Erebor Discussion

[Robin Smallburrow]

Have finally gotten around to reading the whole new supplement and have noticed that no-one seems to be discussing it yet, so I thought I will start:

My favourite bits: Design your own dragon, Riverstead and The Netherwood - lots of potential I see in these two places!

Least favourite bit: Restore the Lower Sections Undertaking (I have already mentioned this, see earlier thread on Valour)

Anyone have any ideas on what is in The Netherwood?
Has anybody designed any new PCs based on the new cultures?
Let's have some discussion guys!

Robin S.

[bluejay]

Personally I think it's a great supplement! Love the dragon rules and also the rules for Dwarven magical items and Dwarven grudges.

I've created a couple of Dwarves from the new cultures as pre-gens for games I'm hoping to run at Dragonmeet.

[spivo]

I just like reading the "lore" stuff, despite it not being Tolkiens words/lore, I still think it's well written, and enjoy just reading bits here and there.
I will not use 20% of the rules there, will never make a dragon etc. etc..., but I don't care really.

Is why I love this game, great work on the lore/fluff, and a set of rules that goes well in hand with Tolkiens work.

[Glorelendil]

I will not use 20% of the rules there, will never make a dragon etc. etc..., but I don't care really.

Is why I love this game, great work on the lore/fluff, and a set of rules that goes well in hand with Tolkiens work.

Even if I stopped actually playing I would continue to buy every supplement and think about playing.

[Terisonen]

So do I.. May be next year.

[Falenthal]

I think that this is the best supplement since the "Wilderland Trio" (Tales, Heart & Darkening).
There are many different things to find here: the atlas, the detailed city descriptions, the rules for dragons, dwarven smithing, new cultures,... and all of them are interesting.

The only "weird" thing I've found are some of the starting skill scores for both dwarven cultures, specially the Stealth 3 for the Iron Hill dwarves. But that something that can easily be house-ruled.
I even reduced the Grey Mountains Dwarves Craft skill to 2 (from 3), and increasing Awe, Athletics and Awareness to 1. This has the interesting side effect that this culture of dwarves will be welcomed in the Lonely Mountain, but not allowed to work and have a home there (p.9 scroll) unless the character increases his Craft to 3. This makes sense with the fact that the Grey Mountain Dwarves sell their craft as tinkerers in the Wild, instead of working in Erebor, and look for their own homes, not considering Erebor their own. Years of wandering the Wild fits with some skill in Athletics and Awareness, IMO.

And I think the chapter about the Lands About the Mountain include lots of interesting plot hooks and locations. It's one of my favourite part of the book, if I had to choose one.

[Halbarad]

I really enjoyed the book, but I found that the chapter concerning the Lands about the Mountain a little disappointing. There simply doesn't seem to be enough people in the region nor any reason why the Kingdom of Dale might expand to the banks of the Redwater.

Where are the soldiers coming from that will fight a three day battle before Dale in the War of the Ring? Why would King Brand contest the crossing of the Redwater if there's nothing in the Nether Marches save a handful of fishing villages and itinerant drovers?

[zedturtle]

I really enjoyed the book, but I found that the chapter concerning the Lands about the Mountain a little disappointing. There simply doesn't seem to be enough people in the region nor any reason why the Kingdom of Dale might expand to the banks of the Redwater.

Where are the soldiers coming from that will fight a three day battle before Dale in the War of the Ring? Why would King Brand contest the crossing of the Redwater if there's nothing in the Nether Marches save a handful of fishing villages and itinerant drovers?

Bear in mind that Erebor "reset" the timeline to 2946, so the settlement info we're getting is just five years after Smaug's death. Brand will be defending the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those folks who are resettling the Dalelands and it's not unreasonable to guess that there's a tenfold increase in population over the course of seventy-some years.

[Glorelendil]

Bear in mind that Erebor "reset" the timeline to 2946, so the settlement info we're getting is just five years after Smaug's death. Brand will be defending the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those folks who are resettling the Dalelands and it's not unreasonable to guess that there's a tenfold increase in population over the course of seventy-some years.

It does sort of beg for a kind of timeline that would describe the various settlements (appearance, population...) in 20 year increments.

[Halbarad]

@Zed

I know that there's a reset to 2946. I'm just not buying a tenfold increase in population over three/four generations in a Dark Ages/Early Middle Ages styled society though. I could suspend disbelief and accept doubled perhaps, allowing for some further immigration from parts unknown. Where though?

The City of Dale stuff is really well done though and overall I reckon that it's among the best of the supplements released so far.