So as a followup to my Savage Middle Earth thread, I think my approach will be to make a one-shot adventure suitable for running at conventions, and try it at some conventions this fall.

The thing about a convention game is that it needs to be easy to jump into for players - without any prior background reading. I can assume familiarity with Lord of the Rings (especially the movies), but not much else. In the other thread, I listed four campaign ideas, but most of them call for deeper Tolkien lore. I think the easiest scenario is the new fellowship.

The concept is an alternate history where the Fellowship falls apart just after Moria. I'm now thinking that Merry is hit by an orc arrow as they are leaving. This leaves him dying, but being the heroes they are, they stay to protect him, allowing orcs to catch up with them. Then Boromir dies protecting the remaining hobbits, and Gimli maimed before they get help from Lothlorien. Wracked by grief, Frodo cannot bear the Ring, and in pity, Galadriel accepts it when he offers. Frodo cannot bear to be close to the Ring any more, so he and Sam leave. Aragorn is called away south to Gondor.

So the big question is -- If Galadriel had to start a new Fellowship in Lothlorien, given a few months, who would it be? i.e. Who should be the PCs for a one-shot adventure? My criteria:

• They should mostly be original, but still fit the flavor of Tolkien, and be believable as people that Lothlorien could recruit.
• They need a wide range for players, and have strong archetypes.
• Rare for Tolkien but important for a convention game, there should be a number of women characters.
• One of them must be the Ring-bearer, but I'd like to leave it partly open. I split PCs into pure of heart little heroes who might bear it, and powerful big heroes who can protect them.

I have some ideas, and I'll post them as I think of them, though I'd love to hear others' ideas.

I guess my initial question is why assume Galadriel can take the ring and not be corrupted? "Only I can keep it safe here" could become "I need to gather an army to protect the ring" to "All hail Galadriel, as beautiful and terrible as the dawn!"

The entire power of the Hobbits was their nature making them uniquely resistant to corruption by the ring.

I think Galadriel sends some wood elves to track down Tom Bombadil, who takes the ring, laughs demonically, and installs himself as the great and glorious Lord of Middle Earth with Goldenberry as his fair Queen. They elevate the Shire as the center of culture in the West, and the Ents of Fangorn and elsewhere reassert their dominion over the forests.

I would think a new Fellowship as you describe would be a bunch of wood elves as stand-ins for the other warriors. Then Peter Jackson creates a new female elf character who falls in love with Pippin and the two of them share the burden of the One Ring as they march to Mount Doom.

Quote from: Grognard GM on April 19, 2023, 01:54:51 PM
I guess my initial question is why assume Galadriel can take the ring and not be corrupted? "Only I can keep it safe here" could become "I need to gather an army to protect the ring" to "All hail Galadriel, as beautiful and terrible as the dawn!"

The entire power of the Hobbits was their nature making them uniquely resistant to corruption by the ring.

I don't think Galadriel could wear or carry the Ring for an extended period, but I think it is conceivable that she could keep it on a shelf for a time until a new person could be found to bear it. The movies portray Isildur as instantly becoming corrupt, and invented a scene at Mount Doom, but that isn't clear from the books. He kept it for two years before his death, and did good things like plant the White Tree seedling and others.

More broadly, I don't think being pure of heart and resistant to corruption is unique to hobbits in Tolkien. It is a property of spirit, not race. For example, the Sackville-Bagginses were portrayed as greedy for Bilbo's inheritance, and I think they'd be quickly corrupted if they got the Ring.

Let me start by saying I am not a huge LotR nerd.  I've read the core 4 books once over 20 years ago and enjoyed the movies.  My eyes glaze over when others start reciting The Silmarillion lore to me whenever we talk about playing a LotR game.

That said, a few suggestions:

The easiest to get would be 2 more elves.  Knowing the trek ahead would be dangerous and knowing the bonds needed to carry out the mission, she picks a husband and wife or brother and sister.  One is a warrior the other a healer.  Up to you which is which.

Add a human.  This could be any human but Galadriel might seek out someone with a bigger destiny tied to them.  First person that popped into my head would be a descendent of Bard.  They already have ties to the story at large and so might be able to be dragged into the current situation.

You could use that character to also pull in another dwarf.  Maybe one that was at the Battle of Five Armies and stuck with the men of the Dale afterward.

I'm not sure how you pull in another hobbit.  Hobbits, by their nature, aren't out and about so you'd have to come up with some reason another one would be adventuring at the time.  This is a little silly, but maybe tie it into the base hobbit nature and some past inspiration.  A hobbit, inspired by There and Back Again, goes out to write their own book and is collecting 101 second breakfast recipes or something?

Like others, I could definitely quibble over the premise, but setting that aside...

I believe you said you didn't want named characters from the books? Otherwise, I'd suggest Eowyn as a candidate for ring-bearer. Faramir is another obvious choice, though you'd have to question how Galadriel would contact him.

For new characters, you want a Rohirrim, since they're on Galadriel's doorstep. You could also easily fit in one of the other Dunedain, since in the books they come south with the sons of Elrond, not long after the Fellowship does. But I feel like you want to be careful not to just recreate the Fellowship with different names, so you need some outside picks. 

Lothlorien isn't as far south as Gondor and Mordor, so it opens you up to the possibility of characters from Dale, Erebor, Mirkwood, etc. A Beorning would make for a fun option (I believe the Adventures in Middle Earth game had them as a playable race), and I'd be tempted to make the Beorning one of my female characters. For a convention game, I feel like a lady that can turn into a bear is going to be a popular pregen.

For your kingly type I might go with a relative of the Prince of Dol Amroth, who is mentioned in ROTK, but doesn't appear in the films. Playing as a Knight of the Silver Swan sounds cool just by name alone.

Speaking of Return of the King, there's a chapter shortly before the battle of Minas Tirith where Theoden has a parley with the chief of a shamanistic, almost atavistic mountain tribe that's mentioned nowhere else in the books. Don't have the book with me, so I can't look up the name, but I've always found that chapter very evocative, and teasing out that culture a bit could give you the reason to have a barbarian or even witch-doctor type character in the party.

If you want to get super crazy, you cold have a very young Ent. The younger ones are mentioned as being keen to take the fight to Saruman even without Merry and Pippin's influence. But depending on the adventure you have in mind, that might be more trouble than it's worth.

Just spitballing here. It's a fun concept, so I'll probably have some other ideas pop into my head and edit this post later.

I'd go with the following:

Woodsman fighter from Mirkwood - nature saavy and used to fighting evil creatures like Orcs and Spiders
Wood Elf Archer
Sindarin Elf Mystic type from either Rivendell or Lorien
Dunadain fighter/ranger with leadership abilities
Rohirrim hero / horseman

They wouldn't make it out of Lorien...Galadriel would seize the Ring.

If you want to ASSume they somehow do and she gives it up, you can do wood elves, maybe a Beorning, definitely one of the Dunedain (I can't imagine she's not open to other Rangers operating in her territory). Elrond's sons? That would be the most legitimate option, although they're super high level. NPC Glorfindel, maybe Radagast is coerced into replacing Gandalf.

Quote from: Brad on April 19, 2023, 04:22:29 PM
They wouldn't make it out of Lorien...Galadriel would seize the Ring.

Nah, Gandalf or Galadriel could totes possess the ring without being corrupted. They just freak out at even being offered it, for fear of what they would become for...reasons?

Also, there HAS to be a Hobbit as ring-bearer. Protestations of character over bio-essentialism aside, bullshit. Smeagol, Bilbo and Frodo all have ludicrous resistance to the power of the ring (sure Smeagol turns in to a twisted maniac, but think of how long he's able to hold it and evade discovery by Sauron.) There is 100% something about Hobbits, beyond personal morality and strength of will.

Quote from: Grognard GM on April 19, 2023, 04:46:41 PM
Nah, Gandalf or Galadriel could totes possess the ring without being corrupted. They just freak out at even being offered it, for fear of what they would become for...reasons

"Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!"

"No!" cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. "With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly." His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. "Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strength to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be too great, for my strength. I shall have such need of it. Great perils lie before me."

Nahh, they'd just become Sauron 2.0 and they both know it. If the Ring was in Lorien for an extended period of time while a new Fellowship was formed, Galadriel would be tempted to let it stay there longer and longer until she just took it for herself. But as stated, since this is a game, ignore the inevitable.

Quote from: jhkim on April 19, 2023, 01:34:29 PM
So the big question is -- If Galadriel had to start a new Fellowship in Lothlorien, given a few months, who would it be? i.e. Who should be the PCs for a one-shot adventure? My criteria:

• They should mostly be original, but still fit the flavor of Tolkien, and be believable as people that Lothlorien could recruit.
• They need a wide range for players, and have strong archetypes.
• Rare for Tolkien but important for a convention game, there should be a number of women characters.
• One of them must be the Ring-bearer, but I'd like to leave it partly open. I split PCs into pure of heart little heroes who might bear it, and powerful big heroes who can protect them.

For bullet 3, make sure all characters have a male and a female version.

Version 1: It was important for the original fellowship to have members from all of the free races, so I wouldn't go with "all Elves."  Also, avoid making the new characters stand-ins for the old. No one wants to be "the new Gimli" and you don't need exactly four Hobbits. Pick characters from regions that we didn't see much of in the book-- like an Elf from the Gray Havens, a Dwarf from the Iron Hills, or a knight of Dol Amroth (human).

Version 2: Galadriel needs to assemble a new fellowship in a hurry, so she can't be picky. The party consists of the "B team." Under-achievers, rogues, never-do-wells, even criminals. Will they seize the chance for redemption, or will The Ring corrupt their already imperfect natures? Not as dark as "The Suicide Squad," but it's basically the same idea.

Quote from: GamerforHire on April 19, 2023, 02:01:04 PM
I think Galadriel sends some wood elves to track down Tom Bombadil, who takes the ring, laughs demonically, and installs himself as the great and glorious Lord of Middle Earth with Goldenberry as his fair Queen. They elevate the Shire as the center of culture in the West, and the Ents of Fangorn and elsewhere reassert their dominion over the forests.

This is a great idea! Tom gets so little respect in the movies and games.

Hour 2 of the session, the players sing a song of their own composition to Tom and Goldberry.

Quote from: jhkim on April 19, 2023, 01:34:29 PM
If Galadriel had to start a new Fellowship in Lothlorien, given a few months, who would it be?

Would there not be a backup team already in place? If a single orc arrow is enough to collapse the fellowship, someone - probably Gandalf - would have sensed this and they would have prepared a shadow fellowship to take over. Hence, it's not on Galadriel to organize this hastily. She may have input and even provide an elf or two, but the core of the shadow fellowship is nearby and awaiting the call.

Thanks, rgalex, ForgottenF, and TheSpaniard. First, a few clarifications. I'm open to changing the scenario, but these are my givens:

• The first Fellowship has to completely die or fall apart, and a new one assembled at Lothlorien.
• I'm pretty set on after Moria as the best breaking point. Based on the timeline, I think it's ideal.
• I want it to be clear from the start that even though it's the same problem (destroy the Ring), we're not walking through the LotR story or characters.

As to how to accomplish that, I have my ideas, but I'm still open.

• I lean towards 5 players, but maybe 10 pre-generated character choices. That makes player choice important.
• For aesthetic reasons, I 'd prefer none of the characters be substitutes for the original. So no gruff axe-wielding dwarf, noble ranger, high-minded elf archer. There can be dwarves, but they should be very different than Gimli.

Also, on reflection, it isn't necessary for Galadriel to temporarily keep the Ring. Frodo can just stay and pass it on directly to his replacement.

From rgalex:

• Elf pair warrior/healer. (brother/sister or husband/wife) - Elves should be an option from Lothlorien, but I'd want to avoid copying both Legolas and Arwen, so they need a hook.
• Descendent of Bard - Possible, but their descent is just a background fact. It leaves open what they're like.
• Dwarf from Battle of Five Armies - Possible, but I need to avoid a substitute for Gimli. I'm thinking about a dwarf scholar who is no fighter, but has studied maps and lore from the distant past of Mordor. (A thousand years ago in early Third Age when Gondor still controlled it.)
• Hobbit inspired by Bilbo's book - As you say, it's a little silly, plus how would they get to Lothlorien? For a hobbit, I might break my rule of thumb and allow Pippin as a PC. Having Pippin with grief from losing Merry and going into Mordor might be different enough from the book.

From ForgottenF

• Eowyn - I like this, and I agree she'd be a good candidate for Ring-bearer. I'm not against named characters per se. I just want it super-clear that this isn't repeating the book.
• Beorning woman - Agree completely. One of my past LotR PCs was a Beorning woman and skin-changer (ref). I think a granddaughter of Beorn would make a great PC.
• Knight of the Silver Swan - Possible, but I need a distinct hook for him not to be a substitute for Boromir.
• Shamanistic mountain tribe witch doctor (that Theoden parleyed with in LotR) - Cool!!! I have to look this up as I don't remember it.
• Very young ent - Cool idea, but it seems unworkable to send an Ent to sneak into Mordor even if very young. Maybe a long-lost ent-wife? They tend smaller plants, so they could be smaller and more mobile.

From The Spaniard:

• Woodsman fighter from Mirkwood - Good possibility. I'm thinking about how to make them more iconic or compelling.
• Wood Elf Archer - This runs into being a substitute for Legolas.
• Sindarin Elf Mystic type from either Rivendell or Lorien - I like having a mystic, as it is different than other Tolkien elves, but I'm not sure how it would work. I am avoiding PC spells in my system.
• Dunadain fighter/ranger with leadership abilities - This runs into being a substitute for Aragorn.
• Rohirrim hero / horseman - Considering, but they won't have horses going into Mordor, so horseman shouldn't be key to their archetype.

Quote from: rytrasmi on April 19, 2023, 05:40:40 PM

Quote from: jhkim on April 19, 2023, 01:34:29 PM
If Galadriel had to start a new Fellowship in Lothlorien, given a few months, who would it be?

Would there not be a backup team already in place? If a single orc arrow is enough to collapse the fellowship, someone - probably Gandalf - would have sensed this and they would have prepared a shadow fellowship to take over. Hence, it's not on Galadriel to organize this hastily. She may have input and even provide an elf or two, but the core of the shadow fellowship is nearby and awaiting the call.

I don't think so. Galadriel might have had a few weeks advance notice, but it wasn't planned that the Fellowship would come to Lothlorien. Their choice to go through Moria was unexpected.

In the book, Gandalf realizes the nature of the Ring in April 3018 - but he goes straight to Saruman and is imprisoned. It was in late October that the decision was made in Rivendell to take the Ring to Mordor and destroy it. Before that, there was no plan to even have a fellowship. In late January 3019, the Fellowship arrives in Lothlorien.

It is possible for news to have travelled from Rivendell to Lothlorien faster. Arwen's brothers Elladan and Elrohir were supposedly paving the way for the Fellowship. I'm not sure if their path was defined, so maybe they (or someone else) could have informed Galadriel in December. Still, there was no way to expect that the fellowship was even arriving at all, let alone that they would need a full replacement.

Radagast the Brown - the last Maiar in Middle Earth not corrupted by Sauron. Not as formidable as Gandalf, but must rise to the occasion in these desperate times

Peregrine Took - Merry's dead. Frodo left and Sam with him. Leaving a much darker, thousand-yard-stare, PTSD, consumed with guilt and vengeance version of Pippin determined to carry on if only so that Merry's death might mean something.

Are there any remnants of Smeagol's people still dwelling along the shores of the Anduin, hidden and protected by the elves of Lothlorien? Perhaps even a descendant of Smeagol's family who feels there's an ancestral burden to take up, with Pippin as his protector.

Second a Beorning, dwarf from the Lonely Mountain, a Rohirrim, young ent (or ent-wife!), wood elf, descendant of Bard.