Tales of the Shire is finally here, and as a long-time JRR Tolkien fan, I've wasted no time in diving into my cozy Hobbit life. From the get-go, I was after the complete lore-based Middle-earth experience with this new game. In fact, I purposely chose to name my hobbit "Belladona Boffin", choosing Belladonna since Belladonna Took was Bilbo Baggins' mother, and Boffin for their relation to both Bilbo and Frodo's direct family line as well. So you know I'm a serious hobbit nerd.
With that in mind, I've had my eyes peeled for any easter eggs during my time with Tales of the Shire. So far, I've completed the main story, got most characters up to at least four hearts, and have charted most of the map, minus some unlockable areas that I'm still working towards. And while the gameplay has been a bit stale at times (read my Tales of the Shire review for more details on that), I've been pleasantly surprised at all the Lord of the Rings timeline tidbits and Tolkien lore that I've found so far.
The Prancing Pony
When you first load up Tales of the Shire, you get your first easter egg via hearing your character's backstory. It turns out that you're a hobbit who has been staying at the Prancing Pony Inn. Anyone who has seen Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies knows that the Prancing Pony is where Gandalf told Frodo that he'd meet up with him, but after being held up by Saruman (literally), Frodo meets Aragorn there instead. The Prancing Pony also famously had rooms specially for Hobbits since Bree is a town where Men and halflings alike live. It's also the biggest inn in Bree, so there was probably plenty of room to spare for your homeless character prior to Bywater.
The Fell Winter
In Tales of the Shire, one of the steps needed to make Bywater a village is a wolf's head, which leads to a conversation happening in the game that mentions the Fell Winter. The Fell Winter was an event that happened during T.A. 2911 to 2912 across the whole of Middle-earth. It was a long and extremely cold period that resulted in food shortages and the Shire being attacked by White Wolves. Unfortunately, Bywater didn't save any wolves' heads from the event to help you out on completing that particular game quest; still, it's a nice piece of Shire history to get referenced.
Dúnedain medal
In the game, you'll end up fishing up a Dúnedain medal, which is a direct easter egg to Tolkien's book. The reason why the Shire is so peaceful is that its borders are being protected by The Rangers of the North (aka the last of the Dúnedain of Arnor) who have sworn to protect the free lands of Men. Technically, the Shire falls under their jurisdiction. So, although Hobbits are unaware of the Dúnedain's presence, seeing the medal pop up in Tales of the Shire is a fantastic nod to Tolkien's lore. It's also a great reminder of the action unfolding in the rest of Middle-earth as you go about your cozy hobbit life.
Sandyman rivals
The Sandyman hobbit family in Tolkien's writing is pretty notorious for not getting on with other Hobbits, especially the Gamgee family. While we don't see a complete dislike or any full blown hatred, Tales of the Shire constantly reminds us that Sandyman and Farmer Cotton don't get on. The Cottons are known for being close to the Gamgee family as well, so the rivalry has an extra layer of lore to it. It's a small detail, but one that die-hard fans will no doubt appreciate.
Sam and Rosie's relationship
Seeing the Cotton family is a real treat for Tolkien fans in Tales of the Shire, and getting to chat with Rosie is the cherry on top of the cake. Rosie Cotton is widely known to be Samwise Gamgee's future wife, and according to Tolkien's work the two had been friends since childhood as their families were close. In Tales of the Shire Rosie often mentions Sam and it's clear that the two are in regular contact. It's a romance in the making and seeing it's early stages in the game will have you kicking your feet and giggling in delight.
The Green Dragon Inn
One of the locations that you can host your Hobbit meals in is the Green Dragon Inn, which is a location featured in Tolkien's books. Firstly it appeared during the events of The Hobbit, and was where Bilbo and Thorin and Company gathered before officially heading out on their adventure. It was then mentioned again before Frodo's journey to Mordor with Sam visiting it and chatting about Ents. The Green Dragon, would go on to be a casualty of the Shire-Reckoning, but eventually reopened before the end of Tolkien's epic. So yeah, all my dinner parties were held here.
Brandybucks and the Old Forest
Ok, so this one isn't so much a straight easter egg as it is likely just a very subtle connection to some hobbit lore. But, as a Merry Brandybuck fan, I'm putting it on the list (even if it is a bit of a reach), dammit. In Tales of the Shire, one of the NPCs is Delphinium Brandybuck, who lives close to a location known as "The Forest" away from the main square of Bywater. Now this isn't The Old Forest (aka home of Tom Bombadil), but Delphinium's location reminded me that Buckland was close to the Old Forest and caused most of its residents (mostly Brandybucks) to lock their doors at night.. I mean, putting a Brandybuck in an out-of-the-way forest location in the new game can't be a coincidence, right?
Gandalf and the Tooks
Tales of the Shire is all about food, and in one quest to get Gandalf's help you'll need to figure out a dish he'd like. So, you go to the only Took in town to see if they know anything. After all, Gandalf and the Tooks go way back, and his relationship with them is why he is fond of hobbits in the first place. While we don't get a full history breakdown in the game, it's very cool to see nods to Gerontius Took (aka The Old Took) and Gandalf's past relationship, since it was this connection that also led to the wizard seeking out the hobbit's grandson (Bilbo Baggins) later on.
The Three-Farthing Stone
Seeing the Three-Farthing Stone during my playthrough of Tales of Shire was an unexpected delight. If you need a Middle-earth geography refresherm the stone is used to mark where the borders of Eastfarthing, Westfarthing and Southfarthing come together. It's long been rumored to be the center point of the Shire itself which makes sense as to why Sam would later choose to spread the dust of Lothlórien here. He wanted to share Galadriel's gift with the entire Shire that was being terrorized by Sharkey and his group of Ruffians during the last stages of the War of the Ring. Once again Sam proves that he is the best.
King Argeleb II
If you chat to the hobbits in Tales of the Shire, they will make references to the King. If you know your Shire history, you'd be aware that the Shire used to be the King of Arnor's hunting ground before Argeleb II gave the land to the Hobbits. Due to this fact, many hobbits long considered themselves to be subjects of the King, and that's likely why we hear the Bywater residents bring him up every now and again. However, after the fall of Arnor, the Shire was left without a king, so the hobbits decided to set up the title of Thain. I'm still playing through all the heart events in the game, so hopefully we get a mention of that soon as well!
Need more Middle-earth in your life? Check out our list of the best Lord of the Rings games ever made. Or head on over to our guide on The Rings of Power season 3.
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