During a fellowship phase, the party has the option to participate in undertakings. Depending on the type of fellowship phase, both the available undertakings and how many may be pursued may change. See fellowship phase for more detail.
Certain party members may have an affinity (whether it be skill or tool based) for particular undertakings, and that should be considered when asking the DM for the “free” group undertaking, as that character should perhaps be the the one to pursue it on the party’s behalf.
- Gathering rumours “…[party members] gathering rumours try to separate facts from fireside-tales, and to gather stories that may prove useful in their adventures.”
Choose this undertaking to receive a rumour from the Loremaster. Until the next Fellowship Phase, anyone in the party hav advantage on Intelligence checks related to the rumour.
A rumour can be a story about an individual, a place, or a coming event, pointing specifically to something that the party can explore, prevent, or aspire to achieve. Otherwise, a rumour can be something specific that a party member is inquiring about, and directly related to the current adven- turing circumstances of the Company.
- Heal scars (long fellowship phase only) Heroes feel the burden of the Shadow weigh heavily upon their shoulders long after their adventures are over. Their minds remain bent on dark thoughts, and visions haunt them in their dreams, if not even during their waking hours. Only the passage of time can heal such wounds.
Choose this undertaking to focus on mending your spiritual injuries and remove 1 Shadow Scar. The longer term effect of pursuing this undertaking is TBD in Osgog, but in LOTR 5e for example, the effect is that bonus XP is not gained for the current year.
If pursuing this undertaking, a player role-plays exactly what their character does to heal this mental wound, and how they engage in the process.
- Meet a patron Choose this undertaking to meet one of the Company’s friends and allies when spending the Fellowship Phase in a location where that individual can be found, and if the patron is available for a meeting.
When this is the case, the DM can work with the player to set up the encounter. The reasons to see a patron vary based on the current circumstances of a campaign, but generally revolve around the character asking for some sort of assistance, possibly accepting a task requested by the patron in return.
- Ponder storied and figured maps A character choosing this undertaking studies every map and scroll of lore they can find, to learn as much as possible about the perils the party may face while on a journey.
Until the next Fellowship Phase, party members have advantage on pathfinding checks.
- Recount a story Adventures have a meaning for those who live them, but they can become cautionary tales for others. Characters pursuing this undertaking give a personal account of an event they took part in, describing the episode to members of their own folk in a public place or event, or recording it in a book. Players are strongly encouraged to improvise a short narration.
Effects (choose one:) Note: these are as written in the LOTR source. The distinctive feature and fighting style may need some adjustment.
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(TBD) Choose this undertaking to replace one of your distinctive features with a new one, choosing a quality that you displayed in the narrated episode. Players can choose a trait from the distinctive features of their culture’s (or another one’s) backgrounds, or even propose a new one of their own creation.
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You can choose this undertaking to replace one of your tool proficiencies with another tool proficiency. The proficiency you replace must be one that isn’t benefiting from a feature, such as Expertise, that doubles your proficiency bonus.
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If you have the Expertise feature, you can choose this undertaking to replace one of the proficiencies you chose for the Expertise feature with one of your other proficiencies that isn’t benefiting from Expertise.
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(TBD) If you have the Fighting Style feature, you can choose this undertaking to replace a fighting style you know with another fighting style available to your calling.
- Strengthen fellowship The bond shared by the members of a Company is put to the test by the odds they face in the course of their adventures, and can be reinforced when the Player-heroes are enjoying a moment of respite.
Choose this undertaking to raise the Fellowship rating by +1 until the next Fellowship Phase.
- Study magical items When heroes come into possession of a magical hammer coveted by beings that the party may not want to tangle with, a staff pried from the mouth of a giant stone turtle, or a rune-scored sword that seems to have an alignment preference, they might not know much about the properties of such an item, especially if they are not immediately observable.
Choose this undertaking to learn all there is to be discovered about the qualities of all magical items in the Company’s possession.
Keep in mind that “all there is to be discovered” may not mean every single fact about the item, its history, and how to use it. There may be limits to what a character has the capability to discover about a particular item at a certain time and/or while in a certain place.
- Write a song Choose this undertaking to compose a song, choosing whether it will be a Lay, a Song of Victory, or a Walk- ing song (no ability check is required).
The new composition is added to a party’s list of songs — this list is used to keep track of which songs are available to the party to sing during an Adventuring Phase.
The player is encouraged to come up with a song title, or its lyrics, for example taking inspiration from events that happened to the party, or focusing on one or more characters in the party.
1. Song types
1. # Lay
A player creates a short narrative poem, particularly appropriate to narrate heroic deeds, and meant to be recited or sung at gatherings.
1. # Song of victory
Warriors sing stirring songs in combat, to lift their spirit and renew their lust for battle.
1. # Walking song
Travellers trudging along the final hours of a long day of travelling may find it helpful to hum a merry song, especially when they are drawing near to their destination.
1. Singing songs
During the Adventuring Phase, the characters may sing a song and rouse themselves to pursue their goals with renewed strength of purpose. To do so, a player first chooses a song to sing from among those on the party’s song list. Then, as a bonus action, the player makes a DC 15 Charisma (Performance) check. If the check succeeds, the effect depends on the song chosen:
- Lay. All Player-heroes who can hear the song during a council gain advantage on the first ability check they make before the end of the council.
- Song of Victory. All Player-heroes who can hear the song during combat gain advantage on the first attack roll they make before the end of their next turn.
- Walking song. All Player-heroes who can hear the song at the end of a journey gain advantage on their fatigue saving throw.
Each song may be used once for each Adventuring Phase. Mark a song off the list once it has been spent. A song must be marked off whether it has been used successfully or not.