Decipher LotR

[Falconer]

I have started taking a serious look at the 2002 Lord of the Rings Role Playing Game by Decipher (the “CODA” system). I long ago wrote it off for a number of reasons:

1) Movies aesthetics
2) 3e-ish rules sensibilities
3) Bummed that ICE lost the license

But nowadays I think it’s worth new consideration.

I have long been of the school of “OD&D is fine as-is for Middle-earth”, but over time some ideas from Decipher have been creeping into my game brain and making themselves at home in the stewpot. I’m not sure if the end result will be Decipher LotR D&D-icized, or D&D Decipher LotR-icized.

Due to the busy layout and wordy Core Book, I will start by making my own restatement of character generation, and then testing out a sample adventure using the “Fast Play Rules”.

I started a Facebook group for this, since there didn’t exist one already. www.facebook.com/groups/decipherlotr/

[tkdco2]

I took a look at the game when it came out. I think one of my friends bought a copy. I passed on it because I already had invested a lot on MERP, and I didn't want to learn a new system. Not that I'm averse to learning new game systems, but if I already have a system that does what I want it to do, I see little reason to get something else.

[Finarvyn]

It's not a bad system, and I still have the main rulebooks.

(1) The "Adventure Game" was a lot of fun to play, plus we did it over and over.

(2) The main game is attractive and full of movie stills, which for me is a big plus. I'm not as big a fan of using 2d6 for combat, however, as those stacking bonuses seem to break the math rather quickly. Especially since the movie heroes get so darned many plusses, as I recall.

(3) It feels incomplete. We got a Fellowship sourcebook and a Two Towers sourcebook, but if they had a Return of the King sourcebook I missed it.

All in all, more good than bad IMO.

[tkdco2]

IIRC, Decipher lost the Middle-earth license before the Return of the King sourcebook was published.

[Falconer]

Nomenclature differences between D&D and LotRRPG:

D&D	LotRRPG
Strength	Strength
Intelligence	Wits
Wisdom	Perception
Dexterity	Nimbleness
Constitution	Vitality
Charisma	Bearing

D&D	LotRRPG
Bard	Minstrel
Fighter	Warrior
Sage	Loremaster
Magic-User	Magician
Ranger	Ranger
Thief	Rogue

I am torn about using the LotRRPG nomenclature vs. sticking with the familiar. The names for the attribute scores are marginally more Tolkienish, but is it worth trying to make the players remember them? The class names are not better, from what I can see. The one I really can’t stand is Rogue—at the very least, I will change it to Thief, but really it ought to be Burglar!

[tkdco2]

I agree that Burglar would work better than Rogue or even Thief. Otherwise, see if your players are bothered about the nomenclature. If they are, just use the D&D versions.

Is there a class that fulfils the role of a healer? In other games that's the role of either the Loremaster or the Minstrel.

[Falconer]

Short answer, from what I understand, Loremasters, Magicians, and Warriors all have the option of starting with the healing skill; Loremasters having the best ability.

[Falconer]

1. Roll your Attributes

Roll 2d6 nine times, and assign the best six results to:

	Strength	common favored attribute for Warriors and Mariners
	Wits	common favored attribute for Loremasters and Magicians
	Perception
	Nimbleness	common favored attribute for Burglars and Craftsmen
	Vitality	common favored attribute for Barbarians
	Bearing	common favored attribute for Minstrels and Nobles

[Falconer]

2. Select Race and Order

Before selecting a race, you may want to be aware of which basic orders are available to each:

Order	Dwarf	Elda Elf	Avar Elf	Hobbit	Dúnadan	Wild Man	Other Man
Barbarian	no	no	yes	no	no	yes	yes
Burglar	yes	rare	rare	yes	yes	yes	yes
Craftsman	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Loremaster	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Mariner	no	yes	yes	no	yes	no	yes
Minstrel	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Noble	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes
Warrior	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes	yes

                                                    

Additional types not represented (or not obvious) in the above list:

Magical Elf
Elves may pick the Magician order and focus on magic abilities. Of course, they don’t call it magic.

Sorcerer
Black Númenóreans and other evil Men may study dark magic through either the Loremaster or Magician order.

Wizard
In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien describes Wizards appearing “in simple guise, as it were of Men already old in years,” of which “the number is unknown,” but “the chiefs were five.” To play this type of character, create a Man of the Loremaster or Magician order and aspire to the Wizard elite order.

Healer
Loremasters make great Healers, followed by Warriors, Magicians, and Nobles.

Ranger
A Dúnadan Warrior may later qualify for the Ranger elite order. Character development should take into consideration at least some of the following: fluency in Sindarin; favoring “Elvish” abilities such as keen senses and conversation with animals, and healing.

Skin-changer
A Beorning Barbarian may later qualify for the Skin-changer elite order.

[Falconer]

3. Apply racial Attribute adjustments

Race	Penalty or Bonus
Hobbit	Strength -1; Perception +1; Nimbleness +2; Bearing -1
Longbeard	Strength +2; Wits +1; Vitality +2; Bearing +1
Broadbeam	Strength +3; Nimbleness -1; Vitality +2
Firebeard	Strength +3; Vitality +2
Stiffbeard	Strength +2; Nimbleness +1; Vitality +3
Blacklock or Stonefoot	Strength +2; Vitality +2
Dúnadan	Wits +1; Bearing +1
Middle Man	Strength +1; Vitality +1
Man of Darkness	Strength +1; Wits -1; Nimbleness +1
Wild Man	Strength +1; Perception +1; Vitality +1
Noldo	Wits +1; Perception +2; Nimbleness +1; Bearing +2
Sinda	Perception +2; Nimbleness +2; Vitality +1; Bearing +1
Silvan Elf or Avar	Perception +2; Nimbleness +1; Bearing +1

[Falconer]

4. Select a Background

In a previous thread, I broke down the Cultures of Middle-earth by Region. The next step in creating your character is to select a culture and note the relevant “background package.” I have curated a list of the Background Packages I need (well, it’s a growing list, but good enough for now…) and will be presenting them in future posts (again, by region).

[Falconer]

[Falconer]

[Falconer]

[Falconer]

[Falconer]

[Falconer]

Here is what the character sheet looks like:






And here is the PDF.

[Falconer]

5. Racial Abilities

Note your racial abilities. The game expects you to just list the abilities by name, but page references and/or summaries might help.


Hobbit – p. 69

Six Meals a Day (Craft: Cooking +3)
Small Folk (Small size, -2/+2 combat TN, ⅔ move rate)
Soft-Footed (Stealth +4; -2 to be tracked)
Sure at the Mark (Ranged Combat +2)
Tough as Old Tree-Roots (+2 vs. Corruption)


Dwarf – p. 62

Animal Aversion (-2 to animal-related tests)
Craftsmanship (Smithcraft & Stonecraft +2)
Firestarting (+2 Survival tests to start fires)
Hardiness of Body (+2 Stamina vs. Weariness)
Hardiness of Mind (+2 Willpower vs. domination)
Healthy (+6 on tests to resist disease)
Stout (Small w/ full wound points, -2/+2 combat TN, ⅔ move rate)


Man – p. 72

Adaptable (reaction +2)
Dominion of Man (Courage +1)
Skilled (+1 skill, +1 skill)


Wild Man – p. 71 – all Mannish abilities plus…

+2 to Survival & Track & Weather Sense, etc.


Elf – p. 65

The Art (+2 on magic tests)
Beast-skill (+4 Ride, etc.)
Comfort (ignore heat/cold)
Elven Form (Fair edge)
Elven-sense (Sense Power)
Elven-sleep (1 hour rest)
Farsightenedness (Keen-eyed edge)
Ghost-scorn (no fear)
Lightfootedness (+4 Balance, Run, Stealth; -4 to be tracked)
Swift Healing (Swift Recovery edge; immune to sickness)


Noldo – p. 63 – all Elven abilities plus…

Noldorin Lore (+2 to a Lore skill or smithcraft)
Inner Light (+4 vs. the Shadow)


Sinda – p. 63 – all Elven abilities plus…

Musical Gifts (Perform +2)


Silvan Elf or Avar – p. 64 – all Elven abilities plus…

Woodsy (+2 to Survival OR Track OR Weather Sense)

[tkdco2]

That's a lot of hard work. Thanks for sharing!

[Falconer]

I used Acrobat to remove the graphics from the character sheet. Here it is. This also removed the LotR film series logo (it was apparently part of the same graphic). I also removed the “Symbol or Device” area as well as all the business under “Wealth” (I will be using coin values from ICE for many practical reasons). I like white space on a character sheet for the player to embellish or fill as he or she sees fit.

All in all, a much sparser character sheet than many RPGs serve up. I can live with it!