Each of us as LM's have encountered that sinking feeling when our players do exactly the opposite of what we intend & we have to wing it . One of the things I do to save myself time is to develop brief notes of people & places.

Thus, I've compiled a list of inns & their inkeeps & visitors. Please feel free to use whatever you like (no pdfs yet).

‘There’s Only One Dragon in Bywater, and That’s Green’

Great Bridge of Stonebows
Bridge Inn

It was after nightfall when, wet and tired, the travellers came at last to the Brandywine, and they found the way barred. At either end of the Bridge there was a great spiked gate; and on the further side of the river they could see that some new houses had been built: two-storeyed with narrow straight-sided windows, bare and dimly lit, all very gloomy and un-Shirelike.

‘So much for your Big Man,’ said Merry. ‘We’ll see the Chief later. In the meantime we want a lodging for the night, and as you seem to have pulled down the Bridge Inn and built this dismal place instead, you’ll have to put us up.’

Seredic and pert Hilda (nee Bracegirdle) Brandybuck
Their sons Doderic and Ilberic and daughter Celandine also work the place
They are more inquisitive and worldly than most Hobbits, and eagerly embrace newcomers who tell good stories of the wide world, occasionally even imparting some folksy wisdom in exchange to those to whom they take a shine
A homey, warm, and cheery hostelry, offering full and well-prepared meals and beer and comfortable rooms, for reasonable prices

Bywater
The Green Dragon

‘No thank’ee,’ said Ted, ‘I won’t. I heard tell of them [dragons] when I was a youngster, but there’s no call to believe in them now. There’s only one Dragon in Bywater, and that’s Green,’ he said, getting a general laugh.

Griffo and his charming wife Daisy (nee Baggins) Boffin
Despite their airs as typically insular Hobbits, they enjoy good stories from outside ‘The Bounds,’ the more outlandish the better, though they will not acknowledge such unseemly interest

The Ivy Bush

No one had a more attentive audience than old Ham Gamgee, commonly known as the Gaffer. He held forth at The Ivy Bush, a small inn on the Bywater road; and he spoke with some authority, for he had tended the garden at Bag End for forty years, and had helped old Holman in the same job before that...

Hobman and Nora Milkflower—they are pleasant and reserved Halflings to strangers who provide courteous and prompt service. To friends, however, they are not as retiring and display amicable behavior and a marked sense of humor. They are well-known and respected throughout the community, and many people confide in the couple, which makes them a font of information for those seeking gossip or intrigue
Their food is renowned and Hobbits travel for miles to sample the delicious fare

Deephallow
The Cat and Parrots

Milo and Dora Sackville-Baggins
Their twin daughters Dora and Nora assist
Rollo Twofoot loves to spread rumors concerning the goings on across the river…

Frogmorton
The Floating Log

As evening fell they were drawing near to Frogmorton, a village right on the Road, about twenty-two miles from the Bridge. There they meant to stay the night; The Floating Log at Frogmorton was a good inn.

Cotter and Poppy Tunnelly the Halflings
Following their dismal experiences during the War of the Ring—Cotter was wounded during the Scouring of the Shire—they have grown increasingly insular and suspicious of strangers. They are business savvy, but will begrudgingly receive visitors to their bosom if the strangers prove any assistance to Halflings

Greenfields
Fletcher’s Roost

Adalgar “Rakestraw” and Ruby Burrower—from the interminable Halfling clan
They are close friends with Siric, and the Hobbits and the Ranger will certainly help each other if either is in any trouble—Adalgar’s weapon is a blackjack
A former windmill that serves as an inn for weary travelers, tavern for the locals to swap tales, a store, and a trading post

Longbottom
The Red Fern Inn

‘No, more’s the pity,’ said Cotton. ‘There’s a good few down south in Longbottom and by Sarn Ford, I hear; and some more lurking in the Woody End; and they’ve sheds at Waymeet. And then there’s the Lockholes, as they call ‘em: the old storage-tunnels at Michel Delving that they’ve made into prisons for those as stand up to them. Still I reckon there’s not above three hundred of them in the Shire all told, and maybe less. We can master them, if we stick together.’

Findegil (Hair—Star). He inherited the inn from his father Dagorhir (Battle Lord), and is honest and likeable but not the man his father was. As a result, the villagers point out Findegil’s every mistake
Edward (Ed) Whortleberry frequents the inn. Whortleberry rarely bathes and sports a jagged scar across his left arm and shoulder, a parting gift from Dagorhir. The wound troubles him and he often massages the area or flexes his arm in pain
Rowland (Rowlie) Goatleaf often meet with Whortleberry
Mungo Mugwort the Hobbit Carpenter/Wheelwright is extremely helpful and gregarious, and loves to chat and joke
Ted (Edward) Appledore the Mason is the village drunk

Michel Delving
The Coach and Horses

Hobman and Nora Burrows the Halflings
Their growing son Tomba (“Tom”) suitably aids them, though he displays a distressingly adventurous “taint”—of which the couple strongly disapproves
They resent the intrusion of the ‘Big People’ but begrudgingly accept their coin

Sarn Ford
The Dog and Pheasant

Tall and thin Rowlie (Rowland) Gundigoot and his goodwife Ada (Adelard) bustle about the place
Two daughters, a serving wench or two, and a pair of potboy apprentices assist
A young stableboy and a groom handle the draft and riding animals, and live in the stables
The host talks freely but says little. He has a sharp eye and a good sense for judging character. He serves anyone who does not cause trouble
The cost of food and drink is higher than usual. It is the only inn for many miles, the place is renowned, its food better than average and the area is prosperous. The locally brewed ale and beer is supplemented by wine, mead, and brandy from across the realm. The staff serve meals on pottery, pewter, or copper services, according to the order. Various leather jacks, pottery mugs, wooden tankards, pewter steins, glass flagons, crystal goblets, or silver chalices serve for potables
The upper rooms are very clean, and all except the common dormitory are heated

Stock
Golden Perch

‘All right!’ said Pippin. ‘I will follow you into every bog and ditch. But it is hard! I had counted on passing the Golden Perch at Stock before sundown. The best beer in the Eastfarthing, or used to be: it is a long time since I tasted it.’

Everard Brockhouse the Halfling proprietor
The odd fellow is a confirmed bachelor who repeatedly disappears on long sojourns—sometimes closing his establishment for days on end to the dismay of his clientele—and rumors circulate that he has slipped across the river from time-to-time for secret rendezvous’ with strange folk along the edge of the Old Forest or even (gasp) has passed beyond the Hedge within

Tuckborough
Barley and Malt

Ferdibrand and Rosamunda Took
Sons ‘Sigi’ (Sigismund) and Hildibrand and daughter Belladonna assist
Popular and usually packed with noisy Tooks and their relations

FANTASTIC!!!!

Thank you for your kind words Throrsgold!

We can all help each other out .

This is awesome material; I do not know how much of the info of each place and the people therein are from actual written sources of Middle-Earth and how much you made up.

I recognize most of the names of the places and in fact many of them appear in the MMO.


One noticeable difference is in Michel Delving - which has a very popular and well-off inn called the Bird and the Baby.

A nice bow to the Professor's favourite pub, the "Eagle and Child", aso know as the "Bird and Baby"!
An example of real and fictional life overlap!

Thank you for the kind words! I hope you can use one or two of them - if you're running something east of the Misty Mountains you can always take a name or two & tweak 'em.

These are a mix of the inns that the master wrote (note the quotes from the books) & some of my own creation. I generally try to stick fairly close to canon.

I'm afraid that I don't play any of the online games, so I'm not familiar with your other references. There are lots of great sources out there, however, & I'm glad that they use his fav;).

That's understandable; they're not for everyone.

I personally don't like MMOs or online gaming at all. I love LotrO ONLY because of the world it's in, and I'm not huge on playing with groups of strangers - so luckily my wife, and both my kids enjoy playing it - plus I have 3 close friends who all play so we can typically have a good group going.

Right now my main character is high enough level to explore Moria. All I have to say is WOW! That artwork and masterfully designed caverns and architecture is in a word: Unbelievable. What a fantastic expansion that was.

It sounds as if you have a lot of fun with these Robert. I only have time for one game, so I focus on TOR, though I download tidbits from the web whenever I can & convert them accordingly. You're right in that there are some great resources out there.

If we didn't play as a family I wouldn't have time either - but I play TOR every other Friday now, Pathfinder the other Fridays, and we play LOTRO usually on Saturdays as a family; which can now move to Sundays now that NFL is about wrapped up. (Yay Giants).

And since my wife enjoys roleplaying games as well she usually plays on Friday nights with us - so I'm not spending time away from her with that hobby of mine either. It makes for more allowance to play on my part and a happier marriage since we share that interest in common and get to spend it together.

My daughter is now playing TOR with us (she's 11); and my son is addicted to LOTRO (he's 7 - which he actually started playing a year ago at age 6 and the amount he's learned and can do on that game is amazing for such a young age) so he's always wanting to play that.

My work schedule is that I work Nine days of 9-hour shifts in a work period giving me every other Friday off, which my wife works that schedule as well; so we have all day every other Friday to ourselves to do as we wish; so usually that's when we get to play LotrO the most - when we have no appointments or errands to run and when the kids are in school - so it give us plenty of time without distractions. Perfect.

This is so cool that your family plays with you - a real blessing.

I agree it is a wonderful blessing - not to mention we all know first-hand the intellectual benefits of math, imagination, thinking outside the box to problem-solve, writing, vocabulary etc, not to mention the social and communication skills roleplaying games enhances, and of course the emphasis of working as a team pays off in the real world in the work force.

I certainly accredit 80% of my success in my job and what I've learned to playing these games growing up - and not to middle school or high school. And it's learning while having fun. What will the world come to??? :-)

I hope it'll do the same for my daughter and eventually my son, as well.