# The One Ring Roleplaying Game



## Morrus (Nov 23, 2014)

Product information... View for more details


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## Espen (Nov 24, 2014)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

This rpg is simply a gem. I've never seen a game so in tune with it's subject material as this one is. The creators have treated Tolkien's work with respect, while at the same time given us a FANTASTIC game. No small feat.


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## gweinel (Nov 24, 2014)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

The One Ring is the best rpg game which is set the world of Tolkien (and i have played the past two iterations of the game). They approach the work of Tolkien with respect and with a freshness that surprises you. It is a lite game based more on the storytelling than to the crunchy rules. It is a game that have only one requirement: you have to like the atmosphere and the feeling of the books of Tolkien.


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## TrippyHippy (Nov 30, 2014)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Beautifully laid out and written (very easy to read), with a system that imbues a certain elegance in gameplay, this is a top class product from any measure. The emphasis is on authentic campaign play, building slowly from tightly realised geographical areas of Middle Earth that get increasingly wider in scope. Nominally set between The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings timespans, it encourages a long term narrative - similar to Pendragon. The dice pool mechanics are simple enough, although working with different presumptions to gamers used to d20 systems. The game play is mostly low powered with no established magic system beyond a few cantrip like effects for Elves and Dwarves. As such, you aren’t getting the same type of game as the flashier D&D, but you will feel like you are part of Middle Earth when you play. Regardless, it is a premier-level fantasy game.


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## Starfox (Dec 11, 2014)

*4 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

I expected this game to suck, especially the source material in the game. It didn't. It was clearly laid out and the mechanics - tough I have not actually played them - seemed simple and clear. Still, I get the feeling I often do form smaller games, that this is great for a short game, but could not carry a really long campaign lasting years.


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## Dunheved (Dec 18, 2014)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

I'll be honest (of course I will - this is the internet!) . I love this game. I have only had a few sessions of it with members of my family: but even though they are die-hard DnD types they have been Ok with the system. If you want to be a superhero then stickwith D n D. The One Ring is a game for people who want to immerse themselves in the world of Middle Earth like me!You will have to satisfy yourself with being an ordinary member of one of the races of the Free peoples (no plans to role-play an Orc here: or even a half-orc). You will have to satisfy yourself with being a person of limited power and authority with no short cuts. There is magic but of a subdued and psychological nature. It is the controlled use of force that makes this game more for players who can convey a story or who can resolve things with clever thinking. Watch out the Enemy is far more powerful than you, it will remain far more powerful than you until  you have played your part in helping the communities of Middle Earth limit and then overcome its ambitions. You are in this story for the long haul (unless you die..) This game is super-sympathetic to the style of Tolkien. Embrace the difference and revel in it. I love it.


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## Bradge (Dec 20, 2014)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

I have played and enjoyed Iron Crown's Middle Earth Role Playing and Decipher's Lord of the Rings, but neither are so deeply suited for the world of Middle Earth than Cubicle7's revised edition of "The One Ring." The excellent mechanics not only produce good gameplay but also reproduce well the feel and themes of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy saga that begot the fictional genre. The artwork is also exceptional, and the organization of the rules and content in the revised core book works very well. The index in particular is the best I've seen in any tabletop RPG book. I heartily recommend this to anyone who loves the stories of Tolkien.


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## JLant (Jan 1, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Really nails the atmosphere of Middle Earth.  Evocative graphic design.


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## bbglamdring (Jan 6, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

The game system is simple to learn, but the subtle nuances allow endless hours of fun.  The setting material is rich, well written, and captures the feel better than any other Middle Earth game ever published.  The artwork is beautiful, the layout is excellent, and the content is superb.  The recent revision (single volume) completely reorganized the content so as to eliminate all previous confusion.  The result: a veritable portal to Middle Earth that will whisk you away and have you exploring Wilderland (and beyond!) in no time at all.  PS - the Rivendell supplement is the BEST RPG Supplement ever written!  If you like Rangers, High Elves, and true peril in your games, it's a must have! Gilthoniel A Elbereth!


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## Jhaelen (Jan 6, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Compared to the old MERP rules this is a revelation: While in MERP I always felt the rules got in the way of telling a good story and destroyed the kind of atmosphere I wanted to create or play a character in, TOR's rules serve to support the kind of activities and encounters I've been looking for in a game based on Tolkien's books. The setting material is just as well researched and the (interior) artwork and presentation is way better. If there is a downside, it's that reading the book left me wanting for more of everything: more character races and archetypes, more setting material, more creatures. But that will obviously be delivered by forthcoming source books. So, it's a solid 4.5+ stars for me.  The only fly in the ointment (at least for me) was that I made the mistake to get the German translation: It's bad. It's worse than the translation of the 1e AD&D books back in the eighties. They actually managed to translate some rule terms in three different ways in different chapters, making the books almost unusable. I later learned from the publisher's forum (where I registered to complain about the mess they made) that this was caused by using different translators for the various chapters! So, the German edition gets 2 stars from me - at least it's a sturdy book that looks good on my shelf...


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## Rue (Jan 8, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

I've always been interested in RPGs, but every time I'd stop by a gaming store to look through the possibilities I never found the game that had all the things I was looking for--until I happened upon The One Ring. I've never seen a game that let me enter into the world of a beloved book so well as this one. I love it. It's clever, and beautiful, and the mechanics are so elegant that even though new-to-gaming players like me can understand them relatively easily, seasoned gamers find nuance and endless interplay with them (you can stop by the forums on the Cubicle7 website and see for yourself). I love how dedicated the game and its creators are to bringing Middle Earth to life for us, and how well they have matched the mechanics to the flavor and traditions of the world. I'm not the right person to give you a blow-by-blow account of the mechanics (and there are plenty of reviews that do so out there), but I did want to say that if you are looking for an amazing game with brilliant supplements and a kind, funny, and witty online community (who have been very patient about answering my endless questions), then you can do no better than to pick up a copy of The One Ring. It's the game that got me into RPGs after a long time watching from the sidelines, and now I'm hooked (and may or may not have acquired Qin, Ygdrassill, 13th Age, and Fiasco as a result.) One last note: it's a game that can easily be suited to family play if you have younger players, and I can't wait for my kids to be old enough to play it with us.


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## jamesrbrown (Jan 8, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Let me begin by saying that this is distinctly a Middle-earth roleplaying game, and you will not find more dedication to the source material than you will here. Every aspect of the game, starting with character creation, captures Tolkien's values and language. Indeed, the authors encourage Loremasters to take another look at the books to present the players with an authentic Middle-earth experience.For my full review, click here.


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## Gamer XP (Jan 20, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

We had post-game beers and all in all, the key word we came away with was impressive. We had a few people who are Tolkien fans, but at least one guy didn’t care much for Tolkien, and everyone was still impressed by how good the game was and how easy it was to play.  The session never ground to a halt, which is a major feat considering this was our first time at this.


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## Taarkoon (Jan 21, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

This is with no doubt the best RPG based on middle earth ever. The way the mechanics evoke the feeling of middle earth is astonishing, it is as if the designers have created the game with the advice of J.R.R. Tolkien himself. Even if you are not familiar with middle earth, or if you are not particularly a fan of it, this game is worth reading and playing it. The mechanics of this game are elegant, simple in their core, but extremely rich! With fast and deadly combats and social encounter rules which perfectly interweave with the role play. Probably, the pearl of the game mechanics is the journey rules for travelling around the world, they are just gorgeous. Although a special mention has to be also made for the encumbrance rules, probably the best I have ever seen, and you know what? They are very simple! With this game you will never feel that the mechanics are in the way of your fun! All this is wrapped in a fantastic edition of the game, with top quality books and breath taking evocative art-work.


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## HorusZA (Jan 22, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

When I watched the Extra Features on the Lord of the Rings BluRay boxed sets I was amazed at the detail, love and attention the producers of the movies put into their creation. This is the role-playing analog to that: Expertly crafted, respectful of the source material, perfect match between mechanics and setting, stunningly well produced in terms of art and layout backed by sourcebooks of extraordinary quality (Darkening of Mirkwood is one of the best campaign adventures ever produced).


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## AsakoSoh (Jan 24, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

This is a superb game with the new edition being much better organised and clear. The game itself is easy to run and does a great job in evoking the Northern European cultures that inspired Tolkien in his novels.  The setting begins just after the Battle of the Five Armies with the initial campaign frame being called 'the darkening of mirkwood', but with Cubicle 7 releases subsequent supplements detailing other regions (Rivendell just out!) and advancing the timeline towards The Lord of the Rings.


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## Yaztromo (Jan 27, 2015)

*4 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Non pensavo che avrei mai piu' giocato in questo mondo dopo averci bazzicato parecchio circa venticinque anni fa (con GIRSA/MERP), e invece questo gioco di ruolo e' fatto cosi' bene che non ho potuto evitare di provare di nuovo l'ebbrezza di giocare in quel mondo che mi ha fatto scoprire un genere letterario che non conoscevo.


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## Matchstick (Feb 13, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Incredibly high production values, amazing art, and best of all an incredibly evocative ruleset, I wouldn't look at any other game for running adventures in Middle Earth.  The rules are so simple and yet so deep, and capture specifically the feeling of being in Middle Earth, with Shadow and Hope, and wonderful travel rules, among other things.  I especially love the combat, which moves well and is deceptively simple.  An easy five stars here.


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## BrockBallingdark (May 20, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

I've been playing D&D for most of my life and of course, Middle Earth has influenced much of my experience in fantasy game play.The One Ring captures Middle Earth like nothing else I've read (the other ME rpgs), the layout is gorgeous, the mechanics bring the flavor of the movies and the books.  I wasn't sure about the game but the art caught my eye and then I got a chance to play a few games at a convention and I was hooked.   Every book released is not rushed and the rules/supplements are really thought out with great care.  Love this game!


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## Seeten (Aug 15, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Great effort, really captures the feel of Lord of the Rings.


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## Thunderfoot (Aug 20, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

*UPDATE:* I have since noticed that this review is for the Hardcover book - no matter, I have that too.  So with the exception that it's one book instead of two and doesn't come with the dice there are no real changes to be made in my commentary except Hardcover - yay!!!!  There have been some small updates and additional content added but it is either minuscule in scope (changes) or a value addition (additional content)  That it offsets the dice minus, of course the approx $20 drop in price is reflected as well.


So, the first time I cracked open my copy of TOR:RPG  I was struck by several things, one - the artwork was phenomenal, two - the feel of the sourcebook was similar to Tolkien's actual works (though a little better laid out), three - this was not like anything I had ever seen before.  So with that in mind I'll give this the ole' once over and see if it piques your interest.  Layout and Construction: So, the lay out of the books is extremely well handled from the obligatory "This is what an RPG is" to the Appendix I did not feel that anything was out of place.  That alone is so radically different from what I'm used to in a manual that it could garner 4 out of 5 stars on its own.  The artwork, as stated above, was stunningly simple yet elegantly breathtaking, some of the monsters are far from what I would have imagined, but on reflection were perfect for what Tolkien had described in his texts.  The softcover manuals are worrisome to me, because if history serves, these books are in for a short lifespan, however they have released a comprehensive Hardcover, so I won't dock anything from this review, just be forewarned.  The nicest touch in the included dice (6d6 and 1d12), which are system specific, which is a nice feature all on its own.  Instead of 1 or 6 you have the "Eye of Sauron" and the "Rune of Gandalf" and depending on who is rolling (good or evil) depends on whether each is a 1 or 6 - one die two results, brilliant.  The d12 is likewise marked.  Content: If J.R.R. Tolkien had been a role-player, I think he would have played this game.  The emphasis on storytelling versus mechanics is evident but the mechanics that are required don't interfere with the storytelling and that's a bonus.  Either quotes or para-phrased passages from the books pepper the pages and it really goes to tie the system and the game to the stories.  Speaking of which, the storyline for the game is set between the "The Hobbit" and the "The Lord of the Rings", but there is some guidance which could allow you to set it far earlier than that.    Value:  This boxed set comes with a Adventurer's guide, a Loremaster's guide, a set of dice and a full color fold out map of Middle-Earth.  It retails for $59.99 (U.S.) and that seems just about perfect.    If you are looking to play a game set in the Middle-Earth, this is worth your time and effort to obtain and learn.  If you're trying to get the true feel of Tolkien's world, you'll get far more satisfaction from this set than trying to play using another system.


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## Michael Long (Sep 8, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Super surprised by this game. So glad I took the time to read through it.


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## Lukja (Nov 3, 2015)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

Title says it all, really. The rules of the game fit the setting like a tailored suit. The mechanics are appropriate and elegant (ie. not overly complex, even though the combat requires a bit of abstraction), and the whole system adapts perfectly to the "power level" of Tolkien's Middle Earth - low on magic, although not too low. A note on writing: I reviewed the Italian version, which is well-written and well-edited, but I can't speak about the English translation. On production value, it's hard to beat it, and Howe's illustrations are beautiful and evocative.


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## Chimpy (Mar 31, 2016)

*3 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

I've wanted to try this game for quite a while, and after having done so, I have mixed feelings about it. On a positive side, the books are presented really well and very much portray the feeling of Lord of the Rings. The gameplay feels gritty and corresponds to the many ordeals the characters in the books have to face.However I have questions if this correlates to engaging gameplay. The game feels very prescribed and regimented. Character development options seem very limited. Things that are often glossed over in other games, such as travel and rationing food are given a lot of attention, but I didn't really find these aspects fun.I think most of these observations stem from the fact it is a Lord of the Rings game and to be faithful to the books it has to be this way. For purist LotR fans, this is probably spot on.


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## zedturtle (Apr 10, 2016)

*5 out of 5 rating for The One Ring Roleplaying Game*

I've long advocated that system must match setting in the game, and The One Ring is my argument-winning final move. The entire game seems built from the ground up to help create the stories that we find in the source material and to help explain why the heroes in said source material acted the way they do.

Why does Gandalf bring a passel of Hobbits on the most important Quest in the Third Age? Hobbit-sense means that they'll allow everyone else to regain spent Hope that much sooner.

Why does no one but Gimli (and Frodo, but that's a special case) wear heavy armour? Because dwarves get a reduction in the Encumbrance of armour. And not wearing armour is a perfectly valid choice... you're stay un-Weary for longer, but a Piercing Blow is more likely to cause you lasting harm.

Why is bringing Glorfindel on the Quest a bad idea? Seems like there's these Eye of Mordor rules that would make the heroes more likely to run into a lot more trouble if they've got a Scion of the First Age running around with them.And it goes on and on. 

The game system... Endurance versus Fatigue, Hope versus Shadow, Wounds, Traits, AP/XP, etc. create situations and provide incentives for the game to emulate the stories we have of the Third Age of Middle-earth. This does come with some challenges, of course. Experienced gamers often struggle for a little while getting a handle on the system whilst those who have never players RPGs but have read Tolkien more times than they care to admit do just fine (as one of my players said... 'We're going on a journey in the wilderness, of course we might get tired and hurt!'). And the game benefits from a Loremaster (GM) who's familiar with the source material and is working with the system and not against it.

Simply put, this is a game that is amazing, and as long as you know what you're going to get (a faithful rendering of adventures in the Third Age of Middle-earth), will reward you deeply.


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