Tupper
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Posts: 14
Joined: Sun 04 Jul 2021, 08:37

Head scratchers in the starter adventures

Mon 04 Oct 2021, 00:53

[SPOILERS ALERT]

I've read through the adventures in the starter set, and am a bit puzzled by a few bits of them. I figured I'd post them here, and see if folks can help me muddle through them.
  • Lobelia Bracegirdle has not married Otho Sackville-Baggins yet (indeed when he shows up in the adventures in "Most Excellent Fireworks", there's no link mentioned between her and him). Why would she have been disappointed to see Bilbo return from his adventures? She wasn't in line to inherit his house at that stage (that was the Sackville-Bagginses).
  • What is the significance of the childrens' game in "Expert Treasure Hunters" page 11? Surely they're not actually playing with the Bullroarer's club?
  • Who sends the letter to Farmer Maggot in "Involuntary postmen"? What are its contents? [My guess here is that it's from Bilbo]
  • Again in "Involuntary postmen", why do the player-heroes have to stay off the East Road? Aren't they just doing "community service" by delivering the mail, in which case the bounders would leave them alone? Or are they afraid of the dwarves using the road for some reason?
Maybe I'm a bit slow, but I'm still scratching my head about these ...
 
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Jacob Rodgers
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Re: Head scratchers in the starter adventures

Mon 04 Oct 2021, 15:08

1) Lotho will be born in four years, so even if they're not married yet, it's probably on the horizon. It might also be a sort reflective jealousy 'if Bilbo hadn't have come back, then I'd be marrying Otho AND moving into Bag End'.
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2) They're playing a game that (somewhat) emulates the battle, signifying that this part of Shire history is especially important in this area. Sure, they grab a stick out of a field and call it Bullroarer's Club but everyone, even the kids, knows that it's just a random stick.
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3) Bilbo indeed calls it his letter. The important thing was getting the characters out of Michel Delving and to Bamfurlong, so the contents are fairly irrelevant. Maybe humorous descriptions of the player-Heroes ("Dear Farmer Maggot, there are four persons standing in front of you...")?
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4) From page 21 "He has no one to send and got the impression from the tall, hooded figure that accosted him outside town with the letter that the message was urgent. Furthermore, there’s a lot of traffic on the main road – Dwarves mostly, heading west or east as the case may be, trying to get home before the year grows too long."
 
Tupper
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Posts: 14
Joined: Sun 04 Jul 2021, 08:37

Re: Head scratchers in the starter adventures

Sat 09 Oct 2021, 10:26

@Jacob Rodgers Thanks for clearing those up for me! Much appreciated.
 
Sebastian
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Re: Head scratchers in the starter adventures

Mon 11 Oct 2021, 18:26

I had a similar question, concerning the first adventure of the Starter Set. Why do the conspirators have to travel in secret to Michel Delving? There could be an easy explanation for that. In any case I'm pretty sure, Hobbits wouldn't swim trough the river in Hobbiton. If someone would see that, it would be more suspicious than just walking together on the road. But those are just minor head scratchers. I like the adventures in the starter set very much! Good work you Bagginses!
 
gull2112
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Joined: Thu 26 Aug 2021, 19:11

Re: Head scratchers in the starter adventures

Wed 13 Oct 2021, 17:30

I allow narrative agency in my PHs. When they got to the river, one of them asked a local farmer if they could borrow his rowboat. Had I not wanted it to be that simple, I would have required some dice rolling to persuade the farmer, but I didn't want this to be too big an issue, so I allowed it. As my players get more comfortable with the concept of Narrative Agency, their stories become more colorful and make a great addition to the gameplay!

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