Quote from: Orpheo;524401All I was saying is that I get the impression that the reviewers are gushing.

Gushers gonna gush. Haters gonna hate.  With or without any actual knowledge of the RPG in question. That's the way the Internet works.

From what I have observed (it's only anecdotal, so take it with a grain of salt) TOR has been a standout RPG in terms of how well and wide it has been received. It is not everyone's cup of tea, but nothing is.

Quote from: DominikSchwager;503996Yes, that is the point. D&D comes without a setting. Most games only come with a bare minimum of a setting. Yet you claim this game is incomplete. You are not making ANY sense.
If this game is incomplete, then all other RPGs are incomplete, too.
You don't have to like that the designers chose to concentrate on a smaller area and describe that in more detail rather than give you a broad (and often meaningless) overview over the whole world. You really don't. But claiming that this makes the game incomplete is just ridiculous.

Probably old news, but I just wanted to point out how this is wrong. D&D and most other RPGs  have an implied setting, yet support play in a various multitude of different settings through the rules and options included in the game rules. TOR goes the opposite way and only focuses on a small part of a specific setting and includes mechanics that would preclude playing the game outside of the included fragment of the more fully developed setting without the GMs basically writing their own mechanical support. While i would not go so far as to say TOR is "incomplete" for what it aims to accomplish, I will say it could be considered "incomplete" if compared to the vast majority of other actual RPGs.

I'd say holding up D&D as an example in this context was just as silly, if not more so. TOR is not even the same kind of game as D&D. To anyone used to traditional RPGs, it's not unreasonable at all to see TOR as "incomplete" for all the reasons already given.

I am glad they have decided not to repeat a bunch of info in each release, thereby cutting down repetition and costs. Makes more sense to me.

Quote from: Sigmund;524482I am glad they have decided not to repeat a bunch of info in each release, thereby cutting down repetition and costs. Makes more sense to me.

Yes, this is a much better decision. Shame there will still be a long wait for said information.

Quote from: Ghost Whistler;524494Yes, this is a much better decision. Shame there will still be a long wait for said information.

Indeed.

I think the focus on a particular area of play is the least of this game's worries.

I am glad that by the time the first Hobbit movie hits and the inevitable resurgence of interest of all things Tolkien, we should have the rules, a ready to run campaign, a more long term campaign structure to write your own stories, a GM Screen and details on Laketown and Rivendell (with magic item rules). Its still not complete coverage of ME but it will be an attract RPG bundle.

Love the cover too:

And Tales from Wilderland is out in PDF: http://www.rpgnow.com/product/101038/The-One-Ring---Tales-from-Wilderland.

A quick run down for those interested. Warning some spoilers (I will try and avoid them).

Tales from Widlerland is 7 adventures. They can be run individually but can also form a campaign spanning three years. The overarching storyline generally only comes in in the last three adventures, but its awesome. The big villain is creepy, Tolkien appropriate and his plan is epic. You also get to meet a Cold Drake (man, they are scary).

You could easily put MarshBell on the front and Words from the Wise between chapters 2 and 3.

All the adventures are good. In fact, this is one of the best adventure books I have read. They span a range of activities and stories, and all felt Tolkien in flavour. Highlights include:

Chapter 1: a detailed journey across Mirkwood
Chapter 2: my favourite adventure where Goblins (and players) sing songs in the dark!
Chapter 3: probably the most subtle and human story of the lot
Chapter 4: Eagles! Was that the Necromancer? Dol Goldur!
Chapter 5: creepy mastermind, marsh, magic items and Mountain Hall!
Chapter 6: Awesome large battle sequence.
Chapter 7: Cold drake!

Quote from: Skywalker;526425All the adventures are good. In fact, this is one of the best adventure books I have read. They span a range of activities and stories, and all felt Tolkien in flavour.

I have to agree. I hadn't ever heard of the fellow who wrote these, but he's got bright future ahead of him.  I'm also pleased that we now have 2-3 months of adventures to fill our plates until the next book is released.

Quote from: Punch and Pie;534911I have to agree. I hadn't ever heard of the fellow who wrote these, but he's got bright future ahead of him.  I'm also pleased that we now have 2-3 months of adventures to fill our plates until the next book is released.

Francesco is a very nice chap, I got to talk to him at Conpulsion. Don't really have any interesting gossip to mention though.

Also, he took "Hi, I'm Ladybird! I was one of the playtesters for your game, from the Sprawling City group. I'm afraid we really didn't like it..." incredibly well; perhaps that wasn't the best way I could start a conversation, but I didn't want to be dishonest.

Actually I meant Gareth Hanrahan.

I just couldn't of his name earlier.  But, you're right about Francesco (just based on his involvement over on the TOR forums).