I have high hopes that the 5E OGL will really start to open up the game...and this would seem to qualify! Very excited for this.
I see the potential downside of everything going d20 style and games getting stale with the same old system, D&D is undeniably popular, but its system is certainly not the best for every setting or even any good for every style of game/setting out there.
Fortunately, C7 is doing this in addition to their One Ring line, not instead of it. So there's no danger of "everything going D20." TOR will still be there for all who want it, including (hopefully) new fans brought on board by the D20 books.
Fortunately, C7 is doing this in addition to their One Ring line, not instead of it. So there's no danger of "everything going D20." TOR will still be there for all who want it, including (hopefully) new fans brought on board by the D20 books.
I agree. I am quite looking forward to the Lord of the Rings interpretation of D&D. The Fourth Age is a very interesting place for adventures, while still having a lot of the features of the movies. The loss of ringwraiths is the biggest loss, but there may be other creatures of similar characteristics in the East
I suspect that C7's products will focus on the same era and locales as their The One Ring line; basically T.A. 2953 to T.A. 3018, in Gondor and Arnor.
I'm pretty sure they have to. Do they even have the rights for anything outside the "core" Hobbit/LotR settings/stories?
Speaking as another fan of Gondor and the Stewards, I can say that I think I'd rather have them not support Gondor if they aren't interested. Gondor done by people who don't grok Gondor tends to exaggerate its flaws and not do justice to what makes it cool. (I kind of think the movies suffered from that problem.) And in my experience, it's rare to find a Tolkien fan who likes both the North and the South of M-E.The entire backstory of Gondor, Numenor, Isildur and Anarion, the North and South Kingdoms of the Men of the West, etc., are by far my favorite parts of the Lord of the Rings lore, closely followed by the history of the Silmarils. I don't currently have any tattoos, but if I ever got one, it would be of exactly one thing --- the White Tree of Gondor.
So yeah, I'm partial to Gondor. And Reynard might be right; The One Ring isn't "made" just for me. They made a design decision to stick to one particular time period and locales for the system.
Speaking as another fan of Gondor and the Stewards, I can say that I think I'd rather have them not support Gondor if they aren't interested. Gondor done by people who don't grok Gondor tends to exaggerate its flaws and not do justice to what makes it cool. (I kind of think the movies suffered from that problem.) And in my experience, it's rare to find a Tolkien fan who likes both the North and the South of M-E.
Just my 2 cents, for whatever consolation that might offer.
I own it and would very much like to try it, but have never had a chance to play it.Out of curiosity, are you familiar with The One Ring?
Tolkien fandom (and scholarship) runs deep over at C7.
I own it and would very much like to try it, but have never had a chance to play it.
I don't doubt C7's scholarship or their love for Tolkien's world. But let's just say that I've seen a lot of scholarly and sincere fans of Aragorn and the Rangers of the North who have spoken extremely slightingly of Gondor and the Dúnedain of the South. To the point that when someone proclaims a strong preference for the northern regions (as C7 has by focusing exclusively on them since the publication of TOR), I tend to assume they're "that type" of fan until and unless they prove otherwise.