The big think tank!

[DM_Kev]

One of the objects of UTT2 is to make it as much the players world as it is those who have worked on it.

So for the holidays, I am planning to produce your blueprints and plans for the world.

Im willing to produce just about anything (within our setup of course) - just show the plans and we will make it.

So come on, give me some work to do! :P

Some things you can produce -

- Item blueprints
- Area layout ideas
- Quest ideas/plans
- NPC setup ideas
- Books
- Descriptions

Item blue prints should go in the thread already set aside for them.

Quest plans or ideas should be as detailed as possible and e-mailed to me to prevent the leaking of spoilers. kev_balmer@hotmail.com

Books/descriptions can be placed in this thread, along with anything else.

Anybody can get involved in this! And its well worth mucking in - it makes the world feel much more personal if you are having an effect on its development. Im hoping lots of you will get involved.

[Prophet7]

This is a book about my UTT1 char and his UTT2 brother...

"The Alethas Twins"

Over a millenium before in the forest of Loren, a young elven maiden named Elenia was told she would never bear a child by the elven priests. She wept alone in the forests, until a wise old druid came upon her in her misery. After hearing her tale he prayed to Yavanna for mercy and recieved a prophecy. She would bear a child if she gave him up to Yavanna in service, and relieved, Elenia agreed on the spot.
Hundreds of years later an elven warrior of Rivendell, Torian Alethas, came to Loren and was enchanted by Elenia's beauty. They soon wed, and bore two children instead of one. Tyrion and Teclis were a miracle, because Elves rarely have children let alone twins. Tyrion was trained in the ways of war by his father in Rivendell, and Teclis left for the Fanghorn forest to keep the oath to Yavanna.
All alone in the forest, young Teclis was attacked by invading orcs. Several dozen surrounded him, and when no hope was left Teclis said his first prayer to Yavanna. The ancient oaks suddenly fell on the orcs and destroyed every single one of them. Into the aftermath strode an enormous ent who took Teclis along and taught him the way of the forest.
And now you can find one of the brothers guarding Rivendell and the other guarding Loren. Always vigilant, they are now two of the many protectors of the elven realm.

[DM_Kev]

*slaps the Player Content Team into gear*

[DM_Olórin]

Type: Crafting Component
Name: Lebethron - A favoured wood of Gondor’s craftsmen

Description: A tree that grew in Gondor; little is known of it, except that it was fair, and beloved by the woodworkers of that land. The staves given by Faramir to Frodo and Sam were made of lebethron wood, as was the casket in which he brought the Crown of Gondor to the coronation of Aragorn.

[DM_Longbeard]

Got Lebethron

Best wod that can be found for crafting

LB

[DM_Olórin]

Always loved the Ents. I can fondly recall how thrilled I was when I discovered them in LOTR for the first time. Thought I'd post a bit of info that might be useful for any expansion of Fangorn as anything other than an area for evils to chop wood. :)
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~ Derndingle - The place of Entmoot ~

A hollow in the south of Fangorn Forest, used by the Ents from time immemorial as the place where they met in Entmoot. In shape it was a wide round depression, surrounded by a dark green hedge of evergreen trees. The hollow itself was clear of trees, except for three tall silver birches that grew in its centre. The name Derndingle is Mannish in origin, from the Old English for 'hidden hollow' - the Ents' own name for their meeting-place was never recorded.
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~ Ent-houses - The dwellings of the Ents ~

The homes of the Ents, which seem to have been as varied in nature as the Ents themselves. Some were relatively large and complex, while others were quite basic in nature. Treebeard maintained several Ent-houses in Fangorn Forest, with the one at Wellinghall including a tree-lined courtyard, furnishings of different kinds, and a rocky bay with a curtain of falling water. Other Ent-houses were rather less ornate: that of Bregalad (the "hasty" Ent, known as Quickbeam), for example, consisted of nothing more than a flat stone surrounded by rowan-trees. One thing that all Ent-houses had in common was a source of fresh water, from which the Ents made the Ent-draughts that were their only sustenance.
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~ Wellinghall - The Ent-house beneath the spring of Entwash ~

One of the Ent-houses of Treebeard, formed by a narrow space in the flanks of Methedras, guarded and flanked by evergreen trees. The roofless 'hall' came to an end in a sheer rock wall, down which flowed a stream welling - hence the name 'Wellinghall' - from the springs of the River Entwash. The stream flowed down the rocky cliff, and fell across the arched entrance to an inner hall, where Treebeard kept his meagre furniture. From there, it flowed between the trees that lined the main space, and on to join again with the main flow of the Entwash.

Wellinghall is best known as the place where Merry and Pippin stayed with Treebeard on the night before Entmoot. It was here that they were first given Ent-draughts by Treebeard, and so grew to become the two tallest Hobbits recorded in the histories of the Shire.
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~ Ent-draughts - The waters of the Ents ~

"Mortals cannot go drinking ent-draughts and expect no more to come of them than a pot of beer."
Words of Gimli from The Return of the King VI 4, The Field of Cormallen

The mysterious and potent waters consumed by the Ents. Though little is known about them in detail, they seem to have been made from river-water, but with a unique and subtle flavour reflecting the Ents' association with trees and forests. Their power of growth was most evident when they were drunk by beings other than Ents: the Ent-draughts taken by Merry and Pippin added three inches or more to their heights, making them the tallest Hobbits in the history of the Shire.

[DM_Olórin]

Another area that would be great to visit would be the Grey Havens. It would be a small cityport on the Gulf of Lhûn. How Elvish we could make it look is open to debate given the limitations of the NWN toolset. Fortunately it doesnt need to be a bustling city, the Grey Wharves, the House/Workshop of Círdan the Shipwright, a merchants or two and a Temple to Ulmo, Ossë and Uinen. I was always rather facinated by Círdan and saw him as wise and skilled, a rather melancholic, less bookish version of Elrond, ever awaiting his time to return finally to the West. If we dont have a book on Círdan yet maybe this stuff could form the basis of one. One bitter-sweet note, now I may be wrong on this, but as with maritime lore the captain is either the last one to abandon his ship or else he goes down with it, Círdan the Shipwright, the keeper of the Grey Havens of Mithlond, may well have been the last Elf to depart for the west out of Middle Earth.
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~ Círdan the Shipwright - The keeper of the Grey Havens of Mithlond ~

A lord of the Teleri in Middle-earth, Círdan was persuaded to remain in Beleriand with some of his people by Ossë when the other Teleri were taken into the West by Ulmo. Lord of the Falas during much of the First Age, he removed to the Isle of Balar after the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. At the end of the First Age, with the destruction of Beleriand, he moved eastwards and founded Mithlond, the Grey Havens, on the Gulf of Lhûn.

He remained in Lindon throughout the Second and Third Ages. Throughout the Second Age, that land was under the direct rule of High King Gil-galad. At the time of the fall of Eregion, Celebrimbor sent two of the Three Rings north to the High King, and Gil-galad in turn passed one of these to Círdan; Narya, the Ring of Fire. At the end of the Second Age, Gil-galad fell in the War of the Last Alliance, leaving Lindon without a ruler. His natural heir would have been Elrond, who had long since removed to Imladris, and so Círdan took on the leadership of the Elves west of the Blue Mountains.

Círdan continued to maintain the havens at Mithlond throughout the Third Age and into the Fourth. When the Wizards arrived in Middle-earth, he perceived that Gandalf was the wisest of them, and gave him the Red Ring to bear in secret. He took an active part in the events of the Third Age, too; it was his mariners, for example, who sought to rescue Arvedui the last King of Arthedain. He was still the master of the Grey Havens at the end of the Age, when he saw the Ring-bearers' White Ship, that he had held in preparation over the long years, pass into the West.
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~ Tol Eressëa - The Lonely Isle ~

Formed in the destruction of the Lamp Illuin in very ancient times, used to transport the Eldar to Aman three ages before the Darkening of Valinor, after which it remained in the Undying Lands. Originally in the middle of the Great Sea, but eventually anchored off the eastern coast of Aman. The Lonely Isle of the Elves of Aman, on which Ulmo brought the Elves to Valinor long ages before the rising of the Sun and Moon, and on which many still dwell within sight of the Blessed Realm in the port city of Avallónë.

The meaning of Eressëa's name, 'lonely island', comes from the later part of its history, after it was anchored alone in the Bay of Eldamar.

The most likely point of departure for Eressëa would be Mithlond (the Grey Havens) as only an Elvish Mariner could reach it. Eressëa would be the furthest west any PC could possibly go without actually reaching the forbidden shores of Aman. Might be nice to see the Elven City of Avallónë. Different houses of Elves could dwell here, Teleri Sea Elves obviously but also visiting Vanyar from Valinor, with what tales they can tell to travellers of that holy city of the Valar. Maiar may walk the streets in mortal guise and perhaps Ulmo himself comes to his coastal temples to make the music of the waves upon his horns of shell.

[DM_Olórin]

Continued...

Illuin and Ormal, the two great lamps made by Aulë to give light to the World in the ancient days when the Valar still dwelt in Almaren. They were overthrown and destroyed by Melkor. Perhaps some remanant of the Light of Illuin could be found in some forgotten place deep within bedrock of Tol Eressëa. This tiny speck of Elder Magic, could be necessary to create some weapon or protective device to fend of or forestall fome evil.

[Argon Balros]

i have an idea that will add to the atmosphere of the game the nwn toolset is limited at what it can produce so alot of the time we have to use alot of imagination in order to get into the game and i have an idea that will really help guide our imaginations and that idea is.

Area Descriptions, as you enter a zone you could recive a message with a description of what you can see, a message givving a desription could also me triggered when you enter a certain part of an area. i think this concept would work at is best when aproaching a city where you would be able to see it from some distance away, so perhaps as you aproach minas tirith you could get the description you are given from the book. i must confess i've not read the book and have'nt spent much time with the nwn toolset as it is not available for the mac but from what i have gathered from playing the game for several years this sugestion will be possible.

i am sure this idea would greatly add to the atmospere of the game aswell as adding another aspect to rp about and would also help greatly in the education of players.

[ghost81]

If this can be done I know that meself and probably certain others would be willing to write afore-mentioned descriptions

[DM_Longbeard]

I like the sound of the grey havens... perhaps a place where old characters can be 'retired' to... then theres the whole rp aspect of leaving ME and all those friends you travelled with... I know some of my pre-wipes characters.. ( and i dont mean when i was in nappies ) would have wanted to retire in such a way...

LB

[DM_Olórin]

Aye LB we could see elves from the old mod that arent making a come back at Mithlond, waiting for the last of the grey ships, in the same way that Dun and Dargo are ensconced in the Anvil...

Its far enough away from the troubles of other lands (as near to the west as you can be without leaving ME, Lindon excepted) it would be cool to have it literally as a haven of tranquility for characters who cant be bothered to tear around beating stuff up ALL the time :) A few "peaceful" quests maybe, or a means of honing intellectual skills would be nice - not sure what that would entail though...

It could be a point of departure for esoteric quests to more mystical places. Anywhere an enchanted vessel could sail to. might make for a nice change of mood...

[Prophet7]

I like that idea Olorin. The Grey Havens could take you to higher level "Tolfalas" or "Himling" type quests, and give freedom to come up with more creative quests. Maybe a quest to an island that is left over from the destruction of Numenor, a little strip of land that didn't sink into the sea. And for the peaceful quests, maybe several riddles and puzzle quests that makes your mind work and not your fingers.

[DM_Olórin]

have a look in the gondor/mordor thread i think youll find a bit on meneltarma...

[Ptolomy]

Having an area for Mithlond would be great. As mention above it could serve as a place for elven characters to be "retired" to as NPCs, as peaceful safe haven for pure RP and a port from which to catch ships for other quests.
Perhaps it could also be a port from which to catch ships to Forochel, Tharbad and Pelagir at an appropriate cost of course.
Some ideas for quests to be taken from Mithlond (both peaceful and dangerous ones):
> Cirdan's messenger - take messages to Rivendell and Lorien
> Timber supply - prevent neighbouring humans from overlogging the local forests and thus threatening the timber supply to Mithlonds ship yards. As in Nob's quest the leader of the loggers could be either persuaded, intimidated or forced into compliance.
> Lore pop-quiz - on striking up a conversation with a local loremaster, he offers to tell some tales and allows the player to pick which one they want to hear. At some point in the tale he asks the player a question about the story. The player is presented with several options and if they make a successful lore check one of these is the correct answer. The lore check could get progressively harder in each tale. This would be a fun way for players to learn about or the tales of ME's glorious past. As many players may well know the answers it would also give these the chance to have their characters interact with the tales that form such an integral part of JRRT's creation and reward those that choose to spend their precious skill points on Lore (no self-interest here I promise!) :)

[Prophet7]

Tom Bombadil. He was cut from the books for the movies, and I really think Tolkien thought he was an integral part of the story. I don't know what quest it could include, but I think he was important and shouldn't be overooked.

[GammaGm]

Of the Istari that came to M.E. there were Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast and "two blue wizards". The two blue wizards head way out into the east somewhere, beyond the sea of Rhun, beyond where the Wainriders pilliage and Easterlings roam free.

I heard rumors that old Utt1 had a DM only accessible area for DM quests. DM only invite quests might encourage loyalty and interest (well not to mention being plagued by players who want to go there).

DM invite only areas could also be tweaked between adventures in terms of placement, monster types, treasures, traps and all that lovely stuff that makes for unique gaming.

Now that would be loads of fun and DMs could use those areas to reward RP or whatever.