Fellowship Rating: is it possible to increase?

[jamesrbrown]

Reading the rules, I find difficult to determine if is it possible or not to increase the total of Fellowship Points (FP) of a party. The AB at page 81 says:

The number of points available to a company of heroes at the beginning of the game is equal to the number of heroes in the group.

Does "at the beginning" means that the FP may increase during the adventure? Or it concerns the eventuality that there is an Hobbit in the party (+ 1 Fellowship Rating)?

I think the phrase "at the beginning" is there because the number of Fellowship points are expected to decrease as player-heroes use them during an adventure and increase in special cases, such as when visiting Beorn's house in Kinstrife & Dark Tidings.

In addition, in the supplement Tales from Wilderland at p. 45 there's a box that says (translation from Italian):

[...]add one point to the Fellowship pool.

I don't understand if it indicates an increase of the total Fellowship rating o a simple recovering of one FP.

Any suggestions?

Mytholder wrote Tales from Wilderland, so his words would be as official as you can get when it comes to the right interpretation. I guess what you are asking is if the Fellowship point gained from visiting Beorn's house with the bodies of dead Beornings in Kinstrife & Dark Tidings is a permanent addition to the Fellowship pool that the player-heroes will enjoy every new gaming session? Mytholder says he meant for it to only be a temporary boon. I think that is a good thing.

I see this as a learning opportunity for Loremasters: When creating their own adventures, they should feel free to write similar scenes that lead to a temporary increase in the Fellowship pool. But, remember, the Fellowship pool refreshes at the beginning of each new gaming session. It is recalculated according to the number and type of heroes who are in the Company for the new session. No bonuses from previous adventures would be added in.

[Francesco]

Actually, the phrase cited from Tales from Wilderland is also in the book in English. Gareth wrote the book, but I edited it, and that means changing and adding to it - especially when rules are concerned. The scene in the box is a good example, as it wasn't in the original text, and was added by me, to enhance the 'otherwordly' experience that is to enter the house of Beorn.

The answer to the query remains the same though - the bonus is meant as a temporary one, enhancing the company's Fellowship pool for the length of the session.

Francesco

[Francesco]

Mind you I think that section was probably written by an Irishman and and an Italian and edited by an Italian and a Briton so the lack of clarity is understandable

I missed this before... very funny indeed.

Francesco