~PORTRAITS:An Intimate Look at the Rangers of Thin

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

*** The Rangers of Thintaur Home Page : thintaur.fairmount.nu/ **

Hello everybody. This is Finduilas Ancalimon, better known as Fernelf of the SHoA. Today I have the opportunity to present to you a very interesting Kinship. The story behind this Kinship is an intriguing one to say the least. I have been once again fortunate in that I have been able to ask questions from multiple kinship members. This week I have spoken to Sindacollo, TristramHaven and Ilrahan. It is my pleasure to bring to you; An Intimate look at the Rangers of Thintaur!



1) At last we get a chance to sit down and talk about The Rangers of Thintaur. Before we get started on the interrogation...cough...interview. Tell me about yourself. How did you choose Sindacollo?

The answer to that question resides in my character's history a little, but I'll try to keep it short. As is common with quite a lot of elves, they develop a 'nick name / common name' for lack of a better word, on top of the birth names given by their parents. In search of something a little less 'lordly', I thought the two elves that first found the untalkative Tar-Telperien on his return from a self imposed exile, might be inclined to call him by his attire when a name was not forth coming (Sindacollo meaning grey-cloak). Now those that know their middle-earth history will realize Sindacollo is hardly less 'lordly' but at least its in Sindarin, which remains consistent with the language of the land where I and my kinship is based.


2) How did the idea for the Rangers of Thintaur begin?

*reaches back into the deep recesses of his memory*

The idea was spawned so long ago it’s hard to recall the exact specifics. However, basically when I was developing my character and his history I saw room to join a house (guild/kinship), but couldn't find one right for Sindacollo. Thus I did what so many have done before me and continue to do so, and created one of my own. Originally it was a house for bitter outcasts; fallen souls etc that still clung to the good inside them but had done away with the common course to justice. A clichéd character and idea, I know LoL but although we have certainly evolved quite a lot since those early days, we still maintain that element of bitterness and mercilessness

3) Let me play devils advocate for a moment if I may. There are some out there that think we are all crazy for starting Kinships a year before the game even comes out. What say you to those critics?

I'd tell them that I must be the craziest of them all. If there was a record for maintaining a kinship without having an official game to enter, I think I'd have it sewn up, originally creating the Rangers well over 4 years ago for this very game. However, I don't regret a minute of it. There are so many trap falls waiting for pre-game kinship, but there are so many advantages too, that I dare not list them all to make room for other questions.

Ultimately it can be a lot of fun role-playing with your kinship members and the sense of satisfaction you get from creating something together is very rewarding. Practically, the time before the games release allows you to iron out a lot of flaws in your kinship and the way its run and lets you enter the game with a close knit group of friends upon which you can build upon once in the game itself. That's what kinships are all about right? Sharing a game with friends. Kinships are a great way of making new friends that share common interests both OOC and IC.

4) I must take a moment to compliment your home site. It is very detailed. Any question one could have about the Rangers of Thintaur can be answered there. Yet there is still some mystery behind your kinship. There are things that seem left for the reader to interpret. One example is the Rangers of Thintaur's alignment. As I read the FAQ on your home page I could not help to feel as though I was being enticed to read more.....find out more about the mysteries surrounding the Rangers of Thintaur. One subject that seems to be quite elusive is your alignment. From reading your web page and some of your other posts..I would guess that the Rangers of Thintaur are a Neutral/good alignment. If I am wrong please correct me. If I am right...please take a moment and tell us how you perceive your Kinship's alignment.

I think you hit the nail on the head regarding ones perception. Alignments are often complex concepts; not nearly as black and white as they are usually made out to be. The Alignment of one person individually is grey enough, let alone that of a whole kinship. However, I would consider us to be of a generally good orientation with a heavily neutral standpoint on many issues. For me to say such does not necessarily make it so. I’m sure the greedy lumber harvester trying to make a profit from the timbers of our forests may hold a different opinion of us!

Because alignment is so heavily dependant upon opinion, I try not to ‘tell’ people what side we are on, but entice them to learn more about us and decide for themselves. I’m very pleased to see it has worked on at least one person who has come to a conclusion very similar to my own.


5) How will your alignment affect other kinships? Will this enhance Kinship to Kinship association or hurt it?

Hmm good question. I certainly think the neutrality of our alignment may be the cause of a lot of frustration amongst other kinships. However, I think the complexity of our alignment will really force other kinships to develop a thorough understanding of us and our views, which can only help to form strong bonds with those whom we do share common grounds with.




6) Will there be internal struggle inside your members when it comes time to make decisions? Let me clarify.....there will be many "fallen souls" that may end up with a chance to redeem themselves....will that be part of the fun...for those members to have freedom of choice...and then to live with those consequences?

Yes and no (spoken like a true elf eh? ) Our members will most definitely have a great freedom of choice to do as they wish and live with those consequences. We are trying to move as far away from a military organization as we can and closer to a family like structure. Remember back to when you were a child, break a family rule and you would have to face the consequences, but you wouldn’t (in most cases I hope!) be kicked out of the family. The decision to leave a family is usually, ultimately your own. Sometimes people just grow too different from their families.

The same scenario applies to our kinship. Once a Ranger of Thintaur, you shall have our full support till death or departure. As long and arduous as the process is to become one of us, it’s much harder to depart from us than to join us. That’s not saying we’ll keep you locked up in chains, but rather even if you make some bad mistakes, kicking you out of the kinship is a very, very rare and last resort. As with a family, some members may just grow apart from the kinship and should it be decided that the best course of action is for them to leave, ultimately the decision will be their own. I think that freedom of choice will be most appreciated once we enter the game.

In most instances the kinship as a whole will look too each and every one of its members to help make important decisions. However, (I use this example a lot), if you ask a council to build a horse, you’ll get a camel. Sometimes executive decisions need to be made in which rare cases, the more senior members will be asked to speak on behalf of the other rangers.

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

7) You mentioned senior members......will they get discounts on certain items because they are seniors?..(ok you don’t have to answer that one...chuckles) Could you be so kind as to introduce us to your senior members?

LoL 'The walking stick club' consists of a few of those members that have been around since the hallowed green boards such as Ilrahan, Dealin, Lytenian, Sheela, Anahkil, Erethrin, Torathel and even Tithrandil Greenwood. It's a rather informal and growing list that will hopefully include the vast majority of members at some point in the game's release. There are a select few senior members that have taken up leadership like roles within the kinship but more of them later.

8) How is your kinship structured? Do certain members have certain responsibilities?

Due to the small size and close knit nature of the kinship, we are fortunate enough to be able to avoid regimenting the Rangers. However, there are still a certain amount of tasks that need to be performed within the kinship and to better help organize the accomplishment of such tasks various roles have been created within the kinship. Each member is required to take up one of these roles, ranging from the Maethorthelyn, our protectors and combat orientated rangers to the Thavryn, our craftsmen and artists.

In essence, these roles are for the most part, a formal name given to an unspoken understanding of the various responsibilities each of our rangers has. It also gives each of our members an extra little sense of individualistic pride within the kinship, e.g. the Terendir (the scouts) can be proud to know not a soul will travel past our invisible borders without it coming to their attention.

Interestingly enough, our kinship has four primary goals / ambitions and although every member is charged with ensuring we accomplish all of them, certain goals are more specifically tailored to certain roles. Or rather, the roles have been tailored to the goals.

On top of all this we have the Galadmel. These rangers are not fully pledged members, but rather Rangers in Training. Aspiring members must endure an arduous and lengthy period of time as one of the Galadmel before taking up one of the other roles, so that both the kinship and the Galadmel can be certain that joining us is mutually beneficial.

9) Do regular members have a say in matters, or is everything decided by a council?

All our members have an equal say in matters at all times possible. However, a council of sorts, known as In Odog Byrgell, does exist and is used occasionally to make executive decision. Each role has a 'leader / prime teacher / overseer' figure attached to it, who accompanied with the founding member and his assistant, the Gwador, make up In Odog Byrgell.

Perhaps an example would be beneficial. Although the game mechanics probably won't allow it, let’s pretend we are deciding what sort of shelter we want to build. The Maethorthelyn and Terendir would have found us a good spot for the shelter but ultimately, its construction is in the hands of our craftsmen (Thavryn). Any decisions that need to be made would be discussed amongst the Thavryn and the final decision brought to In Odog Byrgell by the Thavron (leader of the Thavryn). Bringing these matters to In Odog Byrgell is really just a matter of courtesy in most cases as the advice of the Thavron and his Thavryn would reign supreme.

So while you may notice our other rangers didn't have much of a say in the matter, I believe this type of system helps things run a little smoother and avoids a big vote on every trivial matter. Of course, if one of our other members really did have a big problem with the decisions of the Thavryn in the construction of our shelter, they would be given the proper respect and attention they deserve.

In matters that affect the whole kinship, such as war, In Odog Brygell would be used to gather the voices and opinions of all our members and make a final decision based on the general consensus of the kinship. So as you can see, this council is not used to exert any sort of authority on our members, sway their decisions or act independently to the kinship. Rather it is used a focal point for opinions and as an avenue for such opinions to have an affect on the running of our kinship.

I am going to go mosey around a bit and see who else may be willing to answer some questions for me. I promise not to break anything!

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

(The next set of questions were presented to TristramHaven)



10) First I want to thank you for taking a moment to answer some questions. If you would could you tell us a little about your character and how they came to be part of the Rangers of Thintaur?


Okay, my characters name is William Haven and was originally a man of Gondor. Some years ago he ventured with the honorable Rue Warhand (Back in the days of the Green Boards of MEO) and promised to aid him in the search of the lost Black arrow that slew Smaug. Alas, Rue had vanished, and William saw himself pledged to his friend in retrieving this artifact. In this, he sought out his old friend Tar-Telperien/Sindacollo of the ThinTaur rangers for shelter and aid. In this, William Haven was keen to follow the ways of the forest and aid the rangers in their cause, and the forest of Mirkwood being close to Laketown, it'd be a good vantage point for the search of Blackarrow. After living with the rangers for some time, William Haven grew to love and care for his kinship, and by that took a more active role in the protection of Mirkwood and his guild members. After a while, William Haven was appointed one of the Maethorthelyn. One of the leaders of ThinTaurs fighting forces.


11) What position do you hold within your kinship and also include any duties your are responsible for.

Okay, so as mentioned I am a Maethorthelyn. Beyond that I moderate the council boards of the ThinTaur web-page. Furthermore I sketched out the guidelines for the alliance system for ThinTaur, and take one various tasks when it comes to ideas and general guild duties. As one of the main counselors for ThinTaur I try to make everyone enjoy their kinship. Also I'm the founding father of the ThinTaur Stooges (Don't ask )


12) I promise not to ask..but you do know you have everyone curious now eh? Some Kinships will rely heavily on alliances while others may have only one or two alliances within Middle earth. How important are alliances for your Kinship?

Alliances are something not taken lightly upon. By previous experiences as I was dep. Command. of the largest alliance in DAoC Europe at one point (600+ players which was approx. 30% of the entire server)

Since this tended to be messy and really not serve it's purpose we've decided it's better to have small alliances with close knitted guilds than large un-personal alliances. It's important that the Rangers of ThinTaur follow their primary goals, which is more neutral than the ones probably in the majority of kinships.



13) What do you see as adventitious when it comes to an alliance?

Basically the main advantage of an alliance is the exchange of services when it comes to crafting and the aid on larger missions. When it comes to battles, if it's anything similar to the RvR aspect of DAoC, the advantage will be having a chain of command to keep battles organized.

The main disadvantage of an alliance is no doubt intrigues some players are bound to have among themselves, which will result in a weaker alliance. Thus, making few but strong alliances what we strive for.


14) The Rangers of Thintaur have quite a complex system for types of agreements that they may negotiate. Could you tell our viewers about a few of those agreements and how they differ?

Well the different systems we have is:

Allegiance of Nature
Pledge of Friendship
Pledge of Cause
Alliance of Might

Allegiance of Nature is basically one of which we do not have any obligations to one another, but we do consider each other on the same side and will of course aid when it is appropriate.

Pledge of Friendship is more or less the same as the Allegiance of Nature, but it's a bit deeper. We will try to maintain a good co-operation with the kinships in this group.

Pledge of Cause is our main alliance type, which means we are pledged to the same cause, and by this will aid each other whenever we can. However this must not be looked upon as a ball & chain if there are to be differences in which causes the different parts should partake.

Alliance of Might is the alliance type we will not enter into unless absolutely necessary. It's an alliance based on battle, and will perhaps be more eligible at the late stages of the game if there rise bigger battles near Minas Tirith.



Thank you very much for answering these questions. I do feel that it helps to understand the specifics behind an agreement. I am off to talk to Ilrahan!

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

(The next set of questions were presented to Ilrahan)


15) I am fortunate that you are also participating in the interview. Before we talk about the Rangers of Thintaur, tell our viewers a little about yourself.

In real life I'm Flemming Steffensen, a 21-year-old history student living in the Netherlands (Though I have the Danish nationality). I’ve been with The Rangers of Thintaur for over 4 years and though most that time the kinship lay almost dormant I’ve tried to hang on to it. (and as you can see I succeeded.)

In the Kinship I have two characters, Ilrahan and Elronin. They are brothers who lost their parents in a very literal sense. After a long journey far from there home they returned to find both mother and father missing. The search for their parents is what drives both brothers, yet each has a unique way of dealing with the situation (except for the fact that they both drink a lot ).


16) What is your position within the Kinship?

I have no high-ranking position in the kinship. My characters are both part of the regular member group and though we have what you might call leaders, hierarchy is not very important at the Rangers of Thintaur.

I am what you might call a senior member since I’ve been with the group since almost the beginning, but this has only led to a close friendship with Tar-Telperien(Sindacollo) and not to special privileges, except being made moderator of our RP forum.

17) How did you find yourself becoming involved with the Rangers of Thintaur?
It was a long time ago, but as I recall I used to frequent the RP forum at MEVault.com. I was involved in a few stories and developed an interest in joining a kinship. I followed a link in Tar-Telperien’s sig and wound up on his site. There was no looking around involved. I found the kinship I wanted to join instantly. The level of maturity that could be found at the RoTT was one of the biggest selling points.

I recently visited the old site we had in those days and the news post that announced my joining the kinship was still there. I think this was in 1999. Here follows the news post of that day written by Tar-Telperien(Sindacollo).

“2nd of August
I am not sure if it’s the week of the Ranger, something is in the water or due to my charming posts (2 out of 3 isn’t bad) but the Rangers of ThinTaur continue on its steady rate of growth with three new members. I would like to welcome Björn Halvor, Melondar and Elronin into our house. Elronin had taken up the role of the Talkhar while Björn and Melondar, although know that this is the house for them, understandably (as the game is close to a year off) are still yet to decide which role would be best for them.

On another note I have made some rough sketches for a change to the web site. Now I just need some artists to help me implement them. I have changed the recruiting page a little, and have added a FAQ page. Unfortunately, the only link to it is inside the recruiting page. I’m working on making the links look a lot different. With our increase of numbers I have been forced to change the members’ page so it is more pleasing to the eye. Remember we have a house meeting soon, hope to see you all there and keep posting on the stilted pony. *smiles*”

The old site can be found at www.geocitie.com/thintaur if anyone is interested. (It’s not the first Thintaur website, but it does have almost all the news dating back to the beginning)


18) Even with MEO online still a year a way, The Rangers of Thintaur have already proven their loyalty. Four years is quite a long time. I am sure there have been good times and also not so good times in those four years. Could you tell us some of the high and low points?

Well I guess for me there were three highs and a very deep(and long) low.

Joining was the first high. I was really excited about joining and everyone was eager to help a new member. The second high follows from the first since my time at the RoTT became better and better with intensive role-playing on message boards and interesting discussions about MEO with fellow members.

Then came the low. The Sierra incarnation of MEO was cancelled and the kinship almost faded away.

The third high was the resurrection of the kinship at the end of 2003. A new website and new members made the RoTT great once more.

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

19) Since you are indeed a history major, you are the perfect candidate to explain the complex history of the Rangers of Thintaur. Would you take a few moments and do so?

Hmm..There are two ways answer this question. The in-game history and the ‘real life’ history. Since I don’t want to pick the wrong one I will cover them both.

For the in-game history I’ll start by giving a short summary of the story Tar-Telperien has come up with. For the full version follow this link. www.thintaur.fairmount.nu/history.html

Basically the story goes that when Sauron was chased out of Dol Guldur, Thranduil thought he would like to know how bad Mirkwood had gotten in the south. The elves that Thranduil sends out encounter a ragged elf on the way who seemed to be coming from the south. Sindacollo, for that was the ragged elf’s name, revealed little about himself, but was willing to guide the others south.

After some time the came upon a village being plundered by orcs. The elves jumped into the fray, yet the damage had been done. Only two men of the village were left standing. Gripped with rage Sindacollo swore to protect the forest from then on. The small band then pursued the remaining attackers, leaving none alive.

Returning as far north as the old forest road the band became a band of warrior sworn to protect the forest. Growing in numbers by inviting in those that wished to banish the evil taint of the land. These men and women became known as the Rangers of Thintaur.

(I would like to apologize to Tar for butchering his story )
As for the Real life history I can say very little about the origins. Tar-Telperien founded the kinship and I believe that was in the beginning of 1999 (March); however his motives and the development in the following six months are mostly unknown to me. I do know that the kinship experienced a steady growth reaching about fifty within a year. However that year also brought the news of the cancellation of MEO by Sierra on 19 September 1999.

Sindacollo’s news post after the terrible news had been made public:

“21st of September
I am sure you have all heard the terrible news surrounding middle-earth online in the last couple of days. If not let me briefly tell you what happened. The majority of the dev team (we are not exactly sure how many, but it is closer to all then none) have been fired. The reason? Sierra did not like the way the current dev team had the game heading. Fear not I do believe that this is just another steep hill (there have been many so far that we have traveled over) in a long journey. Middle-earth will be completed. My greatest fear is what the reward will be at the end of the journey.

The old dev team implemented new ideas like perma death, minimal magic use and a few other 'new' ideas, in an effort to remain consistent with Tolkiens works. They labored hard and long to make (or work on for a long period of time) a game that would have done Tolkien's middle-earth justice. This could have been and probably would have been a role-players and Tolkien fans dream. While we must give the new dev team at least half a chance I am worried that they will turn it into a hack and slash game with no substance (similar to another game I know of Eve..) with magic bolts of fire and lightning being thrown all over the place.

I urge you all to e-mail Sierra and tell them a) what a big mistake they have made in sacking the old dev team and b) if they turn it into a hack and slash game that you and thousands of others will not buy it and any of there future products. Whatever happens in the future rest assured that the Rangers of ThinTaur shall stick together. If middle-earth does not welcome our presence (although no substitute for middle-earth) there are plenty of other realms for us to enter in.”

Still the kinship pushed on searching for other endeavors with which to pass the time until the inevitable reappearance of MEO would happen. There was a short-lived push to get the kinship to play Acheron’s Call, yet that never worked out. The kinship went through another website change at this time and continued to grow at about a member per week. (I should note that at this time many members were also becoming inactive or simply leaving)

The search for a game we could play until MEO started to intensify, yet mostly failed to deliver any results. That was until we started playing on a Ultima Online Shard called Lands of Lore in February 2000. This was and is our most successful endeavor to date. Quite a few members played on this shard and it went on until July 2000. (Sadly I had never been able to join the fun)

During all this time small tidbits of news about a re-emergence of Sierra’s MEO trickled out, yet amounted to very little.

Then the Rangers of Thintaur site became very quiet. For over a year almost nothing happened which is emphasized by the absence of news posts by Sindacollo from July 2000 until April 2001. Few members visited the site and only at MEvault.com could our existence really be seen.

MEO by Sierra seemed to be picking up steam in 2001 so those of us that were left had high hopes. Yet once more our hopes were crushed as no new information was released.

Then in November 2001 Sindacollo disappeared. Only about three of us were left for the entire time that he was gone which was until august 2002. I and the others that were left tried to keep the forums on the site alive, but it almost became a chore. Most discussions revolved around the ‘Where is Tar-Telperien?’ question.

With Tar’s return faith returned to kinship and we ploughed on. New forums and a another new website were created which were a little more active now. Still with no news of MEO the kinship was still balancing on a razor’s edge.

So it went until the new MEO was announced. (I’m a little confused now whether the black label MEO is the same as the Turbine one, but that hardly matters)

From this point on everything started looking up for the RoTT and at the end of 2003 the present forums were created which was sort of a symbolic finishing touch to the new Rangers of Thintaur.

And that is where we stand today. Were been through a lot and have survived against all odds. If you want a kinship that won’t go dead then I doubt you could find a better one. Combine that with dedicated members and a friendly, non-restrictive structure and you have what I believe to be one of the best kinships for MEO.

I thank you kindly for taking time to allow us all to know how complex your history really is.

[Finduilas Ancalimon]

(I found myself back with Sindacollo)


It seems as if we have come full circle my friend. I began my interview with you and feel it fitting to close with your comments.
I want to thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak with TristramHaven and Ilrahan. Both have helped me to understand how much work and dedication has gone into the Rangers of Thintaur. With fours years in the making....I could go on forever with questions to you and your members. But alas, with sadness to see our time together end.....Is there any last words you have for our viewers?

First allow me to thank you for letting me take part in your interview. We at the Rangers of Thintaur are very appreciative to have been given the chance to let the rest of the MEO community gain a better insight into our kinship. It has been a long journey, but these last few months have helped us realize that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Although our kinship is not right for everyone, we really do enjoy and welcome guests to our boards and look forward to the day where we can welcome them to our humble homes within the forest once we ACTAULLY have a game to PLAY!! (of course, we’d be In Character then and have to shun you with a distrusting eye for a while). *pats himself on the back for not letting one jibe at cross-dressing Rainyboo slip in the interview*

Oh and one last word of warning. When visiting our thread, beware of the lurking dark elf that haunts our basement. He’s been known to bite.

EOI (End of Interview)
*gives Fernelf a big hug* Every online community needs people like you. Keep up the great work and thanks again!!


I come away from these talks truly amazed at the depth of dedication the members of the Rangers of Thintaur have to each other and to this game. In my eyes…The Rangers of Thintaur are the true heroes of Middle Earth. I hope you have enjoyed your time with us dear reader. This is but the tip of the intrigue behind this marvelous kinship. Go take a peek at their website and you too will be enticed to spend time there….chuckle maybe another 4 years!


End Note:

If you would like to further this discussion with the Rangers of Thintaur post here: http://forums.middle-earthonline.co...=&threadid=1255


If you have any suggestions for future interviews post here:
http://forums.middle-earthonline.co...=&threadid=7534

[Niegol]

Impressive!!! The members of RoTT must be very proud to be a part of such a kinship. Very good interview fernelf, I enjoyed reading it very much!