The PCs in my saga are on their way to Rivendell to meet with Balin and Gandalf.

When they get there, assuming they find the place, what can they do? What would be an interesting activity or challenge that would be appropriate for Rivendell?

Everything related with old lore, like legends, songs, poems...

Maybe they discover in an old song in the Hall of Fire something related to their homeland/families they didn't know and could be a hook for the next adventure.

Also, they have chances to find skilled Elves who could teach them almost anything and can be nice to roleplay how the characters gains the respect of a reticent master.

Finally, there should be some pretty Elven maidens who could become a love interest for some Elf in the group (or even Men).

And if they get bored, they can always go hunting Orcs with sons of Elrond, meet important people such Estel (young Aragorn) or maybe his father Arathorn (I haven't checked the chronology), learn about the power that protects the Hidden Valley (one of the Three Rings)...

Remember time and it's implications to life in Middle-earth. The Elves like to sing songs and regale visitors with tales of heroes past. Except in Rivendell, Elvish heroes are likely to still be alive.

You would have to set it up very carefully. Providing introductions to several Elves as the Company arrives in town. With so many new names and faces the Scholar or Lore characters might miss the relevance to the fact that they've just been introduced to "Elf X", a particularly famous Elf, one that they have even heard of. Play "Elf X" a bit blandly, other NPCs taking little notice of him. Although he might bump into the Company from time to time, but mostly in passing ("Lord Elrond can see you in a moment, he's finishing up with Elf X now").

Then create a situation where they Company is challenged into performing, in a manner similar to what was done to Bilbo, and let the character make a Lore Test to see if they remember any Elven Songs or Tales. If they succeed, tell the player she does indeed remember a song/tale, and hand them something to recite saying that this is they material they remember.

Include some really descriptive verbiage in whatever you hand them. It also has to be pretty long, so that a quick scan doesn't immediately reveal they're being set up. The best possible thing to happen is to get someone really into playing the recitation as a true performer playing to an attentive audience. The song/story should make Beowulf appear tame by comparison. Anyway, include the name of "Elf X" in there; he doesn't have to be the focus of the story although he or she should be mentioned multiple times.

See how long it takes the player to realize they're singing/story-telling someone's life history who is sitting right in front of them. Then, depending on the character's performance, respond accordingly. Imagine them horribly mangling it and Elf X's response? Or maybe they do fine, getting it right, but Elf X is embarrassed that the story has been brought up again. Maybe Elf X is a braggart and is glad that his greatness has been mentioned again - cause the rest of the community had previously banned recitation of it since he was requesting it every day. Ultimately, just have fun with it!


Of course, all of the above happens after they find Rivendell. Not an easy feat considering it's physically hidden in a remote area as well as magically hidden by a Ring of Power.

I am also interested in the next step when it comes to the PCs.
I am full of curiosity.