Took Country - Middle-earth Hexmap Project

An installment of my hexmap for Middle-earth project. Follow the "Middle-earth Hexmap" tag for all entries in this series.

The Tooks are a prosperous and important family in the Shire, with numerous relations and the need to spread out. They reside in the Green Hill Country: an idyllic region. Few residents of this region know  of the secret paths that elves use to walk through the Shire, right under their noses.

Map credit: Idraluna Archive. Click for the full map.

48.56

TOOKBANK. A small Hobbit village, peopled predominantly by Tooks looking to escape the close confines of family life in Tuckborough (48.57). There are good orchards here, mostly growing apples of a breed called whitcyser brought back by Blossom Took from a short adventure outside the Shire. "Ain't natural," complain neighboring villages, upon tasting the sweetness of these apples (and byproducts). "That Wizard probably blessed them."

! - A QUEER HAUNTING: Lately, Whitbough Hall has been plagued by one (or more?) nocturnal visitors. Draped in a funerary sheet and rattling chains, an apparition has moaned its way through the corridors, frightening the family to death.

In truth, a small gang of Took cousins are pretending to be ghosts as a way to enter and explore the smial. They believe that Blossom Took brought treasure back from her adventure, in addition to her famous apple transplants, and are determined to find the hidden cache.

WHITWELL. A Hobbit village in the Green Hills. It has a post office and a thriving band of local actors ("The Whitwell Players"). The eponymous well is decorated by the townsfolk in ribbons once a year. The town's public house is called The Hole in the Oak. There is a limestone quarry south of town, where many residents work.

TRYSTING TREE. Point of interest. Off the road between Waymeet (47.55) and Whitwell is one of the largest and oldest oaks in the Shire, called the Trysting Tree. Here is a traditional place for many meetings, especially between sweethearts.

(1-2) - Two hobbit tweens having a sobbing broken betrothal. Awkward!
(4-5) - ! - MISSING HOBBIT: Sally Fairbairn (hobbit - pleasantly plump, anxious, farmer's daughter) is waiting anxiously for Freddy Burrowes (hobbit - stout, carefree, farmer), but he's very late. What if something happened to him? (He fell into a gully picking flowers and twisted his ankle. He really does need help out of it, but he'll be alright.)
(6) - Thain Peregrin Took collecting a secret letter. Has advice for the fellowship's current quest.

Searching the tree reveals (1d10):

1. A sealed letter (affectionate and practical) from Cavallo Took of Whitwell to Peony Pennytree of Waymeet (47.55) tucked into a hole in the tree.
2. An opened letter (awkward and flirtatious) from Boffo Hammidge (50.53) to Lavender Mazer (48.55), abandoned on the ground.
3. 2d6 pennies tucked into nooks on the tree for luck.
4. A fresh honeycomb, bees buzzing around it.
5. A sealed letter from the ranger Asofel to Gandalf, written in Sindarin. Tells of tracking a cursed and magical boar in Minhiriath, and warns that it possibly crossed the borders of the Shire.
6-9. A public notice of a burglar's quest in the Shire (GM's choice).
10. Letter addressed to a random PC from Gandalf. The letter requests help with rescuing a prisoner from the ruined keep of the sorcerer Ar-Gûlar (43.87). It includes a box of matches (magical!) as downpayment.

49.56

COUNTRY ROAD. A country lane in the Green Hill country runs from Whitwell (48.56) to Sackville (52.56) and Longbottom (51.57). To the east, the eaves of a wood and rolling hills. To the west, gently sloping farmlands.

FAIRY ROAD. The elves have a secret road that allows them to pass through the Shire untroubled by its inhabitants. As they pass, those hobbits who see the glimmer of their lamps attribute the lights to fairies.

In the woods south of Tookbank, adventurous folk can find an entrance to this secret road. To find the road, each traveler tests Skill Δ9 (Δ7 on a clear night when the stars are visible). Elves can see this road automatically. Using this road allows travel in hexes 49.56, 48.57, 49.58, and 48.59 at half travel points, and hides travelers from the eyes of almost all others.

48.57

TUCKBOROUGH. A small Hobbit village and de facto capital of Tookland, the folkland of the Took family situated in the Green Hills. The Tooks live in Tuckborough in a rambling, many-tunneled mansion called the Great Smials.

The Took family holds the hereditary title of Thain, the master of the Hobbitry-in-Arms and captain of the Shire-moot. This has been a ceremonial title for most of living memory, as the Shire has not seen a true emergency since the Fell Winter in 2912. The current thain is Peregrin Took (hobbit - bright, clever, goodman).

The Thain keeps a good library. Those visiting may indulge in his hospitality to ask questions related to Hobbit Lore.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Burgo Greenhand (hobbit - tan, friendly, gardener) is looking for someone to deliver a package to his horrible aunt in Bucklebury (48.62) before her birthday for a silver penny, 2. Mrs. Muckle Took (hobbit - old, shrewd, apothecary) sells tonics and oils made from local herbs (randomly determined) at a reasonable price, 3. The twins Farfeld and Findalas Took (hobbits - bright-eyed, talkative, historians) are constantly arguing about historical events and will draw the fellowship into their discussions.

49.57

HOLLOWAY. The road from Longbottom (51.57) to Pincup (49.58) arcs through the southern corner of this region, turning into a tree-canopied "holloway" (a sunken lane). To the north of the lane is the Green Hill Country.

(1) - ROAD WEARY: In the shade of the trees, there's a feeling of sleepfulness and desire to picnic. Resting here for a few moments prompts Skill Δ4 tests (Δ6 for hobbits) or the burglar falls asleep for 8 hours.
(6) - TRAPPED HEDGEHOG: A baby hedgehog is caught in a snare; its mother is rushing to help. If observed, the mother rubs an herb on the snare that causes it to untie. The mother hedgehog will then eat the herb. If prevented from doing so, one portion of raskovnik is obtained. Using it can unlock a lock, open a chest, or untie a knot.

50.57

COUNTRY LANE. A sunken country lane runs from Longbottom (51.57) to Pincup (49.58). Outlying farms, staple crops, tea bushes, and tobacco fields lie on either side of the lane.

(1) - SNAIL RACE: Six snails cross from one side of the lane to the other; children and a few adults are betting on the race. Impossible to pass without disrupting the race (to the boos and bad will of the audience). If willing to delay, can bet on a snail. (Slimey, Bluey, Sluggoth, Shineshell, Gooper, or Wet Willy)
(6) - CART RIDE: Willa Lambeth (hobbit - gnarled, spunky, spinster/farmer) coming back from market with an empty cart; offers ride and discussion of weather. +2 travel points for the day, accurately predict the next week's weather.

48.58

GREEN HILL COUNTRY. Gently sloping hills covered in grass cropped by free-ranging herds.

(4-6) - SHEPHERD. Adelbert Barleycorn (hobbit - gap-toothed smile, companionable, shepherd) is a shepherd whose panpipes play in harmony with the birds and droning insects of the hills. Knowledgeable about all four farthings: might be convinced to give a tour of the Shire, but won't leave its borders. Looking for a capable, strong-willed wife.

49.58

PINCUP. A small Hobbit village in the Green Hills, with only a few families in a scattering of houses and holes. The sparrows of this country are friendly with the farmers and can understand Common. The villagers are superstitious about the fairies in the woods.

! - FALCONER NEEDED: A hawk with an exceeding bad temper has moved into the area and has been beheading sparrows and leaving them uneaten. A falconer is needed to capture the bird (or, at worst, a hunter is needed to slay the raptor).

(3) - FAIRY DANCERS: At night, Tavari (faerie of the woods) can be encountered dancing and singing in the Woody End. Those who dance with them disappear for 1d100 years. The power of torch, campfire, and iron render their lure powerless.

48.59

WOODHALL and WOODY END. The woods in this region of the Green Hill country are called the Woody End. Woodhall is a small, handsome Hobbit village within the Woody End surrounded by orchards and groves of well-tended trees. Several prominent members of the Mathom-house Curators guild live in Woodhall; the chief of them is Gammira "Granny Yale" Boffin (hobbit - XX). They make themselves available to provide their services of Artifact Lore to visitors.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Hudibras Porringer (hobbit - bug-eyed and bespectacled, proper, private tutor) is on holiday after attempting to educate the wild Took children, 2. Burt Underhill (hobbit - jowly, fabulist, bounder) came back bloody after encountering the Black Boar of the Yale (48.60), 3. Suithlas (elf - rustically dressed, merry, tea merchant) has many varieties of teas from far countries for trade.

! - MISSING MATHOM: Granny Yale has many small magical items in her collection. A smaller one of small enchantment was a pair of scissors shaped like a heron that can snip away magical transformations. Unfortunately, they have gone missing. Granny Yale notes that the peddler Tin-Kettle Tom had recently been by the village; he's rumored to have sticky fingers.

In truth, a gorecrow has stolen Granny's scissors. They have also set on old Tom, who knows where the foul birds roost (50.58).

ELVISH GLADE. Visible to those on the fairy road (49.56), those who pass a test of Skill Δ9, and elves (automatically). Treat as a point of interest. The elves who secretly travel the Shire have a hidden camp stocked with provisions in the Woody End (20 rations and 2d6 healing herbs).