Bree - A Review

Hey folks,

I'm back with yet ANOTHER The One Ring review!  Bree was recently released in .pdf format and I believe that the dead tree versions are currently being shipped.  I'm hoping mine arrives soon as this is another fantastic Cubicle7 product!  More after the break!

Bree covers the region west of Rivendell but east of the Shire which is not included in this book.  It's 112 pages in full color.  The first section is titled A History of Bree-land, it's a short two page overview of the region of Bree-land and the four main villages.  It moves along to a chapter called Bree-land & Around.  This is the region atlas section of the book, it describes Bree-hill, the Roads, Western Bree-land, The Hall of Orgulas, The Chetwood, Bree proper, New-town, East Row, The Forsaken Inn, Staddle, the Smial of Staddle, Combe, Archet and ends with a very nice map of Bree illustrated by the always talented Jon Hodgson.  Jon's art as always is through out the book, he is joined by several other talented artists including Sam Manley who illustrated the beautiful cover with the welcoming looking Prancing Pony.  This chapter also includes the numerous NPC's that inhabit the region as well as several new Fellowship Phase undertakings.  There are some region specific rules including a new hazard for the Chetwood and a new rule titled The Melancholy of Combe for heroes that heal corruption in that area.

The Prancing Pony is the next chapter and focuses entirely on the famous inn.  NPC's are described and given stats, all three floors of the inn are illustrated with some very simple yet elegant maps and the various rooms are described in some detail.  There is a random chart to roll up various guests in the common room which is a lot of fun.  It's a very handy chapter if your adventurers seek refuge in the Prancing Pony.

An Empty Land is next, two pages detailing the land of the surrounding region, the actual flora and fauna, the terrain, the weather and the emptiness of the lands.  Its a handy bit of information for the Lore-master, I wish there was a few pages more of this!

Adventuring in Bree follows.  This four page chapter covers adventure hooks for adventures set in the Bree-land area.  This is really nice!  These are short one or two paragraph ideas that can be used by the Lore-master to create an adventure around, they are region specific and deal with the various residents and lands of the region.  There are five Fellowship Phase undertakings that round out the chapter.  This is another great chapter for the Lore-master, short but to the point.

Next up is Men of Bree.  This is a repeat of the Men of Bree included in the Adventurers Companion, nothing new here!  It's nice to have it included in this book but its five pages that could have been used for something else.

The rest of the book (65 pages) is taken up by three adventures.  The first is Old Bones and Skin which starts at the Prancing Pony and involves a Troll and lost treasures.  The second adventure is titled Strange Men, Strange Roads and is meant to played as a follow-up to the first adventure.  The fellowship travels to the Forsaken Inn where their expected contact is missing, this starts an investigation that takes the fellowship all over Bree.  The last adventure is called Holed up in Staddle and is the final part of the three part series, it takes the heroes into the Old Forest and around Bree.

Overall this is a fantastic book, great regional information and loads of detail for the Lore-master.  The three adventures are nice but take up the bulk of the book.  I would have preferred a combined Bree/Shire book without the adventures but I'm an impatient man, I guess I'll just have to wait for the long promised Shire book as patiently as I can!  This book is worth the money and I highly recommend it!