The Star of the Mist IC & OOC threads are reserved for the Company being formed by Áski, Homnir, Vidar and Kelda.

We can start discussing roles and such here.

A Patron is an influential individual who has taken an interest in the group, and that in the course of the game will offer the Company additional reasons to go adventuring, often providing both support and counsel.
All Patrons work with the Player-heroes from time to time, following a personal agenda, but in general hoping to influence the events that are going to shape Middle-earth in the years to come.

Balin, son of Fundin will be your Company's Patron.

Per the book, Balin is more in line with the following Callings:
Captain & Champion
(but the Adventures you have should be fine for all)
His agenda being:
Reclaim lost strongholds, eliminate enemy lieutenants, etc.

Balin gives you +1 to the Fellowship Points (the "free" Hope you can spend per session).

And he also gives an Advantage:
Spend Fellowship to make a combat roll Favoured.
Meaning that if the group agrees to have one of you spend one of those Fellowship points (more on that later when we set up the Company) as a Hope point in combat-- you also get to roll Favoured (two d12 Feat dice and take the best).

Sounds good to me.

So, having merged both groups into one Company, I will stop the Star of the Mist adventure for now.
Which is easy since the journey had not been started, yet.
And we will return to the Star of the Mist after the new re-grouped Company has finished the part with the Troll from Old Bones and Skin.

This message was deleted by the player at 23:05, Sun 16 Jan 2022.