D&D 5E (2014) Lord of the Rings 5E Is Coming Next Month

For those who prefer to adventure in Middle Earth using the D&D 5E ruleset rather than Free League's The One Ring game (which made over $2M on Kickstarter in 2021), the 5E-powered version is coming in May!

This will be a 236-page hardcover book containing 6 new classes, journey rules, and magic which represents the more low-key magic of Tolkien.

Additionally, Shire Adventures is a 104-page book with 5 short adventures and setting details for The Shire region of Middle Earth.

That's not all though -- there will be a RIvendell compendium, and a Loremaster's Screen too.

These will be landing on May 9th.

 

[dave2008]

5.5 explicitly moved 5e further away from a Sim footing and into a more narrative place. Design has become more intentional (which is a general good in game design IMO), but the intent is further away from my preferences. They made a number of changes that I believe were uneeded or were worse designed than similar rules for other 5e systems, like Level Up. Basically, I see no value in a slightly different version of an existing system that was already going in a direction I didn't want.

That is basically word salad. Do you have any examples you can share? I am particularly interested in where the 5e24 rules have done the bold part above. I assume it is player side rules (since I pay less attention to those), but I could be wrong. I can't really think of anything on the DM side.

 

[dave2008]

But why do we care what third-party publishers do with the new stuff? They aren't really driving that bus, so to speak.

Micah doesn't want to support Hasbro/WotC, but they do want to support 3PP. If 3PP follow in WotC's footsteps, then they will not like the 3PP stuff. At least that is what I believe is their reason.

 

[Reynard]

That is basically word salad. Do you have any examples you can share? I am particularly interested in where the 5e24 rules have done the bold part above. I assume it is player side rules (since I pay less attention to those), but I could be wrong. I can't really think of anything on the DM side, that is why I asked.

Yeah. I am currently running 2024 and do not particularly care for it, but certainly not because it is too narrative. if anything, it slid back away from rulings over rules/natural language by implementing more precise terminology and definitions.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

Micah doesn't want to support Hasbro/WotC, but they do want to support 3PP. If 3PP follow in WotC's footsteps, then they will not like the 3PP stuff. At least that is what I believe is their reason.

Yeah. I am currently running 2024 and do not particularly care for it, but certainly not because it is too narrative. if anything, it slid back away from rulings over rules/natural language by implementing more precise terminology and definitions.

Do not get too hung up on the labels, Micah has a version of D&D that he loves and calls "sim", whether it is or not is beside the point, but he feels that WoTC has been drifting away from his preferred style for years now and bemoans that fact and also dislikes anything he perceives supports that drift.

 

[Micah Sweet]

But why do we care what third-party publishers do with the new stuff? They aren't really driving that bus, so to speak.

Because I love 3pp, and I don't want them following a game I don't like. It's why I'm quite irritated that 5.5 wasn't designed as an incompatible 6e. Designers get to decide what version of 5e they base their product on. There are many folks publishing 3pp specifically for Level Up (and also generally compatible with other 5e games), for example. No 3pp has to explicitly base their product on 5.5.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Do not get too hung up on the labels, Micah has a version of D&D that he loves and calls "sim", whether it is or not is beside the point, but he feels that WoTC has been drifting away from his preferred style for years now and bemoans that fact and also dislikes anything he perceives supports that drift.

Correct, and I am very unapologetic about it. Referring to my issues with 5.5 as "narrative" is incorrect I admit. It's more that the design philosophy has been moving further away from an emphasis on setting details and exploration of the imaginary world and closer to PC special consideration and setting as "color", with the GMs job being merely to provide exciting opportunities for the players to show off the PCs cool superpowers. Every rule change feels like increasing the intensity of the PC spotlight, leading everything else in the world to feel less important and "real" by comparison.

 

[mamba]

Because I love 3pp, and I don't want them following a game I don't like. It's why I'm quite irritated that 5.5 wasn't designed as an incompatible 6e. Designers get to decide what version of 5e they base their product on. There are many folks publishing 3pp specifically for Level Up (and also generally compatible with other 5e games), for example. No 3pp has to explicitly base their product on 5.5.

wouldn’t the same designers that release stuff for 5.5 then release it for 6e? What would you gain?

 

[Micah Sweet]

wouldn’t the same designers that release stuff for 5.5 then release it for 6e? What would you gain?

If 6e was an incompatible game there's no reason to assume all 3pp will follow them into it. Unless you're WotC in the 4e era, who apparently believed D&D walked on water.

 

[dave2008]

If 6e was an incompatible game there's no reason to assume all 3pp will follow them into it. Unless you're WotC in the 4e era, who apparently believed D&D walked on water.

Although a 6e could be even more popular and draw even more 3PP support and potentially kill other systems and increase the dominance of Hasbro/WotC. You need to be careful what you wish for!

 

[Micah Sweet]

Although a 6e could be even more popular and draw even more 3PP support and potentially kill other systems and increase the dominance of Hasbro/WotC. You need to be careful what you wish for!

I'm willing to roll the dice. New as most popular is hardly a guarantee where D&D is concerned!