I HAVE IT!! AT LAST, IT IS MINE!!! MINE, I TELL YOU!! MIIIIIINE!!! (LotR)

[mmadsen]

If you would care to elaborate on CoC's magic system I might be better able to evaluate their compatability.

As ColonelHardisson already pointed out, CoC spells cost Ability points to cast. A spell might cost you two points of Int or Wis (leaving your thought muddled), or Str or Con (leaving you tired and weak), or whatever.

Also, CoC introduces the concept of Sanity, and spells generally cost Sanity to learn and cast. That part's not very Middle Earth.

 

[Melkor Lord Of ALL!]

Gandalf isn't statted in the core book, but Saruman is. His race is listed as "From across the Sea" since the concept of Maia isn't part of Decipher's licence. He doesn't have any unique abilities or powers that I can see, but he does have 42 levels of advancement which is a ton.

Are 42 levels of advancement roughly equal to 42 level character in D20?

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I'm not very familiar with CoC's magic system, so you might have to help me a bit on this one. The basic idea behind the LotR system is that casting spells is very tiring, and if you try to do too much at once you could easily knock yourself out or make yourself useless for a time. The more spells you cast, the more difficult it becomes to keep casting them and not collapse from exhaustion.

If you would care to elaborate on CoC's magic system I might be better able to evaluate their compatability.

As mmadsen pointed out, it's as simple as it sounds, pretty much - when you cast a spell, you are dealt ability damage. How much and what ability depends on the spell.

 

[Apok]

As mmadsen pointed out, it's as simple as it sounds, pretty much - when you cast a spell, you are dealt ability damage. How much and what ability depends on the spell.

Well, it would definitely be different. As an example, I suppose you could have each deal 1 or more points of Str or Con damage per casting. You will be loosing out on the spell-failure potential (since in LotR it isn't guaranteed that you will sucessfully cast the spell) and players could conceivable throw around several spells in a row without worrying too much. The method has it's upsides and it's downsides. The ability damage will limit the number of spells a character will cast at any given time, which fits in with the flavor.

Okay, so as a revision...

Casting a spell will cause the character to incur ability damage (I would stick to Con, Str or both), but they can still cast any spell they know an unlimited number of times (or until they collapse ). All you would need to do would be assign how much ability damage a given spell deals when it is cast. For the purpouse of flavor, the standard D&D spell lists would need to be trimmed but I leave that up to the individual tastes of the DM's.

 

[Apok]

Are 42 levels of advancement roughly equal to 42 level character in D20?

Roughly? No, not really. Each level of advancement gets you five "picks" which you can use to improve your character. A "pick" can allow you to increase a skill, increase an attribute or a reaction, gain additional class abilities, gain access into a new order, etc. Gaining power through advancement in LotR is more gradual than in D&D, though I like the LotR system since it is far more flexible. Don't get me wrong, though, 42 levels of advancement is a lot . That's 210 "picks" worth of stuff, which is pretty damn powerful, but then again what constitutes as "powerful" is a relative thing. In D&D, being able to vorpal somebody's head off with an unarmed attack is powerful. In LotR, the same level of power could be equated with controlling an empire, leading an inferior force to victory over a vastly superior army or manipulating powerful lords behind the scenes with ease. Think of what Saruman was capable of in Tolkien's writings, and you have an idea of how powerful 42 levels of advancement is.

 

[Wolfspider]

bump

 

[Doug Justice]

I've had the book for about a week and I'm very impressed. I've been running a Middle-Earth d20 off and on using the material from many of the good folks on this board. Beginning this weekend tho, I'll be starting a full-fledged campaign using this system. I'll let everyone know how it goes.

I really like the system and the feel of the game certainly seems "right."


Doug

 

[JeffB]

The more I read the cooler it gets.

I'm particularly impressed with magic system the more I read of it. It really captures the feel of the setting in that (and I know it's been said a million times) it's very subtle but powerful. This is not "spellcasting" this is natural ebb and flow that you become one with and use with the blessing of the Valar (my own stupid rambling, not the book's)...Mechanics wise it's got some cool Rune magic stuff (which dwarves tend to prefer), Song magic which is harder to learn but makes effects more powerful..very cool I thought since song is used so much in ME. Things like using the word "elbereth" in the presence of the truly evil causing them to fight/act a bit less effectively. The Magic in nature. The "Sanctum" ability and Sanctum power (Used mainly for NPC's and example being Elrond and Imladris and his ability to control nature in Rivendell..his sanctum). Just ALOT of cool stuff in the magic section. the essays on keeping it true to the books and also where there is some mild "ad lib" when Tolkien's works were vague is quite good, and in line with established material.

I also like that each Order (Class) has a few different packages to pick from (think of these kind of like 2E kits..they are skill packages/bundles)

Unlike MERP (which I do like very much), Decipher's game is really designed around the setting instead of modifying the setting to fit the game, if you will. Steven Long and the folks after him who polished it up did a fantastic job. The more I read the better it gets (well... except for the crappy character sheet..)

 

[Wolfspider]

Sounds great. I can feel my excitement growing!

But I must admit slight disappointment that there are no dragons.

Tolkien's dragons are truly bad.

 

[Apok]

But I must admit slight disappointment that there are no dragons.

Tolkien's dragons are truly bad.

Fortunately, the Dragons of Middle-Earth will be given treatment in a future suppliment. I can't remember the name, but it's listed on the Decipher webpage somewhere.

After doing a thourough reading through of the book, I must say that I love it. I haven't been this excited about a system since the release of 3e. My one complaint, and it's not really a complaint per se, is that they should've included a "Quick-step" character creation section, detailing the major steps to making a character. This isn't a major gripe since I can make a quick reference guide myself but it would've been nice to have one already there.

Also, for those of you who are disappointed with the character sheet, there is an alternate one floating around the 'net somewhere made by one of the posters on the Decipher boards. It's quite nice, but I can't seem to be able to find it at rpgsheets.com anymore so if anyone wants a copy just ask and I'll email it.