Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Gameis due to be released on Jul 16, 2025. It’s been delayed several times, as its developer, Weta Workshop, continues to polish it and make it the best cozy game experience for all players. Many fans ofThe Lord of the Ringsare especially looking forward to a game in their favorite setting that isn’t primarily centered around combat.Tales of the Shirewill embody the best of Tolkien’s ideals, and it will be focused on nature, food, and friendships.
Good stories often carry an element of conflict, and even the Shire has antagonistic figures. Themost notable antagonist in the Shire inThe Lord of the Rings, before Frodo set out on his journey, was Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, and she caused Bilbo and Frodo a great deal of grief. A similar figure would be great to see inTales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, as they could be a source of some conflict and give players more reasons to be invested in the game.
Creating Realistic Conflict in Tales of the Shire
Despite being a cozy game,Tales of the Shirewill need an element of conflictto help keep players invested. Luckily, even the Shire has always included some form of conflict, even if it’s on a smaller scale. Villages tend to be tight-knit, and hobbits tend to have big families with many distant relatives, which sets the scene for small-town drama. Bilbo and Frodo’s biggest enemy in the Shire is Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, who believes she deserves Bag End instead of Frodo.
Who is Lobelia Sackville-Baggins?
The Sackville-Bagginses are distant cousins of Bilbo’s. All the Sackville-Bagginses are considered a menace in Hobbiton, but it is Lobelia in particular who is seen as the worst of them all, as she makes snide comments about the Bagginses and makes frequent attempts to take their heirlooms and the Baggins' ancestral home of Bag End.At the end ofThe Lord of the Rings, her role in defying Saruman makes her a hero in the Shire, and she and Frodo reconcile.
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins Could Inspire a New Fan Favorite Character
Tales of the Shirecould take a note from Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and create a character who antagonizes the player character in similarly petty ways. Perhaps the antagonistic character had their eye on a hobbit hole that is instead given to the player character.Conflict in cozy gamesdoesn’t have to have massive stakes, and some popular characters in cozy games are antagonistic ones. One such character is March fromFields of Mistria, who is a very popular marriage candidate among players but is also the most antagonistic of all the residents of Mistria.
Improving on Lobelia in Tales of the Shire
Tales of the Shirewill have a social element, where the player character can befriend their neighbors and other residents of the Shire.The Lord of the Ringshas already set a precedent of hobbit conflict in the Shire, and an antagonistic neighbor could become an ongoing storyline forTales of the Shire. However, the player should have the option to build a more positive relationship with the antagonistic character, giving the opportunity for growth and reconciliation without needing something as dramatic as the Scouring of the Shire to make it happen. Not all the characters need to be nice to the player character, and having a mistrustful antagonist can be a refreshing change of pace in a cozy game.
