In the Lord of the Rings the quaint little town of Bree marked the place where a dangerous journey grew into a true adventure. Now, with the Bree-Land Region Guide it can easily play the same role for the Adventures in Middle-Earth, framing the party’s first few steps from humdrum civilisation into dangerous wilds.
While the setting book is probably most useful for low-level heroes, however, that doesn’t mean that things are easy. Bree may lack the mighty lords and sweeping battles found elsewhere in the setting, but it does an incredible job of blurring the mundane and fantastical in a style that is both thrilling and frustrating – though in a good way.
The reason for this oddly charming irritation is woven through the first half of the Bree-Land Region Guide, which is dedicated to laying out the various places and people found in the area. It’s a quiet stretch of woods and fields, home to the Prancing Pony inn and a handful of small villages whose inhabitants usually come across as a kind of medieval homeowners’ association, more concerned with outsiders stealing chickens than distant orc legions.
Indeed, parties will often find that the most challenging parts of their adventures revolve around convincing local leaders that the threats on their borders are actually real. If you were playing a game of regular D&D this kind of reaction would probably get annoying ten minutes into the first session, but when set against the low-magic background of Middle-Earth it fits wonderfully.
Dealing with tricksy and suspicious locals is a prevailing theme throughout the second half of the book too. It lays out a trio of inter-linked adventures that can either be run alone or woven into a short campaign that should get the players from level one to level five.
The first of these – bearing the gruesome title of Old Bones and Skin - is a delightfully Tolkien-esque mix of magical maps, ancient treasures and terrible monsters. It takes the bold move of having the players’ first likely foe come in the form of an ancient, cunning troll that could probably destroy the low-level party in an open combat. This forces them to think on their feet and look for options beyond brute force.
Careful planning and the use of wits over weapons also play and important role in the second adventure, in which the party launch a murder investigation and get tangled up with a magical ring. Running free-form investigations in RPGs can always be a tricky prospect, however, and it’s very easy for this one to get messy.
Information about the suspects covers a half-dozen pages, several vital clues are likely to come from them overhearing the DM talking to themselves and, as it’s written, the text assumes that the party is much more passive and cautious than most tables I’ve met. The ideas are solid, but the adventure is hard to recommend whole-heartedly.
But does that apply to the book as a whole? Well, in all honesty the Bree-Land Region Guide can be a hard sell if you’re already deep in a campaign and looking to for places to send adventurers. At the same time, the patronising, parochial approach of the Bree-folk can also be a bit of an acquired taste, especially if you’re after a more traditional high-fantasy vibe.
However, if you’ve yet to start off a campaign of Adventures in Middle-Earth and want somewhere to get players rolling, or if you simply want to add some depth to your world the it’s is a great purchase. More than that, it really does occupy a wonderful niche that typifies the peaceful slices of homely life that Tolkien loved to include in his creations. It reminds us that heroes aren’t just found in grand halls, and that quiet cottages and neat little hobbit-holes are worth protecting just as much as any castle.
This article was contributed by Richard Jansen-Parkes (Winghorn) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
While the setting book is probably most useful for low-level heroes, however, that doesn’t mean that things are easy. Bree may lack the mighty lords and sweeping battles found elsewhere in the setting, but it does an incredible job of blurring the mundane and fantastical in a style that is both thrilling and frustrating – though in a good way.
The reason for this oddly charming irritation is woven through the first half of the Bree-Land Region Guide, which is dedicated to laying out the various places and people found in the area. It’s a quiet stretch of woods and fields, home to the Prancing Pony inn and a handful of small villages whose inhabitants usually come across as a kind of medieval homeowners’ association, more concerned with outsiders stealing chickens than distant orc legions.
Indeed, parties will often find that the most challenging parts of their adventures revolve around convincing local leaders that the threats on their borders are actually real. If you were playing a game of regular D&D this kind of reaction would probably get annoying ten minutes into the first session, but when set against the low-magic background of Middle-Earth it fits wonderfully.
Dealing with tricksy and suspicious locals is a prevailing theme throughout the second half of the book too. It lays out a trio of inter-linked adventures that can either be run alone or woven into a short campaign that should get the players from level one to level five.
The first of these – bearing the gruesome title of Old Bones and Skin - is a delightfully Tolkien-esque mix of magical maps, ancient treasures and terrible monsters. It takes the bold move of having the players’ first likely foe come in the form of an ancient, cunning troll that could probably destroy the low-level party in an open combat. This forces them to think on their feet and look for options beyond brute force.
Careful planning and the use of wits over weapons also play and important role in the second adventure, in which the party launch a murder investigation and get tangled up with a magical ring. Running free-form investigations in RPGs can always be a tricky prospect, however, and it’s very easy for this one to get messy.
Information about the suspects covers a half-dozen pages, several vital clues are likely to come from them overhearing the DM talking to themselves and, as it’s written, the text assumes that the party is much more passive and cautious than most tables I’ve met. The ideas are solid, but the adventure is hard to recommend whole-heartedly.
But does that apply to the book as a whole? Well, in all honesty the Bree-Land Region Guide can be a hard sell if you’re already deep in a campaign and looking to for places to send adventurers. At the same time, the patronising, parochial approach of the Bree-folk can also be a bit of an acquired taste, especially if you’re after a more traditional high-fantasy vibe.
However, if you’ve yet to start off a campaign of Adventures in Middle-Earth and want somewhere to get players rolling, or if you simply want to add some depth to your world the it’s is a great purchase. More than that, it really does occupy a wonderful niche that typifies the peaceful slices of homely life that Tolkien loved to include in his creations. It reminds us that heroes aren’t just found in grand halls, and that quiet cottages and neat little hobbit-holes are worth protecting just as much as any castle.
This article was contributed by Richard Jansen-Parkes (Winghorn) as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. If you enjoy the daily news and articles from EN World, please consider contributing to our Patreon!
