The One Ring Roleplaying Game Hardcover – Box set, September 24, 2014

It's difficult to make any reference to Tolkien without taking into account the magnitude of influence he has had on fantasy and literary development. To even attempt making an RPG capable of living up to his incredible lore is bold and historically futile. The One Ring, however, is not only an extremely loyal, and lovingly crafted envisioning of Tolkien's work, but it also stands to be one of the single most effective RPG's ever created.As a book, the 2nd edition is nothing short of beautiful. Those who have the first edition often claim that the layout leaves much to be desired in an otherwise superlative effort. Cubicle 7 clearly listened having designed a layout worthy of the content within. They also eliminated the clunky 2 book set up instead opting for a single core rulebook. This choice alone is exemplary. Artwork is both evocative and loose capturing the traits of the system itself. Nearly every page has its bottom third or so dedicated to a unique piece of artwork that portrays the essence of the content of the page. Wording is clear and concise with ample spacing and clear font. Everything about the choice in color, style, and layout makes the book incredibly easy to read and digest. If only most books were so cleanly pieced together and inspiring to read.Some people (such as myself), are perfectly happy to buy RPG books with no intention of playing them. Given the exquisite design of this book, that alone is worth the purchase. However, as an RPG, the system is often the most important feature. It is therefore a pleasure to say that the system between the covers of this book is among the most creative and well developed in the industry. There is a careful balance between complexity and ease of use that is clearly maintained throughout each section. In no case are the rules jarringly out of place for the setting. Infact, it's clear that the feel of Tolkien's world was the paramount concern in the design. Power gamers would do well to know that this means it is not a game about numerical advantage, endless character building, or complex, tactical wargaming. However, there is plenty to please anyone who is willing to immerse themselves in Tolkien's world.System overview:There are only 3 core attributes: Wits, Body, HeartTraits: Represent open ended perks which have no numeric value. They may be used to grant an automatic success for simple, trait related activities instead of a common skill die roll, advancement points for a die roll relating to the trait, and roleplay hooks.Common Skills: Reflect a character's skill set. Skill value represents the number of D6's that may be rolled alongside the default feat die (d12). Beating a target number(most often 14) yields a success with any 6+ rolls on a die are treated as higher levels of success.Character Creation:Players first choose a culture to reflect their heritage and or race. Culture has a profound impact on the character's abilities as it grants a selection of two traits from a list as well as a powerful cultural blessing. Backgrounds are offered for each culture and they determine the distribution of the 3 core attributes' values. The core attributes are Body, Wits, and Heart. Body represents the physical health and vitality of the character. Wits governs the mental ability of the character while Heart is deeply entrenched in the non tangible character, outlook, and personality of the player character.Players next choose a calling which acts as a broad representation of the character's profession. Once again, a calling presents the player with unique traits that they may select. There are no restrictions on what culture may take as a calling.Before character generation is complete, players may allocate favored attribute bonuses of 3,2,1 to their main attributes respectively. These bonuses are applied to favored skill rolls. They will also allocate 2 points to either Wisdom or Valor.Wisdom is a powerful stat which grants useful virtues and also helps fight off corruption. Virtues are unique bonuses which grant the character further options for customization and specialization while corruption represents a unique approach towards gameplay which will be covered later in the review.Valor is another powerful stat which allows the player to customize their gear or acquire new gear. Using Valor, a player may enhance his gear by giving it a backstory, quality, or other tag which instills upon it unique advantages most useful for combat. Valor is also used to stave off shadow.Corruption reflects a character's tendency towards immoral behavior. Certain events in game often lead to increases in corruption that must be countered by wisdom rolls.Shadow reflects a character's loss of hope as they give in to despair.Endurance is a unique feature which quantifies the cost of carrying too much on long journeys. Implications of endurance have powerful consequences that must be balanced by the player as it directly correlates to fatigue.Hope represents a character's positivity and acts as the main resource of the game. Should hope fall below the shadow score, the character becomes miserable and prone to bouts of madness which have irrevocable consequences.Combat:As with any rpg, combat plays an integral role to both the plot and fun of the game. TOR offers a very unique combat model that is not too heavy but still offers much in the way of player creativity and open ended improvisation. At the heart of the combat system are stances. Stances represent an abstract positioning which directly determines the role of the player. Forward stance grants the greatest chance to inflict damage but also the greatest chance to receive damage. Open stance offers a middle of the road approach that tends towards a leader type of position. Defensive stance is used by those who wish to protect others and ensure their own safety. Finally, rearward is useful for ranged characters who wish to stay out of the battle at the expense of hit probability.Each stance may be changed at the start of any round,but availability of stances may be affected by situation. For each stance, there is also a unique ability which relates to the theme of the position. Defensive allows for the protection of allies while the Open stance grants the ability to rally companions through song.Overall, combat in TOR is incredibly unique being both simple and highly tactical. No position is left with nothing to do, and in all cases the trade offs make the choice of stance very important.Journey:Journey within TOR is very important. Travel takes time and will often present many dangers. Unlike most games which merely gloss over travel, TOR embraces it as a core mechanic which is directly in line with Tolkien's themes. Along the journey, rolls are made to determine what if any type of encounter befalls the party. The system for this is far more fleshed out than random dice rolls seen in games like d&d. Rather than managing material resources, the party manages their immaterial state of being through hope, shadow, corruption and fatigue.Conclusion.TOR is hands down a superb game. On it's own merits, it stands as one of the most innovative and well executed RPG systems available. In an industry overrun by D20 variants and stagnant, overused mechanics, TOR is a shining beacon of creativity and hope. Tolkien's style is faithfully recreated with a sense of quality and justice so often betrayed by corporate greed and cookie cutter designs. It's clear that cubicle 7 made many bold choices to preserve integrity and the quality of the outcome couldn't be any more pleasing.

Don't get me wrong, I love generic, flexible systems, and for most games I go for Fate or something else that's multipurpose. But Tolkien is Tolkien, and there are thematic elements that recur in his stories, and shape the narrative, that generally tend to get lost in most RPG adaptations. If the GM and players are really steeped in Tolkien and they work at it, they can preserve those elements, but it's hard work, because nearly every game will encourage the wrong things. That's even true of several notable previous Middle-earth roleplaying games. (Yes, I'm looking at you, I.C.E. MERP was a disastrous mismatch that you had to fight all the way to get the Tolkien feel. Great sourcebooks, lovely detail, and a great system, just not the right great system for the material, not even close.)Francesco Nepetelli's design, and the contribution of many other talented people at Cubicle 7, prove that a system designed from deep within the heart of Middle-earth and structured to guide the loremaster and players into its theme and tone, can do so much better. There are dozens of mechanics in this easy-to-learn game that subtly guide players to doing the sorts of things a Tolkien hero would do, so that even if the players aren't making an effort to hew to the tone of Middle-earth, just playing along, the game does a remarkable job of leading them that way. (Obviously if you get a loot-seeking hack-and-slasher who's never read or watched Tolkien, nothing's going to help that fit the tone, but as long as you're not fighting against TOR's guidance, it'll get you there, and if you're working with it, all the more so.) The rules are elegantly simple, with not much crunch and a lot of abstraction, along the same lines that Tolkien tended to abstract, and it's especially easy for players to jump in. (I've run an adventure for crowds who'd never played the game at cons and game days several times and never had a hitch in keeping the story moving and everyone having fun, by introducing each mechanic as it came up.)The game is also tremendously well supported with a large and growing catalog of sourcebooks and adventure books. It's starting to feel a bit of growing pains, as many RPGs do, where so many things got added on after the core rules that you have to shuffle through a lot of books to find things, but the second edition, due in a year or two, should fix that.About the only criticism I can offer is that the book's organization can be challenging during play. Often when writing a book like this, you have a trade-off between "the book teaches the concepts well as you sit and read through it" and "the book is quick and easy to use as a reference during play", and it's very hard to improve one of those factors without sacrificing the other. TOR is excellent at teaching as you read it, but this often makes it hard to find rules during play. The structure often puts the rules relevant to a situation in two or more places, since one place shows it from the player's side, one from the loremaster's side, and maybe others from where it comes up in a campaign or adversary. Add in the mechanics that got introduced in sourcebooks, especially those that modify core rules rather than just supplementing them, and it can be tricky to find what you need.But that can be addressed with experience, a few post-it notes, a cheat sheet or two, and some patience. (And there's a vibrant community of players offering resources that will help, too. Look for the Discord on discord.me and the forums on BoardGameGeek.) So don't let that stop you. If you love Middle-earth, you can't go wrong with this game.(Note: if your players absolutely positively will not consider any game but D&D, but will consider Middle-earth for a setting, look for C7's Adventures in Middle-earth. It's a hybrid of TOR with D&D 5e. You lose a little bit of that Middle-earth tone and theme compared to undiluted TOR, but you keep more of it than you'll ever get from any other way to get Middle-earth into your roleplaying game.)

This beautifully presented and updated volume of The One Ring RPG by Cubicle 7 is easily the best role playing game out there based on the works of JRR Tolkien.It’s superbly researched and obviously devised by Tolkien devotees; this is no cheap cash-in off the back of the success of the film franchise. The 330-page book oozes quality, with a lovely layout, atmospheric artwork and stitched binding.Player characters are flung into a dangerous world set between the Battle of the Five Armies (The Hobbit) and the rise of Sauron (The Lord Of The Rings). The “Darkening of Mirkwood” theme makes for a suspenseful and forbidding setting, with the corruption mechanic of Shadow Points putting creeping malevolence centre stage.The game itself is well thought-out, easy to grasp and plays well. It makes a refreshing change from OGL play, but for those unwilling to surrender their d20s the publishers have also released Adventures In Middle Earth, which adapts the game to 5th edition D&D rules.The One Ring is well supported by a a dozen or so supplements offering gazetteers and adventures, with more due for publication in 2020. All are of the same high standards as this core rule book.The Adventurer’s Companion is also a worthwhile expansion of the game. You can play with 6-sided dice and a standard d12, although dedicated TOR dice are available. Otherwise, the book comprises a standalone game that should prove difficult to beat.

"The world has changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Much that once was is lost. For none now live who remember it. It began with the forging of the great rings. Three were given to the elves, immortal, wisest and fairest of all beings. Seven to the Dwarf Lords, great miners and craftsmen of the mountain halls. And nine, nine rings were gifted to the race of men, who above all else desired power. For within these rings was bound the strength and will to govern each race."It also forged this amazing book! Fantastic RPG game especially for LOTR fans, have you ever wanted to step into Middle Earth? Then grab this book and some hobbits, sit down and play! Just don't give the ring to Sauron please as he means to destroy the world...

This RPG is awesome. It has nearly everything an RPG really wants. Stunning artwork, extraordinary work on the concept, characters, and mechanics of the game. Also, it is one of the most well-written RPG rulebooks out there.Altough, the book, came a little dented, especially on the front cover. But it's readable and I can use it.

The book is in A1 condition - you wouldn't think it was 2nd hand. Thank you!

Great RPG.