The Rangers - a LotRO kinship [EN-RP] Laurelin

Name: Aelanthor Aelomian
Aliases:

- Dinenon – Silent One

- Tórdir – Forest Man

- Aldaron – Forester / Lord of Trees

- Tauron – Lord of Forests

Race: Mirkwood Elf

Class: Hunter of the Woods

Craft: Woodsman

Biography.

Aelanthor was born in S.A. 2944 in Greenwood the Great, in later days to be known as Mirkwood, in the Woodland Realm of Sindarin King Oropher, who had established his Hall on Amon Lanc (Naked Hill) in the Southern parts of the forest. Due to the troubled times his father took him at young age for a hunting trip in the woods, which must have been around the year 3032 S.A. There Aelanthor was instructed how to use a bow with a small variety of other weapons.

Aelanthor then practised his skills, but turbulent times started with the captivity of Sauron by the Númenóreans in S.A. 3262, followed with the downfall of Númenor in 3319 S.A.. Sauron then came back to Middle-Earth and made a great tower, named Barad-Dûr, known as Lugburz in the Black Speech, in the land of Mordor where he gathered a great force of foul and evil creatures.

When Sauron had gathered his full strength and he attacked and destroyed Minas Ithil in 3429, Eledil, High King of the DuneDáin, and Gil-Galad, High King of the Eldar, formed The Last Alliance in Imladris, by Men called Rivendell. The host crossed the Misty Mountains where Oropher of the Woodland Realm and Amdir of Lothlórien and the dwarves of Khazad-Dûm joined their ranks. Aelanthor, due to his training for many years and being skilled now with a bow, travelled with Oropher to Mordor under command of his son and heir, Thranduil. Aelanthors father, his teacher, also obeyed the call for arms.

During the skirmishing before the Black Gate, Oropher became impatient and charged forward with his lightly armed troops, disobeying the orders from Gil-Galad and therefore suffered many losses, which also led to his untimely dead. Then Thranduil, his son and heir took over the command and pulled back. Aelanthor, not yet been in a war, had followed Thranduil closely for orders and direction, thereby saving his own life, for Thranduil was a fierce combatant and his arrows reached far and with deadly precision. However Aelanthor was severely wounded, for the enemy was strong and Thranduil was a prized target by the enemy. Nonetheless Aelanthor, together with his father, did not leave his side and fought bravely until the enemy retreated trough the Black Gate and armies of Elves and Men laid siege on Barad-Dûr.

During the Siege of Barad-Dûr Aelanthor recovered quickly from his wounds, for after all he was elfkind and his father looked after him carefully. When Sauron came forth from his tower, Aelanthor witnessed his diminishing by Isildur, who cut off The Ring from the hand of Sauron with the broken sword, Narsil, of his father Elendil, but also the death of the Kings, Gil-Galad and Elendil. After the Siege and the diminishing of Sauron he followed Thranduil back to the newly established Woodland Realm, which now concentrated around the Emyn Duir in the North-Eastern part of the forest, and he lived happily under his rule. The numbers of the Woodelves were greatly diminished in the Battle of Dagorlad, causing Amon Lanc, the former capitol, to be abandoned.

The peace in the forest lasted until around 1050 T.A., for the diminished Spirit of Sauron came to reside in the Southern part of Greenwood the Great making the abandoned Elven capitol upon Amon Lanc his residence, and with him many foul creatures came to live there, which caused the forest to be renamed Mirkwood (Forest of Great Fear), and Amon Lanc was changed to Dol Guldur (Hill of Sorcery).

In the year 1284 T.A. his father did not return from a hunting trip. Aelanthor believed his father was taken by The Shadow in the South and quickly left to search for him, though he did not know the shadow was Sauron, growing in power again in his guise as The Necromancer. When Aelanthor came near Dol Guldur, every time when he tried to get closer he found himself waylaid by many foul forces, in service of the Dark Lord. Thus he was driven back to the North-West, when eventually he came to the edge of Mirkwood. Knowing that he could not reach Dol Guldur, Aelanthor left the forest behind and began to roam the wild, keeping East of the River Anduin in Wilderland, still near to the edge of the forest. He did not turn home though, for he could not find the courage to tell his mother he hasn’t found her husband, his father, who was likely being held in captivity in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. It must be assumed that he died there.

Alone in the wild he fought evil on his own account, which led him far to the North trough Wilderland. Then he found himself followed by a skilled, seemingly intelligent great and black bear, for when he approached the creature he learned that it belonged to a great Man, named Beorn, and that he was the leader of the Beornings, the skin-changers. Beorn knew from his observations of Aelanthor that he desired only to live in a quiet and peaceful, undisturbed place for both mind and body, which was true. Sharing a similar thought, Beorn let Aelanthor stay at his Hall, a great wooden house with blossoming fields around where bright and smart animals lived. It is from Beorn Aelanthor learned much and developed his skills further as a woodsman and hunter, for he stayed with Beorn for many a year to defend his Hall from evil that roamed outside in the fields, until the year T.A. 1416 came. Around that year Aelanthor noticed Beorn stayed away for longer periods, and that Beorn lingered mostly on the way home. Aelanthor thought it had to do something with his prolonged staying at his Halls and the desire of Beorn to be free. Therefore Aelanthor made the decision to leave, but after he had made a great wooden bowl in the form of a beehive, that could be used by Beorn to store honey in, his favourite food. Aelanthor never knew Beorns thought about it, although after the defeat of Sauron and the sharing of the Wood of Greenleafs, it is said by the Woodelves the Beornings used a great bowl in the resemblance of a beehive for unknown purposes. Aelanthor himself, as a gratitude and memory to Beorn, his Master, always carries with him a wooden carving of a great bear, that he made himself. That is why Aelanthor will never kill a bear but for the utmost dire need, for it reminds him of his teacher, mentor, friend, Beorn.

After Aelanthor had taken care of all the animals of Beorn, he headed West from Beorn’s Hall. When he came to The Carrock, he climbed the stairs again, as he had done countless of times, to look around. Standing on top of the great stone he saw two remarkable things: Looking East he saw Beorn’s Hall with the surrounding fields, and a bit further away North a great black bear on the horizon just on the edge of the forest, standing on his hind legs. Aelanthor bowed politely, whereupon it lowered himself on all four and turned back South-East into the forest, later to change his heading South, home.

Looking West Aelanthor saw goblins crawling at the foot of the Misty Mountains. He went down again and crossed the River Anduin, heading West. When he came to the foot of the mountain range, he found himself overpowered by a great force of Goblins. Nonetheless he slew many of the Goblins near the East Gate of their realm beneath the mountains, before at last, heavily wounded, he had to retreat. He travelled South, into the Gladden Fields, for in the cover of the marches he thought he would be safe. However the Goblins were determined to get him, since he killed many of their kin, and forced Aelanthor to cross the river Gladden and venture further into the barren and empty lands South of the river, still wounded. He kept himself alive with medicines and food of naturally occurring vegetation, often hastily prepared, until at last he reached the forest Lothlórien. In the well-guarded forest he found time to rest and recover from his wounds, for the Goblins did not dare to walk under the trees of that forest, as it is the home of a great Sorceress of the Elves of terrible power.

During his time in the forest of Lórien he did not dare to venture far and cross the border into the Elven Kingdom, for there had been no connections between the different kindred of Elves for a very long time, so he kept to the edges of the forest. There he recovered from his wounds mostly using naturally occurring medicines. Occasionally he found a Lórien leaf with food or medicines, that must have been laid there for him by the watchers of Lórien, though he never saw them. This way he quickly recovered from his wounds, but he never had a chance to thank the Guards of Lórien personally.

Feeling strong enough again, he left Lórien and travelled further South, away from the Goblins, for he wanted to go to the lands West beyond the mountains, to seek aid with wise Elrond Halfelven of Rivendell. He came to the land of Rohan, and sensed a dark and invisible threat over the country that made him not feeling at ease. To escape the menacing power, he ventured into Fangorn Forest for the trees made him feel more at ease, but again he closely kept to the edge of the forest, for he had heard the tales of moving and talking trees. He did not meet any living soul on his way through the forest, though the whispering trees were a sign that there were living creatures hidden in the forest.

At last he came to The Gap of Rohan, near Isengard and the tower Orthanc, that the white wizard Saruman had made his home. Though it did not feel right for Aelanthor to approach the tower, as if the darkness of the enemy was stretching out towards it. A bit suspicious of wizards and their great powers, by some named magical, he continued swiftly on a Western course, crossing the Fords of Isen, without stopping to look at the black tower.

Then he came to the Old South Road and followed it North-West, through the barren and scarcely populated Dunland region. He saw no travellers on that road, nor any Dunlending people. When he came to Tharbad, at the crossing of the Gwathló, also known as the Greyflood, he managed to make the dangerous crossing. However, the strong current had swept him off his course far to the South. He knew now he couldn’t reach Rivendell any more trough the wild lands on the Western shore by following the river upstream. So instead he followed the way further North from Tharbad, the Greenway, which finally in T.A. … led him to the town of Bree.

In Bree, while staying in the tavern The Prancing Pony, he quickly learned of other souls like him, roaming in the wild in the lands around the town and shielding the people from evil on their own account. He managed to contact them and heard from these Rangers, noble Men descendants of the Dúnedain, there was also a secret society of Rangers in the Ered Luin, which was close to the Elven cities of Celondim and Duillond. However, they were in no way related to the Dúnedain, and they received orders from their own Master, known only to few Dúnedain Rangers by the name Vingilotz.

Thus Aelanthor abandoned his goal to travel to Rivendell, instead he turned West again, following the East Road through the Shire, to the Elven cities in the Ered Luin near the Western shore. He didn’t found a trail of The Rangers in that region, but left a message for Vingilotz, their leader, to meet him. While waiting for a response, Aelanthor helped the local people in vain hope they knew something about The Rangers. He helped because he already felt himself a Ranger, and for the first time during his travels he felt that he belonged somewhere, and that it was his duty to keep the lands around the cities safe from the threat of Goblins, who had established a small but well-defended camp in the mountains nearby.

Then Aelanthor received word from Vingilotz, the Master of Rangers, to meet him at a house in Duillond. At the gathering that occurred Aelanthor joined The Rangers, later to lay an oath on him to protect the lands of Middle-Earth and shield all that live there from evil and got the status of Acolyte.

After this meeting Aelanthor turned East again, and found that evil stirred further West than he imagined. He cleansed the Old Forest and the Barrow-Downs from many foul creatures, including the Lord of the Dead, Sambrog. He currently roams the lands East and North of Bree, known as the Lone-Lands, the region around Weathertop with on top the old and ruined watchtower Amon Sûl, and also Ost Guruth where a Men established a small community, and to the North the North Downs close to the old capitol of the North Kingdom, Fornost. Also he has re-established contact with the Dúnedain Rangers, helping them on various occasions.

After a time Aelanthor was again promoted within the ranks of The Rangers, now from Acolyte status to Ranger, the final rank and so completed his training. He feels now again, for the first time in very long years, he has a home to turn back to, and real friends almost like family, that will look after each other no matter the difficulties that lay ahead in these troubled times. As thankful as he is, but never asking much in return, he will gladly draw weapons to aid his fellow Rangers.

Timeline:

S.A. 2944 – Birth of Aelanthor.

S.A. 3032 – His father takes him on a hunting trip, teaching him to use a bow and other weaponry.

S.A. – Forming of the Last Allience and the Battle of Dagorlad, Aelanthor is severely wounded

S.A. – Siege of Barad-Dûr.

T.A. – Coronation of Thranduil.

T.A. 1050 – Saurons Spirit comes to reside at Amon Lanc, which was renamed Dol Guldur.

T.A. 1284 – Aelanthor his father didn’t return from the hunt, Aelanthor leaves the Woodland Realm

to search for him.

T.A. --- Aelanthor roams through Wilderland, eventually meeting Beorn and stays with him in his Hall, fighting evil in the lands around.

T.A. 1416 – Aelanthor leaves the Hall of Beorn.

T.A. --- Aelanthor roams the wild and more or less travels via Lórien, Fangorn Forest, past Isengard, Dunland and Tharbad eventually to Bree.

T.A. … - Aelanthor reaches Bree.

T.A. … - Aelanthor travels West to Duillond and joins The Rangers.

Characteristics:

Silent, Reserved, Stern, Quiet, Grim, Shy, Thoughtful, Patient, Calculating, Cold are all words that folk would use to describe Aelanthor.

His long, lonely and often dangerous travels have made him reluctant and suspicious towards other people and social situations are difficult for him. It is not easy to get to know Aelanthor, for first you have to “prove” you are trustworthy and he can rely on you, before he calls you his friend. When people have build some trust he’ll open up, although rarely and still holds many secrets for his own.

He is also very polite to everybody, even his friends. That is first and foremost out of respect, but also to create a distance between each other and to hide his deep feelings. Most people, often people he doesn’t know very well or he doesn’t like very much, might therefore find him very silent and secretive and it is maybe difficult for them to interact with Aelanthor.

He himself has little problems with other people, but he doesn’t understand people that force themselves on the foreground to get all attention and might get annoyed by them if they are very persistent in their behaviour, for he himself likes to be at the background.

Regarding the different races in the world and the different professions, he can get along with all of them fine, although he might get irritated by the proud of the Gondorian warriors; He finds all things and deeds to be proud of has long left their realm. Of course, being an archer, he likes to team up with someone capable of heavy hand-to-hand combat, for that will give him the opportunity to use his bow to inflict great damage, but he himself stays out of harms way. Also he respects healers, for he is also skilled in some melee fighting, although he lacks the strength and protection of other warriors so he needs to be cured from his wounds.

Being an elf, he perceives time in a different way then other races. Aelanthor might be (a bit) slow in the eyes of other races, for he doesn’t like to do things fast. He needs time to think about all the options that are available and decide which one has the most advantages, mostly the one that will give him the best opportunity to stay out of harms way. After he has decided he then sticks to it, and it is sometimes difficult for other people to talk him off it again.

His loyalty however to the people he trusts is very great and he will help anyone to the best of his capabilities. Nonetheless he holds Freedom as the highest standard, so people have to be aware not to confine his freedom too much for they will have made a fearsome enemy of him.

Moreover, he will not openly declare his emotional status, but rather waits in a menacing silence until the right opportunity presents itself to strike with a well calculated blow at the most vulnerable spot, which refers to the strong relation to the life of a woodsman, a Ranger. Many of his enemies fear him therefore not for the death he brings, but for the silence with which it approaches.

Aelanthor likes to create distance to keep himself safe, both his mind and body. This is also reflected in his fighting style: He prefers to use a bow, which gives him the opportunity to strike a target from afar. Furthermore he likes to use traps against some of the more challenging enemies, that will hold them off for a bit longer. When enemies do reach close combat range, often already severely damaged, Aelanthor uses his agility to avoid and parry attacks, while he himself attacks with a long and sharp pointed spear. He wears not much armour or unfitting heavy metal, for this will hinder his movement and agility, but it makes him rather frail if enemies close in. He prefers clothing in green, brown and grey, the colours and taints of nature so he will blend into his surroundings, which in combat gives him an element of surprise, or makes that he can avoid combat at all.

Name:             Throrghar, son of Throrgrim

Aliases:            ---

Race:               Dwarf of the Iron Hills

Class:               Guardian of the weaker

Craft:               Armourer

Biography:

Throrghar comes from the Iron Hills, where King Dáin Ironfoot II made his refuge when he had to flee from the cold drakes in the North. Throrghar was born there in T.A. 2929, so he is considered rather young for a Dwarf, being around 90 years old.

When Thorin Oakenshield called for aid to defend the Lonely Mountain after the Dragon Smaug had been shot by Bard the Bowman of Laketown, King Dáin rallied most of his army and marched quickly West to Erebor and the Lonely Mountain. Throrghar, being too young and yet unskilled, did not go with them.

Dáin fought in T.A. 2941 together with the Woodelves of Mirkwood, and also the Beornings and Eagles, against the great Goblin army that came from the North to claim the Dwarven treasures within the Mountain. After the Battle of the Five Armies was won, King Dáin became both Lord of the Iron Hills and now also King under the Mountain, for Thorin, the rightful heir, died shortly after the War from his wounds he sustained while trying to slay the Great Goblin. Thorin found himself overpowered in the fight against the Goblin Chief and sustained severe wounds, but was saved when the skinchanger Beorn came onto the battlefield as a great, mighty black bear and hewed down the Goblin guards attacking Thorin, thereby saving him and he took him back to safety. Then Beorn returned in anger and rage, eventually slaying the Goblin Chief, Bolg, in revenge, for no Goblin could withstand his wrath. They fled for him in fear, after they saw Beorn hewing off the head of their Chief with a mighty blow from his great and long, black claw.

After the war King Dáin moved to live in the Lonely Mountain to re-establish the Dwarven Realm of Erebor and enforce his title as King under the Mountain.

Throrghar followed King Dáin and came thus to Erebor, where he admired the great craftsmanship of armour that was found among the Dwarven relics and treasures of the Lonely Mountain, so there he started training how to use a shield and armour in combat to his advantage. Also he started to learn the craft of making armour, but he had to stop his training in T.A. 2990 as he was sent away with a company of Dwarves to Khazad-Dûm, to gather news and help to establish their colony there, for Balin had set out on expedition a few years earlier to re-enter Khazad-Dûm, the greatest Kingdom of the Dwarfs of old, also named Moria, although King Dáin wasn’t too fond of that.

When Throrghar reached Moria, the Mithril that came out of the Mines fascinated him, for it is the most valuable and important source to make the very best armour ever, but unfortunately that lore is now long gone, together with that once mighty Realm of the Dwarves.

However, is was very difficult to establish their new colony in Moria with many foul creatures such as Goblins lurking close by in the dark depths and also Durin’s Bane, so in T.A. 2993 Balin Lord of Moria sent him away to Thorin’s Hall in Ered Luin, at the shores of the Western Sea, to call for aid.

When Throrghar reached the Ered Luin, the Blue Mountains, he found works of the enemy present there also. Dwalin, the leader, asked for his aid to investigate the doings of the Goblins nearby, before they could march to Moria to Balins’ aid. Then the treachery of the Dourhands clan by Skorgrím, their leader, was laid bare and Throrghar helped Dwalin to solve the problems with force, claiming back the stolen treasure. However that almost claimed his life on one occasion but for him wearing a helmet, and Skorgrím escaped leaving his incompetent companions to deal with Throrghar.

Then more problems had to be solved, so Throrghar did not return to Moria and knows not Balin and his kindred are slain and the Halls and stairs of Moria deserted but for Goblins, who attacked Moria in T.A. 2994, one year after Throrghar left, overpowering the Dwarven colony. Thus Throrghar resided in the lands about Thorin’s Hall for a time, defending the Hall of Dwalin, but hoping to get back to Khazad-Dûm soon and fulfil his now unnecessarily duty.

However in the lands around Thorin’s Hall he came into contact with a very skilled Elven archer, helping him to reclaim the treasure from the Dourhands. It was known to him from a rumour that a group of soldiers with many Elven archers, but also others, had their headquarters near Duillond, from there guarding the lands against evil, and learned that the Elf was part of that group. He was invited to come to a gathering of this bond, for there was need of strong sword-arms to make sure the archers were protected and could use their bows undisturbed, able of causing devastation and fear among their enemies. At the meeting he joined their ranks as a recruit, and now very slowly follows them to the Eastern lands and thus also Khazad-Dûm, for his lack of skill causes him to travel trough dangerous places with strong enemies for him, but they are an easy target for the others.

His adventures ensure his practical and real life training, ever developing and improving his skills to greater perfection, thus being able to also improve his guard of the Free People of Middle-Earth, though he also helps people with less urgent and dangerous matters where his skill outmatches his enemies’ by far.

He roamed around in the lands West of Bree for a time, where the Old Forest and Barrow-Downs are located, where he found evil creatures within. He has cleared those lands of the greatest evils now and has helped many people, but his attention is was turned away to the North, to Trestlebridge, for the city is in need of protection due to a great Orc encampment close by constantly attacking the city, wearing down and tiring the people in the village.

After he had dealt a serious blow to the Orc camp by destroying their magic and their leader, he learned people in the Lone-Lands, the Eglain, living East of Bree were in need of help. Therefore he travelled to the Lone-Lands where he found Weathertop, once the ancient Watchtower of the Northern Kingdom, to be taken by the enemy. Together with some companions he fought his way up to the top and there he encountered and slew a mighty troll. From the other side however, out of Agamaur a great evil also spread across the land. With the help of the Brown Wizard and others he attacked their leader and slew him.

Now he has to travel to the North Downs again, for the former capital of the Northern Kingdom, Fornost, seems to be taken by the enemy and are pressing upon the outposts and people in the North. The Northern Dúnedain are with too few to fend off this threat, since the enemy fortified the former city. It seems Throrghar needs to go and take a look instead.

Timeline:

T.A. 2929 – Birth of Throrghar.

T.A. 2941 – Battle of the Five Armies. Throrghar was too young to participate.

T.A. 2990 – Throrghar was sent to Moria to gather news, although Dáin didn’t really agree with Balin going there.

T.A. 2993 – Throrghar was sent to Thorin’s Hall in the Blue Mountains.

T.A. 2994 – Moria is overrun by Goblins

T.A. --- Throrghar helps Dwalin to defend Thorin’s Hall and reclaim the treasure, later to join The Rangers.

Characteristics:

Wild, Enthusiastic, Foolhardy (even Reckless), Helpful, Quick in action, Straightforward, Determined, Impatient, Stubborn, Greedy (mostly when it comes to the amount of enemies that are available, but also applies to other things) are some words that would describe the characteristics of Throrghar.

Throrghar is very action-orientated and talking and diplomacy are not his strongest points, but for old tales about Dwarven Kingdoms and riches. When you call for his aid he will definitely aid you, but before you can finish telling your plans he’s already halfway. He doesn’t take life very serious and enjoys it his own way, often still making fun in the most critical situations, joking or constantly taunting his enemies with funny and very original attacks, for example head butting. However when things aren’t going the way he wants he gets angry (as when he has to retreat from an enemy several times) and he becomes serious and very determined, most would say stubborn, and you really have to command or hold him back to stop or restrain him. However he will only engage into it again when he feels ready.

His somewhat wild spirit and undiplomatically or straightforward approach causes him to get into trouble rather quick, for he sometimes underestimates the challenge he is facing (or, of course, overestimates his own capabilities), but nonetheless jumps in without thinking twice, which mostly forces him to retreat early. Stubborn as he is, after he has recovered, he will just try again hoping he gets some more opportunities to react in the proper way.

With friends he is very flexible, and tolerates a lot of them. He even befriended even many Elves, although for his part, that is, for he knows when they are worth something; capable of inflicting heavy damage with their bows (and thus often saving his life, but he doesn’t recognise that), but also able to cure the most serious wounds he might sustain by his (reckless) deeds.

On one hand he isn’t very fond of other Guardians though, because he has (or makes he has) to strife with them to be at the front of battle. He knows other soldiers aren’t as capable as him to survive, so he will just let them do their job alongside of him, knowing that eventually he will stand and is able to stand on his feet for a longer period. On the other hand he enjoys it and welcomes them, for the defensive capabilities are greatly increased and, if only Throrghar wouldn’t be so foolhardy and/or stubborn, they can keep each other safe.

The fighting style of Throrghar is very defensive; he believes a good defence is the key to success, for that way one can keep himself safe. Therefore he always carries a shield and good armour, sometimes neglecting the rather poor weapon he carries for he doesn’t really care about that, he just uses anything what suits him and also he can wield a broad variety of weapons. He likes to wield a mace though, for he can hit his enemies so hard with it they are dazed by the blow, giving him time to rather safely unleash another powerful attack again.

His focus lies on protecting himself and others, always placing himself in front of enemies and keeping them there as long as possible and as many as possible, relying on his shield and armour and his skill to protect himself, while sweeping wildly around hitting whomever he can reach. He does not wear a helmet any more, for that would narrow and limit his vision while hacking around. It would give him increased protection and also saved him of an otherwise fatal attack in the past, now only leaving a scar across his brow so he was very thankful he wore it, but now he thinks he is skilled (or foolhardy) enough to do without.

When he is very angry he will abandon his shield, gripping his great weapon tight with his primary goal to swing it round and inflict as much damage as possible in the shortest amount of time. However it will tire him more swiftly, which gives his enemies, if they are still standing, the opportunity for a counterattack.

As already mentioned, due to his sometimes rather poor weapon, it takes a long time for him to seriously wound his enemy. He waits, and can wait, long for an opening or mistake of his enemies, so he can rather safely lower his guard and react with, sometimes multiple, devastating and well calculated attacks of himself, hoping he will wound his enemy enough to be able to wait for the next opportunity and still survive.

Playing Style:

As you might know there are three trait sets for a Guardian that you can follow. One focuses on a very good defence (Fighter of Shadow), the other on threat generation (Defender of the Free) and the other on damage output (Keen Blade). I will aim to have four traits in the Fighter of Shadow set to improve my defence and since threat generation is also a Guardian’s duty I will equip three traits from the set Defender of the Free. My idea is to make Throrghar become a quite effective, long lasting hybrid tank, capable of withstanding more blows as usual and able to generate threat a little bit easier at the same time. I think this way I am able to see to the needs of the fellowship and perform the Guardian role best as you get something of both worlds, however not the very strong bonuses and ability to equip a special legendary trait.

Therefore the following considerations must be brought under your attention: As I do not specialize in very fast threat gathering, give me some time to lock a target on me before full DPS kicks in, especially for you hunters and champions. Threat generation for a Guardian does not come from damaging enemies: don’t expect a Guardian to do significant damage since they just aren’t able to do that. That is why I ask for a little moment when battle begins where I can use my threat generating / taunting skills before the rest can begin take the opponents out. I am only there to take as much damage (for you) as possible so you all can do what you do best undisturbed, whatever that is. If you don’t let me take hits for you, why did you bring me along with you then?

Furthermore the minstrel only has to keep one eye upon me rather than two: due to my better defensive capabilities I can (hopefully) withstand the battering for a while longer on my own, maybe with use of some panic buttons, assuming there are not very much special high-damaging attacks involved. I always like to be a bit independent / self sufficient.

Remember that a Guardian is at his best when he gets attacked often, he is perfectly suited to handle that and it will unlock his reactive abilities, increasing his potential enormously. I can also protect other melee fighters and give them increased chance to block, parry or evade attacks. This will also cause the reactive skills to activate when that person gets attacked and blocks, parries or evades the attack. However champions in fervour stance will not inherit this bonus, since they cannot parry, block or evade in this stance and thus it is useless.

The best protection skill however is Shield-Wall: when someone isn’t capable of handling the damage done to them I can shield them, taking all damage aimed for the person on myself. I have to be in a 5 meter range, however, and will receive -90% run speed. Also the damage will be mitigated by the persons’ mitigation, with will probably be lower than mine and thus hurts me. Another point with this skill: It only transfers damage, induction skills used by the person are still interrupted when attacked. Note this is a timed skill and once activated I will have to wait for the timer to expire, unlike the protection skill described earlier.

Now a tip when you walk alongside of me: Stay close to me and do not run away if you get pounded on. Instead, call for help and stay there, so I can taunt enemies of you or protect you: If you run away, it gets a lot harder for me to gather threat back.

That’s the plan, now I have to acquire the necessities and see if it works… The real Guardian life is just beginning for me with skills and traits now I’m getting close to level 35.