Guide me in my Travels

[Stormcrow]

Hazards should be relatively unrelated to the company's goals. Set encounters, on the other hand, are better as more important or more dangerous situations.

In The Hobbit, think of the company's mishap with their ponies in the river near the trolls as a hazard: inconvenient, but it just has a simple mechanical effect.

But the goblins in Goblin Town aren't just a mishap along the road; they are a major part of the story. They're the equivalent of the Loremaster interrupting the journey to the Lonely Mountain with an encounter. They weren't out looking for dwarves, but they were a major issue with any crossing of the Misty Mountains, and they continue to be involved with the story, both as pursuers and as an army at the final battle.

Likewise the spiders of Mirkwood. They weren't the result of a bad fatigue test; they're a major feature of the route. The Loremaster had obviously decided that if the party left the path in that part of the forest, they WOULD encounter spiders.

The lesson here is that the journey the players expect to make may not be the journey the Loremaster plans. If you want the journey to be more interesting than some fatigue tests and hazards, place interesting and relevant encounters along the way. Don't throw in minor inconveniences just to try to interest the players; they have to really matter. Players will see through that kind of manipulation.

And if you can't think of anything to add to a journey, just roll some fatigue tests and be done with it.

[Majestic]

Well, you're the LM, so doing things like secret rolls is entirely up to you (not that you're a dictator, but as LM you decide what the players get to do, much more than the players decide what you get to do).

And one thing to understand about The One Ring (and other more narrative games, that might not get into the level of detail or 'crunch' of other games): they don't always get into defining every nitty gritty detail. So your players don't get the luxury of saying "But I have all of this rope, and two flasks of oil, and thieves tools all written down on my character sheet!" Tracking and recording every little thing the player characters have on them just isn't needed. But with everything being less defined, it frees you up with much more flexibility to improvise. You can explain that those critters stole their food in the night, or the bag burst open and their provisions got wet, or whatever. As LM you get to decide what happens, and it works best if you narrate appropriate stuff that matches the die rolls, rather than simply saying "You make X number of Travel rolls at TN X".

I'll second that Tales from Wilderland gives great examples of how to set up these little encounters that can happen as the party travels. As Falenthal said, don't wait until they roll a Hazard. In my mind, Hazards are just there to add in an element of random variety, so not everything is planned out and done according to a script. But there's nothing wrong with you preparing an encounter that happens at a particular juncture (not depending on the trigger of a Hazard).

[tomfish]

I found that relying on Hazards alone makes travel a bit too random (or boring) if eyes do not show up.

What I do (and I know others do too) is to plan at least one "mandatory" event (or at least a threat to be dealt with) along the way. As previously said, the threat has to be tied with the specificities of the travelled region. Then if Eyes are rolled, I start weaving all the Hazards together to add to the tension of the main event/threat. By event it could be something where some less used skills (hunting, explore) can be put to test, with consequences if they are failed.

It does work quite well, and makes all travels much more interesting (and difficult, if you cumulate the effects of Hazards). I agree that "Don't Leave the Path" is working a bit like that : events along the way, possible extra Hazards to make things worse.

Also, I only do Travel rolls if there are consequences for the characters for the rest of the Adventure (meaning that if they gain Fatigue but have the opportunity to rest for one week at the end of the Journey, then maybe it is not worth rolling in the first place, just narrate the trip).

What I have not tried, for long uneventful trips especially, is to have the players narrate the journey ; perhaps it could work well, if you have the right players.

[Falenthal]

Majestic and tomfish explained my initial idea much better than I could.

I think (and do in my games) exactly what both of them so clearly tell.

So, just to clarify:
No, the encounters that I propose to prepare to give flavour to a Travel are NOT triggered by faked Eyes. They are encounters that I design specifically for my group that they have to solve. As much as I'd design a group of orcs they have to defeat or an Encounter with an NPC.

I can understand that, in many groups, an excuse (because that's what it is) like "you've run out of food" might arise the sudden fury of the players, who inmediatly will come up with reasons why this couldn't happen to them, specially if you haven't allowed a test first to avoid it. But as Majestic said, in TOR some of those elements (number of arrows being the other star theme) are just a trigger for narrative interesting situations. I wouldn't force the group to lose Treasure or War Gear, but losing the food is nothing that will have a permanent impact on their characters. If your group doesn't feel comfortable with that, then use another reason to lure them away from the path or whatever you come up with. A white deer appears and someone with Mirkwood lore knows they bring good luck if hunted. Voices of elves asking for help are heard in the folliage away from the path.

My idea is that part of the fun of this game is the feeling of exploring Middle-Earth. Maybe some groups are alright with the LM telling them they've crossed Mirkwood and how gloomy it was. I know my group (and me as LM) like to experience Mirkwood by acting in it. And that means presenting the heroes with some kind of conflict that is specifically tied to the region: spiders and darkness in Mirkwood, Barrow-wights in the Barrow Downs, hummerhorns and wet terrain in the Long-Marshes,...

Again, Majestic and tomfish nailed it, according to my view on how to play Travels in TOR.

[MasterSmithwise]

Awesome, these are great suggestions! I felt previously that the forced "hazards" were unfair, but labeling them as hazards are what made me feel that way. If I think of them as story elements I can put the players through whatever I like to keep the story interesting. Very good.

[beckett]

Looks like you received some excellent advice.

I would also add that the rules state that winter/autumn traveling gear and summer traveling gear includes food supplies for one week of traveling. So if the journey lasts longer than one week, the heroes will have to forage/hunt for additional food. This can easily add trouble to the narrative of the journey. Do they stumble upon something nasty while hunting rabbits? Maybe they meet another hunter (encounter) and they share tales and rumors, perhaps he knows something useful related to the adventure the heroes are undertaking. Perhaps, he has been following them.

When traveling, heroes are entitled to two actions per day -- one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Obviously, you don't want the group rolling for tasks twice per day in addition to all the Fatigue tests when on an extended journey. But you can use this rule judiciously when the narrative requires it (maybe they are tracking Orcs or looking for someone who has gone missing, or simply hunting for food) to add unforeseen story/flavor to the game.

Lastly, should you want the hardships of the landscape reflected in the journey then look at the Region Table on page 158 of the revised rulebook and use the TNs listed there for Fatigue tests. So that TN 18 someone mentioned earlier would be used if the heroes were crossing Shadow Lands. The Long Marshes are Shadow Lands, for example, so traveling there could mean the heroes face severe (TN 18) Fatigue tests.

Hope this was helpful. Enjoy your game!

[Artaxastra]

One thing I do is add some unavoidable hazard encounters to spice things up. For example, they're going up the pass when they realize the road has been blocked with boulders. (Trolls have rolled them down to create an ambush point.) Do they try to move the boulders, probably getting attacked by the trolls while they do? Do they try to climb up the sides of the defile and go around, requiring athletics rolls and ingenuity? Do they decide to leave the pass and make their way through the mountains, requiring explore, hunting and more travel? Even if they've been over this pass six times before, it makes it new again.

[Majestic]

Just wanted to add that these last two posts have excellent advice as well!

[Uristocles]

Has anyone here tried the cards for travelling? (Hobbit Tales)

[Robin Smallburrow]

Some great suggestions here, but one thing not mentioned that I use a lot, especially if this is the first time the PC's are travelling in the area, is to show some pictures, just to help the player's visualise! As LM it is our job to give the PC's "the five senses" so they can better visualise the landscape. Although you might not like PJ's take on the books, I think most would agree that he did a good job with the 'travelling-type scenes' to capture the feel of Middle-earth.

Below is a link to a picture I used while running the new 'Red Days Rising' adventure, as I wanted the players to see 'typical Rohan'... (actually New Zealand South Island). By looking at the picture the players could see why Rohan is tough walking country but great if on horses....

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/656 ... y%20NZ.JPG

Robin S.