Ok, this is my review (and my first ever real review of anything). I'd ask that everyone read the whole review before commenting, as I'll have to break it up into multiple posts. I'm certainly looking for constructive criticism and feedback, as, if this is informative and useful I may try again. I know it could have been better, but, like I said, it's my first time (I'm a Review Virgin! ) so please, no flames. If you don't want to comment on the forum, please feel free to e-mail me through the link found in my profile, and if you want a response, I'll send one.
One other quick note: I wasn't paid by anyone to write this, or even requested to offer a review. I'm simply posting this because I have a great deal of hope for this system, and I'd like to see it do as well as it can do, so that it can be around for as long as possible. I have, however, put a considerable amount of time into writing this and rechecking the rules for references and editing errors on my part (many hours after class and before bed). Also, there may be typos, editing errors and whatnot. While I appreciate good grammar as well as the next person (sometimes more), so again, I'd ask everyone to try and keep the comments on the level expected for discussion on these fine boards.
So, with all of that said, here's my review!
Lord of the Rings Core Book review
Admittedly, I’ve had cautious feelings concerning the Lord of the Rings game by Decipher. While I have a great deal of faith in, and admiration for, Steve Long, as well as the other former LUG staff, such as Christian Moore and Ross Isaacs, I was not for certain as to how well the newly-designed Coda system would handle the Middle-earth setting. Still, I felt it deserved as fair a chance as I’ve given other, less deserving products of late, so, when I discovered that my new, local gaming store had acquired a copy, I drove down and picked it up.
The first thing that struck me when I picked up this book was, naturally, the cover, with its depiction of the One Ring, displayed prominently on the armored hand of Sauron (as shown in the recent Fellowship of the Ring film). Simple, yet telling, to my mind. This sort of imagery is found throughout the book, often drawing on stills from the Fellowship of the Ring film, intermixed with a few pieces of artwork (such as the renditions of the example characters). All in all, I think that the layout is quite beautiful, and is certainly one of the nicest looking roleplaying products that these eyes have ever seen. Also, during my quick, initial glance, I could not help but notice the use of proper English (as in the use of the word ‘Defence’,, or ‘Armour’). I think that this is quite appropriate, both for the setting, and as an homage, of sorts, to Professor Tolkien. Additionally, the book appears to be bound quite well, which is quite a welcome change from recent products produced by other companies (no need to mention names, as we can all think of examples, I’d imagine).
So, after a quick glance through at all the pretty pictures, as well as the nicely worded chapter titles, I decided to dive right in and see if the Lord of the Rings Core Book would meet my hopes and expectations (as well as those of my players, as they have been looking forward to a Middle-earth campaign for some time). Note: I’m breaking down my thoughts on a chapter-by-chapter basis, with a summary and my final thoughts at the end. Please bear in mind that I’ve never attempted to write a review before, but I thought I’d give it a shot, since no one else has posted one on the boards, as of yet.
Introduction
This is your typical introduction to roleplaying section, telling you what a roleplaying game is and what you need to play. Additionally, there is an overview of the book, breaking down the book by sections (character creation, rules and guidelines; the Coda system; and Narrator tips and tools). Also, there is a handy glossary which defines certain terms used throughout the course of the book.
Chapter One – There and Back Again: The Realms of Middle-earth
At a Glance: This chapter describes various regions and locales of Middle-earth. Emphasis is given to the major (as presented in Tolkien’s works) areas, such as Eriador (the western part of the Middle-earth continent), The North (where various Mountain areas are found, as is the realm of the Witch-king, Angmar), The South (where Gondor and Rohan are found), and Mordor.
The Good: There is a good deal of information about the emphasized regions, and there various locales (such as the lost kingdom of Arnor, Rivendell, the Shire, Mirkwood and others). Additionally, other areas that aren’t described in great deal, such as Umbar, Harad and Rhun, are given brief, descriptive sections. All of the selections are written in such as a way as to provide hints for Chapters (adventures), and in some cases ideas for Chronicles (campaigns). Additionally, most areas are described in at least two periods: The late Third Age (War of the Ring) and the early Fourth Age. Granted, much of this information can be found by exploring the various appendices at the end of the Return of the King, but for those not interested in doing a lot of novel-scouring, the information presented should prove to be quite useful and informative, both for player and Narrator alike.
Also in this chapter is the beginning information for creating a Middle-earth character, as well as a variety of character archetypes. These are presented as ready-to-play characters with no advancements, and can, if nothing else, serve as a model for crafting a character of your own, and seems to be placed here to sort of get the players ready to start thinking about the process of character creation.
The Bad:
While there is a nicely designed map of Middle-earth to be found on the interior covers of the book, as well as in this first chapter, I think that players and Narrators would have benefited from a separate map of the major Middle-earth setting (as is often found in various Tolkien books). While there is a ‘travel matrix’ to be found later in the book, I’ve often found that things are a bit easier to describe (in terms of travel or whatnot) when everyone involved can look at a map, especially if the players are attempting to plan a journey and don’t have access to a resource like The Atlas of Middle-earth, by Karen Wynn Fonstad.
Chapter Two – Might and Majesty: Attributes
At a Glance: This chapter begins the character generation process in earnest by describing the primary and secondary attributes, the Reactions (think Saving Throws), as well as Courage, Health, Defence and Renown.
The Good: Personally, I like the basics of Coda character generation. There are, as is typical, two ways to generate a character: die rolling, or point assignment. Both are relatively generous, especially if players are used to generating characters with only average or slightly above average attributes. Each attribute is described, along with a relevant quote from one of the novels to illustrate the attribute in the setting, and examples of how the attributes are used in the game are given as well. Additionally, the flexibility of the Coda system shines here in terms of the Reactions, wherein a player may choose from one of two attributes for each Reaction to determine its base value (this isn’t relevant after the start of the game, but it provides a bit of flexibility at the beginning, which I think players will appreciate).
Additionally, there is an excellent side bar (actually two pages, but presented in sidebar-style), detailing the qualities of heroes in the Lord of the Rings setting. If, as a player, you’ve ever had issues with heroism, or if, as a Narrator, you’ve ever had players who have had issues with heroism, I would highly recommend reading this section. It provides some good insight into the idea of roleplaying a hero in the Tolkien style, but could be useful for pretty much any roleplaying setting.
Finally, there is a brief section on the concept of roleplaying the attributes of characters, again offering descriptions of the various attributes, and how to reflect the attribute range for each attribute. Not a necessary addition, to my mind, but useful nonetheless.
The Bad: It is here that I find both my first like about the Coda system (its flexibility) and its first flaw (as a game limitation): The attribute cap. Now, granted, and Narrator may simply take this cap and toss through the Doors of Night into the Void, but I’ve never been fond of a system that tells me, “This is as good as you can be…no better.”. This is the feeling that I’m getting here (as well as in the skill system, which I’ll touch on later). Imagine, if you will, that you manage to roll all 12’s for your starting character (something that, while probably not likely, is certainly possible). Given that, you’ll be portraying a character who has peaked (in terms of raw ability) at the outset. Additionally, this artificial limitation doesn’t seem to allow for the oddly strong Elf or Hobbit, or any other sort of out of the ordinary attribute/race combination that you might think of. Like I said, it’s something that can be easily ignored, but I think that it’s something that could have been left out altogether
As a side note, before anyone accuses me of being some sort of munchkin gamer or whatnot, there are some game-mechanic issues with the attribute limits (which will rear its head in the Coda system chapter).