A Mining Mystery

One of the great things about The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition of the acclaimed The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild published by Free League Publishing is The One Ring Starter Set. Why do you ask? Well, because it lets us roleplay members of the Hobbit community whom we not normally encounter. Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck, in many cases the parents or relations of three of the Hobbits who would form part of the Fellowship of the Ring decades later. Under the direction of the scandalous Bilbo Baggins, the quintet went off and had adventures of their own in the Shire, whilst at the same time The One Ring Starter Set presented the Shire for the roleplaying game itself. Sadly, the five adventures had to come to close and with it the chance to play those characters again. Fortunately, s available a number of sequel adventures, including Landmark Adventures, that can be run as part of, or after, the events of The One Ring Starter Set, or simply added to an ongoing campaign for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings if it is being run in or around The Shire. The Ghost of Needlehole proved to be a sharp little ghost story, whilst the Mines of Brockenbores takes the Player-heroes to the far north of the Shire to inspect a mine!

The Mines of Brockenbores takes place in the northern part of the Shire’s Eastfarthing, in the hilly region of Scary. It is here that much of the ore that the Hobbits of the Shire need for their metal goods and implements is mined. Of course in the future, it is also from here that Fredegar Bolger will lead a band of Hobbit rebels when ‘Sharkey’ takes control of the Shire during the War of the Ring. That though, is in the future and many years before that happens, before even Fredegar Bolger and his friends were born, the mines were the source of a mystery! This is a strange sickness which is besetting the miners, which the owner of the mine, Erling Goldworthy, is keeping quiet until his profits are threatened and he puts out the call for any party of adventurous Hobbits (or outsiders) who are willing to explore the mines and eradicate what he describes as an “Infestation of Rats”.

The bulk of the adventure will see the Player-heroes exploring and skulking through the mine. There is relatively little for them to explore or discover, the main one being the cause of the strange sickness, being tunnels full of bioluminescent mushrooms, but the other being something dark and dangerous lurking in newly uncovered caves. There are plenty of opportunities to gain Shadow Points—if only temporary ones—in confronting the thing, a tough prospect for even a group of standard Player-heroes, let alone a group of Hobbits like those from the The One Ring Starter Set. However, ‘The Nameless Thing’ described in the adventure is not the only threat present in Mines of Brockenbores. This is other threat is slightly connected to Lobelia Bracegirdle and its involvement may have an effect on her outlook on life if she is a Player Character.

The Mines of Brockenbores is neatly presented and is well written and its short length means that it is quite easy to prepare for a session.

New scenarios for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings and especially for use in conjunction with The One Ring Starter Set, are always going to be welcome. Yet the Mines of Brockenbores is not as good a Landmark adventure as the previous The Ghost of Needlehole. It is too straightforward, not quite enough mystery in comparison. Plus the Mines of Brockenbores is a tough little encounter for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Potentially too tough for an ordinary band of Hobbits, forcing them as it does, to confront a nameless thing long out of Middle-earth’s past. Consequently, letting the Rangers of the North know about it might be the safer course of action, but of course, Hobbits are, famously, brave in pinch, and if they can defeat it, they should be well rewarded.