The One Ring II Starter II

It is the year 2965 of the Third Age. Over two decades ago, the Free Peoples of Middle-earth come together to defeat a great host of Orcs and other creatures, as well as the dread dragon, Smaug, at the Battle of the Five Armies. It seemed that a peace had settled on lands long threatened by the Shadow, but now that tide is turning. There are tales of strange folk and strange doings beyond the borders of the civilised lands, there are tales told round the fireside of monsters and other evils long thought banished, but which are now feared to have returned. Yet in such times, as before, there have been the stalwart warriors, curious scholars, and the stealthy scouts who know that there is a truth to many of the tales, that the sinister threats of old have not been truly vanquished, merely driven back, bruised and bleeding, into the shadows where they can nurse their wounds, bide their time, and grow in numbers and take council from their dark masters to strike once again. Knowing this, they will journey into the lone lands, rough woods, craggy mountains, and dark barrows to determine the nature and numbers of the threats to the Free Peoples that remain. Thus does a fellowship, a company of stalwarts, finds itself travelling out of Bree and into the North Downs to investigate a report of a shadow falling upon an ancient stone circle.

This is the set-up for The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill. Published by Free League Publishing, this is actually the second starter set for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Which begs the question, what is second edition of The One Ring roleplaying game doing with a starter set when it already has one? And when that starter set was actually a lot of fun? Well, the truth is that as good as it was and as fun as it was to play, The One Ring Starter Set was not without its problems, most of which were conceptual and chronological. The One Ring Starter Set did four things. First it introduced the rules; second, it provided a complete mini-campaign to play through; third, it served as a sourcebook for the Shire; and fourth, it let you play as Hobbits. In particular, as Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck which together represent the generation between that of Bilbo, and that of Frodo Baggins, Peregrin Took, and Meriadoc Brandybuck. Which was great if you liked Hobbits and wanted to explore the Shire. However, this limited player choice, since they could not roleplay other members of the Free Peoples of Middle-earth; it underplayed the peril of the setting of the wider Middle-earth, reducing it to mild; and there was no scope beyond its box to really continue playing the same characters. This was because the publisher was not supporting this feature of The One Ring Starter Set, plus, its events take place before the starting year of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Fortunately, The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill does most of these things, but with fewer Hobbits and less of a restriction chronologically (or geographically).

Anyway, The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill. Inside the box can be found a full set of The One Ring dice, a bag of plastic stands, a ‘Getting Started’ sheet, the twenty-four-page ‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet, the sixteen-page ‘The One Ring – Over Hill and Under Hill’ booklet, five pre-generated Player-heroes, handout for the adventure, a map of Eriador with a combat diagram on the reverse, and a set of twenty-three cardboard stand-up figures. The dice consist of two twelve-sided Feat Dice and six six-sided Success Dice, whilst the ‘Getting Started’ sheet introduces the starter set, tells the reader how to get started, and suggests further supplements that are available for The One Ring. ‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet condenses the core rules of play, whilst ‘The One Ring – Over Hill and Under Hill’ booklet details the scenario that the Loremaster will be running and her players roleplaying. The five pre-generated Player-heroes are detailed on double-sided sheets with an illustration and some background on the front and the full game stats on the back. They consist of a Barding Captain, a Dwarf of Durin’s Folk who is a Champion, an Elf of Lindon who is a scholar, a Hobbit Treasure-Hunter, and a Warden who is a Ranger. The cardboard stand-up figures depict both the members of the company and the foes they will face during the adventure.

‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet introduces the rules and more. It explains the basic setting, that of the year 2965 of the Third Age, and also the roles of the Player-heroes and the Loremaster—as the Game Master is known in The One Ring. It gives an example of play and a break down of what a Player-hero looks like and the various elements that a player will find on a Player-hero sheet. The rules cover basic resolution, how Endurance and Hope work, and then how Player-hero can withstand the effects of the Shadow or suffer them if not... The longest section is devoted to combat and it supported by good example of in action using the Player-heroes in the starter set. Also covered are the rules for Council, essentially negotiating and entreating with NPCs, and making Journeys. This has always been a big feature of The One Ring, very much inspired by journeys made in both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hobbit, and the roleplaying game was originally one of the first to really make travel a big feature of its play.

Mechanically, The One Ring uses dice pools formed of six-sided dice and the twelve-sided Feat die. The six-sided Success dice are marked with an Elven Rune for ‘1’ on the six face, whilst the Feat dice is marked one through ten, and one face with the ‘Eye of Sauron’ Icon and one face with the ‘Gandalf’ Rune. When rolled, these can all together give various results. A simple numerical total that beats a Target Number is a standard success, but if the roll beats a Target Number and one or more Elven Runes are rolled, they indicate a Great or even an Extraordinary success. If the ‘Eye of Sauron’ Icon is rolled, this is the worst result and does not contribute anything towards the roll. Conversely, if the ‘Gandalf’ Rune is rolled, the action automatically succeeds, even if the total does not beat the target number.

The Target Number itself is determined by a Player-hero’s Attributes, either Strength, Heart, or Wits, depending upon if the player is rolling for a skill, combat proficiency, Wisdom, or Valour. In addition, if a skill is Favoured or Ill-favoured, a player rolls two Feat dice, counting the higher result if Favoured, the lower if Ill-favoured. Extra Success dice can be purchased and rolled through the expenditure of Hope.

Combat uses the same mechanics, but uses a Player-hero’s Combat Proficiencies—either Axes, Bows, Swords, or Spears, which are rolled against the Target Number derived from his Strength. This is modified by the enemy’s Parry rating. Damage inflicted is deducted from a Player-hero’s Endurance, which can result in him being Weary if his Endurance is knocked below his Load (essentially what he is carrying), and knocked out if it is reduced to zero. However, adversaries cannot become Weary, but are knocked out or eliminated when their Endurance is reduced to zero. If one or more Elven ‘1’ Runes are rolled on the Success dice, they can spent to inflict Heavy Blows and more Endurance damage, Fend Off the next attack against you, Pierce armour and potentially do a Piercing Blow, which is definitely inflicted if a ten or a ‘Gandalf’ Rune is rolled. If a Piercing Blow is struck, the defendant’s player rolls to see if his Player-hero’s armour protects him. Wounded Player-heroes recover Endurance slowly and are knocked out if a second Wound is suffered. Adversaries are typically killed by Wounds.

Each of the different aspects of the rules—journeys, Shadow, councils (this in a most unexpected fashion), and combat—are clearly organised and compartmentalised in the scenario in ‘The One Ring – Over Hill and Under Hill’ booklet. This does not mean that the narrative is compartmentalised though, as the scenes and the application of the different aspects of the rules does flow logically. The adventure itself begins The Prancing Pony in Bree where the company is to meet a hunter who had a strange and terrifying encounter at a stone circle in the North Downs. At the behest of their patron, the Lady Gilraen (mother of Aragorn), the members of the company are to listen to what the hunter has to say, glean what useful information he has, and set out to investigate. The scenario provides opportunities for undertaking a journey, exposure to the Shadow and the potential to suffer its effects, decent roleplaying in the Council, and combat against an evil that has returned to blight the North Downs and the lands of Rhudaur to the east. The scenario will end with the Player-heroes descending into a cave system in sight of Mount Cram. They will need to proceed with great care and with luck and good judgement, should at least be able to rescue some prisoners, but may also be able to defeat an ancient evil out of Angmar too.

‘Over Hill and Under Hill’ is a good adventure. It showcases the rules for The One Ring, presents an dark and dangerous situation for the Player-heroes, and gives them a chance to be heroic. It is playable in two sessions and there are option scenes that the Loremaster can use to extend the scenario to three. The scenario also sets the players up with heroes ready to continue playing, most likely in Ruins of the Lost Realm with Tales from the Lone-Lands. After all, they are a company and they do have a Patron.

Physically, The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill is a good looking package. The artwork is excellent, much of it drawn from The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings core rulebook. The map of Eriador and the combat diagram on its reverse are also good. The cardboard stand-up figures are nice too. The only bad thing to say about the contents of this starter set is that the dice are not as nice as those in the original starter set.

It should be noted that much of The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill will be of use even after a group has played through the adventures. The ‘The One Ring – Rules’ booklet will serve as a light rules reference at the table, the map and combat diagram will be in constant use—as will the dice. The Player-heroes provided can continue to be played after the adventure has been played through, but if they are to learn from their experiences, the core rulebook will be needed.

The One Ring™ Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill is the starter set that The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings needed. It both showcases the key aspects of the rules and how a typical game of The One Ring is played, and in doing so, it sets up the Loremaster and her players for continued play in Middle-earth.