I'm running out of ideas of what to do with the game as is. It's why I'm been semi-out of it the past week or two. I also know that a lot of us feel constrained, either by external plots or by the messes our characters got themselves into. Thus, I propose a reset. A FULL reset. Clean character chalkboard (except whatever history you give them. Tolkien written histories taking precedent as always), to build up and get messy in brand-spanking new ways! Here's your chance to wrangle muses and start over <3

But I wanna do things a little differently this time. World is the same as Tolkien wrote it, right up to the siege of Minas Tirith.

To vote, simply reply with 'nay' or a 'yea' since I can't do polls unless I pay 9_9

Here's the concept:

Minas Tirith Falls. The Rohirrim never came because the second red arrow never arrived. Aragorn was delayed to the Paths of the dead and by the time he got to Pelargir it was too late to save Minas Tirith. The city is ransacked, most of it's buildings destroyed, leaving little more than the walls and piles of rubble where buildings once stood. For reasons unknown, the Citadel and Archives were almost untouched. Perhaps divine intervention...

Aragorn took the fighters he would have gone to Minas Tirith with (and the civilians as well) and set up shop in Dol Amroth, fighting off a massive attack by Corsairs that left most of the city in ruin and many dead.

Deciding that Gondor is weak enough to leave be for now, Sauron turns his attention to Lothlorien, Thranduil and Dale, all of which have managed to break their sieges. He unleashes the fury of Mordor, emptying the land of all forces in an effort to crush the resistance. Dale and Erebor are heavily damaged, and parts of Mirkwood burn.

Theoden prepares the best defense - an offense, and with Lorien, they distract Sauron long enough for the forces of Mirkwood, Dale and Erebor to repel their attackers.

Knowing Frodo is in Mordor, Aragorn takes those who will fight, and rides hellbent, coming behind Sauron's forces and staging raids.

The battle is long, and bloody. Aragorn , Imrahil and the remains of Gondor's armies from the south, Dale, Erebor and Mirkwood from the North, Lorien and Rohan from the East. It is merely a distraction. A thorn in Sauron's side, and even with all the combined might they have to bear, even with Anduril's glow, Galadriel's shining armour, and the battle shouts of the dwarves, it will not be enough to overcome Sauron's power.

They fight to die, rather than be enslaved. They fight for revenge, they fight because that is the only choice left to them. Even the elves choose not to flee, inspired in this 11th hour. Women join in the fray. Even children as young as 10. All the free peoples of the West rise up, rather than let darkness crush them further. Minas Tirith did not fall in vain - it became the rallying cry.

Yet still, it is but a distraction.

But the distraction is all Frodo needs. The ring is destroyed, and Sauron's army panics. At last, their hearts broken, the army is crushed, the Witchking slain at the hands of Eowyn, the Haradrim in retreat, the Easterlings killed or captured. It is not without cost. Numerous Dunedain are slain, as is Theoden King, and many, many others.

Aragorn releases those who surrendered, after extracting promises from them of mutual aide. Galadriel levels Dol Guldor and cleanses it. Eomer returns to Edoras as King - with the fields of Gondor plundered, the farms of Rohan become much more important.

The game starts six months after this battle. Gondorians, being stubborn, have set the seat of the King in the ruins of Minas Tirith, where a new-found White sapling has been planted, and already grows at a rapid pace. Aragorn has been crowned king, of a Northern Kingdom of ancient ruin, and a Southern Kingdom that shall rise from the ashes of near defeat.

The rebuilding is nearly complete. Some eyes are set to return Minas Ithil to glory, if it can be cleansed of a millenia of darkness, but there is more joy over the pending wedding of the king, and the fact that Gondor's cities have begun to recover. With the help of the dwarves, Minas Tirith and Dol Amroth shine once more, and Pelargir, while still a shadow of it's former self, is well on the way.

Still, the echoes of battle and war and destruction still haunt the alleyways at night, and there remain ruins and areas abandoned. There are shadows, in the eyes of some... And in the Halls of Mandos, the gates have swung open..

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As for characters - If we do this, use this to base where they are now, and if they even survived, if they've returned, etc.