This product consists of seven quite loosely linked adventures, that can be run singly or linked as a campaign. perhaps to kickstart your adventures and provide a framework around which your own can be hung. The introduction gives a clear overview of what is there, and shows how to fit them in to the fairly leisurely pace of adventuring assumed for The One Ring campaigns (with an option for speeding things up a little if preferred). Whilst adventures, of course, fall into the Adventuring Phase, some suggestions are made for interspersing Fellowship Phases and for what the characters might wish to do during them; of particular use should you be planning to build a campaign around these adventures.

The first four adventures are suitable for relatively inexperienced adventurers whilst the last three are best tackled by more seasoned ones. The adventures provide plenty of scope for exploration of the area, with the first involving Lake-Town and Mirkwood, the next four west of the forest and the last two in Dale and areas to the north of the Lonely Mountain. And of course, there are opportunities to meet Elves!

The adventures encapsulate the 'feel' of Middle-Earth well, with the themes of travel and of meeting the rich panoply of the inhabitants of the land embedded into them. The measured cadence of the game mechanics are also reflected in the very way the adventures are written: it's not just a plotline with the mechanics of this particular ruleset bolted on, they have been made integral to the way in which the adventures are presented.

By their nature, the adventures serve as a good introduction to the setting, giving characters a chance to explore and get to know the region as well as to complete discrete tasks and build relationships with the locals. Each adventure is well-structured, presenting opportunities for the characters to choose their own responses to each situation or event whilst providing support for the Lorekeeper (GM) in coping with the characters' actions. Except for one combat-oriented adventure, fights are quite infrequent but ferocious when they occur.

The high standard of presentation makes the book a delight to read, with apposite illustrations and clear maps in the style introduced in the core rulebooks. Plans for those places that warrant them are clear but fit in with the overall appearance of the book.

Overall it's a delightful introduction to adventuring in Middle Earth and well worth a look.

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Reviewed: 24 May 2013