Is The One Ring 2E Kickstarter going to break the records?

At over $140K in the first half hour and shooting quickly past the $200K mark before the first hour was up, the numbers on Free League's Kickstarter for the 2nd Edition of The One Ring are whizzing up faster than the eye can see!

THE ONE RING™ Roleplaying Game, Second Edition

A new edition of the roleplaying game set in the world of The Lord of the Rings™ by J.R.R. Tolkien, designed by Francesco Nepitello.

www.kickstarter.com

The record for a TTRPG Kickstarter is Matt Colville, at over $2M for his Strongholds & Followers project (and a followup $1.3M campaign). The next highest was John Wick's 7th Sea at about $1.2M.

There were over 6,000 people who were following the pre-launch page for this Kickstarter, which runs for three weeks.

 

[ART!]

I’ve played AIME but never One Ring. Is it a good system? Any recommendations based on the first edition?

I played MERP believe it or not many many years ago after getting their boxed set as a Xmas present back in the last century.

After all our discussions about trying new systems I thought maybe I should branch out a bit!

Hopefully others will respond with more detail, but just from reading through TOR 1E, it seemed very good to this Tolkien fan and lifelong gamer - and from what I hear some of the complaints about 1E have been addressed very smartly in this new edition.

 

[Ibrandul]

I only have time to play one system so I am going to pass. A me with more time would be interested.

The KS page says they're also planning a D&D 5e-compatible version (like Cubicle 7's Adventures in Middle-earth), though it will come later. So if 5e is the one system you have time for, all you need do is allow some more of that time to pass.

 

[Umbran]

I am in the same boat. My players have made it clear they want to stick with one system given their limited free time. Really I am in the same boat. I miss the days where we tried everything like Warhammer, Shadowrun, GURPS and even Rifts but with busy family and work lives sticking to one system has worked best.

For me, it isn't "stick to one system" - for us, a new campaign generally means a new game.

It is just that they're not interested in playing in Middle Earth. They also aren't interested in playing Star Wars, or Star Trek, specifically.

 

[Jeff Carpenter]

I am not a LoTR fan at all but I am a sucker for starter sets and that one looks fly as hell.

Plus free league puts out great stuff.

 

[lyle.spade]

I am balanced on the edge here...it looks great, but they there's that issue of "could I build a group to play this, and if so, would it last beyond a few sessions?" I tried AiME for 5e and while I liked the books a lot and the rules mods, it never felt like Middle Earth - just dreary, low magic DnD. I suppose these rules would feel different, but I wonder if the dreariness is a feature of the setting.

Fortunately there are no limited-time pledges, so I can wait a few weeks while this blows and and decide in the closing moments.

Regardless, it's nice to see another RPG get so much support, financially - it's good for the industry and good for the hobby.

 

[Iamoutofhere]

I liked The One Ring 1st Edition. I quite liked MERP. I hated AiME. I expect this 2nd edition of The One Ring will be excellent. That’s my two cents

 

[Takei]

Another interesting aspect is that around 50% of the backers are grabbing the limited edition. Being an homage to one of Tolkien's own covers I can see why.

 

[Marc_C]

No one to play this with. I no longer buy RPGs just to read them.

I'm sure it will break records. LOTR is very popular and Free League is trust worthy when it comes to Kickstarters.

 

[TheSword]

Pretty crazy how fast every stretch goal has been completed. I wonder if they’ll add some more.

How much did their Alien Kickstarter make do people know?

 

[Michael Linke]

For me, it isn't "stick to one system" - for us, a new campaign generally means a new game.

It is just that they're not interested in playing in Middle Earth. They also aren't interested in playing Star Wars, or Star Trek, specifically.

MCDM talked about how early D&D was designed to simulate a very specific kind of story, and that made a lot of stuff click for me about how different editions were meant to play and feel, and why some of our 2e campaigns just died in the transition to 3e. I 100% agree with the "new campaign generally means a game" thing. You pick a system that has rules that help you tell the story you want to tell. if no system works, you find the closest fit and modify it (or obligatory cortex prime plug).