Minas Vrun: A LOTRO Kinship

A developing roleplaying kinship that is centered around the concept of a kingdom in the North Downs

[minasvrun-blog]

For those wondering where Minas Vrun is, it's right where the "you are here" marker. The most direct route is taking the North to South road in Bree and head North. After passing through Trestlebridge, start looking for an intersection that will take you right. Take the right and keep going until your computer notifies you that you are now in Minas Vrun, it should be the ruins on the left. If you are coming from Esteldin, just go on the East to West path and it will be on the right. There is a horse stop not too far off and several campfires surrounding it. 

[minasvrun-blog]

For those interested

I am on LOTRO: Landroval right now in Bree-Town. If anyone wishes to come meet up, I'll be at the boar statue with the name Fieren

[minasvrun-blog]

Rules

No Godmodding, Mary-Stu/Gary-Stu characters

Characters must be active for at least a week, been to Minas Vrun, and have read the rules in order to become a full-time member.

All potential members must be interviewed in a roleplay setting, regardless of status with other members.

Officers can be declared after a unanimous vote is placed by the Council.

Officers can be nominated at specific times that are indicated by the Council and can be nominated by any member of the kinship.

Those who wish to be an Officer must send a letter to Fieren stating why they believe they should be an Officer. These can only occur when the Council has officially stated their search.

All disputes between members must be reported to Fieren immediately. An investigation will be launched. Screenshots are preferable of the alleged inappropriate behavior as well as a description of the events. A proper trial or peer mediation must be held before serious decisions can be made.

Officers are not allowed to delete members under any circumstances. There must be an approval from Fieren first.

Be kind to others, this kinship is only as fun as we try to make it.

Swearing is allowed, unless is detracts from the overall conversation or is used towards another person in an inappropriate manner.

All new members must declare their profession in the “tater message” to Fieren.

All new members must read the rules, which they will prove by sending Fieren an interesting story about taters.

All members must show intentions of improving their roleplay skills.

Players must roleplay at least once a month in order to continue being a member.

No chatspeak under any circumstances.

Side characters are allowed as long as they are active members of the community as well.

All dramatic events must be pre-approved by all characters involved (marriage, death, children, etc).

All mature dialogues must be done in private (fellowship chat, IM, etc).

Characters are allowed to be good or evil.

Children can grow at an accelerated rate or at a normal pace, depending on the preference of the characters involved.

Under no circumstances can characters have a backstory that closely resemble the opening quests.

All members must be active in Minas Vrun periodically. Safety should not be a reason for a lack of attendance.

Members should strive to reach level 30, but it is not necessary, unless they plan to enroll into the Militia.

Bands are free to play at anytime on the stage in the Main Square or in the tavern as long as they do not play Nickelback or Daughtry.

All suggestions can be sent to any member of the Council, but the most direct way is if they are sent to Fieren.

Amendments can be made with a majority ruling from the Council.

[minasvrun-blog]

The Lore of Minas Vrun

The Kingdom of Minas Vrun is home to several of the descendants of Arnorians, but the blood relation is so thin, that they tend to only live to a few short years over 100. For the most part, the Kingdom is a melting pot of other cultures as Elves, Dwarves, Hobbits, and Men are able to co-mingle. Names, like the culture, tend not to hold similar naming conventions as they are often taken from ancestors of previous generations that are well respected. Last names can come from either partner in the relationship, depending on which one has a higher status. Last names also derive from previous generations as they pay tribute to the most respected name in the family bloodline.

The government is a monarchy that uses the assistance of the Council, which is made up of associates that prove most knowledgeable in their field. Trials are run by both the Council and the Queen. There are few checks and balances between them, the only one being that the Queen has the right to remove any Council member that seems unfit for the job, while the Council has the right to remove the Queen from her position if they come to a unanimous vote. Once a month, the Queen opens her doors to the people to allow the people to inform her of their troubles in order for her to gain a better understanding of the people.

Folklore is a crucial part to the Kingdom’s culture as they offer relief from the already difficult lives of the Vrunians. One can find their folklore in the spectacular plays, songs, poetry, or stories. Most of which, are recorded in their extensive library which has texts that date back to towards the end of the Second Age. History is crucial to the Kingdom because it is one thing that unifies every single Vrunian. For all of the people suffer from a long past that was tainted by war and upheaval.

The people of Minas Vrun are often described as pleasant people that take great pride in their Kingdom and praise it over all others. They are stubborn, strong-willed sorts that are not afraid to speak their minds or defend the ones they love. They believe in fighting for a just cause, which often suggests that they believe in equal rights for all.

Minas Vrun also plays host to the Drunken Doe, a small tavern on the East Wall where legend has it that a doe was once found near the building drinking from a passed out man’s ale, giving the tavern its charming name. At the tavern, one can find excellent food and ale imported across many lands, which has been thought to ward off trolls, as not once has the Kingdom been attacked by a troll. Major exports of Minas Vrun are livestock, hides, silver ore, honey, and silver ore. Since the kingdom was once a ruin, there are plenty of artifacts for scholars to ponder upon.

Protecting the Kingdom is the Royal Militia of Minas Vrun. These highly skilled warriors often fight with land assaults, using their class guerilla warfare tactics. They can be identified by their bright green cloaks and white trousers. Higher ranking officers are marked by the gold that intertwines with the green on their cloaks. Recruits are often assigned to a Master in their field, who sends them on missions in order to improve their skills so that they can properly fight against those who wish to penetrate the Kingdom’s Borders.

The Colors of Minas Vrun are green, gold, and white, which are proudly worn by its people. The green represents fortitude, the gold represents fertility and the white represents freedom, all of which are important virtues held by the Vrunians. Their crest is of a large spruce tree with golden roots and a large white background.

[minasvrun-blog]

The History of Minas Vrun

  Minas Vrun is a small Kingdom that stands between Trestlebridge and Esteldin in the North Downs. Overlooking the Fields of Fornost, this land has seen many oddities over the last few ages. It was in 3322 of the Second Age, that the Kingdom of Minas Vrun was founded by the Great King, Elendil, who used the land as a colony, due to its rich exports in potatoes and livestock. Yet, with the death of Elendil in 3441 came the wicked oppression of the small land as the King of Arnor began to demand more and more of the people of Minas Vrun. It was on the fourth year of the Third Age that Rayeth, the Benevolent, was able to conjure hope in the colonists’ hearts and lead a revolt against the Arnorians. For several months, the war seemed tedious as more and more of Rayeth’s men died from the slice of a sword or the frigid air of the North Downs’ winter. Yet, when the blood covered snow melted with the spring, so did their losing streak as the Kingdom was able to fend off the Arnorian people and establish a treaty that allowed Minas Vrun to act as its own Kingdom. While Minas Vrun often claims their victory was due to their brute strength, it was more likely due to the Arnorians’ weak leadership that was slowly causing the Arnorian Kingdom to collapse upon itself.

Despite their bitter dispute, the two Kingdoms happily allied with each other. While the Arnorian Kingdom began to fall, the Kingdom of Minas Vrun quickly rose up as they place Rayeth the Benevolent as their king, starting the beginning of the Golden Age as Scholars were able to discover new ways of thinking and beliefs, musicians began to construct more and more complex pieces, and a handsome folklore was formed around the Kingdom’s great accomplishments. For over a thousand years, the Kingdom lived happily as they were hardly ever under attack, or in any great danger. Yet, when the Witch-King established his home in Angmar, the Kingdom began to focus less on the arts and more on protecting itself. Fighting in both the First and Second Northern War, the Kingdom of Minas Vrun was able to hold its own fairly well, but their exports were deteriorating due to their over-farming of the land. So when the Third Northern War struck, the Kingdom was hardly prepared.

On the night of the Winter Festival in 1973 of the Third Age, the Kingdom fell to a rather large horde of orcs as they slaughtered the masses, leaving very few to flee from their clutches, which included the young Queen Ellashyl, who was only 5 at the time. The refugees fled to the South, where they were protected by the people of Bree. As she aged, Ellashyl fought to regain the Kingdom for over a hundred years and died a failure. She was, however, able to continue on the family name. For eight generations, the Noble family strived to regain Minas Vrun. In the ninth generation, the Kingdom was claimed once more and slowly rebuilt over several years. Now begins the tenth generation of the Noble family as Fieren ascends the throne after the sickness of her mother.

[minasvrun-blog]

Well! Here we are, the final hours before Minas Vrun becomes the home of our new kinship! Meet Feoswyth! Our lovely bartender of the Drunken Doe (Just behind the wall in the second and third picture). With preparations quickly being made in the last few days, our sense of humor has hardly died out. We're excited for the road ahead as we try to build a real community. 

Tomorrow, expect to see shameless posts spread across Bree-Town and other lands, welcoming people to join us at the Drunken Doe for fine an ales and food. During this time, we will accept interviews with others in order to find quality members. Our goal is not to be a huge kinship, but to be a good kinship! 

See you all tomorrow!

[minasvrun-blog]

Launching!

Mark it on your calendar that Minas Vrun (name still pending) will be launching this Friday! 

Rules, plot ideas, and whatever else hits my brain will be posted that day!

I am super excited to start this and I thank all of the people that have shown interest. The adventure has just begun!

[minasvrun-blog]

Welcome to Minas Vrun!

This large ruin can be found just outside the Field of Fornost lies this little known secret. With few spawning low-level creatures and no related quests, this land is full of potential for the kinship! 

The best way to describe it is to ask you to imagine Ost Guruth, but with no NPCs. There is plenty of opportunity to create an awesome kingdom with space for a tavern, market days, studies, and so much more!

I am still looking for people interested in joining. We will be starting up very, very soon!

[minasvrun-blog]

Ready... Set... Stop?

Alright guys!

So glad to see that there is some interest! I want to keep you all updated on everything that is going so far as this is the official blog for this developing kinship. 

The reason I'm waiting is not only because of the fact that I want some more momentum before I jump into this thing, but because of the fact that I am trying to get to level 60 before I can do anything else. This is due to my idea that I will need to dedicate myself to the kinship 100% so that we can make this the best kinship to rule them all! 

The other thing I want to consider is a name for the kinship. Minas Vrun is cool and all, but why not be adventurous? If you have an idea for an interesting kinship name, reblog with an answer.

Pictures to come of our kingdom!

[minasvrun-blog]

The Pitch

Hey guys!

I'm creating this blog to get an idea of the potential interest would be if I created a kinship on Landroval on LOTRO. 

The basic idea is that this RP kinship will take place in a large set of ruins in the North Downs. In these ruins lie unlimited opportunities for roleplaying as the place is hardly inhabited by any creatures and has some great structure to it. The ruins would probably be based upon a Monarchy with a parliament of sorts. 

In this kingdom of sorts, people can live abnormally amazing lives that are based around a stationed community. Become a warrior, a bartender, a scholar, a healer, a merchant, a thief, or whatever comes to mind... the possibilities are literally endless!

I have a lot of ideas that I am willing to put forth to make the area feel more like a kingdom. My first idea that I briefly hinted at above is the idea of a tavern, which can easily fit into the architecture. I am open to suggestions on names, but this tavern would function a lot like the Prancing Pony, but be virtually troll free (as it would take way too much effort on the troll's part). The other idea I was thinking would work well in this kingdom is a form of army, which would have easy to use fighting grounds, walls to guard, and raids. 

For events that could occur in Minas Vrun, one could see:

Camp fire nights- for character development and great storytelling

Parties- themed and not! 

Concerts- where bands can play to their hearts content

Farmers' Market- where crafters can sell their goods for a reasonable price

Brawls- where warriors can challenge each other in the pits in order to see who is victorious.

I am more than open to suggestions and ideas, although I am not planning on immediately making Officers because that tends to be asking for trouble. If you are interested in joining, reblog this to let me know what your character's name is. And if you have roleplayed before, but never on Lord of the Rings Online, the game is free as well as the download, it is worth the time, trust me! http://signup.lotro.com/lotro.php?ftui=LOTROWeathertopHC&cl=75&hf=0&abrs=729_1374872844&interstitial=true