Decipher's Lord of the Rings RPG - A Review

[Ron]

Thanks for the review and the answers. I just arranged to borrow a copy from a friend and I will give a look for myself. I confess that I am very excited with all good reviews I read. I am also eager for a rules-lite system. I think that there was something wrong in the last D&D game I was in, as I could read most of a newspaper while the party couldn't advance more than four rounds of combat in nearly one and a half hour.

 

[Mulkhoran]

I just have to chime in with my .02, here, I have this book, and it was well worth the money. Col_H is righton with his review.

The character creation is *extremely* flexible, and there are many similarities to d20 that I liked. The variety of characters you can create was the biggest attraction for me.

On top of this, I know this isn't content-related, but I thought the production quality of the book was beautiful. I haven't seen a book who's quality I liked this much since the FRCS. Like I said, it doesn't affect the game inside, but it's very nice icing on the cake.

 

[Victim]

Arguably, the DnD magic system is campaign specific as well. It assumes that wizards will cast spells from books, that gods will grant spells to members of the faithful, and places great weight on magical ability or enchanted devices. About the only time when a magic system isn't going to be campaign specific is when there's a power construction system, and magic can be one of the power types.

I only flipped through the book, but I too had a problem when they split the essential parts of character creation across the entire book. Also, I don't the like art. Too much of the book is filled with screenshots from the movies for my taste. I especially hated the parts where the text was placed over the pictures.

Ron, I think that human factors and system familarity are bigger issues for combat speed than the actual system. In theory, even a system that has hit rolls, active defenses, and armor reducing damage won't take long if everyone knows exactly what's up, and I've heard that Rolemaster can run quickly if everyone has copies of their character's charts. In my experience, people tend to spend far more time figuring out what they're doing, or figuring out what the heck is going on - "Will save? What do I roll for that?" - or searching through the rule book for the perfect spell than actually resolving the action. If everyone knows the rules and has an action ready to go on their turn, then almost anything can run quickly.

 

[kengar]

No two ways about it, the biggest weakness of the book is the way the rules are spread all over the place. One resource I was pointed towards was here. This pdf makes character design MUCH easier! (mad props to Colin Chapman for writing the thing! )

As far as the artwork went, I would've liked to see a bit more original art, but the movie stills did a good job of contributing to feel & tone, IMHO.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

I thought I'd give this a nudge upwards, for those who haven't seen it yet. Heck, I spent a good amount of time reading the book and then reviewing it, so forgive me if I don't want to let it sink away after a short time.

 

[mattcolville]

Regarding the first question, the Orders are somewhat more flexible than D&D/d20 classes in that the Order Abilities can be chosen from a list by the player when the character advances, much like Feats. However, even though the player can choose what ability he wants when his character advances, the list of abilities to choose from is finite. So, the level of flexibility and customization isn't profound, but it's there.

It's worth pointing out that, while the level of Order customization isn't profound, I think the level of *character* customization is. With each advancement, you can choose to buy a new order ability, raise a skill, raise an attribute, increase a reaction. YOu get five points to spend and each of these costs different points. Skills cost 1 each, Order abilities cost, like, 3-5, attributes cost 5 I think. You get the idea.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

It's worth pointing out that, while the level of Order customization isn't profound, I think the level of *character* customization is. With each advancement, you can choose to buy a new order ability, raise a skill, raise an attribute, increase a reaction. YOu get five points to spend and each of these costs different points. Skills cost 1 each, Order abilities cost, like, 3-5, attributes cost 5 I think. You get the idea.

I see what you mean, but I wrote what you quoted with the assumption that this would be in comparison to d20/D&D3e, or similar games. I don't know if it's a profound difference, but it is a bit of a difference in comparison to a d20 PC levelling and getting skill points he must distribute in skills, maybe a feat slot he must spend on feats, set abilities his class gains at certain levels. However, it sort of reminds me of some of the discussions I've seen here regarding doing the same thing with d20/3e characters, which means it's a concept that I, and a lot of posters here, would already be familiar with. To someone who hasn't seen or participated in such discussions, it could seem to be a profound difference. It has made me think a bit more about the value of doing something similar in d20/3e. It's an aspect of the game that I particularly like.

 

[mmadsen]

I am also curious if this game would stand without the background (I never felt comfortable to run a game in somebody else setting, much less in Tolkien's world).

Although the beautiful stills from the movie strongly place the game in Peter Jackson's version of Middle Earth, and the flavor text places the game in Tolkien's own Middle Earth (as described in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings), the game system only has a few ties to that world.

All the races, for instance, are the races of Middle Earth -- but then, so are the races of D&D. You may want to file off the serial numbers though, since "Noldo" screams "Tolkien!"

The orders (classes) are also drawn from Middle Earth, but, again, they fit any fantasy setting. There's no Cleric vs. Wizard distinction, as in D&D, but that fits most settings better anyway. Also, the orders are much more flexible than D&D's. A Warrior can pick skills like Observe, Stealth, Survival and Track; he doesn't need a separate Ranger class to do that (although there is a Ranger Elite Order).

As with the races and orders, the skills fit Middle Earth, but they fit any other fantasy setting too. (Oh, and the LotR RPG has its own useless skill, a la Use Rope: Weather-Sense. Why not fold it into Survival and/or Sea-Craft?)

And, like the races, orders, and skills, the traits, edges (feats) and flaws, fit Middle Earth and any "standard" fantasy setting. Whether or not they're tied to Middle Earth though, the traits don't seem playtested or well thought out. The LotR RPG has a fate point system -- they're called Courage Points -- and some flaws (e.g. Dullard) simply reduce the bonus you get (from +3 down to +2) for using a point of Courage in a specific manner (e.g. on a test with any Lore skill). Others drastically reduce your effectiveness, like a typical disadvantage in most other games. Battle-Fury won't let you retreat or surrender, Craven won't let you stand and fight, Dull-Eyed imposes a -2 to all Observe (Spot) tests, etc.

Perhaps the most tied to Middle Earth, the magic system could still easily work for a generic fantasy setting. It would probably lend a strong flavor though, with spells like Evoke Awe and Smoke Weaving. Players might just avoid those spells though, and head straight for Fiery Missile.

All the sample magic items, of course, come straight from the trilogy, so that might hamper a generic game a bit -- not that players aren't used to magic swords and elven cloaks already.

As for equipment, D&D players might miss Splinted, Banded, Half-Plate, and Full-Plate, but I'm sure you could make up some numbers. (In fact, Chainmail with Plate add +5 lbs and +1 damage absorbed for +1 sp; you could probably just allow multiple levels of that.)

As for the rest of the mechanics, the CODA system is used in Decipher's Star Trek game, and I doubt that has a Tolkien-esque feel to it.

 

[SHARK]

Greetings!

Colonel Hardisson, thanks very much for the review! You have me sold on buying it! I know that you are as much a fan and nut for Tolkein as I am, so I certainly trust your analysis and judgment. Excellent stuff.

Mmadsen, indeed, your comments have me wondering about some of the mechanical interelationships. It seems though, that in a closed system, the traits will work out ok. In an open system, I can see there being problems. It reminds me in some ways of Slaine, by Mongoose Publishing. The stuff is specifically built for that world/campaign, and it isn't intended to be generic. Not a big deal, certainly, but I hope that such elements would work smoothly in the game. I am looking forward to getting it, and even playing a game. I don't know though, it might just remain as an idea and "Gee, that's cool" book, because my players are sold on D20, and specifically D&D. But they might be willing to give it a whirl. Matter of fact, I think several of them might indeed, including Chrissy. Hmmm...well, they might be willing to play a game or two, but I can't see them wanting to switch systems or anything, you know? Heh. I'm very anxious to get it. It sounds cool.

Semper Fidelis,

SHARK

 

[ColonelHardisson]

SHARK and mmadsen both point out what could be potentially exploitable or unbalancing about the game. In my review above, these things are recognized by the game designers, who try to ameliorate them with the extensive essays about the world, the nature of good and evil, and how the "feel" of Tolkien is of overriding importance. In that respect, the system and setting are tied closely - that is, while some of the Traits and Order abilities are potentially unbalancing, they are also true to the setting Tolkien created, and, if the "feel" of the setting is maintained the way it should be, these potential problems will never manifest in negative ways.