Benefits of having a Patron

[Falenthal]

In my own experience, having a Patron (as is having a Sanctuary) is an Undertaking that seems very important and interesting, but which is very difficult to see as benefitial or crucial during a campaign. At least in a not sandbox campaign. For example, I'm running Darkness in the Marshes next. In this adventure, it would seem natural that Radagast calls only for someone who has him as a Patron. But the reality is, I'm going to run this adventure wether someone takes him as a Patron or not. Also, one of the players has Glóin as a Patron, but I haven't planned any future adventure or plot where Glóin is important. I'll do it, because I want the player's decision to be important, but the game doesn't give you mechanics for that.

I was thinking of associating Patrons (and maybe Sanctuaries) with some small, but noticable, benefits.
The first things that came to mind were:
1) Gain a +1 to Tolerance for Encounters within the Patron's Culture. If you're a known associate of Beorn, beornings in general will be more inclined to listen to you.
2) Make one or two Undertakings be only available if you have a Patron. For example, Befriend the Beasts (HotW 42) could only be available for those who have Beorn as a Patron.

Similar things (at least referring to Undertakings) could be associated with Sanctuaries:
Return to the Carrock (HotW 50) can only be made if the House of Beorn is a Sanctuary, or Compete in the Fields of Heroes (HotW 50) if a Woodmen settlement is a Sanctuary for the Woodman player.

I don't want the possible mechanical benefits to overshadow the roleplaying potential, but I'd also like to lure the players with those benefits, so that they have a reason to roleplay their relationship with the Patron afterwards.

Do your players have interest in opening Sanctuaries and gaining Patrons? What direct consequences do they have in the campaign/games? Would something change dramatically for not having them?

[Angelalex242]

...There probably does need to be some hard core concrete benefits.

Recall that undertakings of any sort are competing with 'reduce shadow' undertaking, and that's what most people pick, every time there's a fellowship phase.

[Majestic]

My players have taken Patrons (and opened Sanctuaries) a bunch. Sometimes they don't have any Shadow to remove, or (in the case of Stiff Neck) don't want to.

And I've done exactly as you suggest, Falenthal, generally giving a +1 Tolerance (though to date I think I've only done it with the relevant Patron, so +1 when having an Encounter with Radagast if at least one of the PCs has Radagast as a Patron).

[Azrael Macool]

I was just thinking of this last night. I figured that, first off, when meeting a patron the company ignores any prejudices that would effect the Tolerance (such as ignoring the penalty to Tolerance for having an elf in the party when meeting with Gloin, for instance). Generally, a +1 to Tolerance with him would probably also be appropriate. And maybe one of those 2 benefits could be used when dealing with others that would greatly respect that patron (to keep using Gloin as an example, you can get either +1 or ignore any prejudices when dealing with other important Dwarven personalities such as King Dain, or pretty much any of the surviving Dwarves of Thorin's Company). Beyond that, when doing the Meet with Patron Undertaking, I would probably allow the character's a minor mechanical benefit, of their choosing, as long as it was appropriate. Like, if you know you're going to Erebor, and want to make sure King Dain grants you what you want, you can ask for Gloin to write you a letter (probably make it mechanically similar to the letters from Bilbo from that one adventure whose name I forget). Or maybe after meeting with Radagast, you ask him for some herb-lore, either granting you the trait temporarily or something else to that effect.

Opening Sanctuaries is useful, since to spend your Fellowship Phase in a place, it HAS to either be your home, a sanctuary, or if you ended up there during your Adventuring Phase. Since presumably characters won't always want to go on an adventure to a particular place just so they can perform an Undertaking there, it's handy to have them already opened, and you can simply say that you go there. Plus, when in a sanctuary you can roll twice to remove corruption when you take that Undertaking, and only once if you're at home. And it doesn't specifically say, but I'd assume you couldn't do it at all if it wasn't either of those places. It'd have to at least be link, roll twice and take the lowest result.

[Falenthal]

generally giving a +1 Tolerance (though to date I think I've only done it with the relevant Patron, so +1 when having an Encounter with Radagast if at least one of the PCs has Radagast as a Patron).

I consdier this something natural, only that in my case part of the problem remains: we don't have any adventures concerning Glóin, for example, so this benefit would vanish for the player who choosed Glóin as a Patron. If we ever make an adventure with Glóin, I'll be sure to make all the plot turn around the player and his relationship with Glóin. So, the +1 will be appreciated, but not really needed, to turn "Make Patron" a useful Undertaking.
On the other hand, we have dwarves in some adventures, and having a +1 to Tolerance with all dwarves thanks to being a friend of Glóin seems more useful and tangible.

[Falenthal]

Beyond that, when doing the Meet with Patron Undertaking, I would probably allow the character's a minor mechanical benefit, of their choosing, as long as it was appropriate. Like, if you know you're going to Erebor, and want to make sure King Dain grants you what you want, you can ask for Gloin to write you a letter (probably make it mechanically similar to the letters from Bilbo from that one adventure whose name I forget). Or maybe after meeting with Radagast, you ask him for some herb-lore, either granting you the trait temporarily or something else to that effect.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking of when talking about associating some Undertakings with some Patrons, the same as some Undertakings are associated with a place or culture.
"Speech of the Birds", from the "Befriend the Beasts" beorning's Undertaking seems perfect for Radagast. I'd even take it out from the beorning's Undertaking (I don't see Beorn teaching how to listen to the birds or the rabbits) and use it exclusively for characters with Radagast as a Patron.

[Deadmanwalking]

Since I don't read adventures (seeing as how I'm currently in a game that might well use all of them) I don't know how official this is (though I suspect it's pretty official), but the group I'm in has Radagast as a Patron and so far, every mission he's had us go on, he's provided some magical assistance (birds serving as lookouts, the Winds of Caradras trapped in a bag, a healing cordial, spells to speed our steps or conceal our presence, etc.)

Now, per the official rules, that'd happen regardless of his being our Patron (and, indeed, happened once before he became our Patron), but if you're gonna have something be 'Patron only' that kind of specific aid in completing missions for them seems exactly right. Obviously, a patron like King Bard won't be handing out magic, but he could easily provide resources to aid you in your quest in other ways (very possibly equally useful ones), and most of the other possible Patrons do have some magic to hand out (if of varying sorts).

I mean, think of the stuff Galadriel gave the Fellowship. Taking someone comparable as a Patron should provide benefits like that (though probably only while directly working for them).

[Azrael Macool]

It might be worth noting, that making someone your patron, as far as I'm aware at least, is just something that happens if the company fulfills the requirements for it. You only have to use an Undertaking to meet with him, not gain him in the first place. Unless I'm mistaken? Also, I'm pretty sure, at least generally speaking, a patron goes for the whole company, not an individual character, in a similar way of sanctuaries. The Meet Patron Undertaking, as far as I'm aware, is merely an option in case you can think of something your patron can do for you during that phase; otherwise, you still enjoy the basic benefits of the patron, no matter what.

[Falenthal]

You know what, Azrael, you had me look again at the Meet Patron Undertaking and face the fact that I was doing it wrong:

A patron is a usually renowned or powerful personality, who may from time to time offer a company a purpose to go adventuring, often providing support and counsel.
Companions may choose to meet a patron when they are spending the Fellowship phase in the location where the
individual is to be found, if the patron is available for a meeting.
A company may have several patrons at the same time, if its members are able to satisfy the requirements to
ensure their allegiance (very often, these characters ask something in return for their friendship).

I played it as an individual Undertaking, not one of the company, and also so that Meet Patron had to be taken once to make the personality a Patron.

You're right: an Adventure might "open" one personality as a Patron because the company did specially good (for example, at the end of Kinstrife). After that, this personality remains a Patron, whether the company visits him or not. The Meet Patron Undertaking is then used by the whole company when looking for help, advice, knowledge, elf-parties, etc.

So, my company will have as a whole Glóin, Beorn, Radagast and Thranduil as Patrons because they did adventures for them where the company was very succesful. From here on, if they want some favour from them, it is then that they have to undertake the Meet Patron.

Get it now!

[Majestic]

The adventure with those magical boons was "A Darkness in the Marshes" from "Tales from Wilderland". And those little magical aids are a great idea for a Patron to help a company (for whatever reason, my players didn't ask or accept any but one from him).

As for whether a company have to all take a Patron (like a Sanctuary) or can do so individually, the rules seem a bit vague (to me). It says both:

Companions may choose to meet a patron...

and

A company may have several patrons at the same time,...

Personally, I've allowed my PCs to do so individually, as it has made story sense. I haven't done a lot of mechanical game effects for it, but it's provided some fun role-playing moments (our young Woodman, Malaric, who has truly become a renowned hero in Wilderland, has been made somewhat of an unofficial 'Thain' for Beorn, for instance).