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Chaos is a Ladder (A Lord of the Rings/Shadow of Mordor RP)

Hmm... A good suggestion. I will work on it.

Chaos is a Ladder (A Lord of the Rings/Shadow of Mordor RP)

Augaz is accepted. @Zeroth Feel free to stick him in the Character tab.

Chaos is a Ladder (A Lord of the Rings/Shadow of Mordor RP)

It's fine either way honestly. You make valid points and maybe I'm just a bit to naive about the idea that an orc could be more then just a tool of destruction to be used and thrown away.

Chaos is a Ladder (A Lord of the Rings/Shadow of Mordor RP)

@Zeroth

Honestly, so did I. I did it because I wanted to create captains worth the title and all that... I feel like actual sane Talion might not do that sort of thing through...

As for the Uruk's themselves and your statement on them... I do know what you mean and the points you made, but one does have to ask if why the Uruk's are the way they are is because of how they were created... or because of the environment they live in. Orcish society was... well, more or less engineered by Sauron so that his slave army would be purging itself of weakness while encouraging the strong, brutal and cunning to thrive. They also can't leave or go anywhere else because all the 'good' factions in Middle Earth have a kill on sight deal with all orcish kind.

Under such circumstances, what are they meant to do?

Chaos is a Ladder (A Lord of the Rings/Shadow of Mordor RP)

@Zeroth

Good questions all. I'll make a list as I answer them just to keep track and make sure I cover them all.

1: Does this take place during the same time as the games, or during any of the movies?

Truth be told I wasn't completely sure when to set the game in the timeline... but my thought process was a bit before the start of Shadow of Mordor kicks off. The black gate is still in the hands of the Gondorian Rangers and occasionally a task force of rangers and solders might get sent into Mordor proper to deal threats they've detected (Ie, an orcish warchief is getting a bit to big and powerful and they want to deal with it sooner rather then later) to add another danger players have to be aware of in an already dangerous land.

2: Will the players be expected to fight Talion himself or some other prominent characters?

The answer here is... maybe. Some characters like Hirgon of the outcasts and Lithariel of the Tribesmen of Nurn are present in Mordor already and are doing their own things, leading their own factions and actively trying to hinder the schemes and plans of the orcs (and Sauron as well to a lesser extent). Mordor is a big place so unless you're actively looking for them, they're actively looking for you or one of you is just plain and simply unlucky you're not likely just to run into them. That said, it can happen... and if players dedicate themselves to trying to deal with either of these factions, they'll logically try to deal with you in return to rid themselves of a thorn in their side.

As for Talion... from the start of the game he's just a mortal ranger captain. He might be apart of a Gondorian task force heading into Mordor to deal with a threat to the Black Gate, but they're kind of short staffed so that will only happen if they seriously have to. Depending on how the game goes, I -might- kick off the fall of the Black Gate, removing the risk of ranger task forces at the cost of a threat that is in many ways much, much worse. Granted Talion is more of a threat to captains and higher as the Gravewalker since they're the ones he is actually after instead of the rank and file solders, but if you're both moving around Mordor the wrong place at the wrong time can happen... you can even try your hand at actively hunting him down for the glory, but that path to power and prestige comes with its own risks and trials.

3: Is extensive knowledge of these characters, Tolkien lore, or the specific games required, since LotR related stuff tends to lean so heavily on that?

Not really. You're playing as Uruks. Sure they're not stupid by any means (well... most of them) but the very nature of orcish society does mean that your average uruk doesn't really have an in depth knowledge of history. They are taught from a very young age that elves are sneaky, back stabbing pricks who want you all dead, humans are generally untrustworthy because they hate orcish kind but the ones to the west cannot be reasoned with at all and must die... Dwarves are generally an enemy as well, but hatred for them is more a personal matter while hating the elves is almost genetic.

Sauron is the Dark Lord and while he is a complete and utter monstrous asshole who doesn't give the slightest shit about uruks or anyone under his command, he is still ridiculously powerful, has spies and agents everywhere alongside fanatics who worship him as a god and despite his detain for uruk kind he is one of the few leaders in Middle Earth who doesn't want to just purge all Uruks for the principle of the thing. You don't have to like him, but the only real alternative that uruk's know of to being under Sauron's rule is to strike out on your own... and if you do that you need to have a decently sized group of orcs ready to follow you out of Mordor to make a proper warband because everyone outside of Mordor wants you dead and staying in Mordor after going awol is a hazardous state of being.

4: Is there an end-goal for the RP, a particular plot thread (such as a quest for Sauron) that would solidify the RP as an "evil campaign," or is it just a "see how long you last" kind of thing?

It's more of a see how long you last kind of deal... but depending on how things go we might develop an end goal. We'll see.

5: And are the characters limited in their strengths, weaknesses, other qualities, etc to the corresponding abilities and descriptions from the games? For instance, does a strength have to be something like "Fast Runner" or "Immune to Ranged," or is it more free form? Basically, are players picking from the game's wiki for their skills and development, or can we create freely with more customization?

No. You can freely customize abilities and developments, but keep in mind that I will impose weaknesses that make sense when the situation arises. For example if you get mauled by a Caragor and survive, depending on how some dice roll behind the scenes your Uruk might develop a phobia for the things. As for strengths... When a strength is earned, I'll have a brief chat with the player in question so that what they develop is related to the situation and makes sense for the circumstances. Slaying half a dozen caragors by yourself isn't going to make you arrow proof after all.

Chaos is a Ladder (A Lord of the Rings/Shadow of Mordor RP)

"Seems like only yesterday we were pulling Rukdug out of the vats like another other Uruk... and now look at him! Fought his way all the way to Overlord. Hope he lasts longer then the last piece of shrak." ~ Golm the Vat Keeper.

The armies of Morder are ever changing as armies uruks, orcs goblins and trolls are born and die almost on a daily basis with their numbers only really being kept in check by the harsh nature of Mordor itself and the constant battle for dominance and power among each other. Captains, Warchiefs and Overlords rise and fall in an ever changing political landscape where might makes right and law and order is enforced by the whims of those with the strength to make their will reality.

Despite all their differences, all of them start off the same way: Just one of many who are spawned to feed the meat grinder that is life in Mordor. Just another nobody foot solder on the dark lord's armies who is either going to have to prove themselves and make their way in the world or die trying.

Well what are you waiting for ya Shrak?! Get moving!

.................................................

This roleplay is inspired by the system of orcish 'politics' developed by the Shadow of Morder. The idea is that players will be starting with freshly created orcish/uruk solders with no renown or greatest to their names. The equipment you are given is general solid but kind of crappy, the armor you've been given is of a poor 'all sizes fits no one' quality and your superiors not only give no shits about your lives but actively kind of hope you die in an amusing way.

All players will be starting off as fresh uruks who have just completed the basic requirements to considered solders in the army: You've gone to the armory and grabbed one of the many poor quality weapons trusted to fresh, unproven scum like yourselves and you've managed to avoid killing yourselves or being killed by one of your fellow solders off the bat. Well done. Now comes the hard part.

Life in Mordor is brutal and harsh with death and combat being near constants. If it's not the wildlife, slave uprisings or the occasional task forces of tarks coming in to purge some of the orcish population and stir up a fresh wave of infighting, it is the brutal and unforgiving nature of orcish politics. The chaos provides opportunity however and there are many paths to power in Mordor. The decisions that players make towards how they go about earning their place in Mordor will drastically change how their uruks develop.

To start with, all new characters will have is their name, a basic solder class (will be listed below), some basic equipment for that class, some personality traits and a single trait you consider a personal strength. After that, the players are free to decide what they are going to do with themselves to develop new skills, earn better equipment, become more renowned or infamous in society or even make plans to fight their way up the ranks... but always remember that you are in Mordor and life here is cheap. Poor decisions can often prove fatal and even the most experienced of uruks can make a miss step that can prove disastrous, but those who survive such things will often do so with scars to body and possibly mind: Strengths and Weaknesses are both born in adversity after all.

How I plan for characters to be developed

Players will decide what their characters get up to and how they intend to do such things. Depending on how they go about it, I'll judge the likely hood of success or failure to be rolled against a d100 dice roller. The result is lower then I deem the chance of success, the act will be successful with degrees of success being related to how much lower belong the threshold the result is. Counter to this, if someone rolls -above- the threshold the action will fail with the resulting failure being relative to how much above the threshold it is. How a player sets up the situation will play a big part in judging where the bar is.

For example, let's say that Rukdug decided he wanted to go hunting for caragors. He could decide to just walk out of the stronghold he's stationed at by himself to go and hunt the predatory cats, but while such a feat would reward him with a great deal of renown among his peers and likely earn himself a title for his bold and impressive success, the fact that Rukdug has never gone hunting before and he doesn't know the land very well yet would make the challenges going forward incredibly difficult and more then likely to lead to almost certain death or failure.

Alternatively, he could ask around the stronghold to see if he can find someone a bit more experienced at hunting in the local regions for advice. If he makes a bad first impression the hunter might tell him to shrak off... and if he really messes things up there could be a duel breaking out, but if he is successful at getting some much needed advice if Rukdug decided to wonder off by himself to go hunting his odds of survival would be improved then if he had wondered off blind. Death would still be a very real possibility because caragors are no joke, but the odds would still be better then going in like an idiot.

Basic Classes

As Uruks develop and grow, more advanced classes and combat styles will be made possible for them to learn and develop... but everyone starts with the basics.

Warrior - Most frequently encountered type of Uruk. They vary from scrawny sized to large, and everything in between. They carry a one-handed weapon, typically a sword or club of some kind. They also possess handheld throwing weapons that they can use against targets from a fair distance.

Archer (crossbow or bow) - The most common ranged Uruk type. Generally more scrawny then other uruks, but some uruks who dedicate themselves to the bow can be rather brawny and large. Usually found on higher ground, to be safe from attackers as well as having a better vantage point to shoot from, otherwise they are found usually alone on higher ground or behind melee focused Uruks. As they tend to have lower toughness than other melee-oriented Uruks, if they get caught in melee they will be at a disadvantage.

Savage - Similar to Warriors, but wield two weapons instead of one. Always the larger of the Uruks with faces smeared in warpaint, Savages tend to live up to their namesake by being somewhat more bloodthirsty their their peers when it comes to battle. While they can dish out a great deal of damage in a short amount of time, their rage -can- get the better of them as it can leave openings that can be exploited.

Defender - Easily identified by their massive shields, huge spears, and tall stature, their attacks are slow, but have good reach. Their shields tend to be made of wood and thus can be broken with enough damage being done, since only defenders who have earned themselves a spot at the higher ranks tend to have fully metal shielding. Aware that their shields can be shattered, most defenders will keep a secondary melee weapon like a sword or club in the event they need it.

Hunter - The Uruk masters of the hunt, wielding sharp, jagged spears. These Uruks are smaller compared to the other classes, but can look threatening with all the spears and javelins they carry on their back. They tend to stand at range, behind other melee Uruks, strafing to get a better shot at their target, easily capable of bringing down the beasts of Mordor. Like Archers, they can't take near as much punishment as melee-oriented fighters.

Character Template

Name- What your uruk is called. You will not have a title or nickname because you're just another nobody at the moment and that kind of stuff is earned.

Class- The basic combat style and kind of weapons your character starts off with. This is the foundation from what greatness is built.

Personality - Try to stop yourself from going to in-depth here. All new uruks are relatively young and only recently left the vats, meaning they haven't had much of a chance to see the world and develop who they are yet in greatest detail.

Strength(s) - All uruk start with only one strength, but with experience and training more can be developed in time.

Civilization IV - Empires Reborn

The Mustaqilun Tribe [Turn 2]

A mysterious ruined fortress dug into a mountainside in a bountiful land, long abandoned and sealed from the outside with no other signs of life around it. Truly a great mystery.

Rukdug hated mysteries. Mysteries got people killed.

He trusted Gorkun's report, but viably it painted two scenarios in his mind about what had happened. Either an invading force had come and sealed off the gates of the fortress to trap whomever was inside in there and then buggered off without bothering to wait around and claim the fortress for themselves once their enemies were either softened up or dead... or the fortress was sealed by its owners to contain something that they couldn't take head on, be it an enemy, illness or some vile curse without counter.

He had heard war stories of orcish bands either invading an abandoned dwarven mine or digging a bit to deeply themselves and pissing off something big and nasty before...

"Gorkun, gather some more scouts and go and get some of those magical buggers to get off their lazy asses to go with you back to those ruins. I don't want you going into them, but I want you to see if you can work out what they originally belonged to and if there is any evidence as to why it was abandoned and sealed up on the outside. Have whatever warlock or shaman you grab see if they can detect any nasty magic in the area as well... Last thing we need right now is to unseal the gate to discover that anyone who crosses the threshold has their skin melt off."

......................................................

With the lumber yard set up and progress beginning at the relatively slow pace that all such industries started off at as local resources were collected and inspected, methods of treating the wood were developed and the means of efficiency to improve both the collecting and treating portions were yet to be developed, the next step was several steps that ended up where they wanted to be; The first was to construct carts and barrows to allow an easier time moving timber and other resources around, followed shortly by the development of Riverforge itself.

The first defensive wall would be the primary goal, but resources could be diverted to aid in the construction of the buildings where they were going to live. Personally he would have preferred stone for both projects, but wood and sod were hardy materials in their own rights. Granted the buildings they were going to be making out of them were little more then minor alterations on the standard military barrack buildings that popped up once the armies of the Dark One had really dug themselves into an area and thus would provide little in the way of personal privacy, it would serve the families who claimed them just fine.

Actions

Gorkun and a party of scouts (alongside any magic users hanging around who didn't seem to be doing much) are going to be heading back to the ruins to investigate further in both a mundane and magical fashion to try and work out who was here and what happened. They will not be unsealing the gate at this time.

Meantime, Riverforge will be doing C) Improve infrastructure. They aim to start producing actual walls and the orcish version of viking longhouses in order to provide protection and shelter respectively out of the wood the lumberyard is producing and sod.

Civilization IV - Empires Reborn

The Mustaqilun Tribe [Turn 1]

The land that they had landed on and decided to settle Riverforge was perfect... maybe even a bit to perfect. The land was untouched, bountiful with food and lumber... and yet, no one else had chosen to settle here. As Rukdug gazed over his new home in the light of dusk, he couldn't help but feel somewhat uneasy about the lack of a prior settlement in what would on the surface appear to be an ideal place to do so.

This wouldn't make him consider relocating somewhere else; Just because another race hadn't decided to take advantage of such a bountiful location wasn't going to frighten him or his people away from what was now rightfully theirs, but he wasn't going to rule out the possibility that there was some danger lurking that they hadn't borne witness to yet. Scouting parties would almost certainly be sent to explore the surrounding area, but first they needed to cement their foothold on the land so that no man or beast would be able to drive them away like they might have done to weaker races.

The first step to securing a new land was rather simple: Establish and fortify a stronghold that would serve as both defensive position and home for the marching force in question. The standard method employed by the Dark One's forces was normally to either claim an old ruined fortress or city that had been abandoned during the ebb and flow of the long war or to claim such a position from an enemy force and making it their own. These methods did have the benefit that it saved a lot of time and resources building such a position from scratch, while also providing some means of shelter and protection from counterattacks during the digging in phase... but that was clearly not an option here.

Stone (ideally enforced with metal) would have been the material of choice for constructing defensive works for the stronghold of Riverforge, but while both would likely be found in the hills and mountains of the area his caution about the dangers this new land might pose warned that it would take far longer then he was comfortable with waiting for the stronghold to be built from the ground up via solid stone. Thankfully, there was a viable alternative within ready reach. Wooden defenses and homes might not have been as solid as stone, but the resource was rich at hand and a wooden wall was better then no wall at all.

There was also the benefit that once they managed to get a lumber yard up and running to supply the foundation of Riverforge, that lumber could also be used in making some fresh, better constructed boats to replace the ram-shackled ones that had managed to survive the ocean crossing and were being used to fish... as well as the creation of wagons to aid in their mining efforts once they got it started. Hell, having some solid supports would make mining a hell of a lot easier in the long run as well.

His mind made up, Rukdug the Hunter turned away from where he had been gazing to go and track down some of his captains. Duties had to be assigned, orders had to be given... Even if it was made of pine, a stronghold required a lot of work to develop. Building a lumber yard and getting it operational would be the first step (with room to allow for expansions to allow the creation of pine tar and possibly turpentine if they could find copper nearby and the trees were right), with the first priority being the creation of a defense wall. After that the lumber could be used for whatever ends were required, but a solid defensive wall that would last long enough to be replaced by proper stonework was the first step.

Actions

C) Improve infrastructure and F) Improve resources/technology

First order of business? Develop a lumber yard to take advantage of the local pine trees as a proper resource. While using wood to construct the initial buildings of Riverforge so that the tribe has shelter and homes, the priority is a defensive wall and gates so that they are safe guarded from possible threats... at least until they can get stone mining and production up and running to create something more sturdy and permanent.

Civilization IV - Empires Reborn

The Mustaqilun Tribe [Turn 0]

When the first ship had managed to beach itself against the sandy shore, a great cheer had gone up from not just those on board, but also from other ships that were following behind that could see the promise of a new land before them. The ships themselves were ugly and battered things; They appeared to have been made in haste with limited resources by people who might have had a basic understanding of how to make boats but had clearly never had to contend with the trails of traveling across the open sea before. More then one ship in the ram-shackled fleet that was coming ashore had sunken on the journey, taking many of the souls on board with them despite the efforts of some of the other ships to fish their fellow orcs from the icy ocean waters.

Despite the losses and the hardship through, the orcs themselves were in high spirits. They had done what many had believed to be impossible. The Dark One had long ago segregated his slave and worshiper races into specialized rolls in order to prevent any one race from being able to rebel effectively against him; While orcs could create fishing boats and make shift transports in order to gather food and ferry troops across minor bodies of water like rivers or moats respectively, actual sea faring naval craft and their production was kept in the hands of his branded human cultists. No one believed that an orc could make a ship that could survive three days out in open waters, let alone make an ocean crossing. With the impossible achieved, it was with great pride that the orcs celebrated their arrival in a new land.

Their chosen landing zone had actually been somewhat inland, taking advantage of a series of bays that were open to the sea that offered a landing site that was sheltered from the elements. There was a fresh water river leading into the final bay, with a light splattering of trees to the west and a literal forest to the east and a mountain range to the north that promised sources of metal and ores. Even before the scouts had a chance to go exploring in detail, it was clear to those de-embarking from the ships that this was going to be a wealthy land to call home.

Indeed, once Rukdug the Hunter himself had stepped foot on the new shore, he had commanded the scouts to follow the river north towards the mountains with the intent of finding a location for their people to develop a stronghold they could safely mine resources for, the warchief himself remaining behind to help organize those coming off the ships into groups to transport what few supplies they still had to follow them.

Their new fortress home wasn't going to build itself after all.

Location of Riverforge

Somewhere in the purple zone.

Civilization IV - Empires Reborn

The Mustagilun Tribe

The Mustaqilun Tribe

Represented Color: Purple
Race: Orc
Breed: Blackskin Orcs
Capital: Riverforge
Ruler: Warchief Rukdug the Hunter

Type of Government: Tribal Tyranny. Traditionally, the orcish society that the Mustaqilun Tribe broke away from favored rule by strength; The stronger, cunning and more brutal you were, the higher in society you could potentially rise and expect to survive the promotion.

While the Mustaqilun Tribe could be considered somewhat liberal by the standards of other orcs, they do respect strong, competent leadership and the only alternative government that they have seen in action is monarchy which doesn’t appeal to them; While the leader who founds the kingdom is generally someone to respect by orcish standards, a few generations on and you tend to get poor leaders unworthy of the power they’re ‘born with’.

Religion:
The Mustaquilun Tribe doesn’t have a religion per say; The closest thing to a ‘god’ that the tribe had in the past was their former lord and master, a being of great power that ruled orcish kind through might and fear. While the Dark One had a cult dedicated to him that worshiped him as an almighty being, the Mustaquilun Tribe (and quite a large number of other orcs) viewed him more as the biggest, strongest of bosses rather than as a deity… and considering that they broke all ties with their former master when they took to the seas, their opinion of him is rather low.

They are superstitious through, performing small rituals and offerings in their day to day lives to ‘spirits’; A hunter might make a small offering before going out on a hunt for a good hunt, while a blacksmith might perform small rituals occasionally in order to keep the spirit of his forge in high spirits while wading off misfortune.

History:
The history of the Mustaquilun Tribe started fairly recently. Originally the orcs stationed at the oceanside port fortress of Nomar, the orcs of Nomar spent their days producing weapons and equipment for the seemingly endless armies of their distant master, the Dark One in his campaign against the other races and kingdoms of the land.

The Dark One was a cruel, unforgiving and demanding overlord, uncaring for the pain and suffering of minions and slaves alike as long as his orders were met on time. His requests kept the forges of Nomar burning at all hours of the day and night in order to try and keep up with demand.

It was hard to say exactly when the uprising among the orcs of Nomar began; they all hated the Dark One and the lives that they were being made to live, but their fear of him tended to keep any actual spirit of rebellion quiet… at least, until they no longer had anything to lose.

The forges were sabotaged by slaves from one of the distant nations their master had waged war with, breaking almost all of them down in such a way that it would take months to get production back up to the levels that it had been before, let alone start meeting the Dark One’s quotas again. The Dark One wasn’t known for his patience or his calm temper; in the past when a production site had fallen behind to the same degree as Nomar had just done, he had the fortress purged of its current workforce before repopulating it with a fresh workforce to get it operational again.

The orcs of Nomar were doomed… so they decided to take a gamble.

It began with the death of the former Warchief, Pash the Glutten. His failure to prevent such a devastating slave uprising due to neglecting his duties as Warchief of Nomar was deemed to be the source of the orcs impending doom and thus he was executed by his replacement, Rukdug the Hunter.

With the former Warchief slain and the promise of a painful death approaching, Rukdug came up with a plan to save himself and his fellow orcs... though it came with a price. In order for his plan to be successful, those under his command that zealously obeyed the will of the Dark One as the word of god had to be purged in order to prevent them from hindering their efforts. The night after Pash's head was mounted on a spike, Rukdug and those loyal to him (or at least to their own survival) slaughtered every last Dark One loyalist they could find, with only a handful fleeing into the night.

Led by Rukdug the Hunter, the orcs used what production abilities they still had access to in order to build ships. They took to the seas, abandoning their homeland completely in favour of escaping their master’s wrath and creating new lives for themselves elsewhere. Breaking all ties with their former master, the orcs of the fortress of Nomar decided to band together in order to form a new tribe; The Mustaquilun tribe.

Desired location