Are you interested in Middle-earth setting or supermodule?

[phil500]

Not me. Middle Earth is a bit dull, and you'd have to rip roughly 80% out of 4e to make it fit. D&D doesn't really handle the relatively low fantasy of the setting well.
When magic is the sole province of semi-divine beings and healing is an art that requires specific herbs and days or even weeks of time, it starts butting heads with D&D's assumptions.

hmm I didnt think about that. Why rip it out of 4e when you can put it into middle earth?

I wouldnt hesitate to make any changes to lotr that the gameplay called for.

 

[AZRogue]

I play MERP all the time and love it so would definitely buy, if only to own, any Middle Earth setting, provided it was accurate and not somebody's "interpretation" of the books. Making changes like that is one of the reasons why I loathed the movies and had to walk out on one of them (RotK). It's a difficult thing to do, keeping a person's creative mitts off a product, so I don't think it would be very easy to pull off. Maybe not worth the effort.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

ME and DnD do not fit together. I could jam the square peg into the round hole, but it's going to be tough and the end result will probably look forced and awkward.

 

[Korgoth]

I wouldnt hesitate to make any changes to lotr that the gameplay called for.

That's what would be wrong with it.

 

[WHW4]

Our group is currently running a Middle-Earth campaign. Set in Third Age 2800, and using Iron Heroes rules. Our spellcasters are using True Sorcery with the arcanist variant from that book.

Very action-oriented (thanks IH!), and our group (now approaching 8th level) is coming to terms with just how powerful an arcanist can be. They actually fit into the world quite nicely, with one conceit: you understand that they and the Istari are playing in two completely different ballgames.

It's been a blast! There is alot of wilderness in Middle-Earth and all the things that can happen to you from point A to point B are fun to address. Of course, some enemies get a redressing to fit with the setting, but do a quick scouring of the many Tolkien compendium/excyclopedia sites and you'll see there's actually alot of creature variety that the casual movie-watcher or even someone who just ran through the Lord of the Rings books didn't pick up on.

We also entered this campaign with the express knowledge that what we did COULD have far reaching consequences. For instance, if the characters did for some reason go and actually manage to slay Smaug (who at this point has only been at Erebor for thirty-something years I belive) then there would be no Quest for the Lonely Mountain in Bilbo's time, hence he doesn't find the ring, hence alot of other things change.

I should mention by the way that our group has played high-level, super-magic, low-level, several systems and editions between all of us, and we have ceased our "Tim's campaign this week, Jim's next week" campaign hopping we usually do. We have stuck with this for a good two and a half months now without anyone mentioning wanting to try something else on the side.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I would be interested in seeing someone's take on the setting. But its unlikely I'd ever buy it or use it. Also I don't think Tolkien's world would work with PCs higher than the heroic or (big maybe) the paragon tier.

 

[RandomCitizenX]

Never been a fan of middle earth themed games. Just never found the world compelling although the LotR story is ok (not too keen on the writing though)

 

[Kishin]

I don't find LoTR to be a good fit with the mechanics of D&D, especially 4E D&D.

 

[Mallus]

Playing a D&D campaign in Middle Earth is a little like a group of Tolkien fans who go to the cemetery where he's buried with intent of celebrating his work, end up getting sloppy drunk, and vomit all over his grave during an attempt to urinate on it.

 

[phil500]

That's what would be wrong with it.

I don't see how. It would be cool to go to moria and mirkwood, drink ent juice, defend minas tirith, etc. who cares if you have to bend things around? to stay perfectly true to it would be to read the books aloud together.

When reading LOTR didnt any of you want to be there? I read it when i was at the perfect age of impressionability and when it ended I was like "wow am i really just back here in life? thats it?"

Setting a D&D campaign in Middle Earth is a little like a group of Tolkien fans who go to the cemetery where he's buried with intent of celebrating his work, end up getting sloppy drunk, and vomit all over his grave during an attempt to urinate on it.

yeah, its a little like that. zero is a little.

I think it would be a great honor- 4E is the pinnacle (arguably) of the RPG that his books inspired.

to revisit them many years later with the rpg he inspired could be epic, imo.