Bilbo as an unreliable narrator

[Beran]

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, I didn't read all of the above posts. As Bilbo's tales would be, more-or-less taken as a historical document in the world of ME it has to be remembered...unfortunately....that history can be misleading. And given that Bilbo isn't above a little self promotion I think it could be safe to say that events in the story could easily have been inflated by Bilbo. Also, add in the fact that the "witnesses" to the events all having rather large egos themselves would not disparage themselves if asked about what happened (ie they would tow the party line.) This would definitely be an interesting way to interpret what has come before in your campaign.