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Thanks, @Karis Ziranphel!
I don't remember what year of the fourth age we were in... I'll be fudging stuff regardless (as I'm sure we all will) because of multiple timelines and histories, so I guess it doesn't matter terribly to me?

Hey everyone, I updated the OP a bit with what we've landed on so far, if anyone is in doubt about some background stuff in the RPG, feel free to ask away in this OOC thread!

I love that there's a logistics branch. These guys are so often ignored, but good luck trying to run an army without them!

What are they going to do in practice, in terms of RP? Something an actual character can do, or just NPCs? I've made one of my old characters lose an arm, trying to figure out where he can fit in now.

Hey Galastel!! It's hard to say at the moment - I think we can figure out part of it at least as this first RPG goes along. Since everyone is at "Ranger" now, we can test the waters keeping in mind we actually are going to have this logistics branch now, and then people can see what they liked and choose a spec after.
GIVE US YOUR INPUT!

What comes to mind:
Healers/field medics would be in logistics, they'd have to keep track of their own supplies and transport for whatever they need too.
Another job could be scribe (keeping logs + writing reports and such for the command to look over and sign before sending back to the king);
Cooks;
...
?

It's good to be back! (Blame Pele - she dragged me back here kicking and screaming.) And great that you're still around, Arnyn!

Logistics is very much about making sure soldiers have the right equipment when they need it, get transported to where they need to be, get food, lodging, etc. We are to be based near Poros, logistics would have inspected the fort, reported on anything missing and made sure to correct that, they could have arranged boats for transportation if we wished it. Cooks need food to work with, logistics would be procuring that and making sure it reaches the soldiers in a timely manner.
Communications could come under the same specialisation too. That would include scribes for sending reports, but also the person responsible for sending the homing pigeon, and the messengers riding between different parts of the force, transmitting orders. There's also providing the officers with all the information they need to make decisions: maps, intelligence reports, etc.
There's the adjutant, responsible for personnel management: morale and welfare, combat readiness, casualties.
...
?

The problem with all this is, a Player Character, as opposed to an NPC, needs to have agency, to be facing challenges and finding ways to overcome those. If a scribe, for instance, does nothing but write down what the officer dictates, that's not very interesting to RP.

I'll give it some more thought.

Please do, Galastel! I've been thinking for this RPG to give out some logistical tasks to people's characters here and there. See how it goes. Beyond that... who knows!

*observes all the eager planning going on* Y'know, Galastel. I'd gladly take that blame. :D

Yay! Thanks @Pele Alarion!

@Galastel, it's wonderful to have you back!

Great to see you again Galastel! I am glad you are liking the support specialty piece. Keep in mind that we are talking small mobile unit rather than large unit when thinking of the logistical challenges. Some things translate great from the army and some things don't. Scribes/historians etc would still be critical to keep communication flowing and make sure a record of any action was kept, as well as accurate maps compiled from the scouts reports.

It's wonderful to be back, Mor Toast, Karis. So glad to see you!

Karis, yeh, I know not everything translates well from the army to a small force, and not everything that's true of a modern army is the way things worked in the pre-gunpowder past. Really I'm just throwing against the wall all knowledge and ideas I have, to see what sticks. My main concern is "which of those things might be fun to play". I agree with all you say about scribes, just not sure how one would play a scribe: what would the player actually do? (Of course the fact my imagination fails me doesn't mean somebody else can't take the idea and run with it, play it and make it their own. Would be awesome to see.)

I've been kicking around an idea. Since I don't plan to prod Findy in this RPG (this time around anyway) and I don't know how much time I'm going to have to really RP in here, I thought I could write up a few medic/nurse NPC descriptions for general use (kinda like we do our Pubkeepers). That way, people can just pick one or two when they need one and pull the NPC strings themselves. "Medic Nordstrom ran over with his medical bag/kit and mixed up some Whole Foods Sprouts herbs to care for the slash in Macy's leg..." Or maybe it would be more fun for people to just RP their own NPC medic. I'm okay either way. Just a thought.

Findy, I think it is useful to have general use NPCs that everyone can write with, just as we used to do with the ranger cook after our in character one left. The challenge is of course creating them, so I for one would be happy for you to do so. One or two is likely sufficient considering the current size.

Okay everybody, here are a couple of NPCs for you as well as some herbs you can incorporate into your posts should you or one of your fellow soldiers become injured (use them in the same way you would a Pub Keeper):

Minas Tirith Ranger RPG: Medical NPCs

Raenar, and older man, retired soldier, is now a seasoned medic. He walks with a limp and bears scars from many battles on his face and arms. However, he has no problems dealing with injuries on the battlefield and is not easily shocked. He is no stranger to pain, as he was critically injured many years ago as a young man after which he had to give up his military career. He found a new reason for living by assisting in the Houses of Healing with Pele Alarion and undergoing training in herbal medicine with Finduilas Faelivrin as his mentor. He always carries his herbal journal with him, filled with notes from his learning days. He is constantly on the lookout for herbs to add to his rucksack, which is filled with many herbs, tisanes, and salves, which he uses to assist in wounds. He does not suffer people wishing to just “give up and die” and will do his best to encourage those to recover. He is always equipped with his trusty knife, which he keeps clean for a quick kill or to do any sort of surgical procedure.

Laren, a nurse in her mid-20’s, is a welcome sight to those on the battlefield if they are hurt. She has a gentle spirit about her, but that by no means makes her anxious or frightened. As a child she helped her mother (now deceased) at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields and in the wild. She has seen it all and knows her herbal medicine as well as any more experienced healer. Equipped with her vast knowledge of natural medicine, as well as her battlefield experience, she is confident and ready for anything. She knows how to deal with a wild animal bite as well as any unsavory diseases. She carries a bow and arrow to catch her own food but has no qualms with shooting to kill an enemy. An avid cook, she can always be counted upon to add a few spices during mealtimes to make stews more interesting. She is petite, but no less able or brave than any seasoned soldier.

Here are a few herbal medicines for you to role-play, although if you would like to research some of your own, feel free:

Boneset: tonic, stimulant, coughs, colds (grown in marshy soil of Anduin or in Anórien south of the Entwash)
Alecost: soothes colds (from the sunny southern climate of Haudh in Gwanûr)
Chamomile: cleanses the blood (requires full sun; Apothecary roof garden)
Sea Pinks in the sandy soil beside the Anduin. Short-stemmed woody root stock. In the summer they would produce some white or rose flowers with a strong scent of honey, which could be used to treat nervous disorders and as an antiseptic. Rinse hand well because these plants can sometimes cause an allergic reaction.
Hounds Tongue growing in the full sunlight. They needed frost to begin germination and only appeared in the spring. This was something that Findy used as an infusion to bathe cuts and bruises, arms, and skin conditions as well as to treat coughs. Can be used as full plants -- leaves and roots.
Meadowsweet to help reduce fever as well as for a dye.
Herb Bennet which could be used as a substitute for cloves and could also be used to increase appetite, stop bleeding and reduce fever.
Spotted Alder (witch hazel) to make tinctures for bruises, sprains, varicose veins.
Lovage for flavouring soups and used as a digestive. All of these should be picked with the roots and with what leaves and blossoms as could be found at this time of year.
Common Agrimony: cinquefoil leaves arranged in alternate large and small pairs. Burred spearheads. Used to stop bleeding as well as in yellow dye.
Mountain Orach: thread-like spikes of red flowers. Used as a spring tonic to treat tiredness or exhaustion.
Liquorice: vetch-like with long fibrous taproot. Made into a tea for the treatment of bronchial catarrh and sore throats and to reduce fever.

@Finduilas Faelivrin Thank you so much for this!

Happy to help, @Mor Toast and @Karis Ziranphel! I was feeling a bit annoyed at myself that I wouldn't be able to really participate in this one like I did in the past, but I'll be reading along as often as I can. I'm already impressed to see our Plazateers RPing again with full gusto!!! It'll be fun to see the NPC's brought to life by our able writers here (not that I'm hoping anybody gets wounded, but that's all part of the action, eh?).

Just had a thought: in early medieval England, all men were required by royal decree to practice with a longbow for at least an hour every day, from the age of 6. Noble boys would start learning the sword, as well as riding and other military skills, at a similar age. Edward the Black Prince accompanied his father on campaigns at age 13, and distinguished himself in battle as a knight at age 16.
In light of this, do we perhaps want to open the Training Grounds for children?

I figured I’d put together a bio the messenger I created so any can use him.

Minas Tirith Ranger RPG: Messenger

Cortan, a young adult in his early to mid twenties. His father was a soldier and mother was a cartographer. He spent his youth in the Minas Tirith stables as a stable hand. As he aged, he took his ability to work with people and animals, and the knowledge of the surrounding areas he gained from his parents to those in command. Though young, he was deemed useful as a messenger.
He has sandy blonde hair, fair skin, brown eyes and a thin face. He’s about 5’ 10”

NPC's, woop woop! Findy, I can see Raenar running in between the melee and Laren being sent off with a scouting party already... Options!
Trying to get a feel of people's character's healing skills now and will be introducing your NPC's if necessary (they probably will be) in one of the future GM posts! Then people can go nuts NPCing them during/after fights/battles.
Of course maybe the Rangers won't end up doing any fighting at all, and remain in Pelargir for some obscure knitting competition. Requires, willpower, dexterity, speed and precision, after all....

Galastel, that sounds intriguing. Any plans to bring kid characters in there? :D

Those NPCs look excellent.
Galastel- I don't see why children wouldn't already be training, although perhaps a different section of the training grounds initially. Most of us have written about having received training as children or teens precisely for this reason although without writing out the training. If you want to write a youngling going through training, I would say go for it.

On a rpg related note, sorry it is taking me longer to post. Life caught me off guard this week.

I'm just going to stumble in for a bit to add a suggestion someone more likely thought of before me (my 1st coffee hasn't kicked in yet, so appologies in advance).

Re Galastel's idea about children and teens training with bows and perhaps other weapons, presumably sometime in their training there would be some injuries and they would need a healer or a visit to the Houses of Healing, so we could connect the two. It would give apprentice healers some cases to practice on and the training ground staff could always use this as an example to once again drill about safety measures or anything other that anyone can think of, because my coffee is slow to respond :-)

I'm sure someone already thought of this, but I'm catching up on things so I thought I'd post this while it's fresh in my mind.

Nessa, I actually haven't thought of it. Haven't thought further than "one of my characters has children aged 10 and 13, what are they supposed to do?" Love how an idea for something in one thread grows to generate activity in another thread - makes the city feel more alive and tied together.

Galastel wrote: ↑Sat May 30, 2020 11:39 pmHaven't thought further than "one of my characters has children aged 10 and 13, what are they supposed to do?"

School is always an option too :-) I went through my notes from the course about everyday life in the Middle Ages on the Eastern Adriatic coast and there were schools as well as universities, I just don't have the age groups in my notes. However, I digress (although, I'll keep the school thing in mind for something else). Ideas have a tendency to grow and connect, and it's always wonderful to see that we can connect various parts of the city and characters so they can interact not only at the market or the pub, but in their places of work. :-)

Hmm, schools are actually sort of interesting. Medieval schools were tied to religious institutions: there where the Christian schools and universities, open only to upper-class Christian boys, and there were the cheders and yeshivas for Jewish boys, regardless of social class. (There wasn't a Jewish boy who wasn't sent to a cheder, so we were by far the better-educated. )
Now Middle-earth has no religious institutions and no organised religion, thankfully. ('Thankfully' because it's extremely rare for an RP setting to be built with religious minorities in mind.) So what institution would be founding schools? The guilds? Those would start out as professional schools then, wouldn't they? For RP purposes, those aren't very useful, as they wouldn't be bringing people together. I suppose Minas Tirith could have had a military academy, what with needing skilled soldiers to fight Mordor. But it doesn't make sense to have a military academy while dismantling the standing army.

@Oro I am a bit late to the party, but is it possible for me to join the Rangers (RPG) thread? Can just imagine my character's been there since the original meeting, but hasn't said much, if that's alright?

There are a few ‘latecomers’ now waiting at Pelargir to join the main Rangers group when they get there, @Almarëa Mordollwen , if that is any help to you ? :smiley10:

Almarea, I agree Ercassie's suggestion might work better! ;) You are still very welcome to join.

Don't know what character you're planning on using, are they somehow experienced already? The idea atm is that the Rangers are a small unit of people who have proven themselves in the past and have been hand picked. So does your character have a Gondorian military past? If so, great, if not, we will have to figure out how to work you into the story. :)

@Ercassie That makes more sense, thank you! Shall head to Pelargir and wait for the rest to arrive, then :)

@Arnyn Yes, I'll RP someone with a bit of experience - I used to have a couple of Gondorian characters, although they did not get a lot of use (was much more active in the Rivendell/Lorien militaries) but I will revive one of them.

Yay @Almarëa Mordollwen, welcome! Glad you're joining us.

I'm curious already! :D

So you guys, based on what you've all written in the RPG, I made a list of the squads and everyone's primary, secondary, healing and scouting/tracking skills.

Since we're all so creative and each phrased stuff our own way, I decided to use the following scale of "proficiency" for the healing and scouting/tracking skills:

• None
  Elementary
  Intermediate
  Advanced

I'm not making three subdivisions in the category "advanced" to make a difference between "proficient", "expert", and - ahum - "legendary", for example. :smiley8:
What I will allow is being on the line between two levels, so for example Elementary-Intermediate.

So, for the Rangers currently divided into three squads already and on board of the ship from Harlond to Pelargir, I've surmized the following list:

Squad 1: Durien, Kamion, Thüllir, Zev, Arnyn

Kamion
Longsword
Dagger
Healing: Elementary-Intermediate
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Zevarion
Sword
Throwing knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate

Arnyn
Longsword
Shortbow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Thullir
Longbow
Shortsword
Healing: Advanced
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Durien
Longbow
Long Knives
Healing: Advanced
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate-Advanced

***

Squad 2: Ilisys, Karis, Morwen, Pele, Red

Pele
Longsword
Recurve bow
Healing: Advanced
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate

Red
Longsword
Knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Morwen
Longsword
Bow
Healing: Intermediate
Scouting/tracking: Elementary

Ilisys
Spear
Long knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate

Karis
Longbow
Shortsword
Healing: Intermediate
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate-advanced


***

Squad 3: Arinelle, Arothir, Mourgan, Turin, Kaylin

Turin
Longsword
Shortbow
Healing: Elementary
Tracking/Scouting: None-Elementary

Arinelle
Longsword
Longbow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary-Intermediate

Kaylin
Shortsword and shield
Knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary

Mourgan
Longsword
Bow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary

Arothir
Spear
Sword
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary-Intermediate


If I missread your descriptions/skill levels, please let me know and I will gladly edit this list! If you want to be more specific about for example the sword type you've brought to this rpg (shortsword vs longsword) or type of bow etc, feel free to clarify as well and I will edit.

Just remember that no character needs to be perfect. Case and point; neither of mine are. ^^

FYI: I will add Beren, Umaldis and Almarea's character when they join with the main group. ^^

I see one squad that fails at both healing and scouting. We get cut off, we'll have to resort to cannibalism.

Galastel - you all have basic knowledge, which isn't the same as none, and some have intermediate, so I don't think you would have to resort to such extreme measures. :smiley10:

I meant to specify longbow, not just a bow in my post, but I failed, lol. Feel free to update the list if you'd like.

@Durien - done!

@Galastel - I'm with Karis! Elementary is far from none! But it did strike me as funny that I somehow managed to put five elementary healer skills together. It will help to decide where to deploy one or more of Findy's NPCs. No need to worry in any case!

@Almarëa Mordollwen good to have you with us

@Arnyn I hadn’t initially included Nal’s skill info in my post since it had been an IC request made to a group he wasn’t amongst. Since my fellow latecomers have done so however, I’ve edited his into my post as well. In the interests of not holding things up

@Arnyn Let's put Kamion at elementary-intermediate for healing. Not that he'll need it hopefully with a couple of advanceds in the squad :smiley8:

@Ercassie - I hear that - still not adding it until the group's together. XD It will be useful to have the information at the ready at that point, in any case!
@Moriel - done!

@Arnyn Gotcha

@Arnyn Thanks for making this list-- I had been considering doing this for my own brain, but it's nice to have laid out.

Also, thanks for streamlining the skill levels. Morwen looks good.

Would you adjust Zev to intermediate tracking? I think I'll let him tag along and learn from @Moriel (Kamion) for some difference in levels there.

@Mor Toast - done!
That's something I didn't think would happen, someone requesting to have their character's skill level lowered. I like your style, though.

XD I'm here for fun storytelling... I'm not here to be good at anything

Le thank ye. Now to see if Kamion will take Zev on...

All this looks amazing, y'all. Now I really gotta get on retooling Trey and figuring out just how he's changed since the last time I played him so I can jump in somewhere. I'm looking forward to this :D

@Trey - yes! Chop chop! XD


NEW SQUADS

Squad 1: Durien, Kamion, Thüllir, Zev, Arnyn, Jaena

Kamion
Longsword
Dagger
Healing: Elementary-Intermediate
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Zevarion
Sword
Throwing knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate

Arnyn
Longsword
Shortbow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Thullir
Longbow
Shortsword
Healing: Advanced
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Durien
Longbow
Long Knives
Healing: Advanced
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate-Advanced

Jaena
Longsword
Bow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

***

Squad 2: Ilisys, Mourgan, Morwen, Pele, Red, Unalmis

Pele
Longsword
Recurve bow
Healing: Advanced
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate

Red
Longsword
Knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Morwen
Longsword
Bow
Healing: Intermediate
Scouting/tracking: Elementary

Ilisys
Spear
Long knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate

Mourgan
Longsword
Bow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary

Unalmis
Shortsword
Crossbow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary

***

Squad 3: Arinelle, Arothir, Karis, Turin, Kaylin, Beren

Turin
Longsword
Shortbow
Healing: Elementary
Tracking/Scouting: None-Elementary

Arinelle
Longsword
Longbow
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary-Intermediate

Kaylin
Shortsword and shield
Knives
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary

Karis
Longbow
Shortsword
Healing: Intermediate
Scouting/tracking: Intermediate-advanced

Arothir
Spear
Sword
Healing: Elementary
Scouting/tracking: Elementary-Intermediate

Beren
Longsword
Sling
Healing: Intermediate
Scouting/tracking: Advanced

Hello everyone.

I've compiled the Ranger badges into an album, (https://ibb.co/album/KD2QFY) and followed Red's work and tweaked the borders of the badges for the combat/support roles specified on page 1.

Hope you like them.

Thanks, @Turin Ringhûn-it's great to have a full set of badges in such an easily accessible spot.

@Trey - yes, come join!

Hello hello. Are y'all still willing to take one more RPer on? I would very much like to get stuck in, if possible. Let me know what info I need to provide for my character Abrazimir and how best he might fit in to one of the roles.

Hey @Lantaelen! You're absolutely welcome.

You can provide the following information:
Primary weapon:
Secondary weapon:
Healing (skill level- elementary, intermediate, advanced, or combo/levels in between these):
Scouting/Tracking (same- question as healing):

Follow the latest prompt in the thread-- you can post about your character catching up to the group, and it may work best to RP yourself reporting to one of the commanding officers, and writing down your information for them, to be put in a group.

Or, if you prefer, that step could hypothetically be done here in OOC, and you could just RP joining your group!

Thank you for the welcome! I'm excited to get started. I was still working on starting and developing Healing, Scouting, and Tracking on the old forum and never got to finish so I'll just go with elementary for that.

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Primary Weapon: Sword and shield.
Secondary Weapon: Armoured fists.
Healing: Elementary.
Scouting/Tracking: Elementary.

For the group placement, that'll be decided in this thread right? Or do I place myself?