D&D 5E Free League's Lord of the Rings RPG Comes To 5E

Last year, Free League Kickstarted the new version of The One Ring, the official tabletop RPG set in Middle Earth. It made over $2M on Kickstarter, making it the 7th biggest TTRPG Kickstarter in history.

Now it's time for the 5E-powered version. This one won't be hitting Kickstarter, but you will be able to pre-order it this fall for a release in 2023.

As noted by Alex Clippinger on Twitter, this isn't an update of Cubicle 7's Adventures in Middle Earth -- "People asked about the previous 5E adaptation in the showcase and FL clarified that this is a distinct 5E adaptation of their own One Ring system and shouldn’t be thought of as a new adaptation/version of C7’s Adventures in Middle Earth (sorry AiME lovers!)"

Free League Announces The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying For 5E

“This is the Master-ring, the One Ring to rule them all.”

The path to Middle-earth will soon open for new adventurers. We are thrilled to reveal that the acclaimed second edition of The One Ring™ roleplaying game is coming soon in a 5E adaptation, entitled The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying.

The new edition of The One Ring™ RPG, set in the world of The Lord of the Rings™ by J.R.R. Tolkien and designed by Francesco Nepitello and Marco Maggi, became the most successful tabletop roleplaying core game ever on Kickstarter when it ended March 4, 2021. Now the time has come to open Middle-earth for even more roleplayers with a brand new 5E adaptation.

The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying contains everything you need to create exciting 5E adventures set in the world’s most popular fantasy setting: six original heroic cultures from the land of Eriador, six new classes, a host of terrifying adversaries, and comprehensive rules for journeys, councils, wondrous artefacts, and the subtle magic of Middle-earth.

The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying core compendium will enter pre-order this fall, alongside a scenario module entitled Shire Adventures. A pre-order will give you immediate access to a full PDF of the products. The retail release of both is planned for Q1 2023.

 

[darjr]

Can’t wait!

So many cool things from them!

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Heh, but mechanically, I dont think AiME is compatible with AiME.

I would love to (maybe in another thread if you are up to it) hear your experences... I didn't play it as a middle earth campaign but I used it to make a martial heavy game with powerful but rare magic

 

[Grendel_Khan]

It'll be interesting to see if they stick to their guns, and avoid making magic-users playable (as in TOR 2e), or go full 5e and have tons of spellcasters. I hope they don't budge on that, though I can only imagine the outcry from folks who don't really know the source material.

 

[John R Davis]

AiME is extraordinarily beautiful.

Heh, but mechanically, I dont think AiME is compatible with AiME.

Yeah. We tried. It really did flow for us ( luckily excellent resale value!).

 

[Yaarel]

I would love to (maybe in another thread if you are up to it) hear your experences... I didn't play it as a middle earth campaign but I used it to make a martial heavy game with powerful but rare magic

AiME has a sensitivity. The narrative, the flavor, the way mechanics enhance the flavor. The art.

As far as a storytelling game, AiME might be the best I have seen.

But the mechanics.

To be fair, I like mages, and high magic. So I go for whatever "wizard" archetypes are in a setting (magical, tech, whatever).

The Fighter-esque classes in AiME are proper 5e classes.

But the Wizard-esque classes are ... appalling. I get it that it is a low-magic setting. I am ok with that. But when they removed the spells, they didnt actually replace them with anything (viable). They just said, lets take away the spells. Done. Here you go. With a completely half-asked character. And AiME thought this is perfectly fine.

If you focus on the story. And you love Fighters. You will love AiME.

 

[Yaarel]

If a game is "low magic". Then the mages should be half-casters.

Then the "wizard" (like Gandalf) should be a Paladin.

An other "wizard" might be a Trickster Rogue.

A "druid" should be a Ranger.

And so on.

But one cant offer a strictly − woefully − subpar class.

Mechanical game engine balance − matters. Especially in 5e.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

ut the Wizard-esque classes are ... appalling. I get it that it is a low-magic setting. I am ok with that. But when they removed the spells, they didnt actually replace them with anything (viable). They just said, lets take away the spells. Done. Here you go. With a completely half-asked character. And AiME thought this is perfectly fine.

I would argue the ranger and bard classes lossing there spells but still being closely balanced speaks to how powerful Bard is

 

[ngenius]

Absolute joy! For those who missed out on Adventures in Middle-Earth, this is a welcome addition.
And the fact this is a pre-order, not a Kickstarter, will avoid the unhealthy comparisons of D&D 5th Edition Kickstarter funding versus original system funding, especially for this same franchise.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

If a game is "low magic". Then the mages should be half-casters.

i took the warlock class but made it a half caster and used that to make some things and it work okayish

what i ended up doing was having NPCs that had spells or supernatural gifts (and some that had martial maneuvers) and let PCs learn them as down time activities...

I used a Worg from GoT as an idea and gave an NPC some basic druid spells... and the ability to use a mix of pact of the chain warlock and the find familiar spell but on any beast of Int 6 or less and the CR had to be in line with the moon druid wildshapes... and then I let the NPC have 6 such animals... but 1 down time activity taught the PC speak with animals, the second gave them the worg ability for 1 animal at a time and if they stayed for a 3rd they could have a number of beasts equal to 1/2 prof...

the PC that spent 3 down times doing that then asked if he could make up his own special ability and as 2 downtime activities gave him self the ability to speak and communicate telepathically to anyone with a language.

 

[Weiley31]

I know it's not Cubicle 7, but I am eagerly looking forward to this as well. Plus ya know, We'll probably get a Mines of Moria book+Balrog this time since the license expired right on the doorsteps of that when Cubicle 7 were doing the books. I wonder how the Journey mechanics will compare.