Irina Took , Bounder of Southfarthing

Biography

Birthday: May 23rd

The early years ( age 0 to 12 , TA 2091 - 3003)

Irina was born a Took through and through. She grew up in Tookbourough in the Eastfarthing amid the Shire's most eccentric clan. Irina was the daughter of a leatherworker and part time sherriff. Her mother, who was a Proudfoot by birth, was the daughter of one of the postmasters in Michel Delving. Irina traveled quite a bit in her early years with her father as he hiked the White and the Red Downs in the Southfarthing. She also inherited from her father a fondness for making up songs, which made her a local celebrity at an early age. By the end of her childhood, her widowed father had moved to Hardbottle, in the heartland of the South Farthing where she and her father were widely acknowledged to be of the queer kind of folks.

Personal Traits: Reputation (Songstress, Shire, +1) [1], voice [10] ,  

Hobbit : ST -5, DX +1, HT +2 [-10], fond of food and drink [-1], Hard to kill 4 [8], overweight [-1], SM -2, Will +2 [10], silence 4[10], talent (Green thumb) [5]

Skills : Area Knowledge (Shire) [6], writing [2], leatherworking [2], Hiking [4], Observation [3], Naturalist [2], Survival (woodlands) [2], Weather Sense [2], singing [4]

The Bounder years ( age 12 to 22, TA 3003 - 3013 ) 

In her teenage years, Irina soon became an independent traveler. She scoured the South Farthing, running messages and occasionally the mail. She quickly learned about the wild life in the Shire, and faced the occasional undesired beasts. Her father made sure that she was trained in archery, in hope that she could fend off any trouble if cornered. She became a local expert in natural lore. Her advice to farmers on controlling pests helped to straighten her name (She is a Took, after all). She became de facto a shire bounder, or border patrol, as she busied from pastures to villages, helping people for a pot pie or a sack full of pipe weed. She also became relatively famous for entertaining villages with old and original songs. 

Skills: Stealth [4], bow [4], Naturalist [4], Performance [2], singing [4], Hiking [4], Survival (woodland) [4], Area Knowledge (The Shire) [12]

The Dark years ( age 22 to 27, TA 3013 - 3018 )

As the war of the ring drew near, the occurrence of strangers, beasts, blights and elves crossing into the shire began to increase. The bounders of the Shire formed a more organized body: with a structure and a systematic way to coordinate patrols to cover all borders at most time. Irina was an important component of the bounder system. She could travel everywhere without rousing suspicion (she was, after all, a agricultural consultant and performer). She, however, specialized in the wild borders of the South Farthing. Irina also made contact with rangers and exchanged information with them. She learned a lot from them about the North and its dangers. Most valuable is the secret of Herb lore, which gave her the ability to make a variety of simple herbal brews.

Skills : Herb Lore [2], Naturalist [2], Stealth [2], bow [4], hiking [2], Survival (woodland) [2], Area Knowledge (The North) [4]

The scouring of the Shire ( age 27 to 30, TA 3018 - 3021)

When Lotho Sackville-Bagins began his land grab, a wave of discontent started to spread and a lot of the hobbits turned to the bounders for help. Irina became at the same time a defender of the old ways, and a suspect in the eyes of the new Mayor of the Shire. Irina had to vanish from the public eye and blend into the wilderness. She was helped by a large number of friends, and spent most of her time in Buckland and along the Brandywine river at the southern edge of the Shire. Due to the herb lore learnt from the rangers, she could prepare a number of tinctures with antiseptic and analgesic properties. She soon started to act as a traveling nurse: going wherever ailing hobbits needed them. Under Saruman, and with the arrivals of Uruks and goblins, she acquired much experience in field medicine. She was part of the underground resistance, which remained powerless until the Meriadoc and Pippin came back to the Shire.

She was part of the battle of Bywater as a nurse: she did not shoot a single arrow in anger during the entire battle.

Skills: First-aid [8], Herb Lore [2], hiking[1], Survival (woodlands) [2], observation [3], bow [1], Stealth [4]

After the war of the ring (age 30 to 45, FA 0 - 15)

As the fourth age dawned, King Elessar banned all men from entering the Shire, and extended the Shire to include Buckland and Westmarch. Irina settled down and married Herman Longbottom. They acquired a small plot of land near Sarnford. There they began growing their own crop of pipe-weed with in hope to establish a regular trade with the humans rebuilding Tharbad. 

Irina's dedication to farming was, however, short lived. The southern edge of the Shire, the banks of the Brandywine, began to teem with beasts and intruders. Irina took upon herself to patrol the riverbank from Sarnford to the Southern marshes. She made a number of business contact with Tharbad and Bree in the last few years, and worked at fending off the various and still lingering blights left behind by agents of Angmar.  

Skills :Merchant [2], observation [2], bow [3], Area Knowledge (The North) [4], farming [2], First-aid [2], 

GM Notes : Irina is joining as an excellent markswoman, but must used a severely underpowered bow due to her low strenght. A clever use of her bow, stealth, local knowledge, and healing skills will make her a valuable addition to the company.