Scenario: LA.com in Middle Earth

[frigidmagi]

mean, come on! I post here a lot! What does that say about my skillsets?

You have good hand eye coordination and lousy time management skills?

[Elheru Aran]

mean, come on! I post here a lot! What does that say about my skillsets?

You have good hand eye coordination and lousy time management skills?

Precisely the reason he needs a DI hollering in his face!

[Comrade Tortoise]

I would note that even with superior weapons and fortifications, the enemy, namely sauron's and saruman's forces will attack us en-masse. We simply would not have the manpower to defend ourselves with the loadout given.

This is why the scientific branch will go about with the creation of gunpowder. I can synthesize saltpeter and charcoal easily enough with the chopping down of the surrounding forest, I should be able to find a source of sulfur. WIth this, I can create shrapnel grenades,cannons, and the like. More to come as I think of ideas

[Elheru Aran]

I would note that even with superior weapons and fortifications, the enemy, namely sauron's and saruman's forces will attack us en-masse. We simply would not have the manpower to defend ourselves with the loadout given.

We have 18+ years. Sauron is sitting tight in Mordor, building up his forces; Saruman is doing the same in Orthanc, making nice with Sauron and generally dicking about. We have plenty of time to build up our forces with local auxilaries/allies.

This is why the scientific branch will go about with the creation of gunpowder. I can synthesize saltpeter and charcoal easily enough with the chopping down of the surrounding forest, I should be able to find a source of sulfur. WIth this, I can create shrapnel grenades,cannons, and the like. More to come as I think of ideas

What do you think I've been suggesting all through the past thread or so?

[Comrade Tortoise]

I would note that even with superior weapons and fortifications, the enemy, namely sauron's and saruman's forces will attack us en-masse. We simply would not have the manpower to defend ourselves with the loadout given.

We have 18+ years. Sauron is sitting tight in Mordor, building up his forces; Saruman is doing the same in Orthanc, making nice with Sauron and generally dicking about. We have plenty of time to build up our forces with local auxilaries/allies.

This is why the scientific branch will go about with the creation of gunpowder. I can synthesize saltpeter and charcoal easily enough with the chopping down of the surrounding forest, I should be able to find a source of sulfur. WIth this, I can create shrapnel grenades,cannons, and the like. More to come as I think of ideas

What do you think I've been suggesting all through the past thread or so?

We also have 18+ years to build a well designed concentric fortress around our main base :)

Still local allies and auxiliaries in that area are limited. We might be able to enlist the eagles, but there isnt much in the misty mountains bot goblins and giants, last time I checked.

[Elheru Aran]

Oh yeah, righto. Myself. -headsmack-

Ahem. I'm experienced with oxyactelene welding, arc welding, and MiG welding; I'm sure this base would have at least one of these available. I'm also a dab hand with a forge and grinding wheel, so I could churn out some blade weapons of adequate quality if needed.

I'm a decent shot; probably be better with regular practice.

Some hand-to-hand skills, I'd trust myself with a staff more than with my hands actually, or a spear. I wouldn't mind learning how to handle a sword, though.

Hmm... Oh, and I'm a dab hand at calligraphy; if provided with a text in English script, I could churn out copies in both Quenya and Sindarin Elvish, as well as Cirth. Might be useful for treaties and the like.

Ah, forgot-- I'm also a semi-skilled carpenter as well. I can handle a hammer without bashing my thumb, swing an axe, saw, frame houses, build tables, that kind of thing.

As for the rest... I can learn. :)

[Rogue 9]

Okay, if we're where Lindar puts us, we might actually be able to influence the Dunlendings before Saruman gets around to it, which would drastically take the pressure off of Rohan. Remember, in the novel it was the Dunland men who were putting most of the pressure on the Mark; the Uruk-Hai weren't wasted in raiding farms.

[Elheru Aran]

I'd rather we were in the Emyn Muil. We could perhaps take over the old watchtower, or its remains, upon Sarn Gebir. The Seeing-Seat would be quite helpful...

[Charon]

My own skills are varyed, I'm a pretty good shot with a gun and have some (read, almost none) experience with a bow. My melee skills could be easily dealt with as I doubt they're up to par. And I've got some skill in carpentry.

My big contribution would probably be diplomat. I'm a very good speaker and am good at articulating ideas.

Personally I'd say our biggest thing at first, over autonomy and even getting set up is getting friendly like with the locals. You can bet Sauron and Saruman are going to be spying on us every chance they get, might even send out rumors about how we are new threats to Middle Earth. You can bet Rohan would be very wary of us and distrustful, especially if we're within their territory and start building a fort without their permission.

[Rogue 9]

If we're in Emyn Muil, we would very likely bring the eye of Sauron on us, and hence to Sam and Frodo's path. Not to mention that we'd kill our vehicles trying to get around in those hills.

[frigidmagi]

I would have to push for foot patrols anyways.

[Elheru Aran]

I would have to push for foot patrols anyways.

And that brings up another point. Hummers are all very nice and good... but what happens when they run out of fuel?

I would strongly recommend saving the Hummers for battle situations; while they're nice to have, it would be pointless to waste fuel running about the place in them when we'll definitely need them a few years in the future.

Remedy: Horses, obviously. Trade simple guns, some ammo, and a modicium of training to the Rohirrim for mounts. Build some wagons as well for those of us who don't ride and for cargo.

[Hotfoot]

I'm in the top 45, but assuming I somehow got in...

Much as I enjoy physics, I suspect my skills with handling animals and medicine would be most useful. I'd make a halfway decent field medic, and I'm decent at fixing and making things. I'm a decent shot with a long gun and a bow, but my melee skills amount to "crush things with a mace" or hand to hand brawling.

When it comes to the Rohirrim, we'd have to find a way to either prevent Grima from getting the ear of the King, or excise him before Gandalf does in the books. Showing him as a traitor would generate an assload of good faith, and most likely get us support on that end, as well as an early asset to take out Saruman's forces, or at least lessen them over time. Minas Tirith is problematic, but if we can make an ally of Boromir, and prevent him from dying, we may have a strong ally there as well.

The big factor is Gandalf. No doubt once we show up and word of our presence has reached him, we won't have to seek him out, he'll come to us. Early on, he should be the ONLY person we tell about the Ring. He's the only person we can trust. Nobody should even mention who's got it, where it is, and so on, not even to each other. I think that Rivendell and Lothlorien are the only two valid meeting points to discuss such things. Anywhere else could be watched by the Dark Lord or by Saruman, and we will be making quite a fuss by showing up when we do, even if we are only a few dozen strong.

The Ents are tricky. They may stay neutral, they may get hostile towards us if we start felling too many trees. If the Ents come after us, we could be in trouble.

Next up is the Elves. Might be easy if we've got Gandalf's backing, but otherwise, showing up unannounced is an easy way to get set back early on. If we encounter the elves before Gandalf, we should tell them what's up. Problem is, they'll be less likely to believe us, which could lead to...complications.

Dwarves are going to be next to impossible to make dealings with, most of them being very far away from the proposed starting location, off in the Iron Hills. We can expect roughly zero support from them.

We will also need some sort of sedative or disabling device, in order to deal with people who might become susceptable to the ring's influence. If we're going to escort Frodo/Bilbo at all, we need some way to prevent a Boromir event. We all know it's possible, so we should plan for it, even if we're all strong "willed".

Frankly, I don't trust either the Rohirrim or the humans of Minas Tirith with the gravity of the situation, not right away at least. They're too damn greedy. We need to keep them in the dark until it's either too late or it's all over.

[Dark Silver]

Given the scenario gives us 18 years to prepare, that should give us enough leadtime, no matter the location of the base, to make some headway into Middle Earth.

First things first, my loadout for this particular scenario, a m1911 .45 caliber semi-auto pistol for my sidearm. It's decently weighty, hardy, and powerful. I'm used to firing .45's from my time with the local Sherrif's office. My "main" will be a bolt action military issue rifle, with reloadable clip, similar to the ones used in the FMJ movie (the one Gomer Pyle shot himself and the Drill Sargent with), can never remember thier name, appropriatly modified to use the ammunition we have available. Reason for this is aside from the weight, I'm familiar with bolt action rifles and "clip feed" rifles, from hunting and target practice in my younger days. Thus I have some familiarity with my basic loudout. my backpack would have consumables for both firearms for a minimum of three days "scouting".


First priority is to secure us a perimeter around the base. Then realieze that the base is to large for our small force to properly manage, much less utliaze at 100% efficiency, that is after exploring the base and finding all our cool "new toys". We would need to establish some form of command structure, idealy basing it on Modern Military command, or using a Council structure. I give a six months to a year for us to settle this out, without killing each other.

Basically, our first year needs to run down like this: Secure Perimeter, secure alternate food stores, seeing as the Base's Galley and MRE supplies can't possibly sustains us for 18 years. Find alternate means of transportation, those Hummers will burn up fuel excessivly quick, and we should only use them in dire emergencies. Likewise with the bullets, aside from out perimeter defenses, we have a limited supply of ammo, we can't wait it in hunting game, and we will need meat for our diet. Thus we start learning to use bows and arrows, hunting by snare and traps, etc. We also need to figure out ways to keep our morale up.

Get ourselves sorted and start training, with our Military trained members putting us through the drills (FM, B4, Knife just to name a few).

Beyond that, get in contact with Gandalf, inform him of the Ring if possible, but not mention who has it, just incase Sauron or Saruman has noticed us and is spying. We need to get intouch with the Elves, eventually try to get in touch with the Dwarves; that'll be hard to do do considering thier in the Lonely Mountain and the Iron Hills.

Beyond that, get ourselves ready for a war....train a militia if possible aqugment ourselves from the local populace, etc.

Weapons, we'd need to look into chemical weapons. Mustard Gas, I wouldn't suggest anything more, VX would last to long and be to dangerous, and I'd personally stay away from biological agents, it's possible it could come back to bite us in the ass, except for maybe Anthrax.


That's all I can think of at the moment.

[Hotfoot]

I disagree. We should tell him who has it, but only when in the protection of Rivendell or Lothlorien. Elrond and Galadriel are both of sufficent power to withstand the scrying of Saruman and Sauron. Eventually we have to assume that Saruman will discover the ring's location and owner, and with us thrown in the mix, it may be sooner rather than later. While 18 years prior to the books may not leave him with the same level of power he'd have early on, he could still act. Big question is, would he? Does anyone know at what point Saruman turns? If he only turned ten years beforehand, our inclusion might make him an ally.

In any case, the sooner we can get the ring and the bearer to the safety of the Elves, the better. Part of the conflict in the books was that it took so long to discover where the ring was, meanwhile Sauron was amassing his forces.

Simply by arriving as early as we do, we can affect massive change on the situation. If it were only eighteen months, we'd be in a much harder position, but we could probably still pull it off if we hauled ass.

[Dark Silver]

Ou rarrival would change things, but only when we're discovered, if we try to lay low for as long as we can, cultivate and solidify our "powerbase", and try to manipulate events before the Two Towers get thier shit together, we can do something.

The key is not being noticed by the baleful Eyes. The last thing we want to have is even a weaker Mordorian Horde knock on our door while we're trying to get sorted.

I would still hesistate on informing Gandalf and the others on who had the Ring, we know Bilbo was being affected by it, after all, he had been in possession of it for awhile, and was hesistant to give it up, even to Frodo, after his 111th birthday. It took a act of Gandalf to make it so.

Also, I wouldn't want any of us to take possession of the Ring. It HAD to stay with the Hobbits, thier the only race who seems at least partially resistant to it's corrupting effects. It's been proven even a brief time in it's presence is corruptive to human beings.

Until we get our shit together, and we, ourselves, are prepped for a attack on the Black Gate, would we tell Elrond and Gandalf (if we've made contact and good relations with them). and even then, only after we've managed to extract Bilbo/Frodo (depending on how long it takes for us to get out shit in gear) ourselves via fast movers and taken him to Rivendell for protection, thus forgoing the problem with losing Frodo, Sam Perrie and Pippin and thier chase by the Nazgul, or that nasty bit with Weathertop.

Though, if we're able to choose the location of our base, we could choose Weathertop itself as our base, though it'd put us a great deal more conspicious and bring the Two Tower's attention to us sooner.

[Hotfoot]

Mordor would have a hell of a time getting to us at the base site drawn on the map as is. Closest would be Isengard, and 18 years prior it's questionable what sort of forces Saruman would have for himself.

Laying low simply isn't an option past the first month or two. We cannot make allies and remain covert. We will have strange clothes and weapons, and the tales will spread unless we kill everyone who sees us.

The sooner Gandalf knows who has the ring, the sooner we can get it out of harm's way. Security by obscurity is no good in this case, the longer we wait, the worse it gets. If we can assess the situation, it's entirely possible that 18 years prior we could fight our way through Mordor, if we had the aid of enough allies. Heck, if we can do a covert insertion of the Hobbits with the Ring in Mount Doom, we could end this inside of a year of arrival.

Honestly, I think our best base of operation would be with Galadriel. Puts us forward enough to start making allies of the elves and the humans right off, and if we can make a deal for her rations, we can do extended recon or deployments.

[Dark Silver]

If we move to quickly, we may have a entirely new set of problems coming to bear though. If we strike within a year of our arrival, we face the majority of our team with bare minimal skills, not enough for us to do anything but get slaughtered.

We have to approach this, if we must, with a minimum five year plan of action. We need to stay covert as long as we can, stay off the radar, as it where, and then strike when it'll be most oppurtune. We have a finite amount of time and consumables, and we need to balance off when it'll be the best time for us to strike, as to when thigns will begin to snowball out of our control and Saruman and Sauron are in league.

[Comrade Tortoise]

As for my own personal skills, I am OK with European melee weapons, and can make chainmail easily enough. I am good with chemistry and organismic biology, and am familiar with the design of medieval fortifications and may be useful as a seige engineer of sorts.

Also with more useless things I have a command over social sciences:)

[Rogue 9]

First things first, my loadout for this particular scenario, a m1911 .45 caliber semi-auto pistol for my sidearm.

Our ammunition is all 9mm and .40. Yeah, I wanted .45 ACP too, but it wasn't on the list.

[Dark Silver]

yes, but you can also bring stuff in a backpack, thus why I'm bringing pistol ammo.

[Rogue 9]

You know, it occurs to me: We could act to stop Wormtongue from preventing Rohan from acting against Isengard. If his treachery is revealed early, before Saruman can start to enchant Theoden, then Rohan could suppress Isengard before it became a threat.

[Charon]

As for my own personal skills, I am OK with European melee weapons, and can make chainmail easily enough.

You realize, of course, how god awful long that can take, right? Let's leave it to the professionals.

As I see it, we've got 18 years, lets use most of it. Our only real objective is to get the ring there as safe as we can. Laying low is not only going to cause more problems in the long run. We want to be the ones to make contact with the people of Middle Earth, not the other way around. If Middle Earth finds us, and we look militaristic, chances are every single one is gonna put us on the 'Take them out or at the very least do not trust them with an alliance.' list.

[Cynical Cat]

You know, it occurs to me: We could act to stop Wormtongue from preventing Rohan from acting against Isengard. If his treachery is revealed early, before Saruman can start to enchant Theoden, then Rohan could suppress Isengard before it became a threat.

Problem: his scummyness is recognized early by others, but he has the King's ear. Removing him should definitely by on the agenda, but will be tricky.

[Dark Silver]

if nessacry, we could resort to assassination to remove Wormtongue, try to get him away from the King and the court, but a bullet into him, or try to make it look like a "native" took him out....