#one ring
As Sam stood there, even though the Ring was not on him but hanging by its chain about his neck, he felt himself enlarged, as if he were robed in a huge distorted shadow of himself, a vast and ominous threat halted upon the walls of Mordor. He felt that he had from now on only two choices: to forbear the Ring, though it would torment him; or to claim it, and challenge the Power that sat in its dark hold beyond the valley of shadows. Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dûr. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be.
In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command.
–J.R.R. Tolkien The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, “The Tower of Cirith Ungol”
One day ❤️
I think I want to emulate the tone shift in the Hobbit, after the death of Smaug. A lot of characters are thinking “this is it, a great evil is gone and it’s all gold and cucumber sandwiches from here”. And then all the dominoes that have been set up start tipping, with friends betraying each other and rivals closing in on the Lonely Mountain.
It’s a classic quest narrative that deals with the fallout from the quest. Try something similar with your players! Don’t detract from the achievements they’ve made, but ask them - what do you think is going to happen next? Ask yourself who is going to benefit from this, and who wants revenge, and who didn’t get what they deserved?
What if you flash forward to the little town where the party brings all their treasure, and they’ve raised all the prices tenfold! The streets are buzzing with greed, business booms and suddenly the first person who touched the dragon’s hoard drops dead. Give them the panic, a few days of looking for a cure, and then the King marches an army down to prevent the cursed gold from spreading.
Idea: a wacky yet dark and intense campaign where you play a group of orcs in Middle Earth. I bet you could run it by hacking the One Ring RPG system just a little…
As you make schemes and seize things from the stupid Elves and Men, remember that being a goblin is also about having horrible food and singing horrible songs together. Sauron even invented a Team Rocket style cheer back in the First Age!
7 minutes to midnight! Just in time for the first day of Inktober! The one ring.