.

>>332321
>You and your five men prepare to leave the ruined city. You bring back the 20 swords you found, and 200 gold pieces(most of the valuables in the city are buried beneath rubble, it would take days to reach. The city armoury is also buried deep, as the trolls targeted it mainly.) After two days riding you reach your camp. You immediately dispatch 4 scouts, and 4 archers to sweep the adjacent area for the missing child. You then meet with the second in command, Marshall, and begin discussing your next move:

>A. Leave this forest and find somewhere more suitable to establish a civilisation
>B. Return to the city with all of your people, this is risky though as the city is rat infested, disease is a great threat
>C. Write in

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>332346
Also rolling for search party's success in finding the missing boy.

>>332348

>The boy is found the next day. His corpse found with a large rock lodged in the side of his chest. His face mangled, and bite marks covering his neck. A large chunk of flesh on his leg appears to have been eaten.

what to do about Mika?

>>332350
What kind of teeth marks? Humans?

>>332355
Human. And small, almost definetly Mika.

>>332357
Just making sure. Kill him stark-style. Probably the people are terrified or despise him enough to see him gone. He also can't wander around or it's possible he will give away our position.
Sadly, he is an enemy.
Harold is the one who should give him a clean death.

>>332362
>two of your soldiers fetch Mika, and drag him out of the tent. They take him out deep into the forest, where you are waiting. They lay him on the ground, and you stab your dagger like lightning into the back of his head. This brutal but necessary move has caused some anger amongst many of the women.

>The next day you order everyone to be prepared to travel by morning, 2 days from now. You announce that you will all be travelling, to find an appropriate place to settle. Marshall is disgruntled that you didn't consult him about this move.

>you begin travelling as scheduled 2 days later, but it is still undecided where to go?

>A. The nearest village 6 days ride to the east
>B. The plains of the north
>C. West to the coast
>D. South to investigate a rumoured small group of orcs controlling a large deposit of iron.


Stat block:

Turn:5 (1 turn=1 month)
Race: human
Population: 49 people (39 men+10 women)(+5 every 10 turns)
Military: 20 soldiers: 10 scouts( iron sword, leather armour), 10 archers (bow, leather armour)
Specialists: 5 healers, 10 hunters, 10 gatherers, 4 scholars
Current leader: Harold Woolshank
Government: Dictatorship
Food: 50 (-2 each turn for usual consumption)(+6 each for increased food efforts)
Resources: 200 gold, 20 spare swords
Industry: none

>>332388
Also it is an option to attack/raid the village, despite the fact that you're the same race

>>332388
Woah woah we are moving without making a decision, is this usually so fast paced? I wanted to consult my fellow anons.

Anyways I guess we are in a tolkien world and people are prude even though this kid just killed and ate another child and killed a scholar.
Plains and coast sound like a terroble place to be. I would go south, remain on the forest and start sending scouts all around trying to look for :
1- Enemies and treasures, like the orcs you commented.
2- Zones with rich resources. Good quality wood, quarries or mines.
3- Strategical positions to start building a small fort/camp to settle in. Next to a river if possible, food around and easy to wall off.

>>332388
Let's head south and purge the orcs, if we're lucky they might have a small fort of some sort we can set up in

>>332388
Go south, take over the Orc community

>>332388
Let's remain in the forest and fortify our camp. Let's a scouting party to investigate the orc camp.

>>332461
For some reason the GM forced us to leave the camp.
Maybe we are roleplaying as Marshall

>>332462
Then we should just move camp inside the forest, ideally next to a river or stream where there will be clean, fresh water.

>>332410
Sorry for rushing that, just wanted to jump start this

>>332449
>>332419
>>332410
Three votes to head south. The rumoured Orc community is about 10 days ride south. Our party departs immediately. We travel for days on end, stopping and setting up camp often close to the road, in the evenings. After about 5 days Harold is faced with a decision. Our scouts have reported bandit activity in the current area, so Harold decides setting up camp on the road side is very risky. Our options are:
>A. Fuck it lets take a chance, set up on the roadside.
>B. Hike up a nearby mountain, this will give the defensive edge over any attackers, but is physically exhausting and very cold for our people.
>C. Go deep into an adjacent forest, and set up a defensive position in a clearing. This is safer than the roadside camp, but nowhere near as safe as the mountain camp.
>D. Don't stop for the night, and demand your people to continue through the night.
>E. Write in

>>332477
>C. Go deep into an adjacent forest, and set up a defensive position in a clearing. This is safer than the roadside camp, but nowhere near as safe as the mountain camp.

>>332477
How is the party's morale? If they can endure it I would say D. Most likely they are already pretty tired after 5 days of travel so I would go with
>C. Go deep into an adjacent forest, and set up a defensive position in a clearing. This is safer than the roadside camp, but nowhere near as safe as the mountain camp.

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>>332477
Suggesting
E. Fuck it setup camp near road to save time on the trip, but set up traps across the road in the form of strings possibly to alert if bandits are walking close. Post 2 scouts sleeping in intervals near traps to alert the rest of parry if they're set. Male them deadly or maiming if possible. Stay close but off main road during journey.

Or

C.

>>332514
Setting up alert and maiming traps on an entire perimeter would take more time than derailing a bit to camp in a forest. I think this plan only makes sense if we know exactly where the enemy is going to walk through or if we are setting a permanent camp.
Also, if a group of enemies trigger a trap, they would most likely search the place for our camp.

>>332500
>>332512
You and your people spend the night in the forest. There are four sentries on alert at all times, and a perimeter of make shift spears encircling the camp. Throughout the night you only manage to get a couple of hours of sleep, and besides a few foot steps heard from beyond the perimeter, there were no bandits to be seen.

>>332500
Dubs=random event

The next day your party is confronted by a great valley, stretching for miles, and surrounded by the mountains. Far along the road, your scouts can just make out a group of people, possibly fighting.

You send a man to investigate, and he returns shortly after and says a group of merchants (~8) are being robbed by a pack of orcs (~15), the merchants have been restrained and held down. Their hired mercenaries have been slaughtered. It's unclear what they're transporting, but must be valuable enough for the orcs to make such a callous move.

>A. Rush to their aid, killing the orcs. This could place your group in jeopredy, and risk a larger pack of orcs hunting you down.
>B. Leave quietly, sneak along the far side of the valley, and avoid detection.
>C. Write in

>>332538
We have 10 archers and 10 hunters, I assume that the hunters are sneaky and can use the bow very well. Meanwhile their merchants are restrained and held down so there is a chance they are guarded by an orc or two while the others are on their own.
I would go

>A. Rush to their aid, killing the orcs. This could place your group in jeopredy, and risk a larger pack of orcs hunting you down.
With an additional:
Try to bring the 20 bows and roll for a chance of the orcs to be clumped up away from the merchants and try to volley them as much as we can before the fight.
Then the hunters can back off in change of scouts.
If we are lucky the orcs could be heavily outnumbered or we could kill the leader. Tolkien said that without a leader most orcs leave the battle.

>>332560
I like this

>>332560
Supporting this.

>>332560
Also, I would like to add:
If a lot of the orcs flee, is better to let them be, but if only one or two survive and scape, we should try to hunt them down so they don't get the chance to report what happened.

Rolled 35 (1d100)

>>332560
>>332588
>>332579

>You order your hunters, archers, and soldiers to prepare for battle. Using small shrubs and bushes, you manage to sneak within range of the Orc pack. Your 20 archers/hunters await the order to release a volley of arrows.

Rolling for archery success.

Rolled 92 (1d100)

>>332636

>>332636

>just before you give the order to attack, one of your men accidentally crushes some dry twigs, making a loud cracking noise. The orcs are startled by the sound, and find cover. You order the attack to continue regardless, killing 2 orcs

>>332560

>Your soldiers then Spring up ( we have 10 soldiers, plus all archers and hunters have a sword [the swords were retrieved from the city ruins]), the orcs rush our men...

Rolling for success, also I'm going to do plus 10 to roll simply because we outnumber them 3 to 1, giving us major morale boosts

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>332652
Forgot to roll lel

(Remember plus 20)

>>332655
>>332641
Coincidence? I think not.

>>332655
>82

>Our forces overwhelm the Orcs remarkably. We do not suffer a single causality, and swiftly slaughter all the orcs, none escaping. We untie the merchants, they are so grateful for us saving them that they wish to give us their cart, carrying weapons, mainly bows and crossbows. We graciously accept. As they're leaving they express their fear in traveling unprotected, you and Marshall offer them a place in your group, they accept. (+diplomacy, ++trade)

Hours later we are back on the road, our destination only a days ride away.

The next day you complete your journey as scheduled, arriving at a mountainside, you can visibly make out a orcish style building built in the side of the mountain.

What next?
Stat block:

Turn:9 (1 turn=1 month)
Race: human
Population: 57 people
Military: 20 soldiers: 10 scouts( iron sword, leather armour), 10 archers (bow, leather armour)
Current leader: Harold Woolshank
Government: Dictatorship
Food: Abundant
Resources: 200 gold, 20 spare swords, 20 spare bows, 10 spare crossbows
Industry: none

>>332679
For the purposes of visualisation, would you describe what the building looks like?

I say we should scout around at the edge of the forest behind the trees and look for any tunnel openings, or freshwater sources that the orcs might be having to leave their building to drink from.

>>332679
Should random events count as a turn? and every roll?
We left the camp on turn 5 and we are already at turn 9 (4 months) for a 10 day trip.
Also can you add the specialist row? I know all of them are merchants, but just in case someone has an extra specialty.

File: DSC_0467.jpg (3MB, 2896x1944px) Image search: [Google]

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On a general note without wanting to rush things:

We have high intelligence, high diplomacy and extra high trade. Some extra gold and spare weaponry for our military power to grow.
I think it's a good spot to settle a bit, specially in the coast where we can put all our gatherers into fishing and the merchants/diplomacy into trade by ship.
Maybe head there after we defeat those orcs? What do people think about that?

>>332794
Sounds like a good tentative idea, though we'd need to fortify our settlement more than otherwise.

>>332705
I am waiting for the visual description too before we make any move.

>>332679
Please come back I miss you

>>332710
Good point, changing this rule

>>332705
>You have a party of scouts survey the building. They report back that the walls are heavily fortified. Over 8 meters tall of solid stone, with iron reinforcements. The only advantage for you is the very low number of guards. Not a single guard visible on the wall, nor in any watchtower. However there is heavy industrial activity going on, with many work parties leaving every hour to go gather wood from nearby forests, as well as the large amount of smoke filling the sky, probably from a smelter. There is only one front entrance, a small iron door at the front(suggesting a small population, as it is only large enough to fit 2 men abreast). There is no back entrance as it is built into the side of the mountain. However, the scouts report success in finding a probable hidden tunnel. A small man hole found approximately 300 meters from the community, hidden amongst a stone formation.

Options:
>A. Have scouts keep an eye on the orcs from afar, while the rest of your people set up and fortify a camp at a safe, hidden distance.
>B. Send all the women, and scholars away to make camp. And have your military attempt to get through the man hole, and sneak into the Orc base, in the dead of night.
>C. Leave, there is nothing for you here.

>>332705
Picture helms deep, but with orcish architecture

>>341242
>A. Have scouts keep an eye on the orcs from afar, while the rest of your people set up and fortify a camp at a safe, hidden distance.

>>341259
Agree, this sounds like a no-go until the hidden tunnel plan is solidified.

I would keep an eye if we see most of the orcs leave the fortification and then try to sneak in and defend the building while the community goes through the tunnel.

However, if this doesn't happen I think it's better to sit it out.

>>341259
supporting

>>341259
>>341491
>>341259
>>341286
>You set up a system in which there is at least 2 soldiers on watch at all times.
>meanwhile the rest of your people move to a relatively close cave, after searching it for any enemies, you begin to setup a temporary home. You have the merchants, scholars, gatherers, and healers pitch tents for the people, as well as collect fresh, clean water from a nearby stream.You assign the soldiers to collect long, thick, strong sticks, and begin sharpening them, they plant the make shift spears into the ground surrounding the cave entrance. This acts as a defensive perimeter, to ward off any large beasts. They also devise trip wires to be in place during the night, when activated the trip wire rings a loud bell (that the mercenaries happened to have) to alert of any intruder. For food, you send out all hunters into the woods, and caution them to be wary of any Orc lumberjacks.

You are confident that this is a safe and secure home.

What next?

>>341647
Not mercenaries *merchants*

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>>341647
Plans:

>A) Wait for a small group of orcs to leave the fortress. A prepared platoon leaded by Marshall kills all of them except one so that it can go back. Wait for their major army force to leave in search of your platoon to get in through the tunnel for an easier conquest.

>B) Make their numbers dwindle a little at a time by trying to assault every small party then try to take it head on.

>C) Sneak in the middle of the night utilising surprise element and the fact that they have very few guards

>D) Is it really worth it? Even if we manage to take the fortress do we expect the orcs not to send reinforcements to take it back? Can we defend it?

If it's just for looting and pillaging there must be better places.

If we expect to make a civilization out of this, I would go A) or C). Either one is fine.