Troll Lord Games

Thanks to my android tablet and the "dicebag" app, I can roll d716's if I want to. The type of die is unimportant, but I am dubious about the mechanics so far. We will see.

Sir Ironside wrote:I know some people are not enamored with the simple rules. But, these days I prefer a more simple system. And, from what I gathered this seems like a robust system rather than dumb-down one.

FWIW that's not my impression so far. The rules seem simple (though not dumbed down) more so than previous LotR offerings (MERP and CODA). Attributes and Skills all drive of the same simple core mechanic. The fact that it hides rules away in the dice so you don't have to deal with them (e.g. you don't need to subtract penalties for fatigue, you just ignore dice with white numbers) suggests that this is the direction they are driving for as well.

The real question will be in how the Traits, Virtues and Rewards will work. That could complicate matters.

Some of this is old but here is some more release information regarding The One Ring:

From Cubicle 7:

"The August release is the first of a series of core game titles. 2012 and 2013 will see similar core releases expanding from that point, first with provisionally titled The Errantries of the King and then leading up to the War of the Ring. Each of these will expand the attention given to Tolkien’s world as well as the range of playable cultures and races. “You could compare our approach to the way Fantasy Flight has handled the 40K franchise,” commented Dominic McDowall-Thomas, Cubicle 7’s Director of RPG Development. “We have a huge setting to explore, and this lets us approach it in stages, covering each element in detail instead of trying to stuff an encyclopedia of information into the initial release. It also helps players build their campaigns in a dramatic fashion. With Adventures over the Edge of the Wild as the starting point, the grand story of The Lord of the Rings is starting out, in the background, but players start at a point where they can influence events instead of just being along for the ride.”

Errantries of the King definitely supports the idea of Eriador being covered in 2012, being a reference to Aragorn and the Dunedain Rangers.

Someone also caught a comment that, as expected, a full line of supplementary products will follow, with early releases including a Rivendell sourcebook and a Campaign Guide.

Given the Pendragon inspiration, the Campaign Guide evokes the Great Pendragon Campaign/The Boy King, which would be pretty cool.

Someone has also reported that there is a system for creating companies such as the Fellowship which have their own values.

I hope that each set is complete in and of itself. I hated the way Dragon Age has spread 10 levels over 2 boxed sets put out 3 years apart and still isn't done...

REHowardfanatic wrote:I hope that each set is complete in and of itself. I hated the way Dragon Age has spread 10 levels over 2 boxed sets put out 3 years apart and still isn't done...

I think either they will be complete in and of themselves or that they will be complete but build on each other. For example War of the Ring will add mass combat.

Given the system, I don't think they can do a Dragon Age split by power level.

A large info dump can be found here on RPGnet: http://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?582 ... st14199857

Please note that this is based on seeing a draft document so some of it may have changed, such as the recovery of corruption rules (as confirmed by Francesco).

A YouTube video can be found here: "The One Ring: Beginnings": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nBb33T4r1w

Preview is up: http://www.cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/the ... me-system/

And it has the character sheet..

Thank you for all of these updates Skywalker. It is appreciated.

~O

No probs. This is one of the few forums where I thought there would be some interest in a Tolkien RPG.

Man, I am loving the look of that PC sheet.

More video previews:

On focus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LECLAHeYQMM

On artistic inspiration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPsSE1vyMBw

New video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smdjZZS1POI

New video on Fellowships and those dreaded board game influences

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxuibDq-5kQ

I'm pretty sad to hear that the books inside of the slipcase are softcover. Bummer.

~O

Yeah.

At least they are full colour which is necessary given the art alone IMO

Skywalker wrote:Yeah.

At least they are full colour which is necessary given the art alone IMO

Still though... Beautiful packaging, gorgeous slipcase, maps, little dice holder...aaaaand soft cover books. Given the price of the package (over $65!), they could have sprung for hard covers, IMO.

Softcover certainly doesn't bother me at all. The price tag seems reasonable considering what you are getting and it is a game based off of a pretty big license. I can see some people grumbling about the "special" dice, but considering the rules I think it is a small price to pay.

I just hope they offer a b/w, pdf, printer friendly version of their character sheet.

Here is what I know of combat from someone's quick viewing of a draft document. So please note that this may be inaccurate in terms of the final product (but it looks awesome so I hope it isnt too inaccurate ).

1. No battle grids or minis. There is a basic positioning system in which you choose Forward, Open, Defensive and Rearward Stances (being the stance from which you can shoot ranged attacks). This stance determines the TN of hitting an opponent and being hit by the opponent, modified by the respective Parry values. So, if you go full out attack you make yourself an easier target and the opposite with defensive stances.

2. It uses the base system which would be a Weapon Skill test (roll Fate dice (d12) and a Skill dice (d6) for each level in the Skill . I assume the TN is the Parry value on the sheet.

3. If you hit, you do Endurance damage based on the weapon. For each degree of success you get, you add your Damage stat which is essentially your Body Attribute. I assume that Armour will subtract from damage.

4. If your Endurance falls below your Fatigue, you become Wearied. This means that you don't count 1, 2, or 3s on the D6s. If it reaches 0, you are unconscious. This means that there is a real trade off between heavy armour in it being protective but more likely to tire you.

5. You also have a chance of causing a Wound when you roll either 9 or more, 10 or more or Gandalf rune on the Fate (d12) dice, depending on the weapon. Such a roll forces the defender to make a roll against the weapon's Injury TN to avoid the Wound.

6. A Wound has no immediate effect but:
- a Wounded PC on 0 Endurance is dying, not just unconscious.
- a second Wound immediately knocks the PC out.
- if you take a second Wound and it takes you below 0 Endurance you are killed outright.

Overall, its seems like its strongly based on the core dice system with a little extra detail and a nice balance between lethality and survivability.

So far it sounds a little like a fusion between D&D 2d, FATE and AD&D. Like the simplified combat system so far.

Sir Ironside wrote:So far it sounds a little like a fusion between D&D 2d, FATE and AD&D. Like the simplified combat system so far.

FATE and Pendragon seem like the strongest infuences in that it has innovative ideas moderated by tried and tested ideas. My PDFs arrived so excuse me whilst I am distracted.

Skywalker wrote:FATE and Pendragon seem like the strongest infuences in that it has innovative ideas moderated by tried and tested ideas. My PDFs arrived so excuse me whilst I am distracted.

Never played Pendragon, so I'll take your word for it. Though that skill list looks a little like The Story Teller system.

To be honest, its hard to pinpoint the influences. Nothing has just been grabbed from somewhere else. Everything seems designed for the purpose of this game specifically.

While I love Middle-earth, played MERP, and even loved the flawed Decipher game, I'm not so sure about this one.

I like the simplified game system (3 stats, 18 skills, etc), and I like how virtues and such define races, classes and such. I'm not a fan of multiple die and special die use. It seems counter-intuitive to my way of thinking.

Also, $65 is a big pop for a game that only covers Rhovanion and those races therein. No rules for Dunedain, Noldo elves, Rohirrim, Uruk-hai, etc. as far as I can tell. So I have to spend MORE money just to play in Middle-earth.

I just wish it was more complete for $65...

ThrorII wrote:I like the simplified game system (3 stats, 18 skills, etc), and I like how virtues and such define races, classes and such. I'm not a fan of multiple die and special die use. It seems counter-intuitive to my way of thinking.

Also, $65 is a big pop for a game that only covers Rhovanion and those races therein. No rules for Dunedain, Noldo elves, Rohirrim, Uruk-hai, etc. as far as I can tell. So I have to spend MORE money just to play in Middle-earth.

I just wish it was more complete for $65...

FWIW you can you use your own lucky dice.

And yeah, to have rules for every culture in Middle Earth at the sheer level of detail the get in TOR, you will need the other two core sets when they are released. On saying that, TOR feels more detailed and playable than either MERP or CODA out of the core book. If you value completeness over those two, then the approach taken in TOR will be a pain.

I don't think there is going to be any doubt that this is as close a system as you can get for Tolkien's work though

I got my PDF today and like what I see.

The artwork and layout are nice. The maps are awesome. (One GM map with hexes, one players map without.) You guys have seen the pictures, but I think they look pretty darned good. In the background section they have these cute little diamond-shaped shields for each "faction" in the game. Seems like a lot of effort was put into production and making it look right.

I'm just starting to plow through the mechanics of the game but overall they seem pretty straight forward. So far.

finarvyn wrote:I'm just starting to plow through the mechanics of the game but overall they seem pretty straight forward. So far.

Simple but quite a bit of depth and flavour.

First review is up. Pretty much what I said but in more detail: http://philgamer.wordpress.com/2011/08/ ... rtainment/

I'm behind a little bit on C&C material and a lot of Savage Worlds, so it's unlikely I'll be checking this out any time soon. As for the price, British books usually fetch a bit more, don't they?

tylermo wrote:I'm behind a little bit on C&C material and a lot of Savage Worlds, so it's unlikely I'll be checking this out any time soon. As for the price, British books usually fetch a bit more, don't they?

I've bought Starblazer Adventures from Cubical 7 and it is pretty much on par with anything you'd buy from a North American company.

Ditto Mongoose Games.

Got to play TOR here at GenCon. A very elegant game. Different than anything I have ever played, and nothing like traditional fantasy rpgs. This author did a fantastoc job of making the game feel like tolkien. Im not sure of the feel of a extended campaign tho. This game screams short campaign style play.

Omote wrote:Got to play TOR here at GenCon. A very elegant game. Different than anything I have ever played, and nothing like traditional fantasy rpgs. This author did a fantastoc job of making the game feel like tolkien. Im not sure of the feel of a extended campaign tho. This game screams short campaign style play.

"Different than anything I ahve ever played"
"Nothing like traditional fantasy rpgs."

Some interesting quotes here. Care to give us some additional "actual play" feedback?