LotR RPG Inquiry: What did you think of it?

[apeiron]

i recently read through the Lord of the Rings RPG. i am wondering if any of you have played the game.  Please share with me your reflections on the game itself and any actual play.

[John Kim]

i recently read through the Lord of the Rings RPG. i am wondering if any of you have played the game.  Please share with me your reflections on the game itself and any actual play.

I've been playing in a campaign using it for most of last year.  We are finally dropping it, however.  You can find my review and some other notes on the game on my LOTR page at http://www.darkshire.net/~jhkim/rpg/lordoftherings/

Basically, I think it sucks.  The main redeeming feature is the flavor of the magic system, but the magic is also horrendously unbalanced as written.  

There were other issues with the campaign that I have played in, but it certainly wasn't helped by the system.  For one, I strongly disagree with the three-act adventure advice.   Also, there is almost nothing in character creation to tie the PCs into the setting -- like having a home, job, relatives, and so forth.  This is perhaps fixable by an experienced GM, but there are also a myriad of other problems and errors.

Editted to add: Besides the web page, there was a previous thread which related to the campaign: http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=6543">Horseplay gone too far?

[apeiron]

@ i read your review and your criticisms seem valid, since i have not played the game so i can only guess.  The core book seemed a bit ... untogether.  If they had paid as much attention to the game as they did the artwork it would have been magnificent.  The spelling and grammatical errors were a bit annoying too.  Run a spell check!  i did like the Weariness aspect.  Travelling and adventuring would take its toll on the body and soul.  Getting a brew at the local pub can do much to lift one's spirits.

@ i'm prolly gonna get blasted for saying this, but i would have much preferred if the license had gone to someone who would have made it a d20 game, with millieu specific adaptations.

[Kaare Berg]

I found the games to be very flavourfull, ableit I agree it is flawed.

My players rolled way to many crit-sucesses especially against the trolls they ended up fighting.

I loved the atmosphere of the game, and my players still talk of it even it has been a year since. Here I felt the system worked wonders, giving the heroic feel. The mass battle system worked nicely with a few tweaks and we had a great battlescene ending in a stand off outside some castle gates(I stand corrected in respect to other posts, I agree with Ron, system does matter).

@ i'm prolly gonna get blasted for saying this, but i would have much preferred if the license had gone to someone who would have made it a d20 game, with millieu specific adaptations.

There is a great Full Frontal Nerdity joke about this:http://www.gamespy.com/comics/nodwick/ffn/ffn028.htm

IMO the system of the game promotes more heroic type action than the D20 system will. The game says it is about epic stories and the system supports this. If you want to play Legolas taking out the Mumakil then you can.

If you want to go gritty though, I would use another system.

IMO, though.

[John Kim]

@ i'm prolly gonna get blasted for saying this, but i would have much preferred if the license had gone to someone who would have made it a d20 game, with millieu specific adaptations.

There is a great Full Frontal Nerdity joke about this:http://www.gamespy.com/comics/nodwick/ffn/ffn028.htm

IMO the system of the game promotes more heroic type action than the D20 system will. The game says it is about epic stories and the system supports this. If you want to play Legolas taking out the Mumakil then you can.

The thing is, I don't think the joke would be any different if the nerds were to say "Looks like Gimli definitely has the Swift Strike order ability" (LOTR) instead of saying "Looks like Gimli definitely has the Great Cleave feat" (D20)?  Or for that matter, "Looks like Gimli has a 'Killer with an axe +2' trait and just got to make a great Monologue of Victory" (http://www.randomordercreations.com/thepool.html">The Pool)?

I could analyze how Legolas-vs-Mumakil actually works out in the LOTR mechanics as written.  However, but in the past when I have done this I was greeted with jeers that "I just don't get it" or somesuch.  

I think one can definitely have a lot of fun playing a game using the Lord of the Rings RPG.  The campaign I played in wasn't all that I would want it to be, but it was enjoyable.  It can be a lot of fun to imagine what is happening.  However, I don't see anything unique to the CODA system which is responsible for this.

[ADGBoss]

My best impression of the CODA system was that it did not seem radical enough for me.  Honestly, it seems rather close to D20, though I would want to go back through the system and compare and contrast again, just to be sure.

Nothing about the system lept out at me as being unique or even an interesting new twist.  It was playable though and fairly easy to pick up the mechanics, even for newer players.

Its hard to judge it though considering how passionate people are (one way or the other) about the LoTR.  So perhaps expectations of being wow'ed by the system were too high.

How does LoTR CODA compare to Star Trek CODA? Can anyone tell us how they tweaked it to change genre?

Sean

[apeiron]

@ This is my thread containing my translation of the Weariness system of LotR into d20.  Enjoy!

http://www.indie-rpgs.com/viewtopic.php?t=9676