# D & D on the Straight Dope setup thread. (In Middle Earth FA63)

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-on-the-straight-dope-setup-thread-in-middle-earth-fa63/439276>\
**Category:** Thread Games\
**Tags:** middle-earth-game\
**Created:** [February 26, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-on-the-straight-dope-setup-thread-in-middle-earth-fa63/439276 "2008-02-26T20:17:47Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 1258

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**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\
**Post date:** [October 17, 2008, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/d-d-on-the-straight-dope-setup-thread-in-middle-earth-fa63/439276/1258 "2008-10-17T14:27:29Z")

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Waves to Peanut Gallery. I can clearly picture the scene you just described **Eureka**. You put a big smile on my face.

> [@Middle Earth FA63 D&D Game. Fourth Adventure. Journey to Rivendell](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/middle-earth-fa63-d-d-game-fourth-adventure-journey-to-rivendell/464375/469):
>
> The King’s Inns are an interesting idea. Any historical precedent for that - the Romans, maybe? Also sounds a bit like the small stone strongholds that one of the English kings - Edward III? - erected all over Wales to help pacify its people.

The inspiration is a combination of the Roman Road system and King Edward I’s\* Castle Building to defend his lands from the Welsh. The Romans were much more about using repetitive design and pre-made plans so the cookie cutter King’s Inns add to the efficiency in building and maintaining.

King Elessar’s program is both more and less ambitious. He is not dealing with a hostile countryside for the most part and his structures are much smaller than Edward’s 10 Welsh Castles. However, he is building far more than 10 and the roads to connect them. Of course he has a larger Kingdom and Dwarven help.

Just a reminder, try to place questions like this in the setup thread instead. It is an interesting subject and I wouldn’t be surprised by a lot more input from other players.

- You were extremely close. Well done for an American. King Edward I was actually known as “The King who built castles”. I suspect our British players know far more about Edward than I do.

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