D&D 5E 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.

 

[aco175]

I was making a search on this book and came across Polygon site reading about the new book when the article mentioned a discussion with Gary Gygax on EnWorld from 2002. I like the retro site if you wish a look.

 

[Andvari]

Where was Cormyr when the Westfold fell?!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I was making a search on this book and came across Polygon site reading about the new book when the article mentioned a discussion with Gary Gygax on EnWorld from 2002. I like the retro site if you wish a look.

The rest of the article is a mess, though, and shows they didn't even do basic research before going, "ho ho, I sense irony" and pressing Publish.

The great irony here, of course, is that Wizard’s recent attempts to alter the Open Gaming License — also known as the OGL — would have required that Free League pay a hefty licensing fee back to the owner of D&D based on the success of this project. But after a weeks-long campaign by fans, who showed their discontent online and by canceling their subscriptions to D&D Beyond, Wizards capitulated and moved the OGL and its associated rules into the public domain. That means Free League is able to release its adaptation of The One Ring TTRPG for 5th edition D&D without paying Wizards a dime.

As if to cement its victory, Free League has even been so bold as to change the name of the product to The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying.

Further piling up the ironies in this situation, Wizards itself is currently embroiled in another lawsuit, this time with a newly resurrected version of TSR — which is also operating out of the same two-story home in rural Wisconsin. In that lawsuit, this new TSR asserts that Wizards let its own copyrights lapse, skipping over the necessary renewals to keep several of its legacy brands alive. That case heads to court in October.

Notably, neither The One Ring nor The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying are the first attempts at a TTRPG literally based on the world of Middle-earth. Middle-earth Role Playing — known affectionately as MERP to its fans — was published in 1984. Later, Cubicle 7 adapted the setting to 5th edition with its Adventures in Middle-earth, published in 2016.

1. Lord of the Rings Roleplaying was announced as the game's name last August and Polygon almost definitely got that press release and may have even written a previous piece on it. The name isn't a response to the OGL fiasco, unless Free League is really wasting their access to a time machine.
2. NuTSR is only a newly resurrected version of TSR if you're drinking those idiots' Kool-Aid.
3. And Cubicle 7 didn't just create a 5E version of the Middle-Earth setting; AiME and LotRR share so much DNA, they could practically be twins, which makes sense, given that they have the exact same lead designer.

I renew my call for a better tabletop gaming press than we've got.

 

[aco175]

I ended up giving up looking for a preview of the book's classes and races. I'm guessing something is out there, but, oh look- squirrel.

 

[Weiley31]

I ended up giving up looking for a preview of the book's classes and races. I'm guessing something is out there, but, oh look- squirrel.

Ratatosk(PDF) - Kobold Press Store

The ratatosk are celestial humanoid squirrels who dwell in the World Tree. These insatiable gossips and tricksters delight in gathering secrets and putting such knowledge to mischievous purpose. Will these wily beings serve as allies—or prove a whole lot of trouble?

koboldpress.com

 

[niklinna]

Ratatosk(PDF) - Kobold Press Store

The ratatosk are celestial humanoid squirrels who dwell in the World Tree. These insatiable gossips and tricksters delight in gathering secrets and putting such knowledge to mischievous purpose. Will these wily beings serve as allies—or prove a whole lot of trouble?

koboldpress.com

This really makes me wonder now why World of Warcraft didn't have squirrel people on Teldrassil.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

This really makes me wonder now why World of Warcraft didn't have squirrel people on Teldrassil.

Since they're clearly heading toward building the night elves yet another World Tree soon (good luck getting fire insurance on this one, folks!) before they time jump forward to the next expansion, we may well get them, especially if we're going to the Emerald Dream in the last patch of Dragonflight, as the rumors say.

 

[niklinna]

Since they're clearly heading toward building the night elves yet another World Tree soon (good luck getting fire insurance on this one, folks!) before they time jump forward to the next expansion, we may well get them, especially if we're going to the Emerald Dream in the last patch of Dragonflight, as the rumors say.

So glad I quit during Burning Crusade.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

So glad I quit during Burning Crusade.

It depends on what you liked about the game.

The mechanics of the storytelling aspects of the game, which is what I love, have been on a rocket ship since Draenor, several expansions after you quit, and the storyline -- other than sort of falling apart during the pandemic/Blizzard cleaning house of toxic senior managers during Shadowlands -- has been extremely strong for several years.

 

[Weiley31]

Since they're clearly heading toward building the night elves yet another World Tree soon (good luck getting fire insurance on this one, folks!) before they time jump forward to the next expansion, we may well get them, especially if we're going to the Emerald Dream in the last patch of Dragonflight, as the rumors say.

So glad I quit during Burning Crusade.

The OG Frozen Throne expansion, as in the ACTUAL Frozen Throne expansion to Warcraft III, was about as far as I went with trying to keep up with the story.