Realms of Resistance

As the Third Age draws to a close and the Shadow stretches out across Middle-earth, in the west, there remain three bastions of Light. The Elder Days when the Elves once sang and danced under the canopy of the forests that stretched the whole of Middle-earth are long gone, their numbers greatly reduced in the wars against Sauron and his predecessors and by the loss of hope that led others to take the secret paths and ways to the Grey Havens, and from there sail into the West and find peace in the Undying Lands. For those that remain, the Long Defeat yet looms over them, the triumph of Sauron and Shadow, even as they take refuge under the protection of four great Elf lords and ladies, protected by the greatest magic of all—the Three Rings! These are the Elven Rings of Power, forged in the Second Age by Celebrimbor in Eregion—Vilya, Narya, and Nenya—hidden away and untouched by Sauron. Worn respectively by Elrond, Círdan the Shipwright, and Galadriel, they have each used their Ring of Power to protect their realms—Rivendell, Lindon, and Lothlórien—against unwanted change. They remain long into the Third Age and are the subject of Realms of the Three Rings.

Realms of the Three Rings is a setting supplement for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Published by Free League Publishing, it expands upon the setting material given in the core rulebook for The One Ring and Ruins of the Lost Realm, the regional guide to the lands of southern Eriador, and adds depth to the background of any Elven Player Character in a campaign for The One Ring. There is scope for the lords of these Realms to become Patrons to the Player Characters, for non-Elves to become Elf-friends, and potentially some of the secrets that these lords hold. Of course, the Realms are not safe and even as they feel inviolable, Sauron and the forces of Shadow plot to undermine them and Realms of the Three Rings details three of these plots. Nine landmarks are described, some of which are tied into the three plots, some of which are located within the Realms. Lastly, the supplement offers options for the player, but in the main, Realms of the Three Rings is primarily a book for the Loremaster.

Ruins of the Lost Realm begins with a history of the Eldar from the Elder Days to the Twilight of the Third Age and what is surprising about it is that it kept to just two pages. It could have been much, much longer given how lengthy and detailed the history of Elves is in Middle-earth lore, but to be fair that history is available elsewhere and much of it is unlikely to have a direct effect upon a Loremaster’s campaign. This does not mean that the Loremaster cannot instead do her own research and bring elements of that history into play, because effectively that is what the authors of Ruins of the Lost Realm are doing. Their focus is upon the Three Rings of Power, how they were created by Celbrimbor, and the rise of Sauron as he used his own ring to subvert the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. It may not be an extensive history, but is enough here at least.

The influence of Three Rings of Power can be seen in the strange experience of staying in one of the surviving Elf-lands. There are literally a timelessness and an introspectiveness to the Realms that means that visitors will often initially feel overwhelmed by its apparent idleness and lack of urgency. In time, they either learn to live in step with it or never quite shake of its dream-like feel. The timelessness also means that visitors are never quite aware of how much time passes whilst they are there, weeks passing by before they are ready to leave again. There benefits to staying in an Elf-realm though. When a Company visits one of the three realms, it automatically triggers a Fellowship Phase. One of the things that that Player-hero can do is the Heal Scars Undertaking and remove a Shadow Scar. However, this is in addition to whatever Undertaking the Player-hero wants to do. It costs Adventure Points to do so. Otherwise, Player-heroes who are not Elf-friends or native to one of the realms cannot spend their Yule Fellowship Phase there.

Each of the three realms—Rivendell, Lindon, and Lothlórien—is richly detailed with information about its numerous locations, its Ring of Power, notable figures, and more. For example, the description of Lindon includes details of the Nine Houses of Mithlond, guild-like organisations that regulate labour and professions, organise festivals, sponsor festivals, and more. These are a ready source of NPCs and possible plots should the Loremaster decide to develop them. Of the three realms, Rivendell is the most well-known, having previously been detailed in The One Ring Loremaster’s Screen & Rivendell Compendium, but it makes sense have it described here with the other two Elf-lands. That said, Realms of the Three Rings does not simply reprint the previously presented information, but expands on it to detail the wider hidden valley of Imladris, so now the Player-heroes can spend time with Gandalf sharing stories and music under the Hoary Old Chestnut, and perhaps hear a rumour or whisper on the wind, or follow the sound of the Piper in the Woods. Of the three realms, Lothlórien is the most mysterious and the most closed off, understandable given its proximity to Moria. Indeed, given that proximity, the Loremaster may want to have Realms of the Three Realms close to hand if she is planning to run Moria – Through the Doors of Durin. Much like the Fellowship, Player-heroes here may receive the Gifts of Galadriel if they take the Meet Patron undertaking and one Player-hero and his Fellowship Focus can even ne allowed to look into the Mirror of Galadriel. Of course, there is a chance that the Player-hero will see a harrowing vision, scarring him as much as it does give him insight, but looking into the mirror is a momentous event and should be treated as being very special.

One nice touch is that although all three realms are described as unyielding and unchanging, each includes a table that adds a fitting random element. For Lindon, this is ‘Exploring the Markets’ giving a range of interesting traders and craftsmen to buy from and learn from; for Rivendell, it is ‘Many Meetings in Rivendell’, a table of NPC types that the Loremaster can develop; and in Lothlórien, there are ‘Elf-Minstrel Songs’ that the Player-heroes may be lucky to hear. These add a little variation and again, can be developed further by the Loremaster to add extra detail and flavour.

The encroaching nature of the Shadow comes to the fore in Realms of the Three Realms with a plot directed at the Elven realms, each intended by Sauron to bring ruin to the Elves. Each includes some background and explanation of the plot, stats for the NPCs involved all of them nasty and evil in their own way, and a timeline that stretches twenty years into the future from 2965 TA. These are set-ups more than anything else, but they are detailed set-ups whose suggested plots and events can be woven around other adventures. As expected, these are particularly strong storylines for Player-heroes who are Elves, exposing them to some of the vile fates that Sauron and his minions have inflicted upon their fellow Elves. In ‘Perils of the Last Road’, Sauron sends Morlhoss, the Dark Whisper, a vengeful, spurned Elven spirit, and Zagruk, the Voice From Beyond, a gifted Orc Sorcerer who bears The Mask of Spirits, an iron mask that enables him to become a host for Morlhoss, to prey upon those Elves who have decided to journey into the West, making travel difficult across the Misty Mountains in particular. The Dark Lord targets Rivendell in ‘Memories of Ancient Wounds’ as he sends Cauthlin, an ancient spirit known as the weasel-lady, to take her revenge on the Elves of the Last Homely House. Playing on his grief at the loss of his wife, Celebrián, and fears of the possible loss of his daughter, Arwen, Sauron hopes that Elrond can be drawn out of his refuge where he will be vulnerable. In ‘Old Hatreds May Still Breed War’ sees Sauron drive a wedge between the Elves of Lindon and the Dwarves of the Blue Mountain when an Elf, recently escaped from captivity of the Orcs of Mount Gram, claims to have seen a great hoard of Dwarven arms, armour, and treasure in the Orc hold and that the Dwarves must be paying tribute to Mount Gram! This is an insult that cannot stand on either side as the lack of wisdom amongst the young Elves and their yearning for valour and glory pushes them into confrontation of the infamous stubbornness of the Dwarves.

All of the NPCs are nicely drawn here and it should be noted that not all of the villains are totally and utterly villainous. There is a path to redemption for some of them, though not all. Cauthlin, the weasel-lady, is genuinely evil and that is clear from the unsettling illustration of her that accompanies her description. If there is a downside to the three plots, it is that Lothlórien does not receive one, though given how closed off and inaccessible that realm is, it may be that Sauron has not yet devised a scheme which he thinks will make it vulnerable.

Lastly, Realms of the Three Rings details nine Landmarks, adventure sites across Eriador. Some of these can be tied into the plots described in the previous section. For example, Ost Breniellin is a fortress that guards Lindon’s north and is home to the House of Exiles, who now make the accusations against the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains in ‘Old Hatreds May Still Breed War’, whilst ‘The Valleys of the Dwarves’ is home to the accused. ‘The Singing Stones’ are Elven ruins on the edge of the Misty Mountains where songs can be heard in dreams, but not remembered, and is where an NPC tied to the plot of ‘Memories of Ancient Wounds’ could be encountered, whilst events later in that plot can play out at ‘The Wailinghole’, a worked cave network that has been turned into an outpost by the Elves of Rivendell and has secrets of its own. ‘The Winter-horn’ is both a sound and a place in the High Pass of the Misty Mountains, whose sound is said to be strong enough to keep giants at bay, and perhaps can be found as part of the ‘Perils of the Last Road’ plot, as can ‘Whitehorn Hay’, a farm where Men welcome Elven visitors.

The others include ‘The Palace of the Sea-birds’ is the ruined island home of an old Elf-lord, now the seat of King Arovall, a massive seagull who rules over all of the region’s seabirds; ‘The Vineyards of Glauria’ sit high on the side of the valley above Rivendell where the ancient winemaking practices of the Eldar are still continued to this day; and ‘The Falls of Nimrodel’ lie on the edge of Lothlórien, potentially a place of refuge from nearby Moria, whilst the nearby ‘The Ruins of Dwarferry’ details an ancient Dwarven crossing point across the Anduin. Where most of these Landmarks are given a location, both ‘The Hollow Wood’, a refuge for Elves on the road westwards, and ‘The Isle of the Sorceress’, a refuge of a more mystical nature, can be placed anywhere by the Loremaster.

Finally, the appendix adds options for the Player. These include two new Heroic Cultures. One is the High Elves of Rivendell, which previously appeared in The One Ring Loremaster’s Screen & Rivendell Compendium, whilst the other is the Elves of Lórien. The High Elves of Rivendell have the Cultural Blessings of ‘Elven-Wise’, able to spend Hope to achieve a Magical success with a skill roll, but also ‘Beset by Woe’, meaning that their long memories cannot forget the mark left by the Shadow on their spirit, limiting when they can remove Shadow points. Their notable Virtues are ‘Artificer of Eregion’, enabling a Player-hero to craft Marvellous Artefacts like the Elven-smiths of old or identify qualities about a Marvellous Artefact or Wondrous Items, and ‘Might of the Firstborn’, which lets a Player-hero expend Hope to negate a point of Hate or Resolve spent by a foe to activate a Fell ability. The Elves of Lórien have a single Cultural Bless, that of ‘Tree-People’, which lets a Player-hero spend a point of Hope to achieve a Magical success with a skill roll when in a forest, but more Virtues to choose from. These include ‘Lembas’, gaining access to the famous waybread after spending time in Lothlórien; ‘Deadly Archery’, granting the ‘Prepare Action’ with a bow whilst in the Rearward Stance as a secondary action; and ‘Favour of the Lady’, which grants the blessing of Galadriel to gain more Hope points during the Fellowship Phase, but at a cost of an extra Shadow point, which can be negated by returning home. There is a lot of flavour to both Heroic Cultures, enabling players to create interesting Player-heroes. The last item in the appendix is ‘Elf-Lords in Solo Play’, a guide to creating powerful Elves born in the First and Second Ages who have yet to make the journey West. These are specifically designed to work with the solo rules for The One Ring—called ‘Strider Mode’—and enable a player to roleplay a much more powerful figure who can more readily face greater foes. It is a welcome new option for the ‘Strider Mode’.

Physically, Realms of the Three Rings follows the look of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings with an almost parchment look upon which the pen and ink art sits beautiful artwork, some of which, like the depiction of the weasel-lady is quite unnerving. The cartography is also very good.

If there is an Elven Player-hero in the Company, Realms of the Three Rings is a supplement that his player will want his Loremaster to purchase. It places the Elves in the spotlight in the Third Age of Middle-earth, a place that ironically, they would rather avoid. It not only details their realms as places to visit, but provides the Loremaster with the means to bring their reticence, their waning hope, and their elegance into play and develop her campaign around their included plots. Realms of the Three Rings adds depth and detail to Eriador, scope for Elven Player-heroes to shine, and other Player-heroes to explore their grandly elegant, but declining world.

The One Ring II Starter II

It is the year 2965 of the Third Age. Over two decades ago, the Free Peoples of Middle-earth come together to defeat a great host of Orcs and other creatures, as well as the dread dragon, Smaug, at the Battle of the Five Armies. It seemed that a peace had settled on lands long threatened by the Shadow, but now that tide is turning. There are tales of strange folk and strange doings beyond the borders of the civilised lands, there are tales told round the fireside of monsters and other evils long thought banished, but which are now feared to have returned. Yet in such times, as before, there have been the stalwart warriors, curious scholars, and the stealthy scouts who know that there is a truth to many of the tales, that the sinister threats of old have not been truly vanquished, merely driven back, bruised and bleeding, into the shadows where they can nurse their wounds, bide their time, and grow in numbers and take council from their dark masters to strike once again. Knowing this, they will journey into the lone lands, rough woods, craggy mountains, and dark barrows to determine the nature and numbers of the threats to the Free Peoples that remain. Thus does a fellowship, a company of stalwarts, finds itself travelling out of Bree and into the North Downs to investigate a report of a shadow falling upon an ancient stone circle.

This is the set-up for The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill. Published by Free League Publishing, this is actually the second starter set for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Which begs the question, what is second edition of The One Ring roleplaying game doing with a starter set when it already has one? And when that starter set was actually a lot of fun? Well, the truth is that as good as it was and as fun as it was to play, The One Ring Starter Set was not without its problems, most of which were conceptual and chronological. The One Ring Starter Set did four things. First it introduced the rules; second, it provided a complete mini-campaign to play through; third, it served as a sourcebook for the Shire; and fourth, it let you play as Hobbits. In particular, as Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck which together represent the generation between that of Bilbo, and that of Frodo Baggins, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck. Which was great if you liked Hobbits and wanted to explore the Shire. However, this limited player choice, since they could not roleplay other members of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth; it underplayed the peril of the setting of the wider Middle-earth, reducing it to mild; and there was no scope beyond its box to really continue playing the same characters. This was because the publisher was not supporting this feature of The One Ring Starter Set, plus, its events take place before the starting year of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Fortunately, The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill does most of these things, but with fewer Hobbits and less of a restriction chronologically (or geographically).

Anyway, The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill. Inside the box can be found a full set of The One Ring dice, a bag of plastic stands, a ‘Getting Started’ sheet, the twenty-four-page ‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet, the sixteen-page ‘The One Ring – Over Hill and Under Hill’ booklet, five pre-generated Player-heroes, handout for the adventure, a map of Eriador with a combat diagram on the reverse, and a set of twenty-three cardboard stand-up figures. The dice consist of two twelve-sided Feat Dice and six six-sided Success Dice, whilst the ‘Getting Started’ sheet introduces the starter set, tells the reader how to get started, and suggests further supplements that are available for The One Ring. ‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet condenses the core rules of play, whilst ‘The One Ring – Over Hill and Under Hill’ booklet details the scenario that the Loremaster will be running and her players roleplaying. The five pre-generated Player-heroes are detailed on double-sided sheets with an illustration and some background on the front and the full game stats on the back. They consist of a Barding Captain, a Dwarf of Durin’s Folk who is a Champion, an Elf of Lindon who is a scholar, a Hobbit Treasure-Hunter, and a Warden who is a Ranger. The cardboard stand-up figures depict both the members of the company and the foes they will face during the adventure.

‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet introduces the rules and more. It explains the basic setting, that of the year 2965 of the Third Age, and also the roles of the Player-heroes and the Loremaster—as the Game Master is known in The One Ring. It gives an example of play and a break down of what a Player-hero looks like and the various elements that a player will find on a Player-hero sheet. The rules cover basic resolution, how Endurance and Hope work, and then how Player-hero can withstand the effects of the Shadow or suffer them if not... The longest section is devoted to combat and it supported by good example of in action using the Player-heroes in the starter set. Also covered are the rules for Council, essentially negotiating and entreating with NPCs, and making Journeys. This has always been a big feature of The One Ring, very much inspired by journeys made in both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hobbit, and the roleplaying game was originally one of the first to really make travel a big feature of its play.

Mechanically, The One Ring uses dice pools formed of six-sided dice and the twelve-sided Feat die. The six-sided Success dice are marked with an Elven Rune for ‘1’ on the six face, whilst the Feat dice is marked one through ten, and one face with the ‘Eye of Sauron’ Icon and one face with the ‘Gandalf’ Rune. When rolled, these can all together give various results. A simple numerical total that beats a Target Number is a standard success, but if the roll beats a Target Number and one or more Elven Runes are rolled, they indicate a Great or even an Extraordinary success. If the ‘Eye of Sauron’ Icon is rolled, this is the worst result and does not contribute anything towards the roll. Conversely, if the ‘Gandalf’ Rune is rolled, the action automatically succeeds, even if the total does not beat the target number.

The Target Number itself is determined by a Player-hero’s Attributes, either Strength, Heart, or Wits, depending upon if the player is rolling for a skill, combat proficiency, Wisdom, or Valour. In addition, if a skill is Favoured or Ill-favoured, a player rolls two Feat dice, counting the higher result if Favoured, the lower if Ill-favoured. Extra Success dice can be purchased and rolled through the expenditure of Hope.

Combat uses the same mechanics, but uses a Player-hero’s Combat Proficiencies—either Axes, Bows, Swords, or Spears, which are rolled against the Target Number derived from his Strength. This is modified by the enemy’s Parry rating. Damage inflicted is deducted from a Player-hero’s Endurance, which can result in him being Weary if his Endurance is knocked below his Load (essentially what he is carrying), and knocked out if it is reduced to zero. However, adversaries cannot become Weary, but are knocked out or eliminated when their Endurance is reduced to zero. If one or more Elven ‘1’ Runes are rolled on the Success dice, they can spent to inflict Heavy Blows and more Endurance damage, Fend Off the next attack against you, Pierce armour and potentially do a Piercing Blow, which is definitely inflicted if a ten or a ‘Gandalf’ Rune is rolled. If a Piercing Blow is struck, the defendant’s player rolls to see if his Player-hero’s armour protects him. Wounded Player-heroes recover Endurance slowly and are knocked out if a second Wound is suffered. Adversaries are typically killed by Wounds.

Each of the different aspects of the rules—journeys, Shadow, councils (this in a most unexpected fashion), and combat—are clearly organised and compartmentalised in the scenario in ‘The One Ring – Over Hill and Under Hill’ booklet. This does not mean that the narrative is compartmentalised though, as the scenes and the application of the different aspects of the rules does flow logically. The adventure itself begins The Prancing Pony in Bree where the company is to meet a hunter who had a strange and terrifying encounter at a stone circle in the North Downs. At the behest of their patron, the Lady Gilraen (mother of Aragorn), the members of the company are to listen to what the hunter has to say, glean what useful information he has, and set out to investigate. The scenario provides opportunities for undertaking a journey, exposure to the Shadow and the potential to suffer its effects, decent roleplaying in the Council, and combat against an evil that has returned to blight the North Downs and the lands of Rhudaur to the east. The scenario will end with the Player-heroes descending into a cave system in sight of Mount Cram. They will need to proceed with great care and with luck and good judgement, should at least be able to rescue some prisoners, but may also be able to defeat an ancient evil out of Angmar too.

‘Over Hill and Under Hill’ is a good adventure. It showcases the rules for The One Ring, presents an dark and dangerous situation for the Player-heroes, and gives them a chance to be heroic. It is playable in two sessions and there are option scenes that the Loremaster can use to extend the scenario to three. The scenario also sets the players up with heroes ready to continue playing, most likely in Ruins of the Lost Realm with Tales from the Lone-Lands. After all, they are a company and they do have a Patron.

Physically, The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill is a good looking package. The artwork is excellent, much of it drawn from The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings core rulebook. The map of Eriador and the combat diagram on its reverse are also good. The cardboard stand-up figures are nice too. The only bad thing to say about the contents of this starter set is that the dice are not as nice as those in the original starter set.

It should be noted that much of The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill will be of use even after a group has played through the adventures. The ‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet will serve as a light rules reference at the table, the map and combat diagram will be in constant use—as will the dice. The Player-heroes provided can continue to be played after the adventure has been played through, but if they are to learn from their experiences, the core rulebook will be needed.

The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill is the starter set that The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings needed. It both showcases the key aspects of the rules and how a typical game of The One Ring is played, and in doing so, it sets up the Loremaster and her players for continued play in Middle-earth.

—oOo—

Free League Publishing will be at UK Games Expo which takes place from Friday, 29th to Sunday 31st of May.

Moria on my Mind

Moria looms deep and long in our imagination. When we think of dungeons, we always think of Khazad-dûm, the grandest Dwarven city in Middle-earth, built into the Misty Mountains by Durin the First, which rose to be an ancient, thriving kingdom of Durin’s Folk. Only to be undone by a greed for the greatest of metals—Mithril, that would breach the home or prison of a beast or spirit, a thing of such evil that it once served the Dark Lord, Morgoth. This was the Balrog and it rose, climbing from the depths up the shafts and along the tunnels, even down the road that the Dwarves had the length of the city, burning to ash all before it, including those stalwart defenders who stood to protect the city and what it stood for, even as others fled their home and the Misty Mountains, to become refugees across Middle-earth. From the beginnings of its foundations in the First Age to the day Durin’s Bane killed or drove all of the Dwarves from the city, and killed Durin the Sixth, Khazad-dûm had stood for seven thousand years. It only took two for the Balrog to undo that in the years of the Third Age. The Elves named it ‘Moria’ or ‘Black Pit’ and it has stood for another two thousand years since, its halls once lit by Dwarven artistry and craftsmanship, now dark and cold, stained by fire and Shadow, infested by Orcs and Goblins and worse. It is the year 2965 of the Third Age. It will be another twenty-five years before Dáin II, King Under the Mountain, gives permission for Balin to mount his ill-fated expedition into Moria and another fifty before Gandalf the Grey will lead the Fellowship of the Ring through ancient Dwarven halls, but interest in what still resides inside is growing, if ever really went away.

Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is a setting and campaign supplement for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Published by Free League Publishing following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it won the 2025 Gold Ennie Award for Best Cartography and 2025 Gold Ennie Award for Product of the Year. What it does is present a complete dungeon, but not in the traditional roleplaying sense of every corridor, every room, every trap, every threat, and every treasure being presented in detail. Instead, it presents Moria as a realm all of its very own, much like Rhovanion, the region East of the Misty Mountains or Eriador, the region to the West of the Misty Mountains. It has history—so much history, it has lore—so much lore, it has secrets—so many secrets, it has landmarks, it has monsters, it has factions, all of which the Player-heroes can explore, discover, confront, and plunder. If they dare. All of this has significant effect on why a Fellowship might come to want to enter Moria and how a Fellowship actually explores Moria, because above all, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is unlike any other dungeon for any other roleplaying game.

Despite what Balin might have to say about it, Moria is not a place that can be reclaimed, since it is infested with Orcs and Goblins, poisoned by Shadow, and probably damaged beyond repair by current standards of Dwarven craftsmanship. After all, so much knowledge was lost when Khazad-dûm fell. Moria – Through the Doors of Durin suggests several Patrons—one of whom is Saruman, who at this time is very much known as Saruman the White, and several reasons as why the Player-heroes might want to enter Moria, whether for themselves, or more likely, their patrons. It notes that the more Dwarves there are in a Fellowship, the more likely it is that Fellowship will return to Moria and the more likely that its forays will be longer and deeper (whether that is up or down). The motives include searching for treasure, perhaps at the request of a patron; searching for mithril, Moria being only known source; rescuing those captured by the Orcs and held prisoner or forced to work in the mines; looking for lost lore—especially ring-lore; gathering information about the inside of Moria and its factions; and especially if one is a Dwarf, then vengeance. These are paired with Patrons, some as far away as Isengard to the south or Tharbad to the west, but others camped out nearby. They of course include several Dwarves, and their suggestions too as to which of the Patrons given in The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings might also have an interest in Moria. In some cases, these do tie in with the new Patrons given here, whilst in the case of Gandalf, he would brand the Player-heroes as fools. Lastly, there is the possibility of the new Patrons becoming rivals and even enemies if the Player-heroes do not enter their employ and possibly sending rival expeditions into Moria that the Player-heroes might encounter or even have to rescue.

For the Loremaster, there are tables of rumours to spread and advice on the themes of a Moria-based campaign. They are divided between themes of wonder and sorrow and fear. The former includes the intricate grandeur of Moria and its epic scale, its hidden places and secrets, the piles of gold and jewels—if not held in hidden caches, then in Orc hoards, and perhaps the possibility of reclaiming the city. The latter includes the long and lonely dark, the toil and hunger of exploring Moria since any expedition will need to carry all of its light sources and all of its food, the triumph of the Enemy with the city firmly occupied by Orcs, Goblins, and more, the lack of a safe place, and horrors beyond record. What is notable here is that the lack of safety (though there is a place of refuge to be found, though doing so would take luck and be a mammoth undertaking in keeping with the rest of Moria), the constant need for the expedition to carry its own food and light, the long and lonely dark which can sometimes be so oppressive that it quenches light, and the horrors without record, all point to the genre that lurks in the distant, darkest places of Middle-earth, but here moves centre stage for all the time that the Player-heroes spend in Moria.

Mechanically, this is enforced by the number of locations and great items that a Player-hero can pick up and so acquire points of Shadow, whilst there is the constant chance that the activities of the Player-heroes will attract attention of The Eye—in the Moria, the equivalent of ‘Drums in the Deep’—and trigger potential events including Dire Portents, Orc Assault, Terrors in the Dark, and Ghâsh. The latter is the Orc word for fire, and when it occurs, it indicates some sort of encounter with Durin’s Bane! Lastly, Dwarves can suffer from Moria Madness in place of other Bouts of Madness whilst in and around Moria.

Where Moria – Through the Doors of Durin does surprise is in its treatment of its foes, not once but twice. For the most part it relies on the bestiary from The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings core rulebook, so there are surprisingly few new entries added here. These include the three factions of Orcs—Orcs of Mordor, Orcs of Moria, and Orcs of Udûn that contest control of Moria, those wretched Dwarves who still slave in the mines for the Orcs and the Goblins, and then some quite foul monsters. The other surprise is not the inclusion of the Balrog, after all, a description had at least to be included, but the fact that its stats are included. For the most part, the Balrog will be a baleful presence, lurking somewhere in the depths of the mine, but sometimes stirring in response to intrusions and strange activities in the mine, triggered by Ghâsh.

Yet the inference of having the stats of the Balrog is that the Player-heroes can fight him—and the truth is, they can. Of course, this is likely to be fatal for them under ordinary circumstances, though not necessarily under extraordinary circumstances and extraordinary circumstances are only likely to be triggered in the only real ‘end game’ situation in Moria – Through the Doors of Durin. This end game allows the Player-heroes to be completely brave, foolhardy, and utterly heroic and do the impossible. And that is to defeat the Balrog. This is possible, not just because the stats for the Balrog are given, but also because there are legendary artefacts to found within the depths of Moria that would aid any warrior capable of fighting Durin’s Bane. Finding them would require an epic journey in its own right and in some cases, repairing them would require a feat of legendary craftsmanship. And then there is the fight. Whether the Fellowship survived or not, defeated the Balrog or not, it would be a campaign ending climax. And yet, if the Balrog nearly defeated Gandalf, why should the Player-heroes be allowed to do so? Well, Player-heroes are Player Characters and Player Characters like to do the unexpected. Plus, as pointed out in the description of the Balrog’s lair, Shelob, was a very powerful foe encountered in The Lord of the Rings, and she too was injured grievously by a simple gardener! Further, Durin’s Bane might not be a Balrog, but instead be the Witch-King of Angmar or a dragon or a betrayal. This would mean that the Player-characters could still win and still be legendary heroes, but leaves the Balrog to face Gandalf on Durin’s Bridge.

The heart of Moria and Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is mapped out across twenty-eight locations from Dimril Dale in the east to the mansions of Thrain I in the west, and from the Mountain Galleries atop the Halls of Khazad-dûm to The Balrog’s Throne in the Deeps. They are marked and the routes between them are broadly mapped out on a stunning map of the city and its outside environs that also includes a good cutaway away of the city that shows the depths between them. There is plenty of scope and room and tables for the Loremaster to develop her own sites, but the focus is upon the twenty-eight, each of which is given its own rumour, old lore, background, and descriptions of the particular places within that locale as details of any important NPCs and then their associated schemes and troubles. Plus, a delightfully drawn map of the location that depicts the grandeur and scale of Khazad-dûm and its despoilment over the millennia.

The locations include those inside Moria and out. The notable ones outside include Dimril Dale where there can be found the famous Dimril Stair that leads up to the pass over the mountain and the Mirrormere, the lake where the Dwarves come to look into the waters to seek wisdom, and then the Doors of Durin on the far side. Inside can be found the Second Hall and Durin’s Bridge, where in fifty years, Gandalf will face Durin’s bane, and the King’s Hall, where Durin the Sixth took his stand against the Balrog and in defeat laid a curse upon the hall. Throughout, the locations are populated by some fantastic NPCs—Orcs, Dwarves, Goblins, and more. They are all well drawn, none of them really trustworthy, but the Player-heroes can deal with and interact with them and that includes the evil, spiteful Orcs and Goblins. The more includes Mocker Crawe, a big crow who has learned the speech of men and Orcs and acts as a messenger over the mountains and beyond, but might befriend passing travellers or explorers coming to Moria before luring them into a trap. As his name suggests he constantly mocks others, but he is very partial to shiny things, and he is afraid of the Giant Eagles who have recently taken to flying over the mountains. Another interesting NPC is Har, a Dwarf far from the East in the service of Sauron, who leads the Orcs of Mordor and hopes to rule Moria in his master’s name.

The appendices to Moria – Through the Doors of Durin suggest further ways in which it can be explored and played through. It examines Balin’s expedition and how it was doomed to failure, and how that might be used as the basis for a campaign as well as looking at the search for Thráin II made by Gandalf and Aragorn’s entry into Moria. The latter includes the possibility that one of the reasons why the Player-heroes might want to enter Moria is to enter Aragorn, the rewards for which would be a wealth of contacts and even Gandalf as a patron. There are details too on mithril and some sample magical treasures, as well as a new Culture, that of the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, representing Dwarves of another House to that of Durin.

However, the longest appendix in Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is on ‘Solo Play in Moria’. This expands on The One Ring – Strider Mode to provide the means for the reader to join Balin’s quest and undertake various missions as part of his attempt to reclaim Moria. This will be as a Dwarf who will command a band of six allies. As part of Balin’s expedition, it should be no surprise that ultimately, the efforts of this Dwarf and his allies will fail. Instead, the solo option is intended to tell the story of that expedition before bringing it to a close with one last, heroic mission into Moria. The player is encouraged to record the outcome of these missions in his own version of the Book of Mazabul, Balin’s own record of his expedition, the inference being that a future expedition might find it and so have a better understanding of what they face in Moria. Overall, this adds another unexpected dimension to the supplement, but one that has plenty of potential for telling stories.

Physically, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin follows the look of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings with an almost parchment look upon which the pen and ink art sits stark, but still capturing the character of the many NPCs and the dark horrors below. The cartography is more art than maps, whether that is the individual locations or the map of the whole of Moria.

As a campaign, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin does not have a beginning, a middle, and an end, barring the almost impossible end game already mentioned. Much of its actual story will be told in the future and unless the Player-heroes work for multiple patrons and thus multiple reasons to enter Moria, it is unlikely that they will explore all of its heights and depths. As a campaign, it also stands alone from The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Whilst it can be used for one-off expedition into its halls as part of an ongoing campaign, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is more intended for long term play and dedicated expeditions in and out of its halls, with the Player-heroes focused on what they encounter and find there rather than what might be going on elsewhere.

Mapping Moria and making it playable was an almost impossible task, but there should be no doubt that in Moria – Through the Doors of Durin, Free League Publishing has not only succeeded in achieving that task, but exceeded it too. It draws heavily on the lore to develop and present a gloriously impressive overview of a complete realm of its own in Middle-earth and then gives the Loremaster all of the tools necessary to draw the Player-heroes into the dark of Moria. This includes plots and machinations of allies and foes inside and out, and once they are inside, landmarks to not only explore, but ultimately, survive. Above all, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is not only a superbly reverent treatment of its source material, but a great toolkit of multiple plots, numerous secrets, and far too many horrors to help the Loremaster, her players, and their heroes experience the magnificence and malevolence of lost Khazad-dûm.

A Hobbity Holiday

One of the great things about The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition of the acclaimed The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild published by Free League Publishing is The One Ring Starter Set. Why do you ask? Well, because it lets us roleplay members of the Hobbit community whom we not normally encounter. Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck, in many cases the parents or relations of three of the Hobbits who would form part of the Fellowship of the Ring decades later. Under the direction of the scandalous Bilbo Baggins, the quintet went off and had adventures of their own in the Shire, whilst at the same time The One Ring Starter Set presented the Shire for the roleplaying game itself. Sadly, the five adventures had to come to a close and with it the chance to play those characters again. Fortunately, there are available a number of sequel adventures, including Landmark Adventures, that can be run as part of, or after, the events of The One Ring Starter Set, or simply added to an ongoing campaign for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings if it is being run in or around The Shire. The Ghost of Needlehole proved to be a sharp little ghost story, whilst the Mines of Brockenbores sent the Player-heroes to the far north of the Shire to inspect a mine, Sackville-Baggins Estates took them to the far south to explore a growing threat that comes to fruition at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and in fourth Landmark Adventure, the Hobbits travelled to the most easterly of point in the Shire and beyond to The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil! The next and fifth Landmark Adventure has the Hobbits sent hither and thither in a roundabout fashion, all before returning for a happy holiday.

A Hobbit Carol differs from the previous four Landmark Adventures and does not rely upon the half dozen pre-generated Hobbits from The One Ring Starter Set. This is because it takes place several decades after the events depicted in the campaign in The One Ring Starter Set, in 1389 S.R., by which time Balin has left the Shire to lead an expedition into Moria, Lobelia Bracegirdle has been married to Otho Sackville-Baggins for two or so decades, and Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck, also married, have unfortunately both drowned, leaving young Frodo Baggins an orphan. Also, by this time, the One Ring, secretly in possession of Bilbo Baggins, has begun to weigh upon him and exacerbated by the death of his nephew and his wife, he has consequently grown cold, cranky, and bitter, matching the cold and bitter weather of that winter. Such is his change in character that Gandalf the Grey has warned Bilbo that he is certain to follow the path followed by Gollum if he does not heed the warnings of three spirits, representing his past, present, and future, that will come upon him. In what is effectively Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, they do and of course, Bilbo Baggins takes their words to heart and decides to change his ways by holding a big party. However, to do that, he will need help, which is where the Player-heroes enter the story.

With rumours rife about the crankiness of Bilbo’s character, the Player-heroes are hired by Hamfast Gamgee—nice to see him get a little time in the spotlight—to undertake three tasks. In turn, these are to go north to Bindbole Woods and there find a tree from which a large Yule-Log be made can be that be a great centre piece for the two-day Yule celebration Bilbo plans to hold; to head even further north to Hardbottle and barter or hunt for some fresh game for the feast; and lastly, to go to Buckland and escort the young tween Frodo Baggins to Bag End where Bilbo will make an important declaration about both his and Frodo’s future. This of course, is that he will make Frodo his sole heir. Naturally, Otho Sackville-Baggins is unhappy about this and will do all that he can to prevent this from happening. Otho Sackville-Baggins and his hooligan Hobbits are not only threats faced by the Player-heroes. The primary ones are time and the weather as the Hobbits do not have a great of time in which to accomplish the set tasks and the weather is very, very cold, and there is a chance of Hobbits suffering from it so, there are threats driven in from the wilds because of the weather, and there the Bounders, those Hobbits charged with patrolling and keeping the borders of the Shire safe, who can be very nosy when wanting to know why a band of Hobbits—and potentially queer folk like Elves, Dwarves, and Men—are wandering the Shire, especially given the bitterly cold weather.

A Hobbit Carol comes to a close with a jolly party held in honour of young Frodo Baggins and is a decent adventure that is best used as a one-shot given that it is not set during the timeframe for either The One Ring Starter Set or The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. One option, possibly, is to run it as a flashback, perhaps for older Player-heroes or as a story being told to younger Player-heroes. The scenario does include its own Journey Table for the travels of the Player-heroes back and forth across the Shire, but as a one-shot, it does not include a set of pre-generated Player-heroes or even suggestions as to what Player-heroes might be suitable. That said, A Hobbit Carol would readily suit a party of Hobbits as the adventure itself involves mild peril—there is some combat, but not a great deal—and hard labour in chilly conditions rather than confrontations with the dread Shadow.

Physically, A Hobbit Carol is cleanly and tidily laid out. The artwork, taken from the Artbook Compilation for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings is excellent. However, the layout is a little untidy in places and the adventure does need an edit.

A Hobbit Carol is a good little adventure, which like the earlier Landmark, Sackville-Baggins Estates, nicely develops the backstory to events of The Lord of the Rings, which works better as a one-shot rather than as an addition to a campaign.

Dingle Dangers

One of the great things about The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition of the acclaimed The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild published by Free League Publishing is The One Ring Starter Set. Why do you ask? Well, because it lets us roleplay members of the Hobbit community whom we not normally encounter. Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck, in many cases the parents or relations of three of the Hobbits who would form part of the Fellowship of the Ring decades later. Under the direction of the scandalous Bilbo Baggins, the quintet went off and had adventures of their own in the Shire, whilst at the same time The One Ring Starter Set presented the Shire for the roleplaying game itself. Sadly, the five adventures had to come to a close and with it the chance to play those characters again. Fortunately, there are available a number of sequel adventures, including Landmark Adventures, that can be run as part of, or after, the events of The One Ring Starter Set, or simply added to an ongoing campaign for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings if it is being run in or around The Shire. The Ghost of Needlehole proved to be a sharp little ghost story, whilst the Mines of Brockenbores took the Player-heroes to the far north of the Shire to inspect a mine, and Sackville-Baggins Estates took them to the far south to explore a growing threat that comes to fruition at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The next Landmark Adventure takes the Hobbits to the most easterly of point in the Shire and beyond!

The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil is the fourth of the Landmark Adventure sites published by ‘Ryan of the North’. Having travelled to lands own by them funny folk down in Buckland, the route leads even further east, beyond the borders of the Shire across the Brandywine and then up the River Withywindle. Here careful Hobbits and Tall-folk alike can pick their way along a path that runs alongside the river up the Dingle as the valley is known, and eventually come to a strange stone house. This is the House of Tom Bombadil where he lives with his wife, Lady Goldberry. The leaping off point for this journey is The One Ring Starter Set since it details the nearby communities of Deephallow, Haysend, and Breredon, although a little information is given. In addition, The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil will be of use if any of the Player-heroes decide to take Tom Bombadil as a patron.

The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil provides a very little basic details about the communities before describing the nature of the journey up the River Withywindle. There is a lovely sense of bucolic warmth to the valley, of a hazy summer’s day, but travel along the Dingle, whether by foot or by boat is not without its dangers. Drinking its waters—a possibility should anyone decide to swim in them or fall in if their boat capsizes—has hallucinatory effects and is bad for Hobbits anyway, given their inability to swim, plus Old Man Willow casts a dark shadow over the valley, capturing the unwary and pulling them under his roots. Fortunately, the House of Tom Bombadil is far more welcoming. The journey there necessitates a roll of the supplement’s own ‘Withywindle Journey Events Table’ as well as the standard Journey table in The One Ring to highlight the differences and strangeness to be found in the Dingle.

The supplement provides a nice range of encounters and mini-adventures that extends the range and scope of The One Ring Starter Set. There are encounters with both recalcitrant and helpful inhabitants of nearby Haysend and Breredon, dealing with kidnapping badgers led by Badger-brock, and finding out how Tom Bombadil’s oars came be sticking up out of the water at the mouth of the River Withywindle. Plus there are treasures of nature to be found along the Dingle if the Player-heroes are careful and respectful of the valley’s denizens.

Physically, The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil is cleanly and tidly laid out. The artwork, taken from the Artbook Compilation for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings is excellent, whilst the map of the River Withywindle and the Dingle valley is surprisingly good. In fact, it is the best map that author has drawn for any of the Landmark supplements he has released for the roleplaying game.

If The Ghost of Needlehole was a good little adventure, The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil is a good Landmark Adventure site with evocative description and lots of little story hooks. Whilst its contents are not official, they are good enough to be official, and The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil very nicely expands and complements the description and details given in The One Ring Starter Set.

The Lay of the Lone-lands

There are certain parallels to be drawn between Tales from the Lone-Lands and Tales from Wilderland. Both are, of course, supplements for The One Ring, the roleplaying game set in Middle-earth between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and both are by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan. Of course, Tales from the Lone-Lands is for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition published by Free League Publishing, whereas, Tales from Wilderland is written for The One Ring: Adventures Over The Edge Of The Wild from Cubicle 7 Entertainment. Both have companion volumes which greatly expand upon the regions where they are set. Thus, Tales from the Lone-Lands has Ruins of the Lost Realm, the regional guide to the lands of southern Eriador, and Tales from Wilderland has The Heart of the Wild, the regional guide to the lands bordering Mirkwood, which is also a companion to the campaign, The Darkening of Mirkwood. Further, Tales from the Lone-Lands and Tales from Wilderland are both campaigns that work as anthologies. In other words, all of their scenarios can be run separately, but to get the absolute best out of them, the Loremaster should run them as a campaign. Lastly, both Tales from the Lone-Lands and Tales from Wilderland present ancient threats from the north.

Tales from the Lone-Lands is actually the first collection of adventures for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, as Ruins of the Lost Realm presented a number of major Landmark locations replete with important individuals at each, and the grand plots that will play out and befall the region if the Player-heroes do not get involved and nothing is done to stop them. Instead of pre-written scenarios then, Ruins of the Lost Realm contains numerous plots, both immediate and long term, that the Loremaster can use and develop for her campaign. Tales from the Lone-Lands contains six adventures, each of which should provide two or three good sessions’ worth of play, which together will take the Player-heroes back and forth across Eriador—and beyond. Together, they will locate and confront the Hill of Fear, an ancient and blighted site where the Witch-king of Angmar performed foul rites to darkness, and as Third Age wanes and great evil waxes once again, the shadow cast by the hill promises to rise up and engulf all of Eriador. A hero once swore to defeat the darkness that is the Hill of Fear, but his courage failed and he fled, and though he sought inspiration and guidance to return, he never did. Thus, his oath remains unfulfilled, but there is another who may be equal to the task, who will discover his ancestor’s intent and take up the oath, make the journey to the far north, defeat the darkness, and so become a hero worthy of his ancestor, if not more. This will be a Player-hero, who as part of the play of Tales from the Lone-Lands becomes ‘the Heir’. Ideally, this should be a man or woman, either of Bree or a Ranger, although alternatives are suggested for a Dwarf or Elf Player-character. The aim here is not for the story to focus on ‘the Heir’, but on the fellowship he is part of as its other members aid him in his quest. Indeed, whilst the campaign acknowledges ‘the Heir’ at certain points, it does not focus on him very much.

The anthology opens with ‘A Troll-Hole, If Ever There Was One’. It begins in Bree, at the Prancing Pony, with the Player-heroes being inveigled into accompanying a chirpy Dwarf and his dour and bedraggled Man companion to locate a buried treasure hoard. The question is, can they be trusted? Well, of course not. However, neither Man nor Dwarf are exactly villainous and there is a lot more going on than simple villainy. The scenario does not take the Player-heroes very far, but it serves up nasty monsters, desperation, and a chance at redemption. All of which takes place in a rain sodden, boggy valley. One of the issues with the scenario is that the players and their heroes are unlikely to trust either NPC, but the scenario addresses this, suggesting how the NPCs might react under the questioning of the Player-heroes. It is a solid start to the collection.

‘Messing About In Boats’ takes the Player-heroes and The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings in totally unexpected direction—to sea, and in doing so, it begins the campaign proper. Heading to port of Lond Dear on the southwest coast of Eriador, one of the Player-heroes is grabbed by one of the kingdom’s champions, a Hobbit knight, and dragged before the queen. Not because he has done something wrong, but because he has been seen in a vision by a local seer. This is of the Player-hero—‘the Heir’—standing on the shore of lonely island, a great dark sword in his hand. The queen decides that this warrants investigation and the Player-heroes are ferried up the coast of Eriador and out further than they would have ever imagined travelling (unless they were an Elf) by a fisherman who has motives of his own, wanting to find his missing daughter. Their destination is the Isle of the Mother, and here the Player-heroes will encounter hunters from the very far north, a long-abandoned Númenórean fortress, and the first signs that the reach of the Hill of Fear is greater than they had imagined.

‘Kings of Little Kingdoms’ returns the Player-heroes to land and a small, but engaging scenario that plays on the reputation of Gandalf. Back in Bree, the Player-heroes are accosted by a woman complaining that as adventurers they have done nothing about her son and worse, they probably know Gandalf. Her problem is that her son ran off to join the wizard, who was hanging around Bree two weeks before, on promise of the discovery of buried treasure and has not returned. Of course, the Player-heroes are going to look bad if they do nothing and so upon investigating, begin to realise that something is amiss. The trail leads east of Bree, to an isolated farm and its family headed by a cantankerous old man who is definitely not pleased to see the Player-heroes, even if they do offer him help with attacks his farm is under. Numerous options are given as what might happen, but alongside the mundane, if slightly silly plot of the young man having run off in search of adventure, there is something much darker going on—the spreading influence of the Hill of Fear which plays upon the personalities of the NPCs.

‘Not to Strike Without Need’ begins with the Player-heroes on the road to the water-logged city of Tharbad in southern Eriador, which is fully detailed in Lone-Lands has Ruins of the Lost Realm. They are escorting a criminal to the city in the hopes of exchanging him for a visiting merchant who is currently imprisoned there for non-payment of fines. Yet it turns out that the criminal might actually have changed his ways because he has been aiding the Rangers including getting messages in and out of Tharbad where the Rangers are greatly mistrusted. Which sets up a dilemma for the Player-heroes. Are they willing to let a possibly reformed criminal suffer the ill-justice to be found in the city in order to arrange the release of another? There is the possibility too of the Player-heroes being imprisoned for non-payment of the random fines levied by the city guards, so essentially, the scenario becomes a break-in and a break-out as the Player-characters sneak into the partially ruined Fortress of Garth Tauron, locate the prisoners, and get out again. However, the prison is so large, it has to be explored to find the location of the right cells. This is done in narrative rather than by running a dungeon-type crawl. Once the Player-heroes have escaped the city, preferably with the latest message from the Rangers’ spy in Tharbad, the scenario switches to a hunt for the subject of the message—a Man travelling in lands that even the Rangers tend to avoid. It will be revealed that he has some interest in the Hill of Fear, but what they interest will remain a mystery.

The Player-heroes are asked by a Dwarves friend, Floki, to deliver a message to his brother in the fifth scenario, ‘Wonder of the Northern World’. In the far northwest of Eriador, they discover tragedy as the brother and his settlement of fellow Dwarves has been sacked and spoiled by an Orc warband as part of the opening plans of Sauron to defeat all the Free Folk. The scenario is more open than the previous ones, with the Player-heroes having multiple courses of action rather than a more obvious one. There are some great set pieces in the scenario—a chase across the Lone-lands after the Orc warband, a great council with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains, and an attack on the Fort of Blood, an ancient fortress from the days of the Witch-king of Angmar, now home to a servant of Sauron! This can be done by force of arms if the Player-heroes mange to raise a Dwarven host in the council, or they can use stealth. There are rules for both, but at the end the Player-heroes will learn that that the servant of Sauron—who of course, gets away—has plans of his linked to activities that they will already be aware of.

The sixth and final scenario in Tales from the Lone-Lands is ‘The Quest of Amon Guruthos’. This takes the Player-heroes into unknown territory once again. This is Forodwaith—the northern waste—and it requires a great expedition rather than the simple toing and froing of the previous scenarios. With the help of the tribesmen that they met on the Isle of the Mother in ‘Messing About In Boats’, the Player-heroes can track east in search of the Hill of Fear and then a way to approach it successfully from yet another unexpected source and an utterly unexpected encounter! This is with the scenario’s villain and is a great moment in the campaign, giving the Lore-master a fun NPC to portray and a chance to portray him in a situation other than the big final encounter and when he and the Player-heroes are on equal footing. The scenario and the campaign will come to an end with the Player-heroes first approaching and then descending into the Hill of Fear. This a foul place, once from which they are unlikely to return from unscarred such is the malevolence of the Shadow here. As they are assailed from within and without, it is likely their strength of character that will save them, though numerous methods are suggested as to how the Hill of Fear might be defeated.

Tales from the Lone-lands works better as a campaign than it does as an anthology of scenarios. Really, only ‘A Troll-Hole, If Ever There Was One’, ‘Kings of Little Kingdoms’, and ‘Not to Strike Without Need’ work effectively when run on their own. The other scenarios are key to the campaign and cannot be effectively untied from it. So there is scope for just an anthology of scenarios, all unconnected, still. The format also leaves room aplenty for the Loremaster to insert her own scenarios and that does not take into account the plots given in Ruins of the Lost Realm that she interweave between that of this campaign. That may prove to be helpful since the campaign as a whole does feel quite short and it does feel as if it should be longer. What the campaign does fail to address are the consequences of the Player-heroes’ actions. What happened if they succeed? What happens when they fail? These are really the only issues with Tales from the Lone-lands. Other than that, there is good Loremaster advice throughout and there are notes on adjusting the starting points of each of the scenario’s depending upon the Player-heroes’ locations and patrons.

Physically, Tales from the Lone-lands is a fantastic book. It looks great and the artwork is very, very good. The depictions of moments where a Player-hero hides behind a pillar in a cellar as a wight hunts him and a mighty troll lolls on a lakebed as she stretches her arms up out of the water to attack a raft full of Player-heroes are both genuinely scary. That said, the maps are not often as good as they could be, the Loremaster often wanting more detail. In many cases, the maps given, all of them Landmarks, so representative rather than mapped out to the inch, will be used narratively rather than mechanically.

Tales from the Lone-lands captures the bleakness of the period between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, when the darkness was again growing and spreading across Middle-earth. The Player-heroes have a chance to hold some of that back with Tales from the Lone-lands, far removed from the traditional manoeuvrings of the Dark Lord of Mordor, but that attempt will be grim and terrible and the likelihood is that even if they succeed, the Player-heroes will come away scarred and marked with the Shadow. Being a hero and helping to save even some of the land is not without its consequences.

Country Cousins

One of the great things about The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition of the acclaimed The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild published by Free League Publishing is The One Ring Starter Set. Why do you ask? Well, because it lets us roleplay members of the Hobbit community whom we do not normally encounter. Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck, in many cases the parents or relations of three of the Hobbits who would form part of the Fellowship of the Ring decades later. Under the direction of the scandalous Bilbo Baggins, the quintet went off and had adventures of their own in the Shire, whilst at the same time The One Ring Starter Set presented the Shire for the roleplaying game itself. Sadly, the five adventures had to come to a close and with it the chance to play those characters again. Fortunately, there are available a number of sequel adventures, including Landmark Adventures, that can be run as part of, or after, the events of The One Ring Starter Set, or simply added to an ongoing campaign for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings if it is being run in or around The Shire. The Ghost of Needlehole proved to be a sharp little ghost story, whilst the Mines of Brockenbores took the Player-heroes to the far north of the Shire to inspect a mine! Sackville-Baggins Estates takes the Player-heroes to the far south to explore a growing threat that comes to a fruition at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

Sackville-Baggins Estates describes the farmstead to the southeast of Longbottom, which lies on the very edge of the Shire. This is the estate of Otho and Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, the latter the infamous cousin of Bilbo Baggins, known for her covetous and grasping nature and her desire to own Bag End. Despite the poor quality nature of the farm’s ground, Otho and Lobelia have enriched themselves growing Southern Star pipe weed, which although of too poor a quality to sell to other Hobbits, is sold to Men and merchants in Bree and beyond. Where Lobelia is sour-natured and inquisitive, her husband is dour and ill-mannered, and their son, Lotho, is ill-tempered and lazy with a perpetual scowl on his face. Otho is also secretive and rarely welcomes visitors—and with good reason.

In his desire to become the ‘wealthiest Hobbit in the Shire’ and appease his wife, Otho has entered into a secret pact with a man from the south. This is to provide information about the doings of the Shire, and in particular, the comings and goings of Gandalf the Grey. The money he is paid comes from the purse of Saruman the White... Over the years, Otho’s farm has doubled in size and seen an increasing number of visitors, working the fields and transporting the harvest away. These are a mix of ne’er do wells from across the Shire and men brought in, many of whom work the spy network that Otho has established on behalf of Saruman. Ultimately, the investment that Saruman has made in the Shire will pay off with the Scouring of the Shire.

Sackville-Baggins Estates includes a rumour and old lore about Otho’s farm and both he and Lobelia, a random event that brings the Player-heroes into contact with one of Otho’s agents, descriptions of all three NPCs—Otho, Lobelia, and Lotho, and a description of their farm. There is a lot of information given here and as a Landmark Adventure, what it does is develop the back story to the events at the end of The Lord of the Rings. However, this is not an easy Landmark Adventure to use. To begin with, there is relatively little to explore and not much more to discover. Then, when Otho’s perfidy is revealed, how does this play out? What are the consequences? How does it affect future events in the Shire given that they are written in stone? Then there is an even darker plan upon the part of Otho, which the adventure suggests, but again, the consequences are not explored in any depth.

Sackville-Baggins Estates is neatly presented and is well written. The map is rough, but workable.

Unfortunately, as welcome as Sackville-Baggins Estates is, it is simply not as good as the previous The Ghost of Needlehole. It does a very nice job of filling in the back story to the events that lead into the later events of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the Scouring of the Shire. In terms of gameable content, Sackville-Baggins Estates will need development upon the part of the Loremaster to be effectively useful in her campaign.

A Mining Mystery

One of the great things about The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition of the acclaimed The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild published by Free League Publishing is The One Ring Starter Set. Why do you ask? Well, because it lets us roleplay members of the Hobbit community whom we not normally encounter. Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck, in many cases the parents or relations of three of the Hobbits who would form part of the Fellowship of the Ring decades later. Under the direction of the scandalous Bilbo Baggins, the quintet went off and had adventures of their own in the Shire, whilst at the same time The One Ring Starter Set presented the Shire for the roleplaying game itself. Sadly, the five adventures had to come to close and with it the chance to play those characters again. Fortunately, s available a number of sequel adventures, including Landmark Adventures, that can be run as part of, or after, the events of The One Ring Starter Set, or simply added to an ongoing campaign for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings if it is being run in or around The Shire. The Ghost of Needlehole proved to be a sharp little ghost story, whilst the Mines of Brockenbores takes the Player-heroes to the far north of the Shire to inspect a mine!

The Mines of Brockenbores takes place in the northern part of the Shire’s Eastfarthing, in the hilly region of Scary. It is here that much of the ore that the Hobbits of the Shire need for their metal goods and implements is mined. Of course in the future, it is also from here that Fredegar Bolger will lead a band of Hobbit rebels when ‘Sharkey’ takes control of the Shire during the War of the Ring. That though, is in the future and many years before that happens, before even Fredegar Bolger and his friends were born, the mines were the source of a mystery! This is a strange sickness which is besetting the miners, which the owner of the mine, Erling Goldworthy, is keeping quiet until his profits are threatened and he puts out the call for any party of adventurous Hobbits (or outsiders) who are willing to explore the mines and eradicate what he describes as an “Infestation of Rats”.

The bulk of the adventure will see the Player-heroes exploring and skulking through the mine. There is relatively little for them to explore or discover, the main one being the cause of the strange sickness, being tunnels full of bioluminescent mushrooms, but the other being something dark and dangerous lurking in newly uncovered caves. There are plenty of opportunities to gain Shadow Points—if only temporary ones—in confronting the thing, a tough prospect for even a group of standard Player-heroes, let alone a group of Hobbits like those from the The One Ring Starter Set. However, ‘The Nameless Thing’ described in the adventure is not the only threat present in Mines of Brockenbores. This is other threat is slightly connected to Lobelia Bracegirdle and its involvement may have an effect on her outlook on life if she is a Player Character.

The Mines of Brockenbores is neatly presented and is well written and its short length means that it is quite easy to prepare for a session.

New scenarios for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings and especially for use in conjunction with The One Ring Starter Set, are always going to be welcome. Yet the Mines of Brockenbores is not as good a Landmark adventure as the previous The Ghost of Needlehole. It is too straightforward, not quite enough mystery in comparison. Plus the Mines of Brockenbores is a tough little encounter for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Potentially too tough for an ordinary band of Hobbits, forcing them as it does, to confront a nameless thing long out of Middle-earth’s past. Consequently, letting the Rangers of the North know about it might be the safer course of action, but of course, Hobbits are, famously, brave in pinch, and if they can defeat it, they should be well rewarded.

You’re Going on an Adventure!

In the north-west of Middle-earth, in the region of Eriador is a bucolic idyll, a land of quiet ways, of a small people going about their business and knowing about everyone else’s business and genealogies, far away both geographically and mentally from the doings of wizards (especially wizards) and kings, orcs and goblins, and such nasty things as adventures. This is the Shire, home to the Hobbits, some of whom as it turns out, will very much find themselves caught up in the doings of wizards (especially wizards) and kings, orcs and goblins, and such nasty things as adventures. That though was in the past with the queer doings of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, who went away with a wizard and came back a very different Hobbit, the least of which was being surprisingly rich. It is also in the future for Mr. Frodo Baggins, the distant cousin of Mr. Bilbo Baggins, yet to be born. In this interregnum between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the Shire is a quiet, contemplative place, forgotten by most, and where little anything of any consequence happens. All that is set to change with Shire Adventures.

Shire Adventures is adaptation of the source material and adventure content from The Ring One Starter Set. Published by Free League Publishing, The Ring One Starter Set did three things. First, it introduced The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings core rules. Second, it described the Shire for The One Ring, serving as the sourcebook for that setting for the roleplaying game. Third, it provided a mini-campaign of adventures, initiated by an appropriate figure of note and played through by some surprising figures from Hobbit history. Shire Adventures does two of these. First as a supplement for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying—the adaptation of new edition of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings for use with Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition—it serves as the sourcebook for the Shire. Second, it provides a mini-campaign of adventures—the first adventures for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, just as The Ring One Starter Set provided the first adventures for The One Ring, Second Edition.

Shire Adventures is divided into two parts plus an appendix. The first, ‘Regarding the Shire’, details its history, geography, and features. A prologue though, highlights how adventuring, though very much not the norm in the Shire, is different to that of Dungeons & Dragons in one important aspect—weaponry! Hobbits are not a martial people and actual weapons, if found, are regarded as mathoms or trinkets. Bounders and Sheriffs, who walk the boundaries of the Shire and keep the peace, are simply armed with staves and bows. This will definitely influence the play of the second part of Shire Adventures, ‘The Conspiracy of the Redbook’. ‘Regarding the Shire’ begins with the history of The Shire from its founding and later founding of Buckland, the defeat of Golfimbul and his Goblin horde (and creation of the game of Golf by knocking the goblin chief’s head clean off and down a rabbit hole) by Bandobras ‘Bullroarer’ Took of Long-Cleeve and his Hobbitry-in-arms, all the way up to the disappearance of Bilbo Baggins and his return. The majority of the section is dedicated to the geography of the Shire across its Four Farthings and beyond into Buckland (and little further). Alongside all of this, there are engaging sidebars which explore different aspects of Hobbit culture, such as the Art of Smoking and smoke ring competitions, Hobbit attitudes towards Gandalf the Grey (mostly he means trouble, unless fireworks are involved), and descriptions of important NPCs, like Mayor Pott Whitfoot, or Gorbadoc ‘Old Broadbelt’ Brandybuck, the current Master of Buckland. Tables of random events and encounters and rumours and tales all add extra details and hooks and elements which the Loremaster can take away and form into small adventures that can be played beyond the five in ‘The Conspiracy of the Redbook’. At the very end of ‘Regarding the Shire’, the authors take us outside of the Shire, there to encounter the much-feared Old Man Willow, though not for every long if they can find the happiest and strangest being near the Shire, Tom Bombadil.

One aspect of Shire Adventures—and also The One Ring, Starter Set—is that just like The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings—it is a starting point for adventures. However, it is the starting point for adventures for some most unexpected figures in the Shire. The events of ‘The Conspiracy of the Redbook’ take place in the year 2960 of the Third Age, nearly twenty years after the Battle of the Five Armies as detailed in The Hobbit. Since Bilbo Baggins’ return, a whole new generation of Hobbits has come of age, and so the slightly odd Hobbit has decided that certain youngsters should experience some excitement and some intrigue—if only in a little way. Those Bilbo has chosen represent the generation between that of himself, and that of Frodo Baggins, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck—and in some cases they are the parents of Frodo, Pippin, and Merry. They are initially, Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck. All are presented as ready-to-play, pre-generated Player-heroes, joined by Balin, though he is not available to play at the start. Their inclusion and the period setting for Shire Adventures means that at this point The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is looking back still, to The Hobbit, rather than forward to The Lord of the Rings.

‘The Conspiracy of the Redbook’ consists of five adventures. Three need to be run in order—the first one and the last two, but the other two can be run second or third in the campaign. The Player-heroes, Hobbits all, are summoned by Bilbo Baggins for tea and a task or two, all to imbue in them a little of the same sense of adventure that he now has. The adventures will send the Player-heroes hither and thither across the Shire and have them doing very un-Hobbity things. This includes travelling to Michel Delving to steal an artefact from the Mathom-house, tracking down the club of Bandobras ‘Bullroarer’ Took at the very edge of North Farthing, tracking down some of Gandalf’s lost fireworks, travel all the way across the Shire to deliver a letter to Farmer Maggot, and there to help him out with some missing chickens. The campaign is really rather fun and should provide several good sessions’ worth of play, almost at a genteel pace.

Rounding out Shire Adventures is set of eight Player-hero sheets, one each for all of the pre-generated Player-heroes ready to play through ‘The Conspiracy of the Redbook’. Each comes with a little background and a good illustration, and they are nice, clear, and easy to read. They are of course, all linked by family connections, as any good Hobbits should be. They should be all fun to play (especially Lobelia Bracegirdle!) and all have decent Stealth and Riddle skills, but low combat skills.

Physically, Shire Adventures is very cleanly presented in a clear, open style, and the content itself is engaging to read. In particular, the maps done inside the front and back covers are excellent, done in a style reminiscent of Tolkien and will satisfy any Tolkien fan. The artwork is also very good, a pen and ink style that captures the old-world rustic charm of the Shire.

Where Shire Adventures is problematic is in its setting between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and really between the events of The Hobbit and the starting year for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying. There can be no doubt that the adventures are great and the chance to play the pre-generated Player-heroes is a wonder in itself, but what next? There are ideas and hooks throughout Shire Adventures for the Loremaster to develop, but it would be nice to see Player-heroes characters have other adventures too. Shire Adventures is also missing a where next?’ section. What does the Loremaster run after the ‘The Conspiracy of the Red Book’ campaign? The obvious choice is Bree as it is close by and if the Loremaster has access to it, the Bree-land Region Guide for Adventures in Middle-earth, the original adaptation of The One Ring to Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition by Cubicle Seven. It would require some adaptation to The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, but this is not insurmountable. Of course, the obvious next step is The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying itself, and the Loremaster and her players creating their own Player-heroes and beginning a campaign of their own.

Shire Adventures is a lovely supplement, it wraps the Loremaster and her Hobbitish players in the warmth and comfort of the Shire, before sending them out to be exposed to adventure and mild peril. For the players and their Hobbits this is their first chance to experience excitement and danger, whilst for the Loremaster, there is source material that she can return to and develop adventures of her own.