About Rewards and Patrons

[Ferretz]

I'm a bit unsure on how the Reward benefit in the expanded rules for Patrons work. Could a Fellowship member choose Reward from the culture the Patron belongs to if that Patron has Reward as one of his benefits?

For example, let's say the Fellowship has Bard the Bowman as a Patron. Could, say, a Beorning in the Fellowship then choose a Barding Cultural Reward when increasing his Valour?

E.

[Glorelendil]

I'm a bit unsure on how the Reward benefit in the expanded rules for Patrons work. Could a Fellowship member choose Reward from the culture the Patron belongs to if that Patron has Reward as one of his benefits?

For example, let's say the Fellowship has Bard the Bowman as a Patron. Could, say, a Beorning in the Fellowship then choose a Barding Cultural Reward when increasing his Valour?

E.

This has never even crossed my mind before, but it would be cool if Patrons had their own rewards. So you could choose between your cultural rewards and those of all your patrons.

[Stormcrow]

Let's play rules-lawyer for a minute. The "Reward" type of patronage may be so named precisely because "Reward" is a specialized term in The One Ring, meaning a piece of equipment or an enhancement to a piece of equipment. The Reward type of patronage can be activated by rising in Valour, just as with regular Rewards. It almost seems inevitable that patrons should grant you access to their Cultural Rewards.

I don't know if that's actually meant to be the case, since "the Loremaster should work closely with the player to customise the Reward received, to suit the characteristics of the patron giving it" instead of just saying the hero gains access to the patron's Cultural Rewards. But it seems eminently appropriate. "You have served the people of Dale well. Receive this Dalish Longbow in recognition of your service."

Yeah, I'd go with that.

[Agnot]

I think that the way you described it is exactly how it’s meant to be done according to the rules in the Adventurer’s Companion. However, just as others have stated, it makes more sense when used as a narrative device rather than letting them choose whatever reward, whenever the h want. It needs to compliment the story in my opinion and not be used as a means to min-max between cultures.

[Indur Dawndeath]

I would never allow Cultural rewards as boons from patrons.
I’m pretty sure it is meant as healing potions or monetary rewards for completing assignments.
I don’t want players gaining access to honeycakes, just because they have Beorn as patron (I did not check if he have rewards...)

[Ferretz]

I think the rule for Patron Rewards might be inspired from Fellowship of the Ring when the Fellowship leaves Lothlorien, and receive gifts from the elves there. There are Elven Cloaks and Elven Brooches among other things. And I would say that some of the elves used their Waybread of the Elves Virtue to equip the Fellowship with Lembas.

Would be nice to hear from the writers what the intention of Patron Reward rule is.

E.

[Falenthal]

Also the Miruvor from Rivendel comes to mind, when thinking about Rewards from specific Patrons. Bill the Poney could be considered one from Barliman, or the traveling staves that Faramir gives Frodo and Sam when parting in Ithilien ("'I have no fitting gifts to give you at our parting,' said Faramir; 'but take these staves. They may be of service to those who walk or climb in the wild. The men of the White Mountains use them; though these have been cut down to your height and newly shod. They are made of the fair tree lebethron, beloved of the woodwrights of Gondor, and a virtue has been set upon them of finding and returning.").

My take is that usually no Cultural Rewards per se can be gained this way, while I'd leave this open to the specific situation and history moment.

In Darkness on the Marshes, from Tales of Wilderland, Radagast offers the fellowship some boons, depending on the level of success of the Encounter. I think there we have the perfect example of how to handle this kind of rewards from Patrons, including items, blessings or even spells that should ideally be personally tailored to the Patron and the mission at hand.

A guideline I'd try to follow is that these rewards should usually be fungible or temporary (one Adventure phase), so as to not substitue the Cultural Rewards or the Magical Treasure objects. Unless you want role-play the adquisition of such an object as a gift from a Patron during a Fellowship phase, of course.

However, I could see Celeborn giving the company the bonuses of the Lembas Cultural Virtue, but only for one Adventure phase (until the gifted lembas run out); or a horse lend by Thengel, that has to be set free once the frontier of the Riddermark is reached; or a staff with Greater Blessing to Travel that the company loses upon reaching a certain point in the adventure when ambushed by orcs.

[Rich H]

Although I didn't consider Cultural Rewards and Virtues offered by Patrons I have done a bit of work expanding on the information given in the AC with regard to Patron Benefits. Check out page 4 onwards: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n6doog3n4q4ko ... s.pdf?dl=0 (NB: where the text refers to Vigour swap that out for Valour; Vigour is an extra trait I use in my campaign/rules).

Personally I play it on a case-by-case basis with regard to players purchases other Cultural Rewards/Virtues just because they had a Patron from that particular culture. I wouldn't allow their acquisition just because the PCs had them as a Patron - it would have to be specific to the campaign and a unique set of circumstances that led to such acquisition(s).