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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 9, 2017 5:50:43 GMT -6
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Post by Finarvyn on Feb 10, 2018 13:25:00 GMT -6
Anyone here run this game? Any good ideas for what adventure would work best as a store demo should I decide to run one?
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 8, 2019 2:32:18 GMT -6
I was just wondering if it can be used with an older edition of D&D.
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Post by Finarvyn on Dec 8, 2019 15:47:03 GMT -6
(1) Yes, I think that most 5E products can be run old school with older edition products. Mostly you have to tinker with hit point values, but most of the other stuff translates pretty well.
(2) If you haven't heard, C7 lost the license to both TOR and AiMe so those products are going away. Best to snap them up quickly.
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 8, 2019 22:25:53 GMT -6
Thanks for the info, Finarvyn.
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Post by Falconer on Dec 22, 2019 22:46:00 GMT -6
Last I heard, those lines are going to continue under the Sophisticated Press imprint and will still involve Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi as lead designers. I believe Cubicle7 was a sub-licensee of Sophisticated Press, or studio hired by them, or something like that.
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Post by Finarvyn on Dec 27, 2019 17:18:12 GMT -6
Falconer, I heard something similar but I don't know enough about the companies (or designers) in question to fully understand this whole thing. I do know that I'm in the process of completing my AiME collection, just in case.
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Post by tkdco2 on Jan 6, 2020 16:16:52 GMT -6
I haven't been able to find a copy yet, but I have been wondering on how to convert them to AD&D. Some classes wouldn't pose much of a problem, while others would be more challenging. I was wondering about the healer types; I read online comments on how weak they allegedly are. I say "allegedly" because I don't know the commenters' styles of play. Still, how would you do THAC0, saving throws, and XP per level?
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 5, 2020 23:08:18 GMT -6
I was looking at this rpg, and I noticed the price of the Player's Guide ranges from $30 to $65. That's a pretty big investment, since I'd only run the game 2-3 times a year at most.
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Post by Starbeard on Feb 10, 2020 13:54:00 GMT -6
I haven't considered checking them out, but I would pick a book up for sure if I found it in a bargain bin.
These days, my interest in using Middle-earth as a setting would be for playing MERP, or playing O/AD&D without worrying about inconsistencies with the Tolkien setting. No tailoring the classes or magic level to fit or anything like that, just wizards and warriors on a familiar map. The old ICE stuff I have already suits that just fine, so I haven't really felt the need to change it up.
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Post by Falconer on Feb 10, 2020 19:09:07 GMT -6
Starbeard, I think you’re my soulmate.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 11, 2020 0:26:17 GMT -6
Yep, I use MERP when I need my Middle-earth fix, although I've used AD&D as well. I don't worry about fitting the system to the setting either. Heck, I include certain themes you wouldn't see in Tolkien's works. Nothing too outrageous, but they're there.
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Post by Starbeard on Feb 12, 2020 1:17:38 GMT -6
Starbeard, I think you’re my soulmate. There may only be a few of us out there, but we exist! Yep, I use MERP when I need my Middle-earth fix, although I've used AD&D as well. I don't worry about fitting the system to the setting either. Heck, I include certain themes you wouldn't see in Tolkien's works. Nothing too outrageous, but they're there. It's really the way to go, unless everyone at the table is equally invested deep into all things Tolkien—at which case I'd argue you might be better off having a writer's club and just play D&D on another night. I hadn't realized until this thread just how large the 5e Middle-earth line has grown. What I'd like to know is, for someone like me, who already has a number of MERP books and who would be largely ignoring the 5e-specific rules treatments, would the AIME guides have enough significant and useful material to warrant adding to my collection? I've actually wondered the same thing about TOR, but I have yet to pick any of those up either.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 12, 2020 1:43:22 GMT -6
Starbeard, I think you’re my soulmate. There may only be a few of us out there, but we exist! Yep, I use MERP when I need my Middle-earth fix, although I've used AD&D as well. I don't worry about fitting the system to the setting either. Heck, I include certain themes you wouldn't see in Tolkien's works. Nothing too outrageous, but they're there. It's really the way to go, unless everyone at the table is equally invested deep into all things Tolkien—at which case I'd argue you might be better off having a writer's club and just play D&D on another night. I hadn't realized until this thread just how large the 5e Middle-earth line has grown. What I'd like to know is, for someone like me, who already has a number of MERP books and who would be largely ignoring the 5e-specific rules treatments, would the AIME guides have enough significant and useful material to warrant adding to my collection? I've actually wondered the same thing about TOR, but I have yet to pick any of those up either. The fact that I already have a bunch of MERP stuff is why I never bought AIME, TOR, and Decipher's LOTR game. That and the fact that I don't have the time or patience to learn a new system. The main draws AIME has for me are to see how to mesh D&D with Middle-earth and figure out how to create a D&D campaign without anyone casting spells. I have my own ideas, but I wouldn't mind seeing someone else's perspective. Some of the design choices in the core TOR and AIME rulebooks were deal killers for me. So if I want to play and elf, I have to be a Wood Elf? Why can't I be Noldor or Sindar? IIRC, Dunedain were also not in the core rulebook. I know Cubicle 7 came out with sourcebooks for Rivendell and Arthedain, but that means having to get extra books. And still no Half-elves. I know they were extremely rare, but I would have liked the option. MERP already has those options in the core rules. Same thing goes with the setting. Why do I have to limit my adventures to Rhovanion/Wilderland? Maybe I want my characters to be based in Eriador or even the Grey Havens. Also, why must my adventures take place between the death of Smaug and the War of the Ring? While MERP had a default setting of 1640 in the Third Age, it also had options for running different areas at different times.
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Post by Starbeard on Feb 12, 2020 14:54:15 GMT -6
I always loved the default assumed setting of MERP, Eriador just after the plague has turned the vestigial ruins of the Arnorian kingdoms into desolate wastelands, starting several hundred years of 'anything can happen' silent history.
That being said, I also really liked that they strove to include other options. Out of the box you could play as just about any race but ents, really, with enough material for a campaign in just about any part of Middle-earth from the 2nd-4th Ages.
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Post by Falconer on Feb 12, 2020 16:19:42 GMT -6
What I learned from delving into the pre-D&D hobby of postal Middle-earth Diplomacy variants is that many of them used the “Angmar Period” due to it providing a little more nuance and balance to the map. Makes me wonder if the ICE folks had dabbled in that hobby, or landed on that idea independently. Yeah, I definitely like how MERP is more of a toolbox rather than a spoonfed boardgame-like campaign. MERP doesn’t always nail the tone of Tolkien, but I give them props for being inventive and daring.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 13, 2020 2:46:18 GMT -6
A few MERP modules that were not set just after the Great Plague. The Lorien module actually focuses more on Eregion in the Second Age, so the PCs can interact with Celebrimbor and perhaps even Annatar. Thieves of Tharbad was set in 1409 of the Third Age, just after the last king of Cardolan fell in battle. I think there was a module set in the Fourth Age, but I don't remember the name.
But ICE definitely expanded the setting quite a bit. Harad was given a couple of modules, and The Court of Ardor presented a setting far away from the official map.
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Post by Falconer on Feb 13, 2020 20:38:51 GMT -6
I think there was a module set in the Fourth Age, but I don't remember the name. Palantír Quest.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 13, 2020 23:00:18 GMT -6
Thanks, Falconer, that's the one. I love the cover art. I think I may have even channeled it into a dream I had sometime last year, where I was the only mortal living among the elves of Lindon. But they all sailed to the West, and I was alone. Very lonely dream, that one.
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Post by tkdco2 on Aug 16, 2020 0:53:52 GMT -6
Has anyone played this game? I'd like to know how much is background information and can be used with any system and how much is the game mechanics part. If I don't have to do too much conversion work I may get a copy after all.
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Post by Finarvyn on Aug 16, 2020 5:58:22 GMT -6
Well, keep in mind that it's designed to be 5E compatible, so if 5E rules fit your campaign this should as well. There are some rules designed to give a more "Middle-earth feel" to the game, and in my book that can never be a bad thing. It might be worth it to pick up the Player's Guide and DM Guide even if you don't get any of the other sourcebooks.
As to the content it's pretty much the same as The One Ring, if that helps. Same company, same authors, pretty much same material. I bought the original boxed set of TOR and quite a few sourcebooks because AiME hadn't been imagined yet, and I will probably sell them when I get around to it because I like 5ER a lot more and will use my AiME books a lot more than TOR.
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Post by tkdco2 on Aug 16, 2020 13:33:13 GMT -6
Thanks. I don't have 5e, and I'm not interested in getting it, so I'd have to convert to B/X, AD&D or even another system. It's mainly the fluff that interests me, along with stuff like the Fellowship Phase and long rests. But if I can get that elsewhere, I won't bother getting this product.
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Post by Finarvyn on Aug 16, 2020 16:27:31 GMT -6
Well, at least TOR has some interesting rules for journeys. That forms a big part of an adventure, as characters spend a lot of time walking from point A to point B while in Middle-earth. Might be worth the look, but as you noted, most of the Middle-earth lore is covered in other places so if you aren't after the rules then the books have diminished value.
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