Fellowship of the Ring Sourcebook available for purchase

[kong]

Originally posted by Doug Burke
And yet, they are different enough that folks talk about "Arwen's Multple Personalities" and certain characters have been edited out. Those who have only seen the movie deserve just as much respect and attention as those who read the books first.

it isnt about respect at all. but the film is based on the book. i dont think anyone has discussed arwen by saying she has multiple personalities by any stretch of the imagination. she was used because of the nature of the medium which is something that can be understood by reading any number of peter jackson interviews and isnt really relevant for the rpg.
the film is based on the book, if you are going to do a ME rpg, which is really what this is trying to be, then you have to base it on the book. i have no problem, unlike others, with the use of movie imagery, but i have a problem with a book discussing the difference between arwen (film) and arwen (book) because there really arent any differences to talk about. they are the same character just interpreted for different mediums and such a discussion is really a waste of space.

obviously we are going to see a two twoers and a return of the king book. i think this has been entirely the wrong choice for the game. its clearly designed to cash in on the movies as the whole game has been - often at the expense of the game (and thus the players). once these book shave been done what else remains? this is the problem, producing regional books would have been far more useful - as people will discover in the lopng term. i dont see anything within the sourcebook that i cant get anywhere else and as a result D are not competing. what people need isnt stats for aragorn (despite what they mioght believe) its information on the areas. the old merp books had lists of everything from monsters to herbs; they told you what the climate was like and how lived there as well as what it was like to live there. they gave you maps and timelines and histories - whether they did a good job isnt really relevant (as many dont think they did). this information is far more useful than how many dice of xyz you get from blowing the horn of gondor (and how many characters will have the horn?), or wielding anduril/narsil. who carers whether arwen played a more active role in the film - thats a dicussion for an entirely different forum.

[E W Dawson]

Doug, I have a few questions about Legolas' write-up despite reading the offical errata. First, he has the accurate edge, however, he does not have a specialty listed for rangded combat; is he suppose to have one? On a similar note, does the accurate edge give you an additional +3 bonus when using your specialty ranged weapon (for example, I have ranged combat: bows (short bow) +12 and have accurate for it do I add an additional +5 on top of my base roll)? Second, how do his (and any other Elf's it may apply to) swift healing racial ability and swift recovery edge work together? Or is the swift recovery edge listed just for completeness (referring to his racial ability)?

Thank you for any help you may lend,

Eric

[Doug Burke]

Okay, I've spoken to TPTB and have a clarification and a correction for my previous response to Greg's questions.

1) "What about those characters who have skill ranks that are above 12?"

Truly legendary characters can exceed the normal skill maximum. Rules governing when and how will be made available to player characters at alater date.

2) "Also, I noted that Gandalf has an Order Ability called 'Staff of Power' that, to the best of my knowledge, hasn't appeared in any Lord of the Rings product thus far."

After checking the manuscript and speaking with TPTB, I have found I was incorrect. This is a Wizard order ability that is introduced in "Fell Beasts and Wondrous Magic". However, the powers associated with Gandlaf and Saruman's staves are listed in the Fellowship Book in the sections entitled "Gandalf's (or Samuran's) Staff". Thus, until FB&WR comes out, you could treat the ability as something of truly epic scale and limited to those august individuals "From across the Sea".

[Doug Burke]

Originally posted by E W Dawson
First, he has the accurate edge, however, he does not have a specialty listed for rangded combat; is he suppose to have one?

Yes. It should be listed as "Ranged Combat: Bows (Longbow)".

On a similar note, does the accurate edge give you an additional +3 bonus when using your specialty ranged weapon (for example, I have ranged combat: bows (short bow) +12 and have accurate for it do I add an additional +5 on top of my base roll)?

Yes, that's exactly how it works. Think of it as a Ranged COmbat version of Weapon Mastery.

Second, how do his (and any other Elf's it may apply to) swift healing racial ability and swift recovery edge work together? Or is the swift recovery edge listed just for completeness (referring to his racial ability)?

Your latter assumption is correct. Swift Recovery, Fair, and Keen-eyed are all resulting from Elf racial abilities, not in addition to them.

[Greg Davis]

Thanks for the info and the effort, Doug! I really appreciate it!



Greg

[kong]

it seems to me that the characters of the fellowship are gods! they are so beyond the leel of the average PC that the system surely isnt greared to their level. if arwen has a persaude of +17 how on earth can she ever fail?even rolling double 1 couldnt justify it in terms of the system. i read that aragorn has 68 advancements! this is crazy. it seems to me that the system just isnt designed to accomadate the source characters at all and the rules have to be fudged beyond belief in order to account for them, and that when interacting with the setting via the system soeone like aragorn is just never going to fail anything. i cannot imagine how quickly and easily someone with his apparent ability would kill an orc! by comparison legolas should be monstrous (he is more skilled than aragorn in the setting) and as for gandalf. god only knows!


these characters beg the question, why even bother with stats if they are so far beyond the reaech of the mechanics.

[CorpBoy]

Kong,

Don't forget that the advancement rules aren't like other systems where the amount of experience to gain the next "level" goes up with each new level attained.

Does anyone have any D&D 3rd edition stuff handy? How many levels would your basic fighter have with 68000 experience points? I'm betting no more than 10.

[RobRobBinks]

A product isn't even out on the shelves, and the backlash is incredible.

I do not know how tough it is to print a book, let alone a book of rules, let alone a book of rules for the detail sensitive gaming industry, let alone a book of rules for the detail sensitive gaming industry based on one of the most previously developed fantasy worlds ever created....

Okay, you may see where I am going. Lets all take whatever Decipher prints, with a grain of salt and in the SPIRIT that it is made. Of course, I am not advocating a sycophantic view, but they are doing a good job of bringing The Lord of the Rings from the books and the movie to my dining room table. Considering some of my culinary attempts, my dining room has never been happier.

I am very much looking forward to getting the Felowship book, if only to get Legolas' character stats. The Companions in my chronicle are going to meet him soon, so it will be nice to have him on hand, and see him in action.

Enjoy!

[E W Dawson]

Thank' s for the quick replly, Doug! That is really cool how the Accurate edge works. Rules like that sure go a long way in simulating the over-the-top action of the books and movies.

Errata aside, I have found this to be a great book. Even though my chronicle is not set anywhere near the locations of the Fellowship of the Ring, I have found great gaming use in this supplement.

P.S. If anyone is shocked at 68 advancement Aragorn, try and handle 104 advancement Elendil or 127 advancement Gil-Galad.
However, I am of the mind that NPCs with 60 plus advancements is a good sign. But a more in depth rules discussion is for another thread.

[Ineti]

Originally posted by CorpBoy
Does anyone have any D&D 3rd edition stuff handy? How many levels would your basic fighter have with 68000 experience points? I'm betting no more than 10.

I don't have my books handy either, but I think 68,000 XP in D&D3e would fall somewhere in the middle of 11th level.

[Ineti]

I agree with EW and RobRob; errors aside, the FOTR sourcebook is a great reference. What's more, it's another nice LOTR RPG product. And there are more on the way.

None of the errors in the book are what I call show-stoppers, though in an ideal world it would be nice to release an error-free product. I've been in the publishing business long enough to know that there's always an error SOMEWHERE in a release.

[E W Dawson]

Despite all the early criticism that Coda is very similar to d20, D&D is a bad comparision for Coda LotR. So I would not go trying to equate advancements to levels in any but the most remote ways. In my opinion, Coda LotR has inherrent "epic level" game play right from the start. Unlike D&D, Coda LotR has, directly in the core rules, rules for bending the rules for epic or cinematic effect (see the narrator and magic chapters in the core book). But any further discussion of the rules and how to apply them should probably be the subject of another thread.

[Lt. Dade]

Hi,

I'm really looking forward to seeing the book-movie comparisons. The changes that get made through adaptation are of direct interest to me as a roleplayer; they exemplify the process of adapting the books to another medium. Not only that, but the success of the story in both mediums gives me more wiggle room during gameplay, more shared experiences with my gaming group to draw on for storytelling purposes and a bit more creative license to deviate from the original material in the name of a fun RPG adventure.

The Lord of the Rings RPG hasn't been artificially inserted into the geneaology of Middle-Earth products. The RPG was released after the movies and, so, is based on the movies as much as anything else. To suggest that the RPG must be based on the books (and only the books, I'm inferring) is absurd. Exhibit A: The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, which warmly embraces both the books and the feature films. Therefore, clearly, the game doesn't have to be based on the books alone.

Suffice to say, I disagree with kong. His/her passion for the books is admirable, though. Together, our arguments cancel each other out and everything can go happily forward.

word,
Will

[Doug Burke]

Originally posted by kong
it seems to me that the characters of the fellowship are gods! they are so beyond the leel of the average PC that the system surely isnt greared to their level.

Okay, first off, there is no such thing as an "average" PC. The way the advancement process works in CODA, each character is much more individualized tham that. AQre they more powerful than a starting character? Of course they are!

if arwen has a persaude of +17 how on earth can she ever fail?even rolling double 1 couldnt justify it in terms of the system.

Actually, since Persuade involves an Opposed Test, then it is possible for her to fail if her opponent rolls higher than she does. It's really quite that simple.

i read that aragorn has 68 advancements! this is crazy. it seems to me that the system just isnt designed to accomadate the source characters at all and the rules have to be fudged beyond belief in order to account for them, and that when interacting with the setting via the system soeone like aragorn is just never going to fail anything. i cannot imagine how quickly and easily someone with his apparent ability would kill an orc! by comparison legolas should be monstrous (he is more skilled than aragorn in the setting) and as for gandalf. god only knows!

Come on! These are HEROES (capitalization intentional)! They're legends. Nothing in the stats provided portrays the characters as more powerful than they were in the books and movies. Boromir slew literal heaps of orcs before being slain himself. Legolas (in the movie at least) shoots down a good half-dozen orcs that are charging at him from within ten feet or less.

these characters beg the question, why even bother with stats if they are so far beyond the reaech of the mechanics.

But they aren't beyond the reach of the game's mechanics, kong. Given enough time and advancements, PCs too could have similar stats.

[Turin]

Originally posted by Doug Burke


Come on! These are HEROES (capitalization intentional)! They're legends. Nothing in the stats provided portrays the characters as more powerful than they were in the books and movies. Boromir slew literal heaps of orcs before being slain himself. Legolas (in the movie at least) shoots down a good half-dozen orcs that are charging at him from within ten feet or less.

But they aren't beyond the reach of the game's mechanics, kong. Given enough time and advancements, PCs too could have similar stats.

I Agree.

We should remember that Aragorn is 87 years old by the time the LotR starts. So in 67 years of adventuring he could amass a lot of advancements. The Characters in my campaign are between 4 and 6 advancements and that is over the course of 6 months of game time. At that rate the Dunadan Warrior will have 780 advancements by the time he reaches Aragorns age.