Post by brendur on Oct 20, 2009 16:28:49 GMT -5
((Also >.> I was unsure where to stick this, so if this doesn't work Ceallian, feel free to move it.))
Before I start off here, I’d like to set my intentions with this little write up in plain view, just in case. I do not view myself as a writer greater than or even equal to what Tolkien managed to achieve. He quite literally created a world that is to this day, discussed, debated, and fawned over to such an extent that you can’t believe it doesn’t exist. That being said, he undertook a momentous task, and quite naturally had to gloss over a few of the finer details, that while they didn’t have much bearing on his story, to roleplayers like us in this day, the lack of fine detail can make us a little stir crazy. To me that lack of detail lies in Lake-Town and Dale, which during the War of the ring were barely touched upon. I’m was a bit saddened by this, as they are the battlefield upon which the Hobbit, the book that started it all takes place, as well as where the reader first starts to see the old alliances between Men, Dwarves, and Elves begin to reform. Again, it was within good reason that Tolkien didn’t return to this place, he was creating a whole world, but personally I felt that the town built on a lake and smashed to pieces by one of Middle Earth’s most powerful dragons deserved a bit more than a quiet battle with the Easterlings and a retreat into Lonely Mountain.
On that note let’s start with where I believe Tolkien’s inconsistencies began, it’s stated that Lake-Town after its destruction via falling Smaug, was gifted with a portion of the loot by Bard before he swept off to rebuild Dale. The town Master though was reported to have run off with this portion and then to have died in the wastes, after which the town elected a new and more knowledgeable Master. It’s never really clarified though just how the town (a rather large feat of engineering) managed to get back on its feet when it’s funds were absconded with. The following is my explanation of that, if it’s not to your liking, don’t worry it’s hardly canon, and I’ve attempted to write this so that it really doesn’t interfere with the main workings of Tolkien’s masterpiece. Let me know what you think, I’m up for criticism both positive and negative as I REALLY want this to work.
The Merchant Princes of Lake-Town
The newly appointed Master of Lake-Town, more cunning than his predecessor, realized that while the death of Smaug, the War of the Five Armies, and the town’s betrayal by its former Master had left it with precious little, but what little it had been left was precious indeed. Lake-Town was in a position that few other towns of man could boast, right in the middle of nations of man, elf, and dwarf, all of whom were recovering from the same war and all accessible via the rivers and tributaries that the Lake-Men knew like the back of their hands. He realized that if Lake-Town was to survive its calamities that trade would be its only option.
Rallied by the descendants of Lake-Town’s fourteen original families, the Master’s plan received a unified and wholehearted backing, all of the families turning what little resources they had towards funding the ambitious venture. In the 60 years that followed the families found their rewards in mixed manner, coin indeed poured in from the three nations that surrounded them, however with the coin came the raised ambitions of men. As the families grew more powerful and influential in the three nations, they began competing, and eventually warring for the contracts that kept a steady stream of wealth flowing to Lake-Town. These were however, not wars of shield and spear, but rather wars of secrecy and shadow, all of which the common inhabitants of Esgaroth turned a blind eye to, in a simple trade for the prosperity that the families brought them. So vicious and lethal were these contract wars that of the fourteen original families, only six remain, now held in an un-easy truce with the other families either annihilated or absorbed. Led by the self-styled Merchant Princes, these families have an iron grip on the trade routes of the North East, and many rumor they don’t plan to stop there.
Family Organization – The six families of Esgaroth are organized by the following rankings.
Prince - At of course the top of the food chain, there is only one Prince per family; hence, there are only at the moment six Princes. The title Prince does not denote gender as currently two women hold the title and have kept it for the appearance of strength. It is the title held by one in the family who has proven they have what it takes to command the many in their enterprise, held by only the craftiest or most respected of the family. The men and women who hold these titles are in no way recognized by any of the formal royalty of Middle Earth, however within the territories of Dale their influence is claimed to rival that of King Brand, King Dain, and Thranduil. It should be noted that not all of the Merchant Princes share the same wants or methods, some rule via brute force for their own gain, others through skillful manipulation for the good of all Esgaroth, and others still for forces with no one’s best interest in mind.
Abacuses – Originally a derogatory name developed by the lower ranks, the Abacuses are named for the counting instrument they all carry on their belt, their orders are only handed to them by the Princes as they are trusted and capable enough to handle the actual numbers of Esgaroth’s trade enterprise. They keep tally of the accounts via an odd system of knot tying, a system only they and the Princes know how to decipher. While more often than not sneered at by those they oversee, little do their charges know how succinct their nickname is, for truly Abacuses are cold and calculating characters.
Skippers – Perhaps one of the more vied for positions in Lake-Town, Skippers are the navigators and sailors of their organization. At a comfortable mid-way between authority and labor, they manage to bring away a good living from steering their longboats up and down the rivers with rafts of goods in tow. It’s hardly a position for the soft though, as shipments are constantly under siege by bandits, orcs, and other foul creatures. Each Skipper is assigned their own personal long boat, which they are said to cherish as their own children. The tales of the races up and down the rapids between the numerous Skippers are many indeed.
River Rat – The lowest of the low, River Rats are the grunt workers of the Esgaroth trade force. While they are all decent sailors and hagglers in their own right, they’ve proven to be cut just below what the management is looking for as far as skill and hardiness are concerned. Still they are as numerous as their namesake, and are often willing to sink just as low for a leg up.
Barrel Riding
Both the national sport of Lake-town and the method through which the Merchant Princes determine who fit’s where in their ranks, this event was inspired by the legends of Bilbo Baggins and how he came to visit Lake-Town in the days before Smaug’s death. The event is a sort of iron man race, where each contestant is given a barrel of goods and sent along Bilbo’s path up the Forest River to the Wood Elves stronghold. Upon arriving they are to fetch the best price they can muster before making their way back to the river and swimming back to Lake-Town with the barrel in tow, contestants are judged on speed, price, and the condition of their barrel upon arriving at their final destination. It is not uncommon for many an unfortunate Lake-Man to meet their end during this race.
Welp there we go that's all I've managed to scrape together for now, I'll flesh this out more in the future, naming a few of the families, their main players, goals, and what have you. If you have any ideas or opinions, lemme hear em I'm always open to new stuff and editing.
Before I start off here, I’d like to set my intentions with this little write up in plain view, just in case. I do not view myself as a writer greater than or even equal to what Tolkien managed to achieve. He quite literally created a world that is to this day, discussed, debated, and fawned over to such an extent that you can’t believe it doesn’t exist. That being said, he undertook a momentous task, and quite naturally had to gloss over a few of the finer details, that while they didn’t have much bearing on his story, to roleplayers like us in this day, the lack of fine detail can make us a little stir crazy. To me that lack of detail lies in Lake-Town and Dale, which during the War of the ring were barely touched upon. I’m was a bit saddened by this, as they are the battlefield upon which the Hobbit, the book that started it all takes place, as well as where the reader first starts to see the old alliances between Men, Dwarves, and Elves begin to reform. Again, it was within good reason that Tolkien didn’t return to this place, he was creating a whole world, but personally I felt that the town built on a lake and smashed to pieces by one of Middle Earth’s most powerful dragons deserved a bit more than a quiet battle with the Easterlings and a retreat into Lonely Mountain.
On that note let’s start with where I believe Tolkien’s inconsistencies began, it’s stated that Lake-Town after its destruction via falling Smaug, was gifted with a portion of the loot by Bard before he swept off to rebuild Dale. The town Master though was reported to have run off with this portion and then to have died in the wastes, after which the town elected a new and more knowledgeable Master. It’s never really clarified though just how the town (a rather large feat of engineering) managed to get back on its feet when it’s funds were absconded with. The following is my explanation of that, if it’s not to your liking, don’t worry it’s hardly canon, and I’ve attempted to write this so that it really doesn’t interfere with the main workings of Tolkien’s masterpiece. Let me know what you think, I’m up for criticism both positive and negative as I REALLY want this to work.
The Merchant Princes of Lake-Town
The newly appointed Master of Lake-Town, more cunning than his predecessor, realized that while the death of Smaug, the War of the Five Armies, and the town’s betrayal by its former Master had left it with precious little, but what little it had been left was precious indeed. Lake-Town was in a position that few other towns of man could boast, right in the middle of nations of man, elf, and dwarf, all of whom were recovering from the same war and all accessible via the rivers and tributaries that the Lake-Men knew like the back of their hands. He realized that if Lake-Town was to survive its calamities that trade would be its only option.
Rallied by the descendants of Lake-Town’s fourteen original families, the Master’s plan received a unified and wholehearted backing, all of the families turning what little resources they had towards funding the ambitious venture. In the 60 years that followed the families found their rewards in mixed manner, coin indeed poured in from the three nations that surrounded them, however with the coin came the raised ambitions of men. As the families grew more powerful and influential in the three nations, they began competing, and eventually warring for the contracts that kept a steady stream of wealth flowing to Lake-Town. These were however, not wars of shield and spear, but rather wars of secrecy and shadow, all of which the common inhabitants of Esgaroth turned a blind eye to, in a simple trade for the prosperity that the families brought them. So vicious and lethal were these contract wars that of the fourteen original families, only six remain, now held in an un-easy truce with the other families either annihilated or absorbed. Led by the self-styled Merchant Princes, these families have an iron grip on the trade routes of the North East, and many rumor they don’t plan to stop there.
Family Organization – The six families of Esgaroth are organized by the following rankings.
Prince - At of course the top of the food chain, there is only one Prince per family; hence, there are only at the moment six Princes. The title Prince does not denote gender as currently two women hold the title and have kept it for the appearance of strength. It is the title held by one in the family who has proven they have what it takes to command the many in their enterprise, held by only the craftiest or most respected of the family. The men and women who hold these titles are in no way recognized by any of the formal royalty of Middle Earth, however within the territories of Dale their influence is claimed to rival that of King Brand, King Dain, and Thranduil. It should be noted that not all of the Merchant Princes share the same wants or methods, some rule via brute force for their own gain, others through skillful manipulation for the good of all Esgaroth, and others still for forces with no one’s best interest in mind.
Abacuses – Originally a derogatory name developed by the lower ranks, the Abacuses are named for the counting instrument they all carry on their belt, their orders are only handed to them by the Princes as they are trusted and capable enough to handle the actual numbers of Esgaroth’s trade enterprise. They keep tally of the accounts via an odd system of knot tying, a system only they and the Princes know how to decipher. While more often than not sneered at by those they oversee, little do their charges know how succinct their nickname is, for truly Abacuses are cold and calculating characters.
Skippers – Perhaps one of the more vied for positions in Lake-Town, Skippers are the navigators and sailors of their organization. At a comfortable mid-way between authority and labor, they manage to bring away a good living from steering their longboats up and down the rivers with rafts of goods in tow. It’s hardly a position for the soft though, as shipments are constantly under siege by bandits, orcs, and other foul creatures. Each Skipper is assigned their own personal long boat, which they are said to cherish as their own children. The tales of the races up and down the rapids between the numerous Skippers are many indeed.
River Rat – The lowest of the low, River Rats are the grunt workers of the Esgaroth trade force. While they are all decent sailors and hagglers in their own right, they’ve proven to be cut just below what the management is looking for as far as skill and hardiness are concerned. Still they are as numerous as their namesake, and are often willing to sink just as low for a leg up.
Barrel Riding
Both the national sport of Lake-town and the method through which the Merchant Princes determine who fit’s where in their ranks, this event was inspired by the legends of Bilbo Baggins and how he came to visit Lake-Town in the days before Smaug’s death. The event is a sort of iron man race, where each contestant is given a barrel of goods and sent along Bilbo’s path up the Forest River to the Wood Elves stronghold. Upon arriving they are to fetch the best price they can muster before making their way back to the river and swimming back to Lake-Town with the barrel in tow, contestants are judged on speed, price, and the condition of their barrel upon arriving at their final destination. It is not uncommon for many an unfortunate Lake-Man to meet their end during this race.
Welp there we go that's all I've managed to scrape together for now, I'll flesh this out more in the future, naming a few of the families, their main players, goals, and what have you. If you have any ideas or opinions, lemme hear em I'm always open to new stuff and editing.