Undertaking Frequency

[Rich H]

If the rules require you to "make it up" for the mechanics to make sense it should say so. Most people expect a game system to be fairly explicit. This wasn't.

The rulebook is pretty clear in that it states the LM decides these things, stating the length of a Fellowship Phase (FP) can vary depending on the circumstances. The Undertakings don't take a specific amount of time; they are as long as they need to be from a narrative sense and for the needs of each LM, the group of heroes, and the story. And they can therefore vary in length. The FP at year end is generally a season with other FPs being of variable length - the LM is free to set limitations and he sees fit with regard to what Undertakings are, or are not, allowed. The Fellowship Phase element of the rules are more narrative focussed and less defined than other areas of the game - for instance, when a PC travels back home for their FP they don't have to make travel tests etc and are considered able to travel home; the same journey in an adventure would require rolls; this makes sense from a narrative perspective as the journey in the former instance isn't important but for the latter it is. If you don't pick up on this when reading the book then it can cause the problems you've experienced and can take some getting used to if you're used to playing RPGs where every circumstance/application of the rules is mapped out; TOR isn't such a game and relies on LMs to make rulings for themselves. It's quite old school in that regard.

[Indur Dawndeath]

I think MasterSmithwise is looking for some advise to play this great game, not advise to stop playing!
The solution of the problem is pretty easy though:
Tell your players that a Fellowship phase must be followed by an Adventure Phase. From my point of view, you can have a lot of Adventure and Fellowship Phases during a given year if it suits your group, but you'll loose the great mechanic in the game, where the players interact in the history and see the effect of their actions as time goes by...

Cheers

[Otaku-sempai]

In general, I think that the cycle of Adventure - Fellowship Phase - Adventure works, I see where longer adventures seem to break-down differently. Looking at The Hobbit, we have smaller adventures with mini FPs in-between:

- Adventure Phase 1: Wherein the Company, after departing from Bag End, crosses a Swollen River and receives an Invitation for Dinner.

- Fellowship Phase 1: Rivendell.

- Adventure Phase 2: Playing with Goblins; Riddling with a Wretch; and Lighting a Bonfire.

- Fellowship Phase 2: Beorn's House.

- Adventure Phase 3: Lost in the Woods; spending time with the Wood-elves.

- Fellowship Phase 3: Lake-town.

- Adventure Phase 4: On to the Mountain; Smaug the magic Dragon; Fortifying Erebor; Battle of Five Armies.

- Fellowship Phase 4: Wintering with Beorn.

- Optional Adventure Phase: Wilderland to Rivendell.

- Optional Fellowship Phase: Spending time in Rivendell before returning to Bag End.

We can break-down The Lord of the Rings in a similar fashion with Fellowship Phases at Tom Bombadil's House; Bree; Rivendell; Lórien; Edoras; and Minas Tirith. However, LotR gets much more complicated with the Adventuring Company first growing to nine and then splitting up into smaller groups.

[Glorelendil]

If you actually tried to re-create the Hobbit with TOR rules then you'd probably need several adventure/fellowship phase cycles, but I prefer to think of it as a single Adventure and single Fellowship Phase. The Journey to Erebor was broken down into several stages, with bad Travel rolls (trolls, spiders, enchanted stream), some non-random scenes that are part of the Adventure (Rivendell, Goblintown), some Encounters that went well (Beorn, Master of Laketown) and some Encounters that went less well (Thranduil, Bard).

The Fellowship Phase allowed for free travel home, and along the way Bilbo chose the undertaking "Establish Sanctuary" at Rivendell.

[MasterSmithwise]

In the game I play in, it's one per fellowship phase, and 2 per winter phase. The per year fellowship phase undertakings are limited by location for the non winter phase.

Are you saying that once per adventuring phase you have an undertaking and then at the end of the year you do two? I'm not really understanding what you're saying but if you're saying what it sounds like it sounds cool. Location specific mid year phases and then non location specific winter phases.

[Otaku-sempai]

In the game I play in, it's one per fellowship phase, and 2 per winter phase. The per year fellowship phase undertakings are limited by location for the non winter phase.

Are you saying that once per adventuring phase you have an undertaking and then at the end of the year you do two? I'm not really understanding what you're saying but if you're saying what it sounds like it sounds cool. Location specific mid year phases and then non location specific winter phases.

If I'm reading her(?) correctly, then she allows one undertaking per Fellowship Phase unless it is the long, Winter Fellowship Phase when she allows two undertakings.

[MasterSmithwise]

In the game I play in, it's one per fellowship phase, and 2 per winter phase. The per year fellowship phase undertakings are limited by location for the non winter phase.

Are you saying that once per adventuring phase you have an undertaking and then at the end of the year you do two? I'm not really understanding what you're saying but if you're saying what it sounds like it sounds cool. Location specific mid year phases and then non location specific winter phases.

If I'm reading her(?) correctly, then she allows one undertaking per Fellowship Phase unless it is the long, Winter Fellowship Phase when she allows two undertakings.

Ah, ok. Ya that makes sense actually.

[Hermes Serpent]

I believe that is what the rules state. A normal Fellowship phase between adventure phases and a long Fellowship Phase at year end to return home. The long phase substitutes for a normal phase should the adventure end close to the year end.

I do it like Spring Adventure phase that llasts as long as needed. Maybe a Summer Fellowship phase if appropriate and then a second adventure phase ending in a Year -end Fellowship phase. A lot of very short adventure phases usually doesn't provide enough XP or AP to warrant taking a break except for narrative purposes. Stop at a settlement to help with harvest or something equally mundane for a rest by all means to recover Travel fatigue but don't count it as a fellowship phase.

[Majestic]

Much of what I was going to say was already expertly done by Rich, above.

The key is to somewhat 'take charge' and move things forward narratively, as long as your players are cool with that. But there's a tension there, as the Fellowship Phase is driven by the players, moreso than the LM. The players tell you what their players are going to do, and you (as LM) tell them how that works out. But even though it's driven by the players, it doesn't preclude you (as LM) saying "the next three months pass by fairly quiet as you help the Woodmen with their harvest, taking care of their hounds, and helping to re-build the damaged buildings from that skirmish. Now what do your characters want to do during this next few months of downtime?" That way it's still reigned in and given some boundaries by you, the LM, but the players are the ones determining what their PCs do. Make sense?

What I do is try to keep things fairly sandboxy, and tell my players rumors of other things going on all over Wilderland. But they're always keeping Winter in mind, as they don't want to get stuck somewhere when the cold part of the year makes travel extremely difficult.

We end up wintering somewhere (and having a Fellowship Phase, where they often can do up to two Undertakings if they wish), then in Spring and Summer they head out to adventure. There might be a second Fellowship Phase between the adventuring that happens in the Spring/Summer/Fall, depending on what makes narrative sense.

[Rich H]

... Additionally, I often only allow my players to spend APs and XPs during an FP that doesn't occur at year end.