The One Ring/Adventures in Middle-earth License Goes to Free League

Swedish company Free League has announced that it has taken over the license for Tolkien-based RPGs The One Ring and Adventures in Middle Earth!

Up until recently, Cubicle 7 was the publisher of Adventures in Middle Earth and The One Ring. AiME is the D&D-5E based version, while The One Ring is its own system. The press release says they will be doing both.

Free League (Fria Ligan) are ENnie Award winners and the publisher of popular d6 games like Tales from the Loop and Alien. Here's the press release:

Free League Signs Deal to Publish RPGs in Tolkien's Middle-Earth

Free League Publishing today announced a partnership with Sophisticated Games to publish tabletop roleplaying games set in Middle-earth and based on the books by J.R.R. Tolkien. Francesco Nepitello, author of the game series alongside Marco Maggi, will continue as its lead designer.

"We are thrilled to be working with Sophisticated Games and Francesco Nepitello to bring to life a new edition of The One Ring and its 5E iteration. We grew up with J.R.R. Tolkien's iconic works and we're huge fans of the original version of the game. We have a very similar approach to game design as Francesco and we're convinced that we can create something truly special together," Free League’s CEO Tomas Härenstam says.

“Free League shares all our values. Values which are vital in interpreting the most extraordinary fantasy world ever created, one that is of enduring interest throughout the world in every language. Working with Free League’s highly talented team we look forward to continuing the work we began a decade ago, with publication of The One Ring," says Sophisticated Games’s MD Robert Hyde.

The agreement will go into effect from June 1, 2020. Products and release dates will be announced at a later time.

Fria Ligan | News

frialigan.se

 

[JeffB]

Do people buy RPGs from shelves these days?

I do on occasion. I hate buying expensive hardbacks without a browse through. I've looked through all the 5E books on shelves. It saved me a ton of money.

 

[Arilyn]

Sorry for not being clearer. If they are on the shelves of my local store in Montreal,Canada, they should not have any problem hitting the shelves of US stores.

And Tales from the Loop is sitting in my game store in Prince George, BC., so really shouldn't be a problem. And of course you can order their products if not on shelf.

 

[Morrus]

I thought Tales from the Loop was a TV show.

TftL came out a few years ago. There's a news item about the new Tales from the Loop starter set on the front page right now. Great chance to check them out!

 

[lyle.spade]

Glad to see the IP will not disappear from the RPG world, but I'm going to be the contrarian here. The Year Zero engine is decent for some things, but feels pretty vanilla after some play. I've played Mutant Year Zero and Alien, and have read and worked on some materials for a Forbidden Lands campaign that we decided to shelve. I does 'dreary' well given what seems to be the designers' fixation on resource management and ever-present peril, and that could fit ME. Combat is pretty flat, however - not a lot to vary the feel of different weapons or moves. Yes, there is some, but if you're used to something like PF, 2d20, or even 5e with mid-level characters, the system will likely start to yield encounters that all feel the same after a while.

It seems odd, too, that a company that already has a lower magic, gritty fantasy world (Forbidden Lands) would produce something that has a similarly down-not vibe...at least if they pick up the "everything is slowly going to s#%t" vibe of AiME.

And for the record, there are many things to like about AiME, and I think it was a good translation of Tolkien's world to 5e. Still, kinda dreary.

 

[Ethawyn]

Glad to see the IP will not disappear from the RPG world, but I'm going to be the contrarian here. The Year Zero engine is decent for some things, but feels pretty vanilla after some play.

I like YZE, but the story is very clear they're working on a version of The One Ring using the ruleset that was created for that game (which was owned by Sophisticated Games, the licenser, not Free League. So, opinons of YZE aren't really relevant.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, they're doing The One Ring and AiME (5E rules). There's no indication they're changing the ruleset. IN fact:

"Francesco Nepitello, author of the game series alongside Marco Maggi, will continue as its lead designer."

 

[JeffB]

TftL came out a few years ago. There's a news item about the new Tales from the Loop starter set on the front page right now. Great chance to check them out!

Can't say that the premise of the game/series floats my boat after looking at the TV show trailer, but thanks for the FYI. I'll keep an eye out for the Middle Earth news.

 

[lyle.spade]

I like YZE, but the story is very clear they're working on a version of The One Ring using the ruleset that was created for that game (which was owned by Sophisticated Games, the licenser, not Free League. So, opinons of YZE aren't really relevant.

Good point. Then I will hope for the best and let others wander into the minefield and test that out first.

 

[Staffan]

So is this the face of the new Adventures in Middle-earth orc? Courtesy of artist Nils Gullikson from the Forbidden Lands.


View attachment 119745

That would be awesome, but unfortunately not likely. As far as I'm aware, Nils Gulliksson doesn't work as an artist anymore, at least not in RPGs. That orc is from 1985. Nils was the main illustrator in the Swedish game Drakar och Demoner (which was an off-shoot from Runequest/Basic Roleplaying) in the mid to late 80s, and strongly established the game's look, because he was effin' amazing. But eventually he transitioned to a role in the company where he didn't draw as much, and then in the mid-90s the publisher went bankrupt and eventually got reconstructed as Paradox (which eventually lead to the Paradox that now owns World of Darkness, and which makes assorted strategy computer games).

Then, fast-forward to a couple of years ago. Someone at Fria Ligan got in touch with Nils Gulliksson, and got the rights to make an art book featuring a lot of his illustrations. They Kickstart the book, and one of the top stretch goals is "We'll make a new RPG based on these illustrations." Of course, they beat this stretch goal, and proceed to make Forbidden Lands by taking the Mutant Year Zero engine, adapting it for fantasy, and combining it with Nisse's amazing art (plus some new art drawn in the same vein).

 

[Sunsword]

The only "bad" thing about this is I was kind of secretly hoping for AiME to get stripped of its ME IP and be rereleased as a generic toolkit for low magic 5E gaming.

Couldn't this still happen now that Cubicle 7 has lost the license? They could use the OGL to do this.

I feel bad for C7, they put a lot of great work into both games. I think Free League are a good company, but they will have a very strong foundation to work from.