He would have said more, but he ran out of room... by which I mean, the internet isn't big enough for how much he wanted to say. He's like that.

On a more serious note, please don't give up. Permission isn't designed to be an impenetrable barrier to anyone ever writing PPC stories - it's meant to be a ground-level filter. That's one reason I left my hat firmly off while making comments: I'm very picky about Middle-earth stuff, more so than is necessarily reasonable in PG situations. As I think I said earlier, you've been getting very involved in the Board as a community, which is a good thing! Quite a few people show up, post three threads in the space of a day, reply to nothing, and then ask for Permission. You've been replying to comments, on both your own threads and other people's, which is a brilliant way to go about things, so well done!

As to your characters and writing... well, I'd offer to give advice about how to make Eredan (did you decide on a translation of that, by the way? I think 'Mountains-man' works pretty well) realistic for Arda, but I think I already did that. ;) I can also work up a review of your 'War of the Worlds' story if you like, since I know both canons to some extent. Just ask.

hS

Most of us intended to/have at first, when we were newbies. It's okay to make a mistake, like what Sergio said. I did intend to do what you did, at first, and I even went so far as to write missions of my own, without Permission or claiming them. (I didn't publish 'em, don't worry.)

But that was before I found the 'Permission' and 'Unclaimed Badfic' and 'Mission Writing Guide' wiki pages, so I looked back on my writings, and deleted them because I thought they were crappy. So don't feel so bad, at least you haven't went so far as to writing undeveloped stories like mine.

~Autumn

It was a bit of a mistake, yes, but everyone does mistakes from time to time. Don't feel bad about it.

Just enjoy the community, and start thinking about how to improve your agents, or maybe come up with new ones from scratch if you hit a wall.

The latter possibility is kinda difficult to become absolutely necessary, though - I managed to turn an hopeless Stu of mine into an interesting and fleshed out Agent. Besides, hitting walls hurts. Just remember, come up with a characterization, a backstory, and just some "stat" details (what he's good at, what he isn't good at). Then let them grow on their own, write them as it "feels" right to do. They might become a bit different from what you thought at the beginning, but they will be more "alive".

... Confused? Don't worry, I just managed to confuse myself too.

He's looking a lot more suited to where he's from. I note he still has brown hair (but then, so does Grima the Wormtongue - a little genetic variation is allowed). As to the rest of him...

Okay, so he's not a mercenary - but now he doesn't have a job at all? He must have done something in sixty-three years. You've taken away his bow and reduced his fighting skills, so he couldn't really pass as a hunter any more... the go-to occupation for western Rhovanion would be 'woodsman', but you've placed him in the shadow of Gundabad. Hrm...

Well, let's talk about Gundabad, and the whole historical setting.

SA 1000 is a volatile period in the history of Middle-earth. For the past 250 years, the Numenoreans have been exploring the western and southern coastlines, mostly under the command of their current king Tar-Aldarion (reigned 883-1075). Over in the east, Sauron has been slowly building his forces for the past five hundred years; around 1000, he finally has enough confidence to begin building the Barad-dur.

On the other hand, the elven nation of Eregion is a thriving civilisation, and between it and Gil-Galad's Lindon, everything west of the Misty Mountains is inhabited by the elves. Greenwood the Great is also elven, and is several thousand years away from becoming 'Mirkwood'. Even Lothlorien - then known as Laurelindórenan - already exists, under a Sindarin king (probably Amdír Malgalad).

The Dwarves, too, are a strong presence. Khazad-Dum is a trading partner of both Eregion and Lorien, and its population is still swelled from the influx after Beleriand fell. Gundabad we don't know about - it simply didn't get mentioned enough - but we do know it was one of the most ancient Dwarven fastnesses (and, in fact, the awakening-place of Durin the Deathless). Given the strength of the 'Good' presence in the West, and the fact that the Dwarves are, for once, friendly with the elves, it seems fairly likely that Gundabad is inhabited by Dwarves. The Grey Mountains, too, are said to have been 'long mined by the Dwarves' - they weren't driven out until the Third Age.

But then there's the north. This cold, barren land, the remnants of Morgoth's two bastions of Angband and Utumno, is known to be inhabited by the hardy, wandering Forodwaith, who at least are men. But it is also likely home to a whole bunch of nasty creatures: the cold-drakes who later conquered the Grey Mountains would have lived here, and it's entirely possible that the whole place was teeming with Orc warrens and Wargs. The land that would become Angmar is also very nearby.

So what, ultimately, does this mean for Eredan? It means a life in comparative safety, punctuated by short periods of terror when Something came over the mountains. It means the local friendly people are the Dwarves, who are notably secretive, and are probably only glimpsed occasionally (bear in mind that Gundabad is by way of being a holy site - they wouldn't be inviting in visitors, you know?). It means that there are constant, disturbing rumours from the south of the Men of Westernesse, who come in their great ships, cutting down the ancient forest, and while they aren't exactly out to get the inhabitants, they're not exactly here to make friends, either. It means the elves are a constant presence - but already slightly unearthly. Both the humans - who, 1500 years ago, stopped their march west and settled in the Vale of Anduin - and the elves - Silvan folk who halted in the same place even longer ago, led by the Sindarin King Oropher (who claims to have escaped from that mythical western land before it sank) - are 'backwards', never having lived alongside the Noldor or the Edain.

On the plus side, both Oropher and the Dwarves would have made some effort to teach the humans basic sanitation. I think you're pushing things with an age of 63, and you're definitely into unreasonable with his parents hitting their 80s (bear in mind, these people aren't Edain - they don't have the extended lifespan of the Numenoreans), but take ten years off each of them and you're into reasonable territory.

-His parents have a farm. That's entirely reasonable, and probably what Eredan did for a 'living' when he still lived with them. What he does now, I'm not sure - his skills suggest thief or hunter, but he doesn't have the fighting ability of a hunter, and there's no-one around to steal from.

Hrm... would you mind a suggestion? Keeping his backstory the same, have him hear stories of the Numenoreans (by way of the Dwarves, or maybe the woodland elves - second- or third-hand, at any rate). Have him hear about their encampments and their logging down in the south, and have him decide he's going to go and see them - given his personality, it would be because he wanted something (maybe even one of those legendary swords?).

So he goes south, probably in his late twenties. He hikes down Anduin, passing by such places as the High Pass (and a party of Noldor from Eregion, tall and actually quite scary, with stars in their gaze...), and Lorien/Khazad-Dum, until finally he enters the ancient woodlands of the south (of which Fangorn is just the northern reach - but the Ents are a power in the world, too...). Finally, passing over open fields through what would later be the Gap of Rohan, he can reach the river Greyflood, and the Numenorean city at Tharbad, or maybe the haven at Lond Daer...

... only to find that the Men of the West aren't even as nice as rumour would have it. They are, basically, stuck-up, convinced of their own superiority, prone to treating the locals as little more than slaves. And the worst part is, they're right about how much better they are... about all Eredan can do is get a job as a lumberjack (because the Numenoreans, they love their trees).

So now you have an angry, serious man with a knack for going unseen, in the employ of the most powerful nation in the world. And he's cutting down the ancient forests (which means he might well run into Ents), and he still wants one of those swords - and there's not really enough food in the work camps, and 'them in the city' have so much, they wouldn't miss a little...

And now you have someone with a fully-fledged backstory, chock full of potential conflict once he joins the PPC. How will he feel about the rich? What will he do when he sees a sword he likes? Will he be prone to taking offense when others talk down to him?

I dunno. But I think he'd be interesting to read about.

hS

About that: I can't get on it right now, because I have homework to do in order to prepare for a graded in-class essay right now, but I'll do my best to look it over properly later tonight or tomorrow. If you want me to check over your agent profile as well while I'm at it, feel free to send it over...and sorry for taking so long to get back to you!

~DF, who has just realized that she is the final check through.

Well, he is my first LoTR OC and I just rehashed some old ideas with him. But not to fear, I improved him based on your critique. Here it is;

Name: Eredan

Gender: Male

Old Job: Mercenary

Birthdate: SA circa. 1000 January 23rd

Age: 63

Race: Human

Original Continuum: Lord of the Rings

Home: An un-named hamlet in a valley in the shadow of Mt. Gundabad

Strong Skills: Swordsmanship, Archery, Surivival, Agility

Personality: He is insular and humourless. He only speaks when necessary and always takes things seriously. He is quick to anger. He is uneducated.

Apperance: He has long, brown, very messy and unkempt hair and a matching beard. He is skinny and stinks. He is slightly taller than normal.

Gear: He wears a grey/green cloak over a brown tunic, ripped breaches, old fur boots and a makeshift knapsack over his back. He has a Numenorean sword (which he purchaased fairly, no matter what others would say) on his belt and carries a yew longbow around with him. He has (stolen) orcish arrows sticking out of his knapsack. (He has no idea how to make his own)

Much better, don'tcha think?

... doesn't actually seem to be mentioned on the Permission page anymore.

The answer to the question 'When should I ask?' is currently 'Whenever you feel comfortable and confident asking' - it then goes on to say that you're unlikely to be successful if the Permission Givers don't recognise you, but notes that 'there is no one magical time period' for how long that's likely to take.

I'm sure it used to specify one month as a general rule, as I'm pretty sure I can remember waiting exactly one month before making my request, but it doesn't appear to be as specific any more.

I agree with you, this is probably too early for 99Hedgehog's Permission request, but with the page as it currently is, I don't think it's that clear.