Prologue Chapter 2, Shadows in Eriador, The One Ring 2E Solo Actual Play

Shadows in Eriador

The One Ring 2E Solo Actual Play with Strider Mode

Prologue Chapter 2, Character Backstory

Welcome back to our great journey. Thank you for continuing to read the start of this journey using The One Ring 2E using Strider Mode. So far character creation has been amazing, so let's build some backstory!

All journeys start with a single step, but before we take that step, we need to know about the adventurer, who they are, and why they are leaving their home.

A few notes before we start, as recommended by The One Ring 2E book, the starting year for this adventure is 2965 of the Third Age. That's 25 years after the events of There and Back Again, where Bilbo Baggins adventured with the company of Dwarves, killed a dragon, and established the Dwarves in the Lonley Moutain. There was also something about a lost ring being found…

The location of this campaign will stick to Eriador, the region in the North West of Middle-Earth. There is Isengard to the south, The Misty Mountains to the East, The Great Sea to the West, and the Lost Kingdom of Angmar to the North. These are the lands you would have seen in the Fellowship of the Ring up until the Fellowship enters the Mines of Moria.

As a note, I won’t be going into the history of well-known locations and NPCs throughout the game, unless it makes sense to the story. I trust you know what the Shire and Rivendell are. If you don’t, please go read Lord of the RIngs, I promise you it's more enjoyable than my writing!

If you want a refresher on the mechanics of the hero I’ve created, please read the first Prologue Chapter: https://croakerrpgcorner.blogspot.com/2022/06/prologue-chapter-1-shadows-in-eriador.html

Character Name, Age, Gender

Alfred Foxglow, is a good Bree-lander name that follows the conventions set out in the rule book.

His pronouns will be He/His and he will be about 32 years of age. I’m starting him a bit older than most human adventurers, and that will represent his increased abilities due to the Strider rules. He won’t be fresh off the farm hero.

Here is an image of Alfred. Not sure what the face tattoos are just yet. Maybe that's a story that will be uncovered as we learn more about him.

Image by pendleburyannette, https://pixabay.com/users/pendleburyannette-1860575/?tab=about

Background Story

Born to a small family in the town of Bree, Alfred’s family worked in the Prancing Pony, helping Barnabas Butterbur clean and tend the bar. Alfred has helped out since he was a child, cleaning and drawing beers for the various and amazing clientele of the Pony.

When Alfred was seven years old, a large group of Dwarves, a single hobbit, and what he could only guess was a wizard visited on their way East on a grand quest. Alfred remembers staying up with the company as they drank tankard after tankard of ale.

They told him tales of the Lonely Mountain and of travels over the Misty Mountains. He heard them tell about the destruction wrought by Smaug and their desperate fight to find a new home. The hobbit spoke of the Shire, somewhere the other hobbits of Bree spoke about.

Finally, he could stay awake no longer and his father carried him home. He never forgot those tales and was heartbroken when he missed the hobbit as he came back through the area months later. Soon after, tales of the Dwarves’ success filtered to Bree and more and more dwarves started travelling East to the Lonely Mountain.

As Alfred grew up he spent nearly every waking hour at the Pony, serving drinks, preparing food, and breaking up fights. He became quite good at stopping fights before they came to blows but if it did, he wasn’t half bad at throwing people out into the streets.

One night he got into a drinking competition with an old Dwarf from the Blue Mountains. Drinking enough to kill a small horse, the Dwarf gave up just past midnight. Instead of being angry, he thought it was the best thing in the world. Vidar the Dwarf gave Alfred an Axe of amazing craftsmanship as his prize. Every time Vidar passed through Bree, he would take Alfred behind the Pony and show him a few moves. Alfred became skilled at the axe and he was soon recruited into the Bree town militia, which was established to protect Bree-land from rumours of evils in the surrounding areas.

As Alfred’s adulthood slowly carried on, he felt a longing to not just hear the stories of adventurers and travellers, but to see the sights in person. With intent, Alfred spent all his money on a few supplies and a weak old Pony with no name. He casts around the Pony in search of a reason to leave Bree and travel the roads alone.

One late night as he works the counter at the Pony, he spots a face from his memories. An old grey man in with a pointed hat stares at him, looking the exact same as he did when he was seven. He beckons him over as he lights his pipe. Alfred puts down his cleaning cloth and walks over…

Stats Update

Fellowship Score - This represents Alfred’s trust in himself and his mission. Strider Mode gives 3 Fellowship, being a Bree-Lander gives 1, and Gandolf as a patron adds 2, for a total of 6. Fellowship can be used to increase hope when needed.

Pony - Alfred’s nameless Pony has a Vigor of 1 and can help carry treasure

Patron - Gandolf the Grey - This will be Alfred’s patron and will originally guide him through his travels and give him some initial quests. It works perfectly as Gandolf was known to frequent Bree and the Prancing Pony often.

Eye Awareness - This score represents the Enemy’s awareness of our hero and his quest. Luckily based on Strider Mode rules, they have 0 awareness at this point. Rolling an ‘eye’ icon, gaining shadow points or a few other things will raise the Enemy’s awareness of Alfred. This will put our hero at greater risk of being hunted.

Now I can finally show the completed character sheet for Alfred!

If you spot something incorrect, please let me know! This is my first character creation using The One Ring 2E or any Free League rules. 

And that's it for the Prologue, join me next time for the start of the adventure! Be sure to share this blog or comment below.