Magical School Downtime Actions

During my weekly game, I have been running a magical school game using His Majesty the Worm. Following my copy and paste manifesto ethos, I've been using The Yellow Book of Brechewold as my dungeon, but I've also been house ruling the hell out of the game to achieve the effect I wanted. 

This game plays with the normal phases of a Worm game. Play flows between Explore -> Extracurriculars -> Explore -> Exams. 

To give myself a little room in my preparation, only second-year students can do Extracurricular Actions that aren't Studying (first years need to study!). My gaming group just got to the second year (...because their first year students died to flying leeches). 

I wanted to share these downtime actions with you in hopes that they would amuse you or provide a framework for house ruling your own Worm games.

Art by Heikala

Extracurriculars

Brew Alchemy

Prerequisite: Lab Safety
Having completed your Lab Safety course, you're allowed to access the Greenhouses to percolate potions, originate oils, and brew bombs.

Boons
When you Brew Alchemy, you may transform all hermetically preserved reagents into an oil, bomb, or potion. In addition, Test Cups.

• Great Failure: An explosion! Mutagenic smoke fills the Greenhouses. Gain a mutation. To remove it, you must Disenchant it or go to the Hospital.
• Failure: No, no, stir the potion counterclockwise, not clockwise! You spoil most of the batch. Gain 1 random potion.
• Success: Gain 3 random potions.
• Great Success: See, if you crush the bell beetle with the flat of your blade before you cut into it…Create 5 random potions and choose 3.

Carousing

Blow off steam, try some magical experiments on stupid boys, and try not to get caught running down the halls after curfew. But be careful! Your fellow students might not take too kindly to you losing them the House Cup!

Boons
Gain [1d4+2]XP and lose an equivalent amount of house points x100. So if you gain 3XP, your house points decrease by 300. Also, remove the Stressed condition for free.

Commission Large Projects

Prerequisite: The Philosopher's Stone
Making gold isn't difficult, but it's a time consuming process. Using the philosopher's stone, you can create enough gold to trade to master artisans in Brechenborg.

Describe your project in a few words. You create enough gold to commission large-scale works: a statue in your honor, a wizard's tower, a bridge, an orphanage, a kennel, and so on.

Repeated use of this Extracurricular Action is cumulative; longer-syllable projects require multiple uses of the Commission Projects action.

Test Cups.

• Great Failure: Most of your batch of gold was ruined this time. You commission one syllable of the project.
• Failure: You were overambitious and stirred the mixture too soon. You commission two syllables of the project.
• Success: You commission four syllables of the project.
• Great Success: Good luck and a steady hand ensured the maximum yield of this crop of gold. You commission six syllables of the project.

Cram School

Prerequisite: 5th years with a VIM score of XX
Nearing the end of your studies but haven't completed all the courses you need for your career? One solution is to rend the forces of causality for your convenience! Petition the Headmaster to cast the Ritual of Time Sundering on your behalf.

Test Wands.

• Great Failure: Causality fallout. You become a random age, 1d100. Lose 1d4 XP.
• Failure: You are constantly confused about when you are. Impossible to learn anything like this. Lose 1XP.
• Success: You enroll in a third class this semester. The class can be any time, day or night, any year, by any professor, as long as you otherwise meet the prerequisites for it.
• Great Success: As a success. Additionally, accidentally traveled into the future briefly and glimpsed your exams. Gain a redraw to a card for any exam this semester.

Create Familiar

Prerequisites: Minor Imps, Hounds and Hawks of Brechewold
First, infuse an imp into an animal companion (usually, this is done by tricking the animal companion into eating the imp). Then, bind the animal companion as you would an imp to create a familiar.

Boons

A familiar has the following abilities:

• May be dismissed into the dreamworld when not needed or inconvenient.
• Can learn up to 5 commands.
• Has one random familiar feature.
• Almost impossible to kill; will fade into the dreaming on suffering a deadly blow, and return at some point later.

Art by Simz

Dragon Dodgeball

Prerequisites: Must complete Broom Ed
The most popular game in the world of witchery consists of several teams on brooms passing a fireball very quickly back between each other. It's dangerous, like most things at Brechewold, but glory outlasts death.

How to play
Two players. Collectively, select five small items to represent your team and mark out a play area at the table.

Draft one of the five items to each player and place the remaining piece in the middle of the play area. Players place their pieces on their edge of the play area.

Take turns flicking one of the pieces on your edge. If it hits one or more other pieces then move them all back to your edge. Pieces that leave the play area are out and removed from the game. First player to have no pieces on their edge loses.

Boons
The winner gains +1000 house points.

Those who win the Dragon Dodgeball Tournament several times become targets of professional headhunters. Who knows! You might graduate to the big leagues after school.

Disenchant

Prerequisites: Breaking Curses
Disenchantment is mostly a matter of finding the right threads to pull to make an entire spell unravel. This is done by administering a series of divinatory tests: the pendulum, reading the bones, tea leaves, etc.

Boons
A curse affecting anyone in the study group may be removed. (A tattoo from the INK spell is the most common curse.)

A cursed item's curse may be broken by taking this action. Additionally, magical items may be disenchanted and turned into mundane items.

Synergy
If the disenchanter has access to the Enchant action, they may move magical powers from one item into another. For example, stealing the +1 to hit bonus from one sword and placing it on an existing +1 sword for a +2 sword.

Dueling Club

The dungeons are a dangerous place! Learn to defend yourself like a true wizard by practicing attack magic at the Dueling Club.

How to duel

• Up to 5 players
• Each player holds up five fingers on one hand (this hand stays up for the rest of the game). Each finger is a life point.
• Each player counts to three then shows their other hand simultaneously.
• Players can zap, hold, or mirror shield.

• Zap: Point at another person. They lose 1 life, unless they have a mirror shield.
• Hold: Point your finger in the air. Nothing happens.
• Mirror Shield: Make a fist (fingers towards you). Any zaps bounce off of you and deal two points to whomever shot at you. Note: If no one shoots you, the mirror shield explodes and you lose 2 life points.
• Continue on until only one is left standing.

Boons
All participants master the "Attack" spell without needing to spend XP. Additionally, participants earn +200 house points for each student they defeated.

Enchant

Prerequisite: Runes of Power
The principle of enchantment and spellcasting is the same: draw the magic sigils and intone the incantation. Enchantment is the written form of a cast spell.

Boons
Permanently affix a spell you have mastered onto an item. For example, a magical key enchanted with the KEY spell will open any lock or a broom enchanted with the FLY spell will allow you to fly.

Art by Heikala

Forge

Prerequisite: Forging for Beginners
Your friends miss you during your long hours at the forge, but true craft takes time. Under the tutelage of Fullveig the Smith, you work the mundane forge in the courtyard of Castle Brechewold.

Describe to the GM what you want to make. This sets the amount of forge points (fp) needed to craft it.

• 1 forge point per syllable to craft something a farmer might have. Examples: dagger (2fp), pan flute (2fp), wooden dentures (4fp)
• 2 forge points per syllable of the commission if it's something an adventurer might have. Examples: helmet with a candle holder (16fp), imp trap (4fp), silverthread bug net (10fp)
• 3 forge points per syllable of the commission if it's something a noble might have. Examples: broadsword (6fp), platemail armor (12fp), bespoke clothing (12fp)
• 4 forge points per syllable of the commission if it's something that nobody has—something brand new. Examples: prosthetic leg (16fp), manticore saddle (20fp), decorative harpy wings (24fp)

Repeated use of this Extracurricular Action is cumulative; longer-syllable projects require multiple uses of the Forge action.

Test Swords.

• Great Failure: You muddle up and have to restart some of your progress. -2 forge points to your project's total.
• Failure: You make slow, steady progress towards your goal. +5 forge points.
• Success: You make excellent progress, +10 forge points.
• Great Success: You combine artistic insight with practical considerations, +15 forge points. Fullveig grants you his rare approval: +50 house points.

Grow Herbs

Prerequisite: Greenhouse Basics and Identifying Worts and Herbs or Mycology
Magical plants require special care. Whereas a petunia or begonia requires just water and light, a mandrake or wortwallop requires water, light, and mana. A careful balance of all three is needed.

Boons
Any hermetically sealed herbs or mushrooms you are carrying are planted in the Greenhouse. Thereafter, Brew Alchemy actions always include the option to brew potions made of these ingredients in addition to any other randomly created potions. (For example, if you have 2 herbs planted, you will be given the option of 3 potions out of 5 when you succeed at the Brew Alchemy action.)

Art by Heikala

Hobbies

You pursue a passion project during your downtime. Perhaps you dedicate yourself to the zither, study wizard chess, or just play Mundane Medieval Campaigns with your friends all night.

Test fate.

• Great Failure: Nobody understands your vision. And everybody's mad that your vision involved burning down half of your house common room. Lose -200 house points.
• Failure: You did that? Neat, I guess.
• Success: You become a more actualized version of yourself. The ace of a particular suit is a king for you for the rest of this semester.
• Great Success: As success, and you gain +300 house points and the blue ribbon in a local competition.

Hospital

Did you get turned into something unpleasant? Are you a victim of the rhyming curse? Did you catch a certain type of pox? It's time for a stay in the hospital wing to rest and recuperate.

Test Swords.

• Great Failure: A dozen spells, potions, and herbal poultices were tried, but no luck. You're stuck like this (for now).
• Failure: Although sometimes you still have a bit of a donkey's braying when you cough, you're mostly better! You'll be 100% cured by the end of the semester.
• Success: You're right as rain!
• Great Success: You gain favor in future tests of fate to avoid or resist whatever got you into this situation to begin with.

Hunting

Prerequisite: The Lord's Sport
You spend your free time far afield, in the Forbidden Forest of Brechewold, stalking the strange beasts that live there.

When you hunt, you slay either an exotic or natural beast.

Exotic beasts can be used as reagents in potions. Natural beasts can be used as trophies for house points. The beasts that you hunt must have HD equal to or lower than your Swords score.

Test Swords.

• Great Failure: You come back muddy, weather-beaten, and empty handed.
• Failure: Choose one:

• Hunt a random exotic beast
• Hunt a specific natural animal
• Success: Choose one:
• Bring back many exotic beasts up to your Swords score+2
• Hunt a specific natural animal up to your Swords score+4
• Great Success: Bring back an assortment of exotic beasts with HD equal to your Swords score+5. Also, you gain +500 house points for your bravery.

Make Friends

Did you take a shine to a student you met in the dungeons? Do you want to see if you actually get along with them in a non-terrifying situation?

Ask your friend about any subject and they'll give you their honest opinion. (Students might not know a lot about the dungeon itself.) Then, test Cups.

• Great Failure: You've made an enemy. They start a mean rumor about you. Every student you encounter next semester has heard it (and probably believes it).
• Failure: Well, that was awkward. Become Stressed.
• Success: Gain a new Bond with your friend, even though they're not in your study group. Begin each semester with it charged.
• Great Success: Gain a new Bond with your friend. Additionally, one time in the future, you can call in one favor. This allows you to draw two cards and take the highest in any card draw in any phase except the Explore Phase.

(If you're looking for something romantic, use the Snogging extracurricular instead.)

Moat Fishing

Many strange things fall into Lake Hart or float down from the headwaters in the mountains. Fish the moat around Brechewold to discover trash and treasure alike.

Boons
Roll 1d100. The GM will tell you what you find.

Monstroso Card Collector's Club

The most popular card game in school! Floop the pig!

Joining the club
When you join the club, you construct your first deck. Draw to see what type of deck you get.

• Swords - Aggro: Favor over Control
• Pentacles - Control: Favor over Combo
• Cups - Combo: Favor over Tempo
• Wands - Tempo: Favor over Aggro

You also gain 5 monster cards: roll 5d200 to see what you get.

Returning to the club
Each semester you attend the club, you gain a new type of deck and gain 5 new monsters.

As you explore
The Monstroso cards have interesting facts about real-life monsters on them! Keep them with you as you explore, and you can read the monster facts if you encounter them. (The GM will provide you with their actual stats.)

You might find Monstroso players in the dungeons, too! Trade cards with them.

Playing the game
Games are resolved by drawing a card and adding the rating of the deck (+favor, sometimes).

Your deck rating starts at +0. Each time you can make a "pair" of creatures that are thematically unified (two elementals, two natural animals, etc.), your deck gains a +1 bonus. You can use the same monster to make different groups. The max deck rating is +10.

At the beginning of the game, you meet your opponent. They'll give you a hint about what kind of deck they're using.

Then, make the best deck you can (most pairs) and select one of your deck types. Draw a card and add your deck rating. Add favor if your deck type has advantage over your opponent's. Highest total value wins!

Winners get 5 new monster cards.

No Good Nick's Club

Prerequisite: Must not be named Nick
This club is strictly forbidden! All students are prohibited from joining this underground fraternity! As such, this prohibited activity must not exist.

If such a club did exist, this is how it would probably go:
You would swear to uphold the Law of Comus and no Law but Comus's. Mischief will be your only lover and Chaos your only companion. You will abide no Nicks.

At midnight, you will join the fellow members of the No Good Nick's Club and raise Havoc in the halls of Brechewold.

Draw a card.
50% that you make a merry mischief, 50% it all blows up in your face

Swords/Wands (Boons)

• 1-2: You enchant a house's common room door to insult and belittle everyone who tries to use it. Later, the door tells you a rumor it heard from one of the students.
• 3-4: Everyone was very amused when you made Fflewder (Riddleward, second year) kiss the school pet pig. Gain one dose of leftover love philter.
• 5-6: You raid the Wine Cellar on the first floor of the dungeon. Gain a random wine potion but start the Explore Phase Stressed.
• 7-8: You switch your class's exam papers with copies made by the goblins of Professor Gronch. Gain +/-4 to one exam total this semester (your choice).
• 9-10: Every club member finds the most volatile reagents they can and puts them all in a Big Bomba. It's your turn to carry it right now.
• Page-Knight: You fiddle around with experimental magic with club members. Gain and spend 5XP on guessing spells you don't know yet. Inscribe any that are real and describe how the prank goes off.
• Queen-King: You fill a house's common room with Dolmenwood nixies. One starts to follow you as a familiar. Burn a charged Bond to ask it to glow.

Pentacles/Cups (Banes)

• 1-2: Ecbert catches you drawing a huge, glowing, animated caricature of him farting with the word-scroll "I eateth mine own fart" on a wall. -100 house points.
• 3-4: You summoned imps into the [boy/girl's] dormitory. They escaped and got everywhere, even defiling you with their piss/shit. Begin the next Explore Phase Stressed.
• 5-6: The Prescipiece Dragon's Dodgeball team catches you ensorcelling their balls (lol balls) and kicks the shit out of you. Begin the next Explore Phase with a Wound.
• 7-8: Pollyjuice potion mishaps. Draw again.
  [S] Shrunk [P] Bizarre hair / skin / eyes [C] Gender change [W] Pig-headed
  Lasts for the rest of the semester.
• 9-10: Backfired jinx. You cannot tell a lie for the rest of the semester or slugs will pour out of your mouth for a watch.
• Page-Knight: You fiddle around with experimental magic and accidentally banish something of your own. Lose a random object from your pack (1-21) permanently.
• Queen-King: Death-Comes-Back catches you replacing his robe with a prom dress. You lose -300 house points and are given Detention. You forfeit next semester's Extracurricular action.

Prefect

Prerequisite: 5th years with a VIM score of XX
Ah, you're the cream of the crop. The very best Brechewold has to offer! A testament to the nurturing environment of the sprawling deathtrap beneath the castle.

Boons
As a Prefect, you're in charge of managing the younger students. Those you encounter in the dungeons are obliged to obey reasonable orders; you are allowed to deduct up to 5 house points from them if they refuse.

As a Prefect, you are given a ring of keys that open (almost) every door in the dungeons.

Research

Prerequisite: Research Fundamentals
Ecbert the Librarian runs a tight ship. Candles must be behind glass at all times: no open flame! Logs are kept of each time a book is unshelved and reshelved. Absolute silence at all times.

When you research, you may ask questions on the following subjects:

• Animals—Birds, Beasts, & Fishes
• Astronomy
• Conquests of King Aethur
• Elves, Fairies, Goblins, and Changelings
• Gnomes and Wild Spirits
• Famous Witches & Wizards
• Jewels and Magical Metals
• The Land of Wildendrem
• Realms of Faerie
• Runes
• Selenian War
• Spellcraft and Words of Power

Test Cups.

• Great Failure: Dead ends. Wasted time chasing down leads that turned into tedious drivel.
• Failure: Ask the GM a single question on any subject and receive an honest, thorough answer.
• Success: Ask the GM a number of questions equal to your Cups score.
• Great Success: Ask the GM a number of questions equal to your Cups+2 score.

If you're willing to start your next Explore Phase Stressed, take favor on this check as you pull an all-nighter.

Research, Forbidden

Prerequisite: Advanced Techniques in Research
These books are bound with wards and protections both mundane and magical: chains and locks keep them inside the library. Junior under-librarians and bound ghosts patrol the shelves, making sure no students are accessing the forbidden knowledge without Ecbert's leave.

Your research efforts can now include the following subjects:

• Angels and the Heavenly Choirs
• Curses
• History of Brechewold
• History of the World Before the Flood
• Imps, Demons, and Devils
• Matters of Time: Time-Travel, Predestination, Fortune-Telling, Eschatology
• The Moon and Other Worlds Beyond the Terrestrial Sphere
• Necromancy
• The Nine Hells and Katabatic Realms

Test Cups.

• Great Failure: You learn things that men were not meant to know. (A squid guy! AHHH!). Lose 1XP and begin the next Explore Phase Stressed.
• Failure: Ask the GM a single question on any subject and receive an honest, thorough answer.
• Success: Ask the GM a number of questions equal to your Cups score.
• Great Success: Ask the GM a number of questions equal to your Cups score. You learn things that shatter your conception of your place in the universe. Gain 1XP and begin the next Explore Phase Stressed.

Studying

Let's sing the Brechewold Hymn:
Good students study.
Bad students cheat.
The very best students may eat dragon meat.

Bad students wiggle.
Good students learn.
The very best students know His Majesty the Worm.

Boons
Gain +3XP.

Snogging

When a young witch and wizard love each other very much, they sometimes want to express it by locking themselves in a broom closet and snogging each other.

Procedure
Propose one of the following dates to a student you know and get them a gift. The GM will randomly determine your date's preferences.

Date ideas:

• Adventurous (sneaking out of dorms at night to snog, trips into the Forest to pick mistletoe, tastetesting the wine from the Wine Cellar on the First Floor Dungeon)
• Entertainment (watching enchanted puppet show of The Elves and the Cooper, attending a toad choir)
• Social (attending the Springle-Ring Ball, going to see Dragon's Dodgeball games)
• Quality time (studying together in the library, walks around the castle moat, watching for falling stars from the Seers' Tower)

Gifts:

• Ephemeral (baked treacle tarts, bouquet of fainting lilies, pumpkin juice)
• Expensive (pet newt, crushed-velvet pointed hat, jewelry)
• Funny (voice-changing chocolates, lewd animated card, an amusing carrot)
• Handmade (crocheted scarf in house colors, "I wrote a song for you")

Test fate using the attribute of your date's Brechewold house. Modify the test based on the student's preferences.

Results

• Critical Failure: Worst date you've ever had. They start a mean rumor about you. Everyone of the same gender as your date has their Disposition with you worsened by one step.
• Failure: Boring conversation, so you made out and did some light hand stuff. They're willing to go out with you again. Cure Stressed.
• Success: A rousing success! Cure Stressed and gain +1 to future Snogging actions with this student (cumulative). If you wish, gain a new Bond with this student called Boy/Girlfriend. It begins charged. If you burn the charge, you will need to Snog to charge it again.
• Critical Success: You're in love! Gain a Love Bond with this student. It begins each semester charged. Gain a locket with their picture—if you would ever take Death's Door, it cracks instead. Cure Stressed.

Tutoring

Are you looking for one-on-one tutoring? You may appeal to a professor and request direct mentorship.

When you encounter this professor in the dungeons in the future, their Disposition improves by one step towards you.

Additionally, make a test of fate based on the professor's house (Riddleward = Cups, Kelpuous = Pentacles, etc.).

• Great Failure: This could not have gone worse. Their Disposition actually worsens by one step when they encounter you instead.
• Failure: Your request is rejected; they are simply too busy this semester.
• Success: You work one-on-one with the professor after classes. Choose two boons from below.
• Great Success: As before, but gain all three boons.

Boons

• Hear a second rumor from that professor.
• Learn 1 spell (GM's choice) from the class without spending XP.
• During that class's exam, draw 2 cards and choose the highest, as if you had a group study session.

Art by Heikala

Visit Brechenborg

Prerequisite: 3rd+ years only
Did you break your wand? Visit Brechenborg to replace broken, missing, or depleted essential items.

In addition to replacing anything with a Restock or Limited keyword and any School Supplies you might need, you may select items from the following equipment list:

• Weapon
• Doublet (1 armor)
• Fine clothes
• Block and tackle
• Chain
• Crowbar
• Falconry gear
• Hatchet
• Hammer
• Lard
• Leeches
• Salt
• Shovel
• Spyglass
• Torch
• Wine (fine)

Write Thank You Card

Everybody has a birthday. Celebrate yours! Choose something else from your starting equipment list. Then, write your parents a nice thank you note. Usable once only.

Art by Heikala

Troubles in the Northfarthing

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

In this entry, trouble begets trouble as trolls (driven towards these lands by the Necromancer, no doubt) awakens an entity older than the Shire. A stalwart company may be able to unravel the mystery before things get out of hand.

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

44.51

OLD GRAVEYARD. Near the south of the hex, an old Hobbit graveyard (now unused). Names such as Gammidge, Roper, and Gamwich are commonly found on tombstones. Many graves seem freshly disturbed. To the north, unkempt heathlands of hemp and flax.

(1-3) - TROLLS: At night, the wood-trolls Ed and Ned (44.52) are here, digging through old graves for marrow bones.

45.51

TIGHFIELD. A small Hobbit village. Many local hobbits work at the ropemarker's yard (also called the "ropewalk"). The Order of the Eagle's chapterhouse is in Tighfield. The local inn is called The Tightrope Walker.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Hugo Gammidge (hobbit - long, white hair, suspicious, farmer) swears he's seen huge, lurking shadows skulking through his fields to the north of town (44.51), 2. Robin Roper (hobbit - short, cheerful, ropemaker) is looking for someone to teach him acrobatics and juggling, 3. Angelica Gamwich (hobbit - white-lock, cunning, goodwife) has heard that another member of the Order of the Eagle, Priam Cadwall of Hardbottle (51.54), has recently imported an antique from Harad.

PRESTIGIOUS ORDER OF THE EAGLE MEETING HOLE: A reserved society of intellectuals, philosophers, and debate-enthusiasts. Entry into the Order of the Eagle is predicated on being able to defeat a standing member in a riddling contest (which is a primary occupation of many meetings).

! - ROPE THIEF: Andy Roper (hobbit - flat-faced, simple, rope-maker) leads a mob of angry Tighfielders against the The Tightrope Walker, where three dwarves, led by Ergl Broadbeam (dwarf - proud, pugnacious, trader), have shut themselves in. Andy accuses them of theft from the ropewalk. The tensions between the two groups are escalating towards violence, and both sides are eager for a neutral party to resolve the situation.

The dwarves are innocent; they have been framed by Bess Muggins (hobbit - sour-faced, prejudiced, innkeeper), who erroneously blames dwarven merchants for her husband's disappearance years ago.
[Credit: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]

46.51

FOX DOWNS. A hilly country of the Westfarthing, approaching the bounds of the Shire. Flax, hemp, and wildflowers grow in abundance. Draw on the Wilderness Landmarks table.

(1) - FOX HUNTERS: A pack of hunting dogs precede Timothee Broadbuck (hobbit - widow's peak, braggadocious, goodman) and seven companions, all on ponies, out hunting foxes. Mr. Broadbuck is in a foul mood since one of his saddlebags has been lost ("Along with my precious horn!").

47.51

FOX DOWNS. A hilly country of the Westfarthing, approaching the bounds of the Shire. Draw on the Wilderness Landmarks table.

(3) - The burglar with the highest Understanding must make a Δ8 test. If successful, they glimpse a fox carrying something shiny disappear into a hole by a tree. Investigating the tree hole reveals a cache of 4d6 silvers and an enchanted hunting horn (screeches like a fox when blown, 5-in-6 chance of summoning one).

44.52

FOREST on the NORTH MOORS. In a fold of the land, a marshy forest of oak, beech, alder and hazel tangles itself before yielding to the vast heath of the North Moors. The forest is eerily quiet. The Water gathers into its headstream in the northeastern corner of this hex.

TROLL'S DEN. Hidden. Inside a bowl of a dead tree is a tunnel into a sandy cave. A pair of wood-trolls, Ed and Ned, sleep here during the day. The bones of sheep, deer, coneys, and foxes litter the floor.

• Ed carries an enchanted skinning knife (+2 to Subtlety when stalking animals). He also wears an enchanted bangle that allows him to perceive 500' of his immediate area while in the wilderness, even through dense brush or unworked stone.
• Ned carries a shrunken orc head that can be asked questions of Orc Lore or Eryn Vorn Lore. Cursed. He also carries a shiny, lucky button. If carried by a non-troll, will heal 10d10 Endurance for its bearer at the best possible moment. The button then goes dull.
• Treasure is kept in a copper cauldron buried (obviously) in the cave. Totals: 17 gp, 110 sp, 160 cp.
• A piece of enchanted wood, vaguely face-like, is kept as a pet by the trolls. Pleasant to the touch. Can be carved into an enchanted (+1) item.

(1-3) - TROLLS: At night, the wood-trolls Ed and Ned stalk the forest in search of food. They've eaten most of the local wildlife. They're getting desperate and willing to take risks.
(6) - CHARCOAL BURNERS: Vigo Burrows (hobbit - bald-crowned, plainspoken, charcoal burner) and his son, Diggo, have set up a camp and charcoal kiln outside the forest. They swear they've seen elm trees, seventeen feet tall, walking through the forest at night.

[Credit: MERP - Realms - The Shire]

45.52

MISTYDELL. The northern slopes of the White Downs terminate in a bowl-like valley, filled with trickling streams, small waterfalls, and frequent fogs. The region has a bad reputation and is rarely visited.

GULLIONMERE. At the very center of the folds of the valley is a pond called the Gullionmere. There is a local superstition that a monster dwells in the pond, though nobody really believes it. On the banks grow croquists (small purple flowers in spring and summer) that grant water-breathing when chewed like gum.

THE GULLION: The Gullion is, however, real. A creature whose origins are lost to time (spirit? faerie?), it has dwelt in the Mistydell before the coming of the Hobbits. Recently, its only friend, a fox named Tawnwiddy, was killed and eaten by the wood-trolls in 44.52. This has enraged the Gullion, and it's venturing forth for the first time in generations.

In appearance, a drowned man the color of a starless night with hair like water weeds. Its arms can grow impossibly long, and it can reach out of its pond home and snatch creatures from the shore. It is strong enough to lift a pony.

It drinks the blood of animals (sheep, ponies, chickens), leaving them dried husks. It kidnaps those who go on two legs and takes them back to its underwater home, where they cannot escape.

He is difficult to talk to and is an incoherent speaker, often crying and blubbering about "my Friend." The Gullion is a sporting creature and loves games of all kinds.

END: 99, VAL: 7, STR: 6, SKI: 2, UND: 0, SUB: 2, BEA: -2. EP: 10,200.

GULLION'S HOME: A damp cave accessed via the Gullionmere. Crudely carved algae-covered logs serve as furniture.

• Heavy copper cooking gear: A lovely old twenty-piece set dating back to King Valandil of Arnor. The Gullion uses it to brew teas that heal his guests.
• Nine-mens Morris set: A fine board with obsidian and marble playing pieces.
• Musical instruments: A lyre made out of a turtle shell. The Gullion is a good player, but it rattles the teeth.
• Trophies: Eriadorian red brass battle axe (enchanted, +3), Arnorian shield (enchanted, +1), Arnorian carved staff (Endurance battery for magic, 5 points), and a river pike's head the size of a pig.

(1) - THE GULLION: At night, the Gullion can be found crying and seeking revenge in the hills. Those investigating his pond can be attacked even during the day.
(2-5) - MISTS: Fogs and vapors tumble down the hills and get trapped in the valleys, no matter the weather at the top.
[Credit: MERP - Realms - The Shire]

46.52

ROAD. The road between Little Delving (46.53) and Tighfield (45.51) runs through the northeast corner of this hex. To the south and north, the landscape is a patchwork of tidy farms, hedges, and low-stone walls.

(1) - Gerontius "Ron" Took (hobbit - bright-eyed, overeager, tween adventurer) has been sold a magic sword (fake) by an unscrupulous dwarf and is looking for adventure in the North Moors. He'll come to a bad end if not helped or redirected. If returned safely home, the Tooks and Gandalf will both be thankful.
(6) - A sibling trio of musicians, Sally, Terry, and Mickel Oldfield (hobbit - hazel-eyed, dreamy, musicians) are encamped on the side of the road. They're playing music to raise money to stay at an inn the next night. Listening to their songs restores 1 Endurance.

From Little Delving to Nobottle to Long Cleeve

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

North of Michel Delving, a road runs to Little Delving, continues on to Nobottle, and then arcs up to Long Cleeve in the Northfarthing. These hexes contain the first site-based adventure of our Middle-earth Hexmap experiment. Here, the problems of the populous are still pedestrian, but you'll soon start to see how queer things can get on the borders of the wild.

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

46.53

LITTLE DELVING. A Hobbit town with many holes bored into the hillside. It is more traditional and sleepier than the "metropolitan" Michel Delving (48.54). A round watch tower stands at the heights of the town, looking down into the White Downs. The Three Roses Inn caters to hiking enthusiasts from Michel Delving. The inn's patrons complain of gorecrows roosting to the north (45.53).

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Lobelia Hornblower (hobbit - doe-eyed, outspoken, amateur lepidopterist) is interested in all sorts of wildlife and has explored the region more than almost anybody, 2. Debin Diggle (hobbit - pockmarked, shy, stonemason) is looking for tips to improve his golf game, 3. Posie Pasturedale (hobbit - homely, chatterbox, servant) says that Farmer Hornblower has a cat named Her Ladyship that attacks only those hobbits that indulge in infidelity, 4. Adelia Waymoot (hobbit - round-faced, dopey, messenger) runs mail between Little and Michel Delving, and is often found at the Three Roses Inn having one (or more) for the road.

! - LITERARY BURGLARY: Mrs. Plenty Fairbanks (hobbit - always carrying two tiny dogs in her sleeves, pretentious, goodwife) is always trying to play matchmaker for the young hobbits of the town, but has never learned her letters—which she keeps as a grave secret. Her request is this: Break into her neighbor, Mrs. Heather Hornblower's, hole. Find the RSVP responses for her upcoming party. Comb through them to see who shall be in attendance, and report back if either the mayor, Pitt Proudfoot (48.54), or thain, Peregrin Took (48.57), is in attendance. Absolute secrecy is a must.

46.54

NEEDLEHOLE. A rural Hobbit village. The Water flows from Needlehole into the Rushock Bog (46.55). The few families that live in Needlehole make their living as hunters, trappers, and fishers; they're some of the rare folk who venture regularly into Rushock Bog or Bindbole Wood (46.56).

! - BOG-WOOD: Adalgrim Goodbody (hobbit - uses an earhorn, unmannered, pipe-carver) needs petrified bog-wood from the Rushock Bog (46.55) for his pipes. Uses special dwarven-bought tools to carve it. Willing to pay the usual fee or carve a custom pipe as payment.
[Inspiration from TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]

NOBOTTLE. A rural Hobbit village, famous for its lack of inns. The Banks family who have lived in Nobottle since its founding are one of the few families of Hobbit tea-totalers. Their influence ensures that Nobottle keeps a somber, sober tone. Folk complain of gorecrows roosting to the west (45.53).

! - SCARECROW: Rosamund Banks (hobbit - mole with hair on her chin, severe, goodwoman), the matriarch of the Banks clan, has had it up to "here" with the gorecrows. She demands the construction of a giant scarecrow to keep the gorecrows away. Needs (1) Man-sized clothes (shirt, pants, and hat) to construct the scarecrow, (2) shiny objects to hang from the scarecrow, and (3) at least six gorecrows worth of feathers to stuff the scarecrow with.

! - SCANDALOUS PARTY PREPARATION: Buying beer isn't illegal (by any means) in Nobottle, just difficult and discouraged, with no regular traders bringing any from outside town. Halfred Bunce (hobbit - mustached, even tempered, fisherman) is trying to get together enough stock to throw a coming-of-age birthday party for his son, Norbit. He'd like bottles from Hammidge Estates (50.53), Old Winyards (48.55), and Apple-bright Meadery (46.59).

45.53

WINDMILLS. Windmills dot the landscape of these fields. One is broken and abandoned, infested with gorecrows.

! - GORECROWS: Exploring the broken windmill triggers a site-based adventure.

1. Approach: The road is overgrown. A broken lantern hangs from a pole at the turn towards the windmill, its tattered sails flapping in the breeze. 1d4 gorecrows attack any characters who pass the lantern pole.
   1. Observing the windmill shows there are two entrances: one on the ground floor (2), and one on the walkway used for servicing the sails (4).
2. Entrance: Circular room, with the central shaft of the mill dominating. The meal chute and meal troughs are broken, the barrels in disarray, and any corn once here long eaten. A rickety ladder is set against a hatch to an upper story about 12' up. The croaking of gorecrows can be heard in the upper levels.
   1. Ladder: Using the ladder breaks it when first used (obvious if observed). The character using it can catch the ledge and pull themselves up or drop back to ground level.
3. Mill: The second story houses the mill itself, the grindstone turned by the shaft of the mechanism. The third story has collapsed; the wreck is piled here. Gorecrow droppings and greasy black feathers are everywhere; they can be heard clearly above. A round door provides an exit to the exterior.
   1. Wreck: Searching the wreck reveals a single silver coin, dropped from above. Characters can intuit the gorecrows have some sort of hoard in their nest in the roofing.
4. Walkway: The exterior walkway on the second story is used for servicing the sails. They can be climbed from this vantage.
5. Sails: Climbing on the sails requires Strength Δ4. As soon as 50% of the characters begin the ascent, 1d4+2 goregrows attack. Suffering damage while climbing requires another Strength Δ4 check; on a failure, fall and suffer 2d6 damage.
6. Nest: At the top of the windmill is the gorecrow's nest: a bristling expanse of sticks and wreckage. Inside the nest is a hoard of stolen goods from Little Delving and Nobottle:
   1. Hoard: a pearl necklace, a lady's lace fan, 14 monogrammed handkerchiefs, a single diamond cufflink, a locket with a cameo, a walking stick with a mother-of-pearl handle, a porcelain pipe carved like a grandfather's face, a bronze trophy for 2nd place in lawn bowling, a silvered letter opener, a brass candlestick, a child's stuffed rabbit, a wig (ruined), a dog collar with an engraved silver nametag ("Tricky Woo"), 164 pence, 46 silver pieces.

44.53

ROAD. The road from Nobottle to Long Cleeve runs along the Water.

(1) - SIGNATURES: Members of the Matronly Order of Good Members are stationed on the road south of Long Cleeve soliciting signatures for a farthing-wide ban on dancing of the "Springle-ring" (a pretty dance, but rather vigorous). Naysayers have their names and descriptions taken down in a big book by Lobelia Sackville-Baggins of Sackville (52.56).
(3) - GULLION: At night, the Gullion (45.52) skulks along the road. It will attack those it encounters, trying to carry off one adventurer to its lair.
(6) - CHALLENGE: Salvia North-took (hobbit - chipped tooth, brave, farmer's daughter) guards one of the footbridges to Long Cleeve. She challenges tough-looking sorts to a staving competition: Valour Δ6 or be knocked into the water. She gives hobbits who win a kiss!

43.53

LONG CLEEVE. A Hobbit town, carved into a high hillside, looking down into a valley cut by the Norbury river. Downright mountainous by Shire standards, with an Alpine flair: lederhosen, obstinate cliff goats, and an even longer model of smoking pipe. Long Cleeve's public house is called The Dig. The Hill Dog's Croquet Club has their headquarters here.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Gerontimus Gammich (hobbit - ear hair, eccentric, clockmaker) is proudly displaying their latest mechanical clock, which has a funny story of an amorous hobbit lad chasing a goatherd lass that plays each hour, 2. Samwise Mugwort (hobbit - plump and red-cheeked, optimistic, green grocer) has a black eye from the latest all-out brawl during the past weekend's croquet game, 3. Ruby Goodenough (hobbit - beauty mark, sanguine, weaver) waxes lyrical with old wives' wisdom about the amount of snow that will fall this year, 4. Azamanthus "Manny" Underhill (hobbit - always dirty, circumspect, miner) swears that he's heard wolves howling in the foothills of the Twilight Hills.

REEVE OF YONDERSHIRE: The North-tooks are the chief family in the region; the head of that clan is Blanco North-took, the Reeve of Yondershire (hobbit - dashing, pragmatic, shirriff). Speaks warmly of a statue built in honor of his ancestor at the site of the Battle of Greenfields (43.58).

! - MISSING SHEEP: Several farmers have complained of missing sheep or goats; so many that it seems that some foul play must be at the bottom of it. Shirriff North-took will hire burglars to investigate: he has a notion that something uncanny or queer is at work.

The truth is that the Gullion, a monster from Hobbit folktales, is to blame. See that creature's entry in 45.52 for more details. Discovering the true culprit will not be easy. Those with Wilds Lore can track its footprints back to its lair. Those with Beast Lore can tell that no natural animal left any sign in the pastures. It is not unlikely that, while exploring the Northmoors, the fellowship might encounter Ed and Ned (44.52), though they're not the true culprits.

Five Hexes Around Michel Delving

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

Michel Delving, as the chief settlement in the Shire, deserved an especially large entry--outside the bounds of what I'd normally like to dedicate to a hex. But I suspect that you can run an entire campaign built off of the plot threads in this city!

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

48.54

MICHEL DELVING. The chief settlement of the Shire and the Hobbit's "capital." The Town Hole, where the mayor resides, the museum known as the Mathom-house, and the storage tunnels known as Lockholes can all be found in Michel Delving. There are several taverns and public houses to be found in the city, but the best is the Bird & Baby Tavern. In the center of the town are statues of Marcho and Blanco, the founders of the Shire. Outside of town, there is a golf course.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Rosie Heather (hobbit - cleft chin and buckteeth, free-spirited, shopkeeper's daughter) is good at hustling chess games for free drinks at the Bird & Baby, 2. Penny Cotton (hobbit - pleasantly plump, proper, tea seller) is always on the look-out for interesting people to come to her famous tea parties, 3. Neville Periwold (hobbit - wet-eyed, offensive, under-jailer) laments that the Lockholes haven't been used to lock anyone up in a generation, 4. Miles Sittish (hobbit - dandy, charming, haberdasher) offers to patch or mend any travel-worn outfits the fellowship is wearing, 5. Peck Whitfoot (hobbit - freckled, good natured, smith) wishes he had more time for artistic pieces, but mostly spends his time hammering out horseshoes, 6. Three dwarves—Erik (dwarf - tall, hasty, butcher), Baleog (dwarf - fierce, grumpy, baker), and Olaf (dwarf - stout, cheerful, chandler)—plying their wares.

! - FLOWERS for HEARTBREAK: Miss Tilly Whitfoot (hobbit - pretty, practical, debutante) needs to end her engagement with Master Jon "Stony" Gorges. To this end, she is looking for someone to assemble and send the perfect flower arrangement. Hobbit gentry use coded meanings for each flower: white rose means "I cannot," pink roses mean "yes," and so on. The actual text of the flower message is up to the sender, but it must be clear that it breaks their engagement, must be firm, and must be kind.

Fellowships without Hobbit Lore can inquire at the Mathom-house to find the appropriate array of flowers. Once the correct bouquet is selected, they must be picked in the wild. Then, they must be hand delivered to the hole of the Gorges family.

TOWN HOLE - MAYOR PITT PROUDFOOT: The current mayor, Pitt Proudfoot (hobbit - ostentatious, puttering, lawyer/mayor) is the only real official in the Shire. The mayor's role is mostly ceremonial, presiding at marriages and settling informal business disputes. In addition, the mayor is the nominal head of the Shire-post and Messenger Service and serves as the First Shirrif. The mayor also operates as a lawyer in his spare time.

! - CHEESE SYNDICATE: Mayor Proudfoot has been trying to get to the bottom of the city's cheese shortage. The dairy farmers claim to have had good years with better-than-normal yields, but the grocers report empty shelves. He's looking for a worthy person with a good brain to investigate. Requires at least one hobbit character to be deputized.

In truth, the Cheesemongers Guild has a scheme to fix prices in Michel Delving. They've hidden the cheese shipments from farms outside the city in the Lockholes, getting access by way of a junior under-jailer (named Neville Periwold) until the grocers agree to pay their outrageous fees. They use bullying and intimidation to keep the matter hushed up. The head of the guild is Mrs. Goldilocks Curdletoe (hobbit - mean smile and gold tooth, conniving, businesswoman).

(It's worth noting that hobbits have very few actual laws, but this sort of bullying is universally understood as practically criminal behavior.)

If the adventure has a satisfactory outcome, Mayor Proudfoot will give hobbit characters an indefinite honorary deputyship.

! - MISSING MESSENGER: A messenger for the Quick Post, Mrs. Adelia Waymoot, didn't return from her rounds last night. Her normal route is between Michel Delving and Little Delving (46.53) every other day.

Those with Wilds Lore who follow the road between the two towns can see a place where feet left the track, seemed to lay down against a tree, and then rejoined the road. Tufts of red fur are found nearby.

Messenger Waymoot can be found in the Three Rose Pub in Little Delving (46.53), practically hiding in a cup of beer. She admits that she took a nap on her route and woke to find her satchel of letters being pulled away by a clever fox (Under Hill, By Water, p. 86). She tried to recover it, but gave up when it began to get dark.

The fox has hidden the satchel in the bowl of a tree. Every day that goes by before solving the mystery loses 1% of the satchel's contents to the weather.

MATHOM-HOUSE: A point of interest. The Mathom-house, a Hobbitish museum, displays antiques and trinkets for which Hobbits have no particular use. It is also the chapter house of the Mathom-house Curators, who keep small collections throughout the Shire. A couple, Malva and Bingo Slowfoot (hobbits - old, crotchety, curators) tend to the hoard. Here, you can see antiques such as a pair of sparkling diamond studs once belonging to Gerontius Took, a wheeled contraption called a 'velocipede' constructed by Thattle Sandyman, and the first tobacco pipe used by Tobold Hornblower himself, in addition to genealogical records, cook books, and maps.

While in Michel Delving, you can ask questions about Hobbit Lore for 1 silver. You can use the Mathom-house to conduct the Research downtime action.
[Credit: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]

! - TRANSLATION TROUBLE: The Mathom-house has acquired a parchment, allegedly a record of the deed to the Shire and the election of the first thain, Bucca of the Marish. The Sindarin written in the mode of the kings of Arthedain is difficult for the lore-masters of the Mathom-house Curators to translate (the ambiguity of the genitive ending for the first and second declensions). The Curators are hiring someone who can do first-hand research to resolve the dispute.

A lore-master with both Ranger Lore and Elvish Lore could translate the relic directly. If no member has this combination, they must travel outside the Shire to seek these specialists. The stone found by Farmer Maggot (50.60) could also be used to settle this argument.

FREE FAIR. During the three intercalary days of Lithe (midyear's day), the Free Fair is held outside of Michel Delving. It is so named because booths may be erected without paying a fee. The wizard Gandalf the Gray regularly attends these fairs and puts on a fireworks display. Every seven years, the Free Fair is also used to elect the next mayor; the next election is next year.

47.53

WHITE DOWNS. Hills turfed with grass, with limestone and white chalk showing bare at the tops.

THE BIG MAN. A point of interest. A chalk hill figure said to resemble a tall warrior of the Big Folk. Drawn long ago, currently maintained by Burgo Bracegirdle (hobbit - freckled, friendly, farmer).

47.54

WHITE DOWNS. The road between Michel Delving and Little Delving runs through chalk hills turfed with grass, with limestone and white chalk showing bare at the tops. Small farms lie in the combes of the downs, raising mostly ponies and sheep (the region is agriculturally poor).

KNOCK HILL. A point of interest. Not technically the highest point in the Shire, but the one that commands the best view; can see all four farthings.

48.55

OLD WINYARDS WINERY. Farmlands, rich with grapes. The Shire's oldest winery, Old Winyards, is the chief landmark in the region. Owned by Old Tallyman Mazer (hobbit - beesting nosed, exacting, wine-maker), who's quite advanced in years but has no successor to the business. (Except his eldest daughter, Lavender ((hobbit - ginger, capable, farmer's daughter)), who has helped capably at the farm for all of her 33 years. But Old Tallyman doesn't consider hobbit maids to be worthy successors to such an esteemed institution.)

Bottles of the wine make excellent gifts: last year's bottles (3 pennies), 2935 vintage (7 pennies), 2930 vintage (1 silver).

! - LETTER OF SHOP TALK: Old Tallyman regularly corresponds to other brewers and vintners in the region, but the Post doesn't carry letters out of the Shire. Willing to trade a case of his 2934 vintage for delivery of a letter to Mr. Thad Butterbur, The Prancing Pony, Bree (47.66).

49.54

ROAD. The road runs between Michel Delving and Hardbottle. Outlying farms, staple crops, and tobacco fields lie on either side of the road.

(1-3) - OLD GUS: An ornery goat blocks the path ahead. If the fellowship approaches, it lowers its head and charges. Stats as bear. (Won't fight to the death.)
(5-6) - HOBBIT-IN-A-HANDSOME: A passing hobbit in a pony-drawn cab warns you about Old Gus, a mean goat that patrols this stretch of road.

48.53

ROAD. The East Road stretches between Michel Delving and Greenholm. The White Downs rise to the north and tidy farmlands stretch out to the south.

(1) - BEES!: Hobbit children off the side of the road, playing at throwing stones as the fellowship passes. All who pay attention to the game test Understanding Δ4. Those who succeed see them throwing at a bee hive. If not stopped, the furious bees chase the fellowship. Those without a clever plan to avoid the bees must test Strength Δ8 to avoid 1d6 damage.
(6) - TRAVELING TINKER: A dwarf's traveling wagon is stationed by the side of the road. Vestri (dwarf - forked red beard, amiable, smith) is selling a small collection of metal tools, weapons, and cookware. Will sharpen any edge for a penny (+1 to hit for the next 2 weeks).

A Hexmap for Middle-earth

I reread The Lord of the Rings most years, and have done so since I was 12. As I was reading it this year, I was thinking about the physicality of journeys and exploration embodied by the books, even in the early chapters. It is a book about journeys: walking through your home country, taking shortcuts, getting water from a stream, repacking your bags for weight distribution, avoiding roads, finding river crossings, and so on. As ever, I was wondering how to reflect this experience at the gaming table. 

I found that Idraluna Archives had done the yeoman's work of putting together a hexmap for Middle-earth. And I began thinking...

Click here to check out the post and download the high-res map

As a daily writing exercise in the vein of Dungeon23, I've committed to keying one hex on this map per day. 

There are thousands of hexes on this map. I'm only going to do this as long as the daily-writing exercise is interesting to me. Perhaps only as long as it takes me to complete this year's reread. 

I am going to focus my attention on clearing out regions: all of the Shire, all of the Trollshaws, all of Erebor, etc. We'll see how far I get! I'll post my progress here, sporadically. 

Notes

The year I am focused on is T.A. 2940--the year before Bilbo Baggins went on his great adventure. The main threat in the world is the Necromancer, lurking in his fortress of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood. 

12-mile hexes can sometimes compress a lot of information near civilization: for example, villages in the Shire tend to get clumped up into the same hexes. But, as you can see, there's also vast tracts of emptiness on the map where one will have to be creative to keep these keys interesting. 

In addition to the map, I'm going to be relying heavily on Karen Wynn Fonstad's Atlas of Middle-earth.

This is an opportunity for me to use the vast wealth of licensed Tolkien game material that I own, but adapted and rewritten for my sensibilities. When I lean on one of these sources, I will cite it. '

In addition to the hex keys themselves, I am assuming a game would use the machinery of hexcrawling rules: random encounters, rumor tables, weather, etc.

Stats are written for a Lord of the Rings game that does not exist. The assumption is that player characters are burglars who can be hired to take on adventuring or treasure-finding opportunities, professionally.

How to read the entries

HEX #

SITE NAME IN CAPITALS. The site name is mostly to help the GM remember the contents of the hex. The site description is given in Roman font. The type of terrain, which is needed for random sites or wandering encounters, is listed on the map. Particularly interesting sites where quests, rumors, random encounters, and interesting NPCs can be found are given in bold. Hidden features are given in italics. 

HIDDEN SITE. Hidden features of the hex are presented in italics. These can only be found during certain times or by exploring the main feature of the hex.

! - QUEST NAME: Details a potential job for a burglar, if the players go sniffing around for work. 

✦ - OFTEN HERE: If the region is inhabited, a quick list of NPC names and descriptions for the GM to easily pull from. The number of NPCs is reflective of the size of the settlement, ranging between four and twelve. 

(d6): A special encounter could be here. Roll a d6. If the face equals the number shown, this event is currently occurring when the fellowship arrives, if it possibly makes sense.

Six hexes around Hobbiton

Official and unofficial support for this region:

• The One Ring: Starter Set - Shire, Free League Publishing
• Middle Earth Role-playing: Realms - The Shire, ICE
• Pipedream, Role Over Play Dead
• Under Hill, By Water, Josh McCrowell

Note: If you ever need to build out one of the many Hobbit villages mentioned in these hexes with more substance, use the procedure provided on pp. 23-33 of Under Hill, By Water. 

47.56

HOBBITON. A prosperous Hobbit village, comfortably situated under the Hill, where the windows of grand, old smials look out onto the Water and the East Road. The Water churns the wheel of the Old Mill. Near the Hill is the Party Field, where local festivals are often celebrated. 

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Bingo Baggins (hobbit - jolly, respectable, goodman) will be delighted to hear stories of adventures and would be tickled to buy trinkets and artifacts from outside the Shire, 2. Halfred Gamgee (hobbit - brown-skinned, plain-spoken, manservant) plays a fiddle that never fails to make people dance, 3. Holman Greenhand (hobbit - aged, overly talkative, gardener) knows the properties of most herbs and plants, 4. Lassy Twofoot (hobbit - plump, friendly, baker) sells ornate cakes and confections; can make a cake appear like "almost anything" (1 penny per syllable of description). 

(5-6) - PARTY: A party (or preparations or post-event cleanup) is happening at the Party Field. The party is 1. Village fair, 2. Pott Whitfoot's birthday party, 3. Master Bill Bracegirdle and Miss Patty Proudfoot's wedding, 4. Historical reenactment of the Invention of Golf

! - RATS: Thattle Sandyman complains that rats have taken up in the Old Grange, the village granary (2d12 rats, larger than most). Will pay a copper penny per rat tail. 

! - LOST DOG: Holman Greenhand has lost his dog, Grim. His arthritis disallows him from searching for him. 

Grim has wandered into the Rushock Bog (46.55) and become stuck. Successful recovery is rewarded with six bottles of Old Winyards 2931, a surpassing vintage. 

BYWATER. A small Hobbit village situated near the Pool of Bywater. Fishing and agriculture occupy the locals, when they aren't trading gossip and rumors at the Green Dragon Inn.

✦ - OFTEN HERE: 1. Farmer Cotton (hobbit - weatherworn, traditionalist, farmer) is happy to talk about the weather and share his opinion on the veracity of local rumors, 2. Largo Grubb (hobbit - scarecrow-esque, jocular, driver) will drive Hobbiton folks visiting Bywater's pubs back to the Hill for a penny, 3. Ruthie Overwater (hobbit - rosy-cheeked, chatty, bar-maid) will sell passable portraits (oil on canvas) of anyone who wants their likeness captured for a few pence, 4. Duri (dwarf - smallish, money-minded, rope trader) is worried about not hearing from his companions who went to Tighfield (45.51).

! - MYSTERY MUSHROOMS: Polly Twofoot (hobbit - pinched, nosy, goodwife) can't stand not knowing how Gerda Boffin always has crops of mushrooms of such surpassing quality without keeping a garden; suspects thievery. Will hire private investigators for 1 silver penny. 

Gerda Boffin (hobbit - well-fed, matter-of-fact, goodwife) has a secret mushroom stash growing in a hollow tree in Bindbole Wood (46.56). She will not divulge this secret spot willingly; the fellowship must follow her in stealth. 

[Credit: TOR2E - Starter Set - Shire]

46.55

RUSHOCK BOG. A rushy swamp. Entering this hex costs 1 Endurance due to the treacherous paths and biting insects. Little visited except for duck hunters and apothecaries on a hunt for herbs that don't grow elsewhere in the Shire. 

(1) - GALLOW'S WEED: The last person in the party's marching order runs afoul of gallow's weed—a wicked plant that has no love for those who go on two feet. They must test Strength Δ8 or be snared by the throat and hoisted into the low branches of the trees from which the weed grows: on a failure, suffer 1d10 damage and remain trapped and choking until rescued. Those who travel with an Herbalist make this test at Δ6 instead, as their herb-lore allows them to warn their companions.

46.56

BINDBOLE WOOD. An evergreen forest—pines, junipers, and yew. It is an old wood, older than the Shire, and sleepy. There are no good walking paths through it.

(4) - A clever fox (Under Hill, By Water, p. 86) digging beetles from a fallen log. (5) - A split bag of 1d6 silver coins, dropped in a dry creekbed. (6) - At night only. A wandering company of elves, led by Saelin Wise-heart. They will hide themselves from parties of mostly dwarves.

46.57

FARMER LIGHTFOOT & FARMER LONGDWELLER. Large tracts of farmland abut one another here: Well Hollow (owned by the Lightfoots) and The Longhole (owned by rgw Longdewllers). Mostly tobacco fields. ! - PRIZE COW: One family has stolen another’s prize cow, Mabel. Mabel gives milk sweet as cream and always produces two healthy calves each spring. This isn’t the first time this has happened; the two families are always stealing Mabel from each other. Randomly determine which family currently has Mabel; the other family is willing to hire help to recapture her.

47.57

THREE-FARTHING STONE. Point of interest. Marker stone stands at the center of the Shire on the East Road, where the East, South, and West Farthings meet.

(4-5) - KING-OF-THE-STONE: Hobbit youths in two teams playing King-of-the-Stone, where they try to climb and throw each other off the marker.

(6) - MAYORAL SPEECH: Hobbit mayoral candidates giving stump speeches by standing on the stone, with small crowds applauding or heckling based on how bored they are.

48.56

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

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

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

47.55

ROAD. The East Road runs through well-tended farmland (staple crops, pastureland, tobacco fields). A well-traveled section of road between Michel Delving and Hobbiton: roll twice on the encounter table to see who the fellowship meets along the way.

WAYMEET. A small hobbit village where the East Road connects to the road to Little Delving (to the north) and Tookland (to the south). 

! - FEVERISH CHILD: Lotho Brown's son, Little Lotho, is sick with the flux. He asks you to fetch Mrs. Muckle Took, the apothecary at Tuckburrow (48.57) to tend to him. As thanks, he'll give the party a beautiful walking stick carved in the likeness of a fox (+1 travel points). 

My personal Appendix N

When Warren first had the idea of an Appendix N blog bandwagon, I thought I'd skip it. His Majesty the Worm has an Appendix N section (Dungeon Meshi! House of Orr! Pornography!). But something funny happened that made me realize: "This isn't about the Worm. This is about Me."

A little story

After college, I was working my first job and playing a lot of RPGs. 4E had come out, and ever the conformist, I swore my fealty to the Pathfinder banner during the schism. I wrote a few third-party Pathfinder books for Purple Duck for pocket change. I loved doing it! I was making money (however small) on RPGs. 

Yesterday, I was doing a little writing exercise and had a dim memory of one of the books I wrote called The Heroes of the Fenian Triarchy. I dug the PDF out and looked at it. I didn't recognize it as my own writing. Legalistic game jargon. Long lists of the types of services you can expect in fantasy villages. But hey, that's the deal with Pathfinder. 

What happened? What gave me my current RPG tastes? What gave me my current RPG ethos? What gave me my current RPG aesthetic? 

Blogs. 

Blogs that touched me

After college, I was working my first job and playing a lot of RPGs. One of the people I played Pathfinder with was always integrating older editions of D&D into his games. I told him I preferred Pathfinder. "Old D&D has no rules for, like, disarming." He told me that disarming was always part of the game--but it didn't need that much page space and players didn't need a feat to do it. If the players did something the core rules didn't cover, the core rules gave the GM the template for how to handle anything else the players wanted to do. He added me to his circle on Google Plus. And boy howdy, I started reading things. 

Here is my list of inspirational blogs that changed the way that I thought about games circa ~2013. Here is a list of blogs I wish I could be like. 

Goblinpunch

What blog list would be complete without one of the most prolific, inventive, and radical blogs? When Arnold has the demon on his back, he posts like a madman. And what a variety of ideas! He both articulates RPG theory (Comprehensive Guide to Secret Doors), cool rules (Brute Rider & Rideable Brute), and wild flavor (The State Religion in Centerra). A perfect mix of great ideas. 

Last Gast Grimoire

The aesthetics of Last Gasp Grimoire have never been surpassed, even though it is one of the Blog Ruins now. Has anyone ever had a better list of starting equipment? Has anyone written a weirder city generator? 

And don't forget, this was the origin of the Mausritter cut&paste encumbrance system.

Goatman's Goblet

Dolmenwood was a big inspiration for me. It wasn't exactly Tolkienesque classic fantasy, but it wasn't the fantasy hodgepodge elfkissers of modern D&D either. Both Gavin Norman and Greg Gorgonmilk had blogs back in the day. But Greg was chased off of the internet and Gavin went ultra-professional. In the interest to linking to a blog (even a ruin), Brian's Goatman's Goblet was part of a trilogy of blogs designing in a certain Weird Old England aesthetic that made me want to leave the Pathfinder fantasy schlock behind. No tieflings, only gnomes! 

Necropraxis

Necropraxis stands out in my mind as one of the most influential blogs for me, but when I went to go select some favorite blog posts, I had a hard time thinking of one single "mindfuck" post. And maybe that's because Brendan was just so prolific. Like Arnold, the man could post. He addressed so many of the classic "OSR problems": thief skills, simple stunts (no need for feats to disarm!), carousing, dungeon keying, the ethos of play, etc. Flipping through his blog, this is what it was like back then. There were ideas, and people were postin'. 

Wonder & Wickedness is one of the core published OSR texts, enormously influential on me (no spell levels! every spell should be equally useful! magic should be weird!). Necropraxis is a bit of a blog ruin, but Brendan is still kicking around.

Coins and Scrolls

Another non-surprise; Skerples is one of the most popular OSR bloggers. (Although released after the OSR had finally died once and for all, Skerples also released one of the core published OSR texts, The Monster Overhaul.) He brought a grounded sense of history and non-fiction to the table that introduced me to some sincerely interesting ideas. His series on the Iron Gates setting remains my OSR white whale--I'd kill to have this campaign setting complete. The Monster Menu-All proves that the OSR scene was making Dungeon Meshi games back before it was cool. And, of course, I can't tell you how many times I've run Tomb of the Serpent King.

Ten Foot Polemic

For whatever reason, there was something in Ten Foot Polemic that scratched an itch in my brain. There was a playfulness combined with the DIY D&D ethos that I really enjoyed. James's house rules became my house rules for a time. I loved his take on elves having a heartspell. Plus, he had this wonderful line in the post about his setting's religion: 

The Termaxians are a weird bunch. They believe that the Apocalypse happened five hundred years ago when the Eris the Ninth God fell from heaven and became Queen Satan. Soon after, the prophet Terms Termax fused with the spirit of Jesus to form the entity called Maximum Godhead Hyper-Jesus and descended into Hell to defeat Queen Satan forevermore.

False Machine

Last but not lease, P Stu is one of the weirdest, biggest brains in the blogosphere. He creates art. Art is the essence of surprise. And man, I tell you, False Machine has some surprises in it--things I never would have thought of in a million years. Genuinely interesting, new ideas. I can't imagine how I could use all of them at the gaming table, but all of them are new and interesting: from the deRRo (hell, everything in Veins, another ur-text), to goose-gold for children, the world of 100 wonders, what happens when you sleep in dungeons, and so on.  

Anyway!

As evidenced by the fact that I'm joining in a blog bandwagon that has just so many participants, blogs are still going strong. The hivemind is still chattering away. We are all still trading weird ideas with each other. Who knows what will come out of this alzabo word soup?