Schwew. OK. This turned into a long one. Break!! has the best crafting rules for an OSR game that I've ever seen. Originally, I was trying to borrow them for my little house rules project for the Middle-earth Hexcrawl. But the tale grew in the telling. The HTML conversion looks a little jank. Apologies. It looks better in the Google Doc (which I will eventually share). # Forging _“To the anvil,’ answered Thorin. ‘The hammer will at least keep the arms strong, until they can wield sharper tools again.”_ --- _Art by Goran Gligovic_ When you recover treasures such as forgotten lore and rare materials, you may put them to use by forging items both fair and wonderful. If you have an appropriate lore and access to a forge, you can **repair** and **customize** equipment. And if you have access to **raw materials** , you can also **create new** masterwork crafts. If you have the Art, you can even **artifice items of enchantment**. [Inspiration for these rules was derived from the Break!! RPG and the video game Sil] ## Lore, time, and tools Repairing, customizing, or creating new items require a combination of lore, time, and tools. ### **Lore** To forge an item, you must have a lore appropriate to the craft you are pursuing. Forged crafts fall into three categories: * **Weaponsmithing** : Those with Weapon Lore can craft weapons of all descriptions. Those with this lore can also work with handcrafts and tools such as mattocks, hammers, and saws. * **Armoursmithing:** Those with Armour Lore can smith mail, helms, and shields, as well as garb such as boots and cloaks. * **Jewelcraft** : Those with Jewel Lore can craft gleaming jewels, magic rings, musical instruments, and strange lamps. To practice **artifice** , you must also have a specific Art that allows you to do so _and_ be able to forge an item. ### **Time** **Repairing** an item merely notched or damaged is easier than making something new. Repairing an item requires a day of work. **Customizing** an item also requires a small expenditure of time. Customizing an item requires a number of days equal to ½ the difficulty of forging an item. If an item is **completely sundered** , remaking it requires a number of days equal to the difficulty of creating a new item. The broken item supplies the raw materials for the reforged item. **Forging** an item from scratch is done as a Downtime action. Attempting to craft the item (whether successful or not) takes the entire Downtime phase. ### **Tools** All efforts of crafting weapons, armour, or jewels require the use of a well-stocked **forge**. * If the burglars own a steading with a forge or are vassals to a lord's holdfast that has a forge, this requirement is fulfilled. * Sometimes, access to a forge can be part of a quest's reward. * In larger towns and cities, forges may be rented for 3 silver / 1 penny a week. Crafting new items also requires **raw materials**. * Ingots and unworked gems can be purchased in towns and cities. * Raw materials can also be found during adventures. ## Crafting items Repairing, customizing, or creating an item requires a Skill maneuver that follows special rules. At the end of the required time, make a Skill test against the listed difficulty. * Unlike normal tests, do not add a field of related knowledge bonus from the relevant lore. * If you have previously failed the test to craft this particular item, take a +3 bonus to this roll. This bonus is cumulative. If you succeed in this maneuver, the work is **complete**. If you fail this maneuver, the work you were doing is **incomplete**. Roll on the crafting mishaps table. Note that some difficulties (especially in artifice) are above 12. This breaks the general upper limit of difficulties in _Lore_ , but is intentional for two purposes. * One, it makes such efforts take a long time. * Two, it obliges crafters to fail in early attempts and slowly build momentum towards completing the project, modeling research. ### **Crafting Mishaps** If you fail to complete your project, roll 2d6 to see if your craft has some fatal flaw. At any point, you may scrap your project and salvage the raw materials and start fresh in the future. In this case, you do not receive the cumulative bonus from past failed rolls. Crafting Mishaps | | | ---|---|---|--- **Roll** | **Effect** | | **2** | [Artifacts only] **Obsessed** : You become fascinated with the work of your hands. You cannot scrap the project. You must retain ownership of the item. You can never lend it or give it away. It is yours and yours alone. | | **3** | **Willful** : Lose 1 Strength. The item gains a measure of your will. The item will try to turn its actions to further your desires. It may, during its labors, occasionally speak with its own voice. | | **4** | **Wasted resources** : Lose ½ of the total raw materials required by the project. | | **5** | **Bulky** : The item, if completed, takes up an additional +1 slot. | | **6** | **Unbalanced** : The item, if completed, suffers a -1 penalty to maneuvers using it. | | **7** | **Fragile** : The item, if completed, can suffer only 1 notch of damage. | | **8-12** | The craft is salvaged for now. No negative effect. | ## Weapons Most weapons require 1 ingot of raw materials to craft. Great swords, great axes, and great spears all require 2 ingots of raw materials to craft. Swords | | | ---|---|---|--- **Item** | **Repair or Customize** | **Craft New** | **Damage** **Dagger** -1 to hit against foes with longer weapons but +10 to critical wounds | No test | Δ6 | Piercing **Curved sword** +1 to hit during 1st round, -1 damage 2nd+ round | No test | Δ6 | Slashing **Shortsword** If you missed an attack last round, you gain a +1 bonus to hit this round | Δ4 | Δ7 | Slashing **Longsword** If you missed an attack last round, you gain a +1 bonus to hit this round | Δ4 | Δ7 | Slashing **Greatsword** -1 to hit, +2 damage If you missed an attack last round, you gain a +1 bonus to hit this round | Δ5 | Δ8 | Slashing **Polearms** | | | **Spear** Can attack from 2nd rank | No test | Δ6 | Piercing **Glaive** Can attack from 2nd rank, +1 damage when move + attack | Δ4 | Δ7 | Piercing **Great spear** -1 to hit, +2 damage / -1 to hit, +3 damage when you move + attack | Δ5 | Δ8 | Piercing **Axes** | | | **Throwing axe** | Δ5 | Δ8 | Slashing **Battle axe** If foe is defeated, can attack another adjacent foe | Δ4 | Δ7 | Slashing **Great axe** -1 to hit, +2 damage If foe is defeated, can attack another adjacent foe | Δ7 | Δ10 | Slashing **Blunt Weapons** | | | **Staff** +1 bonus to maneuvers | No test | Δ6 | Crushing **Mace** If you hit an armored opponent, you may reduce their Defense by 1 instead of dealing damage (to a minimum of +1) | Δ5 | Δ8 | Crushing **Warhammer** -2 to hit, +3 damage | Δ5 | Δ8 | Crushing **Bows** | | | **Shortbow** | No test | Δ6 | Piercing **Longbow** | Δ6 | Δ7 | Piercing **Tools** | | | **Hammer, Saw, Thieves' Tools, etc.** | No test | Δ6 | - ## Armour Armour requires 1 ingot of raw materials per Defense point conferred. Cloth | | | ---|---|---|--- **Item** | **Repair or Customize** | **Craft New** | **Defense** **Robe** | No test | Δ6 | - **Cloak** | No test | Δ6 | - **Gambeson** | Δ4 | Δ7 | +.5 **Leather** | | | **Leather Armour** | Δ5 | Δ8 | +1 **Gloves** | No test | Δ6 | - **Boots** | No test | Δ6 | - **Metal** | | | **Corslet** | Δ6 | Δ9 | +2 **Hauberk** | Δ7 | Δ10 | +2.5 **Vambraces** | Δ6 | Δ9 | +.5 **Greaves** | Δ6 | Δ9 | +.5 **Shield** | | | **Round shield** Can split Valour bonus between Attack and Defense rating | Δ5 | Δ8 | +1 **Kite shield** Can split Valour bonus between Attack and Defense rating | Δ6 | Δ9 | +1.5 **Helm** | | | **Helm** | Δ5 | Δ8 | +1 **Amloth** (elven helm) Elect to sunder to negate all damage or critical wound | Δ6 | Δ9 | +1 **Dwarf-mask** Fire resistance | Δ7 | Δ10 | +1.5 ## Jewelcraft Jewelry | | ---|---|--- **Item** | **Repair or Customize** | **Craft New** **Ring** | Δ5 | Δ8 **Crown** | Δ6 | Δ9 **Amulet** | Δ4 | Δ7 **Scepter** Can be used as blunt weapon | Δ4 | Δ7 **Light** | | **Brass lantern** | Δ4 | Δ7 **Elven lamp** | Δ6 | Δ9 **Instrument** | | **War horn** | Δ5 | Δ8 **Instrument** | Δ6 | Δ9 ## Artifice If you have the Art, you may craft **artifacts** imbued with magic. Creating an enchanted item begins with the same base rules as crafting new weapons, armour, and jewelcrafts. Then you may add **enchantments** to the item based on three factors: * The **primary material** used in its creation (a sword forged of steel). * You may choose to embellish the item with a **secondary material** (a steel sword with silver runes and a ruby in its hilt). * Embellishing an item with a secondary material requires half the total amount of ingots for creating the base item. * For example, creating a longsword needs 1 ingot of metal, so only ½ an ingot to embellish it. * The **forge** used in its creation (a bejeweled steel sword made at Rivendell). Forges add "bundles" of enchantments at a discount—if you elect to use them, you must add all the enchantments. * Forges that confer enchantments are very rare—only a handful exist in Middle-earth. * Although you can no longer craft at these forges, extinguished forges are included in the following list for the convenience of GMs who might want to place such items in treasure troves. You may add one or more enchantments to each item you forge based on the factors used in its crafting. For each enchantment you choose to add, you increase the **difficulty** to craft the item (see Crafting items) and additional **costs** to be paid if the item is successfully made. ### **Cost** To enchant artifacts, one must give up a part of oneself. Each enchantment you want to add to the item during its creation incurs a specific cost. A cost might be experience points, an attribute point, or something else. If you could not pay the cost, you cannot begin to imbue an item with that enchantment. If the item is successfully completed, the cost is immediately paid. ### **Materials and Enchantments** Each material used in the item's creation, both primary and secondary, allows you to add one or more enchantments. You may add one, two, or zero enchantments associated with each material involved in the item's crafting. ### **A note on dwimmer** All materials offer the **dwimmer** enchantment. In short, this enchantment allows for new powers to be crafted for your artifact that are developed in conjunction with and approved by your GM. Do you want to make a robe that allows you to glide or a set of horse shoes that lets your steed have a long life? "Dwimmer" is a catch-all category for such unique enchantments. Metal & Wood | | ---|---|--- **Material** | **+Δ Difficulty** | **Cost** **Wood** | | **Awe** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Blasting** | +Δ6 | 1 Experience **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Force** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **Grace** | +Δ3 | 1 Understanding **Striding** | +Δ4 | 5 Endurance **Radiance** | +Δ6 | 1 Understanding **Thunder** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **Bronze** | | **Clarity** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Defiance** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Fire** | +Δ6 | 1 Understanding **Perception** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Radiance** | +Δ10 | 1 Understanding **Resilience** | +Δ10 | 2 Experience **True sight** | +Δ20 | 2 Understanding **Iron** | | **Brand** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Deflection** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Final Rest** | +Δ8 | 1 Strength **Frost** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Fury** | +Δ8 | 1 Strength **Glimmering** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Piercing** | +Δ8 | 1 Strength **Preservation** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Venom's End** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Warmth** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Wondrous** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Wrath** | +Δ8 | 2 Experience **Steel** | | **Accuracy** | +Δ15 | 1 Strength, 1 Experience **Brand** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Defense** | +Δ15 | 1 Skill, 1 Experience **Deflection** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Final Rest** | +Δ8 | 1 Strength **Glimmering** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Piercing** | +Δ8 | 1 Strength **Preservation** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Protection** | +Δ15 | 5 Endurance, 1 Experience **Slaying** | +Δ12 | 1 Skill **Galvorn *** | | **Accuracy** | +Δ13 | 1 Strength, 1 Experience **Awe** | +Δ1 | 1 Skill **Clarity** | +Δ1 | 1 Skill **Defiance** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Defense** | +Δ13 | 1 Skill, 1 Experience **Deflection** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ1 | 2 Experience **Freedom** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Glamour** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Haunted** | +Δ1 | 1 Experience **Leaping** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Piercing** | +Δ6 | 1 Strength **Preservation** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Protection** | +Δ13 | 5 Endurance, 1 Experience **Resilience** | +Δ8 | 2 Experience **Shadow** | +Δ10 | 1 Skill, 1 Experience **Slaying** | +Δ10 | 1 Skill **Soft Tread** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Stealth** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Wondrous** | +Δ1 | 2 Experience **Wrath** | +Δ6 | 2 Experience * Craftable only with a specific Art | | **Precious Metals** | | **Silver** | | **Adornment** | +Δ4 | 1 Experience **Defiance** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Freedom** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Frost** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Glamour** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Glimmering** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Perception** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Shadow** | +Δ12 | 1 Skill, 1 Experience **Stealth** | +Δ8 | 1 Skill **Gold** | | **Adornment** | +Δ4 | 1 Experience **Awe** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Command** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Fire** | +Δ6 | 1 Understanding **Glamour** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Haunted** | +Δ3 | 1 Experience **Radiance** | +Δ10 | 1 Understanding **Resilience** | +Δ10 | 2 Experience **Warmth** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Mithril** | | **Accuracy** | +Δ13 | 1 Strength, 1 Experience **Clarity** | +Δ1 | 1 Skill **Defiance** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Defense** | +Δ13 | 1 Skill, 1 Experience **Deflection** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ1 | 2 Experience **Freedom** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Glamour** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Glimmering** | +Δ5 | 1 Skill **Leaping** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Piercing** | +Δ6 | 1 Strength **Preservation** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Protection** | +Δ13 | 5 Endurance, 1 Experience **Radiance** | +Δ8 | 1 Understanding **Resilience** | +Δ8 | 2 Experience **Slaying** | +Δ10 | 1 Skill **Soft Tread** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Stealth** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Cloth** | | **Cloth** | | **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Glamour** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Stealth** | +Δ8 | 1 Skill **Soft Tread** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Warmth** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Hithlain** | | **Dwimmer** | +Δ1 | 2 Experience **Glamour** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Grace** | +Δ3 | 1 Understanding **Shadow** | +Δ10 | 1 Skill, 1 Experience **Stealth** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Striding** | +Δ2 | 5 Endurance **Soft Tread** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Warmth** | +Δ1 | 1 Skill **Animal Fell** | | **Horn** | | **Alert** | +Δ3 | 1 Experience **Awe** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Blasting** | +Δ6 | 3 Endurance **Command** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Force** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **Thunder** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **Hide** | | **Defiance** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Deflection** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Freedom** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Glamour** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Leaping** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Of Archery** | +Δ12 | 1 Strength, 1 Experience **Or Swordplay** | +Δ12 | 1 Strength, 1 Experience **Regeneration** | +Δ12 | 5 Endurance **Resilience** | +Δ8 | 2 Experience **Stealth** | +Δ8 | 1 Skill **Striding** | +Δ4 | 5 Endurance **Sustenance** | +Δ12 | 5 Endurance **Venom's End** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Warmth** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Wormskin** | | **Awe** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Command** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Defense** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Defiance** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Dwimmer** | +Δ3 | 2 Experience **Fire** | +Δ6 | 1 Understanding **Fury** | +Δ8 | 1 Strength **Grace** | +Δ3 | 1 Understanding **Of Archery** | +Δ12 | 1 Strength, 1 Experience **Of Swordplay** | +Δ12 | 1 Strength, 1 Experience **Perception** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Power** | +Δ12 | 10 Endurance **Protection** | +Δ13 | 5 Endurance, 1 Experience **Regeneration** | +Δ12 | 5 Endurance **Resilience** | +Δ8 | 2 Experience **Sustenance** | +Δ12 | 5 Endurance **Thunder** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **True Sight** | +Δ15 | 2 Understanding **Venom's End** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Warmth** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Wrath** | +Δ8 | 2 Experience **Gems** | | **Adamant** | | **Adornment** | +Δ4 | 1 Experience **Brand (ice)** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Clarity** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Frost** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Glamour** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Glimmering** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Grace** | +Δ3 | 1 Understanding **Leaping** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Perception** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Preservation** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill **Protection** | +Δ15 | 5 Endurance, 1 Experience **Stealth** | +Δ8 | 1 Skill **Sustenance** | +Δ12 | 5 Endurance **True Sight** | +Δ20 | 2 Understanding **Ruby** | | **Adornment** | +Δ4 | 1 Experience **Alert** | +Δ3 | 1 Experience **Brand (fire)** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Fire** | +Δ6 | 1 Understanding **Freedom** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Glimmering** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Grace** | +Δ3 | 1 Understanding **Haunted** | +Δ3 | 1 Experience **Power** | +Δ12 | 10 Endurance **Radiance** | +Δ10 | 1 Understanding **Regeneration** | +Δ12 | 5 Endurance **Resilience** | +Δ8 | 2 Experience **Slaying** | +Δ10 | 1 Skill **Striding** | +Δ4 | 5 Endurance **Thunder** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **Warmth** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Lesser Jewel** | | **Adornment** | +Δ4 | 1 Experience **Awe** | +Δ3 | 1 Understanding **Blasting** | +Δ6 | 3 Endurance **Force** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **Haunted** | +Δ3 | 1 Experience **Thunder** | +Δ5 | 1 Experience **Sapphire** | | **Adornment** | +Δ4 | 1 Experience **Awe** | +Δ3 | 1 Skill **Command** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Defense** | +Δ6 | 1 Skill **Defiance** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Glamour** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Glimmering** | +Δ7 | 1 Skill **Grace** | +Δ3 | 1 Understanding **Perception** | +Δ4 | 1 Skill **Piercing** | +Δ6 | 1 Strength **Power** | +Δ12 | 10 Endurance **Preservation** | +Δ2 | 1 Skill Forge | | ---|---|--- **Rivendell** | | **Jewelcraft:** Glimmering (goblins or trolls are near) | +Δ5 | 1 Skill **Lorien** | | **Armour:** Soft Tread, Stealth, Preservation | +Δ12 | 2 Skill **Iron Hills** | | **Armour:** Defense, Protection | +Δ20 | 4 Experience **Red Mountains** | | **Weapon:** Fury, Wrath | +Δ12 | 3 Experience **Extinguished Forges *** | | **Annúminas** | | **Weapon:** Accuracy, Final Rest, Slay Un-dead | - | - **Blessed Realm** | | **Jewelcraft** : Grace, Power, Radiance | - | - **Weapon:** Slay Dragons and Raukar, Radiance | | **Eregion** | | **Jewelcraft** : Clarity, Power | - | - **Gondolin** | | **Weapon** : Slay Orcs and Trolls | - | - **Moria** | | **Weapon** : Slay Orcs and Trolls | - | - **Osgiliath** | | **Armour or Shield** : Defense x2 | - | - * Forges can no longer be accessed, but artifacts of the past might carry such enchantments | ## Enchantments ##### **Accuracy** The sharpness of the blade, the swiftness of the arrow! Weapons enchanted with accuracy add **+1 to attacks** made with them. **Advanced guideline:** Such weapons yearn for battle and draw their bearers towards combat. The GM may choose to impose a +1 bonus to a Wandering Encounter roll once per week if an accurate artifact is carried by the company. ##### **Adornment** Items made with adornment add a +**1 bonus** to any temporary magical blessing from **Songs of Power and** similar sources. For example, the first round of the Song of Slaying normally grants a +1 bonus to attack a particular foe; for those wearing an artifact of adornment are granted a +2 bonus instead. ##### **Alert** Horns forged with this enchantment have 20 + [1d4 x Understanding] charges. You may spend a charge to blow the horn and attempt to **summon allies**. The GM will immediately roll again on the wandering encounter and local encounter tables. They ignore any non-helpful result, and will put an allied result into play as soon as practical. ##### **Awe** Artifacts of enchantment cause foes to test **Morale** with a **-1 penalty**. ##### **Blasting** When created, the artifact has 20 + [1d4 x Understanding] charges. You may spend a charge to **open a tunnel** in stone about 10' x 10' x 10', **break open a barred door** , or **clear fallen rubble**. ##### **Brand** A weapon enchanted with a brand deals damage of a particular type chosen at its creation: it carries the taint of the **poison** of Dol Guldur, the shadow of **fear** of Angband, flickers with the **fire** of Aman, or smokes with the **ice** of Helcaraxë. ##### **Clarity** If possessing an artifact of clarity, roll 3d6 and take the best 2 dice when rolling to resist **confusion** and **hallucinations**. Additionally, you automatically identify **phantoms** as illusions. ##### **Command** If you possess an artifact of command, friendly NPCs in your presence add a **+1 bonus** to test **Morale**. ##### **Defense** Armour forged with this enchantment adds **+1** to their **Defensive** bonus. ##### **Defiance** If possessing an artifact of defiance, roll 3d6 and take the best 2 dice when rolling to resist **entrancement** , **commands** and **domination**. ##### **Deflection** Shields forged with this enchantment add +**1** to their **Defensive** bonus against **missile attacks**. ##### **Dwimmer** This category of enchantments are experiments in the craft of artifice. If you wish to forge an item with a particular knack or feature, work with your GM to establish the exact rules. Some examples of enchantments that are further afield may be found here at the d4Caltrops blog. ##### **Final Rest** Weapons forged with this enchantment exist in both the waking world and unseen world: they can **strike wraiths** and un-dead creatures, and grant a **+2 bonus** to hit such creatures. Unbound spirits slain with such weapons depart Middle-earth forever. ##### **Fire** Artifacts forged with this enchantment have 20 + [1d4 x Understanding] charges. You may spend a charge to cause the artifact to shed light as a torch for an hour (6 turns). During this time, a weapon or scepter deals **fire** damage. ##### **Force** When created, the artifact has 20 + [1d4 x Understanding] charges. You may spend a charge to **knock a creature** engaged with you back 1d6 x 10'. If you are engaged with multiple creatures, you may spend multiple charges at the same time. ##### **Freedom** If possessing an artifact of freedom, roll 3d6 and take the best 2 dice when rolling to **move at a run**. In addition, you are immune to being **slowed** and can ignore **webs**. ##### **Frost** Artifacts with this enchantment are always cold to the touch. While wearing an artifact enchanted with frost, you gain **resistance to fire**. Clothing woven with this enchantment counts as appropriate gear for desert regions. Artifacts with frost enchantments are **immune to being destroyed by fire damage**. ##### **Fury** If you wield an item enchanted with fury, you may **enter a rage** when you fight. Doing so requires a turn. While berserk, you make an extra attack every other turn. You cannot flee from combat while in this state, which only ends when all foes have been defeated. Anyone who has harmed you in combat counts as a foe. ##### **Glamour** Artifacts with this enchantment change their bearer's appearance in some specific way: a helm that causes you to appear as an orc, a banner whose heraldic beast seems to move on its own, a crown that ensures your raiment always appears clean and rich. When this seeming would have a positive effect on a **Beauty** or **Subtlety** maneuver to influence an **NPC's disposition** , gain a **+1 bonus.** ##### **Glimmering** When creating this artifact, choose a specific **trigger** : when goblins are near, when enemies approach the Lonely Mountain, when a spell on you, etc. When this trigger occurs, the artifact will **glitter** with a pale light. ##### **Grace** When bearing an artifact enchanted with grace, you take **1 less damage** from singing **Songs of Power** per round (to a minimum of 1). ##### **Haunted** When bearing a haunted artifact, you partially exist in the unseen world. You can **see disembodied spirits.** You identify **phantoms** as illusions automatically. Unfortunately, they can also see you—when your company's Notice track exceeds 20+, a spirit will seek you out. ##### **Leaping** If possessing an artifact of leaping, roll 3d6 and take the best 2 dice when rolling to **move at a run**. In addition, you move at **full speed** through **hazardous terrain** during combat, leaping and dodging past such obstacles. ##### **Of Archery** An artifact with this enchantment grants its wearer **+1 on attacks with bows**. ##### **Of Swordplay** An artifact with this enchantment grants its wearer **+1 on attacks with swords**. ##### **Perception** If possessing an artifact of perception, roll 3d6 and take the best 2 dice when testing to **avoid surprise**. ##### **Piercing** A weapon with this enchantment grants **+10** to **critical wound** rolls. ##### **Power** When wearing an artifact with this enchantment, you gain +**1 bonus** on your Beauty checks to sing **Songs of Power**. ##### **Preservation** When wearing an artifact with this enchantment, your **attributes cannot be lowered** or **drained**. Additionally, you are equally comfortable in extreme heat and extreme cold. Such artifacts can lay for long years without needing maintenance. ##### **Protection** If you're wearing armour forged with the protection enchantment, **critical wounds** against you are made with a **-10 penalty**. In addition, armour or clothes with this enchantment are never destroyed by fire or ice criticals. ##### **Radiance** Artifacts forged with this enchantment shed **light** like to a bright candle. ##### **Regeneration** When wearing artifacts woven with regeneration, **remove an additional +1 damage taken** each time you're healed. ##### **Resilience** When wearing artifacts forged with resilience, add **+10 Endurance** to your total. ##### **Shadow** When created, the artifact has 20 + [1d4 x Understanding] charges. Spend a charge to cover yourself in a **black cloud**. Spend 2 charges to cover a company of 10 or fewer. At night, this shadow makes those within the cloud all but invisible. During the day, the cloud is visible but its occupants cannot be seen. ##### **Slaying** Weapons enchanted with this enchantment add **+2 to attacks** made against creatures of the type chosen when the artifact is forged, choosing from the following list: spiders, wolves, un-dead, orcs, trolls, dragons, raukar Weapons with this enchantment quickly become infamous among the group they slay: such creatures will target the bearers with hatred. ##### **Soft Tread** Boots and greaves forged with this enchantment grant a **+1 bonus** to Subtlety maneuvers to **move silently**. ##### **Stealth** When wearing artifacts woven with stealth, you blend into your environment and can **hide even in plain sight** if you are unmoving. While moving, you gain a **+1 bonus** to Subtlety maneuvers to **hide** and **sneak past watchers**. ##### **Striding** While wearing an artifact forged with this enchantment, you gain **+5 travel points**. Additionally, you **may decrease the travel points required to enter a specific type of hex by 1** when leading the company, chosen from the following list: forest, hills, mountains, swamp, waterside, wastes. ##### **Sustenance** While wearing an artifact forged with this enchantment, you require only **2 days of rations every 3 days.** ##### **Thunder** When created, the artifact has 20 + [1d4 x Understanding] charges. Spend a charge to activate the artifact, causing a crack of thunder that makes your foes hesitate. **Resolve all player actions** completely **before the enemies** resolve theirs. ##### **True Sight** If wearing an artifact of true sight, roll 3d6 and take the best 2 dice when rolling to resist **blindness** and **hallucinations**. You can **see disembodied spirits.** Additionally, you identify **phantoms** as illusions automatically. ##### **Venom's End** While wearing an artifact enchanted with this enchantment, you gain **resistance to poison**. ##### **Warmth** Artifacts with this enchantment are always warm to the touch. While carrying an artifact enchanted with warmth, you gain **resistance to ice**. Clothing woven with this enchantment counts as appropriate gear for cold regions. Artifacts with warmth enchantments are **immune to being destroyed by ice damage**. ##### **Wondrous** Wondrous items, like dwimmer-enchanted items, might boast a variety of minor powers. Tools, lamps, waterskins, purses, toys, and small pieces of clothing (belt buckles, cuff links, etc.) can be woven with these enchantments. Roll on the linked tables to establish what power you confer: or double the difficulty of this enchantment to select a specific result. ##### **Wrath** This enchantment causes foes you're engaged with to abandon reason in their hatred of you. Once you've engaged with an enemy, they will tend to focus their attacks on you. They take a **-2 penalty to attack someone besides yourself** while you're on the field of battle.

I worked on this over Christmas. It's a little late but perhaps you (like me) haven't quite cleaned up your tree yet. I have limited exposure to war games. I have played WH40K only once in college. I am more familiar with smaller scale, more narrative games like Emily Allen's Dolorous Stroke and Tom Bloom's Maleghast. But anybody can understand that nativity sets are war game minifigs. That is why I have written a new faction for Maleghast called **The Creche**. Now you can use your grandma's nativity sets to fight demon-possessed ghouls in the streets of Hell. Fair warning: This is in terribly bad taste. It's downright blasphemous. # The Creche Fan Fiction Society The violet devil Granny Godbless wrote a series of corpse-puppet passion plays called The Creche. The serialized plays depicted a ridiculous pseudo-mystery religion centered on a virgin giving birth to an aborted godhead. The divine child preaches the Fire Sermon to the laughing tears of a variety of comical onlookers. The plays were a huge success in Anzenmezzeron. Fans of the plays flocked to Granny Godbless, each eager to add to and expand the Creche expanded universe. They became known as the Creche Fan Fiction Society and have swollen in power as to be a faction in their own right. If they can reach the End of Death, they can manifest their passion plays as true prophecies. **Playstyle** : Vampiric, hard to kill ** ** **Soundtrack:  ** Lingua Ignota: The Order of Spiritual Virgins Ghost: Year Zero Celtic Frost: Dying God Coming Into Human Flesh ** ** **Special mechanic** : _Fervor_ : A unit with a fervor token may choose to discard one at the end of their turn to regain 1 hp. You cannot spend more than 1 fervor token per turn. **Special tags:** _Faith_ : A unit with this trait gains a fervor token when they roll a 1 when ACTing. You can check out the unit stats in this Google Sheet, here. For convenience, I've also posted screenshots of each below. This hasn't been playtested (but let me know if you wanna play it with me!). Use at your own risk. ## Shepherd ## Drummer Boy ## Magi ## Cuckold ## Infant, Tender & Mild ## Madonna Whore

A magic item inspired by Phlox's version, here. Approaching from my premise that +1s are boring magic items, how can I adapt the classic periapt of wisdom? _The periapt of wisdom is shaped like a little homunculus bound to the two ends of the loop that form the necklace from which it hangs--as if being pulled apart.  _ When you wear the periapt of wisdom, 3x/day you may ask it "What do you think I should do?" concerning a specific topic. When you do so, a literal imp and angel appear on your shoulder. They are invisible and inaudible to all but you (or those with second sight). The angel will dispense good, practical, and safe advice. It will clearly inform you of dangers. While dungeoneering, this advice can sometimes be maddening: give up this life of adventure, go back to town, marry that handsome blacksmith, settle down. The imp will dispense advice that will allow you to most expediently complete your goal or achieve great power and wealth. While dungeoneering, this can border on the insane: step into the portal, simply take the golden chalice on the pressure plate, choke the magic mouth with your companion's body. If you ever wholly take the advice of one entity versus the other (instead of taking neither or both), you notice it gets a little larger. Every 4 times you do this, you either gain: * +1 Wisdom while you wear the periapt, max +3 (angel) * Cast a random 1st level spell while you wear the periapt (devil) After 12 times of taking one of the entity's advice, it devours the other. It no longer appears when you ask the periapt a question.

**0501** **Southwest** : Valley of Eternal Cheer **South** : Snomes **Southeast** : Jinglebell Barrens **RANKIN/BASS PRO SHOP** : A pyramid of silver and gold. The single obvious entrance at its base is guarded by an angel (HD14) with a flaming sword. He forbids all entrance to the pyramid and is invulnerable to all weapons except for the fiery sword that he himself wields. Anyone who enters the pyramid transcends the fictional dimension and becomes real. They literally enter the real world. This is how Baby Jesus incarnated himself from Christmas Land.

**0203** **North** : Conifer Mountain **Northwest** : Three Calves **Southwest** : The Grumpus **HOUSE OF THE KRINGLES**. A snowy landscape in the domain of the Winter Warlock. A cottage called the Least Homely House shelters a clan of svartalfar who practice the forbidden art of toy making. There are five svartalfar remaining in the clan: Dingle, Bingle, Tingle, Wingle, and Zingle. Stats as dwarves. The svartalfar offer specialist training for those who are willing to accept quests to deliver toys. TRAINING * **Climb Like Ratatosk** : Ratatosk the Squirrel runs up and down the World Tree. Spend a Downtime Action with the svartalfar to learn the skill Climb Sheer Surfaces like a thief of equivalent level. * **Leap Like Reindeer** : The Reindeer of this region's diet is infused with the Spice Pixie. Spend a Downtime Action to take this spice. You may now cast the magic-user spell Jump once per day. This training can be repeated up to four times, increasing the number of times you can cast this spell. * **Selkie's Trick** : The svartalfar have an alliance with the selkies of the north. Spend a Downtime Action to forge a pact with them and gain one of their seal-skin cloaks. When you use the cloak, you can take a seal's form 1x/day for 10 min per level. ! - DUCK DELIVERY: The Miser Master of Sadtown's (0602) reign of terror has gone on long enough. End it. Use this toy duck on wheels. Make it look like an accident.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I'm currently doing a preorder campaign instead of a "traditional" crowdfunding campaign for my first big project for _His Majesty the Worm_ , _**The Castle Automatic**_ : --- Click the pic to learn more Since I'm currently going through the process of publishing an RPG supplement, I thought it might be worthwhile to enumerate the basic outline of my process: the steps that it takes to get a physical book made with a publisher. The process can feel opaque if you've not involved in the industry. But I promise you: If I can do it, you can do it! ## The Phases of Making a Big Old Dungeon Roughly, we can think of the process as a waterfall workflow with six main phases. People familiar with the software development lifecycle will know that waterfall is a dirty word, but there are meaningful gates that prevent future work being done. For example, you cannot do _fulfillment_ until the book is _printed_. That said, by knowing all the steps, you can anticipate what is coming next and begin pre-work on that step. For example, because we know that we're bundling the book with a map, we'll need to anticipate packaging these orders together. The steps are: **1. Writing** : Get the dang thing on paper! This also includes playtesting, revising, and developmental editing. **2. Editing** : Before the book can be laid out, the text needs to be copyedited and free of errors. All of the references, monster stats, and room descriptions on page 140 should be consistent with those on page 14. **3. Layout & Art**: Next comes the act of making the text look good by laying it out with expert graphic design and all new art. This also includes creating graphics for information design and indexing. --- _Psst. This is how The Castle Automatic is looking, re: layout and art.  _ **4. Printing** : At this stage, the creative team is pretty much done, but we're still only halfway to our goal of having the book in hand! The book goes into pre-press to make sure everything was set up correctly for print—colors, margins, gutters, etc. Then, the book is sent to the printers. (At this point, Early Worms will get a digital copy of the book!) **5. Shipping & Warehousing**: Once the book is printed, it makes the journey by boat to the United States for warehousing. This part can take a surprisingly long time--3-4 months. **6. Delivery** : Once Exalted Funeral has the book, it can be shipped to Early Worms! ## Status update for The Castle Automatic **** **** ** ** **Status** : On track **Current phase** : Editing (95% complete) **Next steps** : Layout is set to begin as soon as copyediting is finalized. Our goal is to finish the layout early next year. In the background, the key art for the module has already been completed. Once layout is complete, additional art may be needed to fill gaps and get everything looking great. Once all additional art has been placed, the digital edition will be ready! ## Preorder Timeline We've had a few Early Worms asking how long the preorder campaign will be open. We would like to give people a chance to get in on being an Early Worm, but still make it special by not having the Early Worm map incentive go on for too long. We anticipate the Preorder Early Worm with Map Campaign to end around the end of the first quarter of next year and then switch to a full priced preorder. That give us plenty of time to know how many maps we need ahead of the early summer delivery! If you're excited too, let people know about the book! Tell your friends! Chatter on Reddit! Holler on Discord! Let the Early Worms multiply.

Back in September of this year, I began a daily writing prompt inspired by this year's reread of _The Lord of the Rings_ and Idraluna Archive's excellent hexmap of Middle-earth. I began writing one hex entry a day. Now, three months later, I have keyed all of the hexes within the bounds of the Shire. I have collated all of the entries together, here, for your convenience and enjoyment. --- _[Click on the cover to access the document. Art by Goran Gligovic, used with permission.](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1puV5bqw-0cbYw6KJIefeEs03yBj0l-O1_1MAwdBB8d0/edit?usp=sharing)_ ## This document includes * Each hex, village, and township within the Shire * Random encounters for rural hexes * Random encounters for urban hexes * Rumours * A linked calendar  * Dozens of quests for would-be burglars * Five nested mini-dungeons ## Settlements ### Eastfarthing * Brockenborings (45.59) * Budgeford (47.60) * Deephallow (50.59) * Dwaling (44.61) * Frogmorton (47.59) * Rushey (49.59) * Scary (46.60) * Stock (47.61) * Whitfurrows (47.60) * Willowbottom (51.58) * Woodhall (48.59) ### Northfarthing * Greenfield (42.58) * Long Cleeve (43.53) * Oatbarton (44.58) ### Southfarthing * Gamwich (44.49) * Hardbottle (51.54) * Longbottom (51.57) * Pincup (49.58) * Sackville (52.56) ### Westfarthing * Bywater (47.56) * Greenholm (49.50) * Hobbiton (47.56) * Little Delving (46.53) * Michel Delving (48.54) * Needlehole (46.54) * Nobottle (46.54) * Tightfield (45.51) ## Quests * A Matter Of Inheritance (51.54) * A Plague Of Frogs (47.59) * A Queer Haunting (48.56) * Antique Find (50.60) * Badger Incursion (45.59) * Bog-Wood (46.54) * Bounding The Big Folk (52.56) * Cheese Syndicate (48.54) * Conjurer Of Cheap Tricks (49.50) * Deephallow House (50.59) * "Fair" Ferry Markets (47.61) * Falconer Needed (49.58) * Featherstone Mystery (46.58) * Feverish Child (47.55) * Flowers For Heartbreak (48.54) * Giant Skeleton (43.55) * Hedge Maze (44.58) * Letter Of Shop Talk (48.55) * Literary Burglary (46.53) * Lost Dog (47.56) * Lost Froggy (46.54) * Missing Child (42.58) * Missing Mathom (48.59) * Missing Messenger (48.54) * Missing Sheep (43.53) * Mysterious Door (44.61) * Mysterious Package (47.60) * Mystery Mushrooms (47.56) * Needle-Tooth Tom (49.59) * Of Fungus And Worms (51.58) * Pony Peril (49.52) * Prize Cow (46.57) * Raid The Ranger's Library (44.49) * Raise What's Left Of The Flag (48.57) * Rare Ingredient (46.59) * Rats (47.56) * Rope Thief (45.51) * Scandalous Party Preparation (46.54) * Scarecrow (45.54) * Special Delivery (51.57) * Steal From The Thief (52.56) * That's Some Spider (47.60) * The Black Boar Of The Yale (48.60) * The Coffer From Harshport (51.57) * Tookbank (48.56) * Translation Trouble (48.54) * Tuckborough (48.57) * Waymeet (47.55) * Whitwell (48.56) ## Location Adventures * Broken Windmill (45.53) * Deephallow House (50.59) * Gypsum Mine (43.55) * Mr. Cuthbert Burrowes's Hedge Maze (44.58) * Ruined Watchtower (42.59) I hope you have fun with it! ## Did you enjoy this free content? If you've enjoyed the work I've put out for free on the blog, I hope you'll consider backing my current project: THE CASTLE AUTOMATIC, my forthcoming dungeon for _His Majesty the Worm_. Right now, we're doing a form of direct crowdfunding. I'd love for you to preorder the book! You get a discount and a sweet map from Guy Pradel! --- Join the Early Worm campaign!

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. From the beginning of the project, I knew it wasn't enough to just have keyed hexes. The potential energy of the hex contents must be energized with the kinetic energy of random encounters--that's what makes hexcrawling pop. Thus, here are an absurd abundance of nested encounters for you. --- _Art by Goran  Gligovic_ 1-6. No encounter 7. **Faction** - **Knights of the Road** : A group of martial hobbits who have formed their order based on the land grant from the King of Arnor carried the provision that they protect and maintain the king's road. Their wives soberly point out that there hasn't been a king for over nine-hundred years and their husbands are basically just LARPing. When you encounter them, roll a d6 to see what they challenge the company to do. See **subtable 7** for a full explanation of each challenge. 1. Jousting at the turnip knight 2. Reenactment of the Battle of Greenfields 3. Archery contest 4. Pony race 5. Bridge repair 6. Road maintenance 8. **Traveler:** 1. **Tin-Kettle Tom** : You come upon Tin-Kettle Tom, an itinerant tinker and peddler who wanders from village to village performing odd jobs and selling mended kettles from his enormous pack. He has a bad reputation; people often find things have gone missing just after he's left town. See **subtable 8.1** for what he's carrying today. 2. **Bungo Hopalong** : The itinerant merchant, Bungo Hopalong, is carrying supplies to clients between villages. See **subtable 8.2** for what extras he has in stock. 3. **Dunald the Dwarven Merchant** : Dunald lends his services as an artisan to a village for a season before moving on. He is willing to sell anything unsold from last season's work for a fair price. See **subtable 8.3** for what he's carrying. 4. **Gerda Cotton** : Gerda Cotton has taken it on herself to walk the entire length of the East Road (40 leagues). She wants a **stiff drink** (buy her a pint? there's an inn just up the road) and gives **rumours**. 5. **Messenger** : "Postie" Pimpernel Goodchild dashing off with a special delivery. Will give [1d6] coppers to handle a delivery to a nearby farm for him. 6. **Gandalf** : Gandalf the good wizard is on an errand in the Shire. He is on the lookout for any uncanny activity that would threaten this peaceful land. If the company seems goodly and capable, will immediately tell them of a **quest**. 9. **Curiosity** : 1. **An old water pump** stands up proudly from weeds and grass. It is an easy place to refill all water bottles and quench the day's thirst. 2. **Merry magpies** fill the trees, laughing at the company. 3. **A carpet of moss** stretches out invitingly in the region. 4. **Gregarious goats** reach through their fencing with open mouths, hoping for a handout. 5. **A prickle of hedgehogs** are trundling over the fields on some errand. (If followed, they get together in an apparent conference in a copse of trees and have a squeak with each other. The company gains a +2 bonus to their campsite scouting roll in this hex.) 6. **A verdant smell** fills the company's nostrils. Plants are blooming today. (+2 bonus to search for herbs today.) 10. **Travel Event:** 1. **Weather worsens** : The weather rolled for the day decreases by one step during the second watch. 2. **Logistics:** Can't find something / something got wet / a harness is missing. If the company has a quartermaster, they can negate this mishap by passing a **Skill Δ8** check. 3. **Minor sickness** : Random burglar or NPC can't do their job today. 4. **Lame animal:** Animal in the company hurts its leg. It can hobble along at half speed. If company rests for a day, a burglar with **Animal Lore** can make an **Understanding Δ8** check to heal it. If 3 of these checks fail, the animal is lame permanently. 5. **Bad boots:** Random burglar discovers that their boots have a hole worn in them. -1 travel points and takes 1 damage each morning until replaced. Hobbits may ignore this travel event; they are immune. 6. **Things that Yet May Be:** As a random burglar passes by a pool or pond, they seem to see an image shimmering in the water. Ask them if they want to spend 1 Hope for a vision of a possible future. If they do, they may ask the GM any question and receive some vision of the answer. [Inspiration: TOR1E - Journeys and Maps] 11. **Notice** : Increase the company's Notice rating by 1d6. When it reaches 20+, the GM triggers some **doom**. 12. **Encounter** : 1. **Big Dog** : A local farmer's guard dog chases after the company, baying and nipping. If the fellowship fails to calm the dog, they must spend the rest of the afternoon stuck uncomfortably up a tree to avoid his bites. Lose 2 Endurance each from hours of being crammed awkwardly in the boughs of a pine. [Credit: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire] 2. **Gorecrows** : 2d4 gorecrows follow the company at a distance. When they look vulnerable, they'll attempt to steal treasure, purses, or anything obviously shiny. 3. **Angry Farmer** : An angry farmer with a blunderbuss and 1d6 of his strapping sons confront the company. He's convinced they're [trespassing / after his mushrooms / after his beautiful maiden daughters / after his homely maiden daughters / no-good burglars (true!)]. 4. **Sloggers** : A street gang of 2d6 hobbit bullies armed with fire irons, canes, and golf clubs look to increase their criminal clout by challenging the burglars to "wrestling." 5. **Bounders** : 1d4+1 hobbit Bounders are looking for the cause of some local trouble. They stop the burglars to ascertain their recent doings. If push comes to shove, they'll summon a shirriff. 6. **Närr Deadtooth** : A dwarven tramp, secretly a servant of the Necromancer. He reports on the vulnerabilities of decent folk to trolls, sorcerers, goblins, and worse. Cringes, hides, follows, steals, frames, accuses, curses. ### **7. Challenges of the Knights of the Road** #### 7.1 Jousting at the turnip knight The knights take turns making jousting passes at a scarecrow with a turnip head and a pot for a helm, wielding various rakes, hoes, and shovels as lances. Touching the scarecrow's straw-filled chest is 1 point, knocking off the pot is 3 points. A weary old draft pony named Bob takes each knight in turn; he's the only one they have. Hugo Bracegirdle has the current high score of 12. To participate, make an attack. If a player rides Bob (instead of a mount of their own), they take a **-2 penalty**. The turnip knight has a Defense of +2. The amount of damage dealt by the attack is the character's score at the joust. The winner receives a woven **laurel crown**. #### 7.2 Reenactment of the Battle of Greenfields The knights are encamped in a field: canvas tarps have been enriched with hand-made pennants and flags. Later, they plan on reenacting the Battle of Greenfields. They already have an actor playing the Bandobras the Bullroarer but need someone to play Golfimbul and his goblins (none of them want to do it). If the company consents to help, make a group test of **Beauty Δ4.** Depending on what the players have to make their costumes, the GM may grant a bonus or a penalty to their roll. If the test is a success, the Knights of the Road will gift them a **shillelagh with an iron core**. The battle takes the rest of the day. #### 7.3 Archery contest The knights have set up a target under the arms of a huge old oak tree and are taking turns taking bow shots at it. There is an open challenge for who can place the most arrows nearest the mark. Those who take up the challenge should **roll 2d6 and add their Valour x2**. Whoever has the highest total score wins a **waxed bowstring** (will almost never break). #### 7.4 Pony race The knights have organized a pony race and invite all to participate. Those who race should **roll 2d6 and add their Skill**. Additionally: * Those with Animal Lore (or similar) may add +2 * Steeds with a movement speed of 60+ add +2 * Steeds with a movement speed of 80+ add an additional +2 Whoever has the highest total score wins a **leather satchel bag**. #### 7.5 Bridge repair The knights are ensuring the bridges in this region are in good repair and ask the company to volunteer their time. This includes checking under each bridge for hiding trolls. Participation takes the rest of the day. This task gives no reward but the satisfaction of a job well done. #### 7.6 Road maintenance The knights are spending the rest of the day picking up trash from the roads in this region, planting flowers, repairing signs, etc., and invite the company to volunteer their time. Those who participate find a bit of **random impedimenta**. ### **8. Merchants** Roll the indicated dice. The merchant is carrying everything on their table of that result and less. #### 8.1 - Tin-Kettle Tom (d12) 1. Tea kettle & four ceramic cups (mended), 6 copper / 3 marks 2. Umbrella (patched), 2 copper / 1 mark 3. Rainslicker poncho, 3 copper / 1 mark 4. Chalk slate & chalk, 2 copper / 1 mark 5. String of silvery bells, 5 copper / 2 marks 6. Pocketwatch (broken), 2 silver / 1 penny 7. "Portable bath" (tin tub), 8 copper / 4 marks 8. Hobbit baby doll (mended), 2 copper / 1 mark 9. Washboard (secretly enchanted with a spell of excellence), 1 copper / 1 mark 10. Bag of marbles, 2 copper / 1 mark 11. Cloudy handmirror (secretly enchanted, shows transformed creatures as their true form), 8 copper / 4 marks 12. Green waistcoat with floral pattern (kept in tissue paper), 1 silver / 9 marks #### 8.2 - Bungo Hopalong (d8) 1. Insect-repellent candles (6), 1 silver / 9 marks 2. 5 x Aloe (doubles recovery at camp), 4 copper / 2 marks each 3. 6 x Wolfsbane (protects against lycanthropy, repels wolves), 3 copper / 2 marks each 4. 12 x Greasy rations, 1 copper / 1 mark each 5. Blank book with cotton pages, 5 silver / 2 pennies 6. Pipe carven into face of a wizard, 1 silver / 10 marks 7. Hair-growth tonic (useless), 3 copper / 2 marks 8. Tent (4 person), 1 silver, 11 marks #### 8.3 - Dunald the Dwarf Merchant (d6) 1. Dwarf boots (waterproof), 6 copper / 3 marks 2. Blue tasseled hood and cloak, 4 copper / 2 marks 3. Steel knife (excellent, holds an edge), 9 copper / 5 marks 4. Harp (excellent, rarely loses its tune), 1 silver & 5 copper / 1 penny 5. Silver mazer cup (finely wrought, themes of marriage), 2 silver / 1 penny 6. Chess board (enchanted, pieces move and battle each other), 5 silver / 3 pennies **Shire urban encounters are forthcoming.** ** ** ## While I have you... Did you know that I am currently doing an Early Worm campaign--sort of "direct crowdfunding"--for THE CASTLE AUTOMATIC, my forthcoming dungeon for _His Majesty the Worm_. I'd love for you to preorder the book! You get a discount and a sweet map from Guy Pradel! --- Join the Early Worm campaign!

When you level up, you gain a random benefit based on your race or class. Here's what dwarves get. You can either roll a d7 for your house to get a result from a tightly-bound part of the table _or_ roll a d50 to get anything from the entire table. This is ostensibly for the Middle-earth Hexcrawl project but I think it can be broadly applicable to any fantasy adventure game with dwarves in it. ## Dwarves Roll a d7 (for your house) or a d50 --- _Art by Goran Gligovic_ ### **Longbeards** 1. +1 Skill 2. **Baruk Khazâd:** Add +2 to your damage dealt with axes. 3. **Crafts of your Hands** : Whenever a dice roll would determine the quality of something you've made (a forged blade, a tied knot, a set trap, the health of a child sired) add +2 to the result. 4. **Hardy** : Once per day, you may recover Endurance equal to your Strength score, even in combat. 5. **In Moria, In Khazad-dum** : When you study a dwarven artifact or visit a site important to the dwarves, you can sing a song that inspires the company to understand your dwarven perspective. If you do so, add 1 Morale. 6. **Mine Fighter** : You gain +1 to your attacks while fighting underground. 7. **Stentorious Merchant:** You may use Skill instead of Beauty when trying to influence the reaction of characters on matters of business, closing a deal, or making a bargain. ### **Firebeards** 1. +1 Valour 2. **Driven** : During a forced march, you can elect to double the damage taken and gain 100% more of your daily allotment of travel points (instead of 50%). 3. **Calloused Hands:** Your hands are as tough as leather gauntlets. You can handle objects as hot as a forge fire less intense than a blast furnace. 4. **Fell-handed:** Add +1 to your damage dealt. 5. **Fire Resistant** : Items that you own and specifically care for are immune to fire criticals. 6. **Forge Hardy** : You gain resistance to fire damage. 7. **Weapon-crafty** : By tending to your weapon and oiling it (costs 1 silver piece/6 marks), you may increase its damage dealt by +1. This bonus lasts until the end of a battle in which you deal damage; afterwards, you must care for it again. ### **Broadbeams** 1. **All's Well that Ends Better** : When you Carouse, you may roll twice and take either event. 2. **Armour-crafty** : By tending to your armour and oiling it (costs 1 silver piece/6 marks), you may increase its Defensive bonus by +1. This bonus lasts until the end of a battle in which you take damage; afterwards, you must care for it again. 3. **Fond of Vittles** : If you eat 2 rations instead of 1 during camp, roll an extra boon. 4. **Gourmand:** You have exceptional taste. With just a tiny taste of food, you can tell what the ingredients are (e.g., if there's a little extra poison in there). 5. **Luxurious Beard** : Your beard is thick and lustrous. You may carry one normal-sized item in it. The item carried there does not count towards your encumbrance and is not easily taken from you. 6. **Make Light of Burdens** : Your worn armour does not count towards your encumbrance. 7. **Mountain Guide** : While you act as the Guide while traveling, the company may move in hill hexes for 1 travel point/league and mountain hexes for 2 travel points/league. ### **Stiffbeards** 1. **Bane of Worms:** You deal +1 damage to worms, serpents, and dragons. Keep a tally of how many worms you have killed. At 50 worms, this bonus increases to +2. At 200 worms, this bonus increases to +3. 2. **Caution of Curses** : If you spend a watch in contemplation of an artifact, the GM will tell you if there are any curses that lay on it and what manner they are. 3. **Deep Voice** : When singing Songs of Power, you may choose to use your Skill attribute instead of Beauty. 4. **Dwimmercrafty** : You can tell how many charges or uses are left on a limited use item. 5. **Frost Resistant** : Items that you own and specifically care for are immune to cold criticals. 6. **Stronger than Snakes** : You may heal poison damage naturally through Morale and rest. 7. **Winter Hardy** : You are resistant to cold damage. ### **Ironfists** 1. **Careful** : Once per day, when you fail a test, you may negate the effects of failure. It's as if you never attempted it. 2. **Galvorn:** You know the secret of the black metal, galvorn. If you can find a source of meteoric iron, you may craft items made of it as a Downtime Action. 3. **Grasping** : What you hold, you keep. No thief can ever take what you hold in your hands. In combat, you can never be disarmed. 4. **Hoarder:** You can secrete 100 coins on your person in such a way that they won't be discovered (short of shaving and stripping you) and they don't count towards your encumbrance. 5. **Obsessive Care** : Choose one of your Named items. Under your care, this item will never rust, notch, or be sundered. If you lose the item, it will eventually find its way back to you through strange roads. 6. **Song of Counter-spell (4):** You have learned the songs that cut through the nets of the enemy. The target of this song may be any sorcerer or ongoing sorcerous effect. Roll the dice and add your Skill bonus vs Δ9. If successful, the sorcery effect is ended. 7. **Vengeance** : You gain a +1 to attack anyone who has damaged you in combat or stolen from you. ### **Blacklocks** 1. **Curse:** Once ever, you may pronounce a curse against a mortal foe that ensures their eventual ruin. The curse will strike when most appropriate. The exact nature of their doom is left up to the discretion of the GM, but you can rest assured that if they continue to live, their life will be miserable: utter poverty, a broken body, forsaken by their kin, etc. 2. **Dark for Dark Business:** You gain +1 to attacks while under the night sky. 3. **Devil's Advocate** : Your people suffered a bad deal once, and you'll never make the same mistake. You can spot unfair arrangements in contracts without needing to make a test. Moreover, you gain a +2 (or +10%, if relevant) bonus when negotiating contracts to be in your favor. 4. **False Gold:** With a week of work and 1 gold of supplies, you can make 10 coins of fake gold. Dwarves are never fooled by this gold, but it passes the basic scrutiny of most other folk. 5. **Forge Flaw:** A trick developed when your people labored for the Enemy. You may place a flaw into anything you create with your hands. By all appraisals, the flaw is invisible. However, at a time of your choosing, the item will fail. 6. **Gloomy** : When you travel by the light of a single candle, you can keep the flame from being seen by almost any other observer. Such a light only is sufficient for yourself; no companions. 7. **Wiry Beard** : In a pinch, your coarse beard hairs can be used as an improvised lockpick. ### **Stonefoots** 1. **Charm-craft:** You can craft good luck charms. A charm requires a watch to create and 1 silver/6 marks of materials. The bearer of the charm can break it to give themselves +1 to the result of any attribute test. A charm takes a slot, and a person can benefit from a charm once per day. 2. **Never Lose Your Steps:** You always perfectly remember any path you've traveled. You can always follow your way back through a confusing environment, labyrinth, or misty forest. This ability works even if blindfolded. 3. **Root of the Mountain** : When you deliberately plant your feet, you cannot be moved by almost any force. In combat, you can never be tripped. 4. **Stalagmite Stealth** : Gain +2 bonus to tests to hide and move silently while underground. Additionally, if you stay completely still, a cavern environment always provides you enough cover to conceal yourself. 5. **Stiff Neck of Dwarves** : You can no longer be choked or strangled. Criticals that target your neck (such as beheading) are ignored. 6. **Stone Sleep** : You may enter a long sleep, wherein you do not age or require food or water. You awaken at a condition that you set: "When the sun next falls on my face," "When Durin reigns again in Khazad-dum," etc. 7. **Wise of Dwarven-Doors** : Once per day, you may ask the GM "Is there a secret door in my line of sight?" and receive an honest answer. ### **All Dwarves** 1. +10 Endurance ## While I have you... Did you know that I am currently doing an Early Worm campaign--sort of "direct crowdfunding"--for THE CASTLE AUTOMATIC, my forthcoming dungeon for _His Majesty the Worm_. I'd love for you to preorder the book! You get a discount and a sweet map from Guy Pradel! --- Join the Early Worm campaign!

In case you missed it, I'm currently running a direct pre-order campaign for my upcoming 100+ room, 5 level dungeon **The Castle Automatic**. --- _Become an Early Worm now!_ But what's the story of the Castle Automatic? What makes it an interesting place to explore? ## Here's the deal Long ago, in the confluence of history and mythology, a conquering giant declared himself the **Emperor of the Wide World** —the king of kings. He gathered **four treasures** to himself: a sword that could defeat any weapon, a coin that could pay for anything, a cup that granted immortality, and a wand that opened doors in thin air. In this time, a certain dwarf named **Taitale** was widely considered the smartest person alive. The Emperor of the Wide World commissioned Taitale to build him a castle populated entirely by mechanical **golem guardians** to hide these four treasures. It was called the **Castle Automatic**. Then, the Emperor placed Taitale in the Castle, a prisoner in a prison of her own creation, so that she would never tell anyone how to defeat its many traps and puzzles. Taitale's son sought to free his mother and meddled with forces beyond his understanding, playing a discordant melody not meant for mortal minds. **Vampiric spirits** from the far realms rushed into the world, eager for their fill of blood. They overthrew the Emperor and broke the mechanisms that controlled the Castle Automatic. For an age, the Castle Automatic has been lost in the Underworld. But now, its gates have been reopened…perhaps by His Majesty the Worm? ## Why do you explore the terrible castle? **You can use the Castle Automatic as a dungeon in your Underworld**. In _His Majesty the Worm_ , adventurers are primarily motivated by their quests. The GM can add any quest objective into the Castle, integrating their ideas and plots into the factions, treasures, and characters of the dungeon. Because of the powerful artifacts housed within, consider placing it deep in your Underworld where it is not directly connected to the surface. **You can also use the Castle Automatic as an independent adventuring location** , basing a small campaign around finding and exploring the Castle. In this case, the GM can suggest a player (or the entire guild) take a quest specific to the published information from this dungeon. This dungeon has stats and references to the procedures of _His Majesty the Worm_. It is still appropriate for use in the OSR game of your choice (with a little adaptation). Here are likely personae, treasure, or occurrences in the Castle Automatic that you can tie to your players' quests. ### Find the Four Treasures There are four powerful magic items in the Castle Automatic: * The Perfect Sword, which can defeat any weapon * The Coin of Pentacles, which can pay any debt * The Chalice of Life, which can extend mortal life * The Wand of Power, which can fold space **Note** : The four treasures significantly change the balance of the game, and we recommend against letting the guild continue to adventure outside the Castle Automatic after obtaining any of them. Acquiring the four treasures should either be the capstone of a campaign (followed by blissful retirement), or the triumphant adventurers should become rulers of the Castle, replacing one of the other factions. ### Rescue Taitale Perhaps the guild has been tasked with rescuing the mythical Taitale from her imprisonment. She is an important figure in underfolklore. Rescuing a figure out of the mythic past would be enough to win any underfolk fame and renown. Even the most recalcitrant dwarven lord would surely acquiesce to a request from an adventurer who accomplished such a task. Taitale could also bring knowledge out of the past to the present. She could explain processes long forgotten, repair machinery long since broken, or even invent new technologies. ### Slay the Hierophant Perhaps the evil depredations of the Hierophant threaten the City or the guild's allies in the Underworld. Perhaps someone from an adventurer's past has fallen victim to the curse of vampirism, and slaying the Hierophant is the only cure. Perhaps the blood of a vampire lord like the Hierophant is the only reagent powerful enough to power a magical ritual that allows the guild to fulfill one of their quests. ## Some example spreads The development is complete! Copyediting and layout are the next steps. I think it's turning out awesome. Check it out. --- _The GM map is the most complete version; there's also a minimap and maps for the players_ --- _Taitale and her son, Vorte, have been trapped in the castle for an age_ --- _Each room in the castle has traps, new monsters, and new treasures for players to uncover_ --- _There are five separate levels, all connected through magical mirrors_ ## Become an Early Worm New to _His Majesty the Worm_? Want a ready-made dungeon to get started with? The Castle Automatic is for you! Join now and receive an exclusive map with your order. 

## On the matter of writing empty hexes I've already talked about my approach to writing Tolkien content, **here**. I've learned that I need to create actionable, discrete details--not just replicate an encyclopedia entry. Beyond that, as I've been working on this daily writing prompt, I've been forced to confront how I feel about **hexcrawls as a medium**. Middle-earth is big. Even the Shire has some sprawling "empty" spaces on the map. It can be challenging to fill those! As far as we know, they're just one 12-mile chunk of the Far Downs or an unnamed section of a forest. But 12-mile sections of wilderness are big spaces! No area of the wild would be _truly_ empty. These places would all have their own local landmarks, resources, dangers, hidden secrets, etc. However, coming up with unique, interesting stuff for each hex without any prompt can be difficult. **Writing localized encounter tables has been my solution to fill "empty" hexes**. It is easier for me to imagine interesting discrete details--beavers felling trees or wandering shepherdesses--than it is to make empty cliffs and forests interactable. As the party travels, these empty spaces suddenly crackle with a localized event. If they travel back and forth, there and back again, they might crackle a lot! If I ever get a chance to playtest, I'll see how successful this method is. ## On writing overland movement rules If we use the fellowship's journey-over-time as a model, how far can a party travel in a single day? What can we extrapolate out from that pattern? I already talked about right sizing travel distances in a Lord of the Rings game, here. Another factor that I'm considering is imagining the upper end of what is possible. The rules need to be able to model what the book characters actually did, even if difficult. The three hunters in _The Two Towers_ traveled 45 leagues in 3 days. That's 135 miles, traveling 45 miles a day. Let's look at the Dolmenwood travel rules. An unencumbered traveler whose encounter speed is 40 ft has 8 travel points / 12 travel points on a forced march. That will let them move through six 6-mile hexes of hilly terrain in a day: 36 miles. --- _From the Dolmenwood Player's Book_ That's about right. On the AT, a 20-mile day is a _big day_. A 30-mile day is _impressive_ and _unsustainable_. If we allow that Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas got buffs to their speed that gave them an encounter movement rate of 50, they would have 10 travel points / 15 on a forced march. That would allow them to _practically_ do the ultramarathon of the three hunters--assuming the rules allow them to do a forced march three days in a row. So we can use these rules as a baseline for starting to write overland movement rules. * Unencumbered, accomplished travelers can travel 20 miles/day, like a good AT through hiker. * With forced marches, they can travel even further. Forced marches should deal Endurance damage. Those with more Endurance can do them more often. * Heroic characters can get buffs to their base speed that allow them to travel even farther, for the true upper limit of (demi)human accomplishments.

 An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. In the east of the Shire, north of the Water, are three communities built in and around the Hills of Scary. Although all hobbits (outside of the Marish) are habitual tunnellers, these towns are especially underground. What will intrepid burglars find there? --- _Art by the inimitable Goran  Gligovic_ ## 44.59 **FARMLANDS**. Poor but pretty and well-kept farms spread across the rolling hills of the region. Friendly farmers toil in fields of oat, wheat, barley, and rye. (1) - RIDERLESS PONY: A draft pony, hitched to a wagon piled with tanned hides, munches sour apples from underneath a nearby tree. His owner is nowhere to be seen. (6) - HARVEST DANCE: Several farms have come together for a dance in a cleared field to celebrate a recent heavy effort. They dance rustic dances and wish to see any special dances the company knows. Malty beer flows freely. ## 45.59 **BROCKENBORINGS**. A mining Hobbit village in the Hills of Scary. Hobbits in many parts of the Shire (landscape willing) make tunnelings and live in smials; in Brockenborings, very few above-ground houses and outbuildings are used whatsoever. Copper and tin are the predominant resources produced here. The local tavern is the **Tipsy Tramp**. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Basso Hornblower** (hobbit - sniffly and red nosed, eccentric, furrier) sells mole-skin (literally!) gloves, shaws, and hats, 2. **Diamond Tunneler** (hobbit - freckled, no nonsense, cook at the 'Tramp) is always in the market for mushrooms to use in her cooking, 3. **Milo Goodenough** (hobbit - sooty, rough spoken, mining forehobbit) is looking for someone to go to **Pincup (49.58)** and catch some pet sparrows for the miners. ! - BADGER INCURSION. **Mr. Uggo Underhill's** sitting room has collapsed as a badger family has tunneled into it. He begs for help with the ornery, obstinate, and sometimes frightening badgers. The badgers understand Common (but speak their own language). The head of the badger family is called **Badger Buffo** in his own tongue. Buffo believes he and his family have every right to the earth as hobbits; in fact, Hugo was the first to cross the territorial line, having recently expanded his garden. ## 46.59 **APPLE-BRIGHT MEADERY**. On the "garth" between the split in the Water is a meadery and farm run by the Methier family. The meadery sells bottles out of the Floating Log in **Frogmorton (47.59)** and also abroad. ! - RARE INGREDIENT: **Rose Methier** (hobbit - apple-cheeked, sweet, mead-maker) looks to hire burglars to procure dumbledor honey from the east bank of the **Brandywine River (45.62)**. She warns that dumbledor stings can be deadly. ## 43.60 **BUTTERFLIES**. Fields of wildflowers in the southeastern Green Fields attract a dazzlement of butterflies in all seasons except winter. _THE PALE KNIGHT: A ghost in shining, translucent Arnorian armor rides overgrown roads looking for evil to fight. He can only be encountered on**nights of the full moon**. He often jousts in jest with ghosts and beasts, and can provide quite a bit of out-of-date history to anyone with nerve enough to talk to him._ [Credit: MERP - Realms - The Shire] ## 44.60 **THE TROLL'S TABLE**. A local landmark, a dolmen called the Troll's Table because of its size and appearance. In truth, it marks the burial site of a forgotten race of Men. _A TROLL'S TABLE INDEED. At night, a lonesome troll named Oslo comes down from the northern hills and lingers near the dolmen in hopes that someone will set a table for him. If anyone ever does this, he thanks them with six magic acorns that turn whatever they're thrown at to stone._ (6) - PICNIC: A couple from Dwaling, Mr. and Mrs. Tunneler, along with their three children, are having a pleasant picnic atop the table. ## 45.60 **ROAD**. A track that runs between **Brockenborings (45.59)** and **Dwaling (44.61)**. The Hills of Scary are to the south and wild country to the northwest. There's an inn along this route called the **Rushlight** (**Mr. Adalbert Bolger** , proprietor). (1) - FOOTBRIDGE OUT: A footbridge over this section of road is currently broken. **Farmer Boffer** is trying to figure out how to get his dog, his chicken, and his sack of grain over the water, without the whole thing turning into a debacle. (6) - DICE GAMES: A mixed group of hobbit laborers playing simple dice games atop a barrel invite the company to play. They know threes, liar's dice, or ship, captain, crew. Bet for pennies. ## 46.60 **SCARY**. A Hobbit mining town, operating the **Quarry (45.61)**. (The region's name is derived from the "scar" on the land.) Its people are stout and somber by Shire standards. They breed a race of ponies, much loved by the locals, specifically suited to deal with the hilly region. Several alewives operate spring-up taverns, but the oldest continuously operating tavern is **The Knocker** , named after a mining bogey of legend. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Poncho Underhill** (hobbit - wheezy, mild, miner) doesn't mind telling you that whenever a miner dies underground, the Knockers will drum to let his wife know, 2. **Farmer Stout** (hobbit - one-eyed, offensively boring, sheep farmer) will confide that a sure-fire cure for a pony whose hips are weak from foaling is to put a freshly killed sheep's skin on her back, 3. **Teitur** (dwarf - ruddy nose, fair to a fault, labor consultant) is negotiating for hired miners to be provided tunneling tools by members of the joint-stock arrangement that operates the Quarry; the stock-owners argue he's trying to sell dwarven tools. ! - LEECHCRAFT: **Nora Noakes** the apothecary needs a collection of living leeches from either **Rushock Bog (XX.XX)** or the region of the **Overbourne Marshes** (**51.60)**. ## 41.61 **THE SWARD**. An uninhabited region of grassy fields called the Sward between a hilly country to the west and River Brandywine to the east. Flocks of **dolorous quail** nest here; one can hear them chirping at night. If hunted, the rest of the flock follow the hunters, accusing them with loud calls. Stealth is all but impossible. The birds will follow them, unceasingly, for 1d4+2 weeks or until they, too, are slain. Those with Beast Lore know of these animals' habits. ## 42.61 **THE SWARD**. An uninhabited region of grassy fields called the Sward between a hilly country to the west and River Brandywine to the east. A ruined **aqueduct** is visible as a landmark. (3-6) - WILD PONIES: A herd of ponies, obviously descended from some escaped hobbit stock, live wild on the Sward. If encountered, enterprising burglars may try to catch them with a **Skill Δ8** check. Taming them requires Beast Lore and time. ## 43.61 **PETRIFYING WELL**. Point of interest. In a cleft in a hillside is a pool that gathers its waters trickling down from the wet cleft face. Objects placed in this well are covered in a stone shell over the course of a day. Hobbits treat it as a tourist attraction, tying small objects—bells, dolls, carvings—under the water to be pulled out and taken away as trinkets. ## 44.61 **DWALING**. A Hobbit town, prosperous but somewhat remote. The center of the Hobbit linen industry is grown in the flax fields north of town, and many work in the Quarry to the south. The public house is called the **Plough and Stars**. On the eastern edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Gerda Brown** (hobbit - halo of frizzy hair, impressionable, doll-house maker) gives each burglar who speaks to her a small and simply-carved wooden doll in their likeness as a present, 2. **Frerin** (dwarf - shining bald head, overly formal, doctor) refuses to admit he's going deaf, misunderstands 50% of what's said to him, 3. **Holly Fern** (hobbit - fair, shy, orphan living with her aunt) is frustrated by slug damage in her garden, 4. **Laura** and **Lily Bunce** (hobbits - one tall and lean, one short and fat, charitable, spinsters) wonder if you mind picking up their bottle of "the cordial" from the Plough and Stars; it's already paid for. ! - MYSTERIOUS DOOR. Wilcome Tunnelly, landlord of the Plough and Stars, has a mysterious door in his cellar that's been there as long as anybody can remember. It's never been opened. He's willing to commission burglars to have it opened just out of curiosity. The door is of arched stone: it is 10' tall at its highest mark. There's no sign of keyhole or handle. The antechamber before the door is used as a root cellar, containing sacks of potatoes, carrots, turnips, spare tables and stools, and several small casks of beer. A **Understanding Δ12** test will suggest that certain magic doors have hidden runes on them revealed only by magic or by the light of the stars and moon. Singing either the Song of Freedom, Song of the Trees, or Song of Stars will reveal secreted rune-letters on the door. The runes are in the Angerthas Moria, or "Moria runes." A Longbeard dwarf can read them. Others should test Understanding, using the normal procedure. When transliterated, the dwarf/lore-master will find an antique form of Westron. It reads: _What the lords of Arthedain asked of Dúrnir, Dúrnir gives. While my payment languishes in their vaults, let it languish herein as well, until the earth cracks and sun falls upon the doors._ The door will open only if the doors are bathed in the light of the sun. Wilcome will not agree to an excavation on a "suspicion." (Perhaps mirrors might be employed.) If opened, a small chamber lies beyond. In a locked and trapped chest are two artifacts: **Axe of Memory** Engraved on the axehead are the names of valiant fallen warriors of Andor. * +1 axe. If wounded in battle, adds +2 against that foe on your next turn. **Dwarf Mask of the Dwarrowdelf** A large ornate helm with curving horns. Wearing it makes the bearer fight on, no matter the circumstances. * +2 defense. Adds +1 Strength and Valour when at 50% Endurance. * Take half damage from fire while wearing the mask. ## 45.61 **QUARRY**. Many Hobbit towns have small quarries (except in the Marish), but _The_ Quarry is in the hills of Scary. Much stone is excavated here for different uses throughout the Shire. The river is impassable on the eastern border of this region. (1) - SCARED BY KNOCKERS: A team of subsurface miners seem shaky and legitimately terrified. Today, they heard a cacophony of knocking in the deep, then an uncleared passage collapsed. Everyone is blaming the Knockers, the folk of the mines. Nobody was hurt, but everyone is shaken up. (If investigated and excavated, the company can find evidence of goblins in the deeps. Were they the source of the knocking? Or did the Knockers collapse the cavern on the goblins?) (6) - LAD'S LUNCH: An adorable hobbit child of about six (Sammy Tunnelly) is holding a basket with lunch for his da. He's having trouble locating him among all the miners. If you help him, the company gains Morale because it's so dang cute. --- Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map. ## While I have you... Did you know that I am currently doing an Early Worm campaign--sort of "direct crowdfunding"--for THE CASTLE AUTOMATIC, my forthcoming dungeon for _His Majesty the Worm_. I'd love for you to preorder the book! You get a discount and a sweet map from Guy Pradel! --- Join the Early Worm campaign!

In case you missed it, I just launched a pre-order campaign for my upcoming 100+ room, 5 level dungeon **The Castle Automatic**. --- _Click to become an Early Worm!_ Instead of doing a "traditional" Kickstarter to fund the book, I opted for a pre-order campaign through Exalted Funeral instead. We're calling it the Early Worm campaign. Why? Most folks don't remember this, but once upon a time, Kickstarter was for burgeoning creators to collect enough cash to hire artists, editors, designers, and other folks to help them make their dreams a reality. Since then, the biggest companies in the industry have come to dominate crowdfunding platforms. They bring completed, polished works to the table and gamify people's FOMO. Now, crowdfunding platforms are really marketing and preorder platforms, not really a place for new artists to launch new projects. And, of course, these platforms are happy to take their chunk of the cash. The Worm team has long been skeptical of the current trends in crowdfunding. To fund the core game, we used an Itchfunding model—putting ashcan drafts of chapters up on Itch.io as pay-what-you-will to collect enough coins to commission artists and editors. **It took a long time** , but it was the **right move** for the game. Now, to fund the production costs for the Worm's next big book, we want to do something similar. A preorder campaign is like crowdfunding, but it cuts out the middleman and dispels the kayfabe of "will it fund?" **We are confident this book is getting made!  ** This approach is more honest, more appropriate for Exalted Funeral's size, and promotes a better culture between me (the writer) and you (the gamer). But making a book takes a minute! Artists need to draw the art, cartographers need to draft the maps, it needs to be laid out by a graphic designer, the editor needs to make sure all the cross-references are correct. Then, printing, shipping, warehousing, packaging—all before the postal service can bring you the book. While we're working, we'd like to start gauging interest. It helps us cover these costs up front. This isn't a Kickstarter, but I'm still excited to keep you informed every step of the way! ## **Current status** Writing is complete and the book is currently in copyediting! Layout should be complete by the end of the year. Print files will be prepared early next year. We expect that with prepress, printing, and shipping, this preorder will be fulfilled in May or June of 2026. I will update Early Worms with regular updates via email. As soon as the digital files are ready, backers will get instant access. As thanks for supporting the book during the preorder campaign, we'll give you a free large scale (A3) isometric map of the Castle Automatic illustrated by Guy Pradel. --- _Click to embiggen. Ain't she a beaut?_ Join the Early Worm campaign, help us prove our point about Kickstarter, and dig into a Metroidvania megadungeon that will make you fall in love with dungeon crawling.

Hoo boy. Okay. # The Castle Automatic's great gears sat still for an age. Now, His Majesty the Worm has begun the machines again… --- _Become an Early Worm!_ **The Castle Automatic** is a 100+ room, 5-level Metroidvania-style dungeon designed for use with _His Majesty the Worm_, the 2x ENNIE-winning, tarot-based RPG. In the module, players will repair magi-mechanical engines that control the castle's sun, moon, weather, and seasons to overcome its deadly challenges. _The book is ~144 pages, A4, black and white.  __PDF and digital handouts included.  _ **Use it as an entire campaign**! If you're new to _His Majesty the Worm_ , you can get started with just this dungeon, the core book, and a single tarot deck! Or, slot it into your personal Underworld, expanding the core game with all **new talents** , **monsters** , **dungeon lords** , and **magical treasures**. --- _Click to zoom in_ Importantly, The Castle Automatic is **easy to run**. Puzzles, traps, and combat sites are illustrated and included as handouts to be shown during play. The GM has a dungeon tracking sheet to monitor the castle's current state: mechanisms broken and repaired, time of day and year, and current factions in play. With maps for the GM, for the players, and included on every dungeon spread, it's easy to understand the sprawling space. Art, dungeon tracker assets, and maps are also included as separate assets so GMs can easily distribute them to their players and display them during the game. **The Castle Automatic is currently raising funds as a preorder at Exalted Funeral**! We're calling it the Early Worm campaign. It's like crowdfunding, but more direct. --- _Click to zoom in_ ## There are lots of reasons to become and Early Worm Join the preorder campaign now to receive a **large scale (A3) isometric map of the Castle Automatic**! This is an exclusive offer, not available after the campaign. But not just that! * --- _Map by Guy Pradel - click for big size!_ **A reason to explore** : Four magical artifacts are locked inside the castle—each is powerful enough that the factions of the City would give anything an adventurer wanted to get their hands on one. Also, adventurers can meet mentors to learn all new talents! * **A reason to experiment** : The Castle Automatic's magical engines are broken. Adventuring guilds can repair them to change its seasons, the weather, and the day/night cycle to overcome different challenges and unlock new sections of the dungeon. * **A reason to talk** : The dungeon is controlled by competing factions of golems, ancient giants who once ruled this place, and the otherworldly vampires who stole it from them. * **A reason to fight** : The module contains fully illustrated combat zones with new creatures and dungeon lords, including a wyvern, a shapeshifting vampiric hierophant, and four mechanical kings. * **A reason to be surprised** : Illustrated puzzles and traps let enterprising players balance risk and reward as they explore five interconnected levels. * **A reason to breathe easy** : GMs have lots of conveniences—handouts, maps, and indices—to make running as easy as possible. * **A reason to return** : With 100+ rooms, there's plenty of content to sustain an entire campaign of _His Majesty the Worm_. ## What is _His Majesty the Worm_? If you're not familiar with my previous work, here's the basic deal! _His Majesty the Worm_ is a new-school game with old-school sensibilities: the classic megadungeon experience given fresh life through a focus on the mundanities and small moments of daily life inside the dungeon. **Often-ignored subsystems** , like food, hunger, light, and inventory management, are central to play and actually fun. **Tarot cards** are used as a randomizing element. Combat encounters are handled with an action-packed subsystem that ensures that all players have interesting choices every minute of combat! Basically, the game is the result of designing a dungeon crawling RPG using OSR principles from the ground up instead of adapting original D&D. It won two ENNIEs (Best Rules and Best Game) in 2025. If you've been holding off on giving it a look, _now is the time to check it out!_  Preorder the Castle Automatic and get a campaign going as soon as the book fulfills! ## The Team The book was written by me, Josh McCrowell! I'm obsessed with dungeons. In addition to _His Majesty the Worm_ , I wrote a step-by-step guide to help GMs create dungeons that are fun and engaging. The Castle Automatic is a manifestation of this dungeon-design philosophy. Development and editing has been provided by Ty Pitre. Copyediting is being done by Stuart Broz. Interior fantasy art is provided by Martin S. and Felipe Faria. Puzzles, boss fights, and traps illustrated by Tiger Wizard. Cover art by Strega Wolf. Cartography (player map, GM map, and minimap) illustrated by Guy Pradel. --- _Art by Felipe Faria - Click to preorder and plumb the depths of the Castle!_

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. We previously visited the Northfarthing near Long Cleeve, but have not toured the entire region. Today, let's follow the Northway road up past Oatbarton to Greenfields, chief town of the Green Fields region. We'll beat the northernmost bounds of the Shire. Much is quiet here, but there's often more to hobbits than meets the eye. There are several site-based adventures to be found here, as well as a burgling mystery. --- _by Alan Lee_ ## 46.58 **NORTHWAY ROAD**. A road branches off from the East Road north towards **Oatbarton (44.58).** To the west of the road lie pasturelands. To the east, a hilly country. (1) - AN ANNOYING GENTLEHOBBIT: **Aloisius Biggerwaiste** (hobbit - sneering, annoying, goodman) is looking for a suitable partner. If a hobbit lady exists in the fellowship, he'll begin following them around. He attempts to prove his gallantry by "helping": roll twice and take the worst result. (6) - RIVER FLOUTIST: **Hermeto Astron** (hobbit - albino, playful, tramp) is sitting in the middle of the Water playing a flute. Unbothered, moisturized, in his lane. Listening to his music restores 1 Endurance. **FEATHERSTONE**. Featherstone is a wayside inn atop a hill where the Northway forks towards **Brockenborings (45.59)**. ! - FEATHERSTONE MYSTERY. It has recently been discovered that a shipment of Fool's Water (an ardent spirit) has disappeared. Use the "Foul play at Feathertop" scenario in the _Under Hill, By Water_ supplement _Feathertop_ to run this quest. ## 45.58 **NORTHWAY ROAD.** The road to **Oatbarton (44.58)**. Farmland of cereal crops lies on either side of the road. (1) - PAINTER: From the road, **Hob Painter** of Oatbarton is painting the Dimple (see below). He asks for critique. He hasn't quite gotten landscapes down, yet. (6) - BAKER: **Fatty Bakewell** , son of the baker of Oatbarton, is on delivery to **Featherstone Inn (46.58)**. He has an ample helping of hand pies to keep his strength up on the journey; offers the company one. **THE DIMPLE**. Local landmark—a hill with a bowl at the top. Resting here for a few moments prompts **Skill Δ4** tests or the burglar falls asleep (Δ6 for hobbits). _Sleepers here receive**dwimor-dreams:** the dreamers seem to be transported to a new place and time. They awaken when they would take damage. There is a 50% chance that they actually grasp what they were holding in the dream._ _Roll 1d3 for a dwimor-dream._ 1. A she-dragon, resplendent in necklaces and rings, broods over an egg warming in the sun. She offers passers-by tea in her cave, where she plans on eating them. 2. The dreamers find themselves in a guard tower. It is surrounded by their own countrymen, calling for their heads for dereliction of duty, having let the spies of Angmar into the city. 3. A beautiful garden is burning. Giant women, like tall trees, mourn at the edges of the flames. They lament that none can brave the fire to rescue the seeds of Amalion. ## 45.57 **NORTHFARTHING STONE**. Point of interest. Although smaller than the Three-Farthing Stone (47.57), a boundary stone stands where the Northfarthing and Eastfarthing meet. The stone sits in a country lane, surrounded by farmland on all sides. ## 44.58 **OATBARTON**. A village of hardworking and humble hobbits. Some of the townsfolk are farmers: oats and barley are the predominant crop, which are stored in "the Grange" in the village square during the winter months. Some townsfolk work in the coal mine or the clay mine, both on the western edge of town. The local inn is called **The Mushroom** ; its beer is famously black and bitter. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Hob Painter** (hobbit - bright-eyed, bashful, draughtshob) earns a living (barely) by painting tavern signs but has a passion for art, 2. **Noggin Oatly** (hobbit - sandy haired, quiet, pot boy at The Mushroom) stares in awe at any non-hobbits—he's powerfully curious about faraway lands, 3. **Wil Tubb** (hobbit - slicked back hair, cocksure, musician) thinks that the "Oatbarton sound" is the best school of music to come out of the Shire in years. ! - HEDGE MAZE: **Mr. Cuthbert Burrows** (hobbit - pointed nose and big ears, eccentric, goodman) of Borrowstones House has spent years perfecting his hedge maze, hiding several of his antique finds within. He's eager to test it out on real "professional treasure hunters." Find the Hedge Maze of Mr. Cuthbert Burrows, here. ## 44.57 **COAL MINE.** Small scale bell pit mine, with coal being winched up from a central shaft. Miners are rustic folk from **Oatbarton (44.58)**. **CLAY MINE and BRICKYARD.** An open air pit where laborers from **Oatbarton (44.58)** quarry clay. A brickyard abuts the clay mine, where the majority of the clay is fired and made into bricks, then transported to Oatbarton for sale. Surplus clay is sold raw for pottery and other uses. ## 43.57 **OLD FARMSTEAD**. The rolling meadowlands of this region are colored only by the inclusion of an abandoned farmstead, unkept for a generation. The smial is dilapidated. The barns are useful only as temporary shelter from bad weather. (1) - WILD ENCOUNTER: An owl hoots (even in day), seeming to say something to the company. _(Those who understand owl speech understand that she's warning them about a snake that she wants to eat.)_ The burglar in the front of the marching order must test **Understanding Δ6** or accidentally tread upon an adder (Wilds or Beast Lore adds +2). On a failure, they're struck on their heel for 2d6 damage. (6) - FAR FETCHED: The company comes upon a patch of delicious mushrooms near a nest of unguarded wild chicken eggs. Breakfast would be easy! ## 42.57 **NORTH MOORS.** The border of the moorlands. To the west, a hilly shrubland covered in cottongrass and lichen. To the east, it greens into pasturelands. **Grouse** are common. (1) - MOANING WIND: The wind that groans over the hilltops is chill, even in summer. All travelers lose Endurance based on the season: summer - 1d4, spring/autumn - 1d6, winter - 2d6. One companion may describe a scene of warmth from their memory that comforts them to reduce everyone's Endurance loss by 1d6. (6) - LOST ARROW: A Hobbit hunter's spent arrow fletched with an owl's feather is found in a tussock of grass. MENHIR. Hidden. A tall, upright stone raised by the Men of the Northern Kingdom, long ago. There are strange runes and etchings on it. Those with Ranger Lore can read an accurate almanac of the days: the solstices, equinoxes, and midyear days. Those with Sorcery Lore can learn a spell from it. ## 41.57 **FOOTHILLS OF EVENDIM**. A wild country of fir trees on conical hills, the ground covered in moss. At dusk, the land takes on a rich blue glow. An abandoned sleigh can be found here; the reigns have bells. Under its seat is a leather sack that contains a toy sword, a toy bow and arrow, and a vial of healing cordial (restores 2 Endurance per sip, 6 uses). If the bells are shaken, a tame reindeer emerges from the woods. WARM SPRINGS. A spring in this region emits warm (but not quite hot) water. It has a sulfurous smell. ## 43.58 **COUNTRY ROAD**. The overgrown road between **Greenfield (42.58)** and **Oatbarton (44.58)**. Green fields lie on either side of the road. (1) - A DROWNING: Off the road, a young hobbit, **Willy Chubb** , has fallen into a pond that he was fishing. He splashes, trying to call for help. He can't swim! (6) - MYSTERIOUS BOX: **Farmer Toebuck** has dug up a strange lockbox with no keyhole. It's proved resistant to both axes and fire. It has a queer markings on it: Two feathers framing a laughing face (the box will only open when tickled). Will sell it for 10 pennies. 1-in-6 chance it has nothing in it. Otherwise, it contains a random treasure. Empty or full, the company now has a special lockbox. ## 42.58 **GREENFIELD**. A small Hobbit village. This district of the Northfarthing is called "Green Fields" but the village is "Greenfield"; appropriate punctuation is a shibboleth for the locals. The village hosts a mathom-house; the majority of its space is dedicated to small personal effects of Bandobras Took but it also contains a series of maps and charts. The local public house is named the **Goblin's Head**. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Boddin Todmingle** (hobbit - mouth full of tobacco, aggressive, bounder) credits his golf prowess to his lucky rabbit's foot, 2. **Killian the Trapper** (man - brown and bearded, standoffish, fur trader) thinks he's seen goblin sign passing through **Bullroarer's Gap (41.58)** , 3. **Pete Puddlefoot** (hobbit - acne-scarred, pushy, medicine peddler) walks between the towns of the Northfarthing selling tinctures and oils for arthritis, rheumatism, tooth aches, and snake bites. _GREENFIELD MARKET. On the first and third Saturday of each month, Greenfield holds the largest regular market day of the Northfarthing. It is a confluence of craft from different kith and kin: "Moorish" sweaters from Greenfield, Oatbarton beer and baked goods, Dwarvish handicrafts, and furs and hides from Mannish trappers._ ! - MISSING CHILD: The village is deadly worried—**Taffy Proudfoot** has gone missing. They've formed search parties, but haven't been able to find her. Wolves have been heard in the ruins north of the hills (**42.59**), which has worried the Proudfoots terribly—they're eager to contract a professional. Taffy is lost in the ruins in **42.59**. See that entry for details. STATUE. Point of interest. This region is the site of a battle in T.A. 2747 (193 years ago) between the Hobbitry-in-Arms and goblins from Mount Gram led by the orc king Golfimbul. A bronze **statue of Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took** is placed at the memorial of the battle in a coppice outside the village. ## 41.58 **FOOTHILLS OF EVENDIM**. A wild country of fir trees on conical hills, the ground covered in moss. At dusk, mist like bluish smoke fills the region. BULLROARER'S GAP. A pass through the hills is called Bullroar's Gap by the local hobbits (carved by the Bullroarer in a single blow!). Traveling north to south is as if on a plain. _RELIC-SEEKING GOBLINS. At night, 2d6+1 goblins are in this region, sniffing down holes, tunneling into hills, and skulking in gulleys. They are searching for the skull of King Golfimbul, who was slain by Bullroarer Took in Battle of Greenfields (see**43.58**). They know his skull is around here in a hole, somewhere_. ## 41.59 **NORTHERN GREEN FIELDS**. Pasturelands. Large tracts of fields with small, shaggy cattle, bordered by sporadic fencing and the occasional farmer on a pony. A few ruins, low stone walls or building foundations, are used as sources of hewn stones by the **Greenfielders (42.58)**. ANCIENT SMIAL. Hidden. In a hillock, a large oblong stone (6' tall, 800 lbs.) blocks the entrance to a round door. This was once the smial of Bandobras "the Bullroarer" Took. Inside, a thick layer of dust: obviously undisturbed for centuries. Over the fireplace, a shillelagh with a loaded iron head (the Cudgel of Bullroarer, +1 to hit, +3 morale in hobbits). [Inspiration from TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire.] ## 42.59 **GREEN FIELDS.** Pasturelands. A **ruined watchtower** is visible as a landmark. Those with Wilderness Lore can see the spoor of recent wolves. (1-3) - WOLVES: **3d4 wolves** in the area; _will attack at night._ **RUINED WATCHTOWER**. One **ruined watchtower** marks the boundary of an ancient kingdom. ! - MISSING CHILD: Exploring the ruins triggers a site-based adventure. 1. **Ruined wall** : A sketch of a wall; each stone larger than a hobbit's pony, but no more than three stacked on each other at any point. **3d4 wolves** patrol here, will let no one in or out unchallenged. 2. **Ruined watchtower** : The rough shape of the round tower remains, but is empty inside. A sinkhole in the earth leads down into darkness (to area 3); once a secret passage, revealed by erosion and time. 3. **Cavern** : A natural cavern, carved by ancient hands into a secret redoubt. **Taffy Proudfoot** is here. She is a brave little girl, chased into the cavern by the wolves. She is terribly hungry. If given food, she remembers that she found an old **star-shaped key**. The cavern continues deeper to area 4. 4. **Tomb** : An ancient Arnorian tomb in a natural cavern with worked stone. A **stone sarcophagus** sits in the grotto. A **carven statue of a knight** seems as if it watches over the tomb. 1. **Sarcophagus** : The stone coffin holds the dust of the body of an Arthedain warrior queen. Around the lip of the heavy lid is Sindarin text: "The star beam lights the way for the elf-stone." On the lid is a large green **beryl** (Treasure). Elf Lore reveals that beryl is called an elf-stone. 1. **If the sarcophagus is tampered with** , the knight statue animates and attacks the would-be tomb robbers. Stats as a stone troll. 2. **Knight statue** : The statue of an old knight. On its chest is a star-shaped hole. 1. **If the star-shaped key is inserted into the statue** , it animates, removes the beryl from the sarcophagus, and offers it to the fellowship. ## 43.59 **SOUTHERN GREEN FIELDS.** Pasturelands. Large tracts of land with occasional herds of shaggy cattle and cowherds with their dogs. **DOVECOTE**. The farm that once tended the birds is gone, but the stone dovecote with its flock of brown pigeons remains. They coo melodiously. _Those who understand their speech can hear a rumor._ Inside the dovecote are treasures hoarded by the pigeons. Searching reveals the result and all lower results: 1. A scrap of paper that reads: "Dragon-spell, dwarf-spell, roll away stone. Elf-gold wants for sun, no claim from old bones." (A piece of the map to the treasure of Otto Boffin—see "Matter of Inheritance," **51.54**). 2. Leather wallet, empty 3. Hat pin with diamond stud 4. Sheaf of pages of musical notation; strangely haunting 5. Map of the Evendim region 6. Scroll in a scrollcase. No obvious writing. _A prophecy concerning the discovering character appears in the light of the crescent moon._ --- Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map.

Hookay, writing this blog post not because I have good ideas, but because I _don't_ have any ideas. Bashing my head against a writing prompt is a good way to unblock creativity. Here are 10 special doors to put in your dungeon. --- _The Mouth of Orcus in the Garden of Bomarzo_ ## 1. Gravestone Door A door that appears to be little more than a huge gravestone set onto hinges with a doorknob welded to it. A grinning skull is set above the inscription: "This door may not be opened by the living." Attempting to pry the door open triggers the necromantic enchantments set onto the door, dealing 2d6 negative energy damage to anyone touching the door. A living person trying to open the door will always find it locked. It must be opened either by some contrivance where a living person is more than 30' from the door (wizard's hand from 35' away) or by some non-living creature. A zombie or a golem could do it. ## 2. Witching Hour Door An iron door without lock or knob. It is inscribed with a witch on a broom flying over an hourglass. (Lore bids will reveal that 3:33 is the "witching hour.") If the clock in the room (or an adjacent room, to make the puzzle harder) is set to 3:33, the door will open. ## 3. Watchful Door As the players enter, they hear this door snap close. As they approach, they see an ornate door beautifully inscribed with a peacock. All of the eyes on the peacock's tail are animated and watching the PCs. Each eye stares back at the players, obviously making eye contact. The door has neither handle nor key. If the door is put to sleep, it will open. Alternatively, it will open if it doesn't see anyone--if the entire party is invisible. Or, even more simply, if the players actually all close their eyes, the door will open, too. It only watches for eye contact. ## 4. Four-Part Door Like a Zelda door, you can tell there's _something_ supposed to be here. But searching for the right brick to press has proved fruitless. In the four corners of this room are four Grecian statues, each holding a strange object in their hands: a sort of flat rod in peculiar shapes. Maybe they look something like: L / \ ⅃ --- _In Carcassonne_ The statues can be slid with an effort. If put together, the four statues statues outline the frame of a door and the door appears. ## 5. Snail Door The door is made out of a colossal snail's shell. The shell is practically immune to any sort of mundane harm. In the center of the room is an empty brazier. Actually, the snail shell is a living but painfully slow flailsnail. Lure the flailsnail out by filling the brazier (actually its feeding trough) with rotten fruits and vegetables: it will come out willingly and move from blocking the passage. ### 5.5 Same Idea, Different Gimmick The passage to the catacombs is too large to open by mortal hand. Instruments of torture litter the antechamber.  Inside the iron maiden is a petrified Nosferatu, a chain around its throat. The chain projects from the back of the iron maiden into the wall. A labyrinth is traced into the stone of the floor, culminating into a small stained basin in the very center. --- _Get outta the way_ Filling the basin with blood causes the petrified Nosferatu to animate. It drags itself and the iron maiden across the floor and laps at the blood. As it pulls the chain, the door opens. For now, at least. ## 6. Honeymoon Door A heavy iron door, painted pink. It has neither key nor handle, but has a glass heart set in its middle. In the middle of the room is an inscription surrounding a 10' radius circle. Above the circle is a skylight. The inscription reads: "Join hands, beloved, at noon / and pass on to your honey'd moon" If two married people join hands in the middle of the circle when the sun shines through the skylight (at noon), the light reflecting from their diamond rings will beam into the glass heart on the door, causing it to open. Luckily, any directed light will do the same. A bull's-eye lantern would work. ## 7. Regent's Door A scrap of map swears there's a door in the cliff face here, but it will only open in the presence of the King Under the Mountain. Unfortunately, there's no good way to trick the enchantment. The dwarven spells are too strong. You'll either have to bring the current king of the dwarves (and his halfling retainer) to the door. Or, worse, you might have to dig up the bones of old Thror and present them to the door. Either will open it. ## 8. Turn Undead Door The door isn't a door. It's a presence projected from the twin statues of wraiths that flank the archway. An evil will that cannot be overcome, forbidding entry. Across from the door is a more hopeful statue: a cleric, an empty vial in their hands, raised in rebuke. A cleric in the party can Turn Undead to temporarily quell the evil will that stops the PCs from crossing the threshold. If no cleric is in the party, the cleric statue's vial can be filled with holy water, which will have a similar effect for 24 hours. ## 9. Dead Can Dance The door into the cathedral is a stone door inscribed with a danse macabre. It has neither key nor handle. In the courtyard, the skeletons of the executed hang from large bells like grim clappers. If the skeletons are moved or pulled, the bells still ring. Each bell is a different tone. Playing the funeral march (A - A - A - A - C - B - B - A - A - A♭ - A) opens the door. ## 10. Wind Door A stone door without latch, carved in the face of a blowing wind. Elsewhere in the dungeon are four statues shaped like the four winds. Turning the statues changes the direction that wind flows through the room. The wind door opens when a "circuit" of wind is conducted through the dungeon from room 1 into the room with the wind door. ## Bonus: Candelabra Door _(A similar theme to the last door where the key to opening the door is exploring the dungeon and interacting with features in different rooms.)_ A bronze door depicting a maiden fleeing from a castle with a candelabra in her hand. In the chamber, there is an unlit candle on a sconce set in a niche on the wall. If the candle is lit, one of the candles on the door glows. There are several such niches and candles throughout the dungeon. Light all seven before any one candle burns out to open the candelabra door.

I am not certain that I am the first to have this idea. In fact, I most certainly am not; there's nothing new under the sun (especially in RPGs). But I did have this idea organically and think that it has merit, so I am sharing it. I expect instruction in the comments about how it has been handled elsewhere. The idea is similar to Ladder Tables, so I am calling it a "Stepladder Table." The purpose of this tech is to have a random table with memory (similar to the Ladder Table). Stepladder tables would be good for tracking a slowly changing state. To illustrate the idea, I'll use weather, since weather _rarely_ goes from one extreme to the other. ## The basic idea To establish a baseline, roll or select the middle result. This is the current state. Then, each interval where the state would change, roll a dice. If the result is higher than the current state, the state increments to the next highest state. If the result is lower, the state decreases to the next lowest state. If the result is the same, the state is unchanged. ### Example: Weather (autumn) Roll 1d6 every day for weather, incrementing the result up or down the weather table for the season. 1. Torrential rain 2. Drizzle, damp 3. Cloudy, cold 4. Rolling clouds, chilly 5. Windy, cool 6. Balmy, clement So, on the first day of autumn, perhaps the state begins at 4: Rolling clouds, chilly. * The next day, the GM rolls the dice and gets a 6. Because 6 is higher than the current state, the weather increments to the next highest state: **Windy, cool**. * The next day, the GM rolls the dice and gets a 6 again. Because 6 is higher than the current state (5), the weather increments to the next highest state: **Balmy, clement**. This autumn is fine so far! * The third day, the GM rolls the dice and gets 2. Because 2 is lower than 6 (current state), the weather steps down the table to **Windy, cool** again. * The fourth day, the GM rolls the dice and gets 5. Because that is the current state, the weather does not change. ### Example: Weather (autumn in the Dismal Swamp) But what if you want to simulate bell curves or demonstrate trends in your states? No problem. Just build the stepladder table out a bit. For example, the Dismal Swamp region could have a different weather table more prone to extremes. For example: 1. Torrential rain 2. Driving rain 3. Thick fog 4. Thick fog 5. Misty fog in morning, cold 6. Cloudy, cold 7. Rolling clouds, chilly 8. Windy, cool Here, you'll never have a balmy clement day. And because thick fog is the state of two different results, more days will be foggy, even if the weather "improves." I imagine you can use stepladder tables to track all sorts of different kinds of persistent states (reaction rolls? spell effects?) but this is the basic idea.

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. The Southfarthing has a broad mix of environs: swamps in the east, unplowable hills in the west, and warm valleys where the pipeweed industry flourishes centrally. And Hobbits mirror the land they inhabit, at once soft, hard, and warm. I decided to give Longbottom itself a bit of a folk horror cant, while playing up the snootyness of Sackville (they are near the border, after all). Idraluna's hexmap leans on the _Atlas of Middle-earth's_ interpretation of the location of these towns, though other sources disagree slightly. --- _Art by Kay Woollard_ ## 50.54 **ROAD**. A white chalk road between **Michel Delving (48.54)** and **Hardbottle (51.54)**. Outlying farms and rocky fields lie on either side of the road. (1) - RUFFIAN: **Jocolby ("Jolly") Grubb** (hobbit - missing tooth, sneering, layabout) sits in the shade of a tree calling out insults. "Your hole is so old they're putting it into a mathom-house!" "Your mayor's so fat, he has his own farthing!" He won't stop unless you beat him in an insult contest of this manner. (6) - SHIRRIFF: **Bruno Bracegirlde** (hobbit - shirt unable to be buttoned over belly, blowhard, shirriff) rests by the side of the road puffing and panting. **Old Gus (49.54)** fought the law and the goat won. ## 51.54 **HARDBOTTLE.** A Hobbit town cut into a stony hillside. The fields surrounding the town are difficult to cultivate and impossible to plow; local farming is predominantly livestock. Still, the town is well regarded as picturesque. Most locals frequent the **Cellar Door Inn** , but the **Rendwalk Inn** is famous for its honeymoon suites. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Adelia Hornblower** (hobbit - round-faced, argumentative, glassblower) swears she saw a falling star strike the earth in the hills south of town, past the bounds (**52.54**), 2. **Bob Bracegirdle** (hobbit - stained hands, friendly, potter) is renowned for the lifelike shapes crafted into his clay steins and meerschaum pipes; will sell you either for a silver penny, 3. **Blanco Banks** (hobbit - slob, earnest, rat catcher) has a small but vicious dog ("Whitey") that he's looking to breed, wonders if you can get him a good bitch. ! - A MATTER OF INHERITENCE: **Messrs. Grubb, Grubb and Burrowes** seek an experienced treasure hunter to settle a bequestment. **Otto Boffin,** a one-time adventurer, has left a treasure to his daughter, **Primrose Bracegirdle** (hobbit - goldenlocks, adventure-some, goodwife)…but nobody knows where it is. He only left a scrap of a **map** and this cryptic clue: _There is an old hoard in a dark rock,_ _forgotten behind doors none can unlock;_ _that grim gate no man can pass._ _On the mound grows the green grass;_ _there sheep feed and the larks soar,_ _and the wind blows from the sea-shore._ _The old hoard the Night shall keep,_ _while earth waits and the Elves sleep._ The law firm has two words of caution: One, they would prefer this contract to be carried out secretly (it's disreputable to employ a burglar). Two, Otto Boffin suffered some disfigurement in the adventure that supposedly won his wealth—the company should use caution to avoid the same fate. [Inspiration from TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire] ! - THE LADS WHO DON'T DO NOTHING: The Shire is full of clubs, confraternities, and even secret societies. The Lads Who Don't Do Nothing is not one of these. They are an informal group of drinking buddies who meet up in inns and public houses across the Shire. You might encounter them in the Cellar Door Inn or through the random encounter table. If you drink with them, they might give you one of the following challenges: roll 1d6. A kind guest contribution by [Skerples!] 1. Marking the Slab There’s a long slab of exposed bedrock near Thistle Brook, within staggering distance of the **Swan's Neck Inn (50.59)**. For generations, hobbits in the grips of ale have, by the light of the moon, stood at one end of the slab, taken careful aim, and attempted to outdistance their peers. The rare daring young hobbit maid who wishes to participate is usually wise enough to bring a milking stool or similar aid. The long furrow scored in the stone, the only permanent mark on it, is (or so the story goes) the result of a potion a wizard gave to Gerontius Took to help with his bladder stones. The creek is shallow enough that falling in is amusing. **Go to the slab and outdistance the company.** 2. Poison Plants There hasn’t been an intentional poisoning in the Shire in living memory, and only a handful of accidents. Deliberately cultivating poisonous plants is seen as raffish and uncouth, but more than a few doddering Gaffers and Gammers have a tiny patch of Crimson Henbane or a Blistering Mulberry bush tucked in a corner of their solariums; relics of wild youthful devil-may-care gardening. **Find one, pluck it, and wear it in one's cap as a sign of affiliation with the Lads.** 3. Ghost Stories The telling of a “proper boneless tale” is an art cultivated by young hobbits who wish to bend social norms. Many a young hobbit has been scared sheet-white by the whispered diableries of an older cousin, and then frightened into howling flight by a second bedsheet-clad cousin creeping up to the fire. Gaffer Quaffer was legendary for “The Tale of the Twice-Found Chest” where, at the climax, he’d roll his eyes back until the whites showed, drop out his false teeth, and emit a hideous rattle. Eagan Trimfoot swears he had a full head of hair before he heard the tale, and that it all fell out by the next morning. **Scare the Lads present with a truly heartstopping ghost story.** 4. Throwing Knives Young hobbits who wish to appear wicked, or old hobbits who wish to deter visitors from arriving without notice, sometimes take up throwing knives at stumps and old bottles. They fashion and name elaborate and deeply impractical “weapons” from cutlery and old bits of potmetal. A curiously wavy “goblin” dagger at the Mathom-house is, some say, the source of all this nonsense. **Play a round of throwing knives with the Lads and see if your aim is true. Or, if you're truly daring, practice your burglary at the Mathom-house in Michel Delving to claim the goblin dagger.** 5. Strange Liqueurs Every family has a herbal remedy or two that can double as paint stripper, goat reviver, or firestarter, but few hobbits would willingly drink them when fine ales and brandies are available. For the Lads, the anti-prestige of a bitter draught, especially one that comes in a fancy bottle and has a curious colour, is worth any amount of stomach pain and troubled dreams. **Go drink for drink with the Lads with a smile as they put away a gaffer's patented tonic.** 6. Bothering the Stuffy The usual boundary-pushing behaviour. Wearing cosmetics, strange fashions, and speaking in a cant, asking questions like “Has your tipper turned the taters?” or “Who aaaaare yoooou?” **Join the Lads for a round of mild promiscuity, staying up late, petty theft (or petty borrowing-without-intent-to-return).** ## 50.53 **HAMMIDGE ESTATES WINERY**. Boffo Hammidge (hobbit - rosy-cheeked, ambitious, vintner) started producing wine at scale only recently; his father's wine has been stocked at the Cellar Door Inn at **Hardbottle (51.54)** for many years. Although inexpensive, the locals talk about the wine (and winemaker) as being "still too young." Boffo wants to marry **Lavender Mazer** , daughter of Old Tallyman—the owner of **Old Winyards (48.55)** —but she's not (as of yet) interested. ## 49.55 **FARMLAND**. A region of poorer but well-tended farms, especially cattle. In the autumn, each farmer helps his neighbor gather the hay. The last to get their hay in must overwinter the "King of the Fields" (a scarecrow). The cream and butter of the region is especially rich. ## 50.55 **SWEET ONIONS**. Rolling hills and stony farmlands. Roving herds of cattle are a common sight. Wild onions with a surpassing sweetness grow in this region. ## 51.55 **ROAD**. The road between **Hardbottle (51.54)** and **Sackville (52.56)**. To the south, rising green hills. To the north, stony farmlands. (1) - CATTLE JAM: The road is jammed with lowing cattle. Progress down the road (especially in vehicles) is impossible. Two farmers are arguing about whose are whose. It might be a while. (6) - RIDDLER: **Caradoc Brandybuck** (hobbit - tall hat, self-confident, goodman) sits in a camp chair by the side of the road, feet up, twirling an **arrow with a red feather**. Offers to wager the arrow in the **riddle-game** ; says it's never missed while hunting. GM can Google for 30 seconds to represent his broad knowledge of riddles. ## 49.57 **HOLLOWAY**. The road from **Longbottom (51.57)** to **Pincup (49.58)** arcs through the southern corner of this region, turning into a tree-canopied "holloway" (a sunken lane). To the north of the lane is the Green Hill Country. (1) - ROAD WEARY: In the shade of the trees, there's a feeling of sleepfulness and desire to picnic. Resting here for a few moments prompts **Skill Δ4** tests (Δ6 for hobbits) or the burglar falls asleep for 8 hours. (6) - TRAPPED HEDGEHOG: A baby hedgehog is caught in a snare; its mother is rushing to help. If observed, the mother rubs an herb on the snare that causes it to untie. The mother hedgehog will then eat the herb. If prevented from doing so, one portion of _raskovnik_ is obtained. It's a magic herb. Using it can unlock a lock, open a chest, or untie a knot. ## 50.57 **COUNTRY LANE**. A sunken country lane runs from **Longbottom (51.57)** to **Pincup (49.58).** Outlying farms, staple crops, tea bushes, and tobacco fields lie on either side of the lane. (1) - SNAIL RACE: Six snails cross from one side of the lane to the other; children and a few adults are betting on the race. Impossible to pass without disrupting the race (to the boos and bad will of the audience). If willing to delay, can bet on a snail. (Slimey, Bluey, Sluggoth, Shineshell, Gooper, or Wet Willy) (6) - CART RIDE: **Willa Lambeth** (hobbit - gnarled, spunky, spinster/farmer) coming back from market with an empty cart; offers ride and discussion of weather. +2 travel points for the day, accurately predict the next week's weather. ## 51.57 **LONGBOTTOM**. A Hobbit town nestled in a warm valley. **Pipeweed** was first grown here and remains the predominant cash crop. The chief pub—situated around a large tree outdoors—is called **The Green Man** , run by **Alder Hornblower** and his daughter **Willow**. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **"Big" Yan Oak** (hobbit - tall and hardy, plain, farm worker) bets a pint he can lift any hobbit or dwarf who can't lift him, 2. **May Broome** (hobbit - apple-cheeked, courteous, post mistress/sweet seller) runs the local Post and sells candies on the side, 3. **Miss Rose Briare** (hobbit - pretty, thoughtful, school teacher) is an expert in Hobbit legends, including knockers, mewlips, the Gullion, the salmon of knowledge, the Withywindle Woman, the Old Forest, etc. 4. **Mr. Laird Islen-Summer** (hobbit - wild-haired, canny, farmer) owns the largest tobacco farm in the area, producing the Southern Star. Although charming and well-liked by the locals, he has strange ideas about "ancient rites" and "sacred mathematics." _YULE-FIRES. During the two days of Yule, many residents of the Southfarthing flock to Longbottom to celebrate. Fires are lit in celebration of the renewing of the year, including a huge bonfire of a wicker-hobbit in the town commons._ ! - SPECIAL DELIVERY: **Mr.** **Tommy Hornblower** (hobbit - twinkle-in-his-eye, bemused, farmer) needs someone to expedite a shipment of Longbottom Leaf to **Bree (47.56)** within a fortnight. Willing to pay 4 silvers if they manage to get it there in time. ! - THE COFFER FROM HARSHPORT: **Mr. Laird Islen-Summer** , a member of the Order of the Eagle, has recently procured an import from **Harshport** in Harad (not appearing on this hex map). He's had word that it has reached the **Grey Havens (47.39)** but has been tied up somehow with the elves. He seeks a completed delivery for six silvers. If delivery is achieved, Islen-Summer will invite the company to attend his scholarly appraisal and opening of the coffer. See MERP - Realms - The Shire's adventure "The Coffer From Harshport" for full details. [Credit: MERP - Realms - The Shire] ## 52.57 **ROAD**. The road from **Sackville (52.56)** to **Sarn Ford (55.59)**. An old belltower, to be rung in case of emergencies, sits next to the road southeast of Sackville. (1) - BOUNDER: **Hungo Bunce** (hobbit - overbite, suspicious, bounder) riding a pony (Turnip) takes an interest in any non-hobbits in the company. He will try to impede their progress unless they have letters of favor from important hobbits in the Shire. (6) - WALKING HOLIDAY: A group of hobbits out on a walking holiday towards [1. Sarn Ford, 2. Deephallow, 3. Hardbottle, 4. Michel Delving]. Will volunteer to walk with the company if their paths are going the same way. Their company provides **morale** , and they'll give any hobbits or dwarves fresh, woolen socks. ## 50.58 **BETWEEN TWO RIVERS**. An uncultivated land between the **Thistle Brook** (on the northern edge) and the **River Shirebourne** (unpassable, along the southern border of the hex). Willows, sycamores, and birds. Peopled mostly by wild geese and swans, except for the very intrepid angler or mushroom hunter. ## 51.58 **WILLOWBOTTOM**. A rural Hobbit village of brick houses positioned where **Thistle Brook** meets the **River Shirebourne**. The **end of the road** coming down from the Marish. To the south, marshy and unfarmed fields. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Mother Sutherland** (hobbit - eyes white with cataracts, mild, housewife) has given birth 27 times to 66 children, an unsurpassed accomplishment in hobbit history, 2. **Harry Highfax** (hobbit - combover, avuncular, cobbler) sees himself as an armchair military historian; practically neglects his wife and children as he debates alternate histories of Middle-earth battles via correspondence, 3. **Willa Bunce** (hobbit - pretty but proud, sour, pigeon-seller) is a notorious gossip; will tell you that "everyone knows" Faira Oldbairn poisoned her late husband. ! - OF FUNGUS AND WORMS: **Faira Oldbairn** (hobbit - nut-brown and wizened, cantankerous, professional old person) wants **six jack o' lantern mushrooms**. They're luminescent and poisonous; she uses them for rat traps and hunting. * Jack o' lantern mushrooms only grow in the **Overbourne Marshes (51.60)** or an adjacent hex**.** * Searching a hex costs 1 travel point, as per usual. * Mushrooms can be found in a 1-in-6 chance during the day, or 2-in-6 chance during the night. * Those with Herb Lore add +1 to their X-in-6 chance. * Many grow on **Farmer Clayhanger's** land (**51.59**), but he refuses to let anyone pick them. (Although he doesn't harvest them, either.) The chance to find them while searching this region is 3-in-6 during the day / 4-in-6 during the night. Jack o' lantern mushrooms are often food for **night-worms.** Each search reveals 1d8-2 night-worms. Night-worms have 1 Endurance point, but have a paralyzing bite. As a reward, the Gammer Oldbairn will trade a **strange compass**. It always points to _something_ (but it isn't north). ## 52.58 **WINDMILLS**. Windmills pump water from the boggy soil, turning it into arable land. There are scattered crews of farmhands working during the day. Irrigation ditches lead to the river (impassable) that runs along this region's eastern edge. --- Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map.

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. The Marish is a reclaimed farmland, boggy and fertile, in the Eastfarthing. It hugs the inner curve of the River Brandywine, the easternmost border of the Shire proper. The Stoorish inhabitants seem somewhat strange to other Shire-folk: they're taller,  sometimes wear boots, and grow occasional beards. But all hobbits think "The folk over there are queer,"--it's a constant. In this entry, I spend rather too long on **Bamfurlong** , the farm of a young Farmer Maggot. But as a canonically adventuresome hobbit, I think there's potentially lots of opportunities with Maggot. So frequent visitors might see many strange sights each time they visit the farm. Today's post also includes the Mystery of the **Deephallow House** : a site-based ghost story the company will need to unravel both here and in the neighboring town of Haysend. --- _By the Brothers Hildebrandt_ ## 47.61 **BRANDYWINE BRIDGE.** An ancient bridge of stone arches crosses over the River Brandywine. The bridge is the easternmost border of the Shire. **STOCK**. The main township of the Marish region. The local inn is called the **Golden Perch**. The guild hall of the **Fraternity of the Lion** is here. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Ossie Pie** (hobbit - bucktoothed, braver-than-most, baker's apprentice) swears he once saw a ghostly knight riding a pale horse under the full moon northwest of Dwaling (**43.60**), 2. **Gaffer Greenthumb** (hobbit - well-preserved, bashful, gardener) keeps a garden of prized roses and is too shy to speak to the Widow Peabody, 3. **3d6 members** of **The Lads Who Don't Do Nothing** (a drinking anti-social club) led by **Gaffer Quaffer** at the Golden Perch looking for a good time, 4. **Widow Peabody** (hobbit - pinched, nosy, rents rooms) has been dropping hints at Gaffer Greenthumb for months and is annoyed that he's not picking up on them. The Exalted Fraternity of the Lion: A social club of business-minded halflings who attempt to cross trade-guild lines and foster a business environment that's mutually beneficial. At least, beneficial for those within the Fraternity of the Lion. The club's actions are usually notably terrible for those not within the society. _FISHMARKET. On Saturdays, a fishmarket is held. All the fruits of the Brandywine can be bought here: fried fish and chips, eel pies, oysters. A prize is given for the largest fish. Players wishing to compete should use thisfishing minigame._ ! - "FAIR" FERRY MARKETS: The Fraternity of the Lion has been unable to persuade (or extort) the **Brandywine Tea Company** to join their consortium. **Mr. Tomald Brandybuck** (hobbit - red-haired, spitfire, tea trader) points out that the company is predominantly based out of Buckland, not the Shire, and does most of their business via river trade, not from a fixed location. The Fraternity of the Lion looks to hire a burglar to purloin Brandywine Tea Company's ledger from their barge (and it wouldn't be a shame if any of their rare teas went missing either). As recompense, instead of the usual fee, will give a lion ring that gives a 10% discount on shops in the Shire that are members of the Fraternity of the Lion (25% chance, 50% in Stock). ## 48.60 **THE YALE**. This lowland region of the Eastfarthing is called "The Yale." It has no village, but consists of a collection of many prosperous farms. **Boffin** is the predominant name in the region. It is the breadbasket of the Shire, with wheat being the predominant crop. On the east edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable. (1) - WUFFLES: Wuffles the dog comes yapping down the lane. He's shaped like a sausage with googly eyes and a single protruding lower fang. His favorite food is a hobbit's hams. Test **Strength Δ4** or lose 1 Endurance to the little blighter. (6) - MILKMAID: **Miss Jessamine Boffin** (hobbit - doe-eyed, innocent, milkmaid) walks down the lane, yolked with pitchers of milk. Huge **cats** follow at her feet, expectantly. If helped to carry her milk back to her hole, she'll reward the gallant burglar with a pressed flower (+1 boon to one camp from morale). ! - THE BLACK BOAR OF THE YALE: Children of this region are taught that if they're naughty, they'll be fed to the Black Boar of the Yale. Until recent days, no one (except **Granny Yale, 48.59**) has ever taken this story seriously, but recently hunters have reported seeing a terrifying boar roaming east of Woody End: bristling black hairs like quills, curving black tusks, eyes like coals. The shirriff has laughed it off. The locals have pooled money to ask burglars to investigate. In truth, the Black Boar of the Yale is a hill man named **Ufred**. After stumbling into the machinations of **Ar-Gûlar (43.87)** , he was transformed into this shape and, in fear and pain, wandered into the Shire. Ulfred-as-the-Boar doesn't really wish to hurt anyone and flees when approached. Stats as bear. [Inspiration: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire] ## 49.60 **BUCKLEBERRY FERRY (WEST BANK).** A raft-ferry across the River Brandywine from the Shire to Buckland (**48.61**). The ferry operates about twelve miles south of the **Brandywine Bridge (46.62)**. Lamps are lit on either side during the night. **Ned Chubb** (hobbit - bug-eyed, droll, ferryman) charges 2 pennies per rider. ✦ - WAITING TO CROSS (Roll d6; result and all lower are present): 1. Hobbit dad and his two sons, all eating cookies, 2. Sad lad holding a bunch of flowers dejectedly, 3. Three gammers engaged in gossip and crocheting, 3. Two gaffers eyeing the gammers, 4. Young Hobbit hunter with a thin mustache and camping pack, 5. Two spinster sisters with an empty bird cage, 6. Pretty Hobbit lass with a mysterious bundle. ## 50.60 **THE MARISH**. A boggy, fertile farmland of reclaimed marsh. The farmlands consist of fields and meadows with hedges, gates, and dikes for drainage. Leaving the Causeway costs 1 Endurance as the region is difficult to traverse, full of bogs, ditches, briars, and fences. On the east edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable. (1) - SQUIRREL: A squirrel approaches the company, chattering in a way that's plainly a request for food. If the request goes unmet, random burglar must test **Skill Δ6** or have a random item snatched from their pack by the squirrel. (3-4) - MUSHROOMS: 2d6 servings of delicious, edible mushrooms are found growing in a farm meadow. (6) - SLUMBERING PEDDLER: **Bil Trimfoot** (hobbit - monobrow, miserly, peddler) is napping under a hedge. He has so many children, he often finds it easier to rest while walking his route. Swears he once had the most uncanny dream when he slept in the **Dimple (45.58)**. **BAMFURLONG and FARMER MAGGOT.** Farmer Maggot (hobbit - red-faced, canny, farmer) is just starting his clan in his ancestral farm of Bamfurlong after a series of small, quiet adventures. (1) - BIG FOLK: **Big Folk** from over the Brandywine have been fishing the river and occasionally trespassing on his fields. He's seen them off several times, but they often come back. Will you help Farmer Maggot give them a thorough seeing off? (2) - WHELPING DOG: Farmer Maggot's beloved bitch, **Bella** , is whelping and he can't leave her side. Won't you gather **yarrow** from the fields to help ease her birthing pains? Those who assist with the birth (one skilled in **Beast Lore** is especially welcome) receive the gift of a puppy. (3) - OTTER FOLK: A group of otters led by Shiny-Stone (who can speak the common tongue) trying to sell an exasperated Maggot a stolen hobbit boat in exchange for clams. (6) - TOM BOMBADIL: On rare occasions when visiting Bamfurlong, Farmer Maggot is entertaining a strange visitor who names himself (incessantly, through song) **Tom Bombadil**. ! - ANTIQUE FIND. In the mud of a far field, Maggot recently partially excavated a **strange stone**. The writing is in both an antique form of Kudduk and Sindarin. Maggot can make out enough of the Kudduk to read the names "Bucca" (the first Thain of the Shire) and "King Arvedui." He would pay a silver piece to have it fully excavated and taken to the Mathom-house in **Michel Delving (48.54)**. He will loan the equipment for the trip. The excavation takes a day of labor. In this time, other curious hobbits will come to see the work, give "helpful" tips, and ask invasive questions. By the time the fellowship heads off to Michel Delving, the find has contributed to plenty of neighborhood gossip. Because of this, on the road to Michel Delving, the fellowship will encounter (roll 1d3): 1. **Beretar Redlands** (elf-friend - young-but-wise, proud, ranger) quietly approaches the company and offers to buy the stone with gems, explaining that the descendents of the folk of King Arvedui have as much of a claim on the heirloom as the Shire-folk. 2. **Messrs. Grubb, Grubb and Burrowes** , acting on behalf of **Farmer Clayhanger (51.59)** , who puts forth the spurious claim the stone was actually found on his property and should be returned to him immediately. However flimsy his claim, the ensuing legal battle will be a mess. 3. **Brigands** (1d6+1) led by **Denis Catchpole** (man - sour smell, petty, scoundrel) attempt to steal the stone. If the company is especially successful, Farmer Maggot will gift them some magic beans he got from his adventures. ## 51.60 **OVERBOURNE MARSHES.** The confluence of the Shirebourn and Brandywine rivers. To the south of the Shirebourn are the Overbourne Marshes. On the east edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable. (1) - MARSH LIGHTS: An eerie glow, moving through the trees. Following it reveals: 1. Nothing but swamp gas. 2. Wil Niggle, a lost hobbit, holding his lantern aloft. 3. A toad with a bioluminescent (edible) mushroom growing from its back. 4. An uncanny light, leading towards a buried treasure chest carrying untarnished silvery mail. (2-3) - GIGGLING FROGS: In the rushes of the marsh, a peculiar breed of frog laughs at untold jokes. Unnerving. But some uncouth hobbits consider their legs a delicacy. (4-6) - PEATCUTTERS: A crew of 2d6 hobbit peatcutters come down from the Marish, Rushy, or Stock. Happy to share a portion of smoky whisky for a good rumour or a portion of pay for a day's labor. ## 49.59 **RUSHEY**. A hobbit fishing village, set on a "hard" (colloquial word for an island) among the fens of the Marish. Travel to the village requires a boat, or lose 1d2 Endurance braving the silty, shifting paths. Local hobbits also have a trick of using long poles to vault over pools to travel in the region. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Hildegrim Fiddler** (hobbit - bug-eyed, gormless, fisher) swears he's seen a beautiful woman swimming like a fish in the Brandywine, 2. **Poppy Stock** (hobbit - curly-haired, foul-mouthed, eelmonger) will teach the art of pole vaulting to anyone who can beat her in leg wrestling, 3. **Wiseman Banks** (hobbit - downy beard, strange, boatwright) sells coracles woven of reeds. ! - NEEDLE-TOOTH TOM. An evil gar the locals call Needle-tooth Tom is stalking the waters of the Brandywine between Stock and Rushey: it drives away schools of fish, ruins fishing lines, and even pulls in fishermen. Someone's going to drown if this continues! The folk have started a collection to hire someone to catch and kill Needle-tooth Tom. ## 50.59 **DEEPHALLOW**. A rural hobbit village built on a hill overlooking the banks of the River Brandywine, just north to the point where Shirebourn flowed into the river. The local tavern is named the **Swan's Neck Inn**. They have a rivalry with the village of **Haysend (50.61)** across the Brandywine. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Nina Hornblower** (hobbit - moon-faced, tippled, net-mender) loves to share bawdy tunes at the Swan's Neck Inn, 2. **Imlad Grubb** (hobbit - big ears, furtive, fisher) always lands the biggest fish; knows a secret spot, 3. **Halfred Briarbuck** (hobbit - uses an earhorn, circuitous in thought and speech, goodman) has extensive books and knowledge of genealogy in the region. ! - DEEPHALLOW HOUSE: On the edge of the village is a structure called **Deephallow House** , long ago fallen into disuse. Most avoid the place on account of a local legend that says the house is haunted. They tell of a forbidden love between a rich gentlehobbit's daughter and the poor gardener. The couple drowned on a boat escaping from the daughter's parental disapproval (or, in darker versions of the tale, were killed by their families to keep them from their union). Recently, **Miss Aster Budger** has recently felt "vibrations" coming from the house, and is willing to hire to have it explored. [Inspiration taken from both TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire and MERP: Realms - Shire] Deephallow House is a long but squat brick house with a gable and a single round window in a second story glaring down like a baleful eye. There is a weedy expanse encircled by a brick wall that was once a **garden**. Its round front door leads to the foyer. 1. **Foyer** : The first steps into the house reveal that the place is ruinous: warped floorboards, leaky ceilings, wallpaper hanging in shreds. Leads to the parlor. 1. **Tapping** : When first entering, an irregular tapping can be heard from deeper within the house. 2. **Aster** : Aster will stay here during the expedition, calling out to "spirits," straining to feel the vibrations. 2. **Parlor** : Remnants of a small room, once cozy: a table, moldy armchairs, broken tea set. A **bookshelf** is toppled over on its side. A portrait of a **family tree** hangs on the wall. Leads to the kitchen, the master bedroom, and a small bedroom. 1. **Bookshelf** : The books are moldy and useless. 1. Obscured by the bookshelf is a hatch in the ceiling leading to the **garret**. 2. **Family tree** : A painting detailing the main branches of a family tree: Bilbo Holeborer (father) and Alfrida Smallburrow (mother) and Pervinca (daughter). There's a section of the painting torn off near Pervinca. 3. **Garret** : A shattered upper story window with a dead **branch** clawing its way in. 1. **Branch** : The wind causes it to thump against the floor (the source of the tapping). It almost looks like a finger pointing down at something. 2. **Floorboard** : Where the branch scratches, there is a loose floorboard. Inside is a **tarnished key**. (Hobbits don't often like second stories, but the muddy ground of the region makes cellars impossible. Hence, the attic.) 4. **Master bedroom** : A **broken mirror** hangs above a moldering bed, mice munching the straw it was once stuffed with. A **writing desk** stands against the wall. Leads to the parlor. 1. **Broken mirror** : The first person to enter the bedroom catches a glimpse of themselves in a broken mirror. Test **Understanding Δ5** or suffer a small fright, losing 1 Endurance. 2. **Writing desk** : An opened letter on crumbling paper: "Daughter, Even though we sent the boy away from this house, you persist. We have caught you whispering through the garden wall. Know this: If you marry him against our will, we will go into mourning. You will be dead to us. You will forfeit your inheritance, for we will have no daughter to give it to. Do not do this thing to your poor parents." 5. **Small bedroom:** A **portrait** of a fair hobbit maid also hangs on the wall. Leads to the parlor. 1. **Portrait** : A fair face, but a sad one. It is named: "Pervinca." 1. Behind the picture is a letter wrapped in a red string written in a simple hand: "My love, Your father is letting his flower wither. I am so sorry. I only await your signal and I am ready to go. I love the Shire, but you are my home. If anything happens, leave a letter in our hidden place. Yours, always, Uffo." 6. **Kitchen** : 1d6+1 **marsh rats** (unusually large) hiss and attack. Leads to the parlor and a back door leads out into the garden. 7. **Garden** : The garden is completely overgrown, choked with weeds and wilting brown plants. A giant mulberry **tree** overshadows the back part of the house. A crumbling brick **wall** , eight feet high, encircles most of the property. 1. **Tree** : One of the tree's branches has broken through an attic window. On the trunk of the tree is carved a heart surrounding two names: Pervinca and Uffo. 2. **Wall** : Searching the wall reveals a letter folded inside the crack. "My dear gardening boy, Nothing in the world would make me not love you. My father thinks withholding my inheritance would do it, as if I loved money more than you. He has taken the key to the box he gave me with our family heirloom. But you are my inheritance, even if we live like paupers. I _will_ go with you to Haysend. Yours forever, Pervinca." ## 51.59 **FARMER CLAYHANGER.** The farms of **Sherdo Clayhanger** (hobbit - warty, cantankerous, farmer), a local terror. Almost a hermit, he keeps his miserable family in isolation, swearing off the rest of hobbit-kind. He is merciless to intruders (especially non-hobbits), and quick to call the shirriff for any perceived infraction. His farm is unkempt. On the southern edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable. --- Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map.

A goal with my Middle-earth Hexcrawl project is to capture the feeling I first came to love in Zelda: the feeling of wandering around and falling into a hole and realizing _Oh shit, there's a whole dungeon in here._  So even though I'm trying (and failing) to keep the hex entries brief, I sometimes want to include a site-based adventure that can stretch its legs. This is one such adventure. --- --- _Arthur Rakham_ ! - HEDGE MAZE: **Mr. Cuthbert Burrows** (hobbit - pointed nose and big ears, eccentric, goodman) of Borrowstones House has spent years perfecting his hedge maze, hiding several of his antique finds within. He's eager to test it out on real "professional treasure hunters." The Borrowstones Hedge Maze uses the rules for flux space by Nick L.S. Whelan. **Theme** Five fields of Borrowstones farmland have been dedicated to the hedge maze. From no vantage point in Oatbarton can one see the entire thing at once: it runs up and down hills, through ditches, and around copses of trees. Stones from old Norbury (Arthedain) have been used in the construction of the maze, giving it (at times) an ancient and awe inspiring air. Indeed, there's something uncanny about the place. Traditional tools of maze-solving (the thread, the dropped candy, etc.) are baffled by some force within. **Event Die** Although the maze is bewildering, it's not the Mines of Moria (thank goodness!). Use a d4 Event Die in the maze: 1. Encounter 2. Rest or lose 1 morale; if no morale, lose 1d6 Endurance 3. Local effect 4. Encounter sign **Encounters (1d6)** **1. Dragon** : A stone statue shaped like a dragon stands at a junction of two ways. (Is it the same one as last time or are there many such statues? Is this the same junction? Has it moved?) The statue has a baleful visage. Each burglar must pass a **Valor Δ6** test or lose 1d6 Endurance. **2. Hateful Goose:** It is a lovely day in the hedge maze and here is a hateful goose. Base stats as rat, but the goose can attack three times during a turn (two wing buffets and a bite). The goose can also unleash a provoking honk (**Valor** **Δ6** test: on a success, they must attack the hateful goose; on a failure, they run away, becoming separated from the group). **3. Living Hedge** : The hedge ambles, grasping at passers by. Stats as troll. On a hit, target must also test Strength **Δ6** or lose an item to its vines. **4. Monkey and Bear** : A bear in a little hat ridden by a monkey in a vest with a barrel organ. The monkey's discordant tune seems to provoke the bear forward. **Strength Δ6** tests to run away or battle the bear to ½ Endurance. **5. Scarecrow** : **1d4 scarecrows** with pumpkin heads sit on poles poking out of the hedges. As the company goes by, they reach down and grab them. Test for surprise. Stats as bandits. (It's just some of Mr. Burrows's farmhands doing a bit of wrestling. Right?) **6. Wizard** : Why, it's **Gandalf** , the famous wizard. He's stuck in the hedge maze, too, and is ready to start burning the whole thing down. He smokes his pipe in fury. (If Gandalf is encountered before the Center of the Maze, he will be active in fighting the specter there.) **Local Effects (d4)** **1. Fog** : A dense fog fills the maze. The company must light torches or each encounter begins as a surprise. **2. Sleep** : Soporific flowers, heavy with a drowsy scent, grow in the tangle of the walls of this passage. If approached without caution, each burglar must test **Skill Δ4** (**Δ6** for hobbits) or fall asleep. If all fall into sleep, each burglar is separated in the maze and loses 2d6 Endurance. **3. Shifting walls** : The second person in the marching order sees the hedge shifting in front of them. They can either jump forward, joining the first person who is about to get cut off from the rest of the company, or remain with the main group. **4. Strange mushrooms** : Strange and toxic mushrooms cover the mossy floor of this section of the maze. Disturbing them has a 50% chance of triggering a 10' spore cloud. Each burglar in the cloud must test **Strength Δ6** or succumb to its effects. Roll d3 to determine type of mushrooms in this area: * **Marsh candle** : Erupts into tiny sparks dealing 1d6 damage; can start fires if not dealt with. It is harmed by water and strengthened by fire. * **Brown jenkins** : Fills the victims lungs, dealing 1d3 damage per round for 1d6 rounds. It is harmed by fire and strengthened by water. * **Mervyl's smile** : Saps the victim's hydration; suffer -2 penalty to all tests until they drink a quart of water. It is harmed by cold and strengthened with water. **Points of Interest** The hedge maze has d4 shallow rooms and two deep rooms. **Shallow Rooms (d4)** **1. Tea party** : A confluence of paths has a picnic set for tea. A notecard at the head of the table reads: "If Tobold's son is my son's father, / Then find your seat—don't make a bother! / What am I to Tobold, can you say? / Sit where that answer points the way." Each place is set with a **covered dish** and a notecard. The notecards read: Tobold, Tobold's Da, Tobold's Gaffer, Tobold's Lad. * **Tea:** The tea at Tobold's son is actually an infusion of healthful herbs: drinking it allows the burglar to recover 2d6 Endurance. The tea at each other place setting is just tea. * **Covered dish:** Under all covered dishes except "Tobold's son" is a **strange mushroom** (see local effects), which erupts when the dish is uncovered. Under the cover at "Tobold's son" is a card that reads "South" and a **purse with 3d4 silver coins**. Taking the southern path allows the party to proceed. **2. Pond** : At the bottom of the pond is a statue of a mermaid. She is holding a gleaming short sword, clutched to her breast. * The sword is clutched tight in the statue's stone hands. The statue is impossible to move, it's so heavy. * **Sword:** If the company has a clever plan to get the sword out, they find it is a **+1 sword of the auroch.** Bulls and cattle flee from it when it is unsheathed. Its crossguard is reminiscent of an auroch's horns. Credit: [Prismatic Wasteland] **3. Lawn chess** : In a confluence of many paths there is a life-size chess board with large, wooden statues of the pieces. The board is currently in the configuration shown below. A sign reads: **"White to mate—the victor's sign, / Follow their gaze in a line."** * **White to Mate:** Moving **white queen** to a4 shows that the northeast path is the correct one as that's the way her statue would be facing to look at the black king. Taking this path allows the party to proceed. * **White queen** : Investigating the statue of the white queen shows a real ruby in her crown (worth 50 silver). **4. Topiary menagerie:** At a confluence of paths there is a garden with **six topiary bushes**. A sign reads: "One beast here is not the same, / Find the odd one in this game. / At this creature's tail, / **Is the exit to the right trail** " * **Six topiary bushes:** The bushes are shaped like: * Panther * Troll * Knight * Horse * Eagle * Dragon * **Take the path along that trail** : Only the horse is an herbivore. Taking the path at its back allows the party to proceed. **Deep Rooms** **1. Center of the Maze:** The center of the maze is at the top of a hill. As the company crests the hill, fog lays on the maze itself, obscuring any attempts to divine a path forward from the vantage. On the hilltop, a spiral of weathered stones curls around a raised stone with a wyrm-like engraving. A red **candle** flickers on top of the stone, from which a **shadow** seems to stretch, even in the middle of the day. * **Shadow** : A specter attacks the company; they cannot leave the hilltop until it is defeated. Each time it successfully hits its target, they must reduce their number of hexes traveled by 1 as it drains their hope. * **Candle** : If the candle is snuffed out, the shadow disappears. * The candle is sorcerous. Sorcery spells cost 1 less Endurance while it burns and are cast with +1 to all values. It has 9 remaining uses. **2. The Exit:** Finally!

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. The East Road stretches across the Shire, from the Westfarthing to the Eastfarthing. We have already traveled on it a bit in previous entries. If you were to leave the Shire without needing to hide from the public eye, you could walk comfortably from Hobbiton to the Brandywine Bridge. Let's see what that looks like today. --- Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map. ## Theory: Approach to writing Middle-earth content But first, having pursued this daily writing exercise for a few weeks, I find myself forming opinions about what makes a good hex entry--and what's more--what makes something "work" in a Middle-earth milieu. Part of this exercise is looking at my own licensed Tolkien games to see what material I can pull from to make content for my players. When I use or adapt this material, I cite it. Without wanting to be overly critical, I frequently find the products I'm referencing fall short of what I'm looking for. Often, the sourcebooks just regurgitate or collect simple facts about the locality. **It's not enough for the sourcebook to tell me what exists, like an encyclopedia.** I have the _Complete Guide to Middle-earth_ by Robert Foster for that (or Tolkien Gateway!). The material has to be actually gameable. For example, instead of saying "Visitors to Stock might find themselves ... enjoying a fine meal of fish and chips at the Golden Perch while they hear the latest tall tales out of Buckland and the Old Forest," you need to provide those details _and_ they need to be fun enough to enjoy on their own. (Dolmenwood is a great resource because it's actually fun and funny for the referee and players alike to listen to the names of the tavern food and content of the local rumor table.) Instead, I have tried to give specific, small vignettes for each location that show (and tell!) the factoids of the locale. If the locals are fisherfolk, I'll have named NPCs eating fish and chips, eel pie, or frogs legs. If there are tall tales, I'll say what they are--rumors that try and lure the players across the map, urging them to explore new locations. The NPCs have relationships with the other people in town and other people in other hexes. Also, I want there to be THINGS TO DO. Every town _has_ to have a quest for a burglar. I've also hidden quests in NPC dialogue and random events. Now, to put my money where my mouth is and try to write content I can use to run my games. ## 47.58 **ROAD**. The East Road stretches from **Waymeet (47.55)** to **Frogmorton (47.59)**. The Water runs to the north and Green Hill Country follows along the road to the south. (1) - CONKERS: Bratty hobbit children tease adult hobbits in the company, saying they can't play conkers anymore. Test **Strength Δ4** or they're proven right. (6) - FARMHANDS: Farmhands lounge by the side of the road. Engaging them in pleasant conversation earns an invite to their picnic. They share their food; the company doesn't have to mark rations for the day's travel. ## 48.58 **GREEN HILL COUNTRY**. Gently sloping hills covered in grass cropped by free-ranging herds. (4-6) - SHEPHERD. **Adelbert Barleycorn** (hobbit - gap-toothed smile, companionable, shepherd) is a shepherd whose panpipes play in harmony with the birds and droning insects of the hills. Knowledgeable about all four farthings: might be convinced to give a tour of the Shire, but won't leave its borders. Looking for a capable, strong-willed wife. ## 46.59 **APPLE-BRIGHT MEADERY**. On the "garth" between the split in the Water is a meadery and farm run by the Methier family. The meadery sells bottles out of the Floating Log in **Frogmorton (47.59)** and also abroad. ! - RARE INGREDIENT: **Rose Methier** (hobbit - apple-cheeked, sweet, mead-maker) looks to hire burglars to procure dumbledor honey from the east bank of the **Brandywine River (45.62)**. She warns that dumbledor stings can be deadly. ## 47.59 **FROGMORTON**. A prosperous Hobbit village on the East Road. North of the village, the Water temporarily splits into two streams where the village's namesakes are much in evidence. The local inn is the **Floating Log** , famous for its baked oysters, mussels, and bread. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Minto Hopp** (hobbit - big bellied, avuncular, landlord of the Floating Log) will say with a wink that his grandfather purchased the tavern from a water nymph 200 years ago, 2. **Berry Mugwort** (hobbit - blonde toes, charming, maid) is in from Bree, visiting relatives; visibly upset about a meal of frog's legs but doesn't want to be rude, 3. **Terald Brown** (hobbit - boss-eyed, conspiratorial, tobacconist) gives away twists of Frogmorton-brand pipeweed as a gesture of good will. ! - A PLAGUE OF FROGS: Mr. Gundolpho Bolger requests a private interview with the burglars. His person and his house are overrun with frogs—an uncanny amount. They're in his tea pot, in his gardening gloves, in his chimney. They crawl into his mouth when he sleeps. Everywhere he goes: frogs. When pressed, he admits the plague began soon after something he previously considered a stroke of good luck: unearthing a lockbox full of gold coins. He tried burying it again, but the frogs persist. If pressed again, he admits he spent 6 of the coins. (The plague will continue until all of the coins are returned.) The coins are in the pockets of: 1. **Minto Hopp** (bought everyone's drinks at the Floating Log one night) 2. **Hob Bunce** (bought everyone's drinks at the All-Welcome Inn one night) 3. **Farmer Proudfoot** (purchased pony and trap) 4. **Mrs. Cotton-Grubb** the tailor (purchased six new bespoke suits) 5. **Mr. Gammich** of **Michel Delving (48.54)** , the clockmaker (grandfather clock, commissioned but not begun) 6. **Farmer Hayward** (purchased Angharad, a fine truffle pig) (The coins were given to a river spirit in exchange for the Floating Log, and should remain buried.) **ALL-WELCOME INN**. The **All** -**Welcome Inn** sits west of Frogmorton where the Northway meets the East Road. The landlord is **Hob Bunce** (hobbit - pug-faced, young-at-heart, innkeep). It is a favorite of dwarves. (1) - A PRIVATE CONFERENCE: An old man with a long beard and pointed hat is holding close council with an important-looking dwarf with a blue hood and silver tassel. They give you a look that warns you away. (5-6) - DWARVEN OPPORTUNITY: **Swart Ivar** (dwarf - white-eyed, maniacal, tinker) eagerly tells all burglars in attendance that his cousin is beginning a grand quest to recover lost dwarven artifacts at the **Forsaken Inn (47.68)**. ## 47.60 **BRIDGEFIELD ROAD**. The East Road enters the Bridgefields district in this region, crossing through Whitfurrows towards the **Brandywine Bridge (47.61).** (1) - BOULES: Two gaffers disagree about a game of **boules** , and ask the company to settle it as they pass by. One has played his ball out of turn; the gaffer believes it should be left in play and next turn skipped. The other says the ball should be picked back up. If the company favors one argument, the other will be mad. (6) - SONG FOR A SONG: **Tommy Brownlock** (hobbit - obviously tipsy, carefree, poundmaster) sings a walking song as he walks the road looking for escaped farm animals. He offers to trade song for song. If the party succeeds on a **Beauty Δ4** test (or sings a real song), he'll be delighted and trade them a **whistle that sounds like a bird**. [Inspiration: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire] **WHITFURROWS**. A Hobbit town. As the first stop along the East Road from the Brandywine Bridge, the **Hobby Horse Inn** accommodates many visitors. Although many merchants and imports make their way further along the road to Michel Delving, Whitfurrows is an opportunity to buy goods from outside the Shire: wine and olive oil from Dorwinion, dwarf mattocks and jewelry from the Blue Mountains, woolen clothes and marmalade from Bree. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Babbin Quillfoyle** (hobbit - bespectacled, bookish, landlord of the Hobby Horse) is a scholar of languages and is conversant in Sindarin; often serves as scribe and scrivener for hobbits without their letters, 2. **Griselda Bolger** (hobbit - frizzy hair, matter-of-fact, farmer's wife) travels with her pig, **Pretty** , wherever she goes—even drinking in the tavern!, 3. **Bingo Bracegirlde** (hobbit - jowly, friendly, shopkeep) always has a crowd of young hobbits around him listening to tales of the "Ghost of the Crossroads" said to haunt where the East Road and Stock Road cross. ! - MYSTERIOUS PACKAGE: Someone (no one saw who) left a letter on the Brandywine Bridge, along with a real gold coin. It has no address except a crescent moon in silver ink. The Whitefurrow Post Office is absolutely flummoxed and will pay the coin to anyone who can figure out where it should go. Viewed in the light of the moon, elvish letters appear: _Thain Peregrin Took, The Great Smials, Tuckburough._ The thain will be grateful for the delivery, but scant on details. **BUDGEFORD**. A Hobbit village north of Whitfurrows where heavy traffic and wagons can cross the Water towards **Scary (48.60)**. The eponymous ford has been built up for years by dumping the quarry tailings (from **45.61**) into the river. **Bolger** is the predominant family of the region; they are famous hog farmers. ! - THAT'S SOME SPIDER: **Punto Bolger** needs a spider problem cleared out of his pig-barn. Words woven in the webs: OUR FRIEND PIGS. HARM NOT PIGS. PIG AND SPIDER AMITY EVERMORE. It's causing quite a stir. In addition to the usual fee, Farmer Bolger will throw in a side of bacon for successful completion of the quest. A spider named **Loblolly** has crossed the Brandywine from the **Old Forest (48.63)** and moved into the farmer's barn. She claims the barn as her protectorate. Really, she's not a bad sort. [Credit: Pipedream] ## 48.60 **THE YALE**. This lowland region of the Eastfarthing is called "The Yale." It has no village, but consists of a collection of many prosperous farms. **Boffin** is the predominant name in the region. It is the breadbasket of the Shire, with wheat being the predominant crop. (1) - WUFFLES: Wuffles the dog comes yapping down the lane. He's shaped like a sausage with googly eyes and a single protruding lower fang. His favorite food is a hobbit's hams. Test **Strength Δ4** or lose 1 Endurance to the little blighter. (6) - MILKMAID: **Miss Jessamine Boffin** (hobbit - doe-eyed, innocent, milkmaid) walks down the lane, yolked with pitchers of milk. Huge **cats** follow at her feet, expectantly. If helped to carry her milk back to her hole, she'll reward the gallant burglar with a pressed flower (+1 boon to one camp from morale). ! - THE BLACK BOAR OF THE YALE: Children of this region are taught that if they're naughty, they'll be fed to the Black Boar of the Yale. Until recent days, no one (except **Granny Yale, 48.59**) has ever taken this story seriously, but recently hunters have reported seeing a terrifying boar roaming east of Woody End: bristling black hairs like quills, curving black tusks, eyes like coals. The shirriff has laughed it off. The locals have pooled money to ask burglars to investigate. In truth, the Black Boar of the Yale is a hill man named **Ufred**. After stumbling into the machinations of **Ar-Gûlar (43.87)** , he was transformed into this shape and, in fear and pain, wandered into the Shire. Ulfred-as-the-Boar doesn't really wish to hurt anyone and flees when approached. Stats as bear. [Inspiration: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]

Here is a procedure to simulate getting a good night's sleep in the wilderness. An adventuring party will need to perform several jobs around camp. Each job accomplished produces "boons" to help recover. Each negative factor that impacts rest creates a "bane." A party can have many boons and many banes. Only use this camping procedure if the party has food and water. Without these, rest and recuperation is impossible. Lots of inspiration from the _Dolmenwood_ and _His Majesty the Worm_ camping procedures, but with some twists. Using this procedure will generate, potentially, many more hit points a night than your standard OSE 1 hp/night. ## Camping procedure **1. Set campsite.  **A scout or the GM determines the quality of the campsite. **2. Camp actions**. Every character performs one camp action. **3. Watches and wandering monsters**. The party decides on a watch order. The GM checks for wandering monsters. **4. Total and roll boons and banes**. A number of d6 are rolled to represent all the positive and negative factors for the night's encampment. The party heals a number of hit points equal to the result of the boon dice, if any. **5. Awaken.** Resolve the consequences of the night's sleep. Wizards prepare spells. --- _By BertDrawsStuff_ ## Set campsite First, determine if anybody is going to **scout for campsite.** The other camp actions can be performed in any order. A scout rolls 3d6 and takes the two highest dice to determine campsite location. If no scout, the GM rolls 2d6 to determine the campsite location in normal wilderness or 1d6 if camping in inhospitable terrain (wastes, Mordor, Nagwood, etc.). The GM might give a bonus or penalty to the total roll for the campsite based. These adjustments are cumulative. * Rain or snow (-2) * Fog (-1) * Darkness (search by torch or lantern only) (-2) * Campsite scout is an elf or ranger (+2) * Elf, ranger, or similar in party (+1) [multiple party members don't stack] Scouting is that character's camp action for the night. The campsite scout will also help clear brush, unpack gear, and set up tents after the site is found. **Campsite roll** The campsite roll determines where the party sets up camp. Treat rolls less than 1 as 1. Treat rolls greater than 13 as 13. 1. Compounding problems through the night: seeping groundwater, biting insects, discovery of a rotting animal corpse. _Two banes due to discomfort. Refilling water bottles is impossible._ 2. Soft, sandy depression. Cramped, only sufficient space for [1d4+1] humans to sleep comfortably. _Bane due to discomfort.  __Refilling water bottles is impossible._ 3. Clearing ringed with eerie, looming trees with spooky, twisted branches. _The chance for a nighttime encounter is doubled. If a creature is encountered, lair may be nearby._ 4. A clearing overgrown with thorns and brambles. _Bane due to discomfort.  _ 5. Clearing of bracken and soft mosses. The burble of a nearby creek. 6. Verdant clearing. Signs of ancient habitation (pile of rocks, remnants of old wall, etc.). 7. Beneath an overhang. _Protection from rain and weather_. 8. Ring of trees standing vigilant guard. _Lots of deadfall,+2 to all firewood gathering._ 9. Atop a small hilltock. _Rolls to avoid surprise during nighttime encounters are made with +2._ 10. A meadow of soft grass near a tinkling stream. _Boon due to comfort._ 11. In the midst of a bower of plants; soft within, camouflaged without. _Nighttime encounters have a 75% chance of passing the party by without observing them._ 12. A cozy dell overshadowed with moss-bearded trees. _Boon due to comfort. 1d4 uses of random herb found._ 13. _In the shadow of glacial boulders, a secret caern crafted by an ancient people. The encampment is completely hidden with no chance of a nighttime encounter. Two boons due to comfort._ ## Camp actions Each character selects a job to do to help set up camp. A character can only do one camp action per night. Characters can (as much as practical) collaborate on the same action, although often the benefits don't stack; rather, the party has more opportunities to gain a boon. **Cook** If the party has a **cookpot** and **seasonings** , one or more characters can prepare a meal with the party's rations. Each character cooking should make a Wisdom or Skill check (or similar). If one is successful, the party adds a **boon**. If either rolls a natural 1, the meal is burned and the rations wasted; a **bane**. * Halflings have +2 to this test. **Entertain** One or more characters can tell stories, sing songs, and raise the spirits of the party. Each character entertaining should make a Charisma or Beauty check (or similar). If one is successful, the party adds a **boon**. * Humans have a +2 to this test. **Fetch water** One character may refill the party's waterskins and fetch water for cooking (assuming the campsite allows for it). **Rest** If a character performs no other actions and just rests, they should make a Constitution (or similar) check. If successful, they gain a **boon** that only they benefit from. **Tend the fire** Each character that gathers firewood gains 1d6 hours of firewood. * Dwarves gain +2 hours of firewood when undertaking this action. * Desolate wilderness imposes a -2 penalty, at GM's discretion. Assuming the character has a **tinderbox** or similar, starting a fire is automatically successful. Adverse conditions such as snow or rain call for a 4-in-6 test to start a fire (5-in-6 for dwarves). **Miscellaneous, Et Cetera** Items such as a tinker's kit, a map, or a book might provide additional camp actions for players to pursue. These aren't covered in detail here. ## Watches and wandering monsters The party establishes a normal watch schedule throughout the night. If a magic-user doesn't have 8 uninterrupted hours of sleep, they have difficulty preparing their spells. The GM randomly determines if there is a nighttime encounter. An encounter occurs on a roll of: * 1-in-6 in light terrain * 2-in-6 in wilderness * 3-in-6 in shadowed lands If an encounter is triggered, the GM then randomly determines what hour the nighttime encounter happens (1d8). The GM should note if the fire is burning at this hour. The GM then determines what creature is encountered. If it is a natural animal and the fire is burning, no encounter is had; the animal avoids the encampment. If an encounter occurs, the character on watch must test Wisdom or Skill (or similar) to avoid being surprised. If there is no fire, this is done at -2 penalty (elves ignore this penalty). If they are not surprised, the party begins the encounter armed and armored. If they are surprised, only the characters on watch are armored; the rest are in their bedrolls. Having a battle in the middle of the night incurs a **bane**. ## Total and roll boons and banes After the encounter check (and potential encounter) is resolved, total all the boons and banes The company gains an additional boon for each **point of interest** visited during the last day. A player gains a bane for each of the following: * Slept less than six hours total (e.g., double watch shifts). Elves ignore this penalty. * Did not sleep in a bedroll. * Slept in armor (2 banes). * _If inclement weather_ (snow, rain) and did not sleep in a tent. * _If winter_ and fire burned for less than eight hours. Roll a number of **d6** equal to your boons. Then, roll a number of **d6** equal to your banes. Subtract the total value of the banes from the total value of the boons. If there is any boon value remaining, this is the amount of hit points the party recovers, up to their maximum. If the bane value is higher than the boon value, the party had a poor sleep and they are exhausted. They receive a -1 penalty to tests the following day. (This can be done all at once and applied to the whole party to save time, if feasible.) ## Awaken The GM checks for the day's weather. Vancian magic-users prepare their spells. If they slept less than 8 uninterrupted hours, they have a 1-in-6 chance of failing to prepare their spells that day.

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. The Tooks are a prosperous and important family in the Shire, with numerous relations and the need to spread out. They reside in the Green Hill Country: an idyllic region. Few residents of this region know  of the secret paths that elves use to walk through the Shire, right under their noses. --- Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map. ## 48.56 **TOOKBANK**. A small Hobbit village, peopled predominantly by Tooks looking to escape the close confines of family life in **Tuckborough (48.57)**. There are **good orchards** here, mostly growing apples of a breed called whitcyser brought back by Blossom Took from a short adventure outside the Shire. "Ain't natural," complain neighboring villages, upon tasting the sweetness of these apples (and byproducts). "That Wizard probably blessed them." ! - A QUEER HAUNTING: Lately, Whitbough Hall has been plagued by one (or more?) nocturnal visitors. Draped in a funerary sheet and rattling chains, an apparition has moaned its way through the corridors, frightening the family to death. In truth, a small gang of Took cousins are pretending to be ghosts as a way to enter and explore the smial. They believe that Blossom Took brought treasure back from her adventure, in addition to her famous apple transplants, and are determined to find the hidden cache. **WHITWELL**. A Hobbit village in the Green Hills. It has a **post office** and a thriving band of local actors ("The Whitwell Players"). The eponymous **well** is decorated by the townsfolk in ribbons once a year. The town's public house is called **The Hole in the Oak**. There is a limestone **quarry** south of town, where many residents work. TRYSTING TREE. Point of interest. Off the road between **Waymeet (47.55)** and **Whitwell** is one of the largest and oldest oaks in the Shire, called the Trysting Tree. Here is a traditional place for many meetings, especially between sweethearts. (1-2) - Two hobbit tweens having a sobbing broken betrothal. Awkward! (4-5) - ! - MISSING HOBBIT: **Sally Fairbairn** (hobbit - pleasantly plump, anxious, farmer's daughter) is waiting anxiously for **Freddy Burrowes** (hobbit - stout, carefree, farmer), but he's very late. What if something happened to him? (He fell into a gully picking flowers and twisted his ankle. He really does need help out of it, but he'll be alright.) (6) - **Thain Peregrin Took** collecting a secret letter. Has advice for the fellowship's current quest. Searching the tree reveals (1d10): 1. A sealed letter (affectionate and practical) from **Cavallo Took of Whitwell** to **Peony Pennytree** of **Waymeet (47.55)** tucked into a hole in the tree. 2. An opened letter (awkward and flirtatious) from **Boffo Hammidge (50.53)** to **Lavender Mazer (48.55)** , abandoned on the ground. 3. **2d6 pennies** tucked into nooks on the tree for luck. 4. A fresh **honeycomb** , bees buzzing around it. 5. A sealed letter from the **ranger Asofel** to **Gandalf** , written in Sindarin. Tells of tracking a cursed and magical boar in Minhiriath, and warns that it possibly crossed the borders of the Shire. 6-9. A public notice of a burglar's quest in the Shire (GM's choice). 10. Letter addressed to a random PC from Gandalf. The letter requests help with rescuing a prisoner from the ruined keep of the sorcerer **Ar-Gûlar (43.87)**. It includes a box of matches (magical!) as downpayment. ## 49.56 **COUNTRY ROAD.** A country lane in the Green Hill country runs from **Whitwell (48.56)** to **Sackville (52.56)** and **Longbottom (51.57)**. To the east, the eaves of a wood and rolling hills. To the west, gently sloping farmlands. _FAIRY ROAD. The elves have a secret road that allows them to pass through the Shire untroubled by its inhabitants. As they pass, those hobbits who see the glimmer of their lamps attribute the lights to fairies._ _In the woods south of Tookbank, adventurous folk can find an entrance to this secret road. To find the road, each traveler tests Skill Δ9 (Δ7 on a clear night when the stars are visible). Elves can see this road automatically. Using this road allows travel in hexes 49.56, 48.57, 49.58, and 48.59 at half travel points, and hides travelers from the eyes of almost all others._ #### 48.57 **TUCKBOROUGH.** A small Hobbit village and de facto capital of Tookland, the folkland of the Took family situated in the Green Hills. The Tooks live in Tuckborough in a rambling, many-tunneled mansion called the **Great Smials**. The Took family holds the hereditary title of Thain, the master of the Hobbitry-in-Arms and captain of the Shire-moot. This has been a ceremonial title for most of living memory, as the Shire has not seen a true emergency since the Fell Winter in 2912. The current thain is **Peregrin Took** (hobbit - bright, clever, goodman). The Thain keeps a good library. Those visiting may indulge in his hospitality to ask questions related to **Hobbit Lore**. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Burgo Greenhand** (hobbit - tan, friendly, gardener) is looking for someone to deliver a package to his horrible aunt in **Bucklebury (48.62)** before her birthday for a silver penny, 2. **Mrs. Muckle Took** (hobbit - old, shrewd, apothecary) sells tonics and oils made from local herbs (randomly determined) at a reasonable price, 3. The twins **Farfeld** and **Findalas Took** (hobbits - bright-eyed, talkative, historians) are constantly arguing about historical events and will draw the fellowship into their discussions. ## 49.57 **HOLLOWAY**. The road from **Longbottom (51.57)** to **Pincup (49.58)** arcs through the southern corner of this region, turning into a tree-canopied "holloway" (a sunken lane). To the north of the lane is the Green Hill Country. (1) - ROAD WEARY: In the shade of the trees, there's a feeling of sleepfulness and desire to picnic. Resting here for a few moments prompts **Skill Δ4** tests (Δ6 for hobbits) or the burglar falls asleep for 8 hours. (6) - TRAPPED HEDGEHOG: A baby hedgehog is caught in a snare; its mother is rushing to help. If observed, the mother rubs an herb on the snare that causes it to untie. The mother hedgehog will then eat the herb. If prevented from doing so, one portion of _raskovnik_ is obtained. Using it can unlock a lock, open a chest, or untie a knot. ## 50.57 **COUNTRY LANE**. A sunken country lane runs from **Longbottom (51.57)** to **Pincup (49.58).** Outlying farms, staple crops, tea bushes, and tobacco fields lie on either side of the lane. (1) - SNAIL RACE: Six snails cross from one side of the lane to the other; children and a few adults are betting on the race. Impossible to pass without disrupting the race (to the boos and bad will of the audience). If willing to delay, can bet on a snail. (Slimey, Bluey, Sluggoth, Shineshell, Gooper, or Wet Willy) (6) - CART RIDE: **Willa Lambeth** (hobbit - gnarled, spunky, spinster/farmer) coming back from market with an empty cart; offers ride and discussion of weather. +2 travel points for the day, accurately predict the next week's weather. ## 48.58 **GREEN HILL COUNTRY**. Gently sloping hills covered in grass cropped by free-ranging herds. (4-6) - SHEPHERD. **Adelbert Barleycorn** (hobbit - gap-toothed smile, companionable, shepherd) is a shepherd whose panpipes play in harmony with the birds and droning insects of the hills. Knowledgeable about all four farthings: might be convinced to give a tour of the Shire, but won't leave its borders. Looking for a capable, strong-willed wife. ## 49.58 **PINCUP**. A small Hobbit village in the Green Hills, with only a few families in a scattering of houses and holes. The **sparrows** of this country are friendly with the farmers and can understand Common. The villagers are superstitious about the **fairies** in the woods. ! - FALCONER NEEDED: A hawk with an exceeding bad temper has moved into the area and has been beheading sparrows and leaving them uneaten. A falconer is needed to capture the bird (or, at worst, a hunter is needed to slay the raptor). _(3) - FAIRY DANCERS: At night, Tavari (faerie of the woods) can be encountered dancing and singing in the Woody End. Those who dance with them disappear for 1d100 years. The power of torch, campfire, and iron render their lure powerless._ ## 48.59 **WOODHALL and WOODY END.** The woods in this region of the Green Hill country are called the Woody End. **Woodhall** is a small, handsome Hobbit village within the Woody End surrounded by orchards and groves of well-tended trees. Several prominent members of the **Mathom-house Curators** guild live in Woodhall; the chief of them is **Gammira "Granny Yale" Boffin** (hobbit - XX). They make themselves available to provide their services of Artifact Lore to visitors. ✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. **Hudibras Porringer** (hobbit - bug-eyed and bespectacled, proper, private tutor) is on holiday after attempting to educate the wild Took children, 2. **Burt Underhill** (hobbit - jowly, fabulist, bounder) came back bloody after encountering the **Black Boar of the Yale (48.60)** , 3. **Suithlas** (elf - rustically dressed, merry, tea merchant) has many varieties of teas from far countries for trade. ! - MISSING MATHOM: Granny Yale has many small magical items in her collection. A smaller one of small enchantment was a pair of scissors shaped like a heron that can snip away magical transformations. Unfortunately, they have gone missing. Granny Yale notes that the peddler **Tin-Kettle Tom** had recently been by the village; he's rumored to have sticky fingers. In truth, a gorecrow has stolen Granny's scissors. They have also set on old Tom, who knows where the foul birds roost (**50.58**). _ELVISH GLADE. Visible to those on the**fairy road** (**49.56**), those who pass a test of Skill Δ9, and elves (automatically). Treat as a point of interest. The elves who secretly travel the Shire have a hidden camp stocked with provisions in the Woody End (20 rations and 2d6 healing herbs)._

_"Now for the most part the children did not often go into the house, but danced and played in the garden, gathering flowers or chasing the golden bees and butterflies with embroidered wings that the Eldar set within the garden for their joy. And many children have there become comrades, who after met and loved in the lands of Men, but of such things perchance Men know more than I can tell you....Of the misty aftermemories of these, of their broken tales and snatches of song, came many strange legends that delighted Men for long, and still do, it may be; for of such were the poets of the Great Lands."_ _-_ The Cottage of Lost Play, _The Book of Lost Tales_ --- _Art by Kay Woollard_ In a Tolkien-based game, how do you get characters of various backgrounds together: hobbits, dwarves, men, and elves? Why are they a fellowship? Here is one potential answer to that question: When the gods hid Valinor, they felt pity for the children of Men left in Middle-earth. Lorien, the lord of dreams, make a small road for them to visit the Blessed Lands. This was Olórë Mallë, the Path of Dreams. Elves and Men (and Dwarves and Hobbits) can find this path when they sleep only when they are very young. The Path of Dreams leads to a cottage on the shore of Valinor. It is called the Cottage of the Play of Sleep, or the Cottage of Children. Children come to it in their dreams, and play for a while, and hear the songs of the High Elves drifting down from the deeper regions of the realm. Some of these children form friendships that transcend that space and that time. Sometimes, adults have fleeting memories of their childhood dreams. Scraps of songs. The feeling that they know and like someone. Perhaps this is why these disparate player-characters seem like such fast friends, even at first introduction. --- This content is derived from _The Book of Lost Tales,_ volume 1 in the History of Middle-earth series -- those abandoned notes and drafts of the legendarium that were collected, edited, and provided to the public through the scrupulous scholarship of Christopher Tolkien. It is a difficult and complicated work, the draft of a draft of what became _The Silmarillion._ But, maybe, it has a few gems in it.

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series. The North Moors are lonesome places in the Shire, and the only places where snow falls frequently in the winter. The farmers of the Northfarthing mostly keep near the villages, but wanderers in these lands can find the odd hunter or goat herder, and signs of the Shire's past habitation. This entry includes another site-based adventure: a tight squeeze to a big treasure! --- Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map. ## 42.53 **NORTH MOORS**. A lonely heath, except for occasional shepherds and their flocks of goats. A few ancient **ruins** are found sporadically over the region; foundation stones, partial walls, or henges. (6) - SHEPHERD: **Heather Boffin** (hobbit - lovely, independent, shepherdess) works to cajole a goat down from a tall, dead tree. Resents help offered. ## 43.54 **NORTH MOORS**. Windswept highlands of cottongrass and lichen dotted with ancient glacial boulders. Hills topped with cup-and-ring circles are common in this region. (1-3) - MOANING WIND: The wind that groans over the hilltops is chill, even in summer. All travelers lose Endurance based on the season: summer - 1d4, spring/autumn - 1d6, winter - 2d6. One companion may describe a scene of warmth from their memory that comforts them to reduce everyone's Endurance loss by 1d6. (6) - RANGER: **Mindon** (elf-friend - unshaven, quiet, ranger) is maintaining a small campfire and will share a supper of grouse. If the company stays with him, he'll speak of a hopeful spark that could kindle into a star that is kept in Rivendell, and recommend the players visit **Elrond Half-elven (45.101)**. ## 44.54 **RABBIT WARRENS**. The west side of this region is marked by the rushing Water, cold and impassable as it comes out of the North Moors. On the east banks, uncultivated green fields. **Rabbits of unusual size** are common here; their holes are everywhere. ## 45.54 **RIVER FARMS**. The west side of the region is bounded by the Water. On the east banks, farms north of **Needlehole (46.54)** make use of the rich soil from the flooding river: cabbages, carrots, tomatoes, caraway. The farmers are rural folk, suspicious of outsiders, but also generous. They keep **mean geese** as watch-dogs. ## 43.55 **GYPSUM MINE.** A working gypsum mine in a hilly country. A mining village is populated part of the year by workers from **Long Cleeve (43.53).** Gypsum is put to many purposes in the Shire: plaster to set broken bones, fertilizer, sculptures (alabaster), and more. In the north of the region, the hills grow higher and rockier. ! - GIANT SKELETON: Mining operations have slowed down since **Nob Appledore** claims to have seen a giant skeleton in a new cavern discovered in the mine. **Norbourn and Shuster Incorporated** (who operate the mine) look for _dwarven burglars_ to dispel these rumors. 1. **Tunnel's End** : An offshoot of the hobbit's exploratory tunneling comes to an end where it meets natural caverns. Mining gear (mattocks, shovels, lamps) can be found here. 2. **Chasm:** A cavern of shiny, damp speleothems. A **chasm** , reminiscent of a waterfall of white and pink limestone, drops down 30'. Nob's old **rope** can be found here, tied around a stalagmite. 1. **Chasm** : Descending the chasm is a Strength Δ6 test. 2. **Rope** : Cut off about 10' down. (Nob hurriedly cut it after he climbed back up, afraid he was being followed). 3. **Crossroads** : At the bottom of the chasm, a confluence of three tunnels. To the west, the sound of dripping water and a soft glow (to area 4). To the north, a quickly narrowing tunnel (to area 5). To the northeast, a guano-stained tunnel (to area 6). 4. **Lake** : An underground lake, shallow but broad. The stalactites are beautifully reflected in the **water**. On the far shore, a soft **light** glows. 1. **Water** : Icy cold. Swimming costs 1d6 Endurance. 2. **Light** : **Zulsendra** mushrooms glowing in the darkness. Herb Lore allows an Understanding Δ6 test to brew into a potion that doubles movement and allows two attacks in combat for three turns; afterwards Strength Δ6 or collapse from exhaustion in 1d6 turns. 5. **Squeeze** : A squeeze. Push your candle in front of you; kiss the ceiling above you. Strength Δ10 test (Δ6 for hobbits) to crawl through, losing 1d3 Endurance. On a failure, lose 1d6 Endurance and become stuck. Leads to area 7. 6. **Bats** : A barbell-shaped tunnel, covered in guano. **2d6 bats** attack (stats as rats). Leads to area 7. 7. **Giant Skeleton** : Nob wasn't lying, but the skeleton has long ceased to be a threat to anyone. The skeleton of a deceased **giant** lies here. Nearby, the skeleton of the **Man** who slew him. The names of these combatants are forgotten. Dead end; ancient exits to this grotto have collapsed. 1. **Giant** : Near the giant is his hammer—made of a **henge-stone** (missing from **41.55**) and an uprooted tree, tied together. If skeleton was removed, would be a worthy contribution to a mathom-house or roadside attraction. 2. **Man** : His gear is covered in salt deposits and rotted away, save for his sword, **Glend**. 1. Glend is a +**3 greatsword** once wielded by the giant Nan. While carried, the wielder's Strength can never be weakened. Spend **5 Endurance** to sunder or smash the environment as if struck by a giant's blow: tear down gates, split doors in two, or topple columns. ## 44.55 **OVERGROWN ORCHARD**. Uninhabited fields of the Northfarthing, covered in purple moor-grass, thistle, and clover. An overgrown **orchard** is in this region, fruit trees still producing (seasonally) in a tangle of brambles: apples, plums, and cherries. An exaltation of **larks** nest here. ## 45.55 **HALF-FELLED TREE**. Uninhabited fields of the Northfarthing, covered in purple moor-grass, with occasional copses of elm, juniper, and spruce. A thick-trunked **hawthorn tree** has a rusted saw sticking out of it; the logger evidently gave up. Two burglars need to succeed in a **Strength Δ9** test to get it out: if they do, a honeycomb dripping with honey is found in the hollow of the tree. ## 43.56 **NORTH MOORS.** Windswept highlands of gorse, broom, and lichen. Ancient linear **earthworks** (of unknown purpose) stretch throughout the region, often topped with whitethorn trees. **Cairns** dot the horizon. (6) - ANTIQUES: The traveler with the highest Understanding can make a Δ7 test (Ranger Lore grants a +2 bonus to the roll). On a success, they find an antique; useless but possibly valuable to a collector. 1. Ploughshare 2. Rusted blade 3. Arrow head 4. Ivory comb 5. Arthedainian silver coin 6. Bronze arm torc