Hi, I'm starting to make a Lord of the Rings-roleplay (since I've been playing Dungeons & Dragons for a while and made my own roleplaying games since 3rd grade, although they might have been quite simple ) with a little help from a few friends. But the hardest thing to decide is when the game should take place! It could be BEFORE the trilogy, during the Second Age or something, at THE SAME TIME as the trilogy, during the War of the Ring, or AFTER the trilogy, some time in the Fourth/Fifth Age. So do you guys have any ideas or opinions? Each choice of course has some consequenses on the game. Second Age (or early Third Age) would remove Uruk-hai and other awesome heroes/foes/stuff. During the trilogy would make it less free what to do, since we all very clearly knows what's happening with Frodo & Co. and what Sauron is up to and so on. Fourth Age would make it impossible to play elves! (unless I am wrong in that all elves sailed away on their ships in/after the War) and again remove things that was destroyed and persons who were killed and that kind of things.

Feel free to post any comments, ideas or opinions.

I was thinking of creating a rpg too... I was thinking it could be even a company of evil(for something new) or if it doesn't stuck then good during the reing of Angmar... Do you like that idea?

Create the base system, then allow for the setting to be decided by the GM and the players. I mean, as long as the system works, then setting can come second.

Wow, I didn't expect to get that many answers and votings so fast!

Hilbert, I don't know very much about Angmar's history, so I'm not the best judge, but I'm sure your idea could be awesome

I have scanned my MERP modules, if you message me I can send them to you

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Farewell, and may the blessing of Elves and Men and all Free Folk go with you.
May the stars shine upon your faces!

I could, but first I'll try to make the game basics myself, for the reason that I'm a little afraid of that if I looked the MERP system and rules through now, I would make my own system similar to that, thinking "That's good, I'll use that in my RPG. That's good too, I'll also use that." No offense of your suggestions, but I think I'll create something myself and then see MERP later, maybe for some adjustments or if I forgot to include a vital part into the game. Thanks for the advice in anyway

I have many MERP modules but not all . I would be interested to know which ones you have.


I agree the back ground is more important than game mechanics.You already use D20. Why not just covert it to LOTR?
The MERP modules are antiques but can be helpful story guidelines.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

All the Noldor left, but some Sindar and plenty of Sylvan elves remained.

@Oldman Willow: Yeah, that's one way to do it. It would make it easier, since new monsters and race/class options-stuff is pretty much the only work to do. Still, I'd like to try to make a new kind of game. Maybe I'll do both.

@Whafrog: Yay! I'm not an expert on the different elves, so thank you very much for that (at least if I set the game in 4th Age)

Because the d20 system is horrible for anything but high fantasy, swashbuckling heroics?

S
I am sure It will be fun

Blackknight1239 wrote

I will bite. Why Is that?

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

High HP past level 3 or so, combined with the easily replacable magical healing items, makes for characters that just have to survive a fight; as along as they are above -9 HP (or Negative Bloodied value if you're talking 4e). So there isn't much interms of huge risk, until your enemies start deciding to use Save-or-die spells, in which you really feel like you're playing rocket tag.

Likewise, the Vancian magic system (or the application of the A/E/D/U system on magic) doesn't reflect the magic in middle-earth; that is, limited effects, that while not too powerful, seem to be able to be cast at-will. Again, magic outside the use of powerful spirits is hardly seen, Elrond's river shenanigans aside (and I mean, he's pretty much top tier stuff there). I think a mana-points system, with effect similar to the SBG, would be BEST for a LotR RPG that featured PC wizards/loremasters, but I'd be leary about how Tolkieneque that is.

The other major qualm is how it fails to models even the characters of the series well. Boromir and Gimli are best shown as the fighter class (I think), but even that barely scratches the deeds on which these characters can do. Legolas is clearly a bow ranger, but bow abilities are dreadfully weak, and Aragorn really doesn't HAVE a class (being an awesome leader doesn't have any mechancial effects in the system, unfortunately, outside one really, really bad base class).

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Lord of the Rings needs a game of it's own, that isn't D&D, because D&D is only good at D&D and not much else. I would suggest the One Ring RPG from Discple 7, if I had any experience with it. Otherwise...FATE could work, if you wanted to work in strong over-land travel mechanics.

Blackknight you have made some good points. Why could you not say Check out theses ideas instead of being so confrontational? Pardon me if I misunderstood your intent.

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"the same as a duck you must be made of wood"

Well, any age is good for me but I want to play LOTR with many race of characters either elves, human or orcs.

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If any of you wanted to know, I have decided to set the game to the third age while Gollum had the Ring.