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

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.