tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6092712691259071542.post1535397415982573131..comments2024-02-27T04:10:29.555-05:00Comments on 3d6, Traps and Thieves: Tolkien: Great inspiration - hard DMMothshadehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18417201456628056552noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6092712691259071542.post-19500110946561709502016-11-20T23:47:05.098-05:002016-11-20T23:47:05.098-05:00I haven't read much of Tolkien, just The Hobbi...I haven't read much of Tolkien, just The Hobbit and Book 1 of LOTR - i.e. the first half of Fellowship - but I had an "a-ha" moment as I read the latter. For over a year, I had tried to figure out what purpose gnomes served as a PC race and why they were there in the fashion that they were... and then I got to Tom Bombadil.<br /><br />Long beard? Shorter than Men, but taller than Hobbits? Use of mostly non-tangible magic? He's the original gnome illusionist!Fuzzy Skinnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10606454596061907461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6092712691259071542.post-14516550691358991032014-09-11T08:19:30.885-04:002014-09-11T08:19:30.885-04:00I have a feeling that Bilbo, especially, and perha...I have a feeling that Bilbo, especially, and perhaps even Frodo, got off lightly.<br /><br />Checking on the Mentzer Expert Wilderness Encounter tables I make Bilbo's party have an encounter with 'Mules' on the evening of Day 4 (by which time they may have reached Bree). On the following day I rolled another encounter, which would be with Gnolls if they were west of Bree or Stone Giants if they were East. On Day 6, I have a daytime encounter with Goblins and a night-time encounter with Troglodytes. No more random encounters before the end of day 13, which is the absolute minimum I figure to reach the Trolls. At 1 encounter every 3 days (average) there may be another if the Trolls were on the 16th night (which is quite feasible).<br /><br />As for Frodo, an attack by Tiger Beetles on the first night of camping in the woods on the edge of the Green Hill Country is indicated by my rolls. Tolkien gives the party two wandering encounters next day - one with Wraiths on horses (now that's mean) and one with Elves (which is nice). The following day there's a fixed encounter with Farmer Maggot (good CHA bonus from Frodo probably gets them out of a potentially sticky situation) before another wandering Black Rider encounter in the evening (or is that only in the film? I forget).<br /><br />The next day, apart from the fixed encounter with the Treant, and the ?semi-random area effect of Bombadil (6+d6 rounds after being attacked by Old Man Willow?), I also rolled another Tiger-Beetle attack. No rolls for the time in Bombadil's house, then on day 6 (the Barrow Downs) in addition to the fixed encounter with the Wights I also had a wandering Treant (could go either way). The encounter with the Wights ends with Bombadil's area effect again (6+d6 hours, the Wights are further from Bombadil's house), and the party meets an NPC party (Lawful, luckily) before arriving in Bree that evening.<br /><br />My feeling is that probably Pippin is dead by the end of the first day. Possibly 2 Hobbits down by the time the remaining pair is trapped by Old Man Willow.<br /><br />Red Orchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07015582577046093985noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6092712691259071542.post-56550393273706013872012-07-09T23:57:23.697-04:002012-07-09T23:57:23.697-04:00I like this.I like this.Kaosnoreply@blogger.com