Enter into a world of adventure that you have encountered before in books and movies with The One Ring from Cubicle 7 Entertainment. Based on the words and worlds of J.R.R Tolkien, the game has you adventure between the stories of The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings. Play heroes who explore the world of Middle-earth after the great dragon Smaug has fallen, and before the Fellowship of the Ring must rise up.
... evil and danger had grown and thriven in the Wild, since the dragons had driven men from the lands, and the Goblins had spread in secret after the battle of the Mines of Moria.
Unlike other traditional fantasy games that dabble in the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, The One Ring is low magic game (also available in PDF) and instead of character classes your characters are built using a skill based d6 dice pool. A d12 is also rolled which represents the growing power and corruption of the Shadow over Middle-earth. PCs can be corrupted into giving in to their shadow weakness (like greed or rage) through anguish, blighted lands, evil deeds, or taking tainted treasure. The game plays seamlessly through journeys, encounters, and combat. The book is a 332 page full-color hardcover with a starting adventure and example PCs.
There were many paths that led up into those mountains, and many passes over them. But most of the paths were cheats and deceptions and led nowhere or to bad ends…
As you would expect from a game designed around the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, the journey is an important part of play in The One Ring. A successful journey requires a number of skill tests from all PCs to determine what shape they are in when they arrive. The PCs have a map of the world of Middle-earth that is inspired by the familiar map from Tolkien's novels, while the GM’s map has hexes and varying levels of hazard difficulty overlaid and more detail. Journeys amaze, terrify, and accurately model the novels albeit on a smaller scale. The PCs are not rangers and powerful wizards, so their travels are more local but still dangerous and exciting.
"P’raps ye sits here and chats with it a bitsy, my preciousss. It like riddles, praps it does, does it?"
When the adventurers need to demonstrate their intentions to a wary group of NPCs, they handle it through several skill tests. Every PC is involved and use not just interaction skills but also skills like Song and Riddle. The rules work well and can result in the PCs getting everything they asked for, some of it, or more than they bargained for.
Unfortunately, unknown heroes may meet with kings on their first adventure. In the novels, some heroes are princes or wizards. The PCs are a bit more humble to start. If they could meet only with less powerful leaders and had to work their way up to advisors and finally kings and wizards the game would be improved.
There was a ring and clatter as the company drew their swords.
Combat is dangerous and detailed with ambushes, called shots, and even removing a helm during a battle. A variety of creatures and foes threaten the PCs. However, combat is static with different ranks the PCs stand in and attack from. There is none of the flowing movement from the novels like a cavalry charge or a running battle through the woods. The game does a good job in simulating the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, while at the same highlighting how differently role-playing games sometimes have to handle things from the concerns of fiction. You can recreate the experiences of Tolkien's writings, but there will be slight differences.
Play The One Ring if you want to explore Middle-earth or if you want a solid low magic fantasy RPG. The art captures the feel of the world, the maps and adventures are top notch, and Cubicle 7 continues to support the game with quality adventures and rules supplements. If these are qualities that you look for in an RPG, consider this to be a recommendation to get a copy of The One Ring for yourself.
This article was contributed by Charles Dunwoody as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Charles is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
... evil and danger had grown and thriven in the Wild, since the dragons had driven men from the lands, and the Goblins had spread in secret after the battle of the Mines of Moria.
Unlike other traditional fantasy games that dabble in the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, The One Ring is low magic game (also available in PDF) and instead of character classes your characters are built using a skill based d6 dice pool. A d12 is also rolled which represents the growing power and corruption of the Shadow over Middle-earth. PCs can be corrupted into giving in to their shadow weakness (like greed or rage) through anguish, blighted lands, evil deeds, or taking tainted treasure. The game plays seamlessly through journeys, encounters, and combat. The book is a 332 page full-color hardcover with a starting adventure and example PCs.
There were many paths that led up into those mountains, and many passes over them. But most of the paths were cheats and deceptions and led nowhere or to bad ends…
As you would expect from a game designed around the stories of J.R.R. Tolkien, the journey is an important part of play in The One Ring. A successful journey requires a number of skill tests from all PCs to determine what shape they are in when they arrive. The PCs have a map of the world of Middle-earth that is inspired by the familiar map from Tolkien's novels, while the GM’s map has hexes and varying levels of hazard difficulty overlaid and more detail. Journeys amaze, terrify, and accurately model the novels albeit on a smaller scale. The PCs are not rangers and powerful wizards, so their travels are more local but still dangerous and exciting.
"P’raps ye sits here and chats with it a bitsy, my preciousss. It like riddles, praps it does, does it?"
When the adventurers need to demonstrate their intentions to a wary group of NPCs, they handle it through several skill tests. Every PC is involved and use not just interaction skills but also skills like Song and Riddle. The rules work well and can result in the PCs getting everything they asked for, some of it, or more than they bargained for.
Unfortunately, unknown heroes may meet with kings on their first adventure. In the novels, some heroes are princes or wizards. The PCs are a bit more humble to start. If they could meet only with less powerful leaders and had to work their way up to advisors and finally kings and wizards the game would be improved.
There was a ring and clatter as the company drew their swords.
Combat is dangerous and detailed with ambushes, called shots, and even removing a helm during a battle. A variety of creatures and foes threaten the PCs. However, combat is static with different ranks the PCs stand in and attack from. There is none of the flowing movement from the novels like a cavalry charge or a running battle through the woods. The game does a good job in simulating the worlds of J.R.R. Tolkien, while at the same highlighting how differently role-playing games sometimes have to handle things from the concerns of fiction. You can recreate the experiences of Tolkien's writings, but there will be slight differences.
Play The One Ring if you want to explore Middle-earth or if you want a solid low magic fantasy RPG. The art captures the feel of the world, the maps and adventures are top notch, and Cubicle 7 continues to support the game with quality adventures and rules supplements. If these are qualities that you look for in an RPG, consider this to be a recommendation to get a copy of The One Ring for yourself.
This article was contributed by Charles Dunwoody as part of EN World's Columnist (ENWC) program. Please note that Charles is a participant in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to DriveThruRPG. We are always on the lookout for freelance columnists! If you have a pitch, please contact us!
