Realms of Resistance

As the Third Age draws to a close and the Shadow stretches out across Middle-earth, in the west, there remain three bastions of Light. The Elder Days when the Elves once sang and danced under the canopy of the forests that stretched the whole of Middle-earth are long gone, their numbers greatly reduced in the wars against Sauron and his predecessors and by the loss of hope that led others to take the secret paths and ways to the Grey Havens, and from there sail into the West and find peace in the Undying Lands. For those that remain, the Long Defeat yet looms over them, the triumph of Sauron and Shadow, even as they take refuge under the protection of four great Elf lords and ladies, protected by the greatest magic of all—the Three Rings! These are the Elven Rings of Power, forged in the Second Age by Celebrimbor in Eregion—Vilya, Narya, and Nenya—hidden away and untouched by Sauron. Worn respectively by Elrond, Círdan the Shipwright, and Galadriel, they have each used their Ring of Power to protect their realms—Rivendell, Lindon, and Lothlórien—against unwanted change. They remain long into the Third Age and are the subject of Realms of the Three Rings.

Realms of the Three Rings is a setting supplement for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Published by Free League Publishing, it expands upon the setting material given in the core rulebook for The One Ring and Ruins of the Lost Realm, the regional guide to the lands of southern Eriador, and adds depth to the background of any Elven Player Character in a campaign for The One Ring. There is scope for the lords of these Realms to become Patrons to the Player Characters, for non-Elves to become Elf-friends, and potentially some of the secrets that these lords hold. Of course, the Realms are not safe and even as they feel inviolable, Sauron and the forces of Shadow plot to undermine them and Realms of the Three Rings details three of these plots. Nine landmarks are described, some of which are tied into the three plots, some of which are located within the Realms. Lastly, the supplement offers options for the player, but in the main, Realms of the Three Rings is primarily a book for the Loremaster.

Ruins of the Lost Realm begins with a history of the Eldar from the Elder Days to the Twilight of the Third Age and what is surprising about it is that it kept to just two pages. It could have been much, much longer given how lengthy and detailed the history of Elves is in Middle-earth lore, but to be fair that history is available elsewhere and much of it is unlikely to have a direct effect upon a Loremaster’s campaign. This does not mean that the Loremaster cannot instead do her own research and bring elements of that history into play, because effectively that is what the authors of Ruins of the Lost Realm are doing. Their focus is upon the Three Rings of Power, how they were created by Celbrimbor, and the rise of Sauron as he used his own ring to subvert the Free Peoples of Middle-earth. It may not be an extensive history, but is enough here at least.

The influence of Three Rings of Power can be seen in the strange experience of staying in one of the surviving Elf-lands. There are literally a timelessness and an introspectiveness to the Realms that means that visitors will often initially feel overwhelmed by its apparent idleness and lack of urgency. In time, they either learn to live in step with it or never quite shake of its dream-like feel. The timelessness also means that visitors are never quite aware of how much time passes whilst they are there, weeks passing by before they are ready to leave again. There benefits to staying in an Elf-realm though. When a Company visits one of the three realms, it automatically triggers a Fellowship Phase. One of the things that that Player-hero can do is the Heal Scars Undertaking and remove a Shadow Scar. However, this is in addition to whatever Undertaking the Player-hero wants to do. It costs Adventure Points to do so. Otherwise, Player-heroes who are not Elf-friends or native to one of the realms cannot spend their Yule Fellowship Phase there.

Each of the three realms—Rivendell, Lindon, and Lothlórien—is richly detailed with information about its numerous locations, its Ring of Power, notable figures, and more. For example, the description of Lindon includes details of the Nine Houses of Mithlond, guild-like organisations that regulate labour and professions, organise festivals, sponsor festivals, and more. These are a ready source of NPCs and possible plots should the Loremaster decide to develop them. Of the three realms, Rivendell is the most well-known, having previously been detailed in The One Ring Loremaster’s Screen & Rivendell Compendium, but it makes sense have it described here with the other two Elf-lands. That said, Realms of the Three Rings does not simply reprint the previously presented information, but expands on it to detail the wider hidden valley of Imladris, so now the Player-heroes can spend time with Gandalf sharing stories and music under the Hoary Old Chestnut, and perhaps hear a rumour or whisper on the wind, or follow the sound of the Piper in the Woods. Of the three realms, Lothlórien is the most mysterious and the most closed off, understandable given its proximity to Moria. Indeed, given that proximity, the Loremaster may want to have Realms of the Three Realms close to hand if she is planning to run Moria – Through the Doors of Durin. Much like the Fellowship, Player-heroes here may receive the Gifts of Galadriel if they take the Meet Patron undertaking and one Player-hero and his Fellowship Focus can even ne allowed to look into the Mirror of Galadriel. Of course, there is a chance that the Player-hero will see a harrowing vision, scarring him as much as it does give him insight, but looking into the mirror is a momentous event and should be treated as being very special.

One nice touch is that although all three realms are described as unyielding and unchanging, each includes a table that adds a fitting random element. For Lindon, this is ‘Exploring the Markets’ giving a range of interesting traders and craftsmen to buy from and learn from; for Rivendell, it is ‘Many Meetings in Rivendell’, a table of NPC types that the Loremaster can develop; and in Lothlórien, there are ‘Elf-Minstrel Songs’ that the Player-heroes may be lucky to hear. These add a little variation and again, can be developed further by the Loremaster to add extra detail and flavour.

The encroaching nature of the Shadow comes to the fore in Realms of the Three Realms with a plot directed at the Elven realms, each intended by Sauron to bring ruin to the Elves. Each includes some background and explanation of the plot, stats for the NPCs involved all of them nasty and evil in their own way, and a timeline that stretches twenty years into the future from 2965 TA. These are set-ups more than anything else, but they are detailed set-ups whose suggested plots and events can be woven around other adventures. As expected, these are particularly strong storylines for Player-heroes who are Elves, exposing them to some of the vile fates that Sauron and his minions have inflicted upon their fellow Elves. In ‘Perils of the Last Road’, Sauron sends Morlhoss, the Dark Whisper, a vengeful, spurned Elven spirit, and Zagruk, the Voice From Beyond, a gifted Orc Sorcerer who bears The Mask of Spirits, an iron mask that enables him to become a host for Morlhoss, to prey upon those Elves who have decided to journey into the West, making travel difficult across the Misty Mountains in particular. The Dark Lord targets Rivendell in ‘Memories of Ancient Wounds’ as he sends Cauthlin, an ancient spirit known as the weasel-lady, to take her revenge on the Elves of the Last Homely House. Playing on his grief at the loss of his wife, Celebrián, and fears of the possible loss of his daughter, Arwen, Sauron hopes that Elrond can be drawn out of his refuge where he will be vulnerable. In ‘Old Hatreds May Still Breed War’ sees Sauron drive a wedge between the Elves of Lindon and the Dwarves of the Blue Mountain when an Elf, recently escaped from captivity of the Orcs of Mount Gram, claims to have seen a great hoard of Dwarven arms, armour, and treasure in the Orc hold and that the Dwarves must be paying tribute to Mount Gram! This is an insult that cannot stand on either side as the lack of wisdom amongst the young Elves and their yearning for valour and glory pushes them into confrontation of the infamous stubbornness of the Dwarves.

All of the NPCs are nicely drawn here and it should be noted that not all of the villains are totally and utterly villainous. There is a path to redemption for some of them, though not all. Cauthlin, the weasel-lady, is genuinely evil and that is clear from the unsettling illustration of her that accompanies her description. If there is a downside to the three plots, it is that Lothlórien does not receive one, though given how closed off and inaccessible that realm is, it may be that Sauron has not yet devised a scheme which he thinks will make it vulnerable.

Lastly, Realms of the Three Rings details nine Landmarks, adventure sites across Eriador. Some of these can be tied into the plots described in the previous section. For example, Ost Breniellin is a fortress that guards Lindon’s north and is home to the House of Exiles, who now make the accusations against the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains in ‘Old Hatreds May Still Breed War’, whilst ‘The Valleys of the Dwarves’ is home to the accused. ‘The Singing Stones’ are Elven ruins on the edge of the Misty Mountains where songs can be heard in dreams, but not remembered, and is where an NPC tied to the plot of ‘Memories of Ancient Wounds’ could be encountered, whilst events later in that plot can play out at ‘The Wailinghole’, a worked cave network that has been turned into an outpost by the Elves of Rivendell and has secrets of its own. ‘The Winter-horn’ is both a sound and a place in the High Pass of the Misty Mountains, whose sound is said to be strong enough to keep giants at bay, and perhaps can be found as part of the ‘Perils of the Last Road’ plot, as can ‘Whitehorn Hay’, a farm where Men welcome Elven visitors.

The others include ‘The Palace of the Sea-birds’ is the ruined island home of an old Elf-lord, now the seat of King Arovall, a massive seagull who rules over all of the region’s seabirds; ‘The Vineyards of Glauria’ sit high on the side of the valley above Rivendell where the ancient winemaking practices of the Eldar are still continued to this day; and ‘The Falls of Nimrodel’ lie on the edge of Lothlórien, potentially a place of refuge from nearby Moria, whilst the nearby ‘The Ruins of Dwarferry’ details an ancient Dwarven crossing point across the Anduin. Where most of these Landmarks are given a location, both ‘The Hollow Wood’, a refuge for Elves on the road westwards, and ‘The Isle of the Sorceress’, a refuge of a more mystical nature, can be placed anywhere by the Loremaster.

Finally, the appendix adds options for the Player. These include two new Heroic Cultures. One is the High Elves of Rivendell, which previously appeared in The One Ring Loremaster’s Screen & Rivendell Compendium, whilst the other is the Elves of Lórien. The High Elves of Rivendell have the Cultural Blessings of ‘Elven-Wise’, able to spend Hope to achieve a Magical success with a skill roll, but also ‘Beset by Woe’, meaning that their long memories cannot forget the mark left by the Shadow on their spirit, limiting when they can remove Shadow points. Their notable Virtues are ‘Artificer of Eregion’, enabling a Player-hero to craft Marvellous Artefacts like the Elven-smiths of old or identify qualities about a Marvellous Artefact or Wondrous Items, and ‘Might of the Firstborn’, which lets a Player-hero expend Hope to negate a point of Hate or Resolve spent by a foe to activate a Fell ability. The Elves of Lórien have a single Cultural Bless, that of ‘Tree-People’, which lets a Player-hero spend a point of Hope to achieve a Magical success with a skill roll when in a forest, but more Virtues to choose from. These include ‘Lembas’, gaining access to the famous waybread after spending time in Lothlórien; ‘Deadly Archery’, granting the ‘Prepare Action’ with a bow whilst in the Rearward Stance as a secondary action; and ‘Favour of the Lady’, which grants the blessing of Galadriel to gain more Hope points during the Fellowship Phase, but at a cost of an extra Shadow point, which can be negated by returning home. There is a lot of flavour to both Heroic Cultures, enabling players to create interesting Player-heroes. The last item in the appendix is ‘Elf-Lords in Solo Play’, a guide to creating powerful Elves born in the First and Second Ages who have yet to make the journey West. These are specifically designed to work with the solo rules for The One Ring—called ‘Strider Mode’—and enable a player to roleplay a much more powerful figure who can more readily face greater foes. It is a welcome new option for the ‘Strider Mode’.

Physically, Realms of the Three Rings follows the look of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings with an almost parchment look upon which the pen and ink art sits beautiful artwork, some of which, like the depiction of the weasel-lady is quite unnerving. The cartography is also very good.

If there is an Elven Player-hero in the Company, Realms of the Three Rings is a supplement that his player will want his Loremaster to purchase. It places the Elves in the spotlight in the Third Age of Middle-earth, a place that ironically, they would rather avoid. It not only details their realms as places to visit, but provides the Loremaster with the means to bring their reticence, their waning hope, and their elegance into play and develop her campaign around their included plots. Realms of the Three Rings adds depth and detail to Eriador, scope for Elven Player-heroes to shine, and other Player-heroes to explore their grandly elegant, but declining world.

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.

—oOo—

Free League Publishing will be at UK Games Expo which takes place from Friday, 29th to Sunday 31st of May.

Solitaire: Lost in the Deep

You came to the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain with hope in your heart. The great mountain realm was founded long ago by your ancestors, a wonder of the age, its great halls, high galleries, towering columns, and deeply delved mines, the subject of saga and song, and then of legend as a great evil wormed its way up and brought an everlasting darkness and killed out before it. The few Survivors fed with a great fear in their heart. Then you returned as one member of a host of Dwarven warriors who came to the lost halls of the ancestors, to retake it and drive out the blight that has beset for generations, and rebuild it in the name of your ancestors. To restore it to its former glory and give your fellow dwarves a home once again. Yet you failed. In mapping out the endless ruins, your band reached as far as your ancestors and committed the same folly. You unwittingly set free an ancient evil that lay asleep for generations, and one-by-one, it has butchered your companions in the most terrifying ways possible. You are the last Survivor.

This is the set-up for Lost in the Deep. Published by Old Skull Publishing. It is a solo journaling game based on the mechanics and structure of The Wretched, published by Loot the Room, but is a standalone title. The game requires an ordinary deck of playing cards without the Jokers, a six-sided die, a Jenga or similar tower block game, and a set of tokens. In addition, the player will require a means of recording the results of his playthrough. A journal, especially one finely bound, along with an ink pen, seems appropriate. As with other games that adhere to The Wretched template, there is little to no background in Lost in the Deep. This is because as with The Wretched, the inspiration for Lost in the Deep is obvious. For The Wretched, it was the film Alien, whereas for Lost in the Deep it is J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, specifically, Moria. Even more specifically, the attempt by Balin and his cohorts to retake Khazad-dûm. The inspiration is obvious from the blurb on the back cover and the author makes it clear in his introduction.

Each day, the Survivor will count his last few remaining torches and meals, wandering through the halls and galleries and mines of the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain, hopefully working his way towards the exit, but always with the feeling that the Evil under the Shadows is breathing down his neck. All whilst recording the day’s events in his journal. Can the Survivor discover the exit to the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain before the Evil under the Shadows or its minions catches up with him? Will a rescue party reach him before it is too late? Will his torches and food last long enough before it is too late?

The game is set up with the Jenga tower and the deck of playing cards—sans Jokers—shuffled. Each turn, or day, the player consults the Dwarven Runes or cards. To do this, he rolls the die and draws that number of cards and resolves them, following their instructions, including removing pieces from the Jenga tower as directed. Each card represents an event, a vision, or encounter. The Dwarven Runes corresponds to the four suits of the ordinary deck of playing cards. Thus, Hearts are ‘The Mines’ and represent events that occur as the Survivor explores the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain; Diamonds are the Survivor’s ‘Strength & Resources’ and when drawn represent him running out of food, water, or torches and so becoming exhausted; Clubs are ‘Memories and Hope’ that the Survivor has of his fallen comrades, and perhaps can draw inspiration from them; and Spades are ‘The Evil in the Shadows’, signs that that either it or its minions have been here already, are drawing near, or worse, have found you and you must face them. A Spade card is not entirely without hope, for there are relics which can help the Survivor drive off the forces and influence of The Evil in the Shadows, if only temporarily.

The thirteen entries for each of the four suits all serve as prompts for the Survivor’s journal. They are roughly divided between two types. Some like the three of Diamond for ‘Strength & Resources’, which prompts the player with, “You have lost some blood in a battle against a couple of undead dwarves and feel very dizzy. What did you feel when you fought the remains of your ancestors? PULL A BLOCK FROM THE TOWER”. Others like the ten of Clubs, gives just a prompt like, “You remember a friend who warned you before you came on this expedition. They talked about a nightmare they had of a demon hidden in darkness. Why did you all forget about it?” A few are more positive, but not many… The King of each suit provides a simple prompt, but unlike other cards, they are not discarded and the prompt is ignored until the fourth King card is drawn. Only this last prompt is counted as it marks the end of the Survivor’s journey and failed escape attempt from the Kingdom Under the Mother Mountain. The nature of his death is determined by the suit of the King card.

The Ace card of each suit provides a benefit of some kind, but only one, the Ace of Hearts, presents the Survivor with a chance of freedom. Even then it is fraught with one last peril, one last pull of a block from the Jenga tower.

Physically, Lost in the Deep is cleanly and tidily presented. It is lightly illustrated, but the artwork is excellent.

Lost in the Deep is the story of an escape attempt and very rarely an actual escape attempt. This does not stop it from being from a hopeful game, but that hope is wrapped in darkness and claustrophobia, of a fear that the Survivor and player know is lurking in the darkness coming ever closer. Lost in the Deep is a journaling game about facing fear and overcoming horrors in the dark, about how the Survivor of a doomed expedition copes alone, knowing that almost everything is lost, and perhaps having his hope born out… It is about the journey of the Survivor’s emotions, not the end of the journey.

Moria on my Mind

Moria looms deep and long in our imagination. When we think of dungeons, we always think of Khazad-dûm, the grandest Dwarven city in Middle-earth, built into the Misty Mountains by Durin the First, which rose to be an ancient, thriving kingdom of Durin’s Folk. Only to be undone by a greed for the greatest of metals—Mithril, that would breach the home or prison of a beast or spirit, a thing of such evil that it once served the Dark Lord, Morgoth. This was the Balrog and it rose, climbing from the depths up the shafts and along the tunnels, even down the road that the Dwarves had the length of the city, burning to ash all before it, including those stalwart defenders who stood to protect the city and what it stood for, even as others fled their home and the Misty Mountains, to become refugees across Middle-earth. From the beginnings of its foundations in the First Age to the day Durin’s Bane killed or drove all of the Dwarves from the city, and killed Durin the Sixth, Khazad-dûm had stood for seven thousand years. It only took two for the Balrog to undo that in the years of the Third Age. The Elves named it ‘Moria’ or ‘Black Pit’ and it has stood for another two thousand years since, its halls once lit by Dwarven artistry and craftsmanship, now dark and cold, stained by fire and Shadow, infested by Orcs and Goblins and worse. It is the year 2965 of the Third Age. It will be another twenty-five years before Dáin II, King Under the Mountain, gives permission for Balin to mount his ill-fated expedition into Moria and another fifty before Gandalf the Grey will lead the Fellowship of the Ring through ancient Dwarven halls, but interest in what still resides inside is growing, if ever really went away.

Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is a setting and campaign supplement for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Published by Free League Publishing following a successful Kickstarter campaign, it won the 2025 Gold Ennie Award for Best Cartography and 2025 Gold Ennie Award for Product of the Year. What it does is present a complete dungeon, but not in the traditional roleplaying sense of every corridor, every room, every trap, every threat, and every treasure being presented in detail. Instead, it presents Moria as a realm all of its very own, much like Rhovanion, the region East of the Misty Mountains or Eriador, the region to the West of the Misty Mountains. It has history—so much history, it has lore—so much lore, it has secrets—so many secrets, it has landmarks, it has monsters, it has factions, all of which the Player-heroes can explore, discover, confront, and plunder. If they dare. All of this has significant effect on why a Fellowship might come to want to enter Moria and how a Fellowship actually explores Moria, because above all, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is unlike any other dungeon for any other roleplaying game.

Despite what Balin might have to say about it, Moria is not a place that can be reclaimed, since it is infested with Orcs and Goblins, poisoned by Shadow, and probably damaged beyond repair by current standards of Dwarven craftsmanship. After all, so much knowledge was lost when Khazad-dûm fell. Moria – Through the Doors of Durin suggests several Patrons—one of whom is Saruman, who at this time is very much known as Saruman the White, and several reasons as why the Player-heroes might want to enter Moria, whether for themselves, or more likely, their patrons. It notes that the more Dwarves there are in a Fellowship, the more likely it is that Fellowship will return to Moria and the more likely that its forays will be longer and deeper (whether that is up or down). The motives include searching for treasure, perhaps at the request of a patron; searching for mithril, Moria being only known source; rescuing those captured by the Orcs and held prisoner or forced to work in the mines; looking for lost lore—especially ring-lore; gathering information about the inside of Moria and its factions; and especially if one is a Dwarf, then vengeance. These are paired with Patrons, some as far away as Isengard to the south or Tharbad to the west, but others camped out nearby. They of course include several Dwarves, and their suggestions too as to which of the Patrons given in The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings might also have an interest in Moria. In some cases, these do tie in with the new Patrons given here, whilst in the case of Gandalf, he would brand the Player-heroes as fools. Lastly, there is the possibility of the new Patrons becoming rivals and even enemies if the Player-heroes do not enter their employ and possibly sending rival expeditions into Moria that the Player-heroes might encounter or even have to rescue.

For the Loremaster, there are tables of rumours to spread and advice on the themes of a Moria-based campaign. They are divided between themes of wonder and sorrow and fear. The former includes the intricate grandeur of Moria and its epic scale, its hidden places and secrets, the piles of gold and jewels—if not held in hidden caches, then in Orc hoards, and perhaps the possibility of reclaiming the city. The latter includes the long and lonely dark, the toil and hunger of exploring Moria since any expedition will need to carry all of its light sources and all of its food, the triumph of the Enemy with the city firmly occupied by Orcs, Goblins, and more, the lack of a safe place, and horrors beyond record. What is notable here is that the lack of safety (though there is a place of refuge to be found, though doing so would take luck and be a mammoth undertaking in keeping with the rest of Moria), the constant need for the expedition to carry its own food and light, the long and lonely dark which can sometimes be so oppressive that it quenches light, and the horrors without record, all point to the genre that lurks in the distant, darkest places of Middle-earth, but here moves centre stage for all the time that the Player-heroes spend in Moria.

Mechanically, this is enforced by the number of locations and great items that a Player-hero can pick up and so acquire points of Shadow, whilst there is the constant chance that the activities of the Player-heroes will attract attention of The Eye—in the Moria, the equivalent of ‘Drums in the Deep’—and trigger potential events including Dire Portents, Orc Assault, Terrors in the Dark, and Ghâsh. The latter is the Orc word for fire, and when it occurs, it indicates some sort of encounter with Durin’s Bane! Lastly, Dwarves can suffer from Moria Madness in place of other Bouts of Madness whilst in and around Moria.

Where Moria – Through the Doors of Durin does surprise is in its treatment of its foes, not once but twice. For the most part it relies on the bestiary from The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings core rulebook, so there are surprisingly few new entries added here. These include the three factions of Orcs—Orcs of Mordor, Orcs of Moria, and Orcs of Udûn that contest control of Moria, those wretched Dwarves who still slave in the mines for the Orcs and the Goblins, and then some quite foul monsters. The other surprise is not the inclusion of the Balrog, after all, a description had at least to be included, but the fact that its stats are included. For the most part, the Balrog will be a baleful presence, lurking somewhere in the depths of the mine, but sometimes stirring in response to intrusions and strange activities in the mine, triggered by Ghâsh.

Yet the inference of having the stats of the Balrog is that the Player-heroes can fight him—and the truth is, they can. Of course, this is likely to be fatal for them under ordinary circumstances, though not necessarily under extraordinary circumstances and extraordinary circumstances are only likely to be triggered in the only real ‘end game’ situation in Moria – Through the Doors of Durin. This end game allows the Player-heroes to be completely brave, foolhardy, and utterly heroic and do the impossible. And that is to defeat the Balrog. This is possible, not just because the stats for the Balrog are given, but also because there are legendary artefacts to found within the depths of Moria that would aid any warrior capable of fighting Durin’s Bane. Finding them would require an epic journey in its own right and in some cases, repairing them would require a feat of legendary craftsmanship. And then there is the fight. Whether the Fellowship survived or not, defeated the Balrog or not, it would be a campaign ending climax. And yet, if the Balrog nearly defeated Gandalf, why should the Player-heroes be allowed to do so? Well, Player-heroes are Player Characters and Player Characters like to do the unexpected. Plus, as pointed out in the description of the Balrog’s lair, Shelob, was a very powerful foe encountered in The Lord of the Rings, and she too was injured grievously by a simple gardener! Further, Durin’s Bane might not be a Balrog, but instead be the Witch-King of Angmar or a dragon or a betrayal. This would mean that the Player-characters could still win and still be legendary heroes, but leaves the Balrog to face Gandalf on Durin’s Bridge.

The heart of Moria and Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is mapped out across twenty-eight locations from Dimril Dale in the east to the mansions of Thrain I in the west, and from the Mountain Galleries atop the Halls of Khazad-dûm to The Balrog’s Throne in the Deeps. They are marked and the routes between them are broadly mapped out on a stunning map of the city and its outside environs that also includes a good cutaway away of the city that shows the depths between them. There is plenty of scope and room and tables for the Loremaster to develop her own sites, but the focus is upon the twenty-eight, each of which is given its own rumour, old lore, background, and descriptions of the particular places within that locale as details of any important NPCs and then their associated schemes and troubles. Plus, a delightfully drawn map of the location that depicts the grandeur and scale of Khazad-dûm and its despoilment over the millennia.

The locations include those inside Moria and out. The notable ones outside include Dimril Dale where there can be found the famous Dimril Stair that leads up to the pass over the mountain and the Mirrormere, the lake where the Dwarves come to look into the waters to seek wisdom, and then the Doors of Durin on the far side. Inside can be found the Second Hall and Durin’s Bridge, where in fifty years, Gandalf will face Durin’s bane, and the King’s Hall, where Durin the Sixth took his stand against the Balrog and in defeat laid a curse upon the hall. Throughout, the locations are populated by some fantastic NPCs—Orcs, Dwarves, Goblins, and more. They are all well drawn, none of them really trustworthy, but the Player-heroes can deal with and interact with them and that includes the evil, spiteful Orcs and Goblins. The more includes Mocker Crawe, a big crow who has learned the speech of men and Orcs and acts as a messenger over the mountains and beyond, but might befriend passing travellers or explorers coming to Moria before luring them into a trap. As his name suggests he constantly mocks others, but he is very partial to shiny things, and he is afraid of the Giant Eagles who have recently taken to flying over the mountains. Another interesting NPC is Har, a Dwarf far from the East in the service of Sauron, who leads the Orcs of Mordor and hopes to rule Moria in his master’s name.

The appendices to Moria – Through the Doors of Durin suggest further ways in which it can be explored and played through. It examines Balin’s expedition and how it was doomed to failure, and how that might be used as the basis for a campaign as well as looking at the search for Thráin II made by Gandalf and Aragorn’s entry into Moria. The latter includes the possibility that one of the reasons why the Player-heroes might want to enter Moria is to enter Aragorn, the rewards for which would be a wealth of contacts and even Gandalf as a patron. There are details too on mithril and some sample magical treasures, as well as a new Culture, that of the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost, representing Dwarves of another House to that of Durin.

However, the longest appendix in Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is on ‘Solo Play in Moria’. This expands on The One Ring – Strider Mode to provide the means for the reader to join Balin’s quest and undertake various missions as part of his attempt to reclaim Moria. This will be as a Dwarf who will command a band of six allies. As part of Balin’s expedition, it should be no surprise that ultimately, the efforts of this Dwarf and his allies will fail. Instead, the solo option is intended to tell the story of that expedition before bringing it to a close with one last, heroic mission into Moria. The player is encouraged to record the outcome of these missions in his own version of the Book of Mazabul, Balin’s own record of his expedition, the inference being that a future expedition might find it and so have a better understanding of what they face in Moria. Overall, this adds another unexpected dimension to the supplement, but one that has plenty of potential for telling stories.

Physically, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin follows the look of The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings with an almost parchment look upon which the pen and ink art sits stark, but still capturing the character of the many NPCs and the dark horrors below. The cartography is more art than maps, whether that is the individual locations or the map of the whole of Moria.

As a campaign, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin does not have a beginning, a middle, and an end, barring the almost impossible end game already mentioned. Much of its actual story will be told in the future and unless the Player-heroes work for multiple patrons and thus multiple reasons to enter Moria, it is unlikely that they will explore all of its heights and depths. As a campaign, it also stands alone from The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. Whilst it can be used for one-off expedition into its halls as part of an ongoing campaign, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is more intended for long term play and dedicated expeditions in and out of its halls, with the Player-heroes focused on what they encounter and find there rather than what might be going on elsewhere.

Mapping Moria and making it playable was an almost impossible task, but there should be no doubt that in Moria – Through the Doors of Durin, Free League Publishing has not only succeeded in achieving that task, but exceeded it too. It draws heavily on the lore to develop and present a gloriously impressive overview of a complete realm of its own in Middle-earth and then gives the Loremaster all of the tools necessary to draw the Player-heroes into the dark of Moria. This includes plots and machinations of allies and foes inside and out, and once they are inside, landmarks to not only explore, but ultimately, survive. Above all, Moria – Through the Doors of Durin is not only a superbly reverent treatment of its source material, but a great toolkit of multiple plots, numerous secrets, and far too many horrors to help the Loremaster, her players, and their heroes experience the magnificence and malevolence of lost Khazad-dûm.

Your Own Dark Master

The land and all of its good people face a threat. One that has lingered far from the farms and villages, towns and cities, plotting, waiting, slumbering, brooding, all for the time when it is right to rise again and send forth its agents and minions, even its armies and its magics to destroy all that is good, to bring it under its yoke, and to cast a darkness everlasting upon the land. Yet the land and all of its good people are not without hope and their hearts are strong, for even as the great hosts of the dark lord outnumber what armies the forces of good can muster, they have heroes. Mighty of sword, stout of character, strong in magic, and wily in cunning, perhaps it is they who will be able to step forth from their homes and make the great journey across the land, best done in secret, to strike at the lord of shadow. This sounds not unlike the plot of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings or Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn series or Margaret Weis and Tracey Hickman’s Dragonlance Chronicles series—and it is. It is also the underlying plot to Against the Darkmaster: The Classic Game of Fantasy Adventure, which describes itself as an “Epic Fantasy roleplaying game of high adventure, heroic action, and heavy metal combat.” This is a roleplaying game of high fantasy and high stakes and a roleplaying game with a pedigree. Its mechanics derive ultimately from two games published by Iron Crown Enterprises. The first was RoleMaster, but the real inspiration for Against the Darkmaster is the simpler, more streamlined version of RoleMaster that was Middle-earth Role Playing: a complete system for adventuring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s World. That inspiration is both mechanical and thematic, but although veterans of both RoleMaster and Middle-earth Role Playing will find much that is familiar in the pages of Against the Darkmaster, they will not find their characters forming a fellowship and going on a great journey across the land to heroically confront the dark lord himself, Sauron, but instead a different great evil, either one of the Game Master’s own devising or one of the three provided as examples in the book. This is the roleplaying game with which to play campaigns of high fantasy and adventure, in the process, save the world.

Against the Darkmaster: The Classic Game of Fantasy Adventure is published by Open Ended Games, Inc. and in addition to providing the means for the Game Master to create her own Darkmaster, it explains the rules, provides the means to create a fellowship, covers travel, combat, and magic, details a bestiary, and supports the roleplaying game with a setting and scenario. It starts though, with a discussion of its principles. These include the fact that it is a tale of good versus evil, that the presence and influence of the Darkmaster looms over the world, that previous conflicts between nations and with the Darkmaster have left the landscape dotted with ruins and secrets, magic is dangerous and rare and that the gods watch from afar rather than being directly involved in the doings of the land, and that despite all of this, there is still room for heroism and hope. Along with a lengthy bibliography of the books, films, heavy metal music, and other roleplaying games that influenced Against the Darkmaster this neatly sums up what the roleplaying game is about.

A Player Character in Against the Darkmaster consists of six Stats—Brawn, Swiftness, Fortitude, Wits, Wisdom, and Bearing, and then a Kin and a Culture. He will also have a Vocation, Background Options, and Passions. The six Stats range in value between -20 and +35 and serve directly as bonuses to skill and action rolls. This is a change from roleplaying games such as RoleMaster, Middle-earth Role Playing, and HARP Fantasy where there are stats ranging in value from one to one hundred and bonuses are derived from them. There are thirteen different Kin: Dwarf, Halfling, Man, Wildfolk, High Man, Half-Elf, Dusk Elf, Silver Elf, Star Elf, Half-Orc, Orc, Stone Troll, and Firbolg. Each provides bonuses to a Player Character’s Stats, Hit Points, Magic Points, Toughness Save Roll, and Willpower Save Roll, as well as Maximum Hit Points, Background Points, and starting Wealth Level. Each Kin also suggests suitable Cultures. There are thirteen Cultures, including Arctic, City, Deep, Desert, Fey, Hill, Marauding, Noble, Pastoral, Plains, Seafaring, Weald, and Woad. A Culture provides Ranks in a Player Character’s skills and Spell Lores, typical outfit and equipment, Passions, and additional starting Wealth Level. The Vocations consist of Warrior, Rogue, Wizard, Animist, Dabbler, and Champion. The Animist is a druid or shaman, the Dabbler can do a mix of everything rather than specialising, and the Champion is a mystic warrior. A Vocation provides Development Points for the player to assign to his character as well as skill bonuses.

Skills are divided into seven categories—Armour, Combat, Adventuring, Roguery, Lore, Spells, and Body. The individual skills with each category are broad in nature, for example, Blunt, Blades, Ranged, Polearms, and Brawl for Combat, and Acrobatics, Stealth, Locks & Traps, Perception, and Deceive. Several Speciality Skills are suggested, such as ‘Assassination’, ‘Craftsmanship’, ‘Dual Weapons Training’, ‘Swashbuckling’, and more, but these are optional.

Background Options represent a Player Character’s Back Story and what he did before joining the Fellowship. They include ‘Ancient Heirloom’, ‘Burglar’, ‘Heroic Bloodline’, ‘Mundane’, ‘Strider’, and more, each providing a wide range of bonuses and benefits. They are either Minor or Major Tier, of which the player chooses one or the other. A Player Character will have between one and three Passions, typically either a Nature, Allegiance, or Motivation. Here is where the Heavy Metal aspect of Against the Darkmaster first comes to the fore, the book suggesting that a player select a Passion based on a Heavy Metal song along with providing numerous examples, such as ‘All men are equal when their memory fades’ inspired by Motorhead’s ‘Deaf Forever’ and ‘I was born under omens of greatness and doom’ inspired by Iron Maiden’s ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’. By adhering to his Passions, a character can earn Drive, up to a total of five, and this can then be spent to gain various effects, such as gaining a +10 bonus to a Skill, Attack, or Save roll, reroll a failed Roll with a +10 bonus, reroll a Critical Strike just suffered to try and lower its effect, and so on. Five points of Drive can be spent to set the result of a roll to 100, add a +20 bonus to a Critical Strike Roll, and so on.

One interesting use of Drive is to track Milestones and Revelations. For every ten points of Drive spent, a Player Character gains a ‘Milestone’. This can then be used to unlock a ‘Revelation’ about themself, perhaps when they are resting after an adventure and have had time to reflect or at a moment of crisis. Mechanically, it is used to permanently improve a Stat, the number of Magic Points a Player Character has, or improve an item as they come to master its use. Narratively, this should make sense within the flow of play and it needs to be approved by all of the players.

Of the choices for character creation, the Dusk Elf is roughly the equivalent of the Wood Elf and the Star Elf the High Elf, and the Wildfolk the Woses and the High Man the Númenóreans or Dúnedain from Middle-earth. So, there are parallels between Against the Darkmaster and Middle-earth Role Playing in the options open to the players. Some of the options are not necessarily heroically Tolkienesque, such as the Orc and Half-Orc, but nevertheless, they could be in the Game Master’s own campaign or kept as servants of the Darkmaster. Of the Cultures, the Marauding Culture is not intended for the Player Characters, but for use by the Game Master to create servants of the Darkmaster.

To create a character, a player can either roll for his Stats or opt for a point-buy method. Similarly, he can roll for or choose his character’s Kin and Culture, but then selects a Vocation. He notes down the bonuses, skill Ranks, and traits gained, before spending Development Points and selecting Background Options and Passions. The process is not complex, but is a little lengthy. One issue perhaps is keeping track of the differences between the Skill bonuses from Kin and Vocation, the skill Ranks provided by a Vocation, and the Development Points also provided by a Vocation which the player spends to assign further skill Ranks. Ultimately, they all provide bonuses, but from slightly different sources.

Name: Jarbad Duskheart
Kin: Dwarf
Culture: Weald
Vocation: Animist

STATS
Brawn +05 Swiftness +05 Fortitude +30 Wits +15 Wisdom +15 Bearing +20

Hit Points: 80 Maximum Hit Points: 150
Magic Points: 04 Drive: 1
Toughness Save Roll: +55 Willpower Save Roll: +40
Wealth Level: 1
Movement: 15
Defence: +05

TRAITS
Dark Sight, Forgekin, Stoneborn, Superstitious

BACKGROUNDS
Dark Past (Minor), Shapechanger (Major)

PASSIONS
Nature: I will live by the Laws of Nature under the Silver Stars.
Allegiance: My tribe, freed of Darkmaster’s grasp
Motivation: I will free my tribe, I will free all

SKILLS
Skill / Stat / Rank & Bonus / Vocation / Kin / Special / Item / Total
Armour
Armour / +05 (SWI) / 01 & +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +05
Combat
Blunt / +05 (BRN) / 01 & +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +10
Blades / +05 (BRN) / 00 & +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +05
Ranged / +05 (SWI) / 01 & +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +10
Polearms / +05 (BRN) / 02 & +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +15
Brawl / +05 (BRN) / 02 & +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +15
Adventuring
Athletics / +05 (BRN) / 02 & +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +15
Ride / +05 (SWI) / 00 & +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +05
Hunting / +15 (WIT) / 04 & +20 / +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +40
Nature / +15 (WSD) / 04 & +20 / +15 / +20 / +00 / +00 / +70
Wandering / +15 (WSD) / 03 & +15 / +20 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +50
Roguery
Acrobatics / +05 (SWI) / 00 & +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +05
Stealth / +05 (SWI) / 02 & +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +15
Locks & Traps / +15 (WIT) / 00 & +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +15
Perception / +15 (WSD) / 02 & +10 / +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +30
Deceive WIT / +15 (WIT) / 00 & +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +15
Lore
Arcana / +15 (WIT) / 01 & +05 / +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +30
Charisma / +20 (BEA) / 01 & +05 / +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +30
Cultures / +15 (WIT) / 02 & +10 / +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +30
Healer / +15 (WSD) / 01 & +05 / +20 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +40
Songs & Tales / +20 (BEA) / 01 & +05 / +05 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +30
Spell Lores
Aspects of Nature / +15 (WSD) / 01 & +05 / +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +20
Master of Animals / +15 (WSD) / 01 & +05 / +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +20
Master of Plants / +15 (WSD) / 01 & +05 / +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +20
Healing / +15 (WSD) / 02 & +10 / +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +35
Body
Body / +30 (FOR) / 02 & +10 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +00 / +40

Mechanically, Against the Darkmaster is ‘Powered by Open00’. The core resolution involves rolling percentile dice and adding the value of a Stat or Skill total. The roll is open-ended, meaning that if the player rolls ninety-six or above, he rolls again and adds to the total. Similarly, if he rolls four or less, he rolls again and deducts from the total. A result of four or less is a critical failure, between five and seventy-four is a failure, between seventy-five and ninety-nine is a partial success, a result of one-hundred or more is a success, and anything over one-hundred-and-seventy-five is a critical success. Modifiers range from Challenging and ‘-10’ to Insane and ‘-70’. Once rolled, dice results are final. Save Rolls are made against a Player Character’s Toughness Save for physical effects and Willpower Save Roll against fear, illusion, and mind control. Either way, the roll is made against the Save Roll Difficulty. Either way, the roll is made against the Save Roll Difficulty which is determined by the Attack Level of the effect or the result of the spell rolled by the caster.

Combat in Against the Darkmaster breaks its action down into rounds consisting of several phases—Assessment, Action Declaration, Move, Spell A, Ranged A, Melee, Ranged B, Spell B, and Other Actions. Actions in combat consist of Full Actions, Half Actions, and Free Actions. Full Actions include making a melee or ranged attack, casting a non-instantaneous spell, and moving at full Move Rate, whilst Half Actions can be readying an item or drawing a weapon, casting an instantaneous spell, and taking a Half Movement to engage a foe in melee. During a Round, a Player Character can take a Full Action and a Free Action, two Half Actions, or a Full Action and a Half Action, but both with a penalty. Free Actions include talking, singing, or chanting, making an Assessment Roll, and dropping a wielded weapon or item. The rules also cover aiming, charging, improvised weapons, fighting with two weapons, and more, including parrying, which involves reducing an attacker’s Combat Bonus and increasing his Defence by the same amount.

The actual Attack Roll uses the same open-ended roll mechanic to which is added the attacker’s Combat Bonus—derived from the total skill bonus for the weapon used or attack type spell cast and any situational modifiers—whilst the defendant’s Defence value is deducted from it. The result is cross-referenced on the appropriate table for the attack type (notably weapons are either edged or blunt, there is no piercing damage table) against the type of armour worn—none, light, medium, or heavy—to determine the damage. The damage indicates how many Hit Points are lost by the defendant and may also indicate a Critical Strike. This can be Superficial, Light, Moderate, Grievous, or Lethal, the severity indicating the bonus to be added to roll on the appropriate Critical Strike Table. Here is where there is a Critical Strike Table for piercing weapons as well as cutting and impact weapons, plus Critical Strike Tables for beasts, area effects, and various types of spell damage. Damage can come from a variety of sources, including the darkest of magic and the touch of the undead which can scar a Player Character’s very own soul. This Soul Damage drains the life of the sufferer and typically takes magic or special herbs to heal.

For example, Jarbad is part of a band that has been ambushed by a band of Orcs in the service to the Darkmaster. He is not a skilled warrior, but aids where he can. His friend has been beaten back by a marauding Orc and Jarbad runs over to help him, hoping that he can be enough of a distraction for his friend to rally. Jarbad’s player declares that the Dwarf will charge the Orc and strike him from behind. This grants him a +20 bonus to his Combat Bonus, and since he is striking from behind, the Orc will not get his Defence bonus. So Jarbad’s player is rolling the dice and adding a total Combat Bonus of +35. He rolls 91 and adds the Combat Bonus to get a result of 126. The Game Master consults the Edged Attack Table and cross-references the result against the Orc’s lamellar armour, which counts as medium. The result is that the Orc suffers 14 points of damage and a Moderate Critical Strike, which grants a +20 bonus when rolling the Critical Strike. Jarbad’s player rolls the dice (the roll is not open-ended) and with the bonus, the total is 74 which gives the result of, “Direct shot the chest. If the target’s unarmoured, the strike pierces deep: +8 Damage, 4 Bleed, and Stunned. If the target’s wearing armour: +4 Damage and 2 Bleed.” However, Jarbad’s player decides that this is not enough and declares that he will spend a point of Drive to reroll the Critical Strike, declaring that this is in line with his Allegiance Passion of ‘My tribe, freed of Darkmaster’s grasp’. The Game Master allows it and Jarbad’s player rerolls. This time the total is 144, which gives the result, “Piercing strike to the chest. If the target’s wearing rigid armor: +5 Damage, 4 Bleed, Stunned, and -20 to all actions for a deep side cut. If not: lung pierced, +15 Damage, Stunned, and -50 activity, dies in 6 hours.” The Orc staggers as Jarbad shoves his spear under his armour, forcing him to one knee, unable to act…

Magic in Against the Darkmaster includes the enchanted songs of the Elves sung under the stars, the eldritch might of wizardry, and the foul sorcery of the Darkmaster and his minions. It is divided into Spell Lores, which grant the practitioner knowledge of the ten Weaves within each branch of magic covered by the Spell Lore, from simple cantrips to major feats of world changing magic. The spells are divided into Common Spell Lores, Vocational Spell Lores, and Kin Spell Lores. The Common Spell Lores—Detections, Chanting, Cleansing, Eldritch Visions, Eldritch Might, Eldritch Wards, Lore of Nature, Movements of Nature, Nature’s Path, and Sounds & Lights—can be learnt by anyone, but only to a limited extent. Both the Silver Elf and Star Elf Kin have access to the Vocational Spell Lores of Elven Lore and Spell Songs, and can learn these whatever their Vocations. The Animist Vocation learns Spell Lores like Channelling, Earth Mould, and Master of Animals, whilst the Wizard learns Spell Lores such as Eldritch Fire, Eldritch Storm, Illusions, and Mind Control.

A Spell Lore has ten Ranks and each Rank grants knowledge of one Weave or spell. For example, as Jarbad Duskheart has only the one Rank in the Masters of Nature Spell Lore, the only spell he knows is Hinder, which turns the surrounding terrain into arduous for his enemies as roots and branches seem to grasp at them, whilst for the Healing Spell Lore, he has two Ranks and knows the Heal spell which hastens natural healing and the Clotting spell which reduces the blood loss from Bleeding Wounds.

Casting spells requires concentration and a caster can gain a bonus for concentrating for a single round and longer. A spell can also be cast without this concentration, but is done at a penalty. Some spells can be cast to greater effect, improving both their Weave and their Magic Point cost. This is called Warping. For example, Frostbite is a Rank Two spell from the Eldritch Frost Spell Lore. Its effect is to numb a target with cold, leaving them sluggish, inflicting a -20 penalty on all actions, but a caster could increase this penalty by another -20 up to a maximum of -100 for increase in the Weave of two each time. Spells can also be overcast for greater effect, typically from a magical ritual, self-sacrifice, and the correct celestial alignment. Overcasting a spell is more difficult, but does increase the Weave.

However, casting spells is not without its dangers within a land beset by the Darkmaster. If a player rolls doubles whilst his character casts a spell, the Game Master must make a ‘Magical Resonance Roll’. Depending on the location where the spell is cast and the type of spell, nothing might happen except for an inquisitive shadow fleetingly passing over, or the Darkmaster might be alerted to the caster’s presence or location and send his servants after him. A simple failure to cast a spell can also leave the caster stunned, the spell affecting someone other than the target, or worse.

Against the Darkmaster also provides detailed rules for movement—and specifically, extended travel, and the hazards and perils that a fellowship might face, complete with tables of possible hazards, terrain by terrain. The rules also cover campsites and the establishment, finding, and use of safe havens. These are intended to be exceptional locations, places where the Player Characters can rest and recuperate, but also train and mediate, study and conduct research, or simply relax, and eventually, even retire. Beyond the core rules, there is advice for the Game Master in terms of preparing and running the game, covering the principles of the role, how to pitch the game to the players, develop a scenario and a campaign, handling NPCs, running battles and war and how to involve the Player Characters, and more. There are options for generational play, play beyond Level Ten, and low magic campaigns, in which case, the Animist, Champion, Dabbler, and Wizard Vocations are replaced by the Sage Vocation. The bestiary, from Awakened Tree, Boggart, and Demon to Wild Best, Wight, and Wraith, is short with just thirty entries, but all feel appropriate to add to a Tolkienesque setting.

Against the Darkmaster does include magical items, but they are not intended to be common within a campaign, each item feeling special and unique, complete with a history. They include potions, items that grant skill or Stat bonuses or extra Magic Points, items that cast spells, weapons that have slaying ability woven into them that always ensure that any Critical Strike is lethal, and so on. There are notes on cursed items, enchanted materials, items of power that require attunement. The rules are supported with a treasury of various potencies.

Of course, the signature NPC in Against the Darkmaster is the Darkmaster itself. In Middle-earth and The Lord of the Rings, the Darkmaster is, of course, Sauron, the Dark Lord. In Against the Darkmaster, the Game Master gets to create her own. This includes creating a suitable epithet like ‘The Timeless Dark of Hate’ or ‘The Black Angel of Despair’, and a Covet Artefact, complete with power, drawback, bane, and prophecy. For example, the spear, which can be thrown at any foe in sight, slaying them, but there is one champion who will be able to catch it and throw it back at the wielder, killing him, whilst the spear will impale the heart of the Darkmaster, putting Him at rest. Should it ever be pulled out, the Darkmaster will be returned to life. To this, the Game Master can add servants, a dark place, and dark powers, including eldritch horror, life scourge, offering dark temptation, and heralding eternal winter. The mark of the Darkmaster upon a Player Character is measured by Taint, typically when a Dark Spell Lore is learned or a Tainted Magic Item is used. Taint corrupts a Player Character’s Passions, so that his Motivation becomes an Obsession, then his Allegiance a Dark Oath, and their Nature a Perversion. After this, the Player Character becomes an NPC. It is possible to find redemption from this, but only the one attempt can be made. There is good advice on exploring the how and why a Darkmaster came to be, and how to create his appearance and goals, and there are also three, ready-to-use examples, including ‘The Horned King of Annwn’, ‘The Witch Queen of Despair’, and ‘The Blood Lord of War’. These three and the details of the Dark Sorcery and Necromancy Spell Lores that follow, are presented on, thematically and appropriately, enough, black pages!

Rounding out Against the Darkmaster is ‘Shadows of the Northern Woods’, a complete mini-setting and campaign consisting of three scenarios, plus six pre-generated Player Characters and example Passions appropriate to the setting. That setting is the fortified settlement of Willow Lake and the surrounding vale. Whilst an ancient Darkmaster lurks on the other side of the mountains to the north, the scenarios involve hunting for a beast that stalks the surrounding area that has recently gone from killing livestock and stealing things to killing an inhabitant of Willow Lake, attempting to deal with the real threat to Willow Lake as the settlement is attacked by a scouting party from the Darkmaster’s army to the north, and preventing the destruction of Willow Lake, so saving everyone in the process. The region is nicely detailed and together the three scenarios should provide multiple session’s worth of playing, taking the Player Characters up to Level Three. If the tone of the campaign is suitably Tolkienesque, the setting still feels like a setting for a more generic fantasy roleplaying campaign. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but an indication that it is written to be played and concessions have had to be made.

Against the Darkmaster can be played as a traditional fantasy roleplaying game and the rules and content do support that. Where it shines though is in setting up and supporting a world imperilled by a great threat personified in the form of the Darkmaster, whilst at the same constraining some of the wider excesses of more traditional fantasy roleplaying games with a relatively limited bestiary and availability and choice of magical items. The lack of the latter makes them more interesting and important when they do appear and means that the Player Characters will be relying very much on their own skills and spells. In some ways this feels more like low rather than high fantasy, but the Player Characters do all have access to magic if they want it and they and their world are threatened by a great and powerful magic. In addition, within this framework, Against the Darkmaster provides plenty of options and advice on changing aspects of the rules, so that the Game Master and her players can play the game how they want.

Physically, Against the Darkmaster is a massive book, done in black and white. It is well written—though it does need an edit in places, it is easy to read, the artwork has a classic fantasy roleplaying feel to it, and its looks are deceptive. It is a big book, but the layout is quite open so that it never feels cramped or as if you can never find anything.

Against the Darkmaster: The Classic Game of Fantasy Adventure is not a direct retroclone of Middle-earth Role Playing: a complete system for adventuring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s World, but then it does not claim to be. Instead, it is heavily inspired by Middle-earth Role Playing, so much so that it does not so much wear that inspiration on its sleeve as wrap it around itself like a hooded elven cloak with an evil lord (who is definitely not Sauron) attached like an elven brooch. This it builds around a classic percentile system that is presented in an impressively clean, tidy, and accessible fashion with options and suggestions to adjust the game however the Game Master and her players want. The result is that for the group that wants to play classic roleplaying game in a Tolkienesque style, then Against the Darkmaster: The Classic Game of Fantasy Adventure is a great choice.

A Hobbity Holiday

One of the great things about The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings, the second edition of the acclaimed The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild published by Free League Publishing is The One Ring Starter Set. Why do you ask? Well, because it lets us roleplay members of the Hobbit community whom we not normally encounter. Drogo Baggins, Esmeralda Took, Lobelia Bracegirdle, Paladin Took II, Primula Brandybuck, and Rorimac Brandybuck, in many cases the parents or relations of three of the Hobbits who would form part of the Fellowship of the Ring decades later. Under the direction of the scandalous Bilbo Baggins, the quintet went off and had adventures of their own in the Shire, whilst at the same time The One Ring Starter Set presented the Shire for the roleplaying game itself. Sadly, the five adventures had to come to a close and with it the chance to play those characters again. Fortunately, there are available a number of sequel adventures, including Landmark Adventures, that can be run as part of, or after, the events of The One Ring Starter Set, or simply added to an ongoing campaign for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings if it is being run in or around The Shire. The Ghost of Needlehole proved to be a sharp little ghost story, whilst the Mines of Brockenbores sent the Player-heroes to the far north of the Shire to inspect a mine, Sackville-Baggins Estates took them to the far south to explore a growing threat that comes to fruition at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and in fourth Landmark Adventure, the Hobbits travelled to the most easterly of point in the Shire and beyond to The Withywindle and the House of Tom Bombadil! The next and fifth Landmark Adventure has the Hobbits sent hither and thither in a roundabout fashion, all before returning for a happy holiday.

A Hobbit Carol differs from the previous four Landmark Adventures and does not rely upon the half dozen pre-generated Hobbits from The One Ring Starter Set. This is because it takes place several decades after the events depicted in the campaign in The One Ring Starter Set, in 1389 S.R., by which time Balin has left the Shire to lead an expedition into Moria, Lobelia Bracegirdle has been married to Otho Sackville-Baggins for two or so decades, and Drogo Baggins and Primula Brandybuck, also married, have unfortunately both drowned, leaving young Frodo Baggins an orphan. Also, by this time, the One Ring, secretly in possession of Bilbo Baggins, has begun to weigh upon him and exacerbated by the death of his nephew and his wife, he has consequently grown cold, cranky, and bitter, matching the cold and bitter weather of that winter. Such is his change in character that Gandalf the Grey has warned Bilbo that he is certain to follow the path followed by Gollum if he does not heed the warnings of three spirits, representing his past, present, and future, that will come upon him. In what is effectively Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, they do and of course, Bilbo Baggins takes their words to heart and decides to change his ways by holding a big party. However, to do that, he will need help, which is where the Player-heroes enter the story.

With rumours rife about the crankiness of Bilbo’s character, the Player-heroes are hired by Hamfast Gamgee—nice to see him get a little time in the spotlight—to undertake three tasks. In turn, these are to go north to Bindbole Woods and there find a tree from which a large Yule-Log be made can be that be a great centre piece for the two-day Yule celebration Bilbo plans to hold; to head even further north to Hardbottle and barter or hunt for some fresh game for the feast; and lastly, to go to Buckland and escort the young tween Frodo Baggins to Bag End where Bilbo will make an important declaration about both his and Frodo’s future. This of course, is that he will make Frodo his sole heir. Naturally, Otho Sackville-Baggins is unhappy about this and will do all that he can to prevent this from happening. Otho Sackville-Baggins and his hooligan Hobbits are not only threats faced by the Player-heroes. The primary ones are time and the weather as the Hobbits do not have a great of time in which to accomplish the set tasks and the weather is very, very cold, and there is a chance of Hobbits suffering from it so, there are threats driven in from the wilds because of the weather, and there the Bounders, those Hobbits charged with patrolling and keeping the borders of the Shire safe, who can be very nosy when wanting to know why a band of Hobbits—and potentially queer folk like Elves, Dwarves, and Men—are wandering the Shire, especially given the bitterly cold weather.

A Hobbit Carol comes to a close with a jolly party held in honour of young Frodo Baggins and is a decent adventure that is best used as a one-shot given that it is not set during the timeframe for either The One Ring Starter Set or The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings. One option, possibly, is to run it as a flashback, perhaps for older Player-heroes or as a story being told to younger Player-heroes. The scenario does include its own Journey Table for the travels of the Player-heroes back and forth across the Shire, but as a one-shot, it does not include a set of pre-generated Player-heroes or even suggestions as to what Player-heroes might be suitable. That said, A Hobbit Carol would readily suit a party of Hobbits as the adventure itself involves mild peril—there is some combat, but not a great deal—and hard labour in chilly conditions rather than confrontations with the dread Shadow.

Physically, A Hobbit Carol is cleanly and tidily laid out. The artwork, taken from the Artbook Compilation for The One Ring: Roleplaying in the World of Lord of the Rings is excellent. However, the layout is a little untidy in places and the adventure does need an edit.

A Hobbit Carol is a good little adventure, which like the earlier Landmark, Sackville-Baggins Estates, nicely develops the backstory to events of The Lord of the Rings, which works better as a one-shot rather than as an addition to a campaign.

1984: Middle-earth Role Playing

1974 is an important year for the gaming hobby. It is the year that Dungeons & Dragons was introduced, the original RPG from which all other RPGs would ultimately be derived and the original RPG from which so many computer games would draw for their inspiration. It is fitting that the current owner of the game, Wizards of the Coast, released the new version, Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition, in the year of the game’s fortieth anniversary, and the new edition of that, Dungeons & Dragons, 2024, in the year of the game’s fiftieth anniversary. To celebrate this, Reviews from R’lyeh will be running a series of reviews from the hobby’s anniversary years, thus there will be reviews from 1974, from 1984, from 1994, and from 2004—the thirtieth, twentieth, and tenth anniversaries of the titles. These will be retrospectives, in each case an opportunity to re-appraise interesting titles and true classics decades on from the year of their original release.

—oOo—

Middle-earth Role Playing: a complete system for adventuring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s World was published in 1984 by Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc., then best known for the complex fantasy roleplaying game, Rolemaster, recently republished in a new edition as Rolemaster Unified CORE Law. Known by the abbreviation, MERP, It was intended to introduce roleplayers to the world of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and the fans of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit to roleplaying, as was made clear in the introduction: “J. R .R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth provides an ideal setting for a fantasy role playing game. It is a reflection of our world as we perceive it, as well as a construction of mythology by a great and learned man. Middle-earth is itself undying, living in the minds of all who tread its paths. Each reader adds to it his or her own vision. It is only natural, then, to use this incredible foundation in a fantasy role playing context. In this way those close to Middle-earth can experience it in a new way, filling the gaps and discovering the mysteries that have always concerned them.”

For the next fifteen years, Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc. would support the roleplaying game with first an updated version of the core rules and then a second edition in 1986, as well as nearly one hundred supplements and supplements detailing Middle-earth. Many of these supplements are highly regarded by fans of the roleplaying game today and much in demand, reaching high prices when they come up for sale. The first edition though, is centred on a slim, if dense, one-hundred-and-four-page book which comes in a strikingly red box that also contains the sixteen-page ‘MERP Counter and Display Guidelines’ which consists of a guide to the roleplaying game’s set of full-colour counters and the fourteen maps and floorplans for the scenario in the rulebook. The maps, which depict a mix of a castle and its various buildings, a set of caves, and wilderness areas, are marked with a hex grid so that the counters can be used with them. There are also two twenty-sided dice in the box, each marked ‘0’ to ‘9’ twice.

The roleplaying game opens with a good introduction to what roleplaying is and notes that Rolemaster is available if a group wants, “…[A]n an expanded combat system, an expanded spell system, a more flexible character development system, and guidelines for a campaign game or larger scale game. These systems allow MERP to be expanded to handle higher level characters and to increase the variations and options available to the Gamemaster and the players.” In fact, Middle-earth Role Playing will only take a Player Character up to Tenth Level. Beyond that, the Game Master and here players will need to switch to Rolemaster, if they had not done so by then. Which is very likely. The introduction also includes ‘A Sample Adventure in a FRP Setting’, a complete example of play. In this, an Elven Mage, a Umli Animist, a Dwarven Warrior, and a Hobbit Scout are escorting a merchant’s caravan from Rivendell to Bree, when after deciding to make camp for the night, discover a partially ruin tower that might offer them shelter. When they move to scout it out for safety, they are ambushed by three Orcs who have been sleeping in the tower’s cellar. It is quite a detailed example of play, having the players roll dice before even the mechanics and rules of the roleplaying game have been explained. Nevertheless, it is fun and it is exciting, and it gives a good idea of what playing Middle-earth Role Playing is like: detailed, tactical, and complex. It is also something that the rules will return to again to show various aspects of the roleplaying game work. From the standpoint of a fan of Tolkien and Middle-earth, what really stands out, is the fact that there is an Elf Mage and he does cast magic, including a Shield spell and a Levitate spell. This inclusion points to the primary complaint about Middle-earth Role Playing and that is the degree of magic which the Player Characters had access to in comparison to what fans read in the novels. It is not an unfair comment or complaint, but this is a fantasy roleplaying game from 1984 and a fantasy roleplaying game from 1984 has magic in it, because after all, just like Dungeons & Dragons and also Middle-earth Role Playing, every fantasy roleplaying game from 1984 had magic and wizards in it. For the most part though, the magic in Middle-earth Role Playing lacked the flashiness of magic in Dungeons & Dragons.

Middle-earth Role Playing sets out a lot of the definitions and conventions of the roleplaying game well before a player gets anywhere near rolling any dice. This includes defining terms from both Middle-earth and the roleplaying game, describes the basics of rolling dice, and the definitions of a character. The latter consists of the mental and physical statistics, and race and culture. There are six statistics—Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, Intuition, and Presence—each rated between one and a hundred. Race and culture incudes each species’ Physical Characteristics, Culture, and Other Factors, all of which quite detailed and quite lengthy. The physical characteristics consist of Build, Colouring, Endurance, Height, Lifespan, Resistance, and Special Abilities. The Culture lists Clothing and Decoration, Fears and Inabilities, Lifestyle, Marriage Pattern, and Pattern. The Other Factors are Demeanour, Language, Prejudices, Restrictions on Professions, and Background Options. The latter indicates the number of points a player has to assign to his character’s backstory.

The Races are broken down into three categories and two separate Races. For the Dwarves, there are Dwarves and the Umli—or Half-Dwarves from the far north of Middle-earth. For the Elves, there are Silvan Elves, Sindar, and Noldor. The largest category consists of Men and encompass Beornings, Black Númenóreans, Corsairs, Dorwinrim, Dúnedain, Dunlendings, Easterlings, Haradrim, Lossoth, Rohirrim, Rural Men, Urban Men, Variags, Woodmen, and Woses. Lastly, there are Half-Elves, who must decide to live as a mortal Man or as an immortal Elf, and Hobbits. The entry for Hobbits gives three primary varieties, or tribes, of Hobbits—Harfoots, Stoors, and Fallohides—but does not distinguish between them mechanically. There are a lot of options here, including amongst the Men, many cultures who fell under the sway of either Sauron or Saruman, so they do not necessarily feel like a natural fit for a roleplaying game based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Further, included alongside these are entries for Orcs—Common Orcs, Uruk-Hai, and Half-Orcs, and for Trolls—Normal Trolls, Olog-hai, and Half-Trolls. These are not there to be used as Player Characters, but more as background material to help the Game Master portray them, though since this is not explained until ten pages later at the start of character creation, a reader might be led to believe otherwise. (It also suggests that the Game Master might allow them as Player Characters after the events of The Lord of the Rings, during the Fourth Age.) One thing that is missing from the Race and Culture descriptions are any suggestions as to what typical names might be for each.

Beyond the various Races, the definitions include languages, Skill Ranks and Skill Bonuses, Skills, Professions, Backgrounds, Experience Points and how they earned, including Kill Points, Manoeuvre Points, Spell Points, Idea Points, Travel Points, and Miscellaneous Points. Whilst Player Character Rank runs from First to Tenth Level, Skill Ranks run from zero to twenty—and more. Each Skill Rank provides a +5 Skill Bonus up to Skill Rank Ten, but beyond that, it flattens out to grand total of +70 at Skill Rank Twenty. The lengthy list of skills is broken down into Moving And Manoeuvring, Weapon Skills, General Skills, Subterfuge Skills, Magical Skills, Miscellaneous Skills and Capabilities, and Secondary Skills. Of these, Moving And Manoeuvring accounts for a Player Character’s ability to move about the battlefield and gain the initiative, but is not trained in as one skill, but several, each one for different type of armour—no armour, soft leather, rigid leather, chain, and plate. The Magical Skills include Read Runes, Use Items, and Directed Spells.

There are six Professions. These are Warrior, Scout, Animist, Mage, Ranger, and Bard. Or in parentheses, ‘Fighter’, ‘Thief’, ‘Cleric’, ‘Magician’, ‘Tracker’, and ‘jack-of-all-trades’. Each provides bonuses in terms the Ranks a Player Character can have in particular skills, and although there is no limit on what skills a Player Character can attempt to learn, learning skills outside of his Profession is more difficult. Each of the Professions has restrictions on what spells they can learn. However, these are not restrictions in terms of Professions not being able to cast spells, except for the Animist and Mage Professions, but limits on what spell lists each Profession can draw from. Here again, we have a case of Middle-earth Role Playing of not just making available magic to specialist character types despite the source material not reflecting this, but also every Player Character, no matter their Profession, which again, the source material does not reflect. Lastly, should a player want to roleplay a character similar to one portrayed in the fiction, it lists several of them along with their Professions in Middle-earth Role Playing. Thus, Aragorn II is a Dúnedain Ranger, Elrond a Half-elf Animist, Éomer a Rohirrim Warrior, Frodo a Hobbit Scout, Galadriel a Noldor Elf Mage, Gandalf a Human Mage (but actually one of the lstari), Gimili a Dwarf Warrior, Glorfindel a Noldor Elf Bard, Legolas a Sindar Elf Warrior, and Radagast a Human Animist (but actually one of the lstari).

Background Options are a way in which a Player Character can stand out. They include Special Abilities, Special Items, Money, Hobby Skill Ranks, Statistic Increases, and Languages. A player can assign his character Background Points as he wants and from this, working with the Game Master, create a suitable background and origins for his character. There is not much in the way of advice to help either the player or the Game Master do this, but it is nevertheless a welcome feature for a roleplaying game published in 1984. Special Abilities can include empathy with a type of animal, which grants an animal companion, being very observant, having lightning reactions, and move. Special items include items that provide a bonus to a skill—examples including ‘+10 Saddle’ that gives a bonus to riding and a ‘+10 suit of armour’ that adds to the wearer’s general Defensive Bonus and a Daily Spell Item that grants spells that that be cast a few times a day without expending Power Points. The Special Items are fairly limited, but feel more in keeping with the source material than the Daily Spell Item does, as they more like well-crafted items than actual magical objects.

To create a character, a player rolls percentile for each Statistic and assigns them as he wants. Elves must assign a high result to their Presence, but each Profession has a key Statistic and this will be set at ninety. If high enough, a Statistic will provide a bonus to skills and Power Points for spellcasting. A player can choose or roll of his character’s Race and Culture, and selects skills gained during his character’s adolescence, chooses his Profession, Background Options, and apprenticeship skills. The number of Ranks in a skill, plus bonuses from a Statistic, the Profession, Race or Culture, and Special Item, all combine to give the total bonus for a skill.

Name: Crugell
Race: Wose
Height: 4’ 7”
Weight: 135 lbs.
Hair: Black
Eyes: Black
Demeanour: Quiet

STATS/BONUSES
Strength 92 Normal Bonus +10 Race Bonus +00 Total +10
Agility 57 Normal Bonus +00 Race Bonus +00 Total +00
Constitution 90 Normal Bonus +10 Race Bonus +05 Total +15
Intelligence 42 Normal Bonus +00 Race Bonus +00 Total +00
Intuition 46 Normal Bonus +00 Race Bonus +00 Total +00
Presence 34 Normal Bonus +00 Race Bonus -05 Total -05
Appearance +00 Normal Bonus +00 Race Bonus +00 Total +00

Realm: Channelling
Power Points: 2
Experience Points: 10,000.

Special: Night-vision; +25 bonus to Tracking manoeuvres; +15 bonus for Foraging; +10 Handaxe; Very Observant +10 bonus to Perception and Tracking; Animal Empathy – Weasel

LANGUAGES
Pûkael Rank 5
Westron Rank 2

SKILLS
Movement And Manoeuvre:
No Armour – Rank/Bonus: 2/+10 Total: +10
Soft Leather – Rank/Bonus: 4/+20 Total: +20
Weapon Skills:
1-H Edged – Rank/Bonus: 3/+15 Prof. Bonus +2 Stat Bonus +10 Item Bonus +10 Total: +37
Thrown – Rank/Bonus: 5/+25 Prof. Bonus +2 Total: +27
Polearms – Rank/Bonus: 2/+10 Prof. Bonus +2 Stat Bonus +10 Total: +22
General Skills:
Climb – Rank/Bonus: 3/+15 Prof. Bonus +3 Total: +18
Swim – Rank/Bonus: 3/+15 Prof. Bonus +3 Total: +18
Track – Rank/Bonus: 2/+10 Prof. Bonus +3 Special Bonus +35 Total: +48
Subterfuge Skills:
Ambush – Rank/Bonus: 3/+15 Total: +15
Stalk/Hide – Rank/Bonus: 5/+25 Prof. Bonus +2 Total: +27
Miscellaneous Skills:
Body Development – Rank/Bonus: 2/+10 Stat Bonus +10 Special Bonus +5 SP: 21
Perception – Rank/Bonus: 2/+10 Prof. Bonus +2 Special Bonus +10 Total: +22
Secondary Skills:
Wood-carving – Rank/Bonus: 5/+25 Total: +25

EQUIPMENT
Handaxe, Javelins (three), Soft Leather Armour

Character generation in Middle-earth Role Playing is not difficult, but it takes time, both to complete and actually to learn. It is helped by a decent example, but anyone new to roleplaying, the process is daunting.

Mechanically, Middle-earth Role Playing is both simple and complex. The simple is the core mechanism, that of rolling percentile dice. Most rolls will be open ended, so that if a player rolls ninety-six and above, he gets to roll again and add the result. This is a successful roll and the higher it is, the better the outcome. Conversely, if he rolls five or under, he rolls again and subtracts the new result. Then as long as he keeps rolling ninety-six and above, he keeps rolling and subtracting. The lower the total result, the worse the outcome. Either way, to this is added the total bonus of the skill that the Player Character is testing. The bonuses are Offensive Bonuses, including weapon and Directed Spell bonuses, Defensive Bonuses for shields and armour, Moving Manoeuvre Bonuses for every type of movement, and Static Manoeuvre Bonuses for actions not involving movement, or really, for just about any other skill in the game.

The complexity comes in the individual resolution for each action, invariably requiring the need for the Game Master to refer a particular table for the outcome. Make no mistake, Middle-earth Role Playing makes use of a lot tables, including sixteen for character generation and experience, and twenty-nine for attacks, critical results, fumbles and failures, manoeuvres, and more.

For a Static Manoeuvre, the Game Master can assign a Difficulty Modifier, which ranges from ‘+30’ and Routine to ‘-70’ and Absurd. The player then rolls the dice, adds Static Manoeuvre Bonuses and refer to ‘Static Maneuver Table (MT-2)’ (which is on page seventy-eight, twenty pages after the explanation of the mechanic and after several pages of tables dedicated to spellcasting and combat). There are entries for ‘General’ results, followed by results for ‘Interaction and Influence’, ‘Disarming Traps and Picking Locks’, ‘Reading Runes and Using Items’, and ‘Perception and Tracking’. Results of twenty-six and under are counted as a ‘Blunder’, ninety-one to one-hundred-and-ten a ‘Near Success’, and above that a ‘Success’, with ‘Absolute Success’ being a result of one-hundred-and-seventy-six or more.

For example, Crugell is tracking a band of Orcs which has strayed into Wose territory. It is night and whilst as a Wose, Crugell has good night sight, the Game Master assigns a difficulty of Hard or ‘-10’. Crugell’s player rolls the dice, adds Crugell’s Static Manoeuvre Bonus from his Track skill, which is ‘+48’ and applies the difficulty modifier. The roll is ‘93’, not enough to trigger another roll, but still good, nonetheless. To this, the player adds the Static Manoeuvre Bonus and deducts the modifier. The result is a total of ‘131’, which on the ‘Static Maneuver Table (MT-2)’ gives, “SUCCESS: You gain all of the information on the topic that required the perception roll.” The Game Master states that Crugell has found the track left behind by the Orcs and is following them.

Combat lies at the heart of Middle-earth Role Playing and is the most complex part of the game. The sequence of action in a round consists of preparing or spell, missile and thrown weapon attacks—including missile parrying and missile weapon reloading, Movement Manoeuvres, melee attacks and parries, movement, and Static Manoeuvres. The actions are conducted in order of Movement and Manoeuvre Bonus, with an attack consisting of a standard open-ended dice roll, modified by the attacker Offensive Bonus, minus the defender’s parry modifier—also subtracted from the defender’s Offensive Bonus, with the result being determined by consulting the table for the weapon type used and cross-referencing the modified roll with the armour worn by the defender. The outcome ranges from one to one-hundred-and-fifty, as opposed to the possible one-hundred-and-seventy-six or more on the ‘Static Maneuver Table (MT-2)’, and includes various types of fumble to the number of hits inflicted and beyond that critical results, which inflict hits and an extra, severe effect. A critical result requires a further roll on the critical result table, such as the ‘Crush Critical Table (CT-1)’ or ‘Puncture Critical Table (CT-3)’ tables. There are also critical result tables for spell attack effects that involve heat, cold, electricity, and impact.

For example, Crugell and the other Wose he is with, have caught up with the Orcs who strayed onto their lands. After the opening ambush, the Orcs have turned and are charging at their attackers. The Game Master gives Crugell and his companions one more round before the Orcs reach them. Crugell has his handaxe in one hand and a javelin in another, which he decides to throw at the Orc who is charging towards him. Crugell has an Offensive Bonus with his Thrown skill of ‘+27’. He waits until the Orc is within 30” of him so that there is no negative modifier for range and throws the javelin. The Orc, wearing chain armour, has a Defensive Bonus of ‘+30’. It is deducted from Crugell’s Attack Bonus, reducing it to ‘-03’. The situation is not good for the Wose, but he is lucky as his player rolls ‘97’. This means that he can roll again. The second roll is ‘56’. So, the grand result is ‘97+56+27-30’ or ‘150’, which is the maximum roll on the ‘Missile Weapons Attack Table (AT-4)’. Comparing that to the chain armour worn by the Orc, the result is ‘25E’, which means that the Orc suffers 25 Hits and Crugell’s player receives a ‘+20’ bonus to the roll on the ‘Puncture Critical Table (CT-3)’ table. He rolls ‘29’, adds the bonus and the entry for ‘49’ reads “Strike alongside of chest. 1 hit per round. Stunned 1 round.” As the Orc is staggered by the impact of the javelin, Crugell readies to launch a charge that will take advantage of his opponent’s current status.

Magic in Middle-earth Role Playing is divided into two broad types. ‘Essence’, utilised by Mages and Bards draws from the power of the world itself, whilst ‘Channelling’, cast by Animists and Rangers, draws from the power of the Valar. Spells are organised into six categories: Essence Open Lists, Mage Lists, Bard Lists, Channelling Open Lists, Animist Lists, and Ranger Lists. Individual lists—of which there are forty-eight in Middle-earth Role Playing! Each list contains ten spells, for a grand total of four-hundred-and-eighty spells… There are spell lists for ‘Physical Enhancement’, ‘Unbarring Ways’ for unlocking things, ‘Ice Law’, ‘Wind Law’, ‘Controlling Songs’, ‘Path Mastery’ for paths and routes, ‘Organ Ways’ and ‘Bone/Muscle Ways’ for healing, and so on. The range of spells is impressive and actually some of do feel appropriate to the setting. For example, ‘Plant Mastery’ with its Plant Lore, Instant herbal Cures, Herb Mastery, are suitably low key, but not all spells and not all spell lists.

Casting a spell is simply a matter of the caster having enough Power Points and the player making a successful skill roll, typically the Directed Spell skill. It only takes a round, but a Player Character can spend up to four rounds beforehand to gain a casting bonus. The resolution is the same as Static Manoeuvre, but instead of consulting the ‘Static Maneuver Table MT-2’ for the outcome, the player refers to the ‘Base Attack Table (AT-9)’ to determine if the spell succeeds or fails. This is even in a non-combat situation. For spells cast in combat there is also the ‘Ball Spells Attack Table (AT-8)’ and ‘Bolt Spells Attack Table (AT-9)’.

In addition, magical items like spell adders enable a caster to cast extra spells and spell multipliers increase the number of Power Points a caster has access to. Magic items, such as Rune Paper, Potions, and Daily Spell Items, can contain spells as well, and it is not only possible to find such items during play, but even buy them! Several such items are listed, for example, Staff of Firebolts, Wand of Shock Bolts, and Dagger with Daily II (twice per day) Levitate Spell. These are incredibly expensive in the game, costing hundreds of Gold Pieces, when in comparison, a Player Character starts play with only two Gold Pieces (and needs to devote points from his Background options to gain more). Nevertheless, it begs the question, is there meant to be a magical item economy in Middle-earth?

All of which, again, runs counter to what is depicted in both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Middle-earth as a setting in both is not one where magic is common, and yet the Player Characters have ready access to it in one form or another. Worse, Middle-earth Role Playing tells the reader right at the start of the section on ‘Magic and Spells’ that, “Middle-earth had unique ties to the Undying Lands which created a potential for the appearance and use of significant power (magic). Such power manifested itself on a massive scale in the First Age, and to a lesser, but significant degree in the Second Age. By the time of the late Third Age, it was quite subtle - except in the cases of Dragons, the Balrog, Saruman, and (of course) Sauron, This low-key approach to the utilization of great power was a factor relating to the nature of those possessing the gift.” Further, “Men and Hobbits were not great friends of spells and often were unaware of their usage outside of fairy tales and legends. This created an atmosphere where magical occurrences were rarely seen and often became merged or confused with natural events.” It goes on to explain that, “One of the primary reasons for this subtle and secret use of magic and spells is the presence of Sauron in Mordor.” since the use of magic will likely attract his attention. Lastly, the designers compound this by advising, “When constructing the setting for a fantasy role playing game based upon Middle-earth, a Gamemaster must take great care to show restraint regarding the use of magic. Magic-users are relatively rare, although most folk had some “magic” in them, and open displays of power are still rarer.”

For decades, Middle-earth Role Playing has been regarded as a roleplaying game based on Middle-earth in which there was too much magic, in which the Player Characters had access to too much magic. Yet despite the designers warning the Game Master of the dangers of having too much magic in the game, they ignore their own advice and give it to her anyway. It makes no sense.

In terms of Middle-earth as a setting, Middle-earth Role Playing treats it in broad strokes, talking about types of locations and areas and hazards that might be encountered rather than specifics. There is some details about religion in general and the Valar, and each of entries for the numerous Races and Cultures include details of their common religious practices. Where it is specific is in the descriptions of the various creatures and monsters that the Player characters might encounter. The includes Balrogs, Dragons, and Nazgûl as well as Great Eagles and Ents. The former really are as nasty and as fearsome as you would expect, fierce challenges even for higher Level Player Characters. It only touches very briefly upon when the Game Master should set her Middle-earth Role Playing campaign, suggesting that the Second Age and Third Age when Sauron is trying to defeat the Free Peoples does not give her as much freedom as setting her campaign in the Fourth Age. For play in the Second Age and Third Age, it suggests that the Game Master consult Iron Crown Enterprise’s own Campaign and Adventure Guidebook to Middle-earth.

One aspect of the setting of Middle-earth that Middle-earth Role Playing does not explore is the horror of Sauron and the dark influence of the Shadow. There is mention of how fearsome the Nazgûl and Balrogs are, but no discussion of the forces of darkness which pervade the Second and Third Ages of Tolkien’s Middle-earth.

In terms of a specific setting and what a group plays, Middle-earth Role Playing devotes the last few pages of the rulebook to ‘A Sample Game Environment’. It divides its play environs into three areas—a civilised area, a countryside area, and adventure sites. The civilised area is the ‘Inn at the Last Bridge’, located just off the Great East Road leading from the Elven haven of Rivendell to the settled western lands and the town of Bree, with the Trollshaws to the north. The Trollshaws form the countryside area for the scenario, subject to roaming Hill-trolls from the Ettenmoors and Orc patrols from Angmar. The adventure sites consist of ‘A Hill-Troll Lair’ and Herubar Gûlar, a ‘Ruined Castle’. The adventure is set in TA 1640, centuries before the events of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The inn is run by the Grumm family, and it is the disappearance of the family’s son that forms the plot hook for the scenario. The Innkeeper offers a reasonably substantial reward for his son’s safe return—a whole two gold pieces—and investigating his disappearance leads the Player Characters out into the Trollshaws and a deadly encounter with some trolls hiding out in their caves. Other rumours lead to the ruined castle, once the ‘Dwelling of the Lord of High Sorcery’, which hides secrets and monsters and treasures. This is a challenging adventure as the Trolls and Orcs and other enemies are tough opponents, but the rewards are potentially high given some of the treasures to be found in the castle. This is not a bad scenario, but neither is it a good one. It is perfectly playable, but barring the encounter with the trolls does not feel particularly Tolkienesque. Nevertheless, this is a scenario that has been played by thousands of players because it was the first scenario for Middle-earth Role Playing and the one included with every edition of the roleplaying game.

Physically, Middle-earth Role Playing is well-written and presented. The maps are nice and clear and book is not difficult to read, even though it packs a lot into its hundred or so pages. It could have been better organised. Many of the various sections feel out of place, with there often being several pages between the rules for an action and the table that the Game Master needs to refer to determine its outcome. Consequently, it takes a long time to get to the point where the player can begin to understand how the game is played.

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Although Jonathan Sutherland reviewed several supplements for Middle-earth Role Playing in ‘Open Box’ in White Dwarf Issue 50 (February 1984), it would not be until White Dwarf Issue 58 (October 1984) that he reviewed the core rules. Of A Campaign and Adventure Guidebook for Middle-earth, Angmar: Land of the Witch King, Angmar: Land of the Witch King, The Court of Ardor in Southern Middle Earth, Umbar: Haven of the Corsairs, Northern Mirkwood: The Wood-Elves Realm, and Southern Mirkwood: Haunt of the Necromancer, he collectively said, “In conclusion I would recommend this series, it's not necessary to get them all as they stand up as scenarios on their own, but it would be fun to see all the expanded maps fitted together when all the series is finally released, and play a mammoth campaign spanning the entirety of Middle Earth using the wealth of detail available. My only reservation regarding the system is the price, but when you look at a comparable product both in price and in subject, it’s not bad.” Of the core rules, he was more positive, stating that, “In conclusion, MERP is a well conceived, reasonably well written system. I can’t say it’s easy and ideal for beginners but I can honestly recommend that you try it. MERP gets my vote as best new RPG this year; in fact I’ve not been so impressed since I first read Call of Cthulhu. The system is also geared to readily accept other Rolemaster spinoffs and recommends them often. For an important game, the price is just right – very god value!” (For reference, Middle-earth Role Playing cost £6.95 in 1984). Lastly, he gave Middle-earth Role Playing an overall score of nine out of ten.

White Dwarf would return to Middle-earth Role Playing the following year in White Dwarf Issue 66 (June 1985), by which time publisher Games Workshop had its edition of the roleplaying game. In ‘The Road Goes Ever On: Inside Middle Earth Role-Playing’, Graham Staplehurst stated that, “Iron Crown has done superb development work on areas that Tolkien neglected or left unspecified.” in reference to the many supplements released by the publisher. Of the mechanics, he said, “The combat system can be rather bloody, which is no bad thing. AD&D players will probably come to grief the first time they meet orcs, as these are the real thing!” Yet as with other reviewers and commentators, he had reservations about the magic system in Middle-earth Role Playing. “The only facet of the MERP system I would quarrel with is the magic system. In Tolkien’s world, magic was a very rare thing when one considers it in the form of lightning bolt and fireball. Magic was present, but as a subtle and inherent quality of many things and people.”, noting the lack of offensive spellcasting seen in the fiction and then only by the extremely powerful, such as Gandalf. Staplehurst pointed out that, “The MERP system gives these sorts of powers to almost anyone after the acquisition of relatively few experience points; for me, it upsets the flavor of the game and its authenticity.” Despite this, his conclusion was positive: “MERP can be used to recreate the great adventures of which Tolkien wrote: going with Frodo or Bilbo or Beren into the lair of evil and trying to escape alive, and it can go some way to fulfilling the desires of people who want to know more about Tolkien’s world.”

Andy Blakeman reviewed Middle-earth Role Playing in ‘Game Reviews’ in Imagine No. 22 (January 1985)—notably in an issue dedicated to the works of Michael Moorcock!—and began by making clear the links that roleplayers have between such a work of fiction like that of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and the feeling that they seek to create in play, and consequently, it was inevitable that the roleplaying hobby and Tolkien’s creation would be brought together. Then, when such a convergence took place, it was important to ensure that all those involved were best suited to the project. His iniatial comments were positive: “Iron Crown Enterprises’ Middle earth Role Playing is this marriage; by its links with Tolkien, it cannot fail to attract many new ganers to the obby; and I am rerasonably sure that these newcomers will not be disappointed.” However, he was not impressed by the order of the layout, but did praise the source material in terms of the linguistics and the detailing of the various Races and Cultures. He was found that the rules were “…[A]n operative deterrent to hack-and-slay gaming.”, but “Where they they fall donw is in mode of play. Rules are supposed to be hidden… In real life there are ‘rules’ — the laws of physics and chemistry and so on — which regulates our actions; but we tend not to be conscious of the rules governing it all. We act, and witness the results. And so it should be in role-playing. In Lord of the Rings, magics is a deeply mysterious phenomenon; yet in MERP the atmosphere is destroyed through the players’ contact with the rules. The results of actions are faithfully recreated but the wonderment which surrounds the magic is lost. This is not a fault peculiar to MERP, however, and it is something a competent GM could overcome…”

William A. Barton provided more of an overview of the core rules and numerous supplements for it than an actual review of Middle-earth Role Playing in ‘I.C.E.’s Middle-earth Modules’ in Space Game Number 73 (March/April 1985). He identified several problems, such as, “Missing from the MERP rules is any in-depth description of the history or geography of Middle-earth, though the sample adventure in the rulebook provides at least a small section of the land in which to start a campaign — the Trollshaws.”, though added that the setting was so well known that information included should be enough to be starting with, before highlighting the poor organisation and the nature of the Rolemaster mechanics in Middle-earth Role Playing. With the latter, he said, “I wonder, also, about the appropriateness of some of the Rolemaster mechanics in the Middle-earth context — the spells in particular. Is this an accurate portrayal of magic in Tolkien’s realm? Of course, the laws of magic were never spelled out (no pun intended) in Lord of the Rings, and the MERP magic system works adequately, so this isn’t a major stumbling block.” Ultimately though, he was positive, concluding with, “If you haven’t yet taken a trip to Middle-earth via the Iron Crown, I recommend you remedy the situation as soon as possible.”

Jonathan Tweet reviewed Middle-earth Role Playing in ‘Game Reviews’ in Different Worlds Issue 46 (May/June 1987). He began with, “The game rules, derived from ICE’s popular Rolemaster series, are well thought out and detailed. Unfortunately, the setting and the game rules mesh poorly, facing players with a choice between faithfulness to Tolkien’s genius and fully using the game mechanics.” Although he found that the roleplaying game nicely brought Middle-earth to roleplaying, and the rules to be detailed and appealing, he said in awarding the roleplaying game just three stars out of four, “What keeps MERP from being a four-star game is that the beautiful setting and intricate game rules do not match. Fantasy games have been heavily influenced by the example of Dungeons & Dragons. Typically, an adventuring group comprising several races and classes wanders around a fantasy world blasting monsters with big spells and winning lots of magic items, and when someone gets killed they dish out some money and get the character back to life. MERP was designed to be played this way. As a gamemaster, one would have to be willing to rise above the designer’s expectations to capture the true flavor of Middle-Earth. Monster-trashing and dungeon-looting are available in any homemade world, but Middle-Earth should inspire players to causes more noble than self-aggrandizement.” His criticisms continued with the treatment of magic in Middle-earth Role Playing, adding, “More ill-fitting is the prevalence of magic. The idea of spells being as common-place as the game would have it is a sad concession to role-playing tradition and it cheapens Middle-Earth.”

The popularity of Tolkien and Middle-earth, and the fact that it was the only roleplaying game based on the author’s creation is likely why Middle-earth Role Playing was placed at number eleven of ‘Arcane Presents the Top 50 Roleplaying Games 1996’ which appeared in Arcane #14 (December 1996). Editor Paul Pettengale said, “The popularity of the books, we would suggest, explains why the game based on Tolkien’s world is so popular. The system is overly complicated (being based on the complex Rolemaster system - see number 15), and it suffers from the problem of timing. For example, at which time do you set your campaign? Set it before The Lord of the Rings and everyone knows what’s going to happen, set it after The Lord of the Rings and you’ve got to make a whole load of stuff up. Still, the supplements are all good, if you get off on bucketfuls of detail and polished prose. Not for everyone, sure, but die-hard Tolkien fans should check it out.”

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Middle-earth Role Playing: a complete system for adventuring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s World was published in 1984 and it shows. Even though it uses a streamlined version of the Rolemaster rules, it possesses a complexity and a level of detail that was prevalent at the time—and in addition, the book encouraged the Game Master and her players to migrate to the even more complex Rolemaster for yet more detail and more options. Further, as a roleplaying game based on Tolkien’s Middle-earth, it does not feel like the Middle-earth depicted in The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. It is obviously set in Middle-earth with its Hobbits and different types of Elf, its selection of monsters, a scenario set in the Trollshaws, and so on, but the prevalence of magic, whether it is the possible access to magic for all Player Characters, the inclusion of the Mage as a Profession, or the preponderance of magical items runs counter to the world where magic is rare and where and when it occurs, feels special. The problem is that in terms of design Middle-earth Role Playing takes its cue not from Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings, or The Hobbit, but from other roleplaying games and obviously, on other fantasy roleplaying games. Thus, like Dungeons & Dragons, it has to have Player Characters who are capable of learning magic and casting spells, it has to have plenty of magical items and artefacts for the Player Characters to find and wield, and so on.

Yet for all that Middle-earth Role Playing includes that makes it feel unlike a roleplaying game based on Tolkien’s writings, it still feels like a roleplaying game based on and in Middle-earth because it still has many of the elements taken from the setting. So, the options in terms of Races and Cultures that the players can role play, the monsters that their characters will face, and nods at least to the setting in the included scenario. With the inclusion of magic, what Middle-earth Role Playing really feels like is a high fantasy version of Middle-earth, rather than the low fantasy version we are used to reading about in the fiction and seeing more recently on the screen.

Further, Middle-earth Role Playing is not a bad roleplaying game per se. For all of its complexities, it is a coherent and complete design. It very much requires better organisation to be more coherent and easier to learn, though even if it had that, it is not a roleplaying game suitable for anyone new to the hobby. A fan of Tolkien and Middle-earth coming to Middle-earth Role Playing as his first roleplaying game would at the very least be daunted by the learning curve necessary to learn play it, if not outright confounded and confused.

Middle-earth Role Playing is not without a certain charm, borne of nostalgia more than anything else since it allowed us to visit and roleplay in the world of Middle-earth for the very first time. As a design Middle-earth Role Playing: a complete system for adventuring in J.R.R. Tolkien’s World is coherent and sound, if poorly organised, and is more a roleplaying game which models Middle-earth using the framework of what a roleplaying game should be like, rather than what Middle-earth should be like.

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For Dave Paterson because he loves it so.