This is to introduce my husband’s (currently) only LOTRO character (you can see my characters Th, L, and E at these links).
Although my husband, Christopher, has been playing video games a lot longer than I have (a bit more successfully than any attempts I’ve made previously), he keeps so busy that we never thought he’d sign up for anything like this. He rarely even attempts games that are nowhere near as involved as something like LOTRO. Heck, for the longest time, he barely watched TV and movies. We were (and still are, for the most part) painfully behind on watching even the few things we want to see.
So when he signed up for LOTRO and started building his dwarf, I was very excited.
I’m sure part of that was we had been playing a Middle Earth-style RPG, keeping rules loose and just having fun since it was the two of us. Of course, it takes time to build even basic things, and with him being so busy time between gaming took longer and longer.
LOTRO made it easy to “escape” to Middle Earth much quicker. So it was a great idea!
Meet B, the Dwarf
B is a dwarf, obviously, and brother to Th. He is also a Champion. I can’t remember, but I think he went with the red tree trait. His attacks are a little different than Th’s. He has had a variety of weapons, but tends to use two (one in each hand), along with a bow or a crossbow. In fact, Th is waiting for B to decide what level 50 Guild weapon/s he wants. He’s just been too busy to get back on that. Ha!
He has a sweet face, doesn’t he? Just like my hubby!
B is always wearing a hooded cloak or something covering his hair. But he actually has fairly long hair!
Another not-so-fashion-oriented Dwarf
B tends to take after his brother as far as outfits go, but I suspect it’s because I haven’t had the chance to show him too much with cosmetic outfits and the wardrobe. Plus, he was trying to focus on buying enough storage for all the stuff he needs to use (and all my characters continually send him).
Enjoying a pipe with his brother, Th, in the Shire. This would have been fairly early on in B’s adventuring.
A cheerful and playful Dwarf
Unlike his grumpy brother, B is a little more high-spirited and is always interested in running around. He can regularly be found jumping up and down, climbing on things, or… well… let’s just say he’s also got a love of the water. He usually attempts swimming in just about every body of water he comes across (his favorite seems to be the backstroke). Everyone is worried he will go for a dip in the Black Pool outside of Moria. There’s just no stopping him.
“Ach, Brother! You’ll scare the fish!” B finds it hard to resist checking out the water, apparently.
He misses his “girlfriend”
Although B had fun adventuring with his brother, he especially enjoyed running with the elf L, and they seemed to have a little something going on between them. They would attend some festivals, fireworks, and concerts together. A nice way to relax without even having to fight and quest — yet the two of them did quite well together with their different fighting styles. And L seemed to relate well to B’s silly sense of humor, even if Th and their friend thought something wasn’t quite right with him.
This is what our friend arrived to see in the kinhouse one day. I wish I still had my screenshot, showing her character’s arrival to these two passed out at the table covered in ale. 😉 (yes, her character laughed when he saw us.)
B doesn’t look too excited about the snowman he built during the Yule Festival. He’s not really into festivals, apparently.
L enchanting B with a song on the lute, while they wait for their friend to arrive in the Misty Mountains.
Crafting, always crafting
B also has the prospecting skills that L and Th have, but he uses different ore for another craft: jewelry! I think it’s actually referred to as a tinkerer, but the main items seem to be jewelry and tokens (these are slotted to improve skills and stats — I don’t think they really show up cosmetically like weapons and armor, unless I’ve missed something).
Yet another forge screencap. Apparently our characters all practically live in front of the forge. 😉
At least he can make some interesting jewelry with what he mines!
One of the crafts B needs to work on a little more is cooking. Amusing fact: Christopher is actually the cook at our home. I can cook, but it never fails… somehow he ends up “pushing” me out of the kitchen (it’s a small kitchen) and taking over. So I usually just let him do it. Plus he likes peace and quiet so he can focus and get the sequence right without me distracting him. 😉 No complaints from me, however! I get the chance on occasion to cook by myself when he’s away, and he’s a good cook anyway! Yum!
I’m actually hoping to help him soon with the cooking skills. I logged on as B to get a screencap of him cooking, because Christopher forgot to send me one, and I know my scholar E can grow many of the things he needs. The rest he can buy. The good news is I think a lot of leveling can be done simply by continued processing of what E gives him. For example, taking the grain she gives him to make flour, make a pie crust, make the pie filling, then make the pie. I love when crafting allows you to work like that, especially if the resources are fairly easy to get. I can understand why he gets frustrated though. He needs to organize his inventory better, and it can be hard to hunt for everything (not everything is under the same folder, so there is a lot of looking going on for those steps/recipes).
Cooking at the oven. B needs to get to that craft soon. E has been farming, and a lot of the produce is taking up valuable storage space!
Current location
B is currently in Echad Dúnann in Eregion with my elf E, working on quests building up to Moria. Gaming has slowed down quite a bit, as Christopher has so much to do with his job (lots of overtime/deadlines/events) and his creative projects. He can’t wait to step foot in Moria, though!
B standing on the table in his house. Thanks for reading!
The next, and last of the LOTRO intro posts, will be a brief mention of one of my friend’s characters.
