I bought into The One Ring as soon as it came out and have always appreciated its beautiful look, high production values, good taste in focus (i.e., time period and geography for the default setting), and, most importantly, its devotion to getting the tone right. But...for most of the last couple of years I've not been very interested in playing it, both because of the complexity of the core rules (each rule is relatively simple, but there are a dozen or more idiosyncratic sub-systems — it is like Burning Wheel in this respect) and because of poor organization of the core book (strange separation of subjects across two books; repetition; lack of index).

I recently noticed the product line has grown a lot in the last year and decided to give it another chance. I've now basically 'caught up' with everything they have put out, and its really changed my opinion. All the things I initially liked about the system remain true or have become even more self evident; the writing and artwork has gotten even better; the setting and adventures have grown to the point that you can deeply explore the core areas crossed by the novels, either using pre-written scenarios or building your own using the setting material.

The second edition of the core book missed the opportunity to fix all the editorial weaknesses of the original (it is still true that the basic description of core mechanics is spread across hundreds of pages in several sections... why on earth didn't they move this stuff around into an obvious chapter structure!). But, it is now all in one book and has an index, so you can find what you need without all the infuriating flipping back and forth between volumes. So, I give them a pass with a bit if side-eye on this point.

The game's core rules remain as they were: simple looking but actually complex. Core mechanics of nearly all rolls can be explained in a couple of sentences, yet to play you need to understand the different meaning and uses of a half dozen different sorts of character qualities and master three different games-within-a-game (fellowship, journey and combat). When the only materials available were the core rules and introductory adventure it was too much for me. But I've changed my mind; basically, their hard work over the last year has made it worth it. Now, this game feels a bit like the best of several classics: the concrete support of campaign play and setting appropriateness of Pendragon; the journey rules are a uniquely excellent approach to travel in roleplaying games; the treatment of Hope and Shadow points as the essential 'resource management' units of the game feels like an extremely good choice; and the things I detest about the combat system are easily fixed so the way it works at my table suits me.

How are the rest of our TOR enthusiasts doing with the game these days?

It sits on my pile of "fun reads, would love to play, don't see an opportunity in the near future with my current gaming group"

The artwork sure is pretty though

After PAX South, I will be running a TOR game for my group. Still going through the rules, but I like what I read so far.

I think it is a game that requires a certain investment of time to learn properly before you play; otherwise you are likely to hit some sort of major misunderstanding or confusion in the middle of a session. I would suggest organizing a first play session in which everyone at the table understands you are simply working your way through each major rules system in order to make sure you know how it is done. Once you have it down, most elements of play seem very interesting and thoughtfully designed. With the exception of the initiative and positioning rules in combat, which make my skin crawl. But I would be a pretty worthless DM if I couldn't tidy up that sort of detail.

I've been telling people that The One Ring is a Burning-Wheel-style game designed for someone other than a player in Luke Crane's gaming group.  It's very stripped down and focused on what it's trying to copy from Tolkien -- Travel, Combat, and Debate.  It basically raises Travel and Debate to the same level of primacy in the rules as Combat, which is neat.

It definitely takes a few tries to get a hang of, but once you do, I think it really pays off.  And the supplements have been of almost uniformly terrific quality - Rivendell, for instance, is just top-notch all the way.  And the single campaign out, so far, Darkening of Mirkwood, is great.  I think it might rival Great Pendragon Campaign in actual play, but I won't know until I actually run players through it.

I agree with what was just said. The rules modules modeling travel and formal social interaction are perfectly suited to the setting and the stories in the novels that inspire interest in that setting. The Rivendell book is simply fantastic. When I first opened it I thought, 'too bad they only provided a few pages on the trollshaws', but once I started reading I realized it is wonderfully written, nicely balances map details, adventure seeds and NPC/monster stats, while succeeding at immersing you in world we all know from the first parts of The Hobbit and FotR. The Darkening of Mirkwood campaign actually has a lot in common with the Great Pendragon Campaign — generally considered to be the greatest single extended campaign module made for any game. On a casual inspection there are things about it that seem rail-roady. But in the hands of a confident and thoughtful DM it is really a structure that will let your campaign flow through major events and interesting places. (In the wrong hands it will be a well illustrated rail road...).

I continue to enjoy the system, which I find to be simple yet maintains considerable depth. The mechanics bring fun to the table without overbearing it. The recent books have manage to extend this trend with the likes of the magic item system in Rivendell.

The continuing star of the show is the adventure material. Tales from Wilderland was great, but Darkening of Mirkwood is amazing. It really manages to deliver of a Great Pendragon Campaign style book for TOR.

Quote from: Future Villain Band;811288I've been telling people that The One Ring is a Burning-Wheel-style game designed for someone other than a player in Luke Crane's gaming group.

This gets my attention because I like a lot of things about Burning Wheel but also find a number of things infuriating about it. I like it far more than Mouse Guard or Torchbearer though. Mouse Guard disappointed me most as I'd love to run a game in that setting.

Quote from: Future Villain Band;811288It's very stripped down and focused on what it's trying to copy from Tolkien -- Travel, Combat, and Debate.  It basically raises Travel and Debate to the same level of primacy in the rules as Combat, which is neat.

This brings me to another question: how easy is it to divorce The One Ring from Middle Earth? I've heard that it's highly focussed on representing Tolkien's fiction but when I hear how it emphasises Travel, Combat and Debate it also sounds like it might be a good fit for running a Mouse Guard game. Would it be hard work to hack it for other settings?

I like Middle Earth but, as I don't know many people who have interest in gaming in that setting, I think I'd get more use out of the game if I could use it for other settings too. Up until now I've not given it much consideration.

I doubt it would be any easier or harder to move around elements of TOR than it is to make mash ups of other games and settings.

My impression is that people who don't have an interest (or don't know they have an interest) in gaming in middle earth fall into two camps:

Weirdos who hate the books and movies and think the whole thing stinks. The only person like this who gets a pass is Michael Moorcock. Everyone else gets lined up against the wall when the revolution comes.

People who are so intimidated by the story line in the novels that they can't think of anything to do in a game set there, other than flee to some time or setting the books don't address. I would say TOR's greatest accomplishment is that it directly took on this problem and won. They have only started to publish material on this setting and already there are a couple dozen adventures that will suck you in.

Personally, I'm most looking forward to the day when they really go for it and write pair of books (setting/adventures) for Moria or Mordor. If you like characters to really get belly down in the shit, that's what you want.

Morecock doesn't get a pass. Whiny bitch went after Winnie the Pooh.

Like his Emo Albino's shit don't stink. What a wanker.

Quote from: TristramEvans;811443Morecock doesn't get a pass. Whiny bitch went after Winnie the Pooh.

Like his Emo Albino's shit don't stink. What a wanker.

Yeah, if you all you ever read is dark, satirical, "this is how things really are, and yes they do suck that bad" literature and media, what do you get?  A sad misanthropic bastard like Michael Moorcock or Alan Moore.

God Bless 'Em.

As far as The One Ring goes, it's like Trail of Cthulhu, a game executed with great detail and love of the setting, which makes its supplements worthwhile even if you don't use the new school rules.