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.... after he died? He crashed down on Old Esgaroth and doubtless sank to the bottom, taking half the town with him, but what then? There's a passing reference to his bones still being there five or ten years hence... But what effect does the flesh of a creature so vile, bred by Morgoth himself, what does that flesh do to an ecology that consumes it?

What of his great skull, has it been left to be picked clean so that Bard can reclaim it, and dredge it up to hang it in his halls in Dale?

What of Smaug's armored waistcoat of jewels? Do they lie scattered across the lakebed, where desperate lake men drag weighted nets, only to pull up the rotting cadavers of their dead kinsmen and fellow townsfolk slain by the dragon?

Have chunks of Smaug's hide been hauled up out if the deeps, to be fashioned into armor anew?

And are the blackened stumps and charred remains where the dragon-fishers lurk a haunted place, where the spirits of the innocent slain by dragon fire bubble and burn beneath the surface of the lake, forever begging to be freed from the searing pain?

The typical reaction from the Men in Middle Earth would be: Leave it alone, don't touch it for it bring's only evil.

That's one of the strange inconsistencies in ME, but for the setting's sake you have to go with it. So, Most likely the Men of the Dale and Esgaroth alike have left the body of Smaug where it fell, abandonded the Region of the old city and since zehn avoided this part of the lake.
Of course, this brings a lot of opportunities. Some animals might have fed of the body of Smaug and have changed into something strange and sinister, minions of Sauron could try to reclaim the hide, horns and theeth of Smaug to make deadly weapons and unpassable armour out of it (maybe for a general or one of the Ring Wraiths) or the evil of Samug is slowly pouring into the lake itself, changing the waters and all creatures Livingstones in it (or above or near it).

Well I'm taking cues from the Dead Marshes here, and from what I can recall it's the evil and malice of the Dark Lord that has poisoned the ancient battle ground, trapping spirits both good and evil in its clutches.

Smaug's resting place, being the greatest calamity of his age, is surely a noxious nexus of similar effect. Even if its poisons only extend across the area of Old Esgaroth and the surrounding waters, that's still a sizeable area and a nifty place for adventure. I'm picturing gloomy, forlorn ruins jutting out into the ever present cloak of mists, the reek of smoke and burnt flesh fresh in the nostrils even now, possibly a haunt of desperadoes and a small flotilla of lake bandits who risk the ghosts to seize a piece of the dragon's treasure. I just like the idea of men like that, so desperate, eeking out a living among the half burned and everdamp remains of the ruined town.

Yeah there are a few references to it in the various official sourcebooks. In short, the area is basically avoided. Some stuff washes to shore from time to time but largely anyone going looking for remains of the treasure should be with hit with a lot of Corruption tests.

... I think one of Jon's illustrations had Smaug's spines showing, didn't it?

[Checks]

Yes, final panel of the LM's screen, in the distance behind Laketown.

I imagine the ruins of old Esgaroth being a haunted lonely place. It would be a desperate treasure hunter indeed who sought out the gold and gems lying on the lake bed there.

I expect the rumor (at least) of dragon-curse still lies over those treasures.

I am not sure that "leave it alone, don't touch it for it brings only evil" is an inconsistency. There are places like that in our world, even in this supposedly enlightened age. Remember also that in Middle Earth there is real magic and the Shadow has real power.

I know it's not canon, however the MERP supplement "Lake-Town" mentions that the people built their new town further North and were avoiding the area where Smaug noxious remains were.

Which would make sense; Let's stay away from the Evil carcass as much as possible.

Boneguard wrote:I know it's not canon, however the MERP supplement "Lake-Town" mentions that the people built their new town further North and were avoiding the area where Smaug noxious remains were.

Which would make sense; Let's stay away from the Evil carcass as much as possible.

Hmmm, I actually think the following in the LM book suggests the above for TOR:

Today, a great wooden bridge runs out from the western shore to reach the city of Esgaroth, built anew a few
miles to the north of the spot where the bones of Smaug rest undisturbed.

Bold bit my emphasis. It seems logical as you couldn't really build a town on the same site as the old one, with support beams/stilts driven into the bed of the lake, without moving the old town (and Smaug) first as its wreckage would impede construction far too much.

I do struggle a lot with separating canon from MERP content; much of it is hardwired into my head!

Rich H wrote: I do struggle a lot with separating canon from MERP content; much of it is hardwired into my head!

MERP did a lot to "flesh out" the ME universe -like naming the 2 Blue Wizards, Naming and giving background to all 9 Ringwraith, etc.- that it is indeed hard to seperate what Tolkien wrote and what ICE created...in a way MERP established a kind of "Game Canon" that expended on what was written.

Having not really liked most of MERP, I tried but it just didn't feel like Tolkien to me, I don't have any problem sorting out Tolkien vs MERP.

I expect Tolkien vs Jackson will be an even bigger problem as the years go forward.