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Thanks for this thread. I always waited for a nice sourcebook focused on Erebor and maybe Iron Hills to an extend before leaving to the West of the Mountains, or at least before we expand into Rohan. The Lake-town was not bad at all but still it is very small book, acceptable with the fact that it comes with the screen but I would have loved an Erebor (possibly twined with Dale) sourcebook. Could have had the Greydelve and the opening of old road stuff as mini campaigns inside for Dwarven-focused companies too...

What about this undertaking?

Befriend the Thrushes
A Barding or Man of Lake-Town that is a descendant of the Dale of Old might have forefathers with the ability to understand the language of thrushes. A player-hero may spend time studying and learning the old talents of understanding and speaking to the birds. The first time this undertaking is taken the player-hero spends one experience point to learn to speak the language of thrushes. If the player-hero has a wisdom score of 3 or higher a further undertaking may be chosen; spending two experience points to gain a thrush companion. A thrush companion gives the player-hero the ability to roll the Feat dice twice and keep the best result for Song and Awareness tests.

Comments? Improvements?

I don't know why, but I had the (wrong) impression that there was already a Barding Virtue related to the language of thrushes. But there's not.

My concern with the Undertaking as stated is that it looks too much like a Virtue. See that most Undertaking benefits to the player last for one year/adventuring phase and sometimes even only when certain conditions are met: in the woods, when travelling, etc. There are some requisites to gain the double Feat roll to Song and Awareness (3 XP and Wisdom 3), but I still think the benefit is too high for an Undertaking.

The undertaking is weaker than a virtue. Compare with "Hound of Mirkwood" for example. But on the other hand its more powerful than a similar undertaking like "Befriend the Beasts". But I guess you are right. The requirement and XP cost are not enough to justify such a benefit. I guess I can make it the usual undertaking gives bonus (thrush companion) for next adventuring phase only. But I was intentionally trying for something a bit more permanent. Any suggestions?

Rather than a bonus to Song and Awareness (or both), perhaps a simple "once per session" ability to allow Advantage (roll the Feat die twice, keep best result) whenever narratively appropriate?

In any case, this probably belongs over in the 'House Rules' section.

Thanks for the input. I made a new writeup that I think Ill use for my campaign.

Befriend the Thrushes
The player-hero is a descendant of the Dale of Old, and his forefathers had the ability to understand the language of thrush. A Barding or Man of the Lake with a Wisdom score of 3 or higher may spend time studying and learning the old talents of speaking with the birds. The first time this undertaking is taken the player-hero spends one experience point to learn to speak the language of thrushes. Further undertakings may taken to gain a thrush companion for the next adventuring phase. A thrush companion will assist a player-hero within reasonable limits. The player may narrate the use of the thrush ally and give the hero advantage (roll the Feat die twice, keep best result) one time per game session.

I was happy to read in the new Erebor book this Undertakings:

Pay homage to the Ravens of Ravenhill (Hire a Raven), Search the Deep Tunnels (Restore the Lower Sections), Study with a Master Craftsman (Work with Dwarven Craftsmanship Master),Help compile the Erebor Index (Library Restoration) and the opportunity to Visit Thorin's Tomb (Honor Thorin Oakenshield's tomb and the Arkenstone).

All of them were proposed in this thread with the names in the parenthesis (see first post), and we ended up having their official version.