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by Josh B

[heading]Introduction[/heading]

As any of my readers know, I am a decades-long RPG fan. I have had a mostly consistent group of players for that entire time - we've lost a couple and gained a couple, but the majority of us are still the original players. Over the years, we have played primarily Pathfinder 1e, Pathfinder 2e, Starfinder 1e and D&D 5e. And then, approximately 3 years ago, Free League Publishing launched a kickstarter for the single most beautiful RPG I've ever seen - The One Ring (2nd Edition). I ran to my wife to show her this wonderful new project I had discovered, and after a severe eye roll she agreed that I should go ahead and back it, which I instantly did.



Months later, my precious order arrived, and I dove right in. Again, a year or so later, I saw a notification that Free League had started a new campaign - and what for this time? A Moria book? With its own Collector’s Edition?? I ran to my wife to show her this wonderful new project I had discovered (again), and with an even more severe eye roll she agreed that I should go ahead and back it, which I instantly did… again.

Months later, my precious arrived, and I dove right in immediately. I quickly realized that this project was basically made just for me, and now, several years later, I believe it is appropriate to go through the content available for this game one book at a time and do a full review of everything.

If you are wondering why I am so incredibly devoted to this project, let me give you some information about myself. I have read the following books innumerable times:
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
The Hobbit
The Silmarillion
Children of Húrin
Beren and Luthien
Fall of Numenor
Fall of Gondolin
Unfinished Tales
Lost Tales
The History of Middle Earth (I don’t know for sure if I have read all 12 of these, but I’m planning to go back and verify that, haha.)
In other words - very few things are more beloved by me than Lord of the Rings. This is an IP that I will always love, and of which I can never get enough content… except for Rings of Power which is just blasphemous garbage that we shan’t discuss. With that said, I will go ahead and state from the start that I absolutely adore this RPG - I think the system is very clean and simple, the production is off the charts and the setting is handled magnificently. I will be totally honest in my feedback, and if there are things that I dislike I will point them out - but honestly, as of yet those are few and far between.

This first book in the One Ring series takes place in Eriador, to the West of the Misty Mountains. But fear not, adventurer - the lands to the East shall be explored in further publications (and discussed in further posts).

So essentially, when The One Ring 2e was announced, I was absolutely thrilled beyond description and already committed to adventuring for hours in my beloved Middle Earth. I dreamt of fighting the Balrog through the depths of Moria, of battling orcs and Uruk-Hai in the Pellenor Fields, of conquering trolls who wished to cook me for their dinner. My time had come, and I could now become a Ranger of the North, roaming Middle Earth, seeking adventures and the end of the Dark Lord. And this, my friends, is where our tale begins. And so, let us depart from this delightful little hole in the ground and venture far over the misty mountains cold, through dungeons deep and caverns old…

[heading]Production Quality[/heading]

There is a light, a beauty up there, that no shadow can touch.

This review is based on the Kickstarter Exclusive Collector’s Edition of The One Ring. Differences are limited to the faux-leather binding and gold embossing. The inside of the books is the same across all versions.

Upon opening the package that had arrived upon my doorstep, out of the blue like a dwarf at a hobbit hole, I was immediately in love with the sight that greeted me. I was definitely not the best husband that day, as I could do nothing but open and browse through my new treasure. The dragon fever had me, to be sure.

Over the years I have seen and played many RPGs, and many collector’s editions. Between the Spacefinder collector’s edition, the Pathfinder 2e collector’s editions and the D&D 5e collector’s editions, I have to say that this is my favorite. The tengwar embossing of the script from the One Ring just delights my nerdy heart, and the faux-leather binding has a delightful feel in the hand. This book’s regal appearance fits the setting to a T, and it makes all of this feel even more impactful and delightful.

The front cover depicts the One Ring, with the Tengwar script encircling the Eye of Sauron in the dead center. The three elven rings: Narya, Nenya and Vilya, surround the One, forming a beautiful abstract depiction of the strife surrounding the ring and the war between light and dark. After looking at the cover, you flip the book over to see the rear, and on it is the translation of the dark speech, Tolkien’s poem inscribed on the One Ring, beneath the Eye of Sauron.

And then, after seeing the cover and basking in the glory of the tengwar script that spelled out the doom of all of Middle Earth, I opened this glorious manuscript in my hands, only to discover… beauty. The art in this game is unbelievable. From the maps to the illustrations to the borders on the pages, this book is magnificent. I love that the pages are colored to make them look worn and old, and each chapter’s headings, art, maps and diagrams evoke feelings of adventure and wonder. Quality of production runs throughout every page of this book and everything else that is needed for play.

[heading]Art[/heading]

And its object is Art not power, sub-creation not domination and tyrannous re-forming of Creation.


One of Alan Lee's originals - my standard for Tolkien art.

Every single piece of art in this project is delightful. Whenever I engage with a Lord of the Rings-centered game, I immediately jump to the art - if the art does not feel to me like it respects the original work, then I have no interest. To me, the pinnacle of LotR art is, of course, Alan Lee. I know J.R.R. Tolkien did some of the original illustrations (and his illustration of Smaug has been my plan for my first tattoo for years), but his illustrations are much less prolific than the first ones by Alan Lee. When compared with those illustrations… this game passes every test.


The maps are beautiful

To begin, the maps are absolutely gorgeous. Unsurprising, considering that the game is set within Middle Earth, a setting for which a plethora of cartographic resources exists. There are two primary maps in the core rulebook, one inside of the front cover and one inside of the rear cover. The front cover contains a beautiful black and white sketch of the entirety of Eriador, showing terrain, trees and other important details in a depth of detail and style that The Professor himself would, I am sure, approve of. The secondary map, inside of the rear cover, is comprised of a hex grid that is designed to assist with the Journey phase of the game, which we will get into later. This hex map depict the type of terrains and travel penalties for going through certain areas, which allows the players to plan out their travels and the associated rolls. This map, though much more practical and color-coded to assist with the gameplay, is equally as well produced and nearly as delightful as the purely aesthetic map in the front of the book.

Aside from the cartography, the next thing that leaps out at the reader are the phenomenal illustrations adorning the front pages of each chapter in the book. Every time you complete a chapter, you find yourself greeted by a dual-page chapter introduction, featuring fantastical inked/painted illustrations that leap off the page and transport the reader into the fields and bowels of Middle Earth. I love the way the chapters are separated by these sprawling artworks, as they make the world come alive in the reader’s mind. I am not an art critic, by any means, but I know what I appreciate, and the artistic stylings of this book tick every box for me. The black and white sketches that are included in each chapter, used to illustrate characters of import, weapons, enemies and other things of note, are reminiscent of the original sketches by The Professor himself, while retaining their artistic integrity and identity.


Chapter Artwork

When a player opens up The One Ring, they are immediately plunged into a world of beauty and imagination. Creativity and character shine forth from every page. I can imagine that there is a much higher expense to the publisher to adorn every page of a book with red inked artistic headers and footers. Additionally, I would imagine there is increased cost as well to add the scrawled column along the binding with different penciled sketches, Cirth runes and more lovely little unnecessary but delightful details. Free League chose to accept those costs and include all of that in this project, which was absolutely unnecessary but makes the presentation of this RPG unmatched. Personally? I think they made the right call here.

While all of these artistic details make no difference whatsoever to the overall play of the game, I appreciate that they took the time, cost and effort to craft a product that contains so much beauty. Honestly, I think those choices show a level of respect for the work and the world that they are caring for - it shows that they understand the depth and the breadth of this project, and that they want to honor the original work and the vision of Middle Earth’s creation. It also demonstrates a love and appreciation for the world that they are stewarding. Lord of the Rings is one of, if not the most beloved IPs of all time, so anything with the licensing will sell like hotcakes. Honestly, most of the time I would argue that it barely even matters what the game looks like - no matter what, it will sell because it’s Lord of the Rings. So, for a company like Free League to pour so much time, money, effort and intentionality into a project that would have sold like crazy regardless shows, to me, a higher level of appreciation than the average producer.

All in all, the art in this book creates a deep, visceral draw that pulls the player further and further into this world. If you know and love Middle Earth, then reading this book plunges you directly into the world that we have all spent so much time in within our imaginations. As a lifelong fan, I do not recall anything Lord of the Rings related that has had that intense draw from the very start. Sure, there are fantastic LotR board games out there - games like War of the Ring: Second Edition, which is an unbelievably good game and incredibly thematic - but they lack the deep connection to the world that I derived from this the moment I opened the book for the first time.

[heading]Rules[/heading]

Home is behind, the world ahead,
and there are many paths to tread
through shadows to the edge of night,
until the stars are all alight.

One of the primary things that I think of when I think about playing RPGs is math. I know, that sounds kind of weird. But honestly, how many RPGs devolve into massive math problems every time you roll dice? Most of my RPG career has been spent in Pathfinder, both first and second edition - At higher levels, combat was literally “I roll 3d8 base + 2d6 Fire +3d4 (other modifier) + 4 strength modifier…”, followed by all of the addition and other math to determine hits. The One Ring runs on a much simpler system, one that involves only two kinds of dice. Each player only ever needs 2d12 and 6d6 for the full game, which makes all of the math-ing much less impactful.

The One Ring tries to focus primarily on story, with the rolling being a much smaller and less important factor than the story that the players are cooperatively crafting. Because of this, the game provides guidelines for all of the times that dice should be rolled, which really only happens in five situations. Primarily, dice rolling should happen during combat or when a player is in danger, completing shadow tests (addressed later) seeking knowledge or attempting to manipulate something/someone. If a player is attempting an action that should, within the confines of the story, succeed - no roll is necessary. If there is a possibility of failure, then the rolls happen. This streamlines the process that, in some other RPGs, turns the game into a slog. Many DMs tend to ask for rolls for anything that would apply to a skill or to any knowledge from the past. In this case, if I was playing an Elf and needed some information from the recent history of the elves, then I would not be required to roll a die because the information would be considered readily available to my people. However, if I was seeking information that would be known only to a few (for instance, information on the Three Rings of the Elves), then I would have to roll for that information or seek out a character who possesses that knowledge naturally and attempt to get it from them. Every roll in The One Ring is done using one Feat Die (d12) plus a number of skill dice equal to your character’s skill of choice. So if I have the Singing skill as 3, then I roll 1d12+3d6. You add up the total number rolled, and if it matches or beats the associated Target Number (I’ll explain this when we get to characters), the roll is a success. One important part of the dice rules is that the Feat Die features a Gandalf Rune and an Eye of Sauron - The Gandalf Rune is an automatic success on any roll, and the Eye of Sauron counts as a 0, making your roll extremely difficult, or in some cases impossible. Finally, I should note that each “6” rolled on your skill dice generates a “success” icon. On a successful roll, you may use these “Success” icons to do additional things - such as assisting other players, acquiring additional information or influencing multiple people.

There are, of course, more things that can modify your dice rolls, such as favored/ill-favored rolls, which cause you two roll two feat dice and choose either the best or worst option, or things that grant bonus dice, but for the most part this is a pretty brief overview of the dice portion of this game.

Next, we will discuss the character sheet and how you determine Target Numbers (TN) and skills. In this game, there are three attributes from which all other stats derive: Strength, Heart and Wits. Each race within the book has a selection of 6 different sets of attribute scores listed for them, and as the player you choose which attribute set you would like to play with. You may also roll a die to determine your attribute set. In general, each attribute favors different types of skills. As would be expected, Strength favors combat-heavy roles, while wits favors diplomatic characters. These attributes are written on each player’s character sheet, and these are used to determine each individual TN by subtracting the attribute score from 20. Therefore, if I chose a character with a strength attribute of 7, I would need to meet or beat a 13 in order to succeed on a die roll testing strength. You do this same process across all three of your attributes and write each TN down on your sheet as well.


That character sheet though

Each race is then also given a certain set of skills by default, a standard of living (which determines starting items), some cultural attributes to buff certain aspects of your character, and combat proficiencies to add additional dice to your combat rolls. After choosing a race, players choose a Calling, which gives additional favored skills, a shadow path (essentially, your character’s weaknesses) and some other distinctive features for your character.

After all of that, each player is given an additional 10 skill points to spend as they wish to increase any given skills their character may need. There is a table for points increases and cost of each increase in the book for players to follow. Once finished with the basic creation of their character, players then choose their war gear and their useful items (dependent upon the prosperity level of their race), which can be essentially anything the player suggests to carry with them and assist with a given skill by giving one extra d6 when using the item and the skill. The caveat in all of this is that when selecting war gear, players must be aware of their maximum allowed load - which is their endurance score. All players need to allow enough excess endurance to carry all of their gear plus any treasure they may stumble upon on the road. As a final note on gear, as player heroes gain experience and skill, they become more heroic and notable - increasing what is known as their Valour and Wisdom - which grants them special/magical/unique gear and abilities, always referred to as Rewards and Virtues within the game system.

All player abilities will be increased throughout the course of the game, and each and every player receives skill points and adventure points at the end of every game session. These points are used during Fellowship Phases to increase player stats and grow the power and renown of your character.

And that takes us now to the two phases of the game: Adventuring and Fellowship. The adventuring phase is where players are wandering across Middle Earth, battling foes and toppling the enemies of the light. This is the portion of the game that most closely resembles other RPGs - wars, sieges, exploration and battles. The Fellowship phase, on the other hand, is something unique to The One Ring, at least so far as my experience goes. The Fellowship Phase is a span of seasons between adventures when your heroes wait, rest and train. This is where the players may spend their skill and adventure points, as well as recover Hope. Once every three or so fellowships, Winter arrives and the Yule Fellowship happens, which allows players to remove Shadow Scars and heal their character more thoroughly.

Combat!

One of my favorite things about this game is found in the Yule activities - your adventurer has the ability to put adventure points and treasures into raising an heir. You see, this game is generationally-focused. If your character dies and you have taken the time to invest in an heir, then you graduate to playing the heir. So you can start playing The One Ring as Bjeorn, son of Bjeorald, and then become Bjeork, son of Bjeorn and so on and so forth. Your character’s unique and magical weapons and items are able to be passed down to their heirs, and the treasure that you have collected in adventuring phases can raise the Standard of Living for your heir so that they have more and better gear when they go adventuring.

Next, we will quickly discuss combat. In this game, Combat takes several steps. At the very beginning of combat, each round may fire Opening Volleys with whichever ranged weapon they possess. After opening volleys, each player chooses their combat stance from Forward, Open, Defensive and Rearward. The first three options are for close combat, the final for ranged. Each close combat stance has a different effect: close gives you and the opponent attacking you one additional d6, open gives no bonuses to anyone, and defensive removes 1d6 from both the player and their opponent. Player heroes in rearward stance may not be engaged in close combat, but they may be targeted by enemies in rearward stance. A maximum of three enemies at a time may engage each hero, with any remaining enemies standing back. Combat is resolved by then rolling the feat die and the d6 equal to your weapon proficiency and checking the results again each player’s strength TN + the opponent’s Parry rating. Wounds are assigned, and then special abilities may be used. Then, each player has the choice of modifying their combat stance, and a new round begins.

One final, important thing to cover here is Shadow Points and Shadow Scars. Whenever bad things happen to your characters, there is a possibility of receiving shadow points. Some enemies have effects that give shadow points as well, and when a player’s Shadow Points meet or exceed their hope score, they begin receiving negative modifiers. Most of the time, points are acquired by failing Shadow Tests, events where the player must roll either their Wisdom or Valour scores in an attempt to best the shadow’s pressing presence. These shadow points can become Shadow Scars, which are a more permanent effect on your character. If a player is overcome by shadow, they go mad and may no longer be played.


There are many, many more rules in this book - Journeys have their own specific rules, combat has its specifics, enemies have their own unique combat rules that they have to use and skills have more depth to them, but I cannot give a full, comprehensive view of these through just one single post. I would hope that this overview gives you some insight into how the game functions, how the stats and abilities connect with one another and form a delightful little game. If you would like more depth on any of these, please let me know in the comments and I am more than happy to do a supplementary post further delving into any of these mechanics.

[heading]Races[/heading]

For the grim years were removed from the face of Aragorn,
and he seemed clothed in white, a young lord fall and fair”

So because this is Lord of the Rings, there will be one very big, very important question that everyone wants to have answered… what races can I play?

First come the Bardings - and if you know your Tolkien, then I need no further explanation as to whom they are descended from. If you do not know The Professor’s work well, the Bardings are the people of Bard the Bowman, the brave warrior of Lake Town who felled the mighty wurm Smaug, saving Lake Town and Erebor from the beast. As a playable race, the Bardings have proficiencies in bows (shocker, right?) and are considered Stout-Hearted and athletic. They have high Endurance scores, and would be a good all-around character.

Next, we have the Dwarves of Durin’s folk. Dwarves, unsurprisingly, are the tanks. They have the highest endurance and are prosperous, meaning they can have some of the most items and carry the most load, which would allow them to wear the heaviest armors with the least negative. They are proficient in axes and swords, and are skilled in things associated with traveling and craftsmanship.

After the dwarves, we find ourselves at the Elves of Lindon. As would be expected, the Elves are proficient in bows or spears. Additionally, their stats are equal to that of the Bardings for Endurance, Hope and Parry. They, however, have the ability of spending hope to achieve magical successes on dice, which is incredibly strong. The adverse effect here is that the long-lived Elves retain more shadow points that other races during Fellowship Phases.

Hobbits of the Shire are the next race that we can play. These doughty little warriors have high heart and wit, but lack in other more combat-focused virtues. Hobbits are proficient with bows or swords, and they are both stealthy and courteous. Hobbits would be the equivalent of a standard Rogue class.

Then we come to the Men of Bree. These men are fairly average on all of their states, and would be considered a strong support pick. Men of Bree have the ability to increase the fellowship score of their party, due to the nature of the Breelanders to befriend and do business with all races equally.

Finally, we reach the last playable race in the base game - The Rangers of the North. The Dúnedain. Rangers are, in my estimation, the Fighter class. They have high combat scores and proficiency with swords and spears, as well as a bonus attribute point to any attribute they choose. These men also have a penalty to their hope recovery because of their long lives and history with the shadow.

Overall, I love the race selections in the base game. There were definitely more races that I wanted to be able to play when I first opened up this book, but upon delving into the further expansions that have come out (and will be receiving their own write-ups soon!), I think they included a good mix here in the first book. If you feel like the race of your choosing is lacking, let me know what it is and hopefully we’ll see that one discussed soon.

[heading]Canon[/heading]

And some things that should not have been forgotten were lost. History became Legend. Legend became Myth. And for two and a half thousand years, the ring passed out of all knowledge.

One of the first questions I asked when receiving this game and seeing that it was set between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings was, “how does this fit the canon?” Thankfully, Free League foresaw this question, and they provided the answer within the rulebook. You see, the trilogy is written from the perspective of an autobiography by Bilbo and then Frodo. So, as an autobiography, is it entirely possible that some events have been, shall we say, embellished to better suit a narrative tale of adventure? This is the primary argument against the establishment of a firm canon for this period of Middle Earth, as the only things that are firmly set out within the books as historical fact can still be honored, while the minute details of the stories may be altered and modified to fit the narrative of the players without disrupting the primary story of the books.


One of the locations from the rulebook

Additionally, the works of Tolkien shift mightily in their locations and time periods. This game starts after the Hobbit, which is set years prior to Fellowship. In the time between those there are plenty of plausible adventures for the party to go on, and if your game spans enough time that it begins to infringe upon the primary tale of Middle Earth, the Loremaster may take the opportunity to both intertwine the story and also avoid any major events that would be disrupted. For instance, is it completely plausible that an adventuring party of men would find themselves at the Battle of the Pellinor Fields? Absolutely. What about a group of warriors being sent by Elrond to pursue a threat to the South, or to seek out a shadow that is threatening the free folk of Erebor whilst the ringbearer is travelling to Mordor? All of these things make complete sense within the prime narrative of Middle Earth, and should be considered opportunities for a talented Loremaster, not hinderances.


[heading]Strider Mode[/heading]

”I am Aragorn, son of Arathorn; and if by life or death I can save you, I will.”

At its core, The One Ring is a standard RPG made for a group to play. The Core Rules reflect this, without the ability to add any solo play. However, there is a supplement that was released at approximately the same time as the game with what is referred to as Strider Mode, a solo variant for playing the RPG. As this was not included in the core rulebook, I shall not be providing a review of the core rules from the context of a Strider Mode game, however I will do so with future reviews. If any of you wish, I can provide a separate and smaller look into Strider Mode, giving the base changes and my thoughts on that as a standalone supplement.

Strider Mode is readily available as a pdf from DriveThruRPG, and provides an entertaining and interesting way to play through The One Ring as a solo RPG.

[heading]Conclusions[/heading]

Don’t adventures ever have an end? I suppose not. Someone else always has to carry on the story

Usually, my reviews would include a complete points breakdown in a fancy graphic. Honestly, in this case, I’m not really sure how to do that well. This is a completely different proposition from the normal Board Game reviews I produce. I will consider it sufficient to say that this is my favorite RPG of all of the ones that I have played, which is quite a few. I am an incredibly big Tolkien fan, and I truly believe that this project honors the legacy of Tolkien while providing access for the fans to dive into and become a part of this wonderful world. One of the best parts about RPGs comes from being able to partake in our favorite worlds and their stories and characters, so to find one that is created with such love and attention to detail is truly special. I strongly recommend that any Tolkien fan take the time to invest and look into this wonderful RPG, and I look forward to putting forth my thoughts on the next book.

Also, I know that there is so much to this game that I was not able to cover fully in this first review. The hours and hours that I have poured into this still feel like they are not enough to truly convey the wonder and excitement of this game, or to really give a look at the depth of it, so if there are questions that you have for me or things you would like addressed in future posts, please let me know. I’m happy to dive more and more into any specific details of this game.

If you have played The One Ring, then please let me know what your thoughts are on it! I would love to hear, and I look forward to the next post!

One RPG to Rule Them All will be a continuing series, and I currently plan to cover every book available for the game. This will be a series that takes place across both my blog here and [url=]Josiah’s blog[/url], so if you would like to see every post please subscribe there as well. I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read my thoughts, and any feedback that you all would like to share.

I post here every Tuesday and Thursday. If you find yourself enjoying my content, I appreciate every subscriber. Thank you for supporting my posts, and for making this hobby into something bigger.

A new episode has been added to the database: S4, Ep 2: My Dinner with Winnie

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