Lord of the Rings Role Playing (Free League 5e)

[GothmogIV]

I might be overthinking this, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to begin a campaign in Middle Earth. I've recently been a player in a 5e LotR game, and it was a blast, but when the DM finished up, he said he wished he had laid down some restrictions at the beginning (like where in Middle Earth our characters could be from). So I have a good theme in my mind, and I have a good story as a sort of overarching frame, and I have lots of good spaces for characters to wander around in, explore, react, interact, etc. All of this is sketched out in my head.

But damn, how do I start this thing? "You are in a tavern" always works but it feels...not Tolkienish.

Any ideas or experiences you could share?

 

[payn]

I’d go nuts with it and have them all start with Tom Bombadil.

 

[Aldarc]

I might be overthinking this, but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to begin a campaign in Middle Earth. I've recently been a player in a 5e LotR game, and it was a blast, but when the DM finished up, he said he wished he had laid down some restrictions at the beginning (like where in Middle Earth our characters could be from). So I have a good theme in my mind, and I have a good story as a sort of overarching frame, and I have lots of good spaces for characters to wander around in, explore, react, interact, etc. All of this is sketched out in my head.

But damn, how do I start this thing? "You are in a tavern" always works but it feels...not Tolkienish.

Any ideas or experiences you could share?

"You are enjoying a quiet meal at home..."

"You are in the council of Elrond..."

"You receive a strange letter from Gandalf..."

 

[TheAlkaizer]

I don't know about the 5e version, but the One Ring 2E leans heavily on the concept of patron to give clear objectives to the party.

Personally, I like to start my campaigns in media res. Start right in the action with no context and introduce context after.

 

[J.Quondam]

"It is night and you're running madly through a soggy field pursued by three vicious hounds and Farmer Maggot, who is screaming something about mushrooms."

 

[GMMichael]

"You and your elf-friends sing the song of gay immortality, spring-time edition, when you hear a dwarf approaching from 4,822 feet away . . . "

 

[Bill Zebub]

"You and your elf-friends sing the song of gay immortality, spring-time edition, when you hear a dwarf approaching from 4,822 feet away . . . "

That's very specific....it must be @JMISBEST....

 

[Distracted DM]

You could always take inspiration/steal from the premade adventures. And remember that before Free League got it, Cubicle 7 had a load of well-regarded LOTR5e adventures.

 

[Bae'zel]

Middle Earth is riddled with the ruins of prior civilizations: you can make up what you want, add dungeons and villages wherever you want. Start simple, a group of adventurers / explorers / treasure hunters/ mercenaries setting off from a frontier village or something.

 

[Bill Zebub]

You could always take inspiration/steal from the premade adventures. And remember that before Free League got it, Cubicle 7 had a load of well-regarded LOTR5e adventures.

Yes. I would get my hands on Tales from Wilderland and run that.

Darkening of Mirkwood is a brilliant long-term campaign, but it requires the GM to do a lot of work filling in the details. I've heard of people weaving it together with Tales from Wilderland but haven't experienced that myself.

The adventure locations described in the various Free League books could also be inspirational.

On a side note, I think 5e is a terrible choice if the goal is to evoke the feeling of the books. (Movies, maybe.). The One Ring system is better for that feeling, but it's not a style of roleplaying I enjoy. I'm new to Dragonbane but I've been mulling that as a good choice.