If you're partial to the Basic Roleplaying system or its variants, there's Age of Shadow, which is quite nice.

Quote from: RosenMcStern;897379Given that Middle Earth does not exist outside of those novels, I feel entitled to ask: are you sure there is any difference?

Tolkien describe a place that he infuses with enough details that you can see the how life would be if it was real. Thus it can be visited and explored which a tabletop roleplaying game allows you to do.

Tolkien told a story set in the world and the story itself

Quote from: RosenMcStern;897379Because Tolkien's Middle Earth - which is not Peter Jackson's, or Ralph Bakshi's - cannot be separated from Tolkien's peculiar style of writing and telling tales.

Well that a fallacy right there. Take India or China vs. Western Europe or any culture that is exotic to another culture. Through the medium of writing it is possible to write about it to give a sense of what it is like to live there. Likewise it is possible to create a story in whatever literacy style and use that exotic culture as the backdrop and depict it accurately. The culture really exist and has a life that exist independently of the story the author is trying to tell.

With fictional settings it can go a number of ways. A setting is created that is specifically design to serve the purpose of the story that the author is trying to tell. It doesn't make much sense outside of that story. Or the setting of a story can be an exercise in worldbuilding, while imaginary the author treats it as a real place existing independently of the stories he tells about it.

Tolkien's Middle Earth is an example of the latter, Middle Earth was created specifically to explain how the constructed languages he created developed. He then found it useful as a backdrop to express his love of legend and mythology and started writing what we now know as a the Simarillion. Along the way is he used it as a setting for the stories he told his children one of which became the Hobbit, and then came the Lord of the Rings.

Three very different stories all told in the same setting plus dozens of other smaller stories like the Fall of Numenor all within the same setting. One of the many reasons Tolkien exploded in popularity in the 60s was the sense that Middle Earth was a real place with a life of its own.

Quote from: RosenMcStern;897379The point is that this Middle Earth wouldn't be Tolkien's. It would be yours. A sort of "Your Middle Earth Will Vary" version of Beleriand. Which is perfectly fine and legit. Your game is supposed to leverage what pleases your aesthetics, not what satifies mine or Nepitello's.

Nobody's Middle Earth campaign would be like what Tolkien's wrote. Because only Tolkien himself can do that. Best a referee of Middle Earth can do is stay consistent with how the characters thought and acted in Tolkien's book. Even then, an author does not explore all the implication of his setting. Hundreds and thousands of tabletop gamers do. For example Tolkiens had thieves and bandits in his stories. What their life was like? What drove them to do the things they did. What happened before and what happened after. A Middle Earth campaign could easily focus on that one part of Middle Earth and wind up feeling both like Tolkien and unlike Tolkien at the same time.

In the Two Towers/Return of the King we are given a brief glimpse into the life of what it is to be an orc. Tolkien, the genius he is, infuses it with a sense there is more there. However because the story at the point is focused on Sam and Frodo struggling to get into Mordor, we never to see more. However again a Middle Earth campaign can focus the players being orc or humans associated with orcs and feel very different than the novels yet still be consistent with what Tolkien wrote.

Quote from: MES;897153Hallo dear forum,

I am passionate 30 year old Gamer from Germany - so please excuse my spelling errors!


Yesterday I bought the Mirkwood campaign book for "The One Ring". The book gives me chills - I'd like to play it right away, but I don't own the basic rules book.
Note that I am used to play "The dark eye", which is a very complex (pretty popular though) system and it seems to me that TOR is a pretty narrowed down system, which also limits you somewhat in terms of actual "roleplay". Erm... By roleplay I mean... The rules of "TOR" really seem to force you to stick to the game mechanics as the campaigns are woven around it. In "The dark Eye" you can do pretty much anything as there is such a wide range of talents for anything (even to wash your clothes...). From what I have noticed "TOR" has skill checks for "riddle", "travel" and "song" (?), which pretty much seems to force you to stick to certain game mechanics then actual roleplay - do you know what I mean? What would I roll if I actually wanted to wash my clothes in "TOR" and had to roll for it? (I don't want to use these complex "Dark Eye" rules for the campaign)

My Question is: Does anyone play "TOR" with an alternate System? Something simple, still flexible?
I'd be so glad if somebody could suggest some 3d6 or 2d6 house rules.

Or are the "TOR"-rules any good? Is it worth buying? Notice I already own a D&D Rulebook (2nd ed.), Tons of "The dark Eye" Rulebooks, "Midgard" and "Harnworld".
Do I really need another Rulebook just to play "The One Ring"?

I am looking forward to your responses!

Welcome to theRPGsite!

I love TOR, but it seems like they really could care less what the fans want.  The source material and art are excellent, but they still refuse to give any sort of a guide on creating your own adventures based on the rules.  No guidelines for this even, at all, even though it's been explicitly asked for many times.  I don't mind published adventures, but eventually I get sick of it and want to let some of my own creativity go when I'm running a game.

Quote from: MES;897153I am passionate 30 year old Gamer from Germany

Great. Another oversexed kraut. A Horny Hessian! Just what we need.

Welcome to theRPGsite!!

Please remember that your favorite game suxxors, but if your favorite game is also my favorite game, then you are playing it wrong!!

BTW, there was a Dark Eye thread around here recently. As you are a fan, your thoughts would be very appreciated.

Quote from: MES;897153My Question is: Does anyone play "TOR" with an alternate System? Something simple, still flexible?

My history with ME RPG play has been hit and miss. It has always depended on a GM and players who all know and love the JRR canon. The actual system has always been meaningless by comparison. I've played LotR using the Buffy rules, using Heroquest, using D&D and using D6. None of the systems did more than provide a framework for us to just do game mechanics stuff whereas the "Tolkien Flavor" all came from our roleplay and the GM's description of his campaign setting elements.

Thus, my advice is find a group who loves the ME books, craft a campaign that delves deep into your favorite lore and just use whatever system the players feel most comfortable using.

Personally, I would probably go with either Castles & Cruades or D6. Mini-Six is a free version, and you can find D6 Fantasy for free too. D6 is good at keeping PCs alive while making combat dangerous and magic is generally much more mellow than D&D.

I'd actually do this. I'd gather my crew and have everyone commit to reading *or re-reading* Children of Hurin and base the campaign only on the one book.

Whatever path you choose, PLEASE keep us informed about how your campaign goes.

Quote from: MES;897153Hallo dear forum,

I am passionate 30 year old Gamer from Germany - so please excuse my spelling errors!


Yesterday I bought the Mirkwood campaign book for "The One Ring". The book gives me chills - I'd like to play it right away, but I don't own the basic rules book.
Note that I am used to play "The dark eye", which is a very complex (pretty popular though) system and it seems to me that TOR is a pretty narrowed down system, which also limits you somewhat in terms of actual "roleplay". Erm... By roleplay I mean... The rules of "TOR" really seem to force you to stick to the game mechanics as the campaigns are woven around it. In "The dark Eye" you can do pretty much anything as there is such a wide range of talents for anything (even to wash your clothes...). From what I have noticed "TOR" has skill checks for "riddle", "travel" and "song" (?), which pretty much seems to force you to stick to certain game mechanics then actual roleplay - do you know what I mean? What would I roll if I actually wanted to wash my clothes in "TOR" and had to roll for it? (I don't want to use these complex "Dark Eye" rules for the campaign)

My Question is: Does anyone play "TOR" with an alternate System? Something simple, still flexible?
I'd be so glad if somebody could suggest some 3d6 or 2d6 house rules.

Or are the "TOR"-rules any good? Is it worth buying? Notice I already own a D&D Rulebook (2nd ed.), Tons of "The dark Eye" Rulebooks, "Midgard" and "Harnworld".
Do I really need another Rulebook just to play "The One Ring"?

I am looking forward to your responses!

I find the TOR rules worth buying, but opinions might differ;). I haven't played them yet, purely because I've got other campaigns I'm planning to do first, and it's not like my group has many Tolkien fans.

What I want to ask you, though, is - under what condition would you need to roll for washing your clothes:D?

Quote from: AsenRG;899939What I want to ask you, though, is - under what condition would you need to roll for washing your clothes:D?

Cleaning skidmark stains after a critically failed Fear check?

Never underestimate the power of a good cleaner.  Making the whites gleam, the colors pop, and putting edges on seams you can cut paper with ain't easy.

Quote from: Spinachcat;899941Cleaning skidmark stains after a critically failed Fear check?

The emphasis was on "need to roll" for a reason:).
That is, why does that action deserve rolling a check?

Quote from: CRKrueger;899960Never underestimate the power of a good cleaner.  Making the whites gleam, the colors pop, and putting edges on seams you can cut paper with ain't easy.

That much is true, which is why Samwise is with Frodo;).

I've played it and I didn't like the system. Like CRKrueger said above is pretty spot on. I really think the Decipher system is criminally under represented. I think the magic system hits the right spot (which is where MERP really fell apart). The only problem is that it didn't last very long after the whole d20 boom/bust.

Speaking of Decipher: I think a lot of old Tolkien fans, many of whom were only OK-ish with the movies (while some didn't like them at all), were a bit turned off by all the art taken straight from the movies in the Decipher RPG; it seemed to appeal to fans of the movies first and foremost. Maybe that's not true for the system, but that was what it looked like.

It seems like they provide about as much guidance for making your own adventures most other RPGs - a short chapter of not very useful advice.

Quote from: Trond;900021Speaking of Decipher: I think a lot of old Tolkien fans, many of whom were only OK-ish with the movies (while some didn't like them at all), were a bit turned off by all the art taken straight from the movies in the Decipher RPG; it seemed to appeal to fans of the movies first and foremost. Maybe that's not true for the system, but that was what it looked like.

The few pieces of original art in the book are fantastic. I understand why they used movie stills (tie in/costs) but I really wish they used original art, the book would have been more timeless then. I also think it mistakenly gave the impression that the RPG was based on the moives and not the books which caused market confusion.

The Decipher system seemed like a fan-tweaked version of the d20 system to me, frankly. It captured the flavor of magic in 3rd age Middle Earth quite well, but that's the only thing I can find to recommend it.

The One Ring is gorgeous, wonderfully designed, but more than a little abstract to the point it hovers on the edge between an RPG and Storygame.

MERP had a system that made me want to beat my head in, but had the best, most comprehensive and utilitarian for gaming sourcebook line ever produced for Middle Earth. Takes more than a few liberties, but fleshes out the world into something beyond the backdrop for a novel and closer to Harn.

Though really if I were to set a game in Middle Earth these days, I'd most certainly be using the Runequest 6th edition rules.

The Decipher system had the makings of a great game, but contains structural flaws that are frankly unforgivable because they would have been so easily fixed with a little playtesting. The whole system of damage/hit point/injury/death mechanics is just completely fucked and leads to interminable, boring fights every single time (unless you rip it out and replace it with something else, obviously). In a world containing hundreds of fantasy roleplaying systems, including a dozen or more that are good in pretty much every respect, I have no patience for games that are obviously crappy in some significant way.