SPECIAL NOTICE
Malicious code was found on the site, which has been removed, but would have been able to access files and the database, revealing email addresses, posts, and encoded passwords (which would need to be decoded). However, there is no direct evidence that any such activity occurred. REGARDLESS, BE SURE TO CHANGE YOUR PASSWORDS. And as is good practice, remember to never use the same password on more than one site. While performing housekeeping, we also decided to upgrade the forums.
This is a site for discussing roleplaying games. Have fun doing so, but there is one major rule: do not discuss political issues that aren't directly and uniquely related to the subject of the thread and about gaming. While this site is dedicated to free speech, the following will not be tolerated: devolving a thread into unrelated political discussion, sockpuppeting (using multiple and/or bogus accounts), disrupting topics without contributing to them, and posting images that could get someone fired in the workplace (an external link is OK, but clearly mark it as Not Safe For Work, or NSFW). If you receive a warning, please take it seriously and either move on to another topic or steer the discussion back to its original RPG-related theme.

Adventures in Middle earth Questions

Started by danskmacabre, October 06, 2019, 12:56:44 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

danskmacabre

So I weakened and bought "Adventures in Middle earth". More commonly known as AiME.

I have the Loremasters book, a couple of settings books and I've ordered the Player's guide.  
I have the Player's guide PDF to tide me over until the hard copy arrives.

I'll probably have lots of questions as I read through everything.


First one seems a bit obvious, but for the life of me I can't find ANYWHERE in the Player's guide what system you use to generate the basic attributes.
Presumably you just use the options offered in the 5e PHB, but I can't find anywhere a specific reference whether that's correct or not.

Is it mentioned anywhere in the Player's guide? If it is, what page?  I had a good look through the pages 24 onwards where the character gen starts.

Am I blind? Or is it I'm trying to find it at 3am on a Sunday night ;)

Brand55

Quote from: danskmacabre;1107890First one seems a bit obvious, but for the life of me I can't find ANYWHERE in the Player's guide what system you use to generate the basic attributes.
Presumably you just use the options offered in the 5e PHB, but I can't find anywhere a specific reference whether that's correct or not.

Is it mentioned anywhere in the Player's guide? If it is, what page?  I had a good look through the pages 24 onwards where the character gen starts.

Am I blind? Or is it I'm trying to find it at 3am on a Sunday night ;)
It's not really spelled out explicitly, but if you read the back cover and the foreword they explain that AiME just adds the Middle-earth materials for you to plug into the OGL. So, basically you're right. Go to the 5e rules first for anything not covered or replaced by AiME's rules.

Trinculoisdead

What! Not The One Ring? Bloody 5e poking its head in again...

Jaeger

Quote from: Trinculoisdead;1107903What! Not The One Ring? Bloody 5e poking its head in again...

In defense of 5e - I had the one ring, system wise, it was not really that great.

And for most people in the hobby the core d20 mechanic is "good enough".

My question is does AiME have hit point level bloat?
"The envious are not satisfied with equality; they secretly yearn for superiority and revenge."

Aglondir

#4
Quote from: Jaeger;1107920In defense of 5e - I had the one ring, system wise, it was not really that great.

And for most people in the hobby the core d20 mechanic is "good enough".

My question is does AiME have hit point level bloat?

Yes, which looks like a glaring design error to me. Otherwise it is a great game.

Edit: rethinking this. High HP may make sense for important NPCs in ME. Not sure about PCs though.

finarvyn

I bought a bunch of TOR books. The style was decent enough and very Tolkien-like, but the system never did grab me. Never actually played the thing. Discovered AiMe, which is basically a rehash of the TOR books on top of a 5E-inspried mechanic. Much better. I feel it has the same feel of TOR but rules that I (and my players) can enjoy.

As to the OP question -- Brand55 has the right idea. Use AiMe for the baseline rules, but default to 5E wherever something isn't covered in AiMe.
Marv / Finarvyn
Kingmaker of Amber
I'm pretty much responsible for the S&W WB rules.
Amber Diceless Player since 1993
OD&D Player since 1975

Brand55

Quote from: Aglondir;1107928Yes, which looks like a glaring design error to me. Otherwise it is a great game.

Edit: rethinking this. High HP may make sense for important NPCs in ME. Not sure about PCs though.
Keep in mind that AiME most definitely isn't D&D. Healing is often in short supply, and the PCs will often be taking long trips into dangerous territory where they will only have short rests. So a high hit point total doesn't quite mean the same in AiME as it does in regular 5e.

estar

Quote from: Brand55;1107955Keep in mind that AiME most definitely isn't D&D. Healing is often in short supply, and the PCs will often be taking long trips into dangerous territory where they will only have short rests. So a high hit point total doesn't quite mean the same in AiME as it does in regular 5e.
That has been my experience in two campaigns and several one off sessions

estar

Quote from: Trinculoisdead;1107903What! Not The One Ring? Bloody 5e poking its head in again...

System wise it makes a lot more sense than The One Ring and plays with the same feel.

estar

Quote from: danskmacabre;1107890Is it mentioned anywhere in the Player's guide? If it is, what page?  I had a good look through the pages 24 onwards where the character gen starts.

Am I blind? Or is it I'm trying to find it at 3am on a Sunday night ;)

Just download the free basic rules off of Wizards website. Anything that AiME doesn't have it will. Without all the frills of the PHB.

Spinachcat

Do I lose any LotR flavor with AiME vs. TOR?

finarvyn

Quote from: Spinachcat;1107990Do I lose any LotR flavor with AiME vs. TOR?
I don't think so. The two sets of books have virtually the same content. I'm sure that some would say that the 5E-ization ruins something, but I think that the 5E books really capture the Middle-earth feel and with a game mechanic I don't have to learn. AiMe has its own classes and such to mostly replace the PH, which is probably why the OP was surprised to find that some stuff was missing.
Marv / Finarvyn
Kingmaker of Amber
I'm pretty much responsible for the S&W WB rules.
Amber Diceless Player since 1993
OD&D Player since 1975

Alexander Kalinowski

TOR falls flat for me because of the abstract nature of combat. It feels more like fighting in ranks in old-school CRPGs, like Bard's Tale, at least little bit.
Author of the Knights of the Black Lily RPG, a game of sexy black fantasy.
Setting: Ilethra, a fantasy continent ruled over by exclusively spiteful and bored gods who play with mortals for their sport.
System: Faithful fantasy genre simulation. Bell-curved d100 as a core mechanic. Action economy based on interruptability. Cinematic attack sequences in melee. Fortune Points tied to scenario endgame stakes. Challenge-driven Game Design.
The dark gods await.

danskmacabre

Quote from: Brand55;1107902It's not really spelled out explicitly, but if you read the back cover and the foreword they explain that AiME just adds the Middle-earth materials for you to plug into the OGL. So, basically you're right. Go to the 5e rules first for anything not covered or replaced by AiME's rules.

OK. Thanks. That feels like a bit of an oversight to me.

danskmacabre

Quote from: finarvyn;1107930As to the OP question -- Brand55 has the right idea. Use AiMe for the baseline rules, but default to 5E wherever something isn't covered in AiMe.

Yeah , I assumed that too. But I feel it could have done with at least a few lines relating to Ability checks to use the core 5e rules.