Two small observations re: the Middle-earth Hexcrawl project

On the matter of writing empty hexes

I've already talked about my approach to writing Tolkien content, here. I've learned that I need to create actionable, discrete details--not just replicate an encyclopedia entry. Beyond that, as I've been working on this daily writing prompt, I've been forced to confront how I feel about hexcrawls as a medium.

Middle-earth is big. Even the Shire has some sprawling "empty" spaces on the map. It can be challenging to fill those! As far as we know, they're just one 12-mile chunk of the Far Downs or an unnamed section of a forest. 

But 12-mile sections of wilderness are big spaces! No area of the wild would be truly empty. These places would all have their own local landmarks, resources, dangers, hidden secrets, etc. However, coming up with unique, interesting stuff for each hex without any prompt can be difficult.

Writing localized encounter tables has been my solution to fill "empty" hexes. It is easier for me to imagine interesting discrete details--beavers felling trees or wandering shepherdesses--than it is to make empty cliffs and forests interactable. As the party travels, these empty spaces suddenly crackle with a localized event. If they travel back and forth, there and back again, they might crackle a lot!

If I ever get a chance to playtest, I'll see how successful this method is.

On writing overland movement rules

If we use the fellowship's journey-over-time as a model, how far can a party travel in a single day? What can we extrapolate out from that pattern? I already talked about right sizing travel distances in a Lord of the Rings game, here. 

Another factor that I'm considering is imagining the upper end of what is possible. The rules need to be able to model what the book characters actually did, even if difficult. 

The three hunters in The Two Towers traveled 45 leagues in 3 days. That's 135 miles, traveling 45 miles a day.

Let's look at the Dolmenwood travel rules. An unencumbered traveler whose encounter speed is 40 ft has 8 travel points / 12 travel points on a forced march. That will let them move through six 6-mile hexes of hilly terrain in a day: 36 miles. 

From the Dolmenwood Player's Book

That's about right. On the AT, a 20-mile day is a big day. A 30-mile day is impressive and unsustainable.

If we allow that Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas got buffs to their speed that gave them an encounter movement rate of 50, they would have 10 travel points / 15 on a forced march. That would allow them to practically do the ultramarathon of the three hunters--assuming the rules allow them to do a forced march three days in a row. 

So we can use these rules as a baseline for starting to write overland movement rules. 

• Unencumbered, accomplished travelers can travel 20 miles/day, like a good AT through hiker. 
• With forced marches, they can travel even further. Forced marches should deal Endurance damage. Those with more Endurance can do them more often.
• Heroic characters can get buffs to their base speed that allow them to travel even farther, for the true upper limit of (demi)human accomplishments.

Eastfarthing - Middle-earth Hexcrawl

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

In the east of the Shire, north of the Water, are three communities built in and around the Hills of Scary. Although all hobbits (outside of the Marish) are habitual tunnellers, these towns are especially underground. What will intrepid burglars find there?

Art by the inimitable Goran Gligovic

44.59

FARMLANDS. Poor but pretty and well-kept farms spread across the rolling hills of the region. Friendly farmers toil in fields of oat, wheat, barley, and rye.

(1) - RIDERLESS PONY: A draft pony, hitched to a wagon piled with tanned hides, munches sour apples from underneath a nearby tree. His owner is nowhere to be seen.
(6) - HARVEST DANCE: Several farms have come together for a dance in a cleared field to celebrate a recent heavy effort. They dance rustic dances and wish to see any special dances the company knows. Malty beer flows freely.

45.59

BROCKENBORINGS. A mining Hobbit village in the Hills of Scary. Hobbits in many parts of the Shire (landscape willing) make tunnelings and live in smials; in Brockenborings, very few above-ground houses and outbuildings are used whatsoever. Copper and tin are the predominant resources produced here. The local tavern is the Tipsy Tramp.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Basso Hornblower (hobbit - sniffly and red nosed, eccentric, furrier) sells mole-skin (literally!) gloves, shaws, and hats, 2. Diamond Tunneler (hobbit - freckled, no nonsense, cook at the 'Tramp) is always in the market for mushrooms to use in her cooking, 3. Milo Goodenough (hobbit - sooty, rough spoken, mining forehobbit) is looking for someone to go to Pincup (49.58) and catch some pet sparrows for the miners.

! - BADGER INCURSION. Mr. Uggo Underhill's sitting room has collapsed as a badger family has tunneled into it. He begs for help with the ornery, obstinate, and sometimes frightening badgers.

The badgers understand Common (but speak their own language). The head of the badger family is called Badger Buffo in his own tongue. Buffo believes he and his family have every right to the earth as hobbits; in fact, Hugo was the first to cross the territorial line, having recently expanded his garden.

46.59

APPLE-BRIGHT MEADERY. On the "garth" between the split in the Water is a meadery and farm run by the Methier family. The meadery sells bottles out of the Floating Log in Frogmorton (47.59) and also abroad.

! - RARE INGREDIENT: Rose Methier (hobbit - apple-cheeked, sweet, mead-maker) looks to hire burglars to procure dumbledor honey from the east bank of the Brandywine River (45.62). She warns that dumbledor stings can be deadly.

43.60

BUTTERFLIES. Fields of wildflowers in the southeastern Green Fields attract a dazzlement of butterflies in all seasons except winter.

THE PALE KNIGHT: A ghost in shining, translucent Arnorian armor rides overgrown roads looking for evil to fight. He can only be encountered on nights of the full moon. He often jousts in jest with ghosts and beasts, and can provide quite a bit of out-of-date history to anyone with nerve enough to talk to him.
[Credit: MERP - Realms - The Shire]

44.60

THE TROLL'S TABLE. A local landmark, a dolmen called the Troll's Table because of its size and appearance. In truth, it marks the burial site of a forgotten race of Men.

A TROLL'S TABLE INDEED. At night, a lonesome troll named Oslo comes down from the northern hills and lingers near the dolmen in hopes that someone will set a table for him. If anyone ever does this, he thanks them with six magic acorns that turn whatever they're thrown at to stone.

(6) - PICNIC: A couple from Dwaling, Mr. and Mrs. Tunneler, along with their three children, are having a pleasant picnic atop the table.

45.60

ROAD. A track that runs between Brockenborings (45.59) and Dwaling (44.61). The Hills of Scary are to the south and wild country to the northwest. There's an inn along this route called the Rushlight (Mr. Adalbert Bolger, proprietor).

(1) - FOOTBRIDGE OUT: A footbridge over this section of road is currently broken. Farmer Boffer is trying to figure out how to get his dog, his chicken, and his sack of grain over the water, without the whole thing turning into a debacle.
(6) - DICE GAMES: A mixed group of hobbit laborers playing simple dice games atop a barrel invite the company to play. They know threes, liar's dice, or ship, captain, crew. Bet for pennies.

46.60

SCARY. A Hobbit mining town, operating the Quarry (45.61). (The region's name is derived from the "scar" on the land.) Its people are stout and somber by Shire standards. They breed a race of ponies, much loved by the locals, specifically suited to deal with the hilly region. Several alewives operate spring-up taverns, but the oldest continuously operating tavern is The Knocker, named after a mining bogey of legend.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Poncho Underhill (hobbit - wheezy, mild, miner) doesn't mind telling you that whenever a miner dies underground, the Knockers will drum to let his wife know, 2. Farmer Stout (hobbit - one-eyed, offensively boring, sheep farmer) will confide that a sure-fire cure for a pony whose hips are weak from foaling is to put a freshly killed sheep's skin on her back, 3. Teitur (dwarf - ruddy nose, fair to a fault, labor consultant) is negotiating for hired miners to be provided tunneling tools by members of the joint-stock arrangement that operates the Quarry; the stock-owners argue he's trying to sell dwarven tools.

! - LEECHCRAFT: Nora Noakes the apothecary needs a collection of living leeches from either Rushock Bog (XX.XX) or the region of the Overbourne Marshes (51.60).

41.61

THE SWARD. An uninhabited region of grassy fields called the Sward between a hilly country to the west and River Brandywine to the east. Flocks of dolorous quail nest here; one can hear them chirping at night. If hunted, the rest of the flock follow the hunters, accusing them with loud calls. Stealth is all but impossible. The birds will follow them, unceasingly, for 1d4+2 weeks or until they, too, are slain. Those with Beast Lore know of these animals' habits.

42.61

THE SWARD. An uninhabited region of grassy fields called the Sward between a hilly country to the west and River Brandywine to the east. A ruined aqueduct is visible as a landmark.

(3-6) - WILD PONIES: A herd of ponies, obviously descended from some escaped hobbit stock, live wild on the Sward. If encountered, enterprising burglars may try to catch them with a Skill Δ8 check. Taming them requires Beast Lore and time.

43.61

PETRIFYING WELL. Point of interest. In a cleft in a hillside is a pool that gathers its waters trickling down from the wet cleft face. Objects placed in this well are covered in a stone shell over the course of a day. Hobbits treat it as a tourist attraction, tying small objects—bells, dolls, carvings—under the water to be pulled out and taken away as trinkets.

44.61

DWALING. A Hobbit town, prosperous but somewhat remote. The center of the Hobbit linen industry is grown in the flax fields north of town, and many work in the Quarry to the south. The public house is called the Plough and Stars. On the eastern edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Gerda Brown (hobbit - halo of frizzy hair, impressionable, doll-house maker) gives each burglar who speaks to her a small and simply-carved wooden doll in their likeness as a present, 2. Frerin (dwarf - shining bald head, overly formal, doctor) refuses to admit he's going deaf, misunderstands 50% of what's said to him, 3. Holly Fern (hobbit - fair, shy, orphan living with her aunt) is frustrated by slug damage in her garden, 4. Laura and Lily Bunce (hobbits - one tall and lean, one short and fat, charitable, spinsters) wonder if you mind picking up their bottle of "the cordial" from the Plough and Stars; it's already paid for.

! - MYSTERIOUS DOOR. Wilcome Tunnelly, landlord of the Plough and Stars, has a mysterious door in his cellar that's been there as long as anybody can remember. It's never been opened. He's willing to commission burglars to have it opened just out of curiosity.

The door is of arched stone: it is 10' tall at its highest mark. There's no sign of keyhole or handle. The antechamber before the door is used as a root cellar, containing sacks of potatoes, carrots, turnips, spare tables and stools, and several small casks of beer.

A Understanding Δ12 test will suggest that certain magic doors have hidden runes on them revealed only by magic or by the light of the stars and moon. Singing either the Song of Freedom, Song of the Trees, or Song of Stars will reveal secreted rune-letters on the door.

The runes are in the Angerthas Moria, or "Moria runes." A Longbeard dwarf can read them. Others should test Understanding, using the normal procedure.

When transliterated, the dwarf/lore-master will find an antique form of Westron. It reads:
What the lords of Arthedain asked of Dúrnir, Dúrnir gives. While my payment languishes in their vaults, let it languish herein as well, until the earth cracks and sun falls upon the doors.

The door will open only if the doors are bathed in the light of the sun. Wilcome will not agree to an excavation on a "suspicion." (Perhaps mirrors might be employed.)

If opened, a small chamber lies beyond. In a locked and trapped chest are two artifacts:

Axe of Memory
Engraved on the axehead are the names of valiant fallen warriors of Andor.

• +1 axe. If wounded in battle, adds +2 against that foe on your next turn.

Dwarf Mask of the Dwarrowdelf
A large ornate helm with curving horns. Wearing it makes the bearer fight on, no matter the circumstances.

• +2 defense. Adds +1 Strength and Valour when at 50% Endurance.
• Take half damage from fire while wearing the mask.

45.61

QUARRY. Many Hobbit towns have small quarries (except in the Marish), but The Quarry is in the hills of Scary. Much stone is excavated here for different uses throughout the Shire. The river is impassable on the eastern border of this region.

(1) - SCARED BY KNOCKERS: A team of subsurface miners seem shaky and legitimately terrified. Today, they heard a cacophony of knocking in the deep, then an uncleared passage collapsed. Everyone is blaming the Knockers, the folk of the mines. Nobody was hurt, but everyone is shaken up.
(If investigated and excavated, the company can find evidence of goblins in the deeps. Were they the source of the knocking? Or did the Knockers collapse the cavern on the goblins?)
(6) - LAD'S LUNCH: An adorable hobbit child of about six (Sammy Tunnelly) is holding a basket with lunch for his da. He's having trouble locating him among all the miners. If you help him, the company gains Morale because it's so dang cute.

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

While I have you...

Did you know that I am currently doing an Early Worm campaign--sort of "direct crowdfunding"--for THE CASTLE AUTOMATIC, my forthcoming dungeon for His Majesty the Worm. I'd love for you to preorder the book! You get a discount and a sweet map from Guy Pradel! 

Join the Early Worm campaign!

Why the Castle Automatic is doing a preorder campaign instead of a Kickstarter

In case you missed it, I just launched a pre-order campaign for my upcoming 100+ room, 5 level dungeon The Castle Automatic. 

Click to become an Early Worm!

Instead of doing a "traditional" Kickstarter to fund the book, I opted for a pre-order campaign through Exalted Funeral instead. We're calling it the Early Worm campaign. 

Why?

Most folks don't remember this, but once upon a time, Kickstarter was for burgeoning creators to collect enough cash to hire artists, editors, designers, and other folks to help them make their dreams a reality. Since then, the biggest companies in the industry have come to dominate crowdfunding platforms. They bring completed, polished works to the table and gamify people's FOMO. Now, crowdfunding platforms are really marketing and preorder platforms, not really a place for new artists to launch new projects. And, of course, these platforms are happy to take their chunk of the cash. 

The Worm team has long been skeptical of the current trends in crowdfunding. To fund the core game, we used an Itchfunding model—putting ashcan drafts of chapters up on Itch.io as pay-what-you-will to collect enough coins to commission artists and editors. It took a long time, but it was the right move for the game. 

Now, to fund the production costs for the Worm's next big book, we want to do something similar. 

A preorder campaign is like crowdfunding, but it cuts out the middleman and dispels the kayfabe of "will it fund?" We are confident this book is getting made! 

This approach is more honest, more appropriate for Exalted Funeral's size, and promotes a better culture between me (the writer) and you (the gamer). 

But making a book takes a minute! Artists need to draw the art, cartographers need to draft the maps, it needs to be laid out by a graphic designer, the editor needs to make sure all the cross-references are correct. Then, printing, shipping, warehousing, packaging—all before the postal service can bring you the book. While we're working, we'd like to start gauging interest. It helps us cover these costs up front. 

This isn't a Kickstarter, but I'm still excited to keep you informed every step of the way! 

Current status

Writing is complete and the book is currently in copyediting! Layout should be complete by the end of the year. Print files will be prepared early next year. We expect that with prepress, printing, and shipping, this preorder will be fulfilled in May or June of 2026.

I will update Early Worms with regular updates via email. As soon as the digital files are ready, backers will get instant access. 

As thanks for supporting the book during the preorder campaign, we'll give you a free large scale (A3) isometric map of the Castle Automatic illustrated by Guy Pradel. 

Click to embiggen. Ain't she a beaut?

Join the Early Worm campaign, help us prove our point about Kickstarter, and dig into a Metroidvania megadungeon that will make you fall in love with dungeon crawling.

[EARLY WORM CAMPAIGN] The Castle Automatic - A Dungeon for HIS MAJESTY THE WORM

Hoo boy. Okay. 

The Castle Automatic's great gears sat still for an age. Now, His Majesty the Worm has begun the machines again…

Become an Early Worm!

The Castle Automatic is a 100+ room, 5-level Metroidvania-style dungeon designed for use with His Majesty the Worm, the 2x ENNIE-winning, tarot-based RPG. In the module, players will repair magi-mechanical engines that control the castle's sun, moon, weather, and seasons to overcome its deadly challenges. The book is ~144 pages, A4, black and white. PDF and digital handouts included. 

Use it as an entire campaign! If you're new to His Majesty the Worm, you can get started with just this dungeon, the core book, and a single tarot deck! Or, slot it into your personal Underworld, expanding the core game with all new talents, monsters, dungeon lords, and magical treasures.  

Click to zoom in

Importantly, The Castle Automatic is easy to run. Puzzles, traps, and combat sites are illustrated and included as handouts to be shown during play. The GM has a dungeon tracking sheet to monitor the castle's current state: mechanisms broken and repaired, time of day and year, and current factions in play. With maps for the GM, for the players, and included on every dungeon spread, it's easy to understand the sprawling space. Art, dungeon tracker assets, and maps are also included as separate assets so GMs can easily distribute them to their players and display them during the game. 

The Castle Automatic is currently raising funds as a preorder at Exalted Funeral! We're calling it the Early Worm campaign. It's like crowdfunding, but more direct. 

Click to zoom in

There are lots of reasons to become and Early Worm 

Join the preorder campaign now to receive a large scale (A3) isometric map of the Castle Automatic! This is an exclusive offer, not available after the campaign. 

But not just that!

• 

  Map by Guy Pradel - click for big size!

  A reason to explore: Four magical artifacts are locked inside the castle—each is powerful enough that the factions of the City would give anything an adventurer wanted to get their hands on one. Also, adventurers can meet mentors to learn all new talents! 
• A reason to experiment: The Castle Automatic's magical engines are broken. Adventuring guilds can repair them to change its seasons, the weather, and the day/night cycle to overcome different challenges and unlock new sections of the dungeon. 
• A reason to talk: The dungeon is controlled by competing factions of golems, ancient giants who once ruled this place, and the otherworldly vampires who stole it from them.
• A reason to fight: The module contains fully illustrated combat zones with new creatures and dungeon lords, including a wyvern, a shapeshifting vampiric hierophant, and four mechanical kings. 
• A reason to be surprised: Illustrated puzzles and traps let enterprising players balance risk and reward as they explore five interconnected levels.
• A reason to breathe easy: GMs have lots of conveniences—handouts, maps, and indices—to make running as easy as possible. 
• A reason to return: With 100+ rooms, there's plenty of content to sustain an entire campaign of His Majesty the Worm.  

What is His Majesty the Worm?

If you're not familiar with my previous work, here's the basic deal!

His Majesty the Worm is a new-school game with old-school sensibilities: the classic megadungeon experience given fresh life through a focus on the mundanities and small moments of daily life inside the dungeon. Often-ignored subsystems, like food, hunger, light, and inventory management, are central to play and actually fun. Tarot cards are used as a randomizing element. Combat encounters are handled with an action-packed subsystem that ensures that all players have interesting choices every minute of combat!

Basically, the game is the result of designing a dungeon crawling RPG using OSR principles from the ground up instead of adapting original D&D. 

It won two ENNIEs (Best Rules and Best Game) in 2025. If you've been holding off on giving it a look, now is the time to check it out! Preorder the Castle Automatic and get a campaign going as soon as the book fulfills! 

The Team

The book was written by me, Josh McCrowell! I'm obsessed with dungeons. In addition to His Majesty the Worm, I wrote a step-by-step guide to help GMs create dungeons that are fun and engaging. The Castle Automatic is a manifestation of this dungeon-design philosophy.

Development and editing has been provided by Ty Pitre. Copyediting is being done by Stuart Broz.

Interior fantasy art is provided by Martin S. and Felipe Faria. Puzzles, boss fights, and traps illustrated by Tiger Wizard. Cover art by Strega Wolf. Cartography (player map, GM map, and minimap) illustrated by Guy Pradel. 

Art by Felipe Faria - Click to preorder and plumb the depths of the Castle!

The Green Fields - Middle-earth Hexcrawl

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

We previously visited the Northfarthing near Long Cleeve, but have not toured the entire region. Today, let's follow the Northway road up past Oatbarton to Greenfields, chief town of the Green Fields region. We'll beat the northernmost bounds of the Shire. Much is quiet here, but there's often more to hobbits than meets the eye. There are several site-based adventures to be found here, as well as a burgling mystery.

 

by Alan Lee

46.58

NORTHWAY ROAD. A road branches off from the East Road north towards Oatbarton (44.58). To the west of the road lie pasturelands. To the east, a hilly country.

(1) - AN ANNOYING GENTLEHOBBIT: Aloisius Biggerwaiste (hobbit - sneering, annoying, goodman) is looking for a suitable partner. If a hobbit lady exists in the fellowship, he'll begin following them around. He attempts to prove his gallantry by "helping": roll twice and take the worst result.
(6) - RIVER FLOUTIST: Hermeto Astron (hobbit - albino, playful, tramp) is sitting in the middle of the Water playing a flute. Unbothered, moisturized, in his lane. Listening to his music restores 1 Endurance.

FEATHERSTONE. Featherstone is a wayside inn atop a hill where the Northway forks towards Brockenborings (45.59).

! - FEATHERSTONE MYSTERY. It has recently been discovered that a shipment of Fool's Water (an ardent spirit) has disappeared. Use the "Foul play at Feathertop" scenario in the Under Hill, By Water supplement Feathertop to run this quest.

45.58

NORTHWAY ROAD. The road to Oatbarton (44.58). Farmland of cereal crops lies on either side of the road.

(1) - PAINTER: From the road, Hob Painter of Oatbarton is painting the Dimple (see below). He asks for critique. He hasn't quite gotten landscapes down, yet.
(6) - BAKER: Fatty Bakewell, son of the baker of Oatbarton, is on delivery to Featherstone Inn (46.58). He has an ample helping of hand pies to keep his strength up on the journey; offers the company one.

THE DIMPLE. Local landmark—a hill with a bowl at the top.

Resting here for a few moments prompts Skill Δ4 tests or the burglar falls asleep (Δ6 for hobbits). Sleepers here receive dwimor-dreams: the dreamers seem to be transported to a new place and time. They awaken when they would take damage. There is a 50% chance that they actually grasp what they were holding in the dream.

Roll 1d3 for a dwimor-dream.

1. A she-dragon, resplendent in necklaces and rings, broods over an egg warming in the sun. She offers passers-by tea in her cave, where she plans on eating them.
2. The dreamers find themselves in a guard tower. It is surrounded by their own countrymen, calling for their heads for dereliction of duty, having let the spies of Angmar into the city.
3. A beautiful garden is burning. Giant women, like tall trees, mourn at the edges of the flames. They lament that none can brave the fire to rescue the seeds of Amalion.

45.57

NORTHFARTHING STONE. Point of interest. Although smaller than the Three-Farthing Stone (47.57), a boundary stone stands where the Northfarthing and Eastfarthing meet. The stone sits in a country lane, surrounded by farmland on all sides.

44.58

OATBARTON. A village of hardworking and humble hobbits. Some of the townsfolk are farmers: oats and barley are the predominant crop, which are stored in "the Grange" in the village square during the winter months. Some townsfolk work in the coal mine or the clay mine, both on the western edge of town. The local inn is called The Mushroom; its beer is famously black and bitter.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Hob Painter (hobbit - bright-eyed, bashful, draughtshob) earns a living (barely) by painting tavern signs but has a passion for art, 2. Noggin Oatly (hobbit - sandy haired, quiet, pot boy at The Mushroom) stares in awe at any non-hobbits—he's powerfully curious about faraway lands, 3. Wil Tubb (hobbit - slicked back hair, cocksure, musician) thinks that the "Oatbarton sound" is the best school of music to come out of the Shire in years.

! - HEDGE MAZE: Mr. Cuthbert Burrows (hobbit - pointed nose and big ears, eccentric, goodman) of Borrowstones House has spent years perfecting his hedge maze, hiding several of his antique finds within. He's eager to test it out on real "professional treasure hunters."

Find the Hedge Maze of Mr. Cuthbert Burrows, here.

44.57

COAL MINE. Small scale bell pit mine, with coal being winched up from a central shaft. Miners are rustic folk from Oatbarton (44.58).

CLAY MINE and BRICKYARD. An open air pit where laborers from Oatbarton (44.58) quarry clay. A brickyard abuts the clay mine, where the majority of the clay is fired and made into bricks, then transported to Oatbarton for sale. Surplus clay is sold raw for pottery and other uses.

43.57

OLD FARMSTEAD. The rolling meadowlands of this region are colored only by the inclusion of an abandoned farmstead, unkept for a generation. The smial is dilapidated. The barns are useful only as temporary shelter from bad weather.

(1) - WILD ENCOUNTER: An owl hoots (even in day), seeming to say something to the company. (Those who understand owl speech understand that she's warning them about a snake that she wants to eat.) The burglar in the front of the marching order must test Understanding Δ6 or accidentally tread upon an adder (Wilds or Beast Lore adds +2). On a failure, they're struck on their heel for 2d6 damage.
(6) - FAR FETCHED: The company comes upon a patch of delicious mushrooms near a nest of unguarded wild chicken eggs. Breakfast would be easy!

42.57

NORTH MOORS. The border of the moorlands. To the west, a hilly shrubland covered in cottongrass and lichen. To the east, it greens into pasturelands. Grouse are common.

(1) - MOANING WIND: The wind that groans over the hilltops is chill, even in summer. All travelers lose Endurance based on the season: summer - 1d4, spring/autumn - 1d6, winter - 2d6. One companion may describe a scene of warmth from their memory that comforts them to reduce everyone's Endurance loss by 1d6.
(6) - LOST ARROW: A Hobbit hunter's spent arrow fletched with an owl's feather is found in a tussock of grass.

MENHIR. Hidden. A tall, upright stone raised by the Men of the Northern Kingdom, long ago. There are strange runes and etchings on it. Those with Ranger Lore can read an accurate almanac of the days: the solstices, equinoxes, and midyear days. Those with Sorcery Lore can learn a spell from it.

41.57

FOOTHILLS OF EVENDIM. A wild country of fir trees on conical hills, the ground covered in moss. At dusk, the land takes on a rich blue glow. An abandoned sleigh can be found here; the reigns have bells. Under its seat is a leather sack that contains a toy sword, a toy bow and arrow, and a vial of healing cordial (restores 2 Endurance per sip, 6 uses). If the bells are shaken, a tame reindeer emerges from the woods.

WARM SPRINGS. A spring in this region emits warm (but not quite hot) water. It has a sulfurous smell.

43.58

COUNTRY ROAD. The overgrown road between Greenfield (42.58) and Oatbarton (44.58). Green fields lie on either side of the road.

(1) - A DROWNING: Off the road, a young hobbit, Willy Chubb, has fallen into a pond that he was fishing. He splashes, trying to call for help. He can't swim!
(6) - MYSTERIOUS BOX: Farmer Toebuck has dug up a strange lockbox with no keyhole. It's proved resistant to both axes and fire. It has a queer markings on it: Two feathers framing a laughing face (the box will only open when tickled). Will sell it for 10 pennies. 1-in-6 chance it has nothing in it. Otherwise, it contains a random treasure. Empty or full, the company now has a special lockbox.

42.58

GREENFIELD. A small Hobbit village. This district of the Northfarthing is called "Green Fields" but the village is "Greenfield"; appropriate punctuation is a shibboleth for the locals. The village hosts a mathom-house; the majority of its space is dedicated to small personal effects of Bandobras Took but it also contains a series of maps and charts. The local public house is named the Goblin's Head.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Boddin Todmingle (hobbit - mouth full of tobacco, aggressive, bounder) credits his golf prowess to his lucky rabbit's foot, 2. Killian the Trapper (man - brown and bearded, standoffish, fur trader) thinks he's seen goblin sign passing through Bullroarer's Gap (41.58), 3. Pete Puddlefoot (hobbit - acne-scarred, pushy, medicine peddler) walks between the towns of the Northfarthing selling tinctures and oils for arthritis, rheumatism, tooth aches, and snake bites.

GREENFIELD MARKET. On the first and third Saturday of each month, Greenfield holds the largest regular market day of the Northfarthing. It is a confluence of craft from different kith and kin: "Moorish" sweaters from Greenfield, Oatbarton beer and baked goods, Dwarvish handicrafts, and furs and hides from Mannish trappers.

! - MISSING CHILD: The village is deadly worried—Taffy Proudfoot has gone missing. They've formed search parties, but haven't been able to find her. Wolves have been heard in the ruins north of the hills (42.59), which has worried the Proudfoots terribly—they're eager to contract a professional.

Taffy is lost in the ruins in 42.59. See that entry for details.

STATUE. Point of interest. This region is the site of a battle in T.A. 2747 (193 years ago) between the Hobbitry-in-Arms and goblins from Mount Gram led by the orc king Golfimbul. A bronze statue of Bandobras "Bullroarer" Took is placed at the memorial of the battle in a coppice outside the village.

41.58

FOOTHILLS OF EVENDIM. A wild country of fir trees on conical hills, the ground covered in moss. At dusk, mist like bluish smoke fills the region.

BULLROARER'S GAP. A pass through the hills is called Bullroar's Gap by the local hobbits (carved by the Bullroarer in a single blow!). Traveling north to south is as if on a plain.

RELIC-SEEKING GOBLINS. At night, 2d6+1 goblins are in this region, sniffing down holes, tunneling into hills, and skulking in gulleys. They are searching for the skull of King Golfimbul, who was slain by Bullroarer Took in Battle of Greenfields (see 43.58). They know his skull is around here in a hole, somewhere.

41.59

NORTHERN GREEN FIELDS. Pasturelands. Large tracts of fields with small, shaggy cattle, bordered by sporadic fencing and the occasional farmer on a pony. A few ruins, low stone walls or building foundations, are used as sources of hewn stones by the Greenfielders (42.58).

ANCIENT SMIAL. Hidden. In a hillock, a large oblong stone (6' tall, 800 lbs.) blocks the entrance to a round door. This was once the smial of Bandobras "the Bullroarer" Took. Inside, a thick layer of dust: obviously undisturbed for centuries. Over the fireplace, a shillelagh with a loaded iron head (the Cudgel of Bullroarer, +1 to hit, +3 morale in hobbits).
[Inspiration from TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire.]

42.59

GREEN FIELDS. Pasturelands. A ruined watchtower is visible as a landmark. Those with Wilderness Lore can see the spoor of recent wolves.

(1-3) - WOLVES: 3d4 wolves in the area; will attack at night.

RUINED WATCHTOWER. One ruined watchtower marks the boundary of an ancient kingdom.

! - MISSING CHILD: Exploring the ruins triggers a site-based adventure.

1. Ruined wall: A sketch of a wall; each stone larger than a hobbit's pony, but no more than three stacked on each other at any point. 3d4 wolves patrol here, will let no one in or out unchallenged.
2. Ruined watchtower: The rough shape of the round tower remains, but is empty inside. A sinkhole in the earth leads down into darkness (to area 3); once a secret passage, revealed by erosion and time.
3. Cavern: A natural cavern, carved by ancient hands into a secret redoubt. Taffy Proudfoot is here. She is a brave little girl, chased into the cavern by the wolves. She is terribly hungry. If given food, she remembers that she found an old star-shaped key. The cavern continues deeper to area 4.
4. Tomb: An ancient Arnorian tomb in a natural cavern with worked stone. A stone sarcophagus sits in the grotto. A carven statue of a knight seems as if it watches over the tomb.
   1. Sarcophagus: The stone coffin holds the dust of the body of an Arthedain warrior queen. Around the lip of the heavy lid is Sindarin text: "The star beam lights the way for the elf-stone." On the lid is a large green beryl (Treasure). Elf Lore reveals that beryl is called an elf-stone.
      1. If the sarcophagus is tampered with, the knight statue animates and attacks the would-be tomb robbers. Stats as a stone troll.
   2. Knight statue: The statue of an old knight. On its chest is a star-shaped hole.
      1. If the star-shaped key is inserted into the statue, it animates, removes the beryl from the sarcophagus, and offers it to the fellowship.

43.59

SOUTHERN GREEN FIELDS. Pasturelands. Large tracts of land with occasional herds of shaggy cattle and cowherds with their dogs.

DOVECOTE. The farm that once tended the birds is gone, but the stone dovecote with its flock of brown pigeons remains. They coo melodiously. Those who understand their speech can hear a rumor.

Inside the dovecote are treasures hoarded by the pigeons. Searching reveals the result and all lower results:
1. A scrap of paper that reads: "Dragon-spell, dwarf-spell, roll away stone. Elf-gold wants for sun, no claim from old bones." (A piece of the map to the treasure of Otto Boffin—see "Matter of Inheritance," 51.54).
2. Leather wallet, empty
3. Hat pin with diamond stud
4. Sheaf of pages of musical notation; strangely haunting
5. Map of the Evendim region
6. Scroll in a scrollcase. No obvious writing. A prophecy concerning the discovering character appears in the light of the crescent moon.

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

d10 Special Doors

Hookay, writing this blog post not because I have good ideas, but because I don't have any ideas. Bashing my head against a writing prompt is a good way to unblock creativity. Here are 10 special doors to put in your dungeon.

The Mouth of Orcus in the Garden of Bomarzo

1. Gravestone Door

A door that appears to be little more than a huge gravestone set onto hinges with a doorknob welded to it. A grinning skull is set above the inscription: "This door may not be opened by the living." 

Attempting to pry the door open triggers the necromantic enchantments set onto the door, dealing 2d6 negative energy damage to anyone touching the door.

A living person trying to open the door will always find it locked. It must be opened either by some contrivance where a living person is more than 30' from the door (wizard's hand from 35' away) or by some non-living creature. A zombie or a golem could do it. 

2. Witching Hour Door

An iron door without lock or knob. It is inscribed with a witch on a broom flying over an hourglass. (Lore bids will reveal that 3:33 is the "witching hour.") 

If the clock in the room (or an adjacent room, to make the puzzle harder) is set to 3:33, the door will open.

3. Watchful Door

As the players enter, they hear this door snap close. As they approach, they see an ornate door beautifully inscribed with a peacock. All of the eyes on the peacock's tail are animated and watching the PCs. Each eye stares back at the players, obviously making eye contact. The door has neither handle nor key. 

If the door is put to sleep, it will open. Alternatively, it will open if it doesn't see anyone--if the entire party is invisible. 

Or, even more simply, if the players actually all close their eyes, the door will open, too. It only watches for eye contact.

4. Four-Part Door

Like a Zelda door, you can tell there's something supposed to be here. But searching for the right brick to press has proved fruitless. In the four corners of this room are four Grecian statues, each holding a strange object in their hands: a sort of flat rod in peculiar shapes. Maybe they look something like: L / \ ⅃

In Carcassonne

The statues can be slid with an effort. If put together, the four statues statues outline the frame of a door and the door appears.

5. Snail Door

The door is made out of a colossal snail's shell. The shell is practically immune to any sort of mundane harm. In the center of the room is an empty brazier. 

Actually, the snail shell is a living but painfully slow flailsnail. Lure the flailsnail out by filling the brazier (actually its feeding trough) with rotten fruits and vegetables: it will come out willingly and move from blocking the passage.

5.5 Same Idea, Different Gimmick

The passage to the catacombs is too large to open by mortal hand. Instruments of torture litter the antechamber.  Inside the iron maiden is a petrified Nosferatu, a chain around its throat. The chain projects from the back of the iron maiden into the wall. A labyrinth is traced into the stone of the floor, culminating into a small stained basin in the very center.

Get outta the way

Filling the basin with blood causes the petrified Nosferatu to animate. It drags itself and the iron maiden across the floor and laps at the blood. As it pulls the chain, the door opens. For now, at least. 

6. Honeymoon Door

A heavy iron door, painted pink. It has neither key nor handle, but has a glass heart set in its middle.

In the middle of the room is an inscription surrounding a 10' radius circle. Above the circle is a skylight. The inscription reads: "Join hands, beloved, at noon / and pass on to your honey'd moon" 

If two married people join hands in the middle of the circle when the sun shines through the skylight (at noon), the light reflecting from their diamond rings will beam into the glass heart on the door, causing it to open. 

Luckily, any directed light will do the same. A bull's-eye lantern would work.

7. Regent's Door

A scrap of map swears there's a door in the cliff face here, but it will only open in the presence of the King Under the Mountain.

Unfortunately, there's no good way to trick the enchantment. The dwarven spells are too strong. You'll either have to bring the current king of the dwarves (and his halfling retainer) to the door. Or, worse, you might have to dig up the bones of old Thror and present them to the door. Either will open it.

8. Turn Undead Door

The door isn't a door. It's a presence projected from the twin statues of wraiths that flank the archway. An evil will that cannot be overcome, forbidding entry.

Across from the door is a more hopeful statue: a cleric, an empty vial in their hands, raised in rebuke. 

A cleric in the party can Turn Undead to temporarily quell the evil will that stops the PCs from crossing the threshold. If no cleric is in the party, the cleric statue's vial can be filled with holy water, which will have a similar effect for 24 hours.

9. Dead Can Dance

The door into the cathedral is a stone door inscribed with a danse macabre. It has neither key nor handle. In the courtyard, the skeletons of the executed hang from large bells like grim clappers. 

If the skeletons are moved or pulled, the bells still ring. Each bell is a different tone. Playing the funeral march (A - A - A - A - C - B - B - A - A - A♭ - A) opens the door.

10. Wind Door

A stone door without latch, carved in the face of a blowing wind. 

Elsewhere in the dungeon are four statues shaped like the four winds. Turning the statues changes the direction that wind flows through the room. 

The wind door opens when a "circuit" of wind is conducted through the dungeon from room 1 into the room with the wind door.

Bonus: Candelabra Door

(A similar theme to the last door where the key to opening the door is exploring the dungeon and interacting with features in different rooms.)

A bronze door depicting a maiden fleeing from a castle with a candelabra in her hand. In the chamber, there is an unlit candle on a sconce set in a niche on the wall.

If the candle is lit, one of the candles on the door glows. 

There are several such niches and candles throughout the dungeon. Light all seven before any one candle burns out to open the candelabra door.

Stepladder Tables

I am not certain that I am the first to have this idea. In fact, I most certainly am not; there's nothing new under the sun (especially in RPGs). But I did have this idea organically and think that it has merit, so I am sharing it. I expect instruction in the comments about how it has been handled elsewhere. 

The idea is similar to Ladder Tables, so I am calling it a "Stepladder Table." The purpose of this tech is to have a random table with memory (similar to the Ladder Table). Stepladder tables would be good for tracking a slowly changing state. To illustrate the idea, I'll use weather, since weather rarely goes from one extreme to the other.

The basic idea

To establish a baseline, roll or select the middle result. This is the current state. Then, each interval where the state would change, roll a dice. If the result is higher than the current state, the state increments to the next highest state. If the result is lower, the state decreases to the next lowest state. If the result is the same, the state is unchanged. 

Example: Weather (autumn)

Roll 1d6 every day for weather, incrementing the result up or down the weather table for the season. 

1. Torrential rain

2. Drizzle, damp

3. Cloudy, cold

4. Rolling clouds, chilly

5. Windy, cool

6. Balmy, clement

So, on the first day of autumn, perhaps the state begins at 4: Rolling clouds, chilly. 

• The next day, the GM rolls the dice and gets a 6. Because 6 is higher than the current state, the weather increments to the next highest state: Windy, cool. 
• The next day, the GM rolls the dice and gets a 6 again. Because 6 is higher than the current state (5), the weather increments to the next highest state: Balmy, clement. This autumn is fine so far!
• The third day, the GM rolls the dice and gets 2. Because 2 is lower than 6 (current state), the weather steps down the table to Windy, cool again. 
• The fourth day, the GM rolls the dice and gets 5. Because that is the current state, the weather does not change. 

Example: Weather (autumn in the Dismal Swamp)

But what if you want to simulate bell curves or demonstrate trends in your states? No problem. Just build the stepladder table out a bit. For example, the Dismal Swamp region could have a different weather table more prone to extremes. For example:

1. Torrential rain

2. Driving rain

3. Thick fog

4. Thick fog

5. Misty fog in morning, cold

6. Cloudy, cold

7. Rolling clouds, chilly

8. Windy, cool

Here, you'll never have a balmy clement day. And because thick fog is the state of two different results, more days will be foggy, even if the weather "improves." 

I imagine you can use stepladder tables to track all sorts of different kinds of persistent states (reaction rolls? spell effects?) but this is the basic idea.

A Tour of the Southfarthing - Middle-earth Hexcrawl

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

The Southfarthing has a broad mix of environs: swamps in the east, unplowable hills in the west, and warm valleys where the pipeweed industry flourishes centrally. And Hobbits mirror the land they inhabit, at once soft, hard, and warm. I decided to give Longbottom itself a bit of a folk horror cant, while playing up the snootyness of Sackville (they are near the border, after all). Idraluna's hexmap leans on the Atlas of Middle-earth's interpretation of the location of these towns, though other sources disagree slightly.

Art by Kay Woollard

50.54

ROAD. A white chalk road between Michel Delving (48.54) and Hardbottle (51.54). Outlying farms and rocky fields lie on either side of the road.

(1) - RUFFIAN: Jocolby ("Jolly") Grubb (hobbit - missing tooth, sneering, layabout) sits in the shade of a tree calling out insults. "Your hole is so old they're putting it into a mathom-house!" "Your mayor's so fat, he has his own farthing!" He won't stop unless you beat him in an insult contest of this manner.
(6) - SHIRRIFF: Bruno Bracegirlde (hobbit - shirt unable to be buttoned over belly, blowhard, shirriff) rests by the side of the road puffing and panting. Old Gus (49.54) fought the law and the goat won.

51.54

HARDBOTTLE. A Hobbit town cut into a stony hillside. The fields surrounding the town are difficult to cultivate and impossible to plow; local farming is predominantly livestock. Still, the town is well regarded as picturesque. Most locals frequent the Cellar Door Inn, but the Rendwalk Inn is famous for its honeymoon suites.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Adelia Hornblower (hobbit - round-faced, argumentative, glassblower) swears she saw a falling star strike the earth in the hills south of town, past the bounds (52.54), 2. Bob Bracegirdle (hobbit - stained hands, friendly, potter) is renowned for the lifelike shapes crafted into his clay steins and meerschaum pipes; will sell you either for a silver penny, 3. Blanco Banks (hobbit - slob, earnest, rat catcher) has a small but vicious dog ("Whitey") that he's looking to breed, wonders if you can get him a good bitch.

! - A MATTER OF INHERITENCE: Messrs. Grubb, Grubb and Burrowes seek an experienced treasure hunter to settle a bequestment. Otto Boffin, a one-time adventurer, has left a treasure to his daughter, Primrose Bracegirdle (hobbit - goldenlocks, adventure-some, goodwife)…but nobody knows where it is. He only left a scrap of a map and this cryptic clue:

There is an old hoard in a dark rock,
forgotten behind doors none can unlock;
that grim gate no man can pass.
On the mound grows the green grass;
there sheep feed and the larks soar,
and the wind blows from the sea-shore.
The old hoard the Night shall keep,
while earth waits and the Elves sleep.

The law firm has two words of caution: One, they would prefer this contract to be carried out secretly (it's disreputable to employ a burglar). Two, Otto Boffin suffered some disfigurement in the adventure that supposedly won his wealth—the company should use caution to avoid the same fate.
[Inspiration from TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]

! - THE LADS WHO DON'T DO NOTHING: The Shire is full of clubs, confraternities, and even secret societies. The Lads Who Don't Do Nothing is not one of these. They are an informal group of drinking buddies who meet up in inns and public houses across the Shire. You might encounter them in the Cellar Door Inn or through the random encounter table. If you drink with them, they might give you one of the following challenges: roll 1d6.
[A kind guest contribution by Skerples!]

1. Marking the Slab
There’s a long slab of exposed bedrock near Thistle Brook, within staggering distance of the Swan's Neck Inn (50.59). For generations, hobbits in the grips of ale have, by the light of the moon, stood at one end of the slab, taken careful aim, and attempted to outdistance their peers. The rare daring young hobbit maid who wishes to participate is usually wise enough to bring a milking stool or similar aid. The long furrow scored in the stone, the only permanent mark on it, is (or so the story goes) the result of a potion a wizard gave to Gerontius Took to help with his bladder stones. The creek is shallow enough that falling in is amusing. Go to the slab and outdistance the company.

2. Poison Plants
There hasn’t been an intentional poisoning in the Shire in living memory, and only a handful of accidents. Deliberately cultivating poisonous plants is seen as raffish and uncouth, but more than a few doddering Gaffers and Gammers have a tiny patch of Crimson Henbane or a Blistering Mulberry bush tucked in a corner of their solariums; relics of wild youthful devil-may-care gardening. Find one, pluck it, and wear it in one's cap as a sign of affiliation with the Lads.

3. Ghost Stories
The telling of a “proper boneless tale” is an art cultivated by young hobbits who wish to bend social norms. Many a young hobbit has been scared sheet-white by the whispered diableries of an older cousin, and then frightened into howling flight by a second bedsheet-clad cousin creeping up to the fire. Gaffer Quaffer was legendary for “The Tale of the Twice-Found Chest” where, at the climax, he’d roll his eyes back until the whites showed, drop out his false teeth, and emit a hideous rattle. Eagan Trimfoot swears he had a full head of hair before he heard the tale, and that it all fell out by the next morning. Scare the Lads present with a truly heartstopping ghost story.

4. Throwing Knives
Young hobbits who wish to appear wicked, or old hobbits who wish to deter visitors from arriving without notice, sometimes take up throwing knives at stumps and old bottles. They fashion and name elaborate and deeply impractical “weapons” from cutlery and old bits of potmetal. A curiously wavy “goblin” dagger at the Mathom-house is, some say, the source of all this nonsense. Play a round of throwing knives with the Lads and see if your aim is true. Or, if you're truly daring, practice your burglary at the Mathom-house in Michel Delving to claim the goblin dagger.

5. Strange Liqueurs
Every family has a herbal remedy or two that can double as paint stripper, goat reviver, or firestarter, but few hobbits would willingly drink them when fine ales and brandies are available. For the Lads, the anti-prestige of a bitter draught, especially one that comes in a fancy bottle and has a curious colour, is worth any amount of stomach pain and troubled dreams. Go drink for drink with the Lads with a smile as they put away a gaffer's patented tonic.

6. Bothering the Stuffy
The usual boundary-pushing behaviour. Wearing cosmetics, strange fashions, and speaking in a cant, asking questions like “Has your tipper turned the taters?” or “Who aaaaare yoooou?” Join the Lads for a round of mild promiscuity, staying up late, petty theft (or petty borrowing-without-intent-to-return).

50.53

HAMMIDGE ESTATES WINERY. Boffo Hammidge (hobbit - rosy-cheeked, ambitious, vintner) started producing wine at scale only recently; his father's wine has been stocked at the Cellar Door Inn at Hardbottle (51.54) for many years. Although inexpensive, the locals talk about the wine (and winemaker) as being "still too young."

Boffo wants to marry Lavender Mazer, daughter of Old Tallyman—the owner of Old Winyards (48.55)—but she's not (as of yet) interested.

49.55

FARMLAND. A region of poorer but well-tended farms, especially cattle. In the autumn, each farmer helps his neighbor gather the hay. The last to get their hay in must overwinter the "King of the Fields" (a scarecrow). The cream and butter of the region is especially rich.

50.55

SWEET ONIONS. Rolling hills and stony farmlands. Roving herds of cattle are a common sight. Wild onions with a surpassing sweetness grow in this region.

51.55

ROAD. The road between Hardbottle (51.54) and Sackville (52.56). To the south, rising green hills. To the north, stony farmlands.

(1) - CATTLE JAM: The road is jammed with lowing cattle. Progress down the road (especially in vehicles) is impossible. Two farmers are arguing about whose are whose. It might be a while.
(6) - RIDDLER: Caradoc Brandybuck (hobbit - tall hat, self-confident, goodman) sits in a camp chair by the side of the road, feet up, twirling an arrow with a red feather. Offers to wager the arrow in the riddle-game; says it's never missed while hunting. GM can Google for 30 seconds to represent his broad knowledge of riddles.

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. It's a magic herb. 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.

51.57

LONGBOTTOM. A Hobbit town nestled in a warm valley. Pipeweed was first grown here and remains the predominant cash crop. The chief pub—situated around a large tree outdoors—is called The Green Man, run by Alder Hornblower and his daughter Willow.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. "Big" Yan Oak (hobbit - tall and hardy, plain, farm worker) bets a pint he can lift any hobbit or dwarf who can't lift him, 2. May Broome (hobbit - apple-cheeked, courteous, post mistress/sweet seller) runs the local Post and sells candies on the side, 3. Miss Rose Briare (hobbit - pretty, thoughtful, school teacher) is an expert in Hobbit legends, including knockers, mewlips, the Gullion, the salmon of knowledge, the Withywindle Woman, the Old Forest, etc. 4. Mr. Laird Islen-Summer (hobbit - wild-haired, canny, farmer) owns the largest tobacco farm in the area, producing the Southern Star. Although charming and well-liked by the locals, he has strange ideas about "ancient rites" and "sacred mathematics."

YULE-FIRES. During the two days of Yule, many residents of the Southfarthing flock to Longbottom to celebrate. Fires are lit in celebration of the renewing of the year, including a huge bonfire of a wicker-hobbit in the town commons.

! - SPECIAL DELIVERY: Mr. Tommy Hornblower (hobbit - twinkle-in-his-eye, bemused, farmer) needs someone to expedite a shipment of Longbottom Leaf to Bree (47.56) within a fortnight. Willing to pay 4 silvers if they manage to get it there in time.

! - THE COFFER FROM HARSHPORT: Mr. Laird Islen-Summer, a member of the Order of the Eagle, has recently procured an import from Harshport in Harad (not appearing on this hex map). He's had word that it has reached the Grey Havens (47.39) but has been tied up somehow with the elves. He seeks a completed delivery for six silvers.

If delivery is achieved, Islen-Summer will invite the company to attend his scholarly appraisal and opening of the coffer. See MERP - Realms - The Shire's adventure "The Coffer From Harshport" for full details.
[Credit: MERP - Realms - The Shire]

52.57

ROAD. The road from Sackville (52.56) to Sarn Ford (55.59). An old belltower, to be rung in case of emergencies, sits next to the road southeast of Sackville.

(1) - BOUNDER: Hungo Bunce (hobbit - overbite, suspicious, bounder) riding a pony (Turnip) takes an interest in any non-hobbits in the company. He will try to impede their progress unless they have letters of favor from important hobbits in the Shire.
(6) - WALKING HOLIDAY: A group of hobbits out on a walking holiday towards [1. Sarn Ford, 2. Deephallow, 3. Hardbottle, 4. Michel Delving]. Will volunteer to walk with the company if their paths are going the same way. Their company provides morale, and they'll give any hobbits or dwarves fresh, woolen socks.

50.58

BETWEEN TWO RIVERS. An uncultivated land between the Thistle Brook (on the northern edge) and the River Shirebourne (unpassable, along the southern border of the hex). Willows, sycamores, and birds. Peopled mostly by wild geese and swans, except for the very intrepid angler or mushroom hunter.

51.58

WILLOWBOTTOM. A rural Hobbit village of brick houses positioned where Thistle Brook meets the River Shirebourne. The end of the road coming down from the Marish. To the south, marshy and unfarmed fields.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Mother Sutherland (hobbit - eyes white with cataracts, mild, housewife) has given birth 27 times to 66 children, an unsurpassed accomplishment in hobbit history, 2. Harry Highfax (hobbit - combover, avuncular, cobbler) sees himself as an armchair military historian; practically neglects his wife and children as he debates alternate histories of Middle-earth battles via correspondence, 3. Willa Bunce (hobbit - pretty but proud, sour, pigeon-seller) is a notorious gossip; will tell you that "everyone knows" Faira Oldbairn poisoned her late husband.

! - OF FUNGUS AND WORMS: Faira Oldbairn (hobbit - nut-brown and wizened, cantankerous, professional old person) wants six jack o' lantern mushrooms. They're luminescent and poisonous; she uses them for rat traps and hunting.

• Jack o' lantern mushrooms only grow in the Overbourne Marshes (51.60) or an adjacent hex.
• Searching a hex costs 1 travel point, as per usual.
• Mushrooms can be found in a 1-in-6 chance during the day, or 2-in-6 chance during the night.
• Those with Herb Lore add +1 to their X-in-6 chance.
• Many grow on Farmer Clayhanger's land (51.59), but he refuses to let anyone pick them. (Although he doesn't harvest them, either.) The chance to find them while searching this region is 3-in-6 during the day / 4-in-6 during the night.

Jack o' lantern mushrooms are often food for night-worms. Each search reveals 1d8-2 night-worms. Night-worms have 1 Endurance point, but have a paralyzing bite.

As a reward, the Gammer Oldbairn will trade a strange compass. It always points to something (but it isn't north).

52.58

WINDMILLS. Windmills pump water from the boggy soil, turning it into arable land. There are scattered crews of farmhands working during the day. Irrigation ditches lead to the river (impassable) that runs along this region's eastern edge.

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

The Marish - Middle-earth Hexmap

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

The Marish is a reclaimed farmland, boggy and fertile, in the Eastfarthing. It hugs the inner curve of the River Brandywine, the easternmost border of the Shire proper. The Stoorish inhabitants seem somewhat strange to other Shire-folk: they're taller,  sometimes wear boots, and grow occasional beards. But all hobbits think "The folk over there are queer,"--it's a constant.

In this entry, I spend rather too long on Bamfurlong, the farm of a young Farmer Maggot. But as a canonically adventuresome hobbit, I think there's potentially lots of opportunities with Maggot. So frequent visitors might see many strange sights each time they visit the farm.

Today's post also includes the Mystery of the Deephallow House: a site-based ghost story the company will need to unravel both here and in the neighboring town of Haysend. 

By the Brothers Hildebrandt

47.61

BRANDYWINE BRIDGE. An ancient bridge of stone arches crosses over the River Brandywine. The bridge is the easternmost border of the Shire.

STOCK. The main township of the Marish region. The local inn is called the Golden Perch. The guild hall of the Fraternity of the Lion is here.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Ossie Pie (hobbit - bucktoothed, braver-than-most, baker's apprentice) swears he once saw a ghostly knight riding a pale horse under the full moon northwest of Dwaling (43.60), 2. Gaffer Greenthumb (hobbit - well-preserved, bashful, gardener) keeps a garden of prized roses and is too shy to speak to the Widow Peabody, 3. 3d6 members of The Lads Who Don't Do Nothing (a drinking anti-social club) led by Gaffer Quaffer at the Golden Perch looking for a good time, 4. Widow Peabody (hobbit - pinched, nosy, rents rooms) has been dropping hints at Gaffer Greenthumb for months and is annoyed that he's not picking up on them.

The Exalted Fraternity of the Lion: A social club of business-minded halflings who attempt to cross trade-guild lines and foster a business environment that's mutually beneficial. At least, beneficial for those within the Fraternity of the Lion. The club's actions are usually notably terrible for those not within the society.

FISHMARKET. On Saturdays, a fishmarket is held. All the fruits of the Brandywine can be bought here: fried fish and chips, eel pies, oysters. A prize is given for the largest fish. Players wishing to compete should use this fishing minigame.

! - "FAIR" FERRY MARKETS: The Fraternity of the Lion has been unable to persuade (or extort) the Brandywine Tea Company to join their consortium. Mr. Tomald Brandybuck (hobbit - red-haired, spitfire, tea trader) points out that the company is predominantly based out of Buckland, not the Shire, and does most of their business via river trade, not from a fixed location. The Fraternity of the Lion looks to hire a burglar to purloin Brandywine Tea Company's ledger from their barge (and it wouldn't be a shame if any of their rare teas went missing either).

As recompense, instead of the usual fee, will give a lion ring that gives a 10% discount on shops in the Shire that are members of the Fraternity of the Lion (25% chance, 50% in Stock).

48.60

THE YALE. This lowland region of the Eastfarthing is called "The Yale." It has no village, but consists of a collection of many prosperous farms. Boffin is the predominant name in the region. It is the breadbasket of the Shire, with wheat being the predominant crop. On the east edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable.

(1) - WUFFLES: Wuffles the dog comes yapping down the lane. He's shaped like a sausage with googly eyes and a single protruding lower fang. His favorite food is a hobbit's hams. Test Strength Δ4 or lose 1 Endurance to the little blighter.
(6) - MILKMAID: Miss Jessamine Boffin (hobbit - doe-eyed, innocent, milkmaid) walks down the lane, yolked with pitchers of milk. Huge cats follow at her feet, expectantly. If helped to carry her milk back to her hole, she'll reward the gallant burglar with a pressed flower (+1 boon to one camp from morale).

! - THE BLACK BOAR OF THE YALE: Children of this region are taught that if they're naughty, they'll be fed to the Black Boar of the Yale. Until recent days, no one (except Granny Yale, 48.59) has ever taken this story seriously, but recently hunters have reported seeing a terrifying boar roaming east of Woody End: bristling black hairs like quills, curving black tusks, eyes like coals. The shirriff has laughed it off. The locals have pooled money to ask burglars to investigate.

In truth, the Black Boar of the Yale is a hill man named Ufred. After stumbling into the machinations of Ar-Gûlar (43.87), he was transformed into this shape and, in fear and pain, wandered into the Shire. Ulfred-as-the-Boar doesn't really wish to hurt anyone and flees when approached. Stats as bear.
[Inspiration: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]

49.60

BUCKLEBERRY FERRY (WEST BANK). A raft-ferry across the River Brandywine from the Shire to Buckland (48.61). The ferry operates about twelve miles south of the Brandywine Bridge (46.62). Lamps are lit on either side during the night. Ned Chubb (hobbit - bug-eyed, droll, ferryman) charges 2 pennies per rider.

✦ - WAITING TO CROSS (Roll d6; result and all lower are present): 1. Hobbit dad and his two sons, all eating cookies, 2. Sad lad holding a bunch of flowers dejectedly, 3. Three gammers engaged in gossip and crocheting, 3. Two gaffers eyeing the gammers, 4. Young Hobbit hunter with a thin mustache and camping pack, 5. Two spinster sisters with an empty bird cage, 6. Pretty Hobbit lass with a mysterious bundle.

50.60

THE MARISH. A boggy, fertile farmland of reclaimed marsh. The farmlands consist of fields and meadows with hedges, gates, and dikes for drainage. Leaving the Causeway costs 1 Endurance as the region is difficult to traverse, full of bogs, ditches, briars, and fences. On the east edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable.

(1) - SQUIRREL: A squirrel approaches the company, chattering in a way that's plainly a request for food. If the request goes unmet, random burglar must test Skill Δ6 or have a random item snatched from their pack by the squirrel.
(3-4) - MUSHROOMS: 2d6 servings of delicious, edible mushrooms are found growing in a farm meadow.
(6) - SLUMBERING PEDDLER: Bil Trimfoot (hobbit - monobrow, miserly, peddler) is napping under a hedge. He has so many children, he often finds it easier to rest while walking his route. Swears he once had the most uncanny dream when he slept in the Dimple (45.58).

BAMFURLONG and FARMER MAGGOT. Farmer Maggot (hobbit - red-faced, canny, farmer) is just starting his clan in his ancestral farm of Bamfurlong after a series of small, quiet adventures.

(1) - BIG FOLK: Big Folk from over the Brandywine have been fishing the river and occasionally trespassing on his fields. He's seen them off several times, but they often come back. Will you help Farmer Maggot give them a thorough seeing off?
(2) - WHELPING DOG: Farmer Maggot's beloved bitch, Bella, is whelping and he can't leave her side. Won't you gather yarrow from the fields to help ease her birthing pains? Those who assist with the birth (one skilled in Beast Lore is especially welcome) receive the gift of a puppy.
(3) - OTTER FOLK: A group of otters led by Shiny-Stone (who can speak the common tongue) trying to sell an exasperated Maggot a stolen hobbit boat in exchange for clams.
(6) - TOM BOMBADIL: On rare occasions when visiting Bamfurlong, Farmer Maggot is entertaining a strange visitor who names himself (incessantly, through song) Tom Bombadil.

! - ANTIQUE FIND. In the mud of a far field, Maggot recently partially excavated a strange stone. The writing is in both an antique form of Kudduk and Sindarin. Maggot can make out enough of the Kudduk to read the names "Bucca" (the first Thain of the Shire) and "King Arvedui." He would pay a silver piece to have it fully excavated and taken to the Mathom-house in Michel Delving (48.54). He will loan the equipment for the trip.

The excavation takes a day of labor. In this time, other curious hobbits will come to see the work, give "helpful" tips, and ask invasive questions. By the time the fellowship heads off to Michel Delving, the find has contributed to plenty of neighborhood gossip.

Because of this, on the road to Michel Delving, the fellowship will encounter (roll 1d3):

1. Beretar Redlands (elf-friend - young-but-wise, proud, ranger) quietly approaches the company and offers to buy the stone with gems, explaining that the descendents of the folk of King Arvedui have as much of a claim on the heirloom as the Shire-folk.
2. Messrs. Grubb, Grubb and Burrowes, acting on behalf of Farmer Clayhanger (51.59), who puts forth the spurious claim the stone was actually found on his property and should be returned to him immediately. However flimsy his claim, the ensuing legal battle will be a mess.
3. Brigands (1d6+1) led by Denis Catchpole (man - sour smell, petty, scoundrel) attempt to steal the stone.

If the company is especially successful, Farmer Maggot will gift them some magic beans he got from his adventures.

51.60

OVERBOURNE MARSHES. The confluence of the Shirebourn and Brandywine rivers. To the south of the Shirebourn are the Overbourne Marshes. On the east edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable.

(1) - MARSH LIGHTS: An eerie glow, moving through the trees. Following it reveals: 1. Nothing but swamp gas. 2. Wil Niggle, a lost hobbit, holding his lantern aloft. 3. A toad with a bioluminescent (edible) mushroom growing from its back. 4. An uncanny light, leading towards a buried treasure chest carrying untarnished silvery mail.
(2-3) - GIGGLING FROGS: In the rushes of the marsh, a peculiar breed of frog laughs at untold jokes. Unnerving. But some uncouth hobbits consider their legs a delicacy.
(4-6) - PEATCUTTERS: A crew of 2d6 hobbit peatcutters come down from the Marish, Rushy, or Stock. Happy to share a portion of smoky whisky for a good rumour or a portion of pay for a day's labor.

49.59

RUSHEY. A hobbit fishing village, set on a "hard" (colloquial word for an island) among the fens of the Marish. Travel to the village requires a boat, or lose 1d2 Endurance braving the silty, shifting paths. Local hobbits also have a trick of using long poles to vault over pools to travel in the region.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Hildegrim Fiddler (hobbit - bug-eyed, gormless, fisher) swears he's seen a beautiful woman swimming like a fish in the Brandywine, 2. Poppy Stock (hobbit - curly-haired, foul-mouthed, eelmonger) will teach the art of pole vaulting to anyone who can beat her in leg wrestling, 3. Wiseman Banks (hobbit - downy beard, strange, boatwright) sells coracles woven of reeds.

! - NEEDLE-TOOTH TOM. An evil gar the locals call Needle-tooth Tom is stalking the waters of the Brandywine between Stock and Rushey: it drives away schools of fish, ruins fishing lines, and even pulls in fishermen. Someone's going to drown if this continues! The folk have started a collection to hire someone to catch and kill Needle-tooth Tom.

50.59

DEEPHALLOW. A rural hobbit village built on a hill overlooking the banks of the River Brandywine, just north to the point where Shirebourn flowed into the river. The local tavern is named the Swan's Neck Inn. They have a rivalry with the village of Haysend (50.61) across the Brandywine.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Nina Hornblower (hobbit - moon-faced, tippled, net-mender) loves to share bawdy tunes at the Swan's Neck Inn, 2. Imlad Grubb (hobbit - big ears, furtive, fisher) always lands the biggest fish; knows a secret spot, 3. Halfred Briarbuck (hobbit - uses an earhorn, circuitous in thought and speech, goodman) has extensive books and knowledge of genealogy in the region.

! - DEEPHALLOW HOUSE: On the edge of the village is a structure called Deephallow House, long ago fallen into disuse. Most avoid the place on account of a local legend that says the house is haunted. They tell of a forbidden love between a rich gentlehobbit's daughter and the poor gardener. The couple drowned on a boat escaping from the daughter's parental disapproval (or, in darker versions of the tale, were killed by their families to keep them from their union). Recently, Miss Aster Budger has recently felt "vibrations" coming from the house, and is willing to hire to have it explored.
[Inspiration taken from both TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire and MERP: Realms - Shire]

Deephallow House is a long but squat brick house with a gable and a single round window in a second story glaring down like a baleful eye. There is a weedy expanse encircled by a brick wall that was once a garden. Its round front door leads to the foyer.

1. Foyer: The first steps into the house reveal that the place is ruinous: warped floorboards, leaky ceilings, wallpaper hanging in shreds. Leads to the parlor.
   1. Tapping: When first entering, an irregular tapping can be heard from deeper within the house.
   2. Aster: Aster will stay here during the expedition, calling out to "spirits," straining to feel the vibrations.
2. Parlor: Remnants of a small room, once cozy: a table, moldy armchairs, broken tea set. A bookshelf is toppled over on its side. A portrait of a family tree hangs on the wall. Leads to the kitchen, the master bedroom, and a small bedroom.
   1. Bookshelf: The books are moldy and useless.
      1. Obscured by the bookshelf is a hatch in the ceiling leading to the garret.
   2. Family tree: A painting detailing the main branches of a family tree: Bilbo Holeborer (father) and Alfrida Smallburrow (mother) and Pervinca (daughter). There's a section of the painting torn off near Pervinca.
3. Garret: A shattered upper story window with a dead branch clawing its way in.
   1. Branch: The wind causes it to thump against the floor (the source of the tapping). It almost looks like a finger pointing down at something.
   2. Floorboard: Where the branch scratches, there is a loose floorboard. Inside is a tarnished key.

   (Hobbits don't often like second stories, but the muddy ground of the region makes cellars impossible. Hence, the attic.)

4. Master bedroom: A broken mirror hangs above a moldering bed, mice munching the straw it was once stuffed with. A writing desk stands against the wall. Leads to the parlor.
   1. Broken mirror: The first person to enter the bedroom catches a glimpse of themselves in a broken mirror. Test Understanding Δ5 or suffer a small fright, losing 1 Endurance.
   2. Writing desk: An opened letter on crumbling paper: "Daughter, Even though we sent the boy away from this house, you persist. We have caught you whispering through the garden wall. Know this: If you marry him against our will, we will go into mourning. You will be dead to us. You will forfeit your inheritance, for we will have no daughter to give it to. Do not do this thing to your poor parents."
5. Small bedroom: A portrait of a fair hobbit maid also hangs on the wall. Leads to the parlor.
   1. Portrait: A fair face, but a sad one. It is named: "Pervinca."
      1. Behind the picture is a letter wrapped in a red string written in a simple hand: "My love, Your father is letting his flower wither. I am so sorry. I only await your signal and I am ready to go. I love the Shire, but you are my home. If anything happens, leave a letter in our hidden place. Yours, always, Uffo."
6. Kitchen: 1d6+1 marsh rats (unusually large) hiss and attack. Leads to the parlor and a back door leads out into the garden.
7. Garden: The garden is completely overgrown, choked with weeds and wilting brown plants. A giant mulberry tree overshadows the back part of the house. A crumbling brick wall, eight feet high, encircles most of the property.
   1. Tree: One of the tree's branches has broken through an attic window. On the trunk of the tree is carved a heart surrounding two names: Pervinca and Uffo.
   2. Wall: Searching the wall reveals a letter folded inside the crack. "My dear gardening boy, Nothing in the world would make me not love you. My father thinks withholding my inheritance would do it, as if I loved money more than you. He has taken the key to the box he gave me with our family heirloom. But you are my inheritance, even if we live like paupers. I will go with you to Haysend. Yours forever, Pervinca."

51.59

FARMER CLAYHANGER. The farms of Sherdo Clayhanger (hobbit - warty, cantankerous, farmer), a local terror. Almost a hermit, he keeps his miserable family in isolation, swearing off the rest of hobbit-kind. He is merciless to intruders (especially non-hobbits), and quick to call the shirriff for any perceived infraction. His farm is unkempt. On the southern edge of this region, the Brandywine is impassable.

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