Author Topic: Middle Earth  (Read 8335 times)

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Offline dutch206

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Middle Earth
« on: July 27, 2016, 04:54:19 PM »
Monte Cook says Cubicle Seven Publishing will be releasing a Middle Earth guidebook for 5th edition DnD.
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Offline egdcltd

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #1 on: July 28, 2016, 03:48:11 AM »
That should be good for their bottom line. Although the problem has always been that Middle-earth doesn't have much in the way of fantasy spellusers (let's face it, there were five and they were, effectively, lesser divine beings).
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Offline bpowell

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #2 on: July 28, 2016, 09:30:39 AM »
That should be good for their bottom line. Although the problem has always been that Middle-earth doesn't have much in the way of fantasy spellusers (let's face it, there were five and they were, effectively, lesser divine beings).

This is always why I start folks out using MERP..  They can get the feel of actions and combat.  Then I move them to my RMFRP campaign where we add spells.

-BP

Offline Pazuzu

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #3 on: July 28, 2016, 10:33:06 AM »

This is always why I start folks out using MERP..  They can get the feel of actions and combat.  Then I move them to my RMFRP campaign where we add spells.

-BP

I use the MERP adventure modules and source books for maps and campaign ideas. But I've always found the lack of magic to be a negative. Especially given the lethality of the RM combat mechanics.

Not having healing spells readily on tap makes for short lived adventuring parties.

Offline bpowell

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #4 on: July 28, 2016, 11:29:07 AM »

This is always why I start folks out using MERP..  They can get the feel of actions and combat.  Then I move them to my RMFRP campaign where we add spells.

-BP

I use the MERP adventure modules and source books for maps and campaign ideas. But I've always found the lack of magic to be a negative. Especially given the lethality of the RM combat mechanics.

Not having healing spells readily on tap makes for short lived adventuring parties.

Why the early stuff I use is easy for them.  See the wolf ...Run!  Run!

-BP

Offline intothatdarkness

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #5 on: July 28, 2016, 12:26:25 PM »
I use the MERP adventure modules and source books for maps and campaign ideas. But I've always found the lack of magic to be a negative. Especially given the lethality of the RM combat mechanics.

Not having healing spells readily on tap makes for short lived adventuring parties.

I tend to think that's why RM2 had such a wide assortment of herbs. You could get by without a healer in many cases so long as the GM was liberal with herb availability.
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Offline Pazuzu

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2016, 02:43:49 PM »

I tend to think that's why RM2 had such a wide assortment of herbs. You could get by without a healer in many cases so long as the GM was liberal with herb availability.

Ahh, but there is the rub. Being overly generous with herbs throws off the balance of economy when you are relying on several thousand gold pieces worth of stuff to stay alive. And that isn't even counting the difficulty of having herbs available from widely different areas or climates.

A party could use this 150gp herb in the hopes of staying alive, or they can hire a cohort of mercenaries to do the job for them at zero risk.

It is also hard to preserve the herbs long enough to be of use without the use of magic.

I find that using the full RM system, magic and all, is preferable.

I also tend to view the ME setting as a great backdrop...for a great series of novels. But as a RPG location, it is much to restrictive. As are many, if not most novels.

Offline Witchking20k

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2016, 02:50:38 PM »
The best part about running in ME is using your MM bonus to do it- so, inevitably the wolf catches you anyway......
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Offline egdcltd

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #8 on: July 28, 2016, 03:52:25 PM »
Off topic a bit, but there doesn't seem to be a Harry Potter RPG. There are some online things, including one based on LotGD but that seems to be it.
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Offline Alwyn

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #9 on: July 28, 2016, 04:02:11 PM »
You can still use the mighty spell casters for a RM/MERP/HARP based Middle Earth campaign.  Just adapt the Risk Factors and Corruption rules from ICE's old MERP, or if you don't have that, use the "Adapting HARP to Middle Earth" article from Other Minds Issue #15.  It is a free e-zine.
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Offline kwickham

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #10 on: July 28, 2016, 04:51:24 PM »
They are taking something great and mixing it with something I think is hideous - 5e rules. It's all about the money I guess. I guess their TOR isn't making enough money. The TOR fans that I have seen always put down high magic systems. As not fit for the Tokien world. I wont be going near it.

Offline bpowell

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #11 on: July 28, 2016, 06:15:07 PM »
They are taking something great and mixing it with something I think is hideous - 5e rules. It's all about the money I guess. I guess their TOR isn't making enough money. The TOR fans that I have seen always put down high magic systems. As not fit for the Tokien world. I wont be going near it.

I played 5E  once.  After about an hour I saw all of the old "bad" stuff creep aback in and the new "good" stuff had been stripped.  I asked why the list of skill was greatly reduced and was told "keeping track of that is too hard".  *Sigh*

-BP

Offline Pazuzu

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #12 on: July 29, 2016, 07:08:23 AM »

I played 5E  once.  After about an hour I saw all of the old "bad" stuff creep aback in and the new "good" stuff had been stripped.  I asked why the list of skill was greatly reduced and was told "keeping track of that is too hard".  *Sigh*

-BP

I played 4e once. After that, I swore off the franchise.

Offline jdale

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #13 on: July 29, 2016, 08:49:07 AM »
In fairness, 4e is pretty divergent from the other editions. I don't think it's a good basis to judge. That said, obviously I still prefer RM....
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Offline bpowell

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #14 on: July 29, 2016, 12:28:44 PM »

I played 5E  once.  After about an hour I saw all of the old "bad" stuff creep aback in and the new "good" stuff had been stripped.  I asked why the list of skill was greatly reduced and was told "keeping track of that is too hard".  *Sigh*

-BP

I played 4e once. After that, I swore off the franchise.

I never played 4e.  I picked up the players guide and read a passage that more ore less said this...

"If <some action>, then <some result>, else if <some different action>...."

I thought to myself "Holy <expletive deleted>, they are writing in algorithms.  I have enough of that in Real Life!!!"  I put the book back and never went down that dark path.

-BP

Offline jdale

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #15 on: July 29, 2016, 03:02:05 PM »
4e is a board game simulating an online game, of course it uses computer logic. But, again, it's unlike all the versions before and after.
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Offline Pazuzu

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #16 on: July 29, 2016, 03:47:08 PM »
I've played D&D longer than I've been playing Rolemaster. It's just the nature of the beast when that is the system that most GMs run. Although the switch seems to have been made over to Pathfinder. And I have many fond memories of our old D&D sessions back in the day.

But what Wizards did to the D&D franchise in their vain attempt at wooing WoW players was so horrid and blatantly a pitiful cash grab, that I actually swore off the franchise.

I'll almost always prefer RM. But when I'm the only GM at the table (we take turns GMing in rotation) that runs RM, I'm stuck playing what the other GM's choose to run.

But I won't be playing 4e, 5e, 6e, ad infinitum. Even if it leaves me staying home. 4e left that much of a bad taste.

Fortunately for me, our group is fairly diverse in the systems that we play, so I'm not left out in the cold.

Offline kwickham

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #17 on: July 30, 2016, 06:25:13 PM »
I notice Hasbro that owns WotC has published LotR & Hobbit boardgames, cardgames, and some other toys and action figures. Cubicle7 might be generously throwing them some more customers via the RPG, since it's 5e. It depends on how far they depart from the source document.

Offline Cory Magel

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #18 on: July 30, 2016, 06:41:56 PM »
Yeah, I believe D&D 4.0 was trying to appeal to the online game crowd which, in theory sounds like a great marketing idea, but in practice... not so much.
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Offline VladD

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Re: Middle Earth
« Reply #19 on: August 11, 2016, 02:38:58 AM »
5e basically is 4e, but with a few significant changes that lead to it being more palatable and even deceives many that the game has changed back to the 3e days.

The main thing they've done is to make every class unique, als they have come down from the powers system to a split betweens spells, abilities and tricks. This seems to console the 4e haters and most of the playerbase has returned.

I did like 4e and now also 5e since it supports pure roleplay more than any other system. The focus lies not in mechanics but in story telling and action. 4e, with its standardized classes, already did this. When it no longer matters what kind of class you are (a warlock just wielded a different kind of sword/ attack implement, and its attack noises were different from a fighter's), but basically every character was a He-man doll with different dress up but with a button in the back (literally) that did a specified amount of damage per level. That meant that players HAD to roleplay to make a difference.

Sadly not many players saw the potential and liked to play "the rouge (error intentional)" or "the cleric". 5e does facilitate this kind of "roleplaying". Also many supporters on new media were very vocal and helped the franchise get "back" (Actually 4e and later 5e were their best selling products of all time).

I play Rolemaster since that facilitates any style of play. You can mold a magician to be a great fencer and a fighter to cast spells. I like its complexity and how that always leads to character differences due to personal preferences and how the dice fall at character creation. Construct a party of 5 fighters in 5e and you will see that the majority is the same (optimized), but make a party of 10 RM fighters and you will end up with all different concepts.

I have been producing my own adaptation of MERP to D&D for close to 20 years. It allowed me to make my own vision of ME and craft my own stories in the best of all campaign settings. I do allow access to magic, because it is so visible in the books, eventhough in hindsight it is all divine magic, but you don't know that when you just read LotR and the Hobbit. I think my players have a great understanding of the living and breathing Middle Earth and its history and they read and enjoy the books (and hate the movies) more for it.

It is great to see a new generation get introduced to the inner workings of Tolkien's life's work and hopefully do him justice in his wishes: to give the story to other hands and other minds to expand it. The adventures people have had in ME are beyond count and add to the legacy of Tolkien and it is just awesome.
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