D&D 4E 4e and Middle Earth

[GoodKingJayIII]

I've gotten the impression that the Heroic tier will emulate ME pretty well. I have to agree that you've pretty much got to stick with the martial classes on this one: Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, and Warlord. Clerics, Paladins, Warlocks and Wizards don't fit as well, in my mind, although I'm sure you could squeeze them in if you wanted.

 

[Li Shenron]

I think there is no edition of D&D that captures how magic works in ME.

Maybe if you remove all spellcasters and replace them with something else.

 

[TrogsTavern]

Absolutely. Martial Power Sources work in ME.

And what's all this talk of no cleric in ME? Elrond had legendary healing skills. Aragorn was able to heal as well. So some sort of granting of healing surges type thing is going on there.

Chances are you could tailor a class to mimic the abilities of all the heroes of ME. Just mix up a new power list. Gandalf often seemed to have a morale boosting effect on the party. And he certainly had an excellent History and Diplomacy skills. And while Gandalf and Saurumon and the like were demi-gods that is not to say that they might not have taught their skills other, lesser wizards. The Staff and Orb implements seem to fit in ME nicely. If I had to make a new class for "wizard" in ME I think I would call it "The Wise" as this phrase is used often.

Also it is difficult to say if Gandalfs power over fire was a true innate magical owner or spell OR the effect of wearing the Elven Ring of Fire. Since, as someone mentioned, much of ME's magic seems to be imbued in items.

 

[Cyronax]

Absolutely. Martial Power Sources work in ME.

And what's all this talk of no cleric in ME? Elrond had legendary healing skills. Aragorn was able to heal as well. So some sort of granting of healing surges type thing is going on there.

Chances are you could tailor a class to mimic the abilities of all the heroes of ME. Just mix up a new power list. Gandalf often seemed to have a morale boosting effect on the party. And he certainly had an excellent History and Diplomacy skills. And while Gandalf and Saurumon and the like were demi-gods that is not to say that they might not have taught their skills other, lesser wizards. The Staff and Orb implements seem to fit in ME nicely. If I had to make a new class for "wizard" in ME I think I would call it "The Wise" as this phrase is used often.

Also it is difficult to say if Gandalfs power over fire was a true innate magical owner or spell OR the effect of wearing the Elven Ring of Fire. Since, as someone mentioned, much of ME's magic seems to be imbued in items.

Yes Elrond and Gandalf have healing powers. Its a frequency matter however.

Like any novel, power is often limited to key characters/way points in the story. ME would not make sense if characters with powers like Elrond or Gandalf (to a substantially lesser degree) were present in every city.

I see ME as a great campaign for a low magic/pragmatic storyline. The important thing to remember is that martial characters should be able to gain talents in recuperative fields so that they can be healers or herbalists.

 

[Khairn]

Even though I am a huge MERP fan, the best system I've seen for ME is Grim Tales by Badaxe, and then Riddle of Steel, followed by Iron Heroes. IMHO, 4E is built on a high fantasy cinematic theme that runs quite contrary to much of ME.

 

[Starman]

I think 3.5 would work just fine for ME if you didn't mind changing a few things. I would probably start with E6, make casters multi-class (1 caster level every other level) and make flashier magic the province of rituals from UA. That's just off the top of my head.

 

[mhensley]

Gandalf totally marked that Balrog.

 

[xechnao]

IMO D20 is not well suited for a ME game if you are thinking of something like Lotr. Not for the reasons people have posted here that mostly regard character builds and magic dependence but rather for the reason that the encounters D20 is designed for are not in tune with the encounters one usually has to cope with in Lotr. I yet have to see a game that could capture Lotr in a satisfying way (I own both MERP and Riddle of Steel mentioned in the thread). Perhaps the system of Heroquest by Issaries is the most suitable I can recommend but with some heavy houseruling needed.

 

[TrogsTavern]

Yes Elrond and Gandalf have healing powers. Its a frequency matter however.

Like any novel, power is often limited to key characters/way points in the story. ME would not make sense if characters with powers like Elrond or Gandalf (to a substantially lesser degree) were present in every city.

I see ME as a great campaign for a low magic/pragmatic storyline. The important thing to remember is that martial characters should be able to gain talents in recuperative fields so that they can be healers or herbalists.

True. Well perhaps "healer" can be an Epic Destiny then. That'll keep it rare enough.

 

[Cyronax]

True. Well perhaps "healer" can be an Epic Destiny then. That'll keep it rare enough.

Why not in their heroic or paragon tiers as well? An ME campaign is limited only by the era, with the only limitation being that big-time casters are very very very rare.

Strider, as a healer, however is not an 'epic' thing.