Inn League and Ale Association: Speedy Delivery Run (No-travel-enhancements)

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Introduction

Hello, and welcome to this no-travel-enhancements run of the combined twenty-two delivery quests for The Inn League and Ale Association! This run is a companion to the Hunter-assisted Speedy Delivery Run, and is meant for those players who haven’t purchased extra milestones, Hurried/Expedient/Returning Traveller, or travel skills from the LOTRO store.

The Inn League is a Hobbit-led drinking group with headquarters in The Bird and Baby Inn in the Shire, but there are members of all races throughout Eriador. Some of the far-flung members are missing their favorite beverages, or perhaps that last ale to complete all of the drinks of the League, and you’re here to help them out!

Now, some crafty (and possibly ill-intentioned) Dwarves started a rival group called the Ale Association with their headquarters in Thorin’s Hall Inn and they’re interested in having you give the Inn League members some drinks that aren’t quite what they’re expecting. You’ll notice that the Ale Association quests have names very similar to the Inn League quests. Those sneaky Dwarves!

Delivering drinks for the two factions gives you reputation with that faction, tokens with that faction, and opens up access to the headquarters where you can spend those tokens. Delivering drinks will give you 900 reputation with one side, while removing 500 reputation with the other side! However you can play it both ways, and get a net 400 reputation each time you do this run. Double the tokens and positive rep and I don’t have to scold Dwarves and make them sad? Sounds like a great deal to me!

This quick run requires the following travel skills:

Each of these skills can be earned in game and do not require any LOTRO store purchases.

Additionally, your character must be at least level 45 to pick up each of the quests.

Note: Each Ale Association quest must be completed within one hour of picking it up. This route takes around 35 minutes to complete.

Preparation

  • Become an Inn League member (if you aren’t already) by completing the Inn League Initiation, which starts at the Party Tree.
  • Become an Ale Association member (if you aren’t already) by completing the Ale Association Challenge, which starts at Thorin’s Hall Inn.
  • Set a milestone to Duillond;
  • Have room for 11 quests in your quest log;
  • Have a supply of the 11 drinks for the Inn League quests. (Starred locations are along the route, and can be replenished for later runs while you’re there.)
    • Bombur’s Beard Lager (Inn 4) from Thorin’s Hall Inn* in Ered Luin
    • Moor-boar Beer (Inn 9) and Stars of Old Cider (Inn 6) from The Prancing Pony* in Bree-land
    • Swill (Inn 10) and Forsaken Ale (Inn 2) from The Forsaken Inn* in Lone-lands
    • Blagrove’s Brown (Inn 5) from The Bird and Baby Inn* in The Shire
    • Thistlebelly Brew (Inn 1) from The Ivy Bush Inn* in The Shire
    • Dorwinion White (Inn 11) from The Last Homely House* in The Trollshaws
    • Beakbreaker Ale (Inn 7) from The Comb and Wattle Inn in Bree-land
    • Limael’s Vintage (Inn 3) from Limael’s Vineyard in Ered Luin
    • Brandy Wine (Inn 8) from The Golden Perch in The Shire

The Ale Association quests can be picked up from an Ale Association Tavern Keep at the Bree-land Festival Grounds, the Ered Luin Festival Garden, the Party Tree, or in the Thorin’s Hall Inn. Since this run starts at the West Bree gate, we will pick up the Ale Association quests at the Bree-land Festival Grounds.

Note: Each pair of delivery quests is mutually exclusive. For example, while you have the quest Quite a Tickle, you cannot pick up the quest Quite a Pickle and vice versa. Because you must have the Ale Association quest in order to pick up the associated drink, this guide starts you off with the Ale Association quests. After you turn in a quest to a recipient, you will be able to pick up and deliver the corresponding Inn League quest immediately.

The Route

The route itself is pretty straightforward:

Bree-town & Festival Grounds:

  • Get to the Bree-land Festival Grounds.
  • Pick up the Ale Association quests from Ale Association Tavern Keep. (Don’t pick up the Inn League quests at this time!)
  • Use the free Bree-town horse to return to the West Bree gate.
  • Ride to the Prancing Pony
  • Collect Fake Forsaken Ale (Ale 1) and Fake Limael’s Vintage (Ale 2) from Barliman Butterbur.
  • Leave the Prancing Pony and use the free Bree-land Festival Grounds horse.
  • Mount up and ride south-west to Thornley’s Work Site.

Thornley’s Work Site, Bree-land

  • Wesley Hopwood: Drop off Never Further From Home (Ale 2). Pick up and drop off Never Far From Home (Inn 1).
  • Milestone to Duillond
  • Take stable-master to Thrasi’s Lodge.

Thrasi’s Lodge, Ered Luin

  • Alrek: Drop off One Drink Too Few (Ale 1). Pick up and drop off One Drink Too Many (Inn 2).
  • Use your Return to Ost Guruth travel skill.
  • Take stable-master to Candaith’s Encampment
  • Take Candaith’s travel to The Forsaken Inn

The Forsaken Inn, Lone-lands

  • Collect Fake Stars of Old Cider (Ale 3) from Anlaf the Forlorn
  • Use your Return to Personal House travel skill.
  • Use the Far Ranging Stable-Master to travel to Michel Delving.

Michel Delving / Hobbiton / Bywater / Frogmorton / Brockenborings, The Shire

  • Mount up, ride to The Bird and Baby Inn.
  • Collect Fake Brandy Wine (Ale 4) from Carlo Blagrove
  • Ride to The Ivy Bush Inn in Hobbiton.
  • Collect Fake Blagrove’s Brown (Ale 5) from Hereward Loamsdown
  • Ride to The Green Dragon in Bywater.
  • Collect Fake Bombur’s Beard Lager (Ale 6) and Fake Beakbreaker Ale (Ale 7) from Barmy Rootknot.
  • Ride to The Floating Log Inn in Frogmorton.
  • Collect Fake Moor-boar Beer (Ale 8) from Ponto Hopsbloom.
  • Ride to The Plough and Stars in Brockenborings.
  • Collect Fake Swill (Ale 9) from Halson Tubwort
  • Ride down the hill to Foxglove Grubb.
  • Foxglove Grubb: Drop off All But the Good Cider (Ale 3). Pick up and drop off All But the Cider (Inn 3).
  • Take the stable-master to Oatbarton.

Oatbarton, Evendim

  • Harigar Mudbottom: Drop off A Bit of White (Ale 5). Pick up and drop off A Bit of Brown (Inn 4).
  • Take stable-master to Ost Forod.
  • Take the stable-master to Sûri-kylä.
  • Take the stable-master to Zigilgund.

Zigilgund, Forochel

  • Lófi: Drop off A Dark Prank (Ale 8). Pick up and drop off A Dark Day (Inn 5).
  • Take the stable-master to Sûri-kylä.
  • Take the stable-master to Gath Forthnir.
  • Take the stable-master to Aughaire.

Aughaire, Angmar

  • Nathalan: Drop off A Drink of the Best Character (Ale 9). Pick up and drop off A Drink of the Worst Character (Inn 6).
  • Take the stable-master to Gath Forthnir.
  • Take the stable-master to Rivendell.
  • Take the stable-master to Gloin’s Camp.
  • Take the stable-master to Hrimbarg.

Hrimbarg, Misty Mountains

  • Óli: Drop off Not Atli’s Favourite (Ale 7). Pick up and drop off Atli’s Favourite (Inn 7).
  • Take stable-master to Rivendell.
  • Take stable-master to Echad Candelleth.

Echad Candelleth, Trollshaws

  • Saerthuithel: Drop off A Convoluted Wine (Ale 4). Pick up and drop off A Simple Wine (Inn 8).
  • Take stable-master to The Last Homely House.

Rivendell, Trollshaws

  • Ride to The Last Homely House. Enter the Hall of Fire.
  • Collect Fake Dorwinion White (Ale 10) from Sogadan
  • Return to The Last Homely House stable-master.
  • Take stable-master to Rivendell.
  • Take stable-master to Esteldin.
  • Take stable-master to Othrikar.

Othrikar, North Downs

  • Múli: Drop off Bombur’s Breath (Ale 6). Pick up and drop off A Member in Need (Inn 9).
  • Use your Return to Thorin’s Hall travel skill.

Thorin’s Hall Inn, Ered Luin:

  • Go in Thorin’s Hall Inn.
  • Collect Fake Thistlebelly Brew (Ale 11) from Rúnulf.
  • Go back outside.
  • Ride to Refuge of Edhelion

Refuge of Edhelion, Ered Luin

  • Lendasil: Drop off A Different Reminder of Rivendell (Ale 10). Pick up and drop off A Reminder of Rivendell (Inn 10).
  • Use your Return to Tornhad travel skill.
  • Take the stable-master to The Last Bridge.
  • Ride overland to Ost Haer.

Ost Haer, Lone-lands

  • Wald Mugwort: Drop off Quite a Tickle (Ale 11). Pick up and drop off Quite a Pickle (Inn 11).
  • Use your Return to Bree skill.

Route Ends!

Summary

That’s it! This run takes around 35 minutes, and results in:

  • A net increase of 4,400 reputation with The Ale Association;
  • A net increase of 4,400 reputation with The Inn League;
  • 11 (or 22) Badges of Dishonour (Ale Association);
  • 11 (or 22) Badges of Taste (Inn League);

(Note that if you use the Fateful Toolkit from the Fate of Gundabad: Ultimate Fan Bundle, you get an extra badge from each delivery.)

Have a happy festival, and we’ll see you in the world of Middle Earth!

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LOTRO

One comment

  • Egarthur
    May 8, 2022 at 8:37 pm

    TL;DR version: barter for Anniversary maps while ye can :-). They can be useful for booze runs.

    Hi, I was impressed and inspired by this video/run. I think this is an ongoing process of improvement and refinement, and in that vein, I’ve been working on some routes of my own, respecting what I understand to be the constraints of the run. The ones I’ve come up with so far, incorporate the ideas here, some Update 33 opportunities, some of my own innovations, and also include demonstrations of how higher-level characters — who may have access to war-steeds and/or rep ports beyond the Moria level of content — can do the run even faster.

    I have a run, for instance, that, arguably within the constraints, but on a high-level character, I estimate to be about 25 minutes (I say “estimate” because of course, with the booze factions not being active currently, I have to extrapolate how much the quest/NPC interactions would be). One caveat, though: the use of rep ports acquired in content that isn’t “free”, of course (namely, Rangers and Ruins, Yondershire) might violate the implicit constraints of the run. Without those rep ports, the run would of course take longer.

    On the other end of the scale, I have another run that doesn’t rely on any “non-free” content, or consumable items, and is runnable on characters as low as 45. That one is estimated at about 31 minutes. The comparison to your video is unfair, of course, since Update 33, on the whole, has given more opportunities to speed up booze runs. (Although one small setback is the removal of the swift travel from Hrimbarg to Rivendell).

    I’ve been working, on and off, on a video of my own, to present my findings/results, for review and possibly collaboration. No specific ETA on that, but I hope to have it out before Midsummer Festival — the next real booze-running opportunity.

    But, in advance of that, I write today because of something time-sensitive. In my testing/analysis, I’ve found that the barterable, consumable Anniversary maps (to the fireworks area) can help to speed up booze runs, e.g. as a poor-man’s West Bree port, to help get to various stops more quickly. I’ve documented this dynamic more fully at lotro.com forum post https://forums.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?694247-Disappointed-about-the-festival-am-I-alone-in-this&p=8138205#post8138205

    Now, maybe the use of consumable items is not consistent with the implicit constraints of this run; I’m not sure. They’re not store-bought, earnable in-game, and being barterable in fairly large quantities, they meet my personal constraint of “sustainability” (i.e. this tactic could support, for a given character, running every possible booze run, indefinitely). If consumable use meets one’s personal constraints, I’d recommend anyone/everyone who is interested in booze-running, and doesn’t have a travel-skill upgrade for the West Bree port (or declines to use that port multiple times in a run), use any excess Anniversary tokens to barter for maps, while the opportunity to do so is still available.

    Reply

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