New One Ring and Lord of the Rings Starter Sets Launching at Gen Con

Free League has announced two new starter sets for its parallel Middle Earth-based TTRPG lines. The One Ring uses a bespoke system for Tolkien-themed roleplaying, while Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is powered by 5E.

Releasing on July 31st, Over and Under Hill will sell for $29.99 and include a poster map, rulebooks, pregenerated characters, tokens, and dice, as well as the titular adventure set in the wildlands of northern Eriador.

'Not far ahead were dreary hills, rising higher and higher, dark with trees. On some of them were old castles with an evil look, as if they had been built by wicked people.'

You are enjoying a rare, quiet evening at the inn in Bree when a hunter joins your table to share a tale about a dark threat looming over the North Downs. However, you are not merely simple guests at The Prancing Pony — you are members of a Company. It is your self-appointed duty to inquire about the bone-chilling dangers that might emerge from the houseless hills beyond. Are you ready to take the road to adventure?

These new and beginner-friendly Starter Sets for The One Ring™ tabletop RPG and The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying 5E, based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, provide all you need to embark on your journeys in Middle-earth. Immerse yourself in a world set between the time of Bilbo’s first adventure and the events of The Lord of the Rings™, exploring the Lone-lands of Eriador and taking on the roles of characters whose stories are yet to be told.

The One Ring Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill and The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E Starter Set key features:

• Condensed rules for action resolution, combat, councils, and journeys
• The complete adventure Over Hill and Under Hill, bringing the heroes deep into the wild lands of northern Eriador to face a dark threat
• A large full-color map of the lands of Eriador, with a combat stance diagram on the back
• Beautifully illustrated cardboard stand-up figures for Player-heroes and Adversaries for use on the combat diagram
• Five pre-generated and illustrated Player-heroes
• Special dice engraved with custom symbols*

You can also pre-order them on Free League's website and get the PDF version immediately.

 

[occam]

I both love and find it humorous how apropos the cover art for each is. The One Ring cover focuses upon exploration, the 5E cover focuses upon combat.

To provide context, that's not a uniform treatment. For example, the main 5e rulebook just shows Gandalf on Shadowfax (presumably), with no hint of an imminent threat; while the TOR cover shows a group of PCs preparing for combat. None of the other covers, for 5e or TOR, are particularly combat-focused, especially the Elf books (Keepers of the Elven-rings and Realms of the Three Rings).

The 5e starter set cover seems like an outlier. In fact, it appears to be a reuse of the art for the 5e Loremaster's Screen.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Free League has announced two new starter sets for its parallel Middle Earth-based TTRPG lines. The One Ring uses a bespoke system for Tolkien-themed roleplaying, while Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is powered by 5E.

Releasing on July 31st, Over and Under Hill will sell for $29.99 and include a poster map, rulebooks, pregenerated characters, tokens, and dice, as well as the titular adventure set in the wildlands of northern Eriador.

View attachment 410782
View attachment 410783

'Not far ahead were dreary hills, rising higher and higher, dark with trees. On some of them were old castles with an evil look, as if they had been built by wicked people.'

You are enjoying a rare, quiet evening at the inn in Bree when a hunter joins your table to share a tale about a dark threat looming over the North Downs. However, you are not merely simple guests at The Prancing Pony — you are members of a Company. It is your self-appointed duty to inquire about the bone-chilling dangers that might emerge from the houseless hills beyond. Are you ready to take the road to adventure?

These new and beginner-friendly Starter Sets for The One Ring™ tabletop RPG and The Lord of the Rings™ Roleplaying 5E, based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, provide all you need to embark on your journeys in Middle-earth. Immerse yourself in a world set between the time of Bilbo’s first adventure and the events of The Lord of the Rings™, exploring the Lone-lands of Eriador and taking on the roles of characters whose stories are yet to be told.

The One Ring Starter Set – Over Hill and Under Hill and The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E Starter Set key features:

• Condensed rules for action resolution, combat, councils, and journeys
• The complete adventure Over Hill and Under Hill, bringing the heroes deep into the wild lands of northern Eriador to face a dark threat
• A large full-color map of the lands of Eriador, with a combat stance diagram on the back
• Beautifully illustrated cardboard stand-up figures for Player-heroes and Adversaries for use on the combat diagram
• Five pre-generated and illustrated Player-heroes
• Special dice engraved with custom symbols*

You can also pre-order them on Free League's website and get the PDF version immediately.

Awesome! I'll be able to pick it up while I'm there!

 

[Dire Bare]

Just pre-ordered the LotR5E starter set and downloaded the PDFs from DriveThruRPG (physical boxes won't ship until late July, PDFs are available immediately after purchase directly from Free League).

Something I noticed . . . the 5E starter set comes with the "combat diagram" from The One Ring and an explanation of how to use it in the rules booklet. It's abstract combat, similar but different from zoned combat. Not sure if it's ripped directly from TOR, or adapted to some degree for 5E. I have no experience with the TOR version of this abstract combat method, other than I've seen the combat diagram included with the TOR game. Very curious to give it a try!

 

[TrippyHippy]

Notably, in the first Starter Set, all the PreGens were Hobbits. In this set, it appears, there is at least some variation in that.

 

[John R Davis]

I'm curious, Why both? You're duplicating a lot of content there.

I'm John
I buy starter sets
Plus 14 quid each!!

 

[Skywalker]

Is the 5E version a straight conversion of The One Ring (just with different artwork)? Or do they dial up the combat in the 5E conversion?

The 5e version is a significant adaptation of the D&D5e system. I am not sure what you mean by dialing up combat though.

 

[dead]

The 5e version is a significant adaptation of the D&D5e system. I am not sure what you mean by dialing up combat though.

I was just wondering if the 5E adventures have more combat focus than the TOR version. Or if that's not the case and the 5E adventures are simply a pure conversion - and exploration and combat are exactly the same as the TOR version.

 

[Skywalker]

I was just wondering if the 5E adventures have more combat focus than the TOR version. Or if that's not the case and the 5E adventures are simply a pure conversion - and exploration and combat are exactly the same as the TOR version.

They are the same in terms of adventure structure, though the stats for NPCs and rules for combat are the 5e versions.

 

[longshanks]

I can't get over what a great deal these starter sets are. In the US, they are $29.99. The One Ring Starter Set includes the dice that Free League sells on their website for $22.80, so you are paying $7.19 for the rest of the materials in the set. It seems Free League is running a narrow margin on the starter set to provide an inexpensive gateway to The One Ring.

 

[dead]

It's interesting how the 5E version has a different name and different artwork. Most publishers would just keep the same name (The One Ring) and stick a "compatible with 5E" badge at the bottom of the 5E version.