Girdley Island Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

Girdley Island lies amid the waters of the Brandywine River, some ten miles north of the Brandywine Bridge. Here the river divides into two broad channels that flow around the island before joining together once more farther downstream. Long and narrow in shape, the island marks part of the eastern boundary of the Shire's Eastfarthing, while the rolling Brandy Hills of Bree-land rise along the opposite bank.

Its name is thought to derive from an old word meaning “girdled” or “encircled,” a fitting description for a place embraced on all sides by the river's waters. Though seldom mentioned in tales told by Hobbits, Girdley Island has long been a familiar sight to travelers and rivermen who journey the Brandywine.

Dense stands of willow and alder cling to its shores, while its higher ground rises steeply above the waterline. The island's isolation and rugged terrain have helped preserve an air of mystery about it, making it one of the quieter and less frequented landmarks along the river.

Among the Hobbits of the Eastfarthing, Girdley Island is remembered chiefly as a destination for fishing trips and summer excursions. Members of the Brandybuck family and other adventurous Hobbits occasionally crossed to its shores in search of solitude, good fishing, or a pleasant day away from the bustle of Buckland. Yet the island's remoteness also attracted less respectable visitors. Local tales speak of Rivermen who sought refuge there after running afoul of the law, hiding among the trees and riverbanks until pursuit had faded. Older legends hint that Girdley Island's history stretches back far beyond the memory of Hobbits.

Some whispered that, in ancient days, the island stood near an Elvish crossing used by travelers moving between Eriador's hidden realms. The most curious tale tells of enchanted moonboats concealed beneath the dark waters surrounding the island—silent vessels said to move without oars or sails beneath the light of the moon. Rivermen regarded such stories with unease and superstition, while most Hobbits dismissed them as little more than fanciful river lore. Yet the persistence of these legends has ensured that Girdley Island remains one of the Brandywine's most intriguing and mysterious landmarks.

River Witchywindle Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

The River Withywindle (Hobbitish for "willow-winding") was a minor tributary of the Brandywine River that flowed through the heart of the ancient Old Forest. It rose in the higher ground of the Barrow-downs and flowed southwest, cutting a deep valley or "Dingle" through the densest and most dangerous part of the forest before merging with the Brandywine at Haysend near the southern edge of Buckland. The river was narrow but strong-flowing, and its banks were densely lined with willows, particularly the ancient and malevolent Old Man Willow, from whom much of the forest's strange and hostile atmosphere was said to originate.

The valley of the Withywindle was renowned as the source of the "queerness" of the Old Forest. The trees here were infused with a malicious power, a deep-seated hatred for all creatures that roamed free, stemming from centuries of witnessed deforestation and encroachment. This malevolence was concentrated along the riverbanks, where the trees seemed almost "awake" and deliberately misled travelers toward the water. All paths in the Old Forest, despite a traveler's best intentions, seemed to bend and wander inevitably towards the Withywindle valley, leading unwary individuals into the domain of the Great Willow's influence.

The river's water itself appeared to carry an enchantment of drowsiness and forgetfulness, similar to the cursed streams in Mirkwood encountered by the Dwarves in The Hobbit. The very air in the valley was heavy and soothing in an unnatural way, lulling travelers into a deep, vulnerable sleep. This is precisely what happened to Frodo Baggins and his companions when they passed through the forest; they were overwhelmed by a desire to rest by the river, and Merry and Pippin were trapped in a crack in Old Man Willow's trunk while Frodo was pushed into the water by a root.

The hobbits were only saved by the timely, "chance" arrival of Tom Bombadil, who lived with his wife Goldberry in a house on the northern bank of the Withywindle, just above the valley. Goldberry is described as the "Daughter of the River", a river-spirit Tom had found in a pool in the Withywindle long ago. Bombadil demonstrated his mastery over the malevolent river and the ancient tree, commanding the willow to release the hobbits with a powerful song, highlighting that while the river valley was the heart of the forest's dangers, it was also under the enigmatic protection of the "Eldest".

In essence, the River Withywindle was not merely a geographical feature but a potent, almost sentient part of the ancient landscape, where the deep, untamed spirit of Middle-earth held sway. It was a place of enchantment and peril, a crucial segment of the hobbits' journey that marked their transition from the safety of the Shire to a world where ancient, unexplained powers were very real. The river and its surrounding valley remain one of the most mysterious and atmospheric locations in all of Tolkien's work, a testament to the wild, independent nature of the Old Forest.

House Rules Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

▶ Resting: Long rests may only be taken in an actual sanctuary (a sanctuary is more than just a place to sleep. It must be a location that offers safety and comfort, allowing characters to relax completely, giving safety, security, access to supplies & tranquility—towns, cities, or guarded settlements). Short rests during a journey is an extended 8-hour period that allows for "very" light activity, not the 1-hour short rest found in the standard D&D 5e rules, which applies when the party is not traveling.

▶ Alignment: We will be using the three alignments in Old-School Essentials are Law, Neutrality, and Chaos. Lawful beings believe in order, truth, and justice, acting for the good of the group. Chaotic beings oppose law, believing life is random and often prioritize themselves or act on luck. Neutrality represents a balance between Law and Chaos, where beings are primarily concerned with personal survival, acting in their own best interest

▶ Level One Hit Points: We give all level 1 characters max hitpoints. This is done "only" for level One. This gives the characters a fighting chance, especially the Wizard who could easily have 1-2 hit points. Yea I know, it is babying them at level 1. We try to make sure our players have a good time and not worry about tripping and taking lethal damage from a pebble. From level Two and higher, hit points are rolled normal.

▶ Death & Unconsciousness: We use the official rule in AD&D 1st edition "with a slight twist" that says—a character becomes unconscious at 0 hit points (HP) and begins to die, losing 1 HP per round if left unassisted "in our game instead of losing 1hp per round until death, we do 1d4hp per round until death at -10". Death occurs when hit points reach -10. If a character takes enough damage that takes him to -10 hit points or below, he/she is just dead. Our house rule we've added for recovery is, if a character is brought back to consciousness using non magical healing, that character requires one week of bedrest for recovery but if that character is brought back to consciousness using magical healing, that character needs to rest for eight uninterrupted hours before returning to full strength.

▶ Playable Races & Classes: You can find all the available races and classes on the following page.

▶ Elves Resistances: In AD&D Elves have a 90% resistance to spells/abilities that charm or unnaturally cause sleep. It makes sense that elves would have this but in Old-School Essentials it is not a rule so I have chosen to make this a house rules of sorts. All Elves are particularly resistant to spells and spell-like abilities that charm or unnaturally cause sleep. When making saving throws against these types of spells, they receive a +10 bonus, Half-Elves get a +5 bonus.

▶ Elves & Resting: Elves do not need to sleep in the traditional sense. Instead, they engage in a meditative state called a "trance" for four hours, which provides them with the same benefits as eight hours of sleep for other races. While they can technically sleep if they choose, they rarely do, and it wouldn't provide them with the same restorative effects as their trance. Half-Elves however do require sleep.

▶ Detect Magic Skill: The "Scholar class" can detect magic on an item by concentrating for 1 full turn. This procedure is repeatable.

▶ Identify Skill: The "Scholar class" can identify a magical object by studying it for 3 full hours. They then have a 3-in-6 chance of successfully determining its effects. This procedure is repeatable.

▶ Fighter Class Combat: Gain one extra attack on a critical hit (nat20) & gain an additional +1 to hit & +1 to damage with weapon of choice with the extra attack.

▶ Disadvantage/Advantage: We will be using the advantage/disadvantage rules. If you have Advantage on a D20 check (DC), roll two d20s, and use the higher roll. If you have Disadvantage on a D20 check (DC), roll two d20s, and use the lower roll.

▶ Ranger Highlander Rule: In my games I follow a one Ranger per group optional rule. This means only a single Ranger regardless of the Rangers race, can be in a group at a time.

▶ Starting Contacts: At the start of a new adventure, each player character starts out by having one contact in the starting location they are in that they know. This contact could be good aligned to the players character but they could be contacts with ill intent as well . . . "only the Loremaster would know for sure".

Great East Road Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

The Great East Road was one of the most important highways in the North of Middle-earth, serving as a vital artery between distant lands and peoples. Near Bree-land, it intersected with the ancient Greenway, creating a crossroads that had made Bree a center of trade and travel for centuries. Merchants, wandering adventurers, dwarven traders, and messengers all passed through the town, bringing news and goods from far-flung corners of Eriador.

The road itself was a testament to a grander age, its sturdy stonework and careful construction reflecting the skill of the Dwarves who had once maintained it as part of a route stretching from the Grey Havens to the eastern lands beyond Rivendell. For the people of Bree, the East Road was more than a means of travel—it was the lifeblood of their community.

Inns, stables, craftsmen, and merchants all depended upon the steady flow of travelers. The famous Prancing Pony stood beside the road where it curved around the foot of Bree-hill, offering shelter and warm meals to those making the long journey across the wilds. Though Bree remained one of the last pockets of civilization in the region, its prosperity depended heavily upon the ancient highway and the visitors it brought to its gates.

Beyond Bree, however, the character of the road changed dramatically. The comforting sights of farms and cottages quickly faded, replaced by the lonely expanses of the Lone-lands. Once part of the proud Kingdom of Arnor, these lands had fallen into ruin centuries earlier, leaving behind only scattered remnants of watchtowers, crumbling walls, and forgotten settlements. Travelers heading east found themselves crossing empty moors and windswept hills, with few places to seek refuge should trouble arise. The distant Weather Hills loomed over the landscape, crowned by the ruined remains of Amon Sûl, a silent reminder of the North's lost glory.

By the late Third Age, the eastern reaches of the Great East Road had become a dangerous place. Though still passable, it was far less traveled than in ages past, and many stretches felt abandoned to the wilderness. Brigands, wandering beasts, and darker things were known to lurk along the route, especially in the lonely spaces between Bree and Rivendell. Rumors spoke of shadowy riders and strange figures moving through the desolate lands, watching the road from afar. For those brave enough to travel eastward, the road offered both opportunity and peril, leading ever deeper into a land where the influence of the rising Shadow could increasingly be felt.

Ready For Content Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

The South Downs Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

The South Downs comprised a range of rolling, low-lying hills in the greater Eriador region, situated strategically just south and slightly east of the Bree-land area. This area formed a geographical boundary, separating the safer, settled lands from the more desolate wilderness to the south. Geographically, they were distinct from the more ominous Barrow-downs to the west, separated by a narrow passage known as the Andrath. The landscape was typically open and windswept, characterized by scarce but tough grass cover, which historically made it a reasonable area for grazing sheep, a detail noted in some of Tolkien’s supplementary notes.

Historically, the South Downs hold significance as an early staging ground for the Hobbits during their great migration westward across Middle-earth. The Harfoot branch of the Hobbits, the most numerous and traditional of the three kinds, settled in this area for a significant period. They lived in scattered villages within the Downs for generations before moving further northwest, eventually crossing the River Hoarwell and the Misty Mountains to reach the lands around Bree and finally the Shire. This period of settlement ingrained the area in the deep, albeit often forgotten, history of the Hobbit race.

Following the departure of the Hobbits, the South Downs became part of the ancient Dúnedain kingdom of Cardolan. This era saw the construction of various earthworks, dikes, and perhaps smaller watchtowers, as the region was a frontier against the forces of Angmar and potentially the other rival successor states of Arnor. Like much of the North Kingdom, these defenses fell into ruin after the Great Plague and the wars with the Witch-king. By the Third Age's end, the South Downs were a desolate expanse, empty of permanent human or hobbit settlement, a quiet testament to the forgotten history of the North.

The region's proximity to the highly active and dangerous Barrow-downs presented a contrast. While the Barrow-downs became infamous for being haunted by malevolent Barrow-wights, the South Downs, despite their ancient ruins and burial mounds, did not carry the same pervasive sense of supernatural evil. They were dangerous due to the general emptiness of the Wild—home to common predators, brigands, and occasional wandering Orcs—rather than specific, concentrated magical threats, making them a slightly less perilous passage than the lands to the west.

In the narrative context of The Lord of the Rings, the South Downs are mainly referenced as a geographical marker defining the extent of the immediate Bree area. They were part of the vast, empty expanse that the Rangers of the North silently patrolled. For travelers using the Greenway, the passage through the Andrath between the South Downs and the Barrow-downs was one of the key navigational points, a lonely stretch of road where one truly felt exposed to the wilderness and the vestiges of a world long past its prime.

The Last Bridge Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

The Last Bridge stands as a lonely, three-arched span of stone, marking the easternmost reach of the Great East Road before it ascends into the shadowed heights of the Trollshaws. Crossing the rushing waters of the River Mitheithel, also known as the Hoarwell, it is the only reliable passage for miles in either direction, bridging the gap between the desolate Lone-lands and the untamed wilderness ahead. Though its builders are lost to time, the bridge is a enduring relic of the Dúnedain of Arnor, its massive foundations having withstood centuries of neglect and the freezing floods that pour down from the Ettenmoors.

In the current age, the bridge is a place of profound stillness, frequently veiled in the damp mists that rise from the deep river valley. While the road leading to it has fallen into disrepair, the bridge itself remains remarkably intact, thanks in part to the silent vigilance of the Elves of Rivendell and the Rangers who periodically clear it of debris and minor damage. It serves as a vital strategic threshold; beyond its stones, the land becomes significantly more dangerous, and the familiar safety of the west feels a world away as the path climbs toward the dark, pine-clad hills.

Barrow Downs Battle of Five Armies & The Third Age of Middle-Earth All of our adventures & campaigns will take place during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Inspired By J.R.R. Tolkien & Peter Jackson

The Barrow-downs, or Tyrn Gorthad in Sindarin, were a region of rolling, treeless hills located to the east of the Old Forest and southwest of the village of Bree. The landscape was characterized by a green, springy turf, and the dominant features were the numerous ancient burial mounds, or barrows, that crowned many of the hilltops.

Some of these mounds were marked with ominous standing stones or rings of white stone, giving the silent area a foreboding appearance even in daylight. The region was notoriously prone to sudden, cold fogs that could disorient travelers, adding to its already sinister reputation among the locals of the Bree-land and the Shire.

The barrows were first built in the First Age by the ancestors of the Edain as burial sites for their chieftains. Later, when the Dúnedain established the kingdom of Arnor in Eriador, they continued to bury their lords and kings in these elaborate tombs, making the Barrow-downs a significant necropolis. These tombs contained valuable artifacts, including weapons and jewelry, which remained undisturbed for centuries.

During the Third Age, after the Great Plague weakened the kingdom of Cardolan, which included the Downs, the Witch-king of Angmar sent evil spirits known as Barrow-wights to inhabit the deserted mounds. These wights animated the dead and made the region a realm of terror, casting spells to trap the living within the tombs.

The Barrow-downs were widely feared by the people of Bree-land and the Shire. The Witch-king returned to the Downs during the War of the Ring, anticipating the Ring-bearer's passage. Frodo Baggins and his companions were captured by a wight after getting lost in a fog, and were nearly killed before being rescued by Tom Bombadil, who expelled the spirit.

This encounter in the Barrow-downs was a significant event for the hobbits, marking their departure from the Shire and providing them with ancient Dúnedain blades that would be important in future battles. The region remained a dangerous and haunted place throughout the Third Age, symbolizing the fall of the North Kingdom and the lingering evil of Sauron.

Notable Regions
• Barrow-Downs North
• Barrow-Downs South