This post will expand upon my initial thoughts laid out here, with more insights into how it actually plays. It’s delayed but I still think of value, especially as Ruins of the Lost North is out now.

A few of us managed to escape for a guys weekend on Hornby Island. Too much good food (thanks Tim) and lots of rainy walks but we also got to play The One Ring 2e (TOR 2e).

We had printed out all the PDFs (thanks Tim) and read through them. The starter set is really well put together but feels like it’s aimed at those who haven’t played RPGs before. I found it useful as the Loremaster (GM for TOR) to read through the adventures and Shire setting book to get a better grasp on the rules.

The Starter Set

The adventures in the starter set do a good job in slowly introducing the key concepts of the system. Note that the starter set has made things easier: the target number (TN) for all rolls is 18 – your ability instead of 20 – ability. The pregen characters are well-made and with the lowered TN, they will perform quite well. The adventures themselves ARE slow though. They are nice and peaceful and then pick up the pace as strange events are investigated but never seemed to really get moving as much as I would like. That said, I have read and done solo-playthroughs to confirm my understanding of the mechanics so your actual play experience may find these more enjoyable.

My gaming group has played a variety of RPGs for many years and already had character concepts they wanted to use. Instead of playing through the starter set with them, I used it to help guide an intro to the rules. I went through the scenarios and explained the main aspects of the rules involved. It’s an intuitive system, and the concepts of the journey and fellowship/adventuring phases was familiar to them thank to our experience with Cubicle 7’s Adventure’s in Middle Earth (AiME).

A Bit of Play

For the first few sessions we only had two players, but a third eventually joined. The players, then, had a primary character and a helper. The group hailed from Rivendell, with the later player having a Dunedain Ranger joining the group. Playing elves was relatively new for the group and the creation of a backstory of young warriors supporting Elrond’s sons was very easy, as was determining their patron.

Now, in TOR 2e, it may seem that the elves are over-powered. That they are not is courtesy of the shadow mechanic along with the break-up of the year into adventuring and fellowship phases. While an elven character has great abilities, they do not rid themselves of shadow the way a human or hobbit can. What this means is that an elf may adventure only once a year, while a human, hobbit, or dwarf would do three times of much. I think it fits Tolkien so well – the elves are somewhat removed from the world. They can participate but to them the younger races seem to burn brightly. To those who have less of an issue restoring their hope to shadow ratio, the elves would seem removed or reserved, which may be true but it’s not a lack of interest but an inability to overcome the darkness in their hearts as fast as others.

Our main characters were young elves from Rivendell. Spears, swords, and bows, with different skillsets. One elf was from Lindon and was an expert archer. The two players made very different options in terms of classes and builds so they could chose which would be their primary going ahead once our third player joined.

I started with the group investigating strange occurrences near Sarn Ford. The characters scouted the area, talked to locals and then ultimately went into the wild towards a mysterious light and found themselves at the Star of the Mists, which is the landmark included in the core rules. Now, I feel I must mention that it’s not really an adventure, but rather an adventure location. Frankly, I prefer this to the often railroaded adventures presented in starter sets. For those unfamiliar with the concept, TOR2e does not have an included adventure in the core rules. Instead it has an adventure location, which they call a landmark. There is so much hinted-at history, so many possible hooks and threads to make this site flow into whatever schemes the loremaster has conceived. Yes, you can run it as a one-off and it suits that purpose well, but the options presented are too good to not link into a broader plan by the Enemy. The landmark itself is described over 9 pages and really presents a wonderful atmosphere.

After the landmark, the group wandered over Eriador and I made free use of 1e adventures. I did notice a subtle tone difference. TOR 2e is a little darker and I needed to make some changes to get that difference across. I was eagerly awaiting Ruins of the Lost North, which is a book with a series of landmarks and had assumed that I would have it earlier than I did so I underprepared for a few sessions which was a little harder for me than I anticipated. I find that running a game like TOR2e really makes me want to do it well! We ended up stopping the campaign as we had scheduling concerns but I will run TOR2e again. I think it is my favourite system.

The Rules

As for the rules themselves, they played very well. My concern about the lack of differentiation of weapons due to removal of the edge rating in 2e was unfounded. The combat options were more than sufficient to create a different feel. Combat was fun and fast paced. The journey rules were good and easier to use, though I’m not sure if they are better than 1e. Frankly, my favourite journey rules were in Adventures in Middle Earth (the 5e version of TOR published by Cubicle 7). You can see my review of that system here.

For those who haven’t played TOR before, the system uses a 1d12 and then 1d6 for every skill level you have (up to 6). You compare the total number to a target number (TN). The TN in TOR2e is based on your attributes. 20 – your body score for instance. I really think that makes a lot of sense. A task is rendered harder or easier based on your innate ability, modified by skill. Rather than add an ability modifier to a roll, the TN is based off the ability instead. Rolling an 11 (marked on special dice with Sauron’s eye) or 12 (Gandalf’s rune) has different effect. Sauron’s eye does not mean failing (though it may due to the lack of score from the 1d12 but does have a role (ha!) to play in complications. Gandalf’s rune is an auto-success. The 1d6 per skill level are also used a little differently than other games. 1-3 are outlined only and don’t count when you are weary (endurance lower than a fatigue level). 4-6 always count, and 6s have a special success rune that can be spent for the effects I’ve mentioned in the past (more damage, higher parry score for the next round etc). For skill rolls the success icon can also help others pass a test, which really brings home the fellowship aspect of any party – rather than one person wanting to shine, there are lots of mechanics for someone stronger to help others through a particular challenge. In practice, this system is intuitive and easy to use. The players all adapted to the system quickly.

Combat is very well done in TOR2e. The stances that the characters adopt dictate the amount of risk they are taking. Rather than change the combat TN for each stance, in 2e, the system merely adds 1d6 to all attacks (including yours) if you are in a forward (read aggressive) stance, and subtracting 1d6 from all attacks (including yours) if you are defensive. My players are used to more tactically driven games, but they enjoyed the combat system and the options presented by the success icon. Unlike in 1e, TOR 2e has many more options which makes the game an easier sell for those who want their heroes to stand out on the field of battle.

Conclusion

TOR 2e is amazing and well worth the purchase. As mentioned, I will run a campaign in Middle Earth using these rules again, but it will need to be at the right time. I’m rather busy and I don’t feel like I can simply pick up and play this wonderful game and do it justice. For a one-off in Middle Earth I’m likely to use Adventures in Middle Earth over TOR based on everyone’s familiarity with the 5e system. Note: I do have the pdfs for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, which is Free League’s take on a 5e system and I will review that in the future.