I posted this on RPGNet, but thought I'd get some good ideas here as well.

(My players should probably avoid this thread if they want to be surprised.)

So, in my ongoing TOR campaign, the fellowship has been asked to act as guides/escorts for a Hobbit living in Wilderland who wants to return to the Shire to buy supplies (pipeweed, etc.). Honestly, I used the offer to act as guards as a cheap trick to get them back onto the western side of Mirkwood from their base in Esgaroth in order to lure them into a side mission, and really had nothing prepared for the actual trip to the Shire, but now that we've played through the side adventure, they really want to go.

What I need are ideas to make the journey over the Misty Mountains and to the Shire and back interesting. What features of ME geography will they encounter on the way that I should play up? What cultures will they encounter (if any - I think that area is pretty empty except for Rivendell, and I don't want them going there yet)? What sections of the books (Hobbit and LotR) cover that route should I re-read for inspiration?

Any suggestions appreciated.

John

Trolls in the Trollshaws. Ruins from the old Kingdom of Rhudaur. Orc scavengers and foragers from Mount Gram. Distinctly unpleasant looking types who are clearly up to no good(Rangers of course). Ruffians at the Forsaken inn( or,outside Bree) who are keen to relieve the travellers of their goods and coin.
Dwarfs of the Blue Mountains migrating to Erebor. Elves of the Wandering companies. A lot of interested, if slightly worried, Hobbits in the Shire. A comical interlude with some Shiriffs as they try to warn off the characters from making trouble.

Here are some places on the way from Rivendell to the Shire:

The Fords of Bruinen

Possible Ranger settlement on the Bruinen

The Troll cave from the Hobbit, or even more Trolls

The Last Bridge. In MERP, there's a Inn here, but it would be ruined by this period.

The Lone-lands. Possible Bandits.

Weathertop

The Forsaken Inn (ruins).

Bree and Bree-land

Getting Lost in the Barrow Downs and the Old Forest

The Brandywine Bridge and Buckland

The Shire

There's a lot of space to meet ruffians, rangers, wild animals, Saruman's agents and spies, and the like.

As for geographical features, the flatness of the land to the west of Rhudaur broken only by the Weather Hills (and Weathertop, of course). Also the rolling, mist covered hills of the Barrow Downs and the eeriness of the Old Forest. The Midgewater marsh.
Perhaps some hints that there may be some kind of civilisation to the south of the road in Rhudaur.

John,

These are some great ideas. To run a bit with Halbarad's & Jefferwin's suggestions concerning the Ruffians wishing to relieve your player-heroes of some coin & the comical scene involving the Sheriffs (a sense of humor is a good thing ), remember that Saruman secretly began to infiltrate the Shire during the years leading up to the War of the Ring.

He sent his agents into the Southfarthing for 'leaf,' & they subsequently spread. You can have a lot of fun developing their network, with spies at places like Sarn Ford (one step ahead or behind the Rangers is up to you), the Woody End, etc.

Have a look at the chapter The Hunt for the Ring from Unifinished Tales for further inspiration concerning the 'Slant-eyed Southerner.' His meeting with the Witch-king is after your time-frame, but it's a great plot .

When they comes to Bree you can put in some interactions between Hobbits & Men & Saruman's agents infiltrating the village, it could be a little break from the "wilderness adventures" they've got so far.

All great suggestions, thanks so much! I want the trip to be memorable, but don't feel as comfortable with this region (as opposed to Wilderland, which is pretty well described in TOR). I particularly like the idea of a run-in with one of Saruman's agents. Nice foreshadowing of the War.

John

What if the agent was a Rider of Rohan. No one will see that coming.

Try playing Lord of the Rings Online (Free to Play) and run around The Shire for a day.

While not necessarily "perfect" translation to a pen and paper RPG, I daresay that the feel of tolkien is there- especially that of The Shire.

The Shire,
Bree
Old Forest
Buckland
Barrow Downs
Lone Lands (where Mountaintop is)

are all free to play - and that covers pretty much 75% of all territory between Mirkwood and Hobbiton.


Truly if you want something to be memorable - you gotta include mountaintop (Watchtower of Amon Sul) in their travels and possibly an encounter in Bree (Prancing Pony) with someone perhaps a ruffian or something. And that's all before you get to Shire. Once in Shire I suggest include Maggot's Farm, and possibly a greedy Sackville Baggins (such as Lobelia) that wanted Bag End for themself.

*(if anyone's interested - I'm on the Crickhollow server w/ a paid account).

Robert

You don't actually need to start an account to see if any will be useful ... have a look at the Regional Quests and click on the Quest chains link(s) for the specific areas. You can read about the individual quests there and milk them for ideas. It even includes the quest's "bestowal dialogue" for added color. I have already used at one for an adventure in the Barrow-downs ("Lalia's Safe Passage"). *And, I play LotRO, too ... active characters on the Elendilmir & Landroval servers.

That works. but playing it gives the "feel" of it with the interaction of the NPCs, the music in the background, etc.

But you can get the jist of many quests just by reading quest info at the LOTRO wiki..


Robert