Thread: Help with RPing and backstory

hello everyone, i have been doing lots of research or RPing and im very excited to start rping my toons!! i just dont quite yet undestand the "creative" part on building a backstory and how to apply it to my normal adventuring (quests, deeds, and skirms as well as crafting). can anyone help me with the following:

1) help me get an idea to construct a backstory for my hobbit ministrel (landroval server)
2) help me get an idea to construct a backstory for my dwarf guardian (crickhollow server)
3) tell me how to apply the backstorys in quest, deeds, skirms and crafting
4) bonus: best kinships for rping on landroval and crickhollow

all help will be greatly appreciated
thank you in advance

4: on crickhollow for a Dwarf roleplayer I'd primarily recommend Durin's Folk. ^^

Thanks Elvishmouse
I've seen your posts and you seem to know quite a lot about RPing, would you mind helping me out a bit on my previous questions or can i contact you in-game? (Ladnroval, Crickhollow, or Gladden server). It would be greaaatly appreciated!

I lead an Elf-kin on Crickhollow under the character Lossenelenwen, contact there would be easiest for me. Dwarvish backstories are a weakness I'm trying to fill in (been doing research) but I could put you in touch with the right people LOTRO-side on Crickhollow.

As for Hobbits, they're fun to roleplay but my primary experience is Elves so I'm a little less inclined to leap up with ideas on the other races, heehee.

haha i see, to each his own ;p

ok tyvm ill try contacting you as soon as i can

Well, when it comes to roleplaying and stories, your character class/profession need not necessarily tie in together. My jewel-making on my captain is completely OOC, yet all of her questing is IC. My hunter's tailoring is IC and I show it by making rugs and stuff for friends, but all of her questing is OOC. My hunter's profession is also a healer in the roleplaying world. Yea, hunters don't heal with in-game mechanics, but that doesn't matter in RP. I've done my research with herbalism, sickness, and wound treatment, and that is how I RP it.

You can start with something simple. For instance, your minstrel could have just left the Shire because s/he's an adventurous hobbit and wants to see more of the world. Backstory revolves more about family, what happened in his or her past, etc. It's all about creativity within the bounds of the lore. Have fun with it.

These are NOT-SERIOUS general back story examples that I gave a kinmate who asked the same question a while back.

For simplicity, let's call the main character in these examples... Bob Roseleaf of Bree, and let's pretend that Bob is joining a group of dwarves (you future kinship) as they make their way to the East on the great road for reasons unknown.

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1. Bob is a pickpocket, accidentally picked one of the pocket of a dwarf and got caught. The generous dwarves, after hearing Bob's sob story, decided to give him some {coins/food/a job}. Bob then decided to repay the debt of their friendship by promising help them en route to the East. Of course Bob might rob them blind later, has his own personal agenda, wants free meal/company, and/or doing this simply out of gratitude. (from FF7/ Les Miserable,etc etc)

2. Bob is a male... street walker of the shday alleyways of Bree with a heart of gold and two childrens, and one day he discovered that the river of Bree is poisoned... err, let me just stop right here (from the movie Erin Brockovich).

3. Bob is an young lumberjack from {Comb/Staddle/a cabin in the middle of nowhere}, whose {sister/daughter/favorite singer/brother/boyfriend/dog's previous owner/pet iguana} is {seduced/abducted/enslaved/cannibalized/murdered/dishonored} by a group of {orc/goblins/spider/Easterling/Haradrim/Rohanrim/Gondorian/Avari elves/silly hobbits/petty dwarves/wargs} in the {East/North-West/South-East/Edhellond/Forochel/Sea of Rhun}, and so he decided to join a group of travelling {adventurer/hunters/brigands/silly hobbits/love-spurned maidens/mummers/dwarven merchants/mercenary/slavers/refugees} on the Great Road to {rescue/avenge/join/mock/congratulate/demand his money back/play tourist}. (From generic RPG)

4. Bob heard the dwarves and their questionable tales about the grand hordes of {treasures/recipes/maidens/pipeweeds/potion of immortality/pies/things to be slaughtered/gossip} waiting to be discovered in {insert location here}, so he decided to join them to partake in the {eating/slaying/smoking/plundering/cooking/seducing} out of {boredom/desire for fame/thirll/greed/loneliness/love crave}. (From generic RPG)

5. Bob Roseleaf is the youngest of Roseleaf family, who make wooden toy soldiers. On one fateful day, they are visited by the great Barbiel family of Dale (they monopolized the making of wooden Barbie Doll in Dale). The Barbiel family wants to marry their only heiress Dolly to Bob for {insert reason here}, this would a great alliance for the two families and they are all thrilled. Except Bob does not want to marry Dolly because {insert reason here}. So Bob escaped to {Location} and met a {handsome prince/beautiful princess/mysterious and charming rogue/seven hobbits in the wood cabin/stinky fisherman} on a white pony on his way and his life has forever changed... (from generic romance novel?)

6. How about elements of stories from fairy tales?
Snow white? (Evil step mother) Sleeping beauty? (rescueing a lazy princess) Lion King? (evil uncle), Hunchback of notre dame? (Evil step father), Mickey Mouse? (err... evil duck?) Little Mermaid? (good looking stranger with early-onset Alzheimer) Mulan? (Bob wants to be his true self... in opposite sex's clothing) Pocahontas? (fell in love with a female dwarf, who happened to be the daughter of the leader of the Man-hating dwarves, hilarity + racial conflicts ensue)

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I hope this illustrate how simple it is to build a simple RP back ground story for your character. The most important question about character creation is "What's your characters biggest, most profound, most "destiny related", DESIRE/DRIVE/MOTIVATION in life at the point of the beginning of story". Any other storyelements (where he's from, what makes him so grumpy, why he dislike elves/man/dwarves, why does he eats so much cheese, etc etc) are simply just salad dressing that can be slowly discovered as you're RP him in game.

i particularly like Bob the Lumberjack and think his theme song should be "I'm a lumberjack" from the monty python skit- sorry I couldn't resist

As to Rping- I don't rp a ton on my minstrel but tend to do a lot of minstrelish things when I do- juggle, firebreath, flip, and sometimes when running into certain events- say the prancing pony concerts for example- I will talk about the moors and the battles out there but more along the lines of terrible and wretched or frightening some of the fighting might seem towards a hobbit. I prefer to RP at some player events rather than the whole time. It's fun.


For a backstory on a dwarf champ a came up with this. Lothbrokson is the son of Lothbrok a mighty Dwarf Warrior of Reknown for his prowess against denizens of the shadow. Lothbrok and all his brothers were killed in a tragic accident involving several casks of ale and hobbit infiltration of the Ale Association....

I know its kinda goofy but Lothbrok came from Ubba Lothbrokson from "The Last Kingdom"- the character in that story was pretty sinister and malevolent dane who terrified everyone who wasn't a dane. He was a great bearded barrel of a man who often fought in single combat ahead of the shield wall wielding a two handed axe. The first time you see him in the novel he was passed out drunk with his face in an unfinished meal. My champ isn't quite so terrifying but he drinks a lot and tends to charge right into a fight without really thinking about it. He also eats as much as any hobbit.

So like one of the earlier posters said you could use characters or story ideas from fairy tales. I tend to find a character that reminds me of my class and work elements of that character into my own. For example I have LM named Taliesinn. Talisinn in some of the King Arthur legends was a bard associated with Arthur and Merlin. In other stories he was a name Merlin sometimes used to id himself.

Basically find some elements in a story you love and thoroughly enjoy and find a way to work them into Lotro.

My hobbit Minstrel was either

A) Knocked into the Brandywine as a child after parents died, rescued by (insert race, name, and class here), raised by same.

B)Parents died, went to explore and go to the sea, do so. Learns to sail, first voyage knocked overboard by the boom and floated unconscious to Nen Haren. Regained consciousness and journeyed to nearest settlement through Barrow Field. Captured by wights. Rescued by (insert race, name, and class here). Begins father/son relationship and taught how to fight by same.

Add as much detail as required for Kinship/crafting/quests/enmity against a particular enemy(in example B-wights)/family ties/etc.