[Ania]

I was just wondering what other people think about the concept of Rp-ing (role-playing) out adventures and stuff using a character of a website, I've noticed that they have quite a few of these and they are really popular. The one of councilofelrond.com is particularly good. What do other people think? Do you think that it's wrong to do that as well as writing fics?

I personally have no problem with it, and enjoy seeing other people's ideas for stories and adventures for them to go on, as long as it's faithful to Tolkien's created world, I find them quite interesting to read.

[Viv]

Wrong? Oh, not at all. I used to do quite a bit of table-top role-playing and even published some modules way back when. Those things are fun to write. But it isn't narrative writing: it's more about creating some characters and scenes and letting your audience figure out the plot. So it doesn't necessarily improve your word-smithing skills. But it's great for learning how to develop plot and character.

In my opinion, anything that engages the creative brain is a good thing. Of course, I've tried an online RPG and I totally sucked at it. Not to mention... it seems that some people take bizarre liberties with canon in RPGs. Most times that doesn't bother me so much, but it kinda does when I have to "interact" with a half-dragon-half-elf with magical healing abilities and iridescent wings.

[Elentari]

Half-dragon-half-elf??? Ught!!!
I was under the impression elves slew dragons and vice-versa...
Strange, strange world...

I particularly enjoy rpg-ing with my favourite characters, but said liberties sometimes throw me off. I mean, when I meet a lore-master, fighting goddess elf maiden (who turned out being elves although she is descendant of Elros of all people), sister to haldir, Rumil and Orophin (and what would lord of that calibre be doing being wardens, I humbly ask?) and- surprise- has a crush on Ol' sufeering Leggy, I just have this enormous urge to shot her down (kinslaying here, because my character on that Game is an elf. But trust me, it would be justified.) and put a huge announcement- No Celebrated character's heirs, unless you're the queen of plot and can convince me to allow it!

Or simply direct them to FF.net. There's plenty to feed their muses there, along with the nicer fics(my opinion here, be warned).

[Ania]

I can cope with non-tolkien related aspects to an extent, but I was just surfing some RPG boards and I just found SO many of the characters were Half-Elves, or long-lost children of Aragorn and Arwen from before they got married (?) and every one in some way knew an elvenlord or the King of Gondor, it just gets a bit tiresome after a while.

[Halfwest]

I love it. I play Gorlim on two Livejournal-based games (the Middle Earth Sock Puppet Theatre (MESPT) and theatrical_muse, which is less a game than a writing group, really) and I play Aragorn in a third game called White City. I also dabble in a Brad Dourif character, but he doesn't get much action. I used to play Haldir on a PEF game someplace, but I forgot where the forum is now...

[Elentari]

Talking about RPG, Could you give me the adresses of some good LoTR RPGs who still accept players?
I'd really like to get some new game.
(Those where you don't have to pay to post would be nice... I post loads...)

Thanks!

[Scribe]

Well just be careful when joining. I joined a LOTR RPG for the first time, accepting the role of Legolas and learnt that the condition for accepting the role was to also accept that he had a girl friend who looked like Pamela ANderson . If this had been a preexisting game where the character had been playing for some time I could have stomached it but the game had just begun, with players still choosing characters. I got told politely by the MOD (the poor thing) that she had no choice in the matter and the GM has constructed the game with Sue....sorry the character in mind.

So that was my one and only foray into LOTR RPG, I play in others thought, Stargate and Enterprise being my favourites.

[Robbie]

From someone who listens to a wife and friend talking about RPG all the time, DON'T DO IT!

It'll last about 2 months, all excitement, then collapse into a big pile of arguments like they always do.

"Must type, must type, must type, must type, must type, must type, bugger it can't be bothered."

"This person hasn't posted for a whole four hours! How can we include them in the game if they don't check e-mail every four hours?"

"You can't have your pudding if you don't eat your veggies"

"Why have they done that? That's not in their character."

"They havn't tagged me, so I can't play "

"E-MAIL IS DOWN. THE WORLD IS GOING TO END!!!!!"

"Got to get up at 3:28am - we're having an online chat as it's a particularly tricky part."

"I'm not going to work, I've got a solo to write and everyone is waiting for it."

"That would not have happened. Klingons didn't have long ears until half-way through the original series. Can't have that in an Enterprise RP"

Need any more? I could go on...

[Halfwest]

Picky.

www.mespt.com

There is no such thing as a more free-reign Tolkien RPG than this one. TRUST ME. When last seen, there were two Elronds, one of whom was pregnant with Shadowfax's baby. Not that the whole game is insanity. I have an angstpuppet... Gorlim, from the Silmarillion and Lays. He is a VERY angsty little bugger. The whole game is hilarious and LOTS of fun to play.

[Elentari]

Thanks for the caring note, Rob, but I'm afraid I'm already biten.

((And I so know about the 'they haven't posted yet' thing...))

Scribe, I really sympathise with your pain. No wonder you decided to skip LoTR altogether. Leggy is just too darn sexy to be passed by the self-insertions...

((a tad red from remembering a time when I got the self-insertions flowing....))

Since I do not have an 'conventional' RPG table group available, I'd really like to get the next best thing.