Player-heroes can make an undertaking to gain a Patron. Patrons are important figures within Middle-earth who have the power and resources necessary to take on Player-heroes as their agents in the world. A Patron can be a source of resources and information but – more importantly for the Loremaster – plot!
A Patron offers a place in the world and a sense of being part of something bigger. They can be called on for help, and open doors to places that a company might not otherwise be able to go. In return, a debt of service can be owed; how often or strictly this is extracted depends on the Patron. Perhaps Saruman the White is a jealous master, who covets the service of others in pursuit of a cause he considers noble and just. Gandalf the Grey is a wanderer who can be a mostly absent and unreliable Patron. And who knows what Radagast wants from the world? Exploring the potential relationships with these characters is very much part of the game.
A company can enjoy serving more than one Patron – they aren’t limited in the number to whom they give their service, and that can generate plenty of plot in itself. The great and good of Middle-earth have many different aims and motivations: some would see the world changed and renewed. Others would have it preserved for all time, unchanging. This is a multifaceted theme of the books, and a worthy one to bring to your games.
Patrons also change over time. Where once he was a benevolent seeker of knowledge to further the power of good in the world, Saruman gradually loses hope in the light’s ability to stave off darkness. His road to corruption was a long one, and he employed many helpers in his service. Playing on the conflict between what we know as readers and what we know as characters can bring huge rewards to a game. Beorn tends towards isolation and defensiveness of his own lands and peoples, yet was convinced to take up arms in the greater struggle before the gates of Erebor. That character arc can be reflected in your games, and your Player-heroes can play a key part in it. We know that there was a great battle at Dale in the War of the Ring, but that is all we know. Who were Bard’s lieutenants? Who helped his new kingdom reach the place where it could fight armies of Mordor?
Patrons in Adventures in Middle-earth are there to provide structure for adventures and hooks on which to hang the happenings you come up with. Making some decisions on the motivations of the great and the good, and allowing their plans to proceed across the years in the background, really makes the world come to life. Equally, giving the company a chance to influence those plans with their undertakings, as well as with what they do in Adventuring phases, adds hugely to the feeling of being part of a living, breathing world.
Note that a powerful NPC can send the company on adventures without being their Patron. Patrons can also come in less grand forms than Gandalf or Elrond. The elders of the Woodmen, or a merchant-noble of Lake-town could just as easily be a Patron to a company of adventurers.
Potential Sanctuaries and Patrons of Wilderland
• Rivendell: Elrond
• Beorn’s House: Beorn
• Lake-town: The Master of Esgaroth
• Dale: King Bard
• Erebor: King Dáin Ironfoot
• Rhosgobel: Radagast
• Isengard: Saruman the White
• Wilderland: Gandalf the Grey
• Mountain Hall: Hartfast
• Woodman-town: The elders of Woodman-town
• Woodland Hall: Ingomer Axebreaker
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