New Lord of the Rings RPG Stuff from Decipher

[Lightray]

New Titles for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game to Be Released in 2005!

Or so is said at that link.

... just in case you all know anyone who, say, wrote one of the LotR books.

[Lord Beavis]

No offense, but that will bomb!!! The movies are over, the interest will wane.

[Derek Hiemforth]

No offense, but that will bomb!!! The movies are over, the interest will wane.

Uh, yeah. No one cared at all about LotR or bought LotR RPG stuff before there were movies...

[Mark Taylor]

Uh, yeah. No one cared at all about LotR or bought LotR RPG stuff before there were movies...

Hmmm that must be why I don't have a copy of MERP on my shelf then. Oh wait, I do!

[Lord Beavis]

Uh, yeah. No one cared at all about LotR or bought LotR RPG stuff before there were movies...

When no one, I mean no one in great numbers, so far three people expressed interest in this genre. Huge numbers there!

Look on the bright side, you can all meet in 3 years for a reunion. You can all meet at the same phone booth!!!!!!!!!!!

[Greatwyrm]

When no one, I mean no one in great numbers, so far three people expressed interest in this genre. Huge numbers there!

Of course, all known gamers on earth frequent the HERO forums every 24 hrs, so these must be the only three people that would be interested.

[Solomon]

Add me to the list of "three" LOTR players.

All things equal, LOTR would easily be the most coveted literature franchise for a fantasy RPG, bar none. Not only LOTR is the best known fantasy book ever, it's one of the most popular piece of fiction of the XX century.

AFAIK the Decipher LOTR line was relatively successful, or at least successful enough by the standards of most RPG companies. Unfortunately Decipher's not a RPG company - it's a CCG company first and foremost, and their RPG department is tiny in comparison to the CCG one. I hope the line will be profitable enough to keep Decipher interested. Since their license ends in 2007, that would make about 15-20 books at the rate D suggests.
If sales don't turn out to be high enough for D's standards, let us at least hope that the line goes to some other, smaller and more dedicated, company.

[Lightray]

When no one, I mean no one in great numbers, so far three people expressed interest in this genre. Huge numbers there!

Look on the bright side, you can all meet in 3 years for a reunion. You can all meet at the same phone booth!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent choice of the "stupid" smiley to represent your post. I commend your perspicasity. Obviously, you are a new poster of refinement and vision.

Also, no one really thought you didn't mean to offend when you started your first post in this thread with "no offense", Sparky.

All those coming to the LotR reunion, think we should invite Steve? You know, since he wrote the book. Won an award or summat, didn't it?

Anyway, I'm just hoping that Decipher doesn't re-cancel the line once these books are out, since most (maybe all?) of them were already written and in their hands before the line was canceled the first time...

edit: because your has an "r" in it. or so I've heard.

[John Desmarais]

Add me to the list of "three" LOTR players.

All things equal, LOTR would easily be the most coveted literature franchise for a fantasy RPG, bar none. Not only LOTR is the best known fantasy book ever, it's one of the most popular piece of fiction of the XX century.

AFAIK the Decipher LOTR line was relatively successful, or at least successful enough by the standards of most RPG companies. Unfortunately Decipher's not a RPG company - it's a CCG company first and foremost, and their RPG department is tiny in comparison to the CCG one. I hope the line will be profitable enough to keep Decipher interested. Since their license ends in 2007, that would make about 15-20 books at the rate D suggests.
If sales don't turn out to be high enough for D's standards, let us at least hope that the line goes to some other, smaller and more dedicated, company.

I dunno. I've always appreciated the LOTR as a literary work, but as an RPG setting it's always left me a bit cold. Even ICE, who I think did an excellent job expanding the setting in the MERP line never really inspired me to want to actually run or play in game using the setting As for Decipher's efforts, they've seemed a bit lackluster (to me at least).

[Just A Guy Name]

Of course, all known gamers on earth frequent the HERO forums every 24 hrs...

No. They're over on RPG.net

[Lupus]

Personally, I'm looking at some of this stuff for support material, but not really much beyond there. I'm planning on using Hero. Got the main rulebook for ideas, now greedily eyeing these map supplements. Does anyone have them who can comment on their contents? Do they cover things outside of book/movie locations? (And there book and movie clash, which have they chosen? They seem to have been pretty good so far at going with books over movies, just seeing if the trend is continuing.)

[ChaosDrgn]

and maybe one of these days they'll release the star trek books that were due out over a year ago.

[Mutant for Hire]

I dunno. I've always appreciated the LOTR as a literary work, but as an RPG setting it's always left me a bit cold. Even ICE, who I think did an excellent job expanding the setting in the MERP line never really inspired me to want to actually run or play in game using the setting As for Decipher's efforts, they've seemed a bit lackluster (to me at least).

I tend to side with this view. Lord of the Rings makes excellent reading, but frankly as a gaming world it doesn't really sing to me. Howard's Hyborean Age works much better as a gaming setting, even if it wasn't done with the care to detail (Howard never invented whole languages) that Tolkien did.

[Lightray]

I tend to side with this view. Lord of the Rings makes excellent reading, but frankly as a gaming world it doesn't really sing to me. Howard's Hyborean Age works much better as a gaming setting, even if it wasn't done with the care to detail (Howard never invented whole languages) that Tolkien did.

Eh, I tend to see people not looking past the LotR plot for gaming ideas. If you only consider the War of the Ring as your setting, it is going to be problematic (although possible).

The fact is, the War of the Ring isn't a time for adventurousness -- things had been stagnant for quite some time by then. Most of (western) Middle-Earth was really under- or un-populated. There's Bree & the Shire, Dale, Rohan and Gondor. Along with a handful of elves in the Havens, Rivendell, Lothlorien, and Mirkwood. And a paltry number of dwarves at the Lonely Mountain, the Iron Hills, and someplace north or west of the Shire. And lots, and lots of orcs.

The only adventures are either doomed from the start (a handful of dwarves resettling Moria), or doom Middle-Earth unless they succeed (tossing the One Ring in Mt. Doom).

One of the things I liked about MERP was that their regional sourcebooks gave you enough background information to set your game in another era. The time of the Witch King of Angmar would be perticularly fertile -- Arnor was a strong, populous nation, with strong enemies, fell magic, the works.

Or during the era of the settlement of Rohan. You've got Gondor fighting against the Corsairs of Umbar, their nation depopulated (Osgiliath mostly abandoned due to a plague a thousand years or so before). The Eorlingas join Gondor at the Battle of the Fields of Celebrant. And then the Rohirrim have to settle their new country -- and deal with the Dunlendings there. And maybe encounter the Woses and Ents.

For that matter, the Battle of Dale during the War of the Rings has potential. Tolkien alludes to it, what, once? But you've got a set-up for men, dwarves, and elves working together (maybe with the Beornings). Sauron's forces apparently assailed Dale, but the Nazgul were elsewhere, so some other lieutenant must have commanded them -- maybe another Black Numenorean like the Mouth of Sauron...

All good stuff, even if you're unlikely to hear the lammentations of your enemies' women (since I don't think Tolkien thought the enemies had women...).

[Lupus]

For that matter, the Battle of Dale during the War of the Rings has potential. Tolkien alludes to it, what, once? But you've got a set-up for men, dwarves, and elves working together (maybe with the Beornings). Sauron's forces apparently assailed Dale, but the Nazgul were elsewhere, so some other lieutenant must have commanded them -- maybe another Black Numenorean like the Mouth of Sauron...

All good stuff, even if you're unlikely to hear the lammentations of your enemies' women (since I don't think Tolkien thought the enemies had women...).

Yep, the Battle of Dale is fertile ground. As is the defence of Lothlorien. Also, what WAS Radagast doing during the war? was he totally idle, or was he (as has been surmised elsewhere) responsible for the in-the-nick-of-time rescues from Giant Eagles? (The first rescue, of Gandalf from Orthanc, was an accident - Gwaihir was carrying a message to Saruman, at the bidding of Radagast, and spied Gandalf being held captive. But the later rescues may well have been his doing.)

So was Radagast active in Mirkwood? Can tromp around with Thranduil some, scout the environment near Dol Guldur, fight Easterling scout patrols near the Long Lake...

Personally, I'm planning an alternate continuity. The story goes awry, sending it down a darker path (Gondor and Rohan will fall, Sauron will conquer nearly everything). This leaves it open for a huge variety of very interesting Stuff. One of my plans is guerilla campaigns setting out from the ruins of Annuminas. Another is Pirates! against the Corsairs of Umbar, ranging along the entire West Coast.

Dunno, my planning may well not work out... I still need to think of a way to actually beat Sauron in the end. (Hmm. Thinking about it now, one of the silmarilli did get thrown into the sea... that would definitely shake things up a bit. O_O )

But yeah, too many games don't look past the events of the books/movies themselves. I hate them. There's SO MUCH ELSE around that I'd love to see. The recent Third Age computer game was very good in many ways... its main downfall was following the movies (especially in the second half of the game) and cutting out any normal CRPG elements other than stat improvements.

Ah well.