lovecraftfan
Topic Author
Posts: 12
Joined: Tue 24 Jan 2023, 15:01

From Erebor to Bree

Sun 29 Jan 2023, 02:01

I’m thinking when I run this game for my group (I just bought it) that I’d like their characters to experience Middle Earth as a foray into the unknown. For that reason I’m limiting culture choices. Men of Bree and Hobbits of the Shire are no brainers. Might even allow one Ranger of the North (depending on back story and how they tie in). But would someone explain to me how dwarves of the lonely mountain and/or men of Laketown would make their way to Bree? Would they go all the way down to the gap of Rohan and make their way up the Greenway? Or are there mountain passes they would traverse? I thought Moria was closed off during this period. So I haven’t been clear how all this dwarf travelling from erebor to the blue mountains would actually be taking place.

Thanks for any insights.
 
rmagruder
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat 14 Jan 2023, 05:40

Re: From Erebor to Bree

Sun 29 Jan 2023, 03:04

I imagine the path would be similar to the path that was intended to be traveled by the company of Thorin to Erebor in "The Hobbit". The pass through the misty mountains did not have to go into the goblin tunnels....there are mountain passes. Moria was further south, and the Gap of Rohan even FURTHER south. Caradhras pass could also be used, as it might be cold, but didn't always have a Saruman-made storm stopping travelers.

From https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/High_Pass

"Third Age

During the later Third Age the Pass became dangerous again because of the Orcs increasing in the mountains. Only with the advent of the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, which nearly eliminated these Orcs, did the pass become safe again. Afterwards, the pass was considered safe for about one-hundred and forty years until TA 2940, just before the Quest of Erebor when goblins of Goblin-town had delved an entrance to their underground tunnels on the pass. Thorin and Company were captured there in TA 2941 when they intended to pass through the mountains on their way to the Lonely Mountain.[4]

After the Battle of Five Armies, the pass was once again free from danger and was maintained by the Beornings, and for many years afterwards it became important for trade between Eriador and Rhovanion. During the War of the Ring, the Fellowship of the Ring bypassed the High Pass because the eastern side of the Misty Mountains had become too dangerous due to a winter snow storm. It was also the most obvious route they could have taken from Rivendell."
 
Otaku-sempai
Posts: 598
Joined: Wed 15 Apr 2020, 15:35
Location: Western New York

Re: From Erebor to Bree

Sun 29 Jan 2023, 03:54

The Greenway was little used by the end of the Third Age due to the ruination of Tharbad and destruction of the bridge there. Most traffic between Eriador and Rhovanion took place on the Great East/West Road and through the High Pass near Rivendell. Other than the threat of goblins in the pass, the greatest complication was traveling through or around Mirkwood. The Old Dwarf Road through the Forest had fallen into ruin, especially at the east end. Other than the Elf-Path the most viable route was to circle around Mirkwood to the north, exposing travelers to the Orcs in the Grey Mountains. Circling south around the Forest took travelers close to Dol Guldur and was complicated by the lack of good roads.
#FideltyToTolkien
 
User avatar
Harlath
Posts: 518
Joined: Sun 19 Jul 2020, 10:40

Re: From Erebor to Bree

Sun 29 Jan 2023, 11:44

As noted above, the battle of five armies helps temporarily limit orc activity in the mountains. :)

Dwarves are common in Bree if you want to include them:

"The Men of Bree were brown-haired, broad, and rather short, cheerful and independent: they belonged to nobody but themselves; but they were more friendly and familiar with Hobbits, Dwarves, Elves, and other inhabitants of the world about them than was (or is) usual with Big People."

"And certainly it was from Bree that the art of smoking the genuine weed spread in the recent centuries among Dwarves and such other folk, Rangers, Wizards, or wanderers, as still passed to and fro through that ancient road-meeting."

"His house was a meeting place for the idle, talkative, and inquisitive among the inhabitants, large and small, of the four villages; and a resort of Rangers and other wanderers, and for such travellers (mostly dwarves) as still journeyed on the East Road, to and from the Mountains."

"‘Well now, what was I going to say?’ said Mr. Butterbur, tapping his forehead. ‘One thing drives out another, so to speak. I’m that busy tonight, my head is going round. There’s a party that came up the Greenway from down South last night – and that was strange enough to begin with. Then there’s a travelling company of dwarves going West come in this evening."

Plus remember you've got Hobbits of Bree as an option too: p181 of the Core Rulebook.

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest