Lotr Rpg

[Ineti]

I'll be getting my copy this afternoon from my FLGS.

[Erik Filean]

I picked up the LOTR core book Wednesday. All in all, a very nice piece of work.

I'm really happy with the background chapters; it's all but impossible to condense the wealth of information Tolkien produced for his world into a few paragraphs per race or region, but this is a very good accounting that seems to hit all the most vital points. The "how to make it feel like Tolkienesque epic fantasy" sections in the magic and narrating chapters are absolutely top-notch as well, and have a lot of ideas that wouldn't have occurred to me.

Trek gamers may want to note that LOTR does allow a character to take multiple basic orders (professions) by spending 5 picks, the same way one can join elite orders. I suspect that bit of flexibility will be ported over into some Trek games as well.

Otherwise, well, the skills and traits are different (of course), but the Coda system is perfectly recognizable. Personally, I think it's a more elegant build on its core mechanic than D20, which still labors under the weight of some mechanical sacred cows from earlier editions of AD&D. I also prefer the linear, pick-based advancement system for flexibility and player choice, and because advanced characters can be substantially more powerful without the sense of overweening godlike power that the geometric advancement system in D20 leaves me with. Coda is much more adaptable to other genres for that reason alone.

Note that, while the illustrations in the core book are drawn from the movies (and there seem to be several from The Two Towers), the text draws principally on the books. I like this; the movies have matched my personal visuals very well in many places, and they are gorgeous and a readily mineable source of illustrations, but the first priority is as it should be the translation of Tolkien's prose into gameable material.

I note one bothersome editing or layout error, and this has been mentioned on the Decipher board, but I refuse to post there given the lousy dispositions of some regulars: there is clearly a section of missing text of uncertain length between the bottom of page 273 and the top of 274. With luck, maybe Decipher will make that missing snippet available on their website. It's frustrating, but it doesn't too much diminish the great effort that the book represents.

[Don Mappin]

Here's a totally positive, open-minded thread.

[Lockhart]

I wanted to ask a question about the rules and I didn't want to register on the Decipher site just to ask it.

On page 79 it says "However, your second (and subsequent) orders, basic or elite, do not give you a free order ability;" The text describing Elite orders at the beginning of the section says something similar. However, in each Elite Order's ability section it says you get an ability when you create a <insert name here>.

Which is right?

Lockhart

[Sarge]

Just got my copy today. I'm guessing that missing text on p 273 mentions the possibility of Mirkwood as an adventure site.

I don't care much for the character sheet; it doesn't seem to use space very efficiently, and those shaded areas probably won't photocopy very well.

Aside from that, this is a superb example of what an RPG can be. Kudos.

I'm going to go make up some characters now.

[Greg Davis]

Originally posted by Lockhart
On page 79 it says "However, your second (and subsequent) orders, basic or elite, do not give you a free order ability;" The text describing Elite orders at the beginning of the section says something similar. However, in each Elite Order's ability section it says you get an ability when you create a <insert name here>.

Which is right?

Well, I've only had the rules since Friday, but the way I understand things, you get the free Order ability during character creation, when you choose your first Order. Any subsequent choice of Order (via the spending of 5 picks) only gains you access to the Order chosen, but doesn't give you anything, in essence, for free. Thus, the first Order ability that you might want for that new Order must be purchased normally (for 3 picks).

Again, though, I'll be the first to admit that I could be wrong...



Greg

[Ineti]

I picked up my copy last night, and have read bits and pieces of it here and there as I've had time. I'm really, really impressed. The focus of the game being on epic fantasy over hack-and-slash is impressive. What I've read so far has been really well-written.

The production design on the book is top-rate too. It's beautiful to look at, to touch, and to flip through. Nice.

The editing error on page 273-274 is annoying, though. I hope we can get the missing text online sometime.

More comments as I read through it, but I will say that as soon as I'm familiar with the rules, I'll be running an episode real soon.

Finally, I haven't read the series. I was introduced to Tolkien via the film. Everything in this RPG book is new and exciting to me. Just thought I'd offer a non-Tolkiens scholar view.

[Erik Filean]

Originally posted by Ineti
I picked up my copy last night, and have read bits and pieces of it here and there as I've had time. I'm really, really impressed. The focus of the game being on epic fantasy over hack-and-slash is impressive. What I've read so far has been really well-written.

The production design on the book is top-rate too. It's beautiful to look at, to touch, and to flip through. Nice.

The editing error on page 273-274 is annoying, though. I hope we can get the missing text online sometime.

More comments as I read through it, but I will say that as soon as I'm familiar with the rules, I'll be running an episode real soon.

Finally, I haven't read the series. I was introduced to Tolkien via the film. Everything in this RPG book is new and exciting to me. Just thought I'd offer a non-Tolkiens scholar view.

I think the film version of Fellowship of the Ring did a decent job translating the essence of Tolkien to the screen, and the production design is an absolutely flawless fit to my mental pictures. Still, I do recommend that you give The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings a read. There's still a good deal of backstory and several chunks of storyline that were excised from the movie version.

If nothing else, read The Hobbit. There's plenty of gameworthy settings and characters in there that the movies won't give you.

[prophetsteve]

Managed a copy of the LotR game this afternoon. Didn't get a chance to do more than glance at it (was at a Spiderman/MIB2 double bill) but I am impressed with what I've seen. Kudos for the graphic design and the bits I have read really are well done. Now I just have to wait until our GM buys his copy so we can nudge him into running a game...

[Doug Burke]

Originally posted by Erik Filean
I note one bothersome editing or layout error, and this has been mentioned on the Decipher board, but I refuse to post there given the lousy dispositions of some regulars: there is clearly a section of missing text of uncertain length between the bottom of page 273 and the top of 274. With luck, maybe Decipher will make that missing snippet available on their website. It's frustrating, but it doesn't too much diminish the great effort that the book represents.

The text has to do with Dol Goldur and Mirkwood. I don't have it with me right now, but will post it this afternoon.

[Doug Burke]

Originally posted by Lockhart
I wanted to ask a question about the rules and I didn't want to register on the Decipher site just to ask it.

On page 79 it says "However, your second (and subsequent) orders, basic or elite, do not give you a free order ability;" The text describing Elite orders at the beginning of the section says something similar. However, in each Elite Order's ability section it says you get an ability when you create a <insert name here>.

Which is right?

Lockhart

Greg was right. The text on page 79 is right.

[Erik Filean]

Originally posted by Doug Burke


The text has to do with Dol Goldur and Mirkwood. I don't have it with me right now, but will post it this afternoon.

Doug, I love you (in a purely platonic, heterosexual male sense).

[Doug Burke]

Originally posted by Erik Filean
Doug, I love you (in a purely platonic, heterosexual male sense).

Heh. Not that I would have assumed any other way, Erik...

Here is the entirety of the truncated paragraph:

“Dol Guldur and Mirkwood: Even after the White Council drives the Necromancer from Dol Guldur in TA 2941, Mirkwood remains a dark and dangerous place, particularly in the south. Any player characters venturing beneath its boughs are sure to find adventure.”

[Ineti]

Originally posted by Erik Filean

I think the film version of Fellowship of the Ring did a decent job translating the essence of Tolkien to the screen, and the production design is an absolutely flawless fit to my mental pictures. Still, I do recommend that you give The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings a read. There's still a good deal of backstory and several chunks of storyline that were excised from the movie version.

I've never been able to get more than 100 pages into the Hobbit, and I'm currently stalled in LOTR right around the Council of Elrond. I'll keep at it, though. :-)

[Ineti]

Originally posted by Doug Burke
Here is the entirety of the truncated paragraph:

“Dol Guldur and Mirkwood: Even after the White Council drives the Necromancer from Dol Guldur in TA 2941, Mirkwood remains a dark and dangerous place, particularly in the south. Any player characters venturing beneath its boughs are sure to find adventure.”

Thank you so much for that! I hate blank spots!

Not to be a noodge, but there's another truncated section on page 163, far right column, near the end of the column. The paragraph reads, "Narrators can use any appropriate effect from the following list to simulate the power of words. They can als"

What's missing?