Athodd, The Beorning

This is a blog following the adventures of Athodd, the Beorning throughout Middle Earth. 

[meladoodle]

my friend angella was doing a comedy gig, and as soon as she came out a guy shouted ‘can i give you my number?’ and all the crowd groaned cause it was so inappropriate but angella was like ‘yeah sure’. the guy started shouting out his number and she started entering it into her phone. the whole crowd was like woaaah. she got the whole number and then dialled it and it rang. everyone lost their shit. finally the guy answered and angella just said “hello? shut the fuck up” and it was the most incredible thing i’ve ever seen 

[alex-plante]

So some of these details are probably wrong, it happened a long time ago so I don’t remember the specifics leading up, but it was incredible. A friend of mine who does stand up was doing his bit at open mic one night, and a guy was heckling him. Just being a total asshole, and then his phone rang and he started talking loudly on his phone about how he’s at open mic and this guy isn’t funny, etc. Now the weird thing about hecklers is that they just want to be a part of something most of the time, so my friend said, “hey man, what’s your name? Can I see your phone for a second?”

The guy actually handed over his phone, and my friend hung up, and scrolled through his contact list until he found the person he was looking for. He hit dial, and starts.

“Hello? Is this [Name’s] mom? Great! It’s very nice to talk to you. I’m a comedian in the middle of my standup routine, and your son is being very rude, [lists off some of the things her son said]…. hold on, can I get you to repeat that?”

He takes the phone away, puts it in speakerphone and holds it up to the mic.

“I said, I’m sorry my son is being such an asshole.”

Everyone lost it. Fuckin’ destroyed by his own mother. My friend said it was one of his proudest moments ever.

[athodd]

Amdir was being held by the villainous fiend William Skunkwood in his secret hideout teaming with Blackwold Brigands and his foul allies from Angmar! Toradan and Athodd knew that a direct assault would either result in Amdir’s death and/or theirs, therefore they decided upon an ingenious plan to have Athodd infiltrate the not-so-secret hideout and release Amdir before any fighting started. 

Our mighty hero used his ingenuity to persuade the Blackwold’s that he wanted to join them; having lost a fair number in their raid against Archet, they would need new blood. Once accepted into the hideout, Athodd was brought before the depraved William Skunkwood, leader of the Blackwold Brigands.After a tense discussion and final approval by Skunkwood, Athodd was able to sneak off and find poor Amdir;finding the unfortunate Ranger locked in a cell being driven slowly towards evil and corruption after having been stabbed with a Morgul Blade. Upon releasing Amdir, the corruption took hold causing the entire hideout to be alerted to Athodd’s true intentions. Releasing his cover had been blown our magnificent hero drew his Battle Axe, roaring a mighty challenge to the villainous William Skunkwood! Memories of the dead at Archet, the grief of those that survived and the cruel deeds perpetrated by the Blackwolds flashed through Athodd’s mind. A deep rage swelled within our magnificent hero, transforming and changing him into his mighty ancestral bear form! With a savage roar, Athodd slashed and clawed at the foes before him leaving none alive to continue their reign of terror. Once the battle was over, only Athodd stood standing drenched in blood with his enemies laying around him, moving no more.

Yet the sound of battle still echoed throughout the cavern and so our weary hero raced forward seeking his allies but alas he arrived too late to stop the corrupted Amdir plunging a blade into his lifelong comrade Toradan. An echoing maniacal laugh escaping from Amdir’s lips before he disappeared into the shadows.

Despite all his power, Athodd could only hear Toradan’s last words before he breathed his last breath; “Do not blame him, Amdir died in that cell, I was just too foolish to see it”.

[athodd]

After having rested from the previous day’s exploits, our hero continued on his quest to find the mysterious Strider. Luck would have it that Lizbeth Honeymeade, the Comb and Wattle Inn keeper, knew of a guest that might just know a thing or two! 

It was in a back room of that very same Inn that our fledgling hero would find Toradan, a ranger and friend to the mysterious Strider. It was that fateful encounter that placed Athodd on the path towards a terrible battle. Alas both Toradan and Athodd did not know this and in that room begun discussing the events that had unfolded before our hero’s arrival in Archet/Combe. They spoke of Amdir and of the Nazgûls, who had driven the Rangers out of Bree-land felling many of them. The two spoke late into the evening until finally deciding upon a plan of action; Athodd would aid Toradan in rescuing Amdir as who can stand against the ferocity of a Beorning?

[athodd]

Athodd, having arrived in Combe after the escapades of Archet, once again fell back on the age old habit of drinking a flagon of strong cider (after all Beornings are a hardy bunch) in front of a roaring fire. There truly is nothing better than warming your feet after a long day and enjoying a good brew. 

[athodd]

Out of Character (OOC) Information

So just thought I’d let everyone know more information about the Beorning class and LotRO in general.

So LotRO has currently reached the latest update (16) which has released the Osgiliath part of Middle Earth, so all regions are available up to that point (Angmar, Bree-land, Dunland, Gap of Rohan, Nan Curunir (Isengard), Ered Luin, Eregion, Enedwaith, Ettenmoors, Evendim, Forochel, The Lone-lands, The Misty Mountains, The North Downs, The Shire, The Trollshaws, East Rohan, The Great River, Lothlórien, Mirkwood, Moria, West Rohan, Entwood, Wildermore, Eastern Gondor, Central Gondor, Western Gondor and The Dead Marshes). Maximum level is currently 100, however I do believe it’ll stay at that even with future updates as it currently has the last 2 - to try and break the always increasing level stuff. The game is listen as Free to Play however a lot of the areas are “expansion” or “quest” packs which require unlocking through either VIP membership or Turbine Points (store currency). It is possible to grind Turbine Points and unlock all packs for free however most players do a hybrid of grinding and spending money - VIP status does not unlock all areas, expansions still require unlocking. 

Beornings are both a class and a race, which makes them unique. They are also the most recent new class to be released, the last ones were released 2008. This is also why I’ve chosen to roleplay this class/race, as it’s new to me and most people, so should be more fun. Other classes are Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-Master, Minstrel, Rune-Keeper and Warden. The other races are Dwarf, Elves, Hobbits and Man (please note not all classes and races are compatible). 

My current character Athodd is level 9, which hasn’t taken too long, maybe 2 hours of gameplay. He currently uses a Greataxe, medium armour and has about 4 or 5 skills which will increase in power and number over time. Also leveling does slow down over time, like most games, however you can “power level” relatively quickly - especially with events such as double experience point weekends. I’ll be taking my time however and doing what I feel like is fun for both myself and anyone reading this! Once again you can ask me any questions you wish if you’d like to know anything.

[athodd]

Athodd, weary from travel finally arrived at Archet to find it had been attacked by the traitorous Blackwold bandits and their foul allies from Angmar! After vowing to avenge the fallen innocent people, Athodd learned that he had only just missed the town’s saviour, a mysterious man called Strider! The very man Radagast had told him to find. 

However, instead of rushing after the man that he sought, our virtuous hero saw the town of Archet was in need of aid. Removing the surrounding fields of dangerous boar driven mad from a strange disease was but one of the many deeds our beloved hero undertook.

After helping the town as best he could, Athodd decided it was time to find the mysterious Strider, which rumour had it was staying in the nearby village of Combe.

[athodd]

Welcome my friends, to the tale of Athodd, full of adventure, danger and the occasional drunken escapade. 

Who is Athodd I hear you ask? He is the grandson of the great Beorn who was the Savior of the Battle of the Five Armies, friend of Nature and feared by all foul beings of Morgoth! Heralding from such a lineage, a hero he must surely be! Although he was not always the hero of legend he is now, he too was once a boy. 

His childhood was an easy life in the Vales of Anduin and in comparison to others of his race, a gentler soul (although still considered distrustful and gruff to the other races) more in tune with nature than most of his brothers and sisters who preferred prowess in combat. It was this very trait that resulted in Athodd being chosen to fight the rising Darkness by his father Grimbeorn,  So this is where our tale starts, with Athodd leaving home and travelling to Archet at the behest of both the Brown wizard Radagast and his father, Grimbeorn!