Thread: How did you wind up in Bree?

This can be the biggest challenge to me, in coming up with a background for a new character. As far as the gameplay questing goes, "all roads lead to Bree" around level 15. Even if you assume your questing is done OOC, Bree tends to be the main roleplay hub, despite many wishing that it was not -- and even if you avoid Bree, you still have to do most of your RPing in Eriador, at least prior to level 50 or so. I'm curious as to what different stories people use. Let's look at the breakdown:

Men of Bree, of course, have no problem being there. The question then becomes why you'd go off to other places, assuming you do.

For Hobbits it's not too difficult. If a Hobbit of the Shire is going to leave its bounds at all, Bree is pretty likely to be the first place one would go (though a few might go to Ered Luin). Other Hobbits might be Breelanders themselves. The question of why the Hobbit is adventuring at all is trickier, but at least you're in more-or-less the right place.

Dwarves don't seem to be too difficult. Dwarves seem to travel more than the other races, generally speaking, at least since the fall of Khazad-Dum. Bree is along or close to some of the major trade or travel routes, between Thorin's Hall and the Lonely Mountain for example. (It's odd in retrospect that Thorin's Company didn't stop there.)

Elves are another story. One gets the impression that Elves don't travel a great deal in this Age, other than making one journey to the Havens; and even if they do, they seem to avoid other races. Being in Eriador is fairly easy to justify, but all the roaming necessary to follow the questlines seems pretty unlikely, and one gathers that seeing an Elf in Bree ought to be a rarity at best; but some areas of the lore have to be stretched. At least, Elves have Rivendell, Lorien, and Ered Luin as places in-game that they can be from and stick to roleplaying there if they want to be more lore-bound.

Men of Gondor, Rohan, and Dale -- these are the tricky ones for me. You can't stay home and be in the game, even if you keep all your "away" time OOC (I gather some Hobbits do this, doing all their roleplaying in the Shire even though quests may take them all over the world). But why would you leave? Particularly if you're any kind of warrior type, since trouble is brewing in all three lands to some degree? Not to mention that actually getting to Bree would be quite a journey in itself.

My Lore-Master is from Gondor, specifically Dol Amroth. I came up with a story that he traveled to Edoras with a trading party (travel between Gondor and Rohan not being unheard-of, it seems) and on this journey, a chance encounter led him to discover that both Sauruman and Gandalf had taken an interest in this faraway place called the Shire. Why, when the obvious danger lay to the East? When the news reached him that Sauron had attacked Osgiliath, instead of returning home, he decided to investigate this mystery. I think that works, more-or-less...but it's still mildly contrived.

So, Men of Erebor and the South -- what are some of your stories? Along with anyone else who wants to contribute, of course. It's one of the trickier parts of RPing in the game, I think.

For my Man of Dale, his father joined a small host to fight Angmar, unaware of the danger brewing in The North. When my character (main) feared the worst, he set out for Angmar with his brothers (alts) in hopes of bringing their father back alive.

My Gondorian lord got sent north by the Steward to be ears and eyes in the north. Basically a intelligence officer.
My Eorling was a soldier in a scout party that got surrounded and destroyed in Dunland. He escaped and ran from his pursuers.They blocked the way south so he turned north to get away and ended up in the north.

I had a character from the South, more specifically from Dunland, not Rohan or Gondor. He travelled North from his kinsmen as he was not fooled by Saruman's lies.

Of course, this was well before Dunland was a region, so it doesn't quite fit with the Turbine lore of Dunlendings, I believe (never taken a character there unfortunately).

An RP conversation, during travel...

Friend: "I'm sorry, did you want to stop in Bree? We are passing well south of it, but if we turn northward..."
Me: -laughs- "I would prefer to avoid it actually. Too many people, too much ale, and too many convoluted half true tales..."

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A kin conversation:
Me: Ugh, I don't think the baby likes Bree.
Kinnie: Wait, you have a baby in Bree?
Me: OOC, OOC... she's sitting in my lap and looking unhappy...
Kinnie2: RP of drunks, prostitutes, horse dung in the streets and beggars and awkward pub-roleplay where randoms godmod murders. Why WOULD the baby like Bree???
Me: ...Point taken. Porting to Evendim.

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A little pretentious maybe but I still found it funny. Elves, y'know...

I agree with you there lossy. Might explain why so much me and my friends storylines by-pass Bree. Avoid it especially on my elves.

Velynia was born there, however her grandparents are from Rohan - They fled to Bree for a 'quiet life' in which to raise their child.

Breagath's ancestors are from Arnor. Having grown up listening to tales of the might and granduer of the lost kingdom, it was only natural that he seek out the land of his fore-fathers...stupid brigands waylaid him as he neared Bree. They paid a price for their insolence.

The easiest way to justify your presence in Bree is to realize that not all people are as noble as Aragorn.

Example: One of my Burglars is from Gondor. As a teenager (about 14 - 15) he fled that country because he was afraid of the War. Not very noble. He made his way north and west, but found no home because he was a drifter. In Bree, he fell in with the Blackwolds, before their alliance with Angmar, and became a thief. But, as the Blackwolds grew more evil, and, eventually, allied themselves with Angmar, my character left them. Well, the Blackwolds didn't like that, so they were after him; and the people of Bree-land wouldn't have him, because he was known as a Blackwold. He became an outlaw among outlaws and it wasn't until he helped repel the attack on Archet that he started to earn the Bree-landers trust. He can't go back to Gondor, out of shame (which may be resolved later with RP) so, in the meantime, he does what he can to endear himself to the Bree-landers.

I found Bree to be a very fun experience if you meet the right people.

My character is a Captain (Man) from Rohan and I play with my brother who is a Minstrel (Man) from Rohan. We justify ourselves being in Bree for the reason that we were fleeing our small village that was being attacked by the White Hand. We traveled to Bree in hopes that we could raise a force large enough to save our village from further attacks. Being farmers before we were forced to become warriors means we are quite ignorant of such large crowds and place. My brother is a minstrel because the only way we find food and lodging is by him playing a song for a few coins or a loaf of bread. I'm a captain because I am trying to find people to lead back to my village. I think the confused country dweller fits nicely in a town like Bree.

You know...that's a really interesting question.

My two mains (which I don't much play anymore) are from Gondor and Rohan respectively, which is pretty far to the south of Bree-land. Baralur is an exile from Gondor, the reasons for which I'm still kinda hammering out. Denenthera lost her village and most of her family to either the White Hands or the Dunlendings, with her sister in particular still unaccounted for, but ran into difficulty in finding a suitable eored to join up with due to old-fashioned Rohirric attitudes about gender roles. I figure the two of them met either in Rohan's West Emnet or Fangorn Forest and decided to join forces for mutual protection. They probably met an Elf somewhere on their way north (kinda debating on which particular Elf among my sizable stable of characters it's likely to be) who guided them to Rivendell, where they met Lord Elrond.

As for what brought them from Rivendell to Bree-land? They were probably on the trail of some Ranger (perhaps Strider?) for their own reasons (Baralur wanting to know more about his history and Denenthera wanting to find a lead on her sister) and ended up getting involved in the affairs of the Breelanders after getting ambushed and captured by the brigands of the Chetwood and thrown into that prison camp in the intro.

My main is from Bree, so no problems with him.

My burglar Vemal, instead, is from Dale. He was forced to excape from Long Lake when the capitain of the city guards found out thet Vemal was bedding his wife. One misadventure after another, and here he is in Bree.
A true hero's story, isn't it?

What is this excape? Why is it always the dishonorable ones that have this trouble?

Hal got bored with shire, and ventured east over the Brandywine. Unfortunately, no one told him there was a road, and several harrowing days and nights wandering through the Old Forest and the Barrow-downs ensued. Bree was a welcome respite for the weary traveling minstrel after that.

My main is from Gondor. She came to the North following an old family legend, but more importantly because she had nothing to lose; both of her parents were dead, and the distant relatives she was staying with had their farm burned down. They decided to move further out west to Gondor, and Laerlin decided to take her leave completely.

So she went West, through Rohan and the Gap (before all the troubles started there, timeline-wise), and then took the North-South road through Tharbad and Andrath (inaccessible right now in-game) until it turned into the Greenway, and Bree was the first major civilization she came upon. She ended up staying there because she found a way to be useful to many people. And, really, Bree is basically the largest town in Eriador, so it is a logical place to stay for Men, at the least, wanting to remain in Eriador.

"Getting them to Bree" always takes a bit of creativity and willingness to think outside the box.

My elves have been hardest, and I generally don't RP them much in Bree anyway. My younger elf, who is pragmatic and practical above all else, demands a REASON to be there - so I typically say she's in to purchase supplies. My older elf is in fact searching for someone special and can use that search as a reason to be in town, hanging around asking for news.

All three of my men currently live in Bree. Two are quite firmly grounded and it would take a lot to get them to leave for adventures. The third, a young woman, is mostly in Bree because she has nowhere better to go, and because her step-niece is there.

My hobbit comes from Maur Tulhau, way down in Enedwaith. He is currently on a quest to See The World. To him, Bree is huge.

My main is from Gondor. She came to the North following an old family legend, but more importantly because she had nothing to lose; both of her parents were dead, and the distant relatives she was staying with had their farm burned down. They decided to move further out west to Gondor, and Laerlin decided to take her leave completely.

So she went West, through Rohan and the Gap (before all the troubles started there, timeline-wise), and then took the North-South road through Tharbad and Andrath (inaccessible right now in-game) until it turned into the Greenway, and Bree was the first major civilization she came upon. She ended up staying there because she found a way to be useful to many people. And, really, Bree is basically the largest town in Eriador, so it is a logical place to stay for Men, at the least, wanting to remain in Eriador.

My elf ended up there, because she received news in Rivendell that her brother had been injured in battle and that she needed to collect a special herb to send to his carers there. As she scouted the land out of Rivendell, she came across a Hobbit who was lost (Given the wrong map by a mischeivous person). She offered to take him back to the Shire, and so stopped at Bree, as he already knew the way back from Bree. There, she decided to stay as hope for news of the war, and a healer who knows where the special herb resides.

I suppose I should figure this out for Rossiel if I'm ever going to be confident enough to use her for RP. At present, all I can think is that maybe she went in search of the sea and got either really lost or really distracted.

i will begain roleplaying soon but i have a fairly good idea of my two charecters back story of why there in the bree-land area.(there from gondor) but its not quiet done yet so you will have to wait awhile.

well this story is not perfect and dosn't cover the whole back story but the reason there in the bree area.
My two chars are brothers one is looking for adventure, the other is looking to gather a band of warriors to aid him in taking revenge upon a group of orcs. so they left gondor and went north, and eventually came in the bree area.

I confess that I'm guilty of bringing my Elves to Bree a few times. But that's because I have been new in my server despite several high level characters, and I wanted to try Lotro RP in a place which I knew to be crowded RP wise.

But in the end it did feel like they're out of place there and many reasons I thought of felt far fetched.

Some of my RP characters just avoid Bree.

Hobbits stay in the Shire, although only two leaves the Shire, a burglar, and a Guardian. The Burg for mischievous reason and sense of adventure. The Guardian is actually a 'champion', use two hander weapons, traits red line (no shield), and is exiled from the Shire because she want to be a fighter, not home-maker. A rather oddity :P

Both of my dwarves don't take any quests from Man, Hobbit or Elves. (Class quest are the exception.) I don't even do the Epic Quest unless it starts from Dwarf like Moria. I do the same for some Elves.

Hargreaves is from Dale, I just make a simple conclusion that he was born in Dale lands but never grew up there, in fact he was baby when both parents moved to Breelands for business and farming, makes RPing a hell lot easier, because he would never remember anything outside Archet and Combe, and wants to travel to his homelands one day.

My Main is an Elf however I don't really use him for RPing.

My human, Isenhir, moved with his family to Bree when he was 5, because they didn't like how it was ruled.

My elf, Belegluva, is a young elf from Mirkwood, and left due to it's corruption. She's quite adventurous, and her wandering seemed to just dump her off in Bree.

My human, Jasla, left her home when she was 17, for an unknown reason as of now. Her elf-friend from Mirkwood took her to Bree, hoping she'd be safe there.

Oswyna, my Gondorian human, was banned from Gondor. She got together with a few friends a persuaded them to go with her to Bree, though they got killed by orcs in the Lone Lands, Oswyna barely escaped.


So yeah.

~Tourmalien Bracegirdle

Elves, as you said, are quite hard to place as to why they are in breeland atm.

Here is what I have gathered:

The Elf is travelling with some humans and they stopped in breetown.

The Elf resides in Breeland Homesteads, practically living in Bree, and mingles amongst the humans often.

The Elf just arrived back from a journey and is taking refuge in Breeland (my idea for being in Breeland)

The Elf is just passing through.


That help any?

My elvish female was escorting a caravan to the Grey Havens from Lorien when we were ambushed by brigands near Andrath. We being a small number, where soon overwhelmed by the seemingly infinite supply of brigands. After a long hard fought battle our numbers were diminished and only myself and two others survived. My two companions were relatively unharmed but for a few cuts and bruises but I suffered from a broken leg. They carried me to the nearest town which happened to be Bree where I was attended to by a local healer. My two friends rode back to Lorien with news of our ambush. Every day I get stronger, and I pass the time helping the locals with small tasks that need to be done. In the evenings I can often be found sitting by the fire in the Prancing Pony, sipping a glass of wine and hearing the day's news. I hope to soon return to Lorien and resume my duties as a caravan escort!

One of my newer characters is a healer from Gondor who fell out with his father and decided to leave to travel and help others elsewhere. He had been travelling for many years when he came across Bree and found that much could be done to help there so he makes frequent visits.

Originally Posted by Tassolahoff

My human, Isenhir, moved with his family to Bree when he was 5, because they didn't like how it was ruled.

My elf, Belegluva, is a young elf from Mirkwood, and left due to it's corruption. She's quite adventurous, and her wandering seemed to just dump her off in Bree.

My human, Jasla, left her home when she was 17, for an unknown reason as of now. Her elf-friend from Mirkwood took her to Bree, hoping she'd be safe there.

Oswyna, my Gondorian human, was banned from Gondor. She got together with a few friends a persuaded them to go with her to Bree, though they got killed by orcs in the Lone Lands, Oswyna barely escaped.


So yeah.

~Tourmalien Bracegirdle

Well, I have deleted both Jasla and Isengar, so I'll redo this.

Laurelin Characters:

My elf, Belegluva, is a young elf from Mirkwood, and left due to it's corruption. She's quite adventurous, and her wandering seemed to just dump her off in Bree.

My elf, Morliin, is Blegluva's elder sister, sent by her mother to find Bele.

My human, Aharil, was from Rohan. She's a bit...insane(like actually mentally crazy), so she left home one day because she felt that her mother did not accept her.

Oswyna, my Gondorian human, was banned from Gondor. She got together with a few friends a persuaded them to go with her to Bree, though they got killed by half-orcs in the Lone Lands, Oswyna barely escaped.

Landroval Character(aside from my two hobbits and Bree-lander female)

Azelin, my elf, is from Lothlòrien, but left because her brother Isilmir had to go to Bree, so Aze volunteered to lead him there. Isilmir died in the Lone-lands at the hands of orcs. So, Aze went and stayed in Bree until she can get enough money to buy a horse and go back to Lothlòrien.

Yay I fixed it.

~Tourmalien Bracegirdle

My character Mirkir is from Dale, and his reason for leaving is something I plan to write up (perhaps in story form), but the simple version is this. Youthful and idealistic he signed up to fight with the other warriors of Dale, and during his initial training, he also fell in puppy love with a young woman who'd signed up around the same time. She encouraged him, but was actually using him for her own advancement. When her ambition saw a chance for another advancement by getting one of the officers smitten with her, she made Mirkir out to be a rival for her affection. She ended up getting herself positioned well to advance her ambition farther, and he got exiled, sent into Mirkwood to survive or perish. Thanks to some acquaintances amongst the elves there (his father had done business with them) he got some pity and eventually got to travel with others on the road west.

My one RP character is a bumbling captain from Gondor who was sent on a mission rather close to home, got horribly lost, and ended up in Bree.

Well, after you complete quests, you're standing at your race's staring points, you're no longer ordinary folk. You are now helping people for living, and one of them simply mentions you that you could find job in Bree-town ('From Gondamon to Bree' and 'From Shire to Bree' quests).

Better question is how did your man from Rohan landed in blackwolds prison...


I rarely role play, but when I do, I'm heavily lore-breaking about my main's past...

When band of Eberronian heroes of Stormreach defeated last enemy being major threat to land of Xen'dirk and felt their world is quite safe, they heard cry from help from place called Faerun. They moved through the portal, one didn't land in Forgotten Realms, but rather found himself in Thorin's Hall...

Only character I RP is a hunter, just a little light RP nothing too heavy mind you, that is from Bree, but I have developed a story for him that actually has him hailing from the North Downs. He was a woodsman from Annundir, he returned from hunting to find his cabin burned to the ground, and his family slain by wargs, goblins and orcs. In despair he wandered south eventually finding himself in Chetwood. I played the Archet stuff OOC becasue I didn't want to fit it into his story, so his story has him arriving in Combe were the people needed help with a brigand problem.

My main is a champion.

He grew up in Dale but didn't fit in with his family and the somewhat insular community. His family are serious crafters (father metalsmith - no implements of war) and his mothere a jeweller.

After much teenage rebellion etc. at the age of 16 his father agreed to his joining the weaponsmiths guild, which invovled a trip to Thorins Hall for testing and subsequent induction.

He then spent the next couple of years crafting in Dale, turning out weapons, and slowly learning his trade, constantly chafing at the 'small town' attitudes and constant keep your head down, it may blow over or not be too bad thinking - something he never managed even as a child - he made sure there were no bullies while at school.

At the age of 18, his mother convinced his father to let him go and study dwarven weapon crafting, he was to travel to Bree to be assessed by a friend of his father at the Bree craft hall (who was a Master of the Weaponsmiths Guild) to see if he was good enough, if he was, he would receive his recommendation to study at Thorins Hall.

En route to Bree in a moderately large caravan guided by a couple of rangers- which had picked up a number of Hobbits en route, they were attacked by Brigands. During the attack, he pulled two of the swords he had crafted out of his bags and went to aid in the defence.

He acquited himself very well, and while the caravan was sorting itself out in Archet was asked to help further by the head ranger. After a number of adventures, he decided that he could not return to his previous life andso changed his name, ensured people thought he had died in the attack and went out to help make the world a safer place for everyone.

Sera, or Cerabel, is the alias of my Gondor-born loremaster. She is the illegitimate daughter of a minor noble (think Baron) near Gondor's southern coast who was trying to play dynastic politics and had to dispose of her in part of his maneuvering. She got away clean and fled to Rohan, and has drifted through Rohan, Dunland, and Bree-Land as a storyteller-&&&-stage-magician before finally starting to put down roots in Archet after meeting two down-on-their-luck young men. Unfortunately, one day a pair of rangers and a pair of hobbits arrived in town, and one thing led to another and suddenly she's a friendless wanderer again. She's staying in the region surrounding Bree for a time, hoping that the other two made it out and that they'll run into her again, but in her spare time she's been searching through old ruins for new stories.

As someone has told me before in Roleplay,


"The Road to nowhere leads to Bree."

my warden, sagstaw is the only one in a foreign place, rohan, so ill go with him

sagstaw lived happily in rohan, riding horses in races and obstacle courses as a kid. he also practiced a bit in javelin throwing and got more interested in that than riding, which his dad disliked. at age 26, brigands appeared and killed his parents and destroyed everything and everyone in town. they wanted to kill sagstaw, but they were stunned by his javelin and spear skills. reason was, he hit a brigands foot, which of course angered him. they knocked him out and put him in a prison to one time convince him to become a brigand. tutorial storyline follows

Originally Posted by Pinniped

Dwarves don't seem to be too difficult. Dwarves seem to travel more than the other races, generally speaking, at least since the fall of Khazad-Dum. Bree is along or close to some of the major trade or travel routes, between Thorin's Hall and the Lonely Mountain for example. (It's odd in retrospect that Thorin's Company didn't stop there.)

Well Thorin and his company were actually in Bree. That's where they met Gandalf.

And regarding the RP in Bree

Elves : It's a no go for me. I dont think that any elf would wish to enter the town of Bree. If they would however enter Bree, ideem they would do so only beacuse they had no other choise. It's not suitable for elves at all imo.

Dwarves : Just as you pointed out, they seem to travel alot. I for one have a dwarf who stops by on his travels between Thorin's Hall and The Lonely Mountain.

Men : Well the men of Bree-Land is a no brainer. I dont rp any of my men of Rohan or Gondor in Bree. And I dont rp my ranger there either. Only if some other rper requests me to meet him there or a quest made by another rper lead me there do I enter that town with my ranger. But I NEVER enter Bree with my ranger by choise of my own. Just so it becomes a rare ocation when he does.

Hobbits : Well Some hobbits I prefer to rp in the Shire, and in the Shire alone. But if I were to make them enter Bree it would be due to some very important buisness arrangement. Or that my hobbit has set out for a quest (which I not yet done, and I dont know if I ever will do).

There will always be ways to get your char a reason to be in Bree. But in the end it's up to each and every one of us to decide if that reason is lore appropiate enough to satisfy, what you gather as a realistic event/happening in ME or not. For me, the most of the times it's a no-go. I dont find it realistic for my rider of Rohan to be in Bree. Nor for my elf of Rivendell to be there either. But that's just me. And every one is diffrent

My warden Anionwulf is from Rohan, and is my first RP character.

He lived in one of the northern towns of Rohan (can't remember off hand which, alongside the Entwash in the Eastemnet), which was attacked by Orcs. He and his parents fled the village to Archet, arriving just in time for the brigand troubles. During the defense of Archet, Jon Brackenbrook saw potential in him (he had been playfighting since he was a child) and armed and started training him. Now he's trying to get himself skilled enough to return to Rohan victorious.

Because he's new to the area, I RP him as not knowing much about the area. For example, he only just learned what Hobbits are, and where the Shire and Ered Luin are.

Podgie, my female Hobbit Warden.

Clementina Took had always been a very unladylike and wild little girl and a trial to her poor widowed mother. However she gradually quiettened down and became more respectable and ladylike as she passed through her tweens. Her mother was daily thankful that she finally had a marriageable daughter rather than a spitting wildcat. As Clementina grew, she became a real beauty and received offers of marriage from all the best families.

One day as she was strolling into Michel Delving, she heard two Hobbits discussing her and alive with curiosity, she stepped behind the hedge and listened to what they were saying. She recognised those voices, they were two of Hobbits whose families had expressed an interest in her as a wife for their sons. While she listened she heard what they really thought of her! Not too bad looking, but a bit over-endowed in the hip department? Comes with her own built in seat cushion? Actually quite fat in the.....!

All the genteel, ladylike manners that her mother had so painstakingly taught her were forgotten as she burst through the hedge and grabbed both boys by their ears and dragged them shrieking in pain to the cente of Michel Delving market. Where in a loud voice and in front of all the assembled families come to enjoy the market she proclaimed, "Yes I have ample hips and yes I am a bit podgie, but I need no untrustworthy or deceitful man to look after me!" She then proceeded to give the two Hobbits the thrashing of their lives, before she left them moaning in the dust and turning her back on the scandalised Hobbit society, she strode home in a fearful rage.

Taking her deceased father's spear which held up one end of the clothesline and his shield that had been a fireguard for many years, she told her poor weeping mother that she would make her own way in the world and began walking the long road away from Michel Delving and all she had ever known.

She walked that road for many days, past villages she had only vaguely heard of, until she came to a large town with a huge gate. Approaching the guard at the gate she asked the name of the town. "Why, this is Bree", he replied!

Originally Posted by Pinniped

My Lore-Master is from Gondor, specifically Dol Amroth.

Dol Amroth! Turodhor also hails originally from Dol Amroth, and still identifies as being from Dol Amroth.

His great-grandfather was a captain in what remained of the Gondor Navy and was quite adept at battling corsairs, and Turodhor grew up hearing the stories of how his great-grandfather could rally his crew and the crews of other ships and their officers to accomplish great deeds, both on land and at sea. However, his grandfather and great-uncles were nowhere near as good as leaders, and the best of them were inexperienced and several fell in battle. Their house declined in esteem and wealth, and Turodhor's grandfather ended up a smith, and with the help of his sons, built a respectable business.

Turodhor's father and grandfather had a falling out over his choice of a wife, so his father left Dol Amroth and settled in one of the coastal villages, where he wed and started his own smithy. Not long afterwards, Turodhor was born. A year later or so, corsairs were raiding, and his father joined the local milita. Their town was attacked, and Turodhor's father slain, as well as his mother. Turodhor was hidden inland with some of the other children, and so survived. He was sent to live with his father's younger brother who had taken over his grandfather's business, but was rather bitter the completely non-authority family title was passed to the elder brother, and now Turodhor. He took that bitterness out on Turodhor, so it was a rather subtle hostile feel, but Turodhor had no conflict with his cousins.

He grew up, and started a life of his own in another village to escape his uncle and expand the family smithing business. He does well, and falls in love, and gets engaged. Yay for what appears to be a happy life as a smith. Unfortunately, Turodhor is impulsive, headstrong, and wants to do things important. So, after hearing from traders who heard from traders who heard from traders who hear from merchants in Dale about the mastery of smithing dwarves hold, he convinces his uncle to let him travel North to Erebor to study smithing. Happily engaged, and promising to write a letter every day, Turodhor sets out North with some parting gifts from his fiancee. A tad bit North of Rohan, he meets some dwarves heading to Ered Luin, and he decides to join them instead. Off they go West, through the pass and Northwards, where they are ambushed by Blackwolds, landing him in the Intro.

After that's over, he sticks around a while and learns about being a great captain like his Great-Grandfather. Then, his cousin, Turodin arrives with bad news. His uncle and family had gone to the village where Turodhor had been living to help arrange for the wedding, and check on the smithing business. Misfortune had it that corsairs attacked the same day. It was a particularly vicious attack as a means of testing Gondor's defenses, and there were no survivors and the village was burnt. Upon hearing this news, he decided to stay and assist those in the North with their battles until he could return to Gondor in her hour of need and revive his family legacy.