Adventures in Middle Earth

Chapter One: King Bard’s Proclamation

Player Characters  Wild Hobbits of The Anduin Vale (RhRG, 59)

In this setting characters are not described in the conventional, Race – Class – In addition to this unique distinction for each culture there are a variety of selectable
Background. They are instead defined by Culture – Class – Background, however each feat-like abilities names Cultural Virtues which are unique, however a small number
of these sections have some new mechanics which require consideration. of virtues are “open” meaning they are available to all cultures.

Culture Another unique trait of cultures are Cultural Heirlooms which are powerful items
In Middle Earth there are essentially only four races of good. Man, Dwarf, Elf and which are only available to people of that culture, they can be obtained through
Hobbit, however each of these are represented by a variety of different factions, virtues or narratively during play.
nations, and cultures for example a Man of Rohan is very different than a Man of
Gondor.
Class
In this game there are six unique classes, below will be a brief description of each
Depending on the campaign and point in the timeline we choose different cultures class and their subclasses known as specialities, all of which are in the PHB, no magic
may be more relevant than others. A full list of Cultures and their sources. is available to any class. Each class also provides a Shadow Weakness Which is how
evil would manifest in your character should your character succumb to it.
Man
Scholar (Cleric/Wizard). Learned individuals who wish to uncover ancient secrets
 Barding (PHB) and master the healing arts.
 Dú nedain (PHB)
 Men of Bree (PHB) - Master Healer: Improves their general ability to heal and you unlock a variety of
 Men of The Lake (PHB) poultices to reduce a variety of status effects from exhaustion to shadow.
 Men of Minas Tirith (PHB) - Master Scholar. Gain proficiencies and boons to a variety of knowledge checks,
 Riders of Rohan (PHB) from history to knowing your enemy to smithing ancient weapons.
 Woodmen of Wilderland (PHB) Slayer. (Barbarian) Individuals who which to inflict their terrible battle-fury on all
 Dunlendings (RoRG, 101) their enemies. And Unleash terrible vengeance on those who have wronged them.
 Woodmen of Mountain Hall (RhRG, 49)
- The Rider: Makes them a terrifying and inspiring beacon on the battlefield and
Dwarf increasing their damage when fighting from a mount.
- Foe-Hammer: Allows the Slayer to gain full benefits of their battle-fury whilst clad
 Dwarves of The Lonely Mountain (PHB)
in heavy armour, becoming moving bulwarks on the battlefield.
 Dwarves of The Iron Hills (LMG, 129)
 Dwarves of The Grey Mountains (LMG, 132) Treasure Hunter. (Rogue) The closest to their base class however there are some
 Dwarves of The Blue Mountains (BRG, 43) unique trap detection and luck manipulation abilities at later levels.

Elf - Agent: These are the manipulative masterminds, who can glean information from
their foes to use against them they are also useful in convincing allies to rally to
 Elves of Mirkwood (PHB) your cause.
 Wayward Elves (RhRG, 86) - Burglar: They are able to resist the shadow when completing their misdeeds, they
 High Elves of Rivendell (RiRG, 118) are also more effective at hiding in the shadows and doing thievery on the fly.
Hobbit

 Hobbit of The Shire – (PHB)

Wanderer. (Ranger) These travelling individuals have supreme knowledge of
certain areas of middle earth greatly reducing the impact of travel on the party, they
are also adept at tracking and learning of new environments.
- Hunter: These Wanderers are even more adept at running their prey down
becoming an exceptionally swift shot with a bow, always having the first strike.
- Shadows-Bane: These Wanderers seek the servants of the enemy gaining a
variety of bonuses when facing them including damage and knowledge, which
will be a great boon when standing against the tide.
Warden. (Bard/Paladin) These individuals have sworn to defend all who cannot
defend themselves, they are capable fighters who inspire from the frontlines ever
watchful.
- Counsellor: You thrive more on your word than your blade, you gain skills better
social skills, sway creatures away from violence and offer council to your allies
becoming a font of knowledge and inspiration to them.
- Herald: These more martial Wardens wish to get into the fray bearing better
weapons and armour, they can empower your ally’s damage. You may also use
tales of your heroic deeds to either grant your allies or break your enemies
resolve.
- Bounder: These are the great protectors of simple folk, they can make it harder to
hit their allies, are built tougher than other wardens and even interpose yourself
between friend and foe.
Warrior. (Fighter) Also very similar to the base class, this class will be even more
defined by the virtues you take so carefully consider your culture when you do play a
warrior.
- Knight: These are loyal defenders of a specific individual known as a charge,
whilst near your charge you are bolstered as your dedication causes you to fight
on, additionally as you become more renowned you gain marks of honour which
can provide a variety of boons from Cultural rewards or improve your standing
when taking court.
- Weapon Master: Seeks to make them the best of the best at their given weapon,
granting an empowered version of a fighting style, as you gain in power you
unlock a signature weapon which can gain a plethora of special abilities.
Background
Backgrounds operate somewhat similarly to their 5e counterparts with some
additional mechanics.
It grants two proficiencies and a feature as normal but no equipment.
Distinctive Quality. A distinctive quality is just a key personality trait which when
demonstrated in RP can be worth inspiration.
Speciality. A specific training, knack, or other measure of ability you have in specific
circumstances e.g., fire making, when the speciality is applicable you gain proficiency
on any ability checks that would be required, if you already have proficiency you
would be granted advantage.
Hope/Despair. These are reasons for your character to be brave or to falter, when
given a chance to channel these into RP you can be granted advantage.
Unique Skills
In this game there are some specific skills which the player can proficiency in.
Riddle. speaking in riddles is usually allowed among strangers meeting for the first
time who want to speak guardedly. Use Intelligence (Riddle) checks to discuss a
subject while concealing part of what you know, such as when. explaining something
about yourself without revealing your identity. This skill is also used to gain helpful.
insight into spoken or written riddles.
Lore. Your Intelligence (Lore) check measures your ability to recall unusual and
obscure information about old legends, ancient war gear, bits of song, rare artefacts,
and the reading of runes. Lore replaces the Arcana skill; magic is an imprecise term,
for folk use it to describe both the blessings of the Elves and the deceits of the Enemy.
Shadow-lore. A dark branch of knowledge, Intelligence (Shadow-lore) checks allow
you to share what you have learned about the ways of the Enemy and the various
creatures that stalk through the shadows of Middle-earth. Where Lore deals with the
past, Shadow-lore deals with the present and the rising threat of the Enemy’s many
minions.
Traditions. Your Intelligence (Traditions) check measures your ability to recall the
proper courtesies and etiquette expected by the various Free Folk cultures, along with
some of their stories about their people and their respective histories. An Intelligence
(Traditions) ability check is used whenever you wish to gain an audience with
someone of influence. Traditions also covers the knowledge of such religion as exists
in Middle-earth.
Unique Mechanics
There is a large swathe of mechanics which are unique to adventures in middle earth
some of the most major are described below.
The Passing of Years. This setting is a grounded low fantasy setting where magic is
exceptional and wondrous but also terrifyingly dangerous. Expect your characters to
age and potentially pass their adventures onto there family or younger allies.
Journey Rules
Its about the journey. Both Lord of The Rings & The Hobbit are about the journey
more so than the destination and these rules intend to reflect the arduousness of
adventuring and it is done in three steps. When Journeying a long rest is 1 week and a
short rest is 8 hours.
1. Embarkation. The start of your journey is defining the roles of your company,
Guide, Scout, Hunter, and Lookout. (Multiple people can be part of each task). We
then also plan out the route and how dangerous and long the journey will be. its
going to be, which will affect the DC of all checks on the Journey referred to as a
Peril Rating, Finally the group will roll to determine how successful the start of
their journey was.
2. The Journey. The most extensive part of the Journey rules is resolved by having
several random events (Sometimes pre-written if an adventure) dependant on
journey length and Peril Rating.
3. Arrival. Like embarkation you roll on a table to determine whether your group
reaches your destination in high or low spirits, based on a modified role based on
the outcome of your random events and your Peril Rating.
Audiences
An audience is when you are meeting someone of importance or great power, it is
wise to go about it the proper way. But there are many things that can affect your first
impression or plead for aid.
These rules are essentially fancy conversation checks which will be used for more
consequential or political conversations.
Cultural Attitudes. Certain cultures have a specific reaction to those of other cultures
such as the antagonistic relationship between the Elves of Mirkwood and The
Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain and some races may never have really dealt with
each other such as The Hobbits of The Shire and Men of Minas Tirith. Which can lead
to negative or positive bonuses to Audience checks.
The Shadow
This system is designed for the characters to be heroes and therefore it contains a sort
of corruption-based system as they face either the beings of shadow or experience
evil and tragedy at the hands of fate or other humanoids.
Shadow Points. They represent the concentration of the dark influence within a
character, you can gain shadow points from the following.
- Experiencing distressing events.
- Crossing or dwelling in an area tainted by manifestations of the Shadow.
- Committing despicable or dishonourable deeds, regardless of the end they sought
to achieve.
- Taking possession of a cursed or tainted item or treasure
Consequences. There are a variety of consequences for those who become corrupted.
- Misery. If your Shadow Points total exceed your Wisdom score you fall to grief
and shadow making you have disadvantage on attack rolls and automatically fail
charisma checks.
- Madness. Those who fail incredibly whilst miserable can experience bouts of
madness. Which then resets the characters shadow total but causes them to gain
a permanent shadow point and a new flaw.
- Degeneration. If a character strays too far from the path for too long they will
never find their way back becoming a force for the shadow.
The Fellowship Phase
On average a character experiences one adventure per year of in game time, perhaps
two in a particularly exciting year. So, between them downtime will occur, however
none of this is idle time.
Recovery. Fully recover all hit die, hit points and exhaustion unless suffering some
ailment which prevents this.
Undertaking. This is where a character gets to choose what they actively do, new
options can unlock depending on where they choose to spend this phase. Some
options include, Training, healing corruption, gaining personal relationships,
research, switching traits, creating a new town, receiving a title if the character is
appropriately renowned and more.