where do we go from here

[Feanorgil]

It has been quite some time since I last posted and I feel I have to apologize. My transition back to civillian life has been bumpy and I haven't had the time to follow through with many of my stated goals for LOTR RPG. Hopefully now with my new job and that my time is not as tied up commuting I can begin to work on my ideas. But, first I wanted to get a sense of one, who is still out there? I am overjoyed to see the Hall of Fire is still going (for those of you who didn't know I was the person interviewed in #38). So where are we standing as a group of fans? What is the present status on the Decipher product line? Are there anymore downloadable PDFs? Or is it now a purely fan driven game now? Last but not least does anyone know where I can download the MERP material ?, even if I have to pay I don't mind.

My plans:
Before I was involved in the fighting overseas I was working on a Race-Nationality mini-books for the Elves, Rohirrim, Umbar and Dol Amroth. It was a 4th age sourcebook with a breakdown of history, culture, maps places of interest and a background resource filled with tweaked orders to fit a national flavor (much in the tradition of LOTR RPG Style but with a little more depth). I have made it through the first draft on the Eldar and Umbar. I have the Adobe Creative Suite 2 software and am trying to develop a finished product by Xmas.

So that is what I am up too.

Vaughan

[Cut]

You have got my interest!

[Tomcat]

Hey Vaughn,

I am still around and have my chronicle going on strong. We have been at it now for four years and only a couple of my players have drifted away - but we still have the core group. It surprises me because it is a PbP game and I thought my turnover would be greater but what I found is my players, like me, are dads who want to play but need to have flexibility of playing at odd hours or intervals. So it has worked out great although I'll admit I miss the tabletop game at times.

Anyway, the Hall of Fire is still going strong and GoB is going to be part of it for another 9 issues. Issachar took over the layout from me and has done an awesome job - actually improving on the zine - but I still contribute stories as I can. The May issue is going to include a new 6 scene adventure from me called "The Minstrel's Lament". With GoB's retirement, it still will continue... it may become quarterly instead of monthly, but I am not going to let it end and I am sure Issachar feels the same. We'll see...

Decipher is pretty much voiceless on the RPG anymore and the only support from them is the forum boards that are still up and running. So, it is pretty much a fan-driven game now.

I can't speak of any new resources out there, but I can point to my online character sheets that are available for anyone out there that wants to use them. I also will mention my game forum where we currently have three narrators running different games.

Sample Character sheet - Edrahil Sindarin Mage

RPG Web Profiler - online character sheets

Roleplay Forums

Feel free to visit both and or come join us...

Tomcat

[Cut]

With GoB's retirement, it still will continue... it may become quarterly instead of monthly, but I am not going to let it end and I am sure Issachar feels the same. We'll see...

That's the first thing I hear of GoB's retirement. That's too bad...

[Feanorgil]

GoB has paid his dues he deserves a medal. I will get back with you guys tonight sunday pm.

[Feanorgil]

Hey Vaughn,

I am still around and have my chronicle going on strong. We have been at it now for four years and only a couple of my players have drifted away - but we still have the core group. It surprises me because it is a PbP game and I thought my turnover would be greater but what I found is my players, like me, are dads who want to play but need to have flexibility of playing at odd hours or intervals. So it has worked out great although I'll admit I miss the tabletop game at times.

Anyway, the Hall of Fire is still going strong and GoB is going to be part of it for another 9 issues. Issachar took over the layout from me and has done an awesome job - actually improving on the zine - but I still contribute stories as I can. The May issue is going to include a new 6 scene adventure from me called "The Minstrel's Lament". With GoB's retirement, it still will continue... it may become quarterly instead of monthly, but I am not going to let it end and I am sure Issachar feels the same. We'll see...

Decipher is pretty much voiceless on the RPG anymore and the only support from them is the forum boards that are still up and running. So, it is pretty much a fan-driven game now.

I can't speak of any new resources out there, but I can point to my online character sheets that are available for anyone out there that wants to use them. I also will mention my game forum where we currently have three narrators running different games.

Sample Character sheet - Edrahil Sindarin Mage

RPG Web Profiler - online character sheets

Roleplay Forums

Feel free to visit both and or come join us...

Tomcat

Tomcat thanks for keeping the faith. Again outstanding job... I will be in touch.

Vaughan

[Storm]

Hey there!

Over here in Germany there are still some players trying to keep middle-earth alive. But young players tend to more interested in flashy powergaming systems like WOW or any d20 style games, especially if they feature weird and unreasonable characters and character options...
Anyway, we're still doing our best with our own forum, hosting the mayority of stuff from the old Pegasus board (Pegasus was the publisher for the german version of the LotRRPG by Decipher), all the while trying to build a middle-earth database that is aimed specifically at role-players and useable for everybody due to it's english language.
At first we thought about duing a webbased 2nd Ed of the DEC game, purely fandriven and free. But because of legal issues we dropped that idea and think about creating our own rules-version for gaming. But who knows what comes of it. The stress anyway is on lies definately on the encyclopedia. Help is highly welcome.
Most of the material is based on the former ICE game MERP. We can hand many books out as reference material only, ofcourse. the are pdf of varriyng quality.
We try to include "the unknown east" and the searing hot lands to the south into the databse and provide detailed descriptions of all of middle-earth for ICEs home-period of 3A 1640 and the time of the War of the Ring. Any further plans for a fourth age description haven't been made yet.

If interested in anything of this stuff or the project, please let me know by email!

And - we are glad that middle-earth is not dead yet. Probably the MMORPG will bring another influx of gamers and probably Decipher will discover this market again...who knows what the future holds...

[Feanorgil]

Storm,

I loved Munich I spent time there off and on from 2004-2006 while I was stationed in the American Fallschirmjager Brigade in Italy. I can't wait to go back to Europe someday.

Vaughan

[Feanorgil]

Tomcat,

The link you sent me is great. I am starting to use it myself.

Vaughan

[Tomcat]

That is great Vaughn! I am glad that you like the resources.

And to Cut... I am glad that you were finally able to login and make use of the character sheets.

Tomcat

[Feanorgil]

Thanks tomcat.

[Cut]

And to Cut... I am glad that you were finally able to login and make use of the character sheets.

Yes, I'm uite happy, too. Thanks for all your kind help, Tomcat.

[Feanorgil]

Anybody heard anything about it ? I have seen something posted on the Decipher boards.

[GandalfOfBorg]

I announced my "retirement" a couple of issues ago in the intro. I'll still be writing for the zine as it continues, but can't continue with the output I had done previously (being corporate means eventually you get promoted and get more responsibility... being an adult sucks sometimes hehe). It also means I can continue work on the CODA BSR and update my Harry Potter RPG too. I've got a new section planned called Random Encounters, which details exactly what the name says: random enounters, how to tailor them for the approximate "power level" of the group and their TN level (see FB&WM), where they would typically be found (and when if applicable), etc. They won't be limited just to combat either

Storm, if you want to "create" your own CODA v2, I have created the CODA Basic System Reference; you could tailor the file so as to create the game you see fit. I highly suggest looking to The Encyclopedia of Arda, it is one of best Middle-earth resources out there (I use it often).

The 1st Age Sourcebook is a fan-created supplement for gaming in Middle-earth. Afrodyte has expounded upon the Decipher rules quite a bit to work in that time frame.

[Cut]

I announced my "retirement" a couple of issues ago in the intro.

I seem to be missing stuff in articles and books I read all over the place...
Sad to see you 'go', but glad that you are sticking with the magazine in a capacity that you can timely manage.