Campaign Outline
My current TOR campaign (Fellowship of the Free) is on-hold due to the personal problems of one of the players. As I don't like running games when people are missing we've decided to start up a Hobbit-only campaign for the other 3 players (plus LM, me) set around Bree and the Shire, called "Three's Company".

This is set just before Bilbo's party (TA 2999 or 1398 by Shire Reckoning) and hopefully will be a more light-hearted and fun affair when compared to the somewhat dark adventures set in Wilderland.

House Rules
I have made slight modifications to the RAW and I'm using the additional rules documnet found in my signature. The ones that don't appear therein will be mentioned as and when relevant within this AP.

Character Generation
The guys created the following PCs for their Fellowship:

Ferdibrand "Ferdy" Brandybuck (Player: Vinny)
Appearance: Ferdy is short for even a hobbit at only two and a half feet in height and has thick curly light brown hair and chestnut coloured eyes. He isn’t fat, well not yet, but has the beginnings of a belly - otherwise he is quite light of build. He has fair skin and wears colourful cloaks and waistcoats. Ferdy is always considered to be well-dressed and groomed by other hobbits.

Background: You come from a well-to-do family of landed gentry of Buckland, living in a Hobbit-hole in Bucklebury. It is rumoured that your great-grandfather once vanished, only to show up three days later at the local inn, talking of a giant Tree-man he had seen in the Old Forest. Some believe your family has been forever touched by the madness of your Grandfather Gorbadoc, but you have been able to dispel such rumours with your humorous remarks.

Equipment worn: Leather corslet (when travelling in the wild), shortsword, bow, quiver of 12 arrows, dagger

Hamfast "Ham" Bolger (Player: Colin)
Appearance: Tall and solidly built for a Hobbit at 3’4”, Ham is red cheeked and broad mouthed, with a chipped tooth from too much rough-housing as a child. His hair is a lighter shade of brown and he tends to wear more muted shades of yellow and green in his clothes, often patched on the knees and elbows.

Background: Your parents belong to the folk of Buckland, and you were brought up on the ‘wrong side of the Brandywine River’, as they say. If half the tales be true, members of your family have always displayed a certain queerness of character, and an unusual fighting spirit, a strangeness you seem to possess yourself.

Equipment worn: Leather corslet (when travelling in the wild), shortsword, bow, quiver of 12 arrows, dagger

Everard "Pipey" Hornblower (Player: Neil)
Appearance: Everard has sandy-brown hair, grey eyes and is conspicuously tall at 3'8". His is therefore very robust and impressive looking as hobbits go. As a Bounder he wears a brown cloak over various shades of green trousers and waistcoat, unless he is wearing his armour, and then the cloak is green and somewhat tatty. He is rarely seen without his favourite long stem wooden pipe – a gift from his father and the source of his nickname.

Background: You joined the Shirriffs at an early age and spent a good portion of your time serving as a Bounder. The Bounders are a group of Shire hobbits that support the Shirriffs by helping to maintain order in the Shire. While the Shirriffs work within the Shire itself, the Bounders patrol its borders, turning back suspicious outsiders and dealing with trouble caused by strangers.

Tasked with keeping an eye out for undesirables and chasing off dangerous animals, you reckon you’ve led a pretty exciting life by Shire standards. That was until Mr Baggins came back from his travels, if half the things he tells are true... You know there is only one way to find out for sure.

Equipment worn: Leather corslet, buckler, shortsword, bow, quiver of 12 arrows, dagger

House Rules Used
I allowed the players to move one or two points around in their Common Skills if they wished in order to create some mechanical variety (as the were all playing hobbits)

In addition, I also altered Hobbit's base Endurance and Hope scores as follows:

• Changed Endurance from 16 to 12
• Changed Hope from 12 to 14

And allowed players to purchase the following as Rewards rather than Virtues:

• Dour Handed
• Fell Handed
• Expertise (if it relates to a Weapon Skill)

Just before the first adventure, we had some good news that Rick (the absent player) could make the week's game session. So, with that in mind, we put together a character for him:

Jackson "Jack" Northtook (Player: Rick)
Appearance: Jack is an amiable looking hobbit and is of average height (3') with an easy manner and a bright smile. He has a shaggy mop of dark brown hair that matches that on his feet and his clothing tends towards more hardy materials (good for travelling and his role as a Bounder) of greens and browns.

Background: You grew up peacefully in the North-took family smial in the Long Cleeve, Northfarthing, until the old adventurous ancestry of Bandobras Took stirred in your blood and overcame your better common sense. It first happened on your way home one night, when you spotted some outlandish folk around a bright camp-fire. When you described them to your grandmother, she told you they were Dwarves, on their way to the Blue Mountains. From that night you started to shun well-trodden paths, hoping to meet other wayfarers secretly crossing the Shire.

Equipment worn: Leather corslet (when travelling in the wild), shortsword, bow, quiver of 12 arrows, dagger

Session 1 – The Four Farthings Cricket Tournament
It is the Third Age of Middle Earth the year 2999, Shire Reckoning 1398 and the height of summer in the Shire. The hobbits of the Four Farthings go about their business as usual and in peace and prepare for the yearly cricket tournament that brings hobbits far and wide to play, watch, eat and drink in the festivities.

The four player characters hail from different parts of the Shire and the two teams were as follows:

1) The Three Farthings - comprising of the North, South, and West Farthings

2) East & Buckland - comprising of the East Farthing and Buckland

This meant that Jack and Pipey were team mates for The Three Farthings and Ferdy and Ham were part of the East & Buckland team. So, a chance for some competition between the player characters!

The Four Farthings Tournament is held every summer in the fields just outside Bywater and near the Three Farthing Stone. As part of the tournament there are other festivities - communal dining, cookery and vegetable growing contests, etc and so many hobbit families from across the Shire attend whether they are playing or not.

I've already posted enthusiastically to the "Hobbit Cricket" thread, so I won't repeat myself here, save to say "Awesome". Anyone reading this who hasn't downloaded Rich's Hobbit Cricket Rules do so immediately.

On the "Three's Company" front, I have to say (with this as the start point) I'm even more interested in the unique perspective you're adopting for the campaign. As you mention in your own posts, though this is still firmly Tolkien it reads like a different game. I guess it's "The One Ring: adventures in the Shire" as opposed to "The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild." You're certainly already providing a good deal of insight into the ability to "down-scale" and play TOR at a local Hobbitsy level where there is perhaps more focus on smaller deeds and social politics. I find this of great interest.

Out of curiosity is that the kind of thing you've planned for throughout the Three's Company campaign or were you just starting out with something different before leading on to more traditional fare?

As always, I very much look forward to reading more.

Hope you had a good meal out by the way.

For at least the foreseeable future, it gets more traditional. The Cricket Tournament and festival was to get the players 'thinking' more like hobbits righgt at the start so that they understood the Shire a little more and there place in it. From then on it will get more like standard adventuring fare just with the usual hobbit-perspective. Later, I have some ideas for introducing Saruman, the machinations of the Sackville-Bagginses, etc but I think the main campaign will be back online before Iget to that.

I did thanks, we had some lovely food. I drank too much though and so I'm feeling a little fragile today!

A Guide to the Shire
The Shire's a place filled with little villages and details so to acquaint my players with it I put together the following guide:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/79541775/A%20Guide...the%20Shire.pdf

I've PDF'd it (ie, tarted it up!) as usual to share here...

Note: it may not be 100% accurate as there are contradictions in place names and their s on many maps of the Shire but the information in here fits in with what I'm doing in the campaign.

There's also the Shire and Bree-land maps I did. I'll have a look at your guide and see if I can tart these up a little more based on that.

Shire/Bree - Player's Map
Shire/Bree - Loremaster's Map

You can download full size using the options menu at the bottom of the Google+ Albums screen.

I'll be interested to see what you come up with. I've been thinking of running a lighter campaign set in the Shire for my kids (ages 10 and 6). Ideal for a Hobbit in their tweens and a slightly older sibling / cousin.

Session 2 – To Lake Evendim
As the first leaves of Autumn fall, hobbits regularly travel as a party to Evendim in order to fish, forage, hunt, and trade with the Northmen who visit the area. It is on such an expedition that Ferdy, his manservant Hamfast, Pipey, and Jack will join the fishermen, trappers, and traders of the North Farthing for their seasonal trip to the lake and the surrounding area.

The three hobbits arrive at Bilbo's just in time for late afternoon tea. He greets them, as does Frodo and Sam - although Sam continues his work with Old Gaffer in Bilbo's garden while the others enter Bag End for refreshments.

The four young hobbits and Bilbo pass the time peacefully, enjoying the food and drink and Bilbo's fine hospitality.

Bilbo makes a point of asking Everard (Pipey) about any news from the southern bounds of the Shire. He is genuinely interested in the happenings and adventures. Everard tells him of men being seen beyond the borders and that the Bounders and Shirriffs have doubled patrols there although there has been no trouble as yet.

The older hobbit also tells them of Lake Evendim and the Ruins of Annuminas and what he knows. Mentioning that there are rumours of a giant that makes his home among the hills of the northern shore! He enquires about the journey and the route that they plan to take.

The PCs spend the night at Bag End and strike out early the following morning.

To Long Cleeve
The morning air is crisp and fresh as the four hobbits wave goodbye to Bilbo and set off around The Hill and north to Overhill and Bindbale Wood and beyond. The journey is uneventful although the hobbits do feel the air is decidedly sharper that when they journeyed through the Shire over the last couple of days...

At Long Cleeve
The party arrives in Long Cleeve to a hive of activity – hobbits are bustling about the village preparing for the journey north with carts and pack mules being loaded with provisions of salt, fishing and trapped equipment, tents and bedrolls, and trail rations. Also grain is being loaded onto one wagon as it is traded with the mysterious Northmen that meet the hobbits at the lake.

At Long Cleeve they meet up with Jackson Northtook (Rick’s character, currently an NPC due to his absence) who introduces them all to his father Jack, head of the Northtook family and Shirriff of the North Farthing along with his younger brother Isumbrus. Jackson will be leading the expedition to Lake Evendim and he quickly assigns them all with jobs to do in preparation for the journey.

It is not long before the 4 wagons, numerous pack animals, and around 40 hobbits leave Long Cleeve to the good-byes of their loved ones.

The Journey to Lake Evendim

The hobbit expedition makes its way north passing farm fields and on into the every ascending countryside. There is a chill to the air in these early days of autumn but this is not unusual for the lands of the North Farthing as snow is often seen here in winter months unlike anywhere else in the Shire. The companions lead the expedition north as the main patrol, taking to the front of the train of wagons. The journey is exhilarating and the companions are both excited and apprehensive as they pass the bounds of the Shire. In order to pass the time more easily, they strike up a hobbit travelling song:

Upon the hearth the fire is red,
Beneath the roof there is a bed;
But not yet weary are our feet,
Still around the corner we may meet
A sudden tree or standing stone
That none have seen but we alone.
Tree and flower and leaf and grass,
Let them pass! Let them pass...

The journey is uneventful although the air brisk and terrain harder than that found in the Shire. It is noon on the sixth day of their journey when they arrive at the southerly shores of Lake Evendim. Evendim is a tranquil lake resting within the hills of Emyn Uial. These undulating highlands largely lay north of the lake and the terrain is wild and rough countryside. As the hobbits approach the shore there are signs around the area of pervious habitation as each time hobbits travel here they use the same area; old tarpaulins cover wooden smoking cabins, two small boats lay near the shore line (for use by Brandybucks and no-one else) and there are the remnants of previous campsites and fires with collections of firestones dotted about the area.

At Lake Evendim
As the hobbits all help with unpacking the tents, bedrolls, fishing rods, traps and other items they decide that they will fish at the lake shoreline for the rest of the day as Jack Northtook mentioned the excellent salmon that can be caught here.

As they fish Ferdy mentions that he believes the ruins of old Annuminas lay to the north-east of where they are camped. Pipey (always the curious sort) suggest that they take a trip out there tomorrow while hunting for coneys. The rest of the companions all agree, unsurprisingly!

As the sun sets in the clear autumn sky its golden light dances across the still lake, glittering in places in spectacular fashion...

A Trip to Annuminas
It is early morning when they rise and travel north-east into the woods around the lake. Just before midday they pass through a copse of trees and see before them the old ruins of the city of the Dunedain, partially sunken where the lake has swelled beyond the perimeter of the city. The ruins are covered with moss and lichen, pillars lie broken about them as they make their way through the ruins and the ancient place, but in places the high archways are still visible, the designs of ancient Numenor obvious for those with the lore to recognise them. The air is still and quiet but peaceful.

As the hobbits take in the sights of this old city of men, they stop and rest for food and lunch. As they are chatting they fail to notice the shadowed figure standing in the alcove of an old crumbling building.

Devouring their sandwiches and watered down wine, the hobbits are taken by surprise! They hear someone clearing their through and turning towards the noise they see a tall, dark, weather beaten man leaning against the alcove of a doorway in the natural shadows cast by the noonday sun. Smiling, the bearded man speaks, “well, well. Look what we have here. Hobbits; and so far from the Shire”.

And there the session ended.

Next: Session 3 - The Northmen and the Winter Wolves!

Rich, I can't remembr if you already stated in one of your other threads somewhere, but did you use the map of the Shire from one of the books? Or did you use the internet to find one to allow your players to plan their route?

I used the one found in the first Decipher collection "Maps of Middle Earth".

Ah, ok. Coming late to the game seems to be a real pain. I haven't got access to all these lovely maps and info you more experienced folk have. Ah well, I'll live

Sorry!

I can't find any downloads of it online either. There is this one though:

http://www.shirepost.com/ShireMapLarge.html

... It's not the one I use but it has a lot of character and there's a nice amount of detail.

Rich you are a saint!

Only rarely!