The Lord of the Rings RPG Core Book

I would never say any one system is the best, bu this is definitely ONE of the best. It takes elements from many different games, like D & D, Feng Shui, and BESM, and adds its own flavour to them. The class-type character system is more flexible and natural than that of D20, and the way the rules work, making your characters quite tough to start off, and downplaying the role of magic and magical items, encourage a more character-based game that doesn't rely on hunting XP points and magic weapons. The battle rules likewise focus on drama and the PCs, and the combat rules strongly lean towards epic confrontations.The layout is very nice, with plenty of pictures from the movie trilogy, although the book is primarily based on the novel. There is, however a fair amount of errata to be downloaded from the company site, but mostly it's small things, the only really major change is the damage ratings for weapons.My only real gripe with the book is that, as I read further, I noticed a certain amount of "sucking up" to the Tolkien name. Every writer deserves due credit, but when you start being told that Tolkien's style doesn't move too fast or too SLOW, you really start to wonder.However, all that aside, it is a great book, brimming with campaign ideas and even advice on how to work your game within the established plot, or change it completely.

The game system was well though out and plays very nicely. I was expecting a lot less and was gladly suprised at the depth put into this game system.Even if you are not a gamer, and just a Tolken fan you will enjoy reading the book.

Ok, let make this simple: this book is amazing!!. I was very concerned at first with the system: it use only d6 dices?, how the elves will be managed? and the magic?. All these questions worried me, but let me tell you: the system is great, flexible (like or more the d20 system) and simple. The races and character classes (order) are very well made and presented. Of course, the elves are superior, but thats does not mean that the other characters will not be relevant. The ROLE playing is what is relevant. And this book present wonderful opportunities for make many good roleplaying sesions. The magic system (another big issue) is great also: is not to powerful, but powerful enough. It let you combine your magic, you do not need to "memorize" the spells, etc. But one thing is important to remember: forget about big balls of fire or dozens of magic rays creating havoc between your enemies... Think more of how Gandalf use the magic and you will have a more precise idea of how the system works... And you want to be a member of the Wizard Order? This book tell you how to achieve this.One last word: the biggest challenge will be for the Narrator (or storyteller, DM, or whatever you call it). To create a wonderful story in the Middle Earth that capture the Tolkien mood without copy the books will not be easy, but this book help you a lot in the process... The rest is for your imagination.

When I opened this book and began to read the pages, I realized that I had found the most realistic yet simplist RPG system that has ever been made. The battle scenes flow like no other and the easy to read tables make it a simple system to create exciting adventures with characters that are limitless in scope. Your character can be anything from a mighty warrior, to a powerful wizard, a crafty rogue to a humble inn keeper, a daring sailor to a wealthy noble. And the best thing I have found is that the rules are so open, that the game focuses more on roleplaying characters than any other I have seen.The system has the good points of others while throwing out the bad ones. Your characters primary attributes and skills are simple to test using a similar system to that of the d20 system. However, using weapons are now skills like they should be instead of some sort of a feat or special ability determined by your class. A player has many options in combat while still keeping it simple, which lead to battles flowing very smoothly. The game also uses a unique advancement system which level up your characters quickly and steadily. This makes it so that the players enjoy the fun of leveling up with out drawing attention from the Roleplaying part of the game.The Orders, or classes, have a lot of depth, making it sort of hard to figure out with only one read, but by reading it a second time I was able to not only figure out how to use them, but how much flavor they add to the roleplaying aspect of the game. Also, the races that a player can choose are very realistic. Some may seem more powerful than others, but I have found this does not effect player's choices when choosing a race. In fact, I have found more diversity among PCs because each race is so unique.Because this is the first printing, it is not totally perfect, but it comes close. I found a contradiction in the money system over the ratio from Silver pices to Gold Pennies, but the Game Master can easily fix this problem with choosing one of the two ratios mentioned. Also I wish that they had put a larger choice of weapons and monsters in the book for players to use. For example, there are only three types of blades to choose from: longsword, scimitar, and shortsword. For monsters, they don't have some of my favorites that I like to use such as a Dragon; now that I was shocked about. Hopefully, future realeses will remeady this. I am looking forward to a Weapons & Equipment Handbook along with some sort of a Monster's Manual.All in all, this book is a giant step in the development of RPGs. A true epic of a book!

I preordered this book after having anticipated it greatly for the preceeding months. I was not let down. When I opened the cover and was confronted with the antique looking map of Middle-Earth I was instantly taken with the "Tolkien" feel, something well maintained throughout. This game is for you if you are tired of constant "roll-playing" and are looking the original "role-playing". Properly, this book is primarily about role playing. Often in D & D, a character is reduced to a pile of numbers on a sheet of paper with a name scratched in the top such as "Joe the Thrasher" simply because of all the combat/spell option which power playing characters break down to mathematical equations. Not in this book. Playing a heroic character in Tolkien style is this focas. Elves are portayed in good Tolkien fashion. The reaction of one of my friends was the elves should be banned from being PCs, as elves in Tolkien's world have many special abilities but nothing could be farther from the truth. Did Legolas unfairly unbalance the Fellowship? No way, and neither would an elven PC or two unbalance a game. Again, the emphasis on this game is role-playing. Role playing proper Tolkien elves is alluring, but is not a Rider of Rohan galloping across grassy plains, or a Tower guard standing firm on stone walls as a crisp wind blows, or a much fabled Ranger of the North wandering the wilds equally as alluring? The book is fantastically illustrated with photos from the movie and quotes form the books help players wee how nearly every rule and heading is carefully integrated into the world of Middle-Earth. I was concerned on about the was the magic and magic users would be handled by the rules, but have no fear, magic stays very true to limited direct uses of magic, while not stepping on the feet of characters who would like to play a more magically attuned character. Carefull attention is paid to the magic of the worls itself, prophesy, curses, oaths, foreknowledge, and the magic of "the way things are supposed to be" as it plays in to the story of the Lord of the Rings. Much is made about things happening when "dramatically appropriete", and in some cases limiting effects of curses or the results of a broken oath until the game master agrees it fits properly in the flow of the story. The Hobbit is not forgotten. Quotes and references form it shaped the game as well. In short this game is about the epic fantasy adventures of true heroes in the greatest fantasy setting there has ever been, or will be, and not about adventuring "heroes" robbing graves and hacking apart every NPC in their path. Tolkien fans and role playing fans, do not hesitate to purchase.