The Forsaken Inn

[Wbweather]

I have always felt that the Forsaken Inn was a working in out on the frontier, as it were. The last vestige of civilization as one heads east. I have never seen it as a particularly dark or disreputable place. I think more of a last stop on the stagecoach line, in terms of the American old west. The name "Forsaken" may have come from the site being built upon ruins of the old kingdom, or just the fact that it is all alone out in the wilderness. In my vision, it could even be run by one of the Dunedain, maybe one who has fallen out of favor with his people or retired from the wandering life. Of course something more sinister would make for better adventures...

[Falenthal]

I guess The Forsaken Inn could be the perfect meeting place for all those southlanders that came to Bree and its surroundings, acting as spies and agents for Saruman: just a days travel from the center of the activity in Eriador; not too close, not too far. But that would depend, as Rich said, on the timeline of your campaign.

I must admit that this little "details left vaguely in the air" are an amazing part of Tolkien's works, that make you think and come up with lots of ideas for adventures and stories, even more that the fully depicted Prancing Pony, for instance.

By the way, you probably have already looked at the Tolkien Gateway, but here's an interesting part mentioning what the Professor did with the idea of the Forsaken Inn (probably a.k.a. The Last Inn):

Around 1960 J.R.R. Tolkien embarked on a detailed revision of The Hobbit, with a goal of reconciling it with The Lord of the Rings.[2] In the retelling, the sketchy details of the trip from Bag End to Rivendell were filled in and made to fit the geography of the later story. After Thorin's company left Bree, a day's journey brought them to the Last Inn, which they found deserted.[3] There they camped on 3 May T.A. 2941, being too depressed to proceed further than the twenty miles they had progressed.[4] John Rateliff (author of The History of The Hobbit) states that the Last Inn (later called the Forsaken Inn) was brought in to emphasize the desolation which had grown east of Bree.[5]

The Treason of Isengard included the first map of The Lord of the Rings. On Map II, in the square K-8, there is a dot with the initials "F.I." on the road east of Bree about one-quarter of the distance to Weathertop.[6] Christopher Tolkien stated that these initials did stand for the Forsaken Inn.

[Otaku-sempai]

My conception is that there might have been an inn on that site since before the fall of Arthedain--although quite possibly it might have fallen into ruin one or more times only for a new inn to spring up over time. In its heyday, there might even have been a small hamlet and trading post present, back when travelers were much more frequent than they are by the end of the Third Age. The fall of Erebor to Smaug in TA 2770 probably signaled the end of those days (if they didn't end with the downfall of Arthedain) as traffic over the Misty Mountains fell to almost nothing.

I had forgotten about the mention of the Last Inn in Tolkien's abandoned 1960 revision of The Hobbit. Perhaps after Thorin and Company found the inn deserted, some other person or persons decided to take over the property and give it another go.

[Blubbo Baggins]

Or perhaps the Innkeeper is merely a manager, and the owner IS Saruman?

[Glorelendil]

The Inn could be surrounded by overgrown foundations of what used to be a village.

"Well, I've been looking for adventurers to kill the giant rats in the basement...I'll pay you 1 Treasure to clear them out."

[Terisonen]

We know that the Old Ford is firmly in the hand of Beorn by the War of The Ring. We know also that the Beorning take a toll at the Ford. They're must be some trafic alongside otherwise no toll would be collected. So we can say that some of the trafic would goes to Bree, passing by the last bridge and the Forsaken Inn. It could have been in disuse by the War of The Ring because the road would not be secure by this time.

[Rich H]

"Aren't you a little short for a Ring Bearer?"

Comedy gold.

[Rich H]

Or perhaps the Innkeeper is merely a manager, and the owner IS Saruman?

For certain campaigns (ie, time period) that would be perfect. As mentioned upthread it could be a great place for contacts and for Saruman's agents to meet. And funded by Old Sharkey to keep it running even when not used regularly! For my campaign, set on 3001, this was certainly an option I was playing with. I'm not sure how early you could go for this to still be viable though - would have to do a little research.

[Glorelendil]

Or perhaps the Innkeeper is merely a manager, and the owner IS Saruman?

For certain campaigns (ie, time period) that would be perfect. As mentioned upthread it could be a great place for contacts and for Saruman's agents to meet. And funded by Old Sharkey to keep it running even when not used regularly! For my campaign, set on 3001, this was certainly an option I was playing with. I'm not sure how early you could go for this to still be viable though - would have to do a little research.

Subtle hints and some awareness by the players (although tough to do without metagaming) could lead the players to wonder, "How on earth does that place stay in business?"

I've worked on, and conceptually a huge fan of, plots and adventures that let the players almost discover before anybody else that Saruman is a fink, but never with quite enough evidence to prove it, or at least to convince anybody important of its truth. I feel it's a way to take what could be a narrative liability, i.e. the fact that all the players already know one of the big secrets of the Third Age, and turn it into genuine suspense. "Oh my god are we going to expose Saruman and change history!?!?!" Almost, but nope. Sorry!

(Of course, for the canon revisionists, the answer might be yes.)

[Rich H]

Subtle hints and some awareness by the players (although tough to do without metagaming) could lead the players to wonder, "How on earth does that place stay in business?"

Exactly what I was thinking - especially for a hobbit character blessed with oodles of common sense!

I've worked on, and conceptually a huge fan of, plots and adventures that let the players almost discover before anybody else that Saruman is a fink, but never with quite enough evidence to prove it, or at least to convince anybody important of its truth. I feel it's a way to take what could be a narrative liability, i.e. the fact that all the players already know one of the big secrets of the Third Age, and turn it into genuine suspense. "Oh my god are we going to expose Saruman and change history!?!?!" Almost, but nope. Sorry!

(Of course, for the canon revisionists, the answer might be yes.)

Indeed! ... And it feels like a great way of doing it.