Why Tales of the Shire Needs Its Own Lobelia Sackville…

Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game is due to be released on July 29, 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 of The Lord of the Rings are especially looking forward to a game in their favorite setting that isn't primarily centered around combat. Tales of the Shire will 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. The most notable antagonist in the Shire in The 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 in Tales 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.

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By Katelyn Mitchell Jewett

Creating Realistic Conflict in Tales of the Shire

Despite being a cozy game, Tales of the Shire will need an element of conflict to 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 of The 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 Shire could 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 games doesn't have to have massive stakes, and some popular characters in cozy games are antagonistic ones. One such character is March from Fields 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 Shire will have a social element, where the player character can befriend their neighbors and other residents of the Shire. The Lord of the Rings has already set a precedent of hobbit conflict in the Shire, and an antagonistic neighbor could become an ongoing storyline for Tales 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.

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