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

[aramis erak]

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?

Summoned by a council
Gathered by a wizard - off screen - for some mission. (basically, lift the mechanism from The Hobbit.)
in the same caravan, but the NPCs then get got, which rescue is adventure one.
Sent as a dismissive token for some requested aid by another culture (being sent to the eagles was a fun one)
Meeting at the Woodsmen's or Rohan's summer games
captured by the same evil critter. Spiders come to mind.
Orcs nabbed them for some reason... coming to, they hear "Where there's a whip, there's a way"

 

[Bae'zel]

On a side note, I think 5e is a terrible choice if the goal is to evoke the feeling of the books. (Movies, maybe.).

D&D in general has never really been great at emulating fiction in media (books, comics, movies etc.).

But we had a great time with Adventures in Middle Earth a few years back. For what it's worth.

 

[Dire Bare]

"You are in a tavern" always works but it feels...not Tolkienish.

Works just fine! As long as it's the Prancing Pony or Green Dragon . . .

Middle-Earth is rife with taverns . . . but if you want to emulate the feel of the stories, starting with a patron like Gandalf is a good way to go. He's the one who got both Bilbo and Frodo's adventure's going after all! The current rulebooks even have mechanics for this.

 

[GothmogIV]

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.

The Free League 5e version of LotR is great. All the superhero naughty word is sanded off.

 

[Bill Zebub]

The Free League 5e version of LotR is great. All the superhero naughty word is sanded off.

In my opinion...and it's just my opinion...even with the abilities reigned in, the power curve across levels is just too steep. It has too (similar/related) effects which don't fit how I want a Middle Earth game to feel:

• Low level characters cannot very easily adventure with high level characters: the adversaries that can challenge a, say, 8th level 5e character will too easily kill 1st or 2nd level characters.
• The monsters that were dangerous at low level are not even remotely a challenge at higher levels.

 

[GothmogIV]

In my opinion...and it's just my opinion...even with the abilities reigned in, the power curve across levels is just too steep. It has too (similar/related) effects which don't fit how I want a Middle Earth game to feel:

• Low level characters cannot very easily adventure with high level characters: the adversaries that can challenge a, say, 8th level 5e character will too easily kill 1st or 2nd level characters.
• The monsters that were dangerous at low level are not even remotely a challenge at higher levels.

We played it up to 6th level and it didn't feel overpowered to me. With that said, my group likes a more low-magic, less epic game so maybe it was just the way we play.

 

[Bill Zebub]

We played it up to 6th level and it didn't feel overpowered to me. With that said, my group likes a more low-magic, less epic game so maybe it was just the way we play.

I didn't say anything was "overpowered". But when health goes up linearly with level, along with various other bonuses, it is pretty hard to avoid the two characteristics I described:

• It is hard for 1st level PCs to adventure with, say, 6th level PCs. Any encounters hard enough to challenge the 6th level PCs would be too hazardous for the 1st level ones. And mixed experience levels are a key theme of Middle Earth stories, imo.
• Similarly, the monsters you fought at 1st level are not a threat at 6th level, unless you greatly increase the numbers. "Oh, it's just giant spiders. Yawn. Let's kill them and keep moving..." doesn't feel Tolkienesque to me.

Thinking more about the word "overpowered" I think the only way it can be usefully defined is relatively between player characters. E.g. "that item is overpowered" or "that class is overpowered", because it makes one character notably more powerful than others of similar experience/level. But it wouldn't make any sense (at least to me) to say that "all PCs in this game are overpowered" because the GM "has infinite dragons". Right? The GM always has the option of increasing the challenge level.

 

[GothmogIV]

I didn't say anything was "overpowered". But when health goes up linearly with level, along with various other bonuses, it is pretty hard to avoid the two characteristics I described:

• It is hard for 1st level PCs to adventure with, say, 6th level PCs. Any encounters hard enough to challenge the 6th level PCs would be too hazardous for the 1st level ones. And mixed experience levels are a key theme of Middle Earth stories, imo.
• Similarly, the monsters you fought at 1st level are not a threat at 6th level, unless you greatly increase the numbers. "Oh, it's just giant spiders. Yawn. Let's kill them and keep moving..." doesn't feel Tolkienesque to me.

Thinking more about the word "overpowered" I think the only way it can be usefully defined is relatively between player characters. E.g. "that item is overpowered" or "that class is overpowered", because it makes one character notably more powerful than others of similar experience/level. But it wouldn't make any sense (at least to me) to say that "all PCs in this game are overpowered" because the GM "has infinite dragons". Right? The GM always has the option of increasing the challenge level.

I hear you. We generally play in character groups of the same level, so I can't think of a time we've had a 1st level and a 6th level working together. With regard to your Dragonbane thought: great game. I am a huge fan of BRP! We played that last spring and really liked it. I am looking forward to running that again.

 

[GothmogIV]

Here is another thought, friends: evil. In LotR, evil is almost always Sauronic, i.e. it is related, somehow, to Sauron. There is Ungoliant (big ass spider) and Morgoth (ultimate BBEG). There are nameless things that gnaw the bones of the world (in Moria). Any other types of evil that might be a good antagonist for our heroes?

 

[Wolfpack48]

Does anyone have experience with MERP or Against the Darkmaster? Be curious to know how those feel compared to The One Ring or 5e AIME.