Fellowship Phase & Sanctuaries

[Jakob]

Thanks for the explanation - I just re-read the chapter and noticed that I was obivously confused about the exact timing of the FP. Somehow, I was under the impression that a FP can usually only occur at the end of the year ... but on closer reading, it is quite clear that you are correct. I think I got stuck on the "default pacing" paragraph where it says that an FP marking the end of the year should last approximately an entire season - I didn't really get that there are also FPs that don't mark the end of a year.

[Hermes Serpent]

Glad I could help. The 'What I read' and 'What I thought I read' is often an issue as people have noted on the forums.

[Otaku-sempai]

Thanks for the explanation - I just re-read the chapter and noticed that I was obivously confused about the exact timing of the FP. Somehow, I was under the impression that a FP can usually only occur at the end of the year ... but on closer reading, it is quite clear that you are correct. I think I got stuck on the "default pacing" paragraph where it says that an FP marking the end of the year should last approximately an entire season - I didn't really get that there are also FPs that don't mark the end of a year.

Well, The Hobbit might be a good example. The Quest of Erebor can be broken down into several mini-adventures with a Fellowship Phase of two or three weeks between each one: Rivendell, Beorn's House, Lake-town, Erebor (between the Demise of Smaug and the besiegement of the Mountain). Somehow, I don't think that the time the company spent trapped in the dungeons of the Elvenking would count! On the return journey, Bilbo spent the entire Yule season at Beorn's House, a shorter FP was spent in Rivendell before the final stage of the journey.

[Hermes Serpent]

I reckon the company's stay in Thranduil's Halls is the epitome of Uncomfortable Lodgings and the admonition to find an alternative route round the problem.

[aramis]

I half expect we'll see some "sanctuary only" and more "sanctuary enhances" FP actions in the future... but at present, it's fuzzy boundaries.

For me, my interpretation is that the difference between home and a sanctuary is that, while Home is a sanctuary, no other sanctuary is home.