# Is The One Ring 2E Kickstarter going to break the records?



## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

I went all in for the collector's edition plus tossing in money for a standard book, extra dice and the GM screen.   All stretch goals have been fully blown through also.


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## Morrus (Feb 11, 2021)

As I'm watching it, fully mesmerized, it's doing about £1000 every 20-30 seconds or so. It's quite hypnotic!


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## jerryrice4949 (Feb 11, 2021)

I only have time to play one system so I am going to pass.  A me with more time would be interested.


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

Morrus said:


> As I'm watching it, mesmerized, it's doing about £1000 ever 20-30 seconds or so.



Yeah it's crazy as I was doing the numbers (exchanging SEK to USD) for what I needed to put in to cover the highest tier, plus GM Screen, extra dice and extra standard book plus shipping the numbers flew by.


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## Umbran (Feb 11, 2021)

It is probably very cool.  But, I don't have a group of players who are going to want to play it, so I don't expect to go in on this one.


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

One of the best games I ever ran was The One Ring. I know I could have players.

This is amazing. And the marketing is spot on, it is like the one ring of RPGs, coveted!


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## jerryrice4949 (Feb 11, 2021)

Umbran said:


> It is probably very cool.  But, I don't have a group of players who are going to want to play it, so I don't expect to go in on this one.



I am in the same boat.  My players have made it clear they want to stick with one system given their limited free time.  Really I am in the same boat.  I miss the days where we tried everything like Warhammer, Shadowrun, GURPS and even Rifts but with busy family and work lives sticking to one system has worked best.


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## Datactingguy (Feb 11, 2021)

I’m surprised they aren’t offering supplement books as well during this campaign. But maybe they’re saving that for later, I don’t know.


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## TheSword (Feb 11, 2021)

I’ve played AIME but never One Ring. Is it a good system? Any recommendations based on the first edition?

I played MERP believe it or not many many years ago after getting their boxed set as a Xmas present back in the last century.

After all our discussions about trying new systems I thought maybe I should branch out a bit!


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## ART! (Feb 11, 2021)

TheSword said:


> I’ve played AIME but never One Ring. Is it a good system? Any recommendations based on the first edition?
> 
> I played MERP believe it or not many many years ago after getting their boxed set as a Xmas present back in the last century.
> 
> After all our discussions about trying new systems I thought maybe I should branch out a bit!



Hopefully others will respond with more detail, but just from reading through TOR 1E, it seemed very good to this Tolkien fan and lifelong gamer - and from what I hear some of the complaints about 1E have been addressed very smartly in this new edition.


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## Ibrandul (Feb 11, 2021)

jerryrice4949 said:


> I only have time to play one system so I am going to pass.  A me with more time would be interested.



The KS page says they're also planning a D&D 5e-compatible version (like Cubicle 7's Adventures in Middle-earth), though it will come later. So if 5e is the one system you have time for, all you need do is allow some more of that time to pass.


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## Umbran (Feb 11, 2021)

jerryrice4949 said:


> I am in the same boat.  My players have made it clear they want to stick with one system given their limited free time.  Really I am in the same boat.  I miss the days where we tried everything like Warhammer, Shadowrun, GURPS and even Rifts but with busy family and work lives sticking to one system has worked best.




For me, it isn't "stick to one system" - for us, a new campaign generally means a new game.  

It is just that they're not interested in playing in Middle Earth.  They also aren't interested in playing Star Wars, or Star Trek, specifically.


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## Jeff Carpenter (Feb 11, 2021)

I am not a LoTR fan at all but I am a sucker for starter sets and that one looks fly as hell. 

Plus free league puts out great stuff.


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## lyle.spade (Feb 11, 2021)

I am balanced on the edge here...it looks great, but they there's that issue of "could I build a group to play this, and if so, would it last beyond a few sessions?" I tried AiME for 5e and while I liked the books a lot and the rules mods, it never felt like Middle Earth - just dreary, low magic DnD. I suppose these rules would feel different, but I wonder if the dreariness is a feature of the setting.

Fortunately there are no limited-time pledges, so I can wait a few weeks while this blows and and decide in the closing moments.

Regardless, it's nice to see another RPG get so much support, financially - it's good for the industry and good for the hobby.


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## EllisEthel (Feb 11, 2021)

I liked The One Ring 1st Edition. I quite liked MERP. I hated AiME. I expect this 2nd edition of The One Ring will be excellent. That’s my two cents


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## Takei (Feb 11, 2021)

Another interesting aspect is that around 50% of the backers are grabbing the limited edition. Being an homage to one of Tolkien's own covers I can see why.


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## Marc_C (Feb 11, 2021)

No one to play this with. I no longer buy RPGs just to read them.

I'm sure it will break records. LOTR is very popular and Free League is trust worthy when it comes to Kickstarters.


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## TheSword (Feb 11, 2021)

Pretty crazy how fast every stretch goal has been completed. I wonder if they’ll add some more.

How much did their Alien Kickstarter make do people know?


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## Michael Linke (Feb 11, 2021)

Umbran said:


> For me, it isn't "stick to one system" - for us, a new campaign generally means a new game.
> 
> It is just that they're not interested in playing in Middle Earth.  They also aren't interested in playing Star Wars, or Star Trek, specifically.



MCDM talked about how early D&D was designed to simulate a very specific kind of story, and that made a lot of stuff click for me about how different editions were meant to play and feel, and why some of our 2e campaigns just died in the transition to 3e.  I 100% agree with the "new campaign generally means a game" thing.  You pick a system that has rules that help you tell the story you want to tell.  if no system works, you find the closest fit and modify it (or obligatory cortex prime plug).


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## Tyler Do'Urden (Feb 11, 2021)

Tempted... tempted...

But I'll wait for their AIME 2E kickstarter.


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## univoxs (Feb 11, 2021)

I don't back much. Only ever two things actually. But I think I am going in on this one.


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## Sunsword (Feb 11, 2021)

Was the One Ring 1E that popular? I wonder how much of the design of 2E was by the previous publisher. I will say that Middle Earth Adventures for 5E was astounding.

While I respect Tolkien, I don't have much interest in playing in Middle-Earth these days, but obviously, I'm in the minority.


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## Weiley31 (Feb 11, 2021)

I mean, I don't really have players for The One Ring, but I'm probably just gonna back for that Collector's Edition anyway. Plus I'm sure I can put that map to good use for Halflings in DND.


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## univoxs (Feb 11, 2021)

Thid game needs an online group like many wargames have. Seems to be a lot of people saying that had 1e and never got to use it.


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Almost half a million!


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## Grendel_Khan (Feb 11, 2021)

Very fascinated by the people commenting that they aren't going to get it. Like, fine, but...you can just not leave a comment. One person not interested in a thing is not useful info.

But I hope for Free League's sake this one hits a new record. They really know how to make an incredible product, and an appealing Kickstarter. The only physical (non-PDF) RPG pledge I've ever done was for their Twilight 2000 campaign. They know what they're doing.


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## Weiley31 (Feb 11, 2021)

Grendel_Khan said:


> Very fascinated by the people commenting that they aren't going to get it. Like, fine, but...you can just not leave a comment. One person not interested in a thing is not useful info.
> 
> But I hope for Free League's sake this one hits a new record. They really know how to make an incredible product, and an appealing Kickstarter. The only physical (non-PDF) RPG pledge I've ever done was for their Twilight 2000 campaign. They know what they're doing.



Comment.


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## Weiley31 (Feb 11, 2021)

The Limited Collector's Edition does look very snazzy.


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## Morrus (Feb 11, 2021)

I think what I'm personally super interested in is the starter set.


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## Grendel_Khan (Feb 11, 2021)

Sunsword said:


> Was the One Ring 1E that popular? I wonder how much of the design of 2E was by the previous publisher. I will say that Middle Earth Adventures for 5E was astounding.
> 
> While I respect Tolkien, I don't have much interest in playing in Middle-Earth these days, but obviously, I'm in the minority.



Personally I don't think success on Kickstarter, or sometimes even TTRPG sales at all, necessarily indicates what people want to play. Free League makes pretty stuff that scratches a collectors' itch. I don't mean that in a backhanded way--their design and overall approach is incredible.


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## Aldarc (Feb 11, 2021)

Morrus said:


> I think what I'm personally super interested in is the starter set.



Same, particularly at Fria Ligan's production value.


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

Grendel_Khan said:


> Very fascinated by the people commenting that they aren't going to get it. Like, fine, but...you can just not leave a comment. One person not interested in a thing is not useful info.
> 
> But I hope for Free League's sake this one hits a new record. They really know how to make an incredible product, and an appealing Kickstarter. The only physical (non-PDF) RPG pledge I've ever done was for their Twilight 2000 campaign. They know what they're doing.



Welcome to conversation. Where people talk about things that they like and don't like and why. Or why they might or might not back a Kickstarter.


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## TheAlkaizer (Feb 11, 2021)

Grendel_Khan said:


> Very fascinated by the people commenting that they aren't going to get it. Like, fine, but...you can just not leave a comment. One person not interested in a thing is not useful info.
> 
> But I hope for Free League's sake this one hits a new record. They really know how to make an incredible product, and an appealing Kickstarter. The only physical (non-PDF) RPG pledge I've ever done was for their Twilight 2000 campaign. They know what they're doing.




I don't think it's harmful. Also, I think it's interesting to see if folks are interested in it, or not, what tier/products they're interested in and if not, why.


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## innerdude (Feb 11, 2021)

So, this is an . . . odd thing for me to have to ponder. 

I've already funded the Savage Pathfinder kickstarter at the complete digital level ("Runelord Digital"). 

And truthfully, I'm not all that interested in The One Ring 2nd ed. to actually _play_ the game. I have TOR 1e hardcovers for the original release, player's companion, and Rivendell, and everything else on PDF.  If it's a question of _playing _TOR, I have everything I could possibly need. 

But man oh man . . . that collector's edition hardcover? ** Droooooools **

I've read _Lord of the Rings_ once every year since I was 11 years old. I've read the _Silmarillion_ 3 times. I've spent close to $1,000 on the Fantasy Flight _Lord of the Rings_ cooperative card game. So the Tolkien fan in me looks at that collector's edition hardcover and says, "You can't call yourself a Tolkien fan and not own that book." 

But I can't realistically pay for both the Savage Pathfinder AND the TOR 2e kickstarters at the same time. 

First-world problems at its finest. Decisions, decisions . . . .


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## EthanSental (Feb 11, 2021)

I have to agree with Grendel above....just look at the aforementioned 7th Sea that hit 1.3M on Kickstarter.  A successful KS that less than a year later, saw wick fold or sale the game again.   I think middle earth and Tolkien have more weight than 7th sea but 1e missed the mark for the parent company to want to change things up with a new publisher.  It will do well on KS, but I’m hoping the game stays strong for the next 3-5 years for those invested in it.


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## Morrus (Feb 11, 2021)

EthanSental said:


> but 1e missed the mark for the parent company to want to change things up with a new publisher.



That isn't how it happened. Let's not just make stuff up, eh?


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## EthanSental (Feb 11, 2021)

Not making things up, as I didn’t misstate or make up anything up.  Parent Company moved on from company A to company B.  People can google it and come to their own conclusion for the switch,


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

EthanSental said:


> Not making things up, as I didn’t misstate or make up anything up.  Parent Company moved on from company A to company B.  People can google it and come to their own conclusion for the switch,



I think you're confusing conclusion and speculation on your part.


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Paragon Lost said:


> I think you're confusing conclusion and speculation on your part.



Uh, I think Russ knows some of the principle people involved


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## EthanSental (Feb 11, 2021)

not wanting to derail the thread especially coming from members I respect from previous conversations/threads.


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## Weiley31 (Feb 11, 2021)

innerdude said:


> So, this is an . . . odd thing for me to have to ponder.
> 
> I've already funded the Savage Pathfinder kickstarter at the complete digital level ("Runelord Digital").
> 
> ...



I never played either, but I'd lean more towards TOR 2E Collector's Edition hardcover. Even though I never played TOR 1E and was only getting the AIME books just to mine crap for my DND games. Especially since it's a homage/shoutout.

And this is coming from a guy whose ONLY experience with Lord of the Rings, despite knowing of the books, is the movies and some of the video games I've played and enjoyed. (Third Age, Shadow of Mordor/War, and Two Towers/Return of the Kings on the PS2.)


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

darjr said:


> Uh, I think Russ knows some of the principle people involved



I wasn't talking to Russ, Darjr. I was responding to Ethan, but thanks for playing.


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Morrus said:


> That isn't how it happened. Let's not just make stuff up, eh?



And this is the quote I meant. @Paragon Lost


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Ha!


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## doctheweasel (Feb 11, 2021)

innerdude said:


> So, this is an . . . odd thing for me to have to ponder.
> 
> I've already funded the Savage Pathfinder kickstarter at the complete digital level ("Runelord Digital").
> 
> ...




I'm in a similar boat. The fact that they end in different months/paychecks is a godsend.


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

darjr said:


> And this is the quote I meant. @Paragon Lost



Then why quote and reply to me then Darjr? Instead of Ethan?


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## Weiley31 (Feb 11, 2021)

We got High Elves now. And it's only day one. At this rate, by the time its all over, we'll have Nazgul and Sauron pre-gen characters. _Author's Note: Please disregard that last part as I was joking._


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

doctheweasel said:


> I'm in a similar boat. The fact that they end in different months/paychecks is a godsend.



That the Savage Worlds one ends this month and the One Ring ends in March is perfect for me. It allows met to stay within my hobby monthly spending limit which keeps my wife happy.  Otherwise I start getting the side eye from her which makes me twitchy. lol


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## smcc360 (Feb 11, 2021)

Looks like they’re forging something... precious.


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## Weiley31 (Feb 11, 2021)

I hope the success reaches a point where Kickstarter just breaks down for a day.


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## Weiley31 (Feb 11, 2021)

They put down additional stretch goals and four of them were _already_ reached upon doing so. Mother of mercy!


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Paragon Lost said:


> Then why quote and reply to me then Darjr? Instead of Ethan?



Because I’m a confused internet old man.... I dunno.

I’m going to blame my phone, dang newfangled thngamajig 

git off me lawn!


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 11, 2021)

darjr said:


> Because I’m a confused internet old man.... I dunno.
> 
> I’m going to blame my phone, dang newfangled thngamajig
> 
> git off me lawn!



 Fun club to be a member of.


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## Charles Dunwoody (Feb 11, 2021)

Just a little under 6 hours to hit half a million dollars in pledges.


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Half a miiiiilllion!!! Wow. Thanks for the timing info Charles.
Wowowwow


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)




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## schneeland (Feb 11, 2021)

I'm happy the campaign is doing well, but it's a bit weird to see it smash through so many stretch goals.
I know a few people who really liked the first edition, but I never had the feeling that it was really a big title.
That being said, of course I threw my money at them for one of the fancy limited editions


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## CleverNickName (Feb 11, 2021)

_So excited _about this Kickstarter!
I just put myself down for the "Fellowship"-tier pledge...it looks like there are going to be some really excellent stretch goals and I want to add them to my collection.  I mean--books, maps, cards, dice?  That's a lot of content for ~95 bucks.

I wish I could have gone with the premium cover, because I like the artwork better...but that price tag was just a touch too steep for me.  It's beautiful work, for sure.  I wish the project well.


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Spanish and Italian confirmed with more possible.


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## Desrimal (Feb 11, 2021)

I'm new to backing projects on Kickstarter, so forgive if I ask a dumb questions 

Is there anyway to back this kickstarter and ONLY get the Deluxe Leatherbound edition of the Rulebook (and perhaps the die). I'm not interested in the Starter Set at all.


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Pledge small, then ask in the comments on the Kickstarter. Back out of you need too after.


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## Charles Dunwoody (Feb 11, 2021)

I like it. Landmarks in TOR are like the adventure sites in Forbidden Lands. Little pockets of adventure in one location complete with legends about the place.


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## schneeland (Feb 11, 2021)

Charles Dunwoody said:


> I like it. Landmarks in TOR are like the adventure sites in Forbidden Lands. Little pockets of adventure in one location complete with legends about the place.



That was also my favourite bit from the Q&A session so far (big fan of the legends in FL).


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## Mercador (Feb 11, 2021)

Is LOTR is out of copyright or something?


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## darjr (Feb 11, 2021)

Mercador said:


> Is LOTR is out of copyright or something?



No, in fact they can’t do minis or a printed art book because of licensing


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## Laurefindel (Feb 11, 2021)

TheSword said:


> I’ve played AIME but never One Ring. Is it a good system? Any recommendations based on the first edition?
> 
> I played MERP believe it or not many many years ago after getting their boxed set as a Xmas present back in the last century.
> 
> After all our discussions about trying new systems I thought maybe I should branch out a bit!



TOR came out just a bit before D&D 5e and foreshadowed or pioneered a few modern game-design elements (or codified some that already existed informally). But mostly, it presented a medieval-fantasy system that was (at the time) refreshingly magic-free and yet allowed for a very magical world. In short, it achieved that elusive and whimsical Tolkien "feel" many LotR fans had been looking for.

Highlights for me were a four-combat-stance-system and how certain tasks could only be achieved through certain combat dispositions, a well-defined exploration/travel pillar supported by a solid narrative system, attributes (stats) that mostly come into play when you try to overdo yourself or are forced to fall back on your natural aptitudes, a built-in weapon/armour/equipment enhancement system, and an overarching "attrition game" within the whole system that hit the right spot between the need for careful planning and frustration.

IMO, some of the mechanics aged better than others. I'm curious to see what the 2e brings/enhances/tones down


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## Inchoroi (Feb 11, 2021)

I'll never use the book or system.....but god, that hardcover special edition is so pretty.


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Feb 12, 2021)

Torn. On the one hand, I own all of the 1E TOR stuff as well as C7's reprint of the core rules (which I thought was revised, if not a true 2E). But I don't know that I need a new rulebook right now (start set might be nice). And I'm still waiting for my T2K kickstarter ... I wish they'd deliver on the one before launching another.

Any idea how different 2E is from 1E? I'm definitely picking up Moria if they finally release it -- was guttered when C7 lost the license before producing it.


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## Skywalker (Feb 12, 2021)

TheSword said:


> I’ve played AIME but never One Ring. Is it a good system? Any recommendations based on the first edition?



I think its superb. Its purpose built to emulate adventuring in the world of Middle Earth, but is also very approachable by bringing player into the setting at a ground level rather than the usual high level overview of most fantasy RPGs. It has a strong vibe that permeates every adventure.


Sunsword said:


> Was the One Ring 1E that popular? I wonder how much of the design of 2E was by the previous publisher. I will say that Middle Earth Adventures for 5E was astounding.



Anecdotally, Cubicle 7 and the designers were both very happy with the sale for TOR throughout the run of 1e. So, I would guess that it was popular.


Weiley31 said:


> The Limited Collector's Edition does look very snazzy.



It does. I am in love with the regular edition cover art though, so I am sticking with that 


Olgar Shiverstone said:


> Any idea how different 2E is from 1E? I'm definitely picking up Moria if they finally release it -- was guttered when C7 lost the license before producing it.



Not yet, though the product releases seems to be complement 1e's releases rather than substitute them for the most part (Rivendell being the exception).


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## Paragon Lost (Feb 12, 2021)

Skywalker said:


> I think its superb. Its purpose built to emulate adventuring in the world of Middle Earth, but is also very approachable by bringing player into the setting at a ground level rather than the usual high level overview of most fantasy RPGs. It has a strong vibe that permeates every adventure.
> 
> Anecdotally, Cubicle 7 and the designers were both very happy with the sale for TOR throughout the run of 1e. So, I would guess that it was popular.
> 
> ...




 I was torn, loved both covers. So I did the standard edition as an addon, lucky for me my wife actually suggested it as well. Heh.


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## Ibrandul (Feb 12, 2021)

Skywalker said:


> the product releases seems to be complement 1e's releases rather than substitute them for the most part (Rivendell being the exception).



Way back when C7 still had the license and were planning their own 2e, they said they would not be updating the 1e books to 2e. But of course, that was the smart thing to say no matter what you're planning for down the road, because you want those 1e books to keep selling. Now that FL has taken over the game yet can't sell the 1e books as-is, there's much more incentive to eventually produce 2e updates of those supplements. There are certainly still a lot of areas in Middle-earth that didn't get full attention in 1e that they can cover first.

Now that we know this KS is a smash hit, if I were a betting man I'd wager (in descending order of confidence):

Free League won't release 2e updates for the 1e adventures, but they will for the 1e region supplements;
we'll get the first full 1e update book three years from now;
it will be Rohan


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## Ethawyn (Feb 12, 2021)

Desrimal said:


> I'm new to backing projects on Kickstarter, so forgive if I ask a dumb questions
> 
> Is there anyway to back this kickstarter and ONLY get the Deluxe Leatherbound edition of the Rulebook (and perhaps the die). I'm not interested in the Starter Set at all.



I think you could back without a reward at 1,998 SEK and then get it in the Pledge Manager. You also might be able to get just the book in a late pledge with the Pledge Manger.


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## TrippyHippy (Feb 12, 2021)

To be honest, The One Ring is so mainstream an IP that I was surprised they felt it necessary to Kickstart it at all. They could have sold heaps just with a pre-order.


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## Enevhar Aldarion (Feb 12, 2021)

TrippyHippy said:


> To be honest, The One Ring is so mainstream an IP that I was surprised they felt it necessary to Kickstart it at all. They could have sold heaps just with a pre-order.




This. I am disappointed they went the Kickstarter route, after how well C7 did with the 1st Ed using more traditional publishing methods.


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## doctorbadwolf (Feb 12, 2021)

darjr said:


> One of the best games I ever ran was The One Ring. I know I could have players.
> 
> This is amazing. And the marketing is spot on, it is like the one ring of RPGs, coveted!



I love the One Ring, I just don’t really see what I’d want with a second edition of it.


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## Desrimal (Feb 12, 2021)

Ethawyn said:


> I think you could back without a reward at 1,998 SEK and then get it in the Pledge Manager. You also might be able to get just the book in a late pledge with the Pledge Manger.



Thank you. I studied the kickstarter page a little more. Apparently you have to pledge for a certain amonut (which gets you the Core Book and a pdf of the Starter Set) before your able to get some add-ons (like the Deluxe Rulebook and the die), so I think I'll skip that.

What is a late pledge?


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## amethal (Feb 12, 2021)

Desrimal said:


> I'm new to backing projects on Kickstarter, so forgive if I ask a dumb questions
> 
> Is there anyway to back this kickstarter and ONLY get the Deluxe Leatherbound edition of the Rulebook (and perhaps the die). I'm not interested in the Starter Set at all.



I'm sure you wouldn't have any trouble selling on the starter set if you don't want it.

The starter set is the part I'm most interested in; I'd be very happy to back the kickstarter at "physical starter set plus rules in PDF" level, except of course there isn't one (quite understandably).


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## Charles Dunwoody (Feb 12, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> This. I am disappointed they went the Kickstarter route, after how well C7 did with the 1st Ed using more traditional publishing methods.




Kickstarter wasn't the norm in 2011. Free League did start with pre-orders also with Mutant: Year Zero sold through Modiphius.

However, they switched to Kickstarter soon after and have used it quite often since. The usually offer a deal on kickstarter so you save around $50 plus they add more to what you're getting as well. It is a great deal. They can sometimes also add extras based on feedback from those pledging. So they can make the product better based on direct feedback through stretch goals.

However, they also sell the normal game (and usually package deals as well) after the kickstarter. So anyone who wants the RPG but not have to go through kickstarter gets the RPG as well.

Really a win win. I like all the extras kickstarter provides and providing feedback on what we're getting. But I have a friend who doesn't. We'll both still end up with the One Ring 2E.


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## Ilgiallomondadori (Feb 12, 2021)

Looks beautiful.  I'm not sure that I'm entranced by roleplaying in the third age / being the heroes / etc, but I need to be sold on it/see what makes it special.
I have Dune ordered, so not sure I need more RPGs that I may or may not play but are undoubtedly beautiful, but maybe? I also want that Twilight 2000 late pledge...
I'd love someone on here who has played the 1st edition sell me on this, what makes it magical and exciting.


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## schneeland (Feb 12, 2021)

Charles Dunwoody said:


> However, they also sell the normal game (and usually package deals as well) after the kickstarter. So anyone who wants the RPG but not have to go through kickstarter gets the RPG as well.



The only (potential) complaint is that they do not sell their (often quite lovely) special editions outside Kickstarter, and sometimes there are Kickstarter exklusives (e.g. Tales from the Loop soundtrack).
Otherwise Free League handles Kickstarters quite well IMO.


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## ctorus (Feb 12, 2021)

This looks beautiful but I'll be waiting for the 5e version. I had all the TOR stuff at one point but didn't really like the system, and I think this is essentially the same as 1e in most respects. I still think that this is the wrong time period in which to set a Middle-earth rpg, but probably their licence constrains that.


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## Aldarc (Feb 12, 2021)

ctorus said:


> This looks beautiful but I'll be waiting for the 5e version. I had all the TOR stuff at one point but didn't really like the system, and I think this is essentially the same as 1e in most respects. I still think that this is the wrong time period in which to set a Middle-earth rpg, but probably their licence constrains that.



When is the "right" time period to set a Middle Earth RPG?


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## Charles Dunwoody (Feb 12, 2021)

Ilgiallomondadori said:


> Looks beautiful.  I'm not sure that I'm entranced by roleplaying in the third age / being the heroes / etc, but I need to be sold on it/see what makes it special.
> I have Dune ordered, so not sure I need more RPGs that I may or may not play but are undoubtedly beautiful, but maybe? I also want that Twilight 2000 late pledge...
> I'd love someone on here who has played the 1st edition sell me on this, what makes it magical and exciting.




I ran one campaign of TOR 1E and actually helped playtest the rules (back when that was done on forums of all things).

There were some rule elements I did not like. Combat was a little too static and I felt that the roleplaying encounter jumped into the deep end too quick with brand new characters talking to kings.

Both of these rule elements got an overhaul in 2E and I'm maybe in the minority in thinking this was needed. I hope I like the changes and improvements.

2E is supposed to use more unified mechanics as well, which I think will be a big leap forward. I do like the dice pool and d12 die and I'm glad that has been kept.

What I did like was the magic and excitement, as you mention. Because TOR really is a hex crawl your character feels very small in a very big world. You really feel like you're walking leagues in Middle Earth with a backpack and sore feet. It was wonderful.

I like the no spells. The people of Middle Earth had magical abilities but PCs didn't play wizards. I like this element and it is being enhanced in 2E. More special abilities based on who you are and where you are from.

The growing Shadow was also powerful. You could feel Sauron slowly becoming more and more aware of your fellowship. And you felt the weight and pull of your worst impulses and you could give in to them as Boromir did. The world was beautiful but a darkness was growing not only in the world but also in your PC's heart.

The adventures were great. The locations were great. The NPCs were great. The feel was very Middle Earth.

2E is also bringing in landmarks--small pockets of legendary adventure sites. This will pair nicely with the longer adventures of 1E.

I like the 2E art better. Less shiny and clean. 

We are also getting the Shire. And get to play secondary characters from the books.

Also, Moria is coming.

So, yeah, I'm all in for a second edition.


----------



## Charles Dunwoody (Feb 12, 2021)




----------



## Laurefindel (Feb 12, 2021)

Charles Dunwoody said:


> I ran one campaign of TOR 1E and actually helped playtest the rules (back when that was done on forums of all things).
> 
> There were some rule elements I did not like. Combat was a little too static and I felt that the roleplaying encounter jumped into the deep end too quick with brand new characters talking to kings.
> 
> ...



Are there any public listing or summary of rules changes and modifications from 1st edition, or is it still all under nda?


----------



## ART! (Feb 12, 2021)

Laurefindel said:


> Are there any public listing or summary of rules changes and modifications from 1st edition, or is it still all under nda?



I watched the YouTube thing last night, and they were generally pretty cagey about rules changes.


----------



## Weiley31 (Feb 12, 2021)

Those Sauron Dice are a shoein at this rate with how much they keep on blowing through four stretch goals every time they put down new ones.


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Feb 12, 2021)

ctorus said:


> This looks beautiful but I'll be waiting for the 5e version. I had all the TOR stuff at one point but didn't really like the system, and I think this is essentially the same as 1e in most respects. I still think that this is the wrong time period in which to set a Middle-earth rpg, but probably their licence constrains that.




Yes, since it is the exact same license. It is owned by Sophisticated Games and was sub-licensed first to Cubicle 7, and now to Fria Ligan.






						The One Ring™ Role-playing Game | Sophisticated Games
					






					sophisticated-games.com
				




That means it only allows it to be set in the time anywhere from The Hobbit to the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Which is why the 60+ years in between the two stories is when everything happens.


----------



## Mercador (Feb 12, 2021)

darjr said:


> No, in fact they can’t do minis or a printed art book because of licensing



Then how they can "create" LOTR lore, did they acquire licensing ? From whom ?


----------



## Morrus (Feb 12, 2021)

Mercador said:


> Then how they can "create" LOTR lore, did they acquire licensing ? From whom ?



Yes, this is a licensed product, like the 1st edition of the same game was, by way of Sophisticated Games (which also produces a bunch of Middle Earth board games, card games, etc.) Their license allows them to make this TTRPG; other companies have licensed other types of product.


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 12, 2021)

Mercador said:


> Then how they can "create" LOTR lore, did they acquire licensing ? From whom ?




 The licensing is a real mess in my opinion. Saul Zaentz company started a lot of the issues going back the 1970s if my memory recalls correctly. There are quite a few players involved or were. It's sort of like how the Marvel Comics stuff was done, in other words a real mess.


----------



## ctorus (Feb 12, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> Yes, since it is the exact same license. It is owned by Sophisticated Games and was sub-licensed first to Cubicle 7, and now to Fria Ligan.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Indeed; my point is that I find this a much less interesting time period to set adventures in Middle-earth, compared to earlier in the Third Age. The world is so empty and barren, particularly if one takes a minimalist approach to extrapolating locations and sites, as C7 tended to do. Perhaps Free League will take a different tack. I think ICE took the right decision when basing MERP primarily in 1640 - but alas that is not even an option here.


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Feb 12, 2021)

ctorus said:


> Indeed; my point is that I find this a much less interesting time period to set adventures in Middle-earth, compared to earlier in the Third Age. The world is so empty and barren, particularly if one takes a minimalist approach to extrapolating locations and sites, as C7 tended to do. Perhaps Free League will take a different tack. I think ICE took the right decision when basing MERP primarily in 1640 - but alas that is not even an option here.




As much as I enjoyed MERP and the setting books for it, I never liked that time period because it felt meaningless.

But regarding rights to the different time periods, there is obviously a willingness to do other licenses, or the Amazon Prime Middle-Earth series set in the 2nd Age would not be happening.


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 12, 2021)

ctorus said:


> Indeed; my point is that I find this a much less interesting time period to set adventures in Middle-earth, compared to earlier in the Third Age. The world is so empty and barren, particularly if one takes a minimalist approach to extrapolating locations and sites, as C7 tended to do. Perhaps Free League will take a different tack. I think ICE took the right decision when basing MERP primarily in 1640 - but alas that is not even an option here.



Yeah Iron Crown Enterprises setting it after the plague in 1640 was a perfect time for adventuring. Overall I really appreciated their MERP work.


----------



## Reynard (Feb 12, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> As much as I enjoyed MERP and the setting books for it, I never liked that time period because it felt meaningless.
> 
> But regarding rights to the different time periods, there is obviously a willingness to do other licenses, or the Amazon Prime Middle-Earth series set in the 2nd Age would not be happening.



If that series is successful, I will be curious to see if we there are other games -- RPGs and video games -- set in that period. With Christopher Tolkien having passed recently, it is possible that the folks behind Tolkien Estates will be freer with the licensing of the Professor's works.


----------



## Umbran (Feb 12, 2021)

Inchoroi said:


> I'll never use the book or system.....but god, that hardcover special edition is so pretty.




I admit that. It is pretty.  It would look just fine next to my leather-bound copies of the novels.


----------



## Skywalker (Feb 12, 2021)

doctorbadwolf said:


> I love the One Ring, I just don’t really see what I’d want with a second edition of it.



Moria, the Shire, Gondor, and Mordor. One of the primary purposes of 2e is to expand on what 1e covered rather than supplant it.


----------



## doctorbadwolf (Feb 12, 2021)

Skywalker said:


> Moria, the Shire, Gondor, and Mordor. One of the primary purposes of 2e is to expand on what 1e covered rather than supplant it.



Eh, fair enough. I don't need a whole new rule book for that, but I guess Nepatello is involved with it still, but like...I don't really know what was wrong with the journey or counsel rules, so...why remake them? 

IDK, I've got all the PDFs for 1st Ed, and two copies of the original two book set, and a few other books for the games, but I don't have some of the other stuff that comes in the starter set, and roughly 100 USD for the hardcover and starter box plus digital stretch goals is a very good deal.


----------



## doctorbadwolf (Feb 12, 2021)

Umbran said:


> I admit that. It is pretty.  It would look just fine next to my leather-bound copies of the novels.



Do you have the old red book leatherbound set or another one, out of curiosity?


----------



## Umbran (Feb 12, 2021)

doctorbadwolf said:


> Do you have the old red book leatherbound set or another one, out of curiosity?





Spoiler: mismatched, but both presents from my wife...









The larger has fine gilt edging, and a fold-out map opposite the title page....


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 12, 2021)

Umbran said:


> The larger has fine gilt edging, and a fold-out map opposite the title page....



 I had this one.... Sadly back in 1982 my crazy mother tossed it and most of my gaming items and fantasy books. She thought the gaming maps were maps of potential break in locations in real life. She definitely made my high school final year a pain in the backside with her craziness.


----------



## Umbran (Feb 12, 2021)

Paragon Lost said:


> I had this one.... Sadly back in 1982 my crazy mother tossed it and most of my gaming items and fantasy books. She thought the gaming maps were maps of potential break in locations in real life. She definitely made my high school final year a pain in the backside with her craziness.




Oof.  My sympathies.  Luckily, back then, my parents were like, "So, you're really just telling stories like we used to do back in the Old Country.  Better than being on the streets!  Do you need some more dice?  I can drive you down to the hobby shop this weekend."


----------



## Skywalker (Feb 12, 2021)

doctorbadwolf said:


> Eh, fair enough. I don't need a whole new rule book for that, but I guess Nepatello is involved with it still, but like...I don't really know what was wrong with the journey or counsel rules, so...why remake them?



There is more to 2e than just the rulebook. I can see people picking up the 2e books to fill out their 1e collections regardless.

We don’t know enough about the rules changes yet to make a call, but given it’s the same designer who made 1e in the first place, I think we will see a genuine attempt to improve what was in 1e rather than just to supplant them with new ideas like with most new editions. TBH just seeing the magic item and nameless monsters rules from 1e being incorporated into the core rules is enough to get me excited 

As for journeys and counsels, this will be a matter of opinion. However, even within 1e those rules were refined and improved over the supplements, so it will be good to see them consolidated and 10 years of lessons applied.


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 12, 2021)

Umbran said:


> Oof.  My sympathies.  Luckily, back then, my parents were like, "So, you're really just telling stories like we used to do back in the Old Country.  Better than being on the streets!  Do you need some more dice?  I can drive you down to the hobby shop this weekend."




 Wow, that's awesome. Yeah my step mother was more supportive and actually introduced me to gaming back in the spring of 1978 and a gaming store near us. My real mother, she was entirely different situation. :/


----------



## SageMinerve (Feb 12, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> As much as I enjoyed MERP and the setting books for it, I never liked that time period because it felt meaningless.
> 
> But regarding rights to the different time periods, there is obviously a willingness to do other licenses, or the Amazon Prime Middle-Earth series set in the 2nd Age would not be happening.



There are two licensees for Tolkien Legendarium.

Middle-earth Enterprises own the rights to Lord of the Rings (including the appendices, very important!) and The Hobbit. Everything else in the Legendarium is owned by the Tolkien Estate (controlled by Christopher Tolkien's descendants).

The Amazon series license comes from the Tolkien Estate. They can use everything from the Legendarium *except *LotR and Hobbit.

The One Ring was produced by Sophisticated Games and published by C7 during the 1st edition of the game.

There was a decision about a year ago from C7 and Sophisticated Games to go their separate ways. No one really knows the reason, so I'm not going to speculate as to why that happened.

So Sophisticated Games went and got another publisher for the 2nd edition. Enters Free League.

Middle-earth Enterprises is very careful with the license, and they delineate quite clearly what each company doing business with them can and cannot do.

For example, Games Workshop is the company that holds the rights to gaming miniatures for LotR and Hobbit. Because of this, Sophisticated games can't produce miniatures for the RPG, even if they and Free League wanted to.

Same with the Legendarium. Sophisticated Games can only use material from LotR and Hobbit. Anything and everything else is off limits.

For example, Aüle couldn't be mentionned by name in TOR, because that name only appears in works other than LotR and Hobbit.

So TOR can only be placed, chronologically, between the beginnning of Hobbit and LotR's end, outside of details mentionned in LotR appendices. For example, they can refer to Aragorn's time as Thorongil because it is mentionned in the Appendices. And they did in 1st edition, in the Rohan source book.


----------



## doctorbadwolf (Feb 12, 2021)

Umbran said:


> Spoiler: mismatched, but both presents from my wife...
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Gorgeous.


----------



## ctorus (Feb 12, 2021)

SageMinerve said:


> There are two licensees for Tolkien Legendarium.
> 
> Middle-earth Enterprises own the rights to Lord of the Rings (including the appendices, very important!) and The Hobbit. Everything else in the Legendarium is owned by the Tolkien Estate (controlled by Christopher Tolkien's descendants).
> 
> ...



Since the Appendices cover much of what we know about the TA, particularly the story of the Realms in Exile, I don't think that restriction would preclude a setting in the mid TA: an exciting time when the declining Arnorian successor states were warring with each other and with Angmar, and a prosperous Gondor faced external threats from the East and South and corruption within. But perhaps the licence has further restrictions, and/or they have assumed that most players want to play in the time of Bilbo and Aragorn. 

But anyway the game is what it is. Glad to see it do well and I love the look of it; hopefully this hastens the arrival of their 5e version. Not that I'm a huge 5e fan, but it's a more malleable system and doesn't force me to run a particular kind of game, which is how I felt about TOR.


----------



## Dire Bare (Feb 12, 2021)

SageMinerve said:


> There are two licensees for Tolkien Legendarium.
> 
> Middle-earth Enterprises own the rights to Lord of the Rings (including the appendices, very important!) and The Hobbit. Everything else in the Legendarium is owned by the Tolkien Estate (controlled by Christopher Tolkien's descendants).
> 
> ...



That is unfortunate and silly. Typically corporate. Thanks for the break-down!

Maybe someday we'll luck out and one or the other entities that own Tolkien IP will buy out the other and bring it all together under one roof. An elf can dream . . . .

Any idea how this mess came about in the first place?


----------



## SageMinerve (Feb 12, 2021)

Dire Bare said:


> That is unfortunate and silly. Typically corporate. Thanks for the break-down!
> 
> Maybe someday we'll luck out and one or the other entities that own Tolkien IP will buy out the other and bring it all together under one roof. An elf can dream . . . .
> 
> Any idea how this mess came about in the first place?



Tolkien sold the film, stage and merchandising rights in 1969 to LotR to Saul Zaentz, a Hollywood film producer. The rights included everything published at the time, so LotR and Hobbit were in, but not everything that JRR's son Christopher published after his father's death in 1973.

So The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, etc. remained Christopher's for all his life, until he passed away about a year ago.

That's where the schism came from. It's regrettable for fans, but JRR wasn't a rich man and he was right to try and earn money for himself and his family through the sale he did.

Oh well...


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 12, 2021)

SageMinerve said:


> Tolkien sold the film, stage and merchandising rights in 1969 to LotR to Saul Zaentz, a Hollywood film producer. The rights included everything published at the time, so LotR and Hobbit were in, but not everything that JRR's son Chriostopher published after his father's death in 1973.
> 
> So The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, etc. remained Christopher's for all his life, until he passed away about a year ago.
> 
> ...



Great summation. Saul Zaentz was a nasty piece of work. He screwed over many people over the decades.


----------



## Mercador (Feb 12, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Yes, this is a licensed product, like the 1st edition of the same game was, by way of Sophisticated Games (which also produces a bunch of Middle Earth board games, card games, etc.) Their license allows them to make this TTRPG; other companies have licensed other types of product.



I remember there were some issues between LOTR and DnD way back in the '80 so I was wondering how they could create true lore canonic content. And since LOTR is quite old by now, I thought it was maybe in the public domain by now.


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Feb 12, 2021)

Mercador said:


> I remember there were some issues between LOTR and DnD way back in the '80 so I was wondering how they could create true lore canonic content. And since LOTR is quite old by now, I thought it was maybe in the public domain by now.




As long as there is a Tolkien alive to renew copyrights, it will never become public domain, as rights have to lapse first before any written work goes that route.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 12, 2021)

Mercador said:


> I remember there were some issues between LOTR and DnD way back in the '80 so I was wondering how they could create true lore canonic content. And since LOTR is quite old by now, I thought it was maybe in the public domain by now.



Different companies. That was TSR, and the issues were in the 70s when Gygax & co. used hobbits, ents, balrogs, etc in D&D.

The One Ring is licensed by Sophisticated Games who worked with Cubicle 7 and then Free League. Nothing to do with the (now extinct) TSR.

As for becoming public domain, Tolkien died in the 1970s, I think. So you have quite a long wait yet!


----------



## Morrus (Feb 12, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> As long as there is a Tolkien alive to renew copyrights, it will never become public domain, as rights have to lapse first before any written work goes that route.



That’s not correct.


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Feb 12, 2021)

Morrus said:


> That’s not correct.




Then UK copyright laws must work differently than US laws.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 12, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> Then UK copyright laws must work differently than US laws.



Not substantially. Both are life + 70 years. You can read about copyright duration in various countries here:









						List of countries' copyright lengths - Wikipedia
					






					en.m.wikipedia.org


----------



## Bardic Dave (Feb 12, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> Then UK copyright laws must work differently than US laws.




Your knowledge of US copyright law is not as accurate as you think it is. Here’s what the US copyright office has to say on the matter:





__





						How Long Does Copyright Protection Last? (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office
					

Brief answers to questions about duration of copyright, and renewal of copyright.




					www.copyright.gov


----------



## Mercador (Feb 12, 2021)

Thanks guys for the explanation... Man I remember seeing the animated movie when I was a young kid. I'm not old enough but was there a fantasy awakening in the '70 ? Gygax, LOTR, Excalibur (in 82?) and then nothing until LOTR in 2003 (?). Oh yeah, Robin Hood but that's different.


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Feb 12, 2021)

Bardic Dave said:


> Your knowledge of US copyright law is not as accurate as you think it is. Here’s what the US copyright office has to say on the matter:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




The US law also has a clear distinction/division between works published before 1978 and those in 1978 and later.


----------



## darjr (Feb 12, 2021)

Eh, nvr mind


----------



## Enevhar Aldarion (Feb 12, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Not substantially. Both are life + 70 years. You can read about copyright duration in various countries here:
> 
> 
> 
> ...




For the US, that is only for works published on or after Jan 1st, 1978. For works prior to that, if I am understanding the legalese correctly, the copyright is good for 28 years and then has to be renewed, or it goes public domain. But if it is successfully renewed, the new copyright is good for 67 years, so The Hobbit and LotR had to be renewed in the US in 2006 or the rights would have been lost.


----------



## TheSword (Feb 12, 2021)

In the UK I’m reliably informed it’s 2044.


----------



## Bardic Dave (Feb 13, 2021)

Enevhar Aldarion said:


> For the US, that is only for works published on or after Jan 1st, 1978. For works prior to that, if I am understanding the legalese correctly, the copyright is good for 28 years and then has to be renewed, or it goes public domain. But if it is successfully renewed, the new copyright is good for 67 years, so The Hobbit and LotR had to be renewed in the US in 2006 or the rights would have been lost.




Without getting into specifics, the long and short of it is that copyright cannot be extended indefinitely in the US, regardless of whether the work was published before or after 1978.


----------



## Stacie GmrGrl (Feb 13, 2021)

TheSword said:


> Pretty crazy how fast every stretch goal has been completed. I wonder if they’ll add some more.
> 
> How much did their Alien Kickstarter make do people know?



Alien didn't have a Kickstarter.


----------



## Staffan (Feb 13, 2021)

darjr said:


> Ha!



There's of course this:


----------



## Staffan (Feb 13, 2021)

Bardic Dave said:


> Without getting into specifics, the long and short of it is that copyright cannot be extended indefinitely in the US, regardless of whether the work was published before or after 1978.



... unless you're Disney and can bribe enough congressmembers to extend copyright indefinitely that way when Steamboat Willie gets close to becoming public domain. Should be about time for another extension now.


----------



## imagineGod (Feb 13, 2021)

I have given up. This is more money than ever dreamt possible in the Free League world.


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 13, 2021)

imagineGod said:


> I have given up. This is more money than ever dreamt possible in the Free League world.




I had initially told my wife that it would probably end up at around $750,000.00. I definitely underestimated, since it's now pushing that right now after 2 plus days. It's going to go much higher even though their will be the lull period as is the norm of Kickstarters. I have no idea where it will end at in other words. It's fascinating to be sure. I do wonder why they didn't go the full 30 days instead went with a 21 day Kickstarter.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

Paragon Lost said:


> I had initially told my wife that it would probably end up at around $750,000.00. I definitely underestimated, since it's now pushing that right now after 2 plus days. It's going to go much higher even though their will be the lull period as is the norm of Kickstarters. I have no idea where it will end at in other words. It's fascinating to be sure. I do wonder why they didn't go the full 30 days instead went with a 21 day Kickstarter.



Quite a few people are using shorter kickstarters as in the middle period not much happens. I’m doing 2-week campaigns a lot these days, and I’ve seen a few 3-weekers. I’m actually considering dropping to one-week campaigns.


----------



## Ethawyn (Feb 13, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Quite a few people are using shorter kickstarters as in the middle period not much happens. I’m doing 2-week campaigns a lot these days, and I’ve seen a few 3-weekers. I’m actually considering dropping to one-week campaigns.



Interesting that it looks like past Free League Kickstarters have seen a pretty steady rise after the initial flurry to around twice the first day's take (via Kicktraq). There's definitely an upswing at the end, but that slow and steady isn't negligible.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

Ethawyn said:


> Interesting that it looks like past Free League Kickstarters have seen a pretty steady rise after the initial flurry to around twice the first day's take (via Kicktraq). There's definitely an upswing at the end, but that slow and steady isn't negligible.



Same pattern as every Kickstarter. The daily pledges tab on Kicktraq always shows that same U shape.


----------



## Ethawyn (Feb 13, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Same pattern as every Kickstarter. The daily pledges tab on Kicktraq always shows that same U shape.



So then why would one cut out the middle part? It's not a flurry of activity but it's still significant.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

Ethawyn said:


> So then why would one cut out the middle part? It's not a flurry of activity but it's still significant.



Kickstarters are in the phase right now where lots of people are experimenting with the standard model to see just how much difference it makes or whether the same people pledge just at different times. The same question could be asked — why a month when you can do two months? Or three?

For me, doing a lot of sequential quick starters those two weeks at low activity can be replaced by a different Kickstarter’s first and last week again. It’s better for me to do two short campaigns every 6 weeks than say two long ones every three months.


----------



## Ethawyn (Feb 13, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Kickstarters are in the phase right now where lots of people are experimenting with the standard model to see just how much difference it makes or whether the same people pledge just at different times. The same question could be asked — why a month when you can do two months? Or three?
> 
> For me, doing a lot of sequential quick starters those two weeks at low activity can be replaced by a different Kickstarter’s first and last week again. It’s better for me to do two short campaigns every 6 weeks than say two long ones every three months.



That makes sense.


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 13, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Quite a few people are using shorter kickstarters as in the middle period not much happens. I’m doing 2-week campaigns a lot these days, and I’ve seen a few 3-weekers. I’m actually considering dropping to one-week campaigns.




 Yeah but this one Russ isn't that type of Kickstarter, if I'm making sense. This one should have been earmarked to be a big deal. In my opinion giving it a full 30 days to raise as much money as possible.  

 On the Quickstarters, I'm actually not a big fan of them personally. To make my wife happy I tend to set a limit on my hobby expenditures. Quickstarter's tempt me to violate my monthly self limit and that makes me unhappy. I start having FOMO feelings and that irks me. I usually average around $3,000 to $4,000 a year on my tabletop gaming hobby as an aside. My online gaming (mmorpgs) adds another $500.00 to $1,000.00 depending on what I'm doing . I keep a log to keep myself honest. lol. 

 Anyhow just offering feedback on the Quickstarter's, I've passed on quite a few that I might have done had they not been Quickstarters. When you're tossing $200.00 to $400.00 on individual Kicktarters (Ptolus comes to mind on the high end, and I did $300.00 on The One Ring and $325.00 on the Savage Pathfinder Kickstarter), you end up eating up your monthly limit quickly.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

Paragon Lost said:


> Yeah but this one Russ isn't that type of Kickstarter, if I'm making sense. This one should have been earmarked to be a big deal. In my opinion giving it a full 30 days to raise as much money as possible.



Then why not 2 months? Why not 6? A year? What’s so magical about 30 days, specifically?*



*the answer is nothing as we creators are starting to discover


----------



## Paragon Lost (Feb 13, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Then why not 2 months? Why not 6? A year? What’s so magical about 30 days, specifically?*
> 
> 
> 
> *the answer is nothing as we creators are starting to discover



 Yeah I guess I'm not explaining myself well and I'm just not in the mood to break down if you don't see why.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

Paragon Lost said:


> Yeah I guess I'm not explaining myself well and I'm just not in the mood to break down if you don't see why.



OK. Good chat.


----------



## Ghal Maraz (Feb 13, 2021)

As a rule of thumb, for what is worth from a non-project creator like me, a 30-days campaign seems a lot of wasted time, effort, and energy, if you've made enough of a marketing campaign before it. The long, silent middle part is only really useful to campaigns started with a low profile, i.e. the campaigns that need the time in-between to rise some real awareness on its existence.


----------



## CubicsRube (Feb 13, 2021)

Ghal Maraz said:


> As a rule of thumb, for what is worth from a non-project creator like me, a 30-days campaign seems a lot of wasted time, effort, and energy, if you've made enough of a marketing campaign before it. The long, silent middle part is only really useful to campaigns started with a low profile, i.e. the campaigns that need the time in-between to rise some real awareness on its existence.



That's it. I think running a project for any operation must be hugely time consuming with timely updates, responses to backers and keeping the hype up. Why not try 2 weeks out and see if those mid range orders will get picked up in late pledges anyway? Either way they probably save a lot of resources with 2 weeks less of running the projects that they can put elsewhere.


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## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

CubicsRube said:


> That's it. I think running a project for any operation must be hugely time consuming with timely updates, responses to backers and keeping the hype up. Why not try 2 weeks out and see if those mid range orders will get picked up in late pledges anyway? Either way they probably save a lot of resources with 2 weeks less of running the projects that they can put elsewhere.



It’s a full time job. And like you say that flat period in the middle it looks like they get picked up anyway. But we’re still at the point that we’re learning about that through experimentation. There’s the zine thing every year, people experimenting with one week kickstarters, I’m doing two 2-week campaigns every six weeks, and so on. Give it another year, and it’ll all shake out.

Of course it also depends on the size of the Kickstarter and balancing the cost of full time promotion of the campaign for those middle weeks against the amount you make each day. Return on Investment, as they say.


----------



## Staffan (Feb 13, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Then why not 2 months? Why not 6? A year? What’s so magical about 30 days, specifically?*
> 
> 
> 
> *the answer is nothing as we creators are starting to discover



One month means anyone who gets paid monthly will get at least one paycheck during the course of the kickstarter and can put some money away for it, if they have the means.

Of course, this matters more if we're talking a big-money kickstarter where you have $100 or $200 pledges than "65 enchanted trinkets" for $10-15.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

Staffan said:


> One month means anyone who gets paid monthly will get at least one paycheck during the course of the kickstarter and can put some money away for it, if they have the means.



That is one consideration, yep, and a common theory. It’s why mine used to be 32 days. But I’m discovering the hard way (i.e. by doing it) that that doesn’t really make much of a difference.


----------



## schneeland (Feb 13, 2021)

One of the things to consider is that Kickstarter ends up on credit cards, so the pay cheque has less of an effect.
Also, a thing that's relatively new IMO is the longer pre-launch phases, where hype is already built up and people get notified immediately on launch (plus, once you have backed a few campaigns, there's really no way you are going to miss that a new thing started ).

All in all: considering how typical campaigns go, I'm not surprised that people start going for shorter ones. In fact, as a frequent backer of crowdfunding projects, I also start to prefer shorter ones (long ones are often kind of dull in the middle).


----------



## Staffan (Feb 13, 2021)

Morrus said:


> That is one consideration, yep, and a common theory. It’s why mine used to be 32 days. But I’m discovering the hard way (i.e. by doing it) that that doesn’t really make much of a difference.



I made an edit to my post while you were replying. You use Kickstarter a bit differently from many others, and that clearly works for you. And sure, when the product being sold is a $7 PDF/$20 softcover, you probably don't need to make sure customers are getting paid while the crowdfunding is going on. But when we're talking something like Frosthaven, which costs $100 or $145 with extras, that might be more relevant.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 13, 2021)

Staffan said:


> I made an edit to my post while you were replying. You use Kickstarter a bit differently from many others, and that clearly works for you. And sure, when the product being sold is a $7 PDF/$20 softcover, you probably don't need to make sure customers are getting paid while the crowdfunding is going on. But when we're talking something like Frosthaven, which costs $100 or $145 with extras, that might be more relevant.



I’ve used Kickstarters in lots of ways, from small mini quickstarters which make £10-15K every two weeks to big hardcover month-long Judge Dredd licensed RPGs which made $200K-ish, and various things in-between which made between £30K-£200K, such as Mythological Figures & Maleficent Monsters (month-long, $170k).

I continue to experiment and push the boundaries of Kickstarter usage, although Awfully Cheerful Engine and Level Up will be traditional big month-long campaigns, with the quickstarters filling the rest of the year.


----------



## doctorbadwolf (Feb 13, 2021)

Staffan said:


> ... unless you're Disney and can bribe enough congressmembers to extend copyright indefinitely that way when Steamboat Willie gets close to becoming public domain. Should be about time for another extension now.



They actually didn’t fight for an extension recently, though I don’t recall what character exactly it was that is/will soon be public domain as a result. 

But we can bet they will when Mickey himself or another high profile name comes up.


----------



## CubicsRube (Feb 14, 2021)

Staffan said:


> One month means anyone who gets paid monthly will get at least one paycheck during the course of the kickstarter and can put some money away for it, if they have the means.
> 
> Of course, this matters more if we're talking a big-money kickstarter where you have $100 or $200 pledges than "65 enchanted trinkets" for $10-15.



Usually you can put down $1 and pick it up in the pledge manager, or late pledge


----------



## Morrus (Feb 14, 2021)

CubicsRube said:


> Usually you can put down $1 and pick it up in the pledge manager, or late pledge



Not all Kickstarters use pledge managers. I don't. And I don't allow late pledges, because I think that's disrespectful to the people who supported the campaign.


----------



## CubicsRube (Feb 14, 2021)

Fair enough. But credit cards are also an option as mentioned above.


----------



## cbwjm (Feb 14, 2021)

I thought the 1st edition had only been released a couple years back, turns out it was 2011. I recall spending time watching the strongholds and followers kickstarter to see the money keep ticking up. It was pretty crazy.


----------



## TheAlkaizer (Feb 14, 2021)

CubicsRube said:


> That's it. I think running a project for any operation must be hugely time consuming with timely updates, responses to backers and keeping the hype up. Why not try 2 weeks out and see if those mid range orders will get picked up in late pledges anyway? Either way they probably save a lot of resources with 2 weeks less of running the projects that they can put elsewhere.



One thing to consider; I've worked on a few successful kickstarters (nothing related to TTRPGs) and as you mentioned there's a flat part in the middle and a boom at the start and of the campaign. The one at the start is easily understandable. However, the boom at the end is mostly people that trickled in through that middle part and did not pull the trigger, only to receive a notification that the campaign will end. We've seemed to be able to make some correlation between our numbers in the middle part of a campaign and the boom at the end.

No ideas if it's different with the demographic of TTRPGs though.


----------



## dalisprime (Feb 14, 2021)

Morrus said:


> Not all Kickstarters use pledge managers. I don't. And I don't allow late pledges, because I think that's disrespectful to the people who supported the campaign.



This honestly baffles me. The mentality of 'i backed it while it ran, so only I deserve it, anything else is disrespectful'. It is elitist and the worst form of entitlement.
Commercially it makes zero sense to cut off late pledges since they offer others the opportunity to invest in your product.
As a backer of multiple projects, not once was I bothered by the prospect that someone may put down a dollar to secure their pledge and I never understood the people who were bothered. If it gives the creator more money to work with - all the better, everyone is a winner in that case.


----------



## TheSword (Feb 14, 2021)

It’s about to beat all the 7,000,000 SEK second set of stretch goals which is cool. I liked what they put in that second set.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 14, 2021)

dalisprime said:


> This honestly baffles me. The mentality of 'i backed it while it ran, so only I deserve it, anything else is disrespectful'. It is elitist and the worst form of entitlement.
> Commercially it makes zero sense to cut off late pledges since they offer others the opportunity to invest in your product.



There are many forms of entitlement in this world. I'm pretty sure this isn't the worst form! Calm down. 

The other aspect is that we've built a reputation over years for fulfilling Kickstarters immediately, and then we move on to the next knowing that nothing is outstanding (which is why we also shy away from stretch goals). There's only a gap of a week in between them, so we find it better for us that we tidy each away as we go. 

Different people use Kickstarter in different ways, and people are experimenting more and more with the format and platform as time goes on.


----------



## Emirikol (Feb 14, 2021)

Good for Fria Ligan!

Ill back it.


----------



## Emirikol (Feb 14, 2021)

They had me at..
"A set of updated and streamlined rules, developed thanks to years of players’ feedback and raising the game to the standards of quality that have .."


----------



## Staffan (Feb 14, 2021)

dalisprime said:


> This honestly baffles me. The mentality of 'i backed it while it ran, so only I deserve it, anything else is disrespectful'. It is elitist and the worst form of entitlement.
> Commercially it makes zero sense to cut off late pledges since they offer others the opportunity to invest in your product.



It depends, I think. If you offer a product on Kickstarter and say "This'll cost $150 once the Kickstarter is done, but if you support us here you'll get it for $100", and then keep selling it for $100 once the Kickstarter is done, that could be considered false marketing. The situation is, of course, entirely different if that sort of thing has been stated ahead of time ("You can also pay $1 now and get into the pledge manager where you can pay more to get the pledge level you want").


----------



## Ilgiallomondadori (Feb 15, 2021)

Charles Dunwoody said:


> I ran one campaign of TOR 1E and actually helped playtest the rules (back when that was done on forums of all things).
> 
> There were some rule elements I did not like. Combat was a little too static and I felt that the roleplaying encounter jumped into the deep end too quick with brand new characters talking to kings.
> 
> ...



Sounds great!  Thanks for the detailed overview of what makes it special. Close to pulling the trigger.


----------



## Ethawyn (Feb 15, 2021)

Ilgiallomondadori said:


> Sounds great!  Thanks for the detailed overview of what makes it special. Close to pulling the trigger.



Do it! Help us get Tom Bombadil!


----------



## CleverNickName (Feb 15, 2021)

The stretch goals are going crazy!  It was getting hard for me to keep track of it all, so I listed it all out as best I could from their Kickstarter page and the various Updates e-mails I've been getting.  I pledged the "Fellowship" tier, so I'm getting a physical and PDF copies of the core rules and the boxed set, plus all physical and electronic stretch goals.  So as far as I can tell, for ~$97+shipping I will receive:

*Physical Rewards:*
The Core Rules (hardcover) expanded with:
Additional Monsters​Additional Magic Items​Ribbon Markers​At least one additional Patron​The Starter Set (full-color printed boxed set)
Map of the Shire (720mm x 558mm poster)
6 Additional Stance Cards
Journey Role Cards
2 Sets of Custom Dice
3 Additional Pregen Characters (softcover)
Shire Compendium (softcover)
Adventure: "Into the Red Hills" (softcover)

*Electronic Rewards (PDF):*
The Core Rules*
Additional Monsters​Additional Magic Items​Ribbon Markers​At least one additional Patron​Core Rules Alpha (early release)
The Starter Set
Map of the Shire
PDF Art Collection
6 Additional Stance Cards
Journey Role Cards
3 Additional Pregen Characters
Shire Compendium
Adventure:  "Into the Red Hills"
"Fog Over Tharbad" Compendium
"A Gathering Storm" Compendium
The One Ring 1E Conversion Guide
"Into the Lone Lands" Compendium
"Old Castles Built by Wicked People" Compendium
"Here Was Once a Realm of Men" Compendium
"The Clouds Break" Compendium

Dang.  That's a lot of merchandise for a hundred bucks.


----------



## Charles Dunwoody (Feb 15, 2021)

CleverNickName said:


> The stretch goals are going crazy!  It was getting hard for me to keep track of it all, so I listed it all out as best I could from their Kickstarter page and the various Updates e-mails I've been getting.  I pledged the "Fellowship" tier, so I'm getting a physical and PDF copies of the core rules and the boxed set, plus all physical and electronic stretch goals.  So as far as I can tell, for ~$97+shipping I will receive:
> 
> *Physical Rewards:*
> The Core Rules (hardcover) expanded with:
> ...




You are getting a bit more:
STRETCH GOAL 8: ERIADOR MAP – UNLOCKED!​We will include a huge full-color map of Eriador on the back side of the Shire map, also drawn by Francesco Mattioli. This stretch goal is both PDF and physical.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 15, 2021)

Charles Dunwoody said:


> We will include a huge full-color map of Eriador on the back side of the Shire map, also drawn by Francesco Mattioli. This stretch goal is both PDF and physical.



On the backside? But I want to display them both!


----------



## CleverNickName (Feb 15, 2021)

Charles Dunwoody said:


> You are getting more:
> STRETCH GOAL 8: ERIADOR MAP – UNLOCKED!​We will include a huge full-color map of Eriador on the back side of the Shire map, also drawn by Francesco Mattioli. This stretch goal is both PDF and physical.



Hooray!  I told you I was having trouble keeping track of it all.  

I guess _technically_ it's just one map, but it's a double-sided print.  But that's not a bad thing!  I'm not gonna have a lot of shelf space at this rate...


----------



## Charles Dunwoody (Feb 15, 2021)

Morrus said:


> On the backside? But I want to display them both!




Hopefully the One Ring team figures out a solution. They added a bonus d12 to the stretch goals because of suggestions made by backers. Or if you're a big spender:

THE ONE RING STARTER SET – 398 SEK​An additional copy of the The One Ring boxed Starter Set. The contents of this set will expand if stretch goals are unlocked. A full PDF is included.


----------



## Aldarc (Feb 15, 2021)

Morrus said:


> On the backside? But I want to display them both!



I guess that's just people experimenting with Kickstarter for you.  

@CleverNickName, the Rivendell book may also be included as a pdf due to an initial mistake they made with the stretch goals. There's some talk about it in the Comments section.


----------



## darjr (Feb 15, 2021)

Morrus said:


> On the backside? But I want to display them both!



I’ll print one for you! Just swing by and pick it up..... oh.


----------



## MNblockhead (Feb 16, 2021)

I've been good about not spending money on Kickstarters and buying games I'll not have time to play.  Until now.  This will be a fine addition to my bookshelf and I'll enjoy reading through it. Maybe when I retire, I'll actually get to play it.   

I went with the standard cover.  Even if the price was the same I'd like get the standard cover and certainly didn't find the limited-edition cover worth an extra $45. Perhaps the collectors edition is more durable, but I generally don't abuse my books and I'll be getting the PDFs. 

Mostly, I just really like the standard cover.


----------



## doctorbadwolf (Feb 16, 2021)

CleverNickName said:


> The stretch goals are going crazy!  It was getting hard for me to keep track of it all, so I listed it all out as best I could from their Kickstarter page and the various Updates e-mails I've been getting.  I pledged the "Fellowship" tier, so I'm getting a physical and PDF copies of the core rules and the boxed set, plus all physical and electronic stretch goals.  So as far as I can tell, for ~$97+shipping I will receive:
> 
> *Physical Rewards:*
> The Core Rules (hardcover) expanded with:
> ...



That value has me very tempted. 

The one downside to being polyamorous is...my partners both have birthdays upcoming...I don’t think I can afford $100 on game stuff!


----------



## Saxon1974 (Feb 17, 2021)

I'm in for the core rules and starter set. The shire in the starter being lighter of theme is perfect for me to run my boys through it. I am still a bit unsure if the new core book will replace the 1e book that I have or can just be additional information and rules changes.i assume if it's intended to be a new edition it should include all original rules plus new. Maybe I can sell my 1e book but keep the adventures that they say will be compatible.


----------



## Nikosandros (Feb 17, 2021)

The new corebook is a stand-alone product. It will contain all the rules necessary for playing.


----------



## Marc_C (Feb 18, 2021)

I made my pledge. 

Seeing the Lord of the Rings movie by Ralph Bakshi, in 1981, is what triggered my desire to play a game that mimicked those experiences. Only D&D was available at the time. Never actually played a LOTR roleplaying game. I think it's time I did !!!


----------



## darjr (Feb 18, 2021)

It broke a million!!!


----------



## Ilgiallomondadori (Feb 18, 2021)

I jumped in.  Lord of the Rings and Hobbit were seminal works.  Looks beautiful.  
Honestly, while I’m fine with 5E, I would never want to play this in the DnD ruleset.


----------



## Marandahir (Feb 18, 2021)

Just backed at the 201 USD level (144+ Screen and stretch goal rulebook addons), for that sweet sweet collector's edition book. Beautiful. 

I love this and am so glad to help push the stretch goals further and show our early love and backing of this edition. 

I missed out on 1e TOR, but got all the AiME books and loved them.


----------



## aramis erak (Feb 21, 2021)

TheSword said:


> I’ve played AIME but never One Ring. Is it a good system? Any recommendations based on the first edition?
> 
> I played MERP believe it or not many many years ago after getting their boxed set as a Xmas present back in the last century.
> 
> After all our discussions about trying new systems I thought maybe I should branch out a bit!



I've run three campaigns of it 1E

It's a very solid engine, but a lot of people piss-and-moan because it's not D&D in Middle Earth. It does evoke a lot of Tolkien feel while allowing for a number of different styles of play.



Laurefindel said:


> TOR came out just a bit before D&D 5e and foreshadowed or pioneered a few modern game-design elements (or codified some that already existed informally). But mostly, it presented a medieval-fantasy system that was (at the time) refreshingly magic-free and yet allowed for a very magical world. In short, it achieved that elusive and whimsical Tolkien "feel" many LotR fans had been looking for.



It is anything but "magic-free." Dwarves and Elves both have actual spells, few but potent; most of the "Rewards" are essentially minor magic items, and many of the Virtues are essentially magic as well, with the spell ones being unquestionaly magic, since they grant spells.

It's free of D&D-style magic, and very low on the player casters, but it has a lot of low-power magics, and few (but classc) spells for the bigger magic.



Enevhar Aldarion said:


> As much as I enjoyed MERP and the setting books for it, I never liked that time period because it felt meaningless.
> 
> But regarding rights to the different time periods, there is obviously a willingness to do other licenses, or the Amazon Prime Middle-Earth series set in the 2nd Age would not be happening.



The Estate has been, until recently, seemingly opposed to games, they own everything BUT LOTR and The Hobbit; Middle Earth Enterprises aka Saul Zaentz Co owns LotR and the Hobbit. MEE licenses heavly and in most media...


Stacie GmrGrl said:


> Alien didn't have a Kickstarter.



Yes, it did. That's how I got my copy. And I'm glad I did.


doctorbadwolf said:


> They actually didn’t fight for an extension recently, though I don’t recall what character exactly it was that is/will soon be public domain as a result.
> 
> But we can bet they will when Mickey himself or another high profile name comes up.



The character in question is Mortimer "Mickey" Mouse, from his first appearance in _Steamboat Willy._ They're likely to make the issue in a few more years, when it becomes relevant again.


----------



## Laurefindel (Feb 22, 2021)

aramis erak said:


> It is anything but "magic-free." Dwarves and Elves both have actual spells, few but potent; most of the "Rewards" are essentially minor magic items, and many of the Virtues are essentially magic as well, with the spell ones being unquestionaly magic, since they grant spells.
> 
> It's free of D&D-style magic, and very low on the player casters, but it has a lot of low-power magics, and few (but classc) spells for the bigger magic.



yes, I know the system very well, but between the fragments of broken spells and the magic of most medieval fantasy rpg at the time (and today), it was remarkably low character-driven magic in a yet deeply magical world. As I said, refreshingly so.


----------



## Stacie GmrGrl (Feb 22, 2021)

aramis erak said:


> I've run three campaigns of it 1E
> 
> It's a very solid engine, but a lot of people piss-and-moan because it's not D&D in Middle Earth. It does evoke a lot of Tolkien feel while allowing for a number of different styles of play.
> 
> ...



Alien had a pre-order, like they are doing with the Colonial Marines book and how they are handling the second Coriolis adventure book and the Symbaroum Starter Kit.


----------



## Morrus (Feb 22, 2021)

aramis erak said:


> Yes, it did. That's how I got my copy. And I'm glad I did.



I don't think it did. I don't remember one, and there isn't one listed on Free League's Kickstarter page.









						Free League
					

Free League Publishing is an award-winning game studio and publisher dedicated to speculative fiction, based in Stockholm, Sweden. Founded in 2011, the studio has published a wide range of tabletop games and acclaimed art books set in strange and wondrous worlds. Free League was voted Fan...




					www.kickstarter.com


----------



## EthanSental (Feb 22, 2021)

Without looking through the reward tiers on 25 created kickstarters, could it be an add on in one of those 25 that he picked it up?  Just a guess on my part.


----------



## Fenhorn (Feb 22, 2021)

Alien was a pre-order (the pre-order started 2019 May 25).


----------



## Reynard (Feb 22, 2021)

Fenhorn said:


> Alien was a pre-order (the pre-order started 2019 May 25).



Since Kickstarter has become TTRPG Preorder Site, everyone is right!


----------



## darjr (Feb 22, 2021)

So @Morrus do you think it’ll break the record still? What do you think of this Kickstarter, thier management of it and the business side?


----------



## Morrus (Feb 22, 2021)

darjr said:


> So @Morrus do you think it’ll break the record still?



I reckon it will come in second.


----------



## innerdude (Feb 22, 2021)

They would have to double the current pledge amount in 10 days to break the record. 

There's always a last-minute flurry of pledges when a kickstarter nears the end, but not $1 million worth . . . .

I'm guessing it'll settle between $1.5 and $1.6 million total pledged by the end.


----------



## Skywalker (Feb 22, 2021)

Morrus said:


> I reckon it will come in second.



It will come in second. Its weird though as the current top 3 tabletop RPG KSs all include other elements which made them so successful. 7th Sea was basically a KS for a full line of books and Matt Colville's KS also included miniatures and the first funding a live streaming studio. As such, I think Free League can be very happy with the result and I think its certainly the top "pure" tabletop RPG KS to date.


----------



## Pagansexy (Feb 23, 2021)

Strongholds & Streaming by Matt Colville 28,918 backers pledged $2,121,465 to help bring this project to life.
Kingdoms, Warfare & More Minis! by Matt Colville 19,033 backers pledged $1,372,685 to help bring this project to life.
7th Sea: Second Edition by John Wick 11,483 backers pledged $1,316,813 to help bring this project to life.
Currently THE ONE RING™ Roleplaying Game, Second Edition by Free League 9,959 backers and $1,237,635

So 4th place with 8 days to go.


----------



## Skywalker (Feb 23, 2021)

Yep. Its definitely going to hit the 2nd place before it ends.


----------



## Aldarc (Feb 24, 2021)

One aspect that often gets overlooked when comparing how much various Kickstarters raise (particularly in terms of popularity and what not) is the pledge levels and values available for a backer. Strongholds & Streamers went up to $500. With 7th Sea, for example, backers could potentially fund at a $500 or $1000 level. The One Ring caps its top backer level at ~$240.


----------



## Pagansexy (Feb 25, 2021)

Currently THE ONE RING™ Roleplaying Game, Second Edition by Free League 10,677 backers and $1,319,078


So 3rd place with 6 days to go.


----------



## Pagansexy (Feb 26, 2021)

2nd PLACE! 
$1,372,690


----------



## Morrus (Feb 26, 2021)

This was its competition for a while. Two $1M+ TTRPG Kickstarters running at the same time.



			https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/415994272/the-seekers-guide-to-twisted-taverns
		


It's at $1.1M, so The One Ring has pulled ahead. But it also has two more days to go than TOR! Exciting!


----------



## Skywalker (Feb 28, 2021)

Cool. I hadn't even heard of that other Kickstarter


----------



## darjr (Mar 1, 2021)

Free League TTRPG Designer on the Daily Live Chat Revivified #221


----------



## Marc_C (Mar 3, 2021)

TOR : 1,700,00$ and rising. 29 hours to go.


----------



## Morrus (Mar 3, 2021)

Can it do 2M? With the last 48 hours rush, it might be possible...


----------



## innerdude (Mar 3, 2021)

Looks like they're going to go at least $300k, probably $400k beyond my initial estimate.

Wow.

I wasn't expecting "solo" rules as a stretch goal, but the fact that they brought Shawn Tompkin onboard to do them if they hit the goal is pretty awesome.


----------



## Laurefindel (Mar 3, 2021)

I've got to say, the second Edition of TOR making it this far is really impressive.

But the Twisted Tavern project heading for 1.5 million? That blows my mind!


----------



## Reynard (Mar 3, 2021)

I finally pulled the trigger. I just can't resist that glorious collector's edition.

I have a personal policy that I value entertainment at $5 an hour (roughly what you pay to go see a movie in America these days). If I enjoyed my time, then it was worth the investment. For TOR2 that is going to be about 32 table hours, or 8 4-hour sessions. Which I think is doable.


----------



## CleverNickName (Mar 3, 2021)

Reynard said:


> I finally pulled the trigger. I just can't resist that glorious collector's edition.
> 
> I have a personal policy that I value entertainment at $5 an hour (roughly what you pay to go see a movie in America these days). If I enjoyed my time, then it was worth the investment. For TOR2 that is going to be about 32 table hours, or 8 4-hour sessions. Which I think is doable.



That's a good rule.  I had pledged at the $97 tier, so I'm gambling that I'll spend about 20 hours playing it with my friends.  Which is pretty likely, knowing me and my friends.

Of course, back-calculating that formula means I should have paid $5000 for Stardew Valley and another $5530 for Skyrim.


----------



## Reynard (Mar 3, 2021)

CleverNickName said:


> That's a good rule.  I had pledged at the $97 tier, so I'm gambling that I'll spend about 20 hours playing it with my friends.  Which is pretty likely, knowing me and my friends.
> 
> Of course, back-calculating that formula means I should have paid $5000 for Stardew Valley and another $5530 for Skyrim.



That's just the break even point. See, you actually made money on Skyrim!


----------



## darjr (Mar 3, 2021)

And it made the solo rules goal!!!


----------



## TheAlkaizer (Mar 4, 2021)

I've been struggling to hold myself back from pledging. On one hand I'm really curious to read about the system and the rules, I also would enjoy reading their compendiums, the lore and would definitely appreciate the maps. But at the same time, I don't think like I would want to play in such a lore-beast of a setting like Middle-Earth. Anyone feels like me?


----------



## MNblockhead (Mar 4, 2021)

TheAlkaizer said:


> I've been struggling to hold myself back from pledging. On one hand I'm really curious to read about the system and the rules, I also would enjoy reading their compendiums, the lore and would definitely appreciate the maps. But at the same time, I don't think like I would want to play in such a lore-beast of a setting like Middle-Earth. Anyone feels like me?



Yes.  I bought it more to enjoy reading through it.  But I generally don't like settings with a lot of cannon baggage. If I do run it it would be for LOTR flavor, but I would make it very clear that I have no respect for canon.


----------



## Marc_C (Mar 4, 2021)

1,883,787$. Six hours left. Very close to 2M.

I'm very happy we got solo play rules.


----------



## Matchstick (Mar 4, 2021)

> We also hope that Strider Mode can easily support Loremaster-less play for two or more heroes, allowing for a full Fellowship to collaboratively explore Middle-earth and overcome obstacles alongside one another.




That's an angle I hadn't thought about.


----------



## Morrus (Mar 4, 2021)

I want to add some add-ons (those cloth maps). Do I have to wait for the pledge manager afterwards? I can't figure out how to do it.


----------



## Marc_C (Mar 4, 2021)

Morrus said:


> I want to add some add-ons (those cloth maps). Do I have to wait for the pledge manager afterwards? I can't figure out how to do it.



Took no chance. I added the extra $ to my pledge.


----------



## Ibrandul (Mar 4, 2021)

Morrus said:


> I want to add some add-ons (those cloth maps). Do I have to wait for the pledge manager afterwards? I can't figure out how to do it.



In the comments, Free League has said you just click "Manage My Pledge" and then you have to do math. (Add the extra money to your pledge by manually increasing your pledge to the new total—in SEK.)

Seems it might crack $2 mil USD—but doesn't look like it's going to beat Strongholds and Followers in the end. Pity.


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## darjr (Mar 4, 2021)

2nd place is great!


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## darjr (Mar 4, 2021)




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## Ibrandul (Mar 4, 2021)

darjr said:


> 2nd place is great!



Of course! It's a fantastic success.


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## darjr (Mar 4, 2021)

jeremypowell said:


> Of course! It's a fantastic success.



And I do want it to break the record.


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## Nikosandros (Mar 4, 2021)

Morrus said:


> I want to add some add-ons (those cloth maps). Do I have to wait for the pledge manager afterwards? I can't figure out how to do it.



You can either add the money now or add it later in the pledge manager.


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## Wolfram stout (Mar 4, 2021)

darjr said:


> And I do want it to break the record.



I normally hate looking at conditionals, but they pointed out in the KS comments, that this will be the highest standalone TTRPG.  So that is pretty cool.

I have been amazed at the number of people in the comments saying they have never played an RPG before pledging for this.  That is why I am super glad for them (and a little for myself) that the Solo mode unlocked.


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## Morrus (Mar 4, 2021)

Wolfram stout said:


> I normally hate looking at conditionals, but they pointed out in the KS comments, that this will be the highest standalone TTRPG.  So that is pretty cool.



Yeah, plenty of Kickstarters mix and match stuff. Matt Colville did minis and a book, TOR has cloth maps and dice and stuff; as long as it's primarily an RPG product, I don't quibble. I mean, you _could_ include Reaper Bones, which is minis, too. I guess everybody gets to No True Scotsman the list themselves.


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## Morrus (Mar 4, 2021)

$2M with 45 minutes to spare! Looks like a comfortable 2nd place.


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## SageMinerve (Mar 5, 2021)

Wolfram stout said:


> I have been amazed at the number of people in the comments saying they have never played an RPG before pledging for this.  That is why I am super glad for them (and a little for myself) that the Solo mode unlocked.




This.

The number of potential new RPGers alone makes this Kickstarter campaign an incredibly great event for our hobby!


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## CleverNickName (Feb 18, 2022)

Almost one year to the day since I pledged, and I've received my copy of the game.  I pledged at the SEK 798 tier (about $97), which meant that I paid to get all this stuff:




(Plus all of the unlocked digital content and stretch goals.)  The double-sided map is beautiful. I've only barely thumbed through the books, but I have to say: the quality of the artwork is impeccable.  Probably the best that I've ever seen in a tabletop RPG, and I've seen _lots_.

Last month, they sent me an e-mail to let me know that there was a quality issue with the custom "feat dice" that were shipped with the Starter Set.  Rather than delay the shipping even further because of the misprint, they shipped them as-is and will send error-free reprints to all backers at no extra cost (or a personal voucher for SEK 100 in the Free League webshop, if we prefer.) 

My misprinted dice were pretty minor:  all of them looked fine except for one of the d12s.  On that particular die, one of the frames around one of the numbers was off-center and didn't fit on the face:



My set of black "Sauronic" dice were fine.  I think I can probably live with this minor misprint, so I'll likely take that webstore credit (SEK 100 ~ 11 USD) if they've got some sweet adventure sor something.

Anyway.  I'm gonna give it a good once-over with my wife tonight, get a feel for the new rules and the new system.  It was a bummer having to wait a solid year for a game, but I'm really pleased so far.


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## Crusadius (Feb 18, 2022)

The misprint is there is no number "1" (one) - it is "11" (eleven) and Feat die should not have "11".

Feat die should number 1-10, and have two icons - Eye of Sauron, and Gandalf Rune


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## CleverNickName (Feb 18, 2022)

Crusadius said:


> The misprint is there is no number "1" (one) - it is "11" (eleven) and Feat die should not have "11".



Ohhhh, okay.  I haven't read the rules yet, so I didn't know.

Yeah, that's a pretty serious deal-breaker then.  I'll be asking for new dice.


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## Crusadius (Feb 18, 2022)

You can use the Feat dice as is, just read "11" as "1" when you roll.

But I too will get replacement dice with my _Ruins of the Lost Realm_ order.


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## TheAlkaizer (Feb 18, 2022)

CleverNickName said:


> Almost one year to the day since I pledged, and I've received my copy of the game.  I pledged at the SEK 798 tier (about $97), which meant that I paid to get all this stuff:
> 
> View attachment 152054
> (Plus all of the unlocked digital content and stretch goals.)  The double-sided map is beautiful. I've only barely thumbed through the books, but I have to say: the quality of the artwork is impeccable.  Probably the best that I've ever seen in a tabletop RPG, and I've seen _lots_.
> ...




I own many Free League products, but I didn't back this one. But it's crazy how beautiful and of high quality their print and products are. They are, in my opinion, well beyond the rest of the industry. Whenever I stop at my local store and compare books to books, the quality of the prints, paper, artwork, bind, etc; it becomes pretty evident.


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## Maggan (Feb 18, 2022)

CleverNickName said:


> I'll be asking for new dice.




I heard that Free League has committed to replacing the dice for all backers of ToR 2, though it will take some time to sort it all out.


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## J.Quondam (Feb 20, 2022)

Mine finally arrived today...  Woo-hoo!
I've never had anything from Free League before, and I'm impressed. Aside from the dice misprints, it's definitely a good-looking game. Really looking forward to taking a closer look in the next week.


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## aramis erak (Feb 20, 2022)

Still not here.


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Feb 20, 2022)

Mine arrived Thursday. Great product. I really like how the starter set basically gives you a Shire mini-campaign, and one that showcases how you can built great adventures that don't involve killing things and taking their stuff (though in the case of Bilbo it's still "taking their stuff").

The book is fantastic quality. Looking forward to seeing what else they produce. I have all the 1E TOR stuff, so I'm hoping for more expansion than duplication. I really want the promised Moria product ...


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## CleverNickName (Feb 21, 2022)

Olgar Shiverstone said:


> Mine arrived Thursday. Great product. I really like how the starter set basically gives you a Shire mini-campaign, and one that showcases how you can built great adventures that don't involve killing things and taking their stuff (though in the case of Bilbo it's still "taking their stuff").



Coming soon to my gaming group...




(credit to Adam Ellis, whose work always makes me chuckle)


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## Tun Kai Poh (Feb 21, 2022)

Olgar Shiverstone said:


> Mine arrived Thursday. Great product. I really like how the starter set basically gives you a Shire mini-campaign, and one that showcases how you can built great adventures that don't involve killing things and taking their stuff (though in the case of Bilbo it's still "taking their stuff").



Could you summarise the gist of the mini-campaign? What challenges are the PCs supposed to face?


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## DarkCrisis (Feb 21, 2022)

I won’t be getting my physical books until sometime in March.  Luckily I have the PDFs and plan to run the starter this next weekend.  Look isn’t forward to it.


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## Olgar Shiverstone (Feb 21, 2022)

Tun Kai Poh said:


> Could you summarise the gist of the mini-campaign? What challenges are the PCs supposed to face?




The "player-heroes" (awkward term) are hired by Bilbo to help him fill some gaps in research about the Shire and find other items. Across five adventures they have to:



Spoiler



(1) Sneak past a dog into the Michel Delving Mathom-house in the Westfarthing to retrieve a map (travel, stealth/problem-solving).

(2) Travel to the Northfarthing to locate the club of Bullroarer Took -- a mystery adventure. There is a troll at the end that could be a combat encounter but is better as a clever roleplay/riddle encounter. As a combat encounter it isn't a "to the death" sort of thing though.

(3) Head to the Southfarthing to find an old cache of Gandalf's fireworks (exploration, social deduction, though there is a combat encounter with a single orc at the end).

(4) Travel around the Shire delivering letters for the post (survival, exploration). Ends in the Eastfarthing.

(5) Go to Buckland to enter the Old Forest to find & drive off a beast feeding on Farmer Maggot's chickens (social interaction, exploration, with a closing combat encounter resolved in a non-combat way appropriate to the Old Forest).



Each adventure is 2-4 sections or "scenes" and hits all the major sections of the Shire. Not a huge campaign, but great for a starter kit and the Shire sourcebook that is included has enough that you could continue to adventure there for quite a while just focusing on social interaction, politics, and exploration.


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## Tun Kai Poh (Feb 21, 2022)

Olgar Shiverstone said:


> Each adventure is 2-4 sections or "scenes" and hits all the major sections of the Shire. Not a huge campaign, but great for a starter kit and the Shire sourcebook that is included has enough that you could continue to adventure there for quite a while just focusing on social interaction, politics, and exploration.



Thanks for the info!


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