The One Ring Solo Pt.2: At the Inn of the Prancing Pony

Idril and Sefa search for traces of Trolls that fled the Trollshaws and seek rumors in Bree

To Lady Gilraen of the Dúnedain,

Sefa and I bring little good news from our journey. We traveled west from the Trollshaws, following the faint traces of the marauding trolls that fled from that place. For several days, we pursued their trail across the wilds, but then, as if swallowed by the land itself, all signs of their passage vanished. The mystery of their disappearance deepens, and with it, our concern. I fear it bodes ill for the free peoples of these lands.

Sefa and I have sought respite at Bree and the Inn of the Prancing Pony. The Pony is always a place of of good cheer, hearty fare, and, most importantly, news from distant travelers. If there were whispers of these trolls or their deeds, they would surely have reached this inn. 

The common room of the Prancing Pony was alive with tales from the road but few of them contained helpful news. Most of the patrons were locals or familiar faces to the inn. Two groups stood apart from the crowd: a party of merchants bound for the Blue Mountains and a trio of dwarves who kept curiously to themselves. Sefa sought to converse with her kin, hoping to uncover some word of the trolls or any other tidings of interest. Yet her efforts were met with cold silence. These dwarves were wary and guarded, and Sefa felt certain their unease betrayed deeper troubles. I shared her suspicion; their demeanor was far from ordinary.  

Several hours into the evening a dwarf, introducing himself as Jari, strode in boldly and proclaimed himself an explorer seeking “brave souls” to aid him in recovering treasure. With him came a man, Diarmoc, whose demeanor unsettled me more than Jari’s audacity. Though they feigned unfamiliarity, their fleeting glances betrayed a shared purpose. Diarmoc, in particular, seemed deeply troubled—his words heavy and halting, as if each was drug from his lips with deep reluctance. 

What struck us most was the reaction of the other patrons. The dwarves who had refused to speak with Sefa now cast dark, accusatory glares at Jari. The locals, too, seemed to regard him with suspicion or disdain, though none spoke openly against them. 

Sefa and I resolved to accompany Jari and Diarmoc. Not for the promise of treasure, but to uncover the mystery surrounding these two. Something is amiss, my Lady. Sefa says that the dwarf makes even mud seem clean. If nothing else, this journey may lead us to rumors of the trolls we hunt as they remain unaccounted for.

We tried to learn more of Jari and Diarmoc from the inn’s patrons after they left us to prepare for the morrow, but our efforts bore little fruit. The merchants claimed no knowledge of them, and the locals grew silent at the mention of Jari’s name. The dwarves, who clearly knew him, refused outright to speak with us. Whatever shadows linger between them, they will not share them with outsiders.

We will leave with the pair at first light. While we have learned little about Jari or Diarmoc’s intentions, the air of deceit and unease that clings to Jari and his companion cannot be ignored. Yet we are resolved to see this through, for truth is often found on roads darkened by shadow.

May the stars watch over us,

Idril

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Notes and Summaries

The background for this adventure is that the group's Patron (Lady Gilrean) sends the group to look into a marauding band of trolls that mysteriously vanished several weeks ago. Rangers found signs of the monster’s passage but they have not been able to track them. Play picks up at the Inn of the Prancing Poney

Before we get too far into the story I wanted to figure out if our two characters knew each other and if so, how well. In The One Ring they use something called a “telling table” rather than an oracle so you’ll see that terminology going forward.

Telling Table
Have Idril and Sefa worked together before? Yes
Did they travel here together? Yes
Are they already good friends? Yes

Great, so these two are already very trusting of each other which makes this a lot easier. I don’t think I’m going to say they have any kind of romantic thing going on just because that seems potentially challenging for the fiction and the way I’m presenting the story via letters.

As always the Inn of the Prancing Pony in Bree is a lively place but the few groups of travelers have little to share. A group of merchants is passing through on their way to the Blue Mountains and a group of Dwarves keep strangely to themselves. Sefa tries to learn what she can from her fellow dwarves but they don’t care to share news with anyone. Despite this Sefa is convinced they bear ill news. They seem wary and guarded, far more than is normal.

Since we’re about to have our first rolls I’ll just put a quick reminder of how that works in this system. You roll a Feat Die (d12) + a number of Success die (d6) equal to your ranks in a skill. You’re trying to meet or beat your character's Target Number (TN). If you roll an 11 on the Feat die its the Eye of Sauron and treated as a 0. If you roll a 12 it’s the Rune of Galdolf and is treated like a critical success. If you roll a 6 on the Success die and succeed you can use those to define your success. So in the examples below Sefa has 0 skill ranks in persuade so she rolls 1d12+0d6 vs a TN of 13. She essentially has no hope of success but she would be the one to engage. For her insight roll she is favored (so gets to roll 2d12 and take the better one) plus has 2 ranks in the skill so the roll is 2d12(kh)+2d6 vs a TN of 14. I won’t call out these rules every time but wanted to make sure you knew what the roll comments meant. Especially since there is a lot of rolling in TOR.

Sefa Persuade Roll: Failure
Sefa Insight roll: Success w/ Gandolf Rune (gain favored ground)

As the night went on a dwarf calling himself Jari entered the Prancing Pony and claimed to be in search of brave souls looking to earn a fair share of the treasure. Something seemed suspicious, the dwarves that wouldn’t talk to Sefa glared at Jari as if he had wronged them. And the man that came in after him seems … wrong. He entered not long after the dwarf but acted as if he did not know him. He seems disturbed by something, his words come out as if dragged from his body.

Idril and Sefa Awareness Roll: Both Success

Jari and Diarmoc

The two seemed intent on finding someone to accompany them and they approached us after it was clear the trio traveling to the Blue Mountains were not interested. Normally Sefa and I would turn down their “offer” but something here is amiss and we are inclined to find out what. If nothing else perhaps we will find trolls while on the road.

Jari and his companion, Diarmoc, tell us they will be ready to go in the morning. We decide to try and learn more about these two before setting off with them. Unfortunately, we learn nothing of substance, it’s clear the patrons dislike Jari but no one will talk to us. We will set out in the morning and see what we can learn from them along the way.

Given that both of the characters aren’t very good at persuasion I figured they would mostly talk to the Dwarves. They clearly recognize Jari so any additional information would be good. Unfortunately, both of them failed.

Idril and Sefa Persuade Roll: Both Fail

GM Thoughts

Adventures for The One Ring read like books. They are the polar opposite of OSR-style adventures. There is no map, no brief room descriptions, and no super short summaries of any kind. I don’t think this is bad, it’s just a very different style. It’s almost like reading the first paragraph or two of a chapter and then turning to your players and saying, and now what? Then you just need to write the rest of the chapter with them.

I do like that main NPCs each get 2-3 distinctive features/traits. It helps to quickly imagine them in my head that way. Jari’s are flamboyant and cunning, while Diarmoc has secretive and outlander.

If I was running this adventure for players I’d completely change the introduction. It’s weird to be sent to Bree to find trolls and then get asked to go look into treasure with a suspicious dwarf and his even more suspicious companion. The players aren’t dumb. They are almost certainly going to go with the dwarf assuming that it will lead them to the trolls, which sort of ruins the surprise. If they don’t think that then there is a good chance they treat Jari and Diarmoc as a “side quest” and stay laser-focused on finding the Trolls. It’s also a TOR game which is very specifically not about treasure. 

I don’t want to give too much away (or read too far in advance) but I’d figure out an introduction/hook that tasks the group with finding out what Jari is up to. Maybe their patron suspects him of wrongdoing. This would give the group a reason to go along with him and keep you from having to change up the entire introduction.

Hopefully, this format works for everyone and doesn’t make the narrative too jarring. Look forward to getting the next letter out in a week or so.

Until then, stay curious!