OVERVIEW
TROUBLE IN THE CHETWOOD
“The Woods shield us from many of the woes of the world, but are the source
of other woes entirely...”
RUMOR
“There’s wolves... and then there’s wolves. The
Chetwood’s an old forest, though mayhaps not as
great as the Mirkwood beyond the Misty
Mountains. It’s always had its share of wolves –
and when the times are lean or the weather hard,
they’ll make trouble for us that live near the eaves
of the forest. But mark my words, there’s
something foul and mysterious about the beasts
that have been prowling as of late. I heard there’s
a warg, as tall as a Bull and twice as fierce, come
down from the mountains to create his kingdom
here. We caught one of his lieutenants in a
hunter’s snare and were able to draw out the
beast’s name before the trapped thing snapped its
own neck, trying to escape: Hrulfnir, the Bull.”
OLD LORE
“Wolves were not always driven to evil – though
they have always been a violent race. But when a
pack gets taken over by one of those Shadow-
touched wargs from the mountains, there’s no
telling what end of mischief and mayhem they
might cause. Wargs possess a low-cunning and a
hatred of men – sometimes they work with goblins
and their kind when it suits them, and when their
bellies grumble for the taste of man-flesh.”
v
LOCATIONS
This series of adventures take place in and around
the Chetwood, Archet, Bree, and the surrounding
areas. Because of the relative short distances
between locations, the party is not likely to get
drawn into many lengthy journey segments – so I
advise using shorter journeys and asking for a
check each day, to set the proper pacing and keep
the players wary and weary of the dangers of this
old woodland realm.
2
ARCHET
With fewer than twenty or so cabins and
households built in along the southern boughs of
the Chetwood, the small and sleepy town of
Archet makes their living off of the forest that
gives them Shelter. The first person they should
encounter is Fitch Talltree, the town’s Forrester
and de-facto leader.
All the way from Bree and into Archet, your walk was
uneventful – small, but maintained paths helped mark the
way, or elsewise you’d never have guessed there was a town
here at the edge of the Wood. As you approach, you see a
man dressed in rough leather armor nailing a notice to a post
by the town’s gate.
The notice is a bounty for the head of the
Warg known as Hrulfnir – and the man nailing up
the notice is the Forrester himself. This is a fine
time to introduce the party with a Council
challenge against the Forrester.
FITCH TALLTREE, FORRESTER OF
ARCHET
Fitch Talltree is a tall, sturdy man. His father’s line
have all been Forresters of Archet and he took
over after his father died saving his life from a troll.
He is a serious, no-nonsense fellow with little time
for pleasantries and formalities. His biggest
priority is the protection of his town and he’s wary
of strangers that bring ill-omens and bad news
from outside.
Hold it right there, if you please. I’m Forrester Talltree, and
I protect Archet. I’ve not seen any of you around these parts
before – so you’ll be explaining yourselves and your presence
here before you go another step. Well? Out with it!

RESISTANCE: These are just guidelines, so feel
free to alter them to better suit your needs and the
needs of your fellowship.
Resistance 3 (Base) – let the party into Archet, give
information about the wolves.
Resistance 6 – Give aid (a useful item for hunting
wolves) or instruction regarding good hunting
spots in the Chetwood.
Resistance 9 – Join the party on their hunt for the
Warg or any plan that might put the people of
Archet into direct harm.
INTRODUCTIONS
How the spokesman introduces themselves will
have a big impact on Talltree. He favors honesty
and forthrightness and he is impatient with overly-
polite or tricksome characters. An INSIGHT
check might give this hint to a party.
If the party spokesman uses AWE to
introduce themselves and speaks about wanting to
help the town rid itself of Hrulfnir, the roll will be
favored.
Using COURTESY or RIDDLE to
introduce the party is possible, but a failure will
reduce the time limit of the council by 1 step as
Talltree loses patience quickly with that sort.
INTERACTIONS
Allow the players to be creative in their use of
skills to help plead their case before Talltree. All of
the examples on p 107 could be useful, but here
are some others that might also be effective:
HUNTING: The hero describes or otherwise
demonstrates their abilities as a hunter, assuring
Talltree that they’re a capable match for the task at
hand.
BATTLE: A seasoned warrior or tactically-
minded adventurer might be able to persuade the
Forrester that they could effectively ambush the
wolf-chieftan and come up with a worthwhile
strategy.
OVERVIEW
TALLTREE’S REPORT
“The forest keeps us safe from many of the woes
of the world – but it’s also the source of our evils.
You’ve heard of the Blackwolds, I wager? Well,
there’ll always be bandits when times are hard –
but recently, they’ve been bolder in their
movements. I heard that they spooked off some of
the farmers from their lands – can’t say I know
where they’re getting the weapons they use, no
smith around here would sell to them – and they
didn’t steal em off any guards round here.
It’s the wolves I’m afraid of most. I’ve had to
warn my folk off of the Chetwood near entire at
night time, lest they get taken off and ‘et. Wolves
can be fearsome beasts, but they’re often chased
off with a bit of fire and a show of strength. But
there’s something mean about them these days, I’d
wager it’s that new pack leader. Wolf as big as a
bull, teeth like razors, eyes like ghostly yellow
lanterns. A warg, and no doubting it. Hrulfnir, as I
recall the name as we took it from the last wolf we
trapped. I’m worried that the beast is too smart by
far – can’t be any coincidence that the bandits got
bolder as this new wolf moved in. If you could see
that threat gone, well, you’d be a Friend of the
people of Archet – and there’s no mistaking that.”
INTO THE CHETWOOD
Once the players have dealt with the social niceties
at the gate, the path to the Chetwood lies open to
them. I ran this as a series of Journey tests – each
day requiring a roll from the Guide and earning a
point of fatigue for the party each day on a
success, and more on failures. I required three days
of tracking through the woods, with a risk of
encounters each day.
3
 GOADED TO WAR

ENCOUNTERS AND OBSTACLES

A TENSE NEGOTIATION
The local bandits, known as the Blackwolds, are
engaged in a heated debate with some wolves from
Hrulfnir’s fell pack. The two groups have managed
to chase and tree a merchant that was along the
East Road on his way from Bree. The wolves want
to eat the man, but the bandits want him alive to
be able to rob him again later. The players could
rush in and start a combat – or they could cause
more mischief playing the sides against each other.
GOBLINS AND GUBBINS
The Blackwolds have been getting supplies from
some “Friends” up north. A handful of goblins
and orcs are trudging through the wood pulling a
cart covered with a tarp to disguise their cargo.
Inside the cart is a shipment of foul, dangerous
weapons meant to help the Blackwolds in their bid
to overrun Archet – it’d be a real shame if the cart
never arrived.
HUNTERS, HUNTED
Sometime during their hunting and tracking the
wolves, the party’s lookout notices that they’re
being stalked. A successful AWARENESS check
will thwart the ambush and set the party aware
before the strike comes. Either way, 2 wolves per
party member come at them and try to deal with
the heroes quickly. If the battle goes badly, the
wolves will retreat to tell Hrulfnir of their failure –
which will enrage the warg into attacking Archet
directly.
COUNCIL OF WOLVES
If the players successfully track the Warg to its lair
– or if the Warg stalks the Players through their
failures – they will find themselves surrounded by
30 or more fierce wolves. Out from the crowd will
step Hrulfnir, speaking in a twisted, hateful tongue.
Set this up as a Council - the Warg wants to
destroy Archet and the heroes – but he will
entertain parley with the party if they are clever
and strong. He will not let the players escape
without them making some sort of precious
sacrifice – or without afight. He’d accept a trial of
combat in accordance with the laws of the pack –
single combat, wolf vs. player – winner would live,
the loser would die.
If single-combat is taken, encourage the other
players to come up with ways of supporting their
friend – and allow them to spend hope and actions
during the combat that set up their friend for
success, but punish Sauron’s and failures harshly.
For Hrulfnir, I used the stats of a Wolf
Chieftan, but gave him 2 wounds before he passed
and hideous strength. I also allowed the wolves
surrounding the combat to howl and sing terrible
songs that helped Hrulfnir recover hate points, to
make the fight a bit more dangerous – and allowed
the players a chance to do similar for their friend.

THE LONG NIGHT

If the players encounter wolves and any manage
to get away, they’ll inform the warg that Archet is
sending out hunters to trap them – which enrages
the Warg and he’ll set out to take his vengeance on
Archet in a night-time raid. The Players might be
able to prevent this if they send word along to the
Forrester and make proper defensive arrangements
for the town (remembering that wolves hate fire).