Whilst in many games, travelling to a place forms part of the adventure, in The One Ring the journey often IS the adventure, so this is a timely and useful addition to the game line. Anyway, I love maps!

So, let's start with the maps. They're glorious. And big - looking at the PDF version, on a large-screen PC, I'm not even getting 50% of them full-screen. There are four maps in total: Rohan & Gondor, Mordor, Wilderland and Eridor... but each comes in two forms, one for players and one for the Loremaster. The Loremaster version has loads of locations and other details, whilst the player version is the sort of thing a local cartographer might have made and sold to the Company when they were planning their next trip. A real delight to the eye, and practical for the game as well. The paper ones will no doubt look nice on your wall or enhance your tabletop when playing.

The set also contains a 32-page book which explains that Journeys and Maps is all about the adventures a company can have on their travels - chance encounters, hazards, natural events and more. The first chapter looks at travel by road, with plenty of ideas for things that might happen to the company arranged by region, making it easy to select the most appropriate event for them. Unfriendly locals, opportunistic thieves, or darkness lurking in a ruined farmhouse and more await... or they might just get lost! There are also suggestions about tailoring Hazards to specific regions, with a wealth of examples to get you started. Any can prove a momentary distraction, many have the potential to be developed into far more.

The next chapter deals with Boats and Ships. This provides just about everything you might want to know about travelling on the water rather than the land, with both river and sea journeys being discussed. There are notes on planning journeys, the types of vessel available... and of course hazards specific to the water.

The next section looks at things apart from hazards that can be used to enliven journeys. Here are interesting things to see, places to spend the night, fascinating people to talk to... not every encounter or event need be a bad one despite the abundance of hazards provided earlier.

The last chapter, Bones of the Earth, discusses ruins and explains how to design your own. Start by deciding who built it and what it was originally used for, then think about its present appearance and what it is being used for now. A whole bunch of ideas here. Finally, there is an Index of Locations covering everything that's been published to date, telling you both the book and the page number you'll need to consult to find out more.

Overall, this is a well-nigh essential aid for the Loremaster, and the maps are beautiful!

Return to Journeys and Maps page.

Reviewed: 6 April 2016