From Lake Town to The Grey Mountains

[poosticks7]

Hi guys I'm planning to get back into LMing - been out of it for awhile. Our group is sadly down to just two adventurers now (curse real life!)

My next adventure is going to be set in the Grey Mountains - the heroes have heard rumours of a stronghold of Orcs there and want to investigate it - because they fear an agent of the Enemy is stirring up the orcs of the mountains.

Now it is a fairly long journey they need to take and I was looking for some ideas for events to add into the journey. Not necessarily dangerous stuff but things to bring middle earth to life.

Anyone got any ideas? The Journey crosses the Dale lands and then up into the narrows. Obviously we'll be rolling for hazards but I could do with a few set pieces to break the journey up a little.

[Yusei]

Did you have a look at the Heart of the Wild? It has some stuff fore the narrows, and a very nice NPC to encounter.

[Morgoth]

Maybe add in some journey hazards even if they pass the travel checks. Or you could at least use those for ideas.

One of my campaigns also only has two players. At first we tried with each person playing one character, and it didn't turn out very well. It's difficult to have all your necessary skills with only two characters. And we were lacking two of the travel roles which made it even harder. We ended up each having each player have two characters. We actually like that a lot better (although sometimes it's a bit tricky when you end up having conversations with yourself). Anyway, your group my want to give that a try.

[Celebril]

My group used the Grey Mountains Narrows on a return trip to Dale. I had them run into the ghost there and they seemed to really enjoy that encounter. I would also think of all the ways to get to Dale/Erebor from the West that the Narrows would be the safest route especially in this time period when the goblins are still depleted from the Battle of Five armies. So in my game I explained that most trade from the West travels north around Mirkwood except for any trade from Rohan or Gondor.

[Láthspell]

The Itinerant Dwarves

The Naugrim looked a us warily. They were a suspicious folk made more so by the perils of bandits and things worse than bandits on the roads this far north. Still they begrudgingly agreed to share their fire for the night, and as the evening shadows grew conversation turned towards the journey that lay ahead of us.

The company encounters a group of dwarves traveling between Erebor and the Ered Luin (or possibly the Greydelve) either to trade goods or to visit their distant cousins. The dwarves are initially terse, but value Valour. The usual racial modifiers apply, and a few acts of Courtesy, a Song or two, or a game of Riddles might get the Dwarves too loosen their tongues. (If the companions choose to share what provisions they have with the dwarves lower the TN by 2, or by 4 if they are sharing Beorning Honey-cakes.)
0-1 The Dwarves share their fire, but little else. They leave before the break of day without even a word of farewell.
2-4 The Dwarves are polite and glad of the companionship. They may share rumors of far of lands, or sights they have seen while traversing the Narrows.
5-7 The Dwarves are pleased to have met the company and tell them of a hidden valley in the narrows. If the heroes succeed in an Explore check they find the valley. Reduce the TN of Travel checks in the valley by 2, and the journey is shortened by a day.
8+ Same as above but the Dwarves are so taken with the company that they are willing to delay their own own journey slightly in order to show the Company the way to the valley, eliminating the Explore check.


The Unexpected Storm

The weather had been fair, ideal for traveling and we had hoped to make good tim. The storm, when it came, arrived suddenly out of the north. The formerly blue sky quickly darkening as clouds crested the mountains and blotted out the sun. The storm was upon us before we could find shelter and within minutes we were all soaked to the bone.

Mountain country can have severe and sudden shifts in weather, which can be especially dangerous to those unfamiliar with what to expect. If the Look-Out fails an awareness check (Mountaineer can provide an auto-success here or possible AP) the company is caught in a sudden squalor. Lose endurance equal to two success dice.


The Glacial Lake

The water was frigid and sapped the heat from my body as I plunged into its depths. I was seized by a sudden desire to swim as quickly as I could back to shore. After the initial shock, however, the aches of the past few days faded away. As I emerged back into the relative warmth of the mountain air, I felt reinvigorated and ready to continue with our journey.

In a valley the company happens upon a hidden lake with icebergs breaking through the sapphire blue surface. The spectacular view might be enough to restore a point or two of hope (possibly require an Awareness check, with failed checks merely noting the water is freezing). If anyone in the company wishes to go for a swim, have them make a Valour check to steel themselves for the plunge (Swimming might at LM's discretion allow a auto-success here). Anyone who succeeds loses a few points of Travel fatigue, depending on the level of their rolls success. One for normal, two for superior, or three for extraordinary.

[Glorelendil]

Great post, Lathspell. I could consume volumes of these sorts of vignettes/ideas. Keep 'em coming!

EDIT: In fact, what I'd really love is a "Big Book of Encounters (and other Hazards)". I know the "Additional Rules" fan supplement has some tables of hazards, sorted by travel role, but I really like these story hooks.

Maybe we should start a thread that could become a fan supplement?

[Valarian]

I echo that. Nice ideas. Might use some of those if you end up in that region

[poosticks7]

Great stuff Lathspell, I'll be certainly using those

Anyone got some ideas for the Dale Lands? Chance encounters, unexpected complications etc.

That is a great idea for a community project Elf Crusher - I'd be interested in contributing to that.

[Glorelendil]

That is a great idea for a community project Elf Crusher - I'd be interested in contributing to that.

Started doing some hacking this morning, overlaying an interactive hex grid (using .d3 and svg, for those who know what that means) on the Adventurer's Map. Here's what I'm thinking:
1) Convert your Adventurer's Map to a JPG.

2) Start the app (i.e. go to a web page) and load your locally stored map. (Same functionality as my bestiary; I'm trying to avoid copyright issues by making you load a local copy.) Map can both pan and zoom.

3) Create mode (requires log-in)
- Press "new encounter or hazard"
- Fill out meta-data: Title, Type (hazard or encounter), Role (if hazard: lookout, guide, etc.), Date Range
- Start clicking on the map. Each click (or click-drag) turns a hex 'on' (or 'off'), indicating an area where this event could occur.
- When you are done selecting the area, hit 'Submit' and the event goes into the database.

4) Browse mode
- Click anywhere on the map
- A list pops up with the title and meta-data of every event that was assigned to that hex, including author's name
- With log-in, you can "block" authors if you don't like their content. (A discreet notification will tell you how many you've blocked, and allow you to selectively unblock.)
- If the lists get overly long, I could add a filter (type, date, etc.) so you only see relevant results.

5) Advanced Ideas
- Areas ("Mirkwood", "Anduin Valley") could be pre-defined if you want to assign an event to a large area with one click.
- Similarly, terrain types ("Woods", "River") could be defined if you want an event assigned to any relevant terrain
- Also "Region Type" could be a tag/filter, if somebody went through and coded every hex according to Loremaster's Map.
- With all of the above, you could specify that an event only happen in, for example, "Wooded Wildlands", or "Mirkwood Shadowlands".

Thoughts?

[Woodclaw]

I'm going a bit OT to say that I would like an "Interactive map" that allows a LM to add new locations in a rather permanent way.

As for a travelling hazard in the Daleland:

Ashen desolation

Whilst the North flourished again in the years after the death of the Dragon, not all the traces of evil could be eradicated and some remote corners bore the touch of Smaug for many years to come.

While Dale has recoved in record time since the death of Smaug, there are places across the mountains and the shores of the Lake that still bear its touch, little patches of grey ash and desolation. Unless the Guide knows better and plot the course accordingly (Travel test), the Fellowship will stumble upon one such place amidst the day. They can either camp there or double time across it, either way they won't get many rest out of it. None of the companions will regain Endurance for the current day and -- if the LM feels so inclined -- the area might be considered a Blighted place.