Shire Rural Encounters (d12)

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

From the beginning of the project, I knew it wasn't enough to just have keyed hexes. The potential energy of the hex contents must be energized with the kinetic energy of random encounters--that's what makes hexcrawling pop. Thus, here are an absurd abundance of nested encounters for you.

Art by Goran Gligovic

1-6. No encounter

7. Faction - Knights of the Road: A group of martial hobbits who have formed their order based on the land grant from the King of Arnor carried the provision that they protect and maintain the king's road. Their wives soberly point out that there hasn't been a king for over nine-hundred years and their husbands are basically just LARPing. When you encounter them, roll a d6 to see what they challenge the company to do. See subtable 7 for a full explanation of each challenge.
   1. Jousting at the turnip knight
   2. Reenactment of the Battle of Greenfields
   3. Archery contest
   4. Pony race
   5. Bridge repair
   6. Road maintenance
8. Traveler:
   1. Tin-Kettle Tom: You come upon Tin-Kettle Tom, an itinerant tinker and peddler who wanders from village to village performing odd jobs and selling mended kettles from his enormous pack. He has a bad reputation; people often find things have gone missing just after he's left town. See subtable 8.1 for what he's carrying today.
   2. Bungo Hopalong: The itinerant merchant, Bungo Hopalong, is carrying supplies to clients between villages. See subtable 8.2 for what extras he has in stock.
   3. Dunald the Dwarven Merchant: Dunald lends his services as an artisan to a village for a season before moving on. He is willing to sell anything unsold from last season's work for a fair price. See subtable 8.3 for what he's carrying.
   4. Gerda Cotton: Gerda Cotton has taken it on herself to walk the entire length of the East Road (40 leagues). She wants a stiff drink (buy her a pint? there's an inn just up the road) and gives rumours.
   5. Messenger: "Postie" Pimpernel Goodchild dashing off with a special delivery. Will give [1d6] coppers to handle a delivery to a nearby farm for him.
   6. Gandalf: Gandalf the good wizard is on an errand in the Shire. He is on the lookout for any uncanny activity that would threaten this peaceful land. If the company seems goodly and capable, will immediately tell them of a quest.
9. Curiosity:
   1. An old water pump stands up proudly from weeds and grass. It is an easy place to refill all water bottles and quench the day's thirst.
   2. Merry magpies fill the trees, laughing at the company.
   3. A carpet of moss stretches out invitingly in the region.
   4. Gregarious goats reach through their fencing with open mouths, hoping for a handout.
   5. A prickle of hedgehogs are trundling over the fields on some errand. (If followed, they get together in an apparent conference in a copse of trees and have a squeak with each other. The company gains a +2 bonus to their campsite scouting roll in this hex.)
   6. A verdant smell fills the company's nostrils. Plants are blooming today. (+2 bonus to search for herbs today.)
10. Travel Event:
    1. Weather worsens: The weather rolled for the day decreases by one step during the second watch.
    2. Logistics: Can't find something / something got wet / a harness is missing. If the company has a quartermaster, they can negate this mishap by passing a Skill Δ8 check.
    3. Minor sickness: Random burglar or NPC can't do their job today.
    4. Lame animal: Animal in the company hurts its leg. It can hobble along at half speed. If company rests for a day, a burglar with Animal Lore can make an Understanding Δ8 check to heal it. If 3 of these checks fail, the animal is lame permanently.
    5. Bad boots: Random burglar discovers that their boots have a hole worn in them. -1 travel points and takes 1 damage each morning until replaced. Hobbits may ignore this travel event; they are immune.
    6. Things that Yet May Be: As a random burglar passes by a pool or pond, they seem to see an image shimmering in the water. Ask them if they want to spend 1 Hope for a vision of a possible future. If they do, they may ask the GM any question and receive some vision of the answer.
       [Inspiration: TOR1E - Journeys and Maps]
11. Notice: Increase the company's Notice rating by 1d6. When it reaches 20+, the GM triggers some doom.
12. Encounter:
    1. Big Dog: A local farmer's guard dog chases after the company, baying and nipping. If the fellowship fails to calm the dog, they must spend the rest of the afternoon stuck uncomfortably up a tree to avoid his bites. Lose 2 Endurance each from hours of being crammed awkwardly in the boughs of a pine. [Credit: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]
    2. Gorecrows: 2d4 gorecrows follow the company at a distance. When they look vulnerable, they'll attempt to steal treasure, purses, or anything obviously shiny.
    3. Angry Farmer: An angry farmer with a blunderbuss and 1d6 of his strapping sons confront the company. He's convinced they're [trespassing / after his mushrooms / after his beautiful maiden daughters / after his homely maiden daughters / no-good burglars (true!)].
    4. Sloggers: A street gang of 2d6 hobbit bullies armed with fire irons, canes, and golf clubs look to increase their criminal clout by challenging the burglars to "wrestling."
    5. Bounders: 1d4+1 hobbit Bounders are looking for the cause of some local trouble. They stop the burglars to ascertain their recent doings. If push comes to shove, they'll summon a shirriff.
    6. Närr Deadtooth: A dwarven tramp, secretly a servant of the Necromancer. He reports on the vulnerabilities of decent folk to trolls, sorcerers, goblins, and worse. Cringes, hides, follows, steals, frames, accuses, curses.

7. Challenges of the Knights of the Road

7.1 Jousting at the turnip knight

The knights take turns making jousting passes at a scarecrow with a turnip head and a pot for a helm, wielding various rakes, hoes, and shovels as lances. Touching the scarecrow's straw-filled chest is 1 point, knocking off the pot is 3 points. A weary old draft pony named Bob takes each knight in turn; he's the only one they have.

Hugo Bracegirdle has the current high score of 12. To participate, make an attack. If a player rides Bob (instead of a mount of their own), they take a -2 penalty. The turnip knight has a Defense of +2. The amount of damage dealt by the attack is the character's score at the joust. The winner receives a woven laurel crown.

7.2 Reenactment of the Battle of Greenfields

The knights are encamped in a field: canvas tarps have been enriched with hand-made pennants and flags. Later, they plan on reenacting the Battle of Greenfields. They already have an actor playing the Bandobras the Bullroarer but need someone to play Golfimbul and his goblins (none of them want to do it).

If the company consents to help, make a group test of Beauty Δ4. Depending on what the players have to make their costumes, the GM may grant a bonus or a penalty to their roll. If the test is a success, the Knights of the Road will gift them a shillelagh with an iron core. The battle takes the rest of the day.

7.3 Archery contest

The knights have set up a target under the arms of a huge old oak tree and are taking turns taking bow shots at it. There is an open challenge for who can place the most arrows nearest the mark.

Those who take up the challenge should roll 2d6 and add their Valour x2. Whoever has the highest total score wins a waxed bowstring (will almost never break).

7.4 Pony race

The knights have organized a pony race and invite all to participate. Those who race should roll 2d6 and add their Skill. Additionally:

• Those with Animal Lore (or similar) may add +2
• Steeds with a movement speed of 60+ add +2
• Steeds with a movement speed of 80+ add an additional +2

Whoever has the highest total score wins a leather satchel bag.

7.5 Bridge repair

The knights are ensuring the bridges in this region are in good repair and ask the company to volunteer their time. This includes checking under each bridge for hiding trolls. Participation takes the rest of the day. This task gives no reward but the satisfaction of a job well done.

7.6 Road maintenance

The knights are spending the rest of the day picking up trash from the roads in this region, planting flowers, repairing signs, etc., and invite the company to volunteer their time. Those who participate find a bit of random impedimenta.

8. Merchants

Roll the indicated dice. The merchant is carrying everything on their table of that result and less.

8.1 - Tin-Kettle Tom (d12)

1. Tea kettle & four ceramic cups (mended), 6 copper / 3 marks
2. Umbrella (patched), 2 copper / 1 mark
3. Rainslicker poncho, 3 copper / 1 mark
4. Chalk slate & chalk, 2 copper / 1 mark
5. String of silvery bells, 5 copper / 2 marks
6. Pocketwatch (broken), 2 silver / 1 penny
7. "Portable bath" (tin tub), 8 copper / 4 marks
8. Hobbit baby doll (mended), 2 copper / 1 mark
9. Washboard (secretly enchanted with a spell of excellence), 1 copper / 1 mark
10. Bag of marbles, 2 copper / 1 mark
11. Cloudy handmirror (secretly enchanted, shows transformed creatures as their true form), 8 copper / 4 marks
12. Green waistcoat with floral pattern (kept in tissue paper), 1 silver / 9 marks

8.2 - Bungo Hopalong (d8)

1. Insect-repellent candles (6), 1 silver / 9 marks
2. 5 x Aloe (doubles recovery at camp), 4 copper / 2 marks each
3. 6 x Wolfsbane (protects against lycanthropy, repels wolves), 3 copper / 2 marks each
4. 12 x Greasy rations, 1 copper / 1 mark each
5. Blank book with cotton pages, 5 silver / 2 pennies
6. Pipe carven into face of a wizard, 1 silver / 10 marks
7. Hair-growth tonic (useless), 3 copper / 2 marks
8. Tent (4 person), 1 silver, 11 marks

8.3 - Dunald the Dwarf Merchant (d6)

1. Dwarf boots (waterproof), 6 copper / 3 marks
2. Blue tasseled hood and cloak, 4 copper / 2 marks
3. Steel knife (excellent, holds an edge), 9 copper / 5 marks
4. Harp (excellent, rarely loses its tune), 1 silver & 5 copper / 1 penny
5. Silver mazer cup (finely wrought, themes of marriage), 2 silver / 1 penny
6. Chess board (enchanted, pieces move and battle each other), 5 silver / 3 pennies

Shire urban encounters are forthcoming.

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!

Random Dwarf Advancement

When you level up, you gain a random benefit based on your race or class. Here's what dwarves get.

You can either roll a d7 for your house to get a result from a tightly-bound part of the table or roll a d50 to get anything from the entire table.

This is ostensibly for the Middle-earth Hexcrawl project but I think it can be broadly applicable to any fantasy adventure game with dwarves in it. 

Dwarves

Roll a d7 (for your house) or a d50

Art by Goran Gligovic

Longbeards

1. +1 Skill
2. Baruk Khazâd: Add +2 to your damage dealt with axes.
3. Crafts of your Hands: Whenever a dice roll would determine the quality of something you've made (a forged blade, a tied knot, a set trap, the health of a child sired) add +2 to the result.
4. Hardy: Once per day, you may recover Endurance equal to your Strength score, even in combat.
5. In Moria, In Khazad-dum: When you study a dwarven artifact or visit a site important to the dwarves, you can sing a song that inspires the company to understand your dwarven perspective. If you do so, add 1 Morale.
6. Mine Fighter: You gain +1 to your attacks while fighting underground.
7. Stentorious Merchant: You may use Skill instead of Beauty when trying to influence the reaction of characters on matters of business, closing a deal, or making a bargain.

Firebeards

1. +1 Valour
2. Driven: During a forced march, you can elect to double the damage taken and gain 100% more of your daily allotment of travel points (instead of 50%).
3. Calloused Hands: Your hands are as tough as leather gauntlets. You can handle objects as hot as a forge fire less intense than a blast furnace.
4. Fell-handed: Add +1 to your damage dealt.
5. Fire Resistant: Items that you own and specifically care for are immune to fire criticals.
6. Forge Hardy: You gain resistance to fire damage.
7. Weapon-crafty: By tending to your weapon and oiling it (costs 1 silver piece/6 marks), you may increase its damage dealt by +1. This bonus lasts until the end of a battle in which you deal damage; afterwards, you must care for it again.

Broadbeams

1. All's Well that Ends Better: When you Carouse, you may roll twice and take either event.
2. Armour-crafty: By tending to your armour and oiling it (costs 1 silver piece/6 marks), you may increase its Defensive bonus by +1. This bonus lasts until the end of a battle in which you take damage; afterwards, you must care for it again.
3. Fond of Vittles: If you eat 2 rations instead of 1 during camp, roll an extra boon.
4. Gourmand: You have exceptional taste. With just a tiny taste of food, you can tell what the ingredients are (e.g., if there's a little extra poison in there).
5. Luxurious Beard: Your beard is thick and lustrous. You may carry one normal-sized item in it. The item carried there does not count towards your encumbrance and is not easily taken from you.
6. Make Light of Burdens: Your worn armour does not count towards your encumbrance.
7. Mountain Guide: While you act as the Guide while traveling, the company may move in hill hexes for 1 travel point/league and mountain hexes for 2 travel points/league.

Stiffbeards

1. Bane of Worms: You deal +1 damage to worms, serpents, and dragons. Keep a tally of how many worms you have killed. At 50 worms, this bonus increases to +2. At 200 worms, this bonus increases to +3.
2. Caution of Curses: If you spend a watch in contemplation of an artifact, the GM will tell you if there are any curses that lay on it and what manner they are.
3. Deep Voice: When singing Songs of Power, you may choose to use your Skill attribute instead of Beauty.
4. Dwimmercrafty: You can tell how many charges or uses are left on a limited use item.
5. Frost Resistant: Items that you own and specifically care for are immune to cold criticals.
6. Stronger than Snakes: You may heal poison damage naturally through Morale and rest.
7. Winter Hardy: You are resistant to cold damage.

Ironfists

1. Careful: Once per day, when you fail a test, you may negate the effects of failure. It's as if you never attempted it.
2. Galvorn: You know the secret of the black metal, galvorn. If you can find a source of meteoric iron, you may craft items made of it as a Downtime Action.
3. Grasping: What you hold, you keep. No thief can ever take what you hold in your hands. In combat, you can never be disarmed.
4. Hoarder: You can secrete 100 coins on your person in such a way that they won't be discovered (short of shaving and stripping you) and they don't count towards your encumbrance.
5. Obsessive Care: Choose one of your Named items. Under your care, this item will never rust, notch, or be sundered. If you lose the item, it will eventually find its way back to you through strange roads.
6. Song of Counter-spell (4): You have learned the songs that cut through the nets of the enemy. The target of this song may be any sorcerer or ongoing sorcerous effect. Roll the dice and add your Skill bonus vs Δ9. If successful, the sorcery effect is ended.
7. Vengeance: You gain a +1 to attack anyone who has damaged you in combat or stolen from you.

Blacklocks

1. Curse: Once ever, you may pronounce a curse against a mortal foe that ensures their eventual ruin. The curse will strike when most appropriate. The exact nature of their doom is left up to the discretion of the GM, but you can rest assured that if they continue to live, their life will be miserable: utter poverty, a broken body, forsaken by their kin, etc.
2. Dark for Dark Business: You gain +1 to attacks while under the night sky.
3. Devil's Advocate: Your people suffered a bad deal once, and you'll never make the same mistake. You can spot unfair arrangements in contracts without needing to make a test. Moreover, you gain a +2 (or +10%, if relevant) bonus when negotiating contracts to be in your favor.
4. False Gold: With a week of work and 1 gold of supplies, you can make 10 coins of fake gold. Dwarves are never fooled by this gold, but it passes the basic scrutiny of most other folk.
5. Forge Flaw: A trick developed when your people labored for the Enemy. You may place a flaw into anything you create with your hands. By all appraisals, the flaw is invisible. However, at a time of your choosing, the item will fail.
6. Gloomy: When you travel by the light of a single candle, you can keep the flame from being seen by almost any other observer. Such a light only is sufficient for yourself; no companions.
7. Wiry Beard: In a pinch, your coarse beard hairs can be used as an improvised lockpick.

Stonefoots

1. Charm-craft: You can craft good luck charms. A charm requires a watch to create and 1 silver/6 marks of materials. The bearer of the charm can break it to give themselves +1 to the result of any attribute test. A charm takes a slot, and a person can benefit from a charm once per day.
2. Never Lose Your Steps: You always perfectly remember any path you've traveled. You can always follow your way back through a confusing environment, labyrinth, or misty forest. This ability works even if blindfolded.
3. Root of the Mountain: When you deliberately plant your feet, you cannot be moved by almost any force. In combat, you can never be tripped.
4. Stalagmite Stealth: Gain +2 bonus to tests to hide and move silently while underground. Additionally, if you stay completely still, a cavern environment always provides you enough cover to conceal yourself.
5. Stiff Neck of Dwarves: You can no longer be choked or strangled. Criticals that target your neck (such as beheading) are ignored.
6. Stone Sleep: You may enter a long sleep, wherein you do not age or require food or water. You awaken at a condition that you set: "When the sun next falls on my face," "When Durin reigns again in Khazad-dum," etc.
7. Wise of Dwarven-Doors: Once per day, you may ask the GM "Is there a secret door in my line of sight?" and receive an honest answer.

All Dwarves

1. +10 Endurance

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!

[Early Worm Campaign] The Backstory of the Castle Automatic

In case you missed it, I'm currently running a direct pre-order campaign for my upcoming 100+ room, 5 level dungeon The Castle Automatic. 

Become an Early Worm now!

But what's the story of the Castle Automatic? What makes it an interesting place to explore?

Here's the deal

Long ago, in the confluence of history and mythology, a conquering giant declared himself the Emperor of the Wide World—the king of kings. He gathered four treasures to himself: a sword that could defeat any weapon, a coin that could pay for anything, a cup that granted immortality, and a wand that opened doors in thin air.

In this time, a certain dwarf named Taitale was widely considered the smartest person alive. The Emperor of the Wide World commissioned Taitale to build him a castle populated entirely by mechanical golem guardians to hide these four treasures. It was called the Castle Automatic. Then, the Emperor placed Taitale in the Castle, a prisoner in a prison of her own creation, so that she would never tell anyone how to defeat its many traps and puzzles. 

Taitale's son sought to free his mother and meddled with forces beyond his understanding, playing a discordant melody not meant for mortal minds. Vampiric spirits from the far realms rushed into the world, eager for their fill of blood. They overthrew the Emperor and broke the mechanisms that controlled the Castle Automatic.

For an age, the Castle Automatic has been lost in the Underworld. But now, its gates have been reopened…perhaps by His Majesty the Worm?

Why do you explore the terrible castle?

You can use the Castle Automatic as a dungeon in your Underworld. In His Majesty the Worm, adventurers are primarily motivated by their quests. The GM can add any quest objective into the Castle, integrating their ideas and plots into the factions, treasures, and characters of the dungeon. Because of the powerful artifacts housed within, consider placing it deep in your Underworld where it is not directly connected to the surface. 

You can also use the Castle Automatic as an independent adventuring location, basing a small campaign around finding and exploring the Castle. In this case, the GM can suggest a player (or the entire guild) take a quest specific to the published information from this dungeon.

This dungeon has stats and references to the procedures of His Majesty the Worm. It is still appropriate for use in the OSR game of your choice (with a little adaptation). 

Here are likely personae, treasure, or occurrences in the Castle Automatic that you can tie to your players' quests. 

Find the Four Treasures

There are four powerful magic items in the Castle Automatic: 

• The Perfect Sword, which can defeat any weapon 
• The Coin of Pentacles, which can pay any debt 
• The Chalice of Life, which can extend mortal life 
• The Wand of Power, which can fold space 

Note: The four treasures significantly change the balance of the game, and we recommend against letting the guild continue to adventure outside the Castle Automatic after obtaining any of them. Acquiring the four treasures should either be the capstone of a campaign (followed by blissful retirement), or the triumphant adventurers should become rulers of the Castle, replacing one of the other factions. 

Rescue Taitale

Perhaps the guild has been tasked with rescuing the mythical Taitale from her imprisonment. She is an important figure in underfolklore. 

Rescuing a figure out of the mythic past would be enough to win any underfolk fame and renown. Even the most recalcitrant dwarven lord would surely acquiesce to a request from an adventurer who accomplished such a task. 

Taitale could also bring knowledge out of the past to the present. She could explain processes long forgotten, repair machinery long since broken, or even invent new technologies.

Slay the Hierophant

Perhaps the evil depredations of the Hierophant threaten the City or the guild's allies in the Underworld. Perhaps someone from an adventurer's past has fallen victim to the curse of vampirism, and slaying the Hierophant is the only cure. Perhaps the blood of a vampire lord like the Hierophant is the only reagent powerful enough to power a magical ritual that allows the guild to fulfill one of their quests.

Some example spreads

The development is complete! Copyediting and layout are the next steps. I think it's turning out awesome. Check it out. 

The GM map is the most complete version; there's also a minimap and maps for the players

Taitale and her son, Vorte, have been trapped in the castle for an age

Each room in the castle has traps, new monsters, and new treasures for players to uncover

There are five separate levels, all connected through magical mirrors

Become an Early Worm

New to His Majesty the Worm? Want a ready-made dungeon to get started with? The Castle Automatic is for you! Join now and receive an exclusive map with your order. 

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!