On top of the main book, the starter box is also excellent. It's all about The Shire, with three adventures designed for an all Hobbit party. You could probably play an entire campaign without stepping outside its bounds - except for a short excursion or two to the Old Forest.
The rules are very good and the rule book beautiful. Rules much simpler than D&D, I would say comparable in complexity to Free League's Mutant Year Zero set of rules
Oh interesting, I know some people have disputed the rules over the maths elements. I suppose it's dependent on what you already know, but our reviewer certainly liked it too! Thanks for commenting :)
I would say the rules are significantly more complicated. D&D: Roll 1d20+bonus vs AC. If you hit, roll damage, subtract from hp. In TOR it takes minutes just to explain the basic skill roll mechanism: Use special dice, or remember that 11 and 12 on d12, or 1-3 and 6 on d6 are "special". Roll 1d12 (or 2 if favored or ill-favoured) plus Nd6 for your skill, plus or minus any bonus dice (possibly from things happening in the previous round that you have to remember). *Add* the results together (very mathy), but remember to treat 1-3 on d6 as zero if you're miserable, 12 on d12 as automatic success, and 11 on d12 as zero. What is the number to beat? Strangely enough, it is fixed and on your own character sheet, and tied to one of your own abilities (like saving throws in D&D). Combat: Everyone choose a stance, which gives various bonuses/penalties. If you hit, subtract (fixed) weapon damage from opponent's endurance. Then, *if* you rolled a 12 or 10 (another special number to remember!) on the d12, the defender rolls for their armor to see if they get an injury (which is more state to keep track of and further modifies things going forward). Interestingly enough, TOR is both more detailed and more abstract than D&D. There are no detailed movement rules. Presumably, this is modelled after how combat is described in books, where it is very difficult to describe precise movement and maneuvering, and perhaps makes the game more playable without minis. But in my experience, it just leaves everyone confused to play combat in theater of the mind style, and I rather know where everyone is.
Heinously awful rules. They get the feel of Middle Earth, but 75% of the rules are not needed. They've confused roleplaying with roll playing. So if we want to play, we'll be converting it to a better system.
It's definitely a little more to get used to - though our reviewer thought it ultimately worked out!- the nice thing being though, as you say, that if you're not a fan the wider world building is great, so it's not too bad a conversion :)
It's too bad they didn't actually take the opportunity to use Free League's excellent Year Zero Engine (despite some claims that they did). The rules are really inelegant and clunky. Still, the flavor elements are great, and I am considering to run it and see how it goes.
On top of the main book, the starter box is also excellent. It's all about The Shire, with three adventures designed for an all Hobbit party. You could probably play an entire campaign without stepping outside its bounds - except for a short excursion or two to the Old Forest.
Love the starter box - I'm a big fan of demystifying RPGs anyway, but when you've got a great game, the more that can play the better!
The rules are very good and the rule book beautiful.
Rules much simpler than D&D, I would say comparable in complexity to Free League's Mutant Year Zero set of rules
Oh interesting, I know some people have disputed the rules over the maths elements. I suppose it's dependent on what you already know, but our reviewer certainly liked it too! Thanks for commenting :)
I would say the rules are significantly more complicated. D&D: Roll 1d20+bonus vs AC. If you hit, roll damage, subtract from hp. In TOR it takes minutes just to explain the basic skill roll mechanism: Use special dice, or remember that 11 and 12 on d12, or 1-3 and 6 on d6 are "special". Roll 1d12 (or 2 if favored or ill-favoured) plus Nd6 for your skill, plus or minus any bonus dice (possibly from things happening in the previous round that you have to remember). *Add* the results together (very mathy), but remember to treat 1-3 on d6 as zero if you're miserable, 12 on d12 as automatic success, and 11 on d12 as zero. What is the number to beat? Strangely enough, it is fixed and on your own character sheet, and tied to one of your own abilities (like saving throws in D&D). Combat: Everyone choose a stance, which gives various bonuses/penalties. If you hit, subtract (fixed) weapon damage from opponent's endurance. Then, *if* you rolled a 12 or 10 (another special number to remember!) on the d12, the defender rolls for their armor to see if they get an injury (which is more state to keep track of and further modifies things going forward). Interestingly enough, TOR is both more detailed and more abstract than D&D. There are no detailed movement rules. Presumably, this is modelled after how combat is described in books, where it is very difficult to describe precise movement and maneuvering, and perhaps makes the game more playable without minis. But in my experience, it just leaves everyone confused to play combat in theater of the mind style, and I rather know where everyone is.
Yes!! Definitely!
🙌
Is this for the first edition or 2nd edition?
It's for the new edition :)
Heinously awful rules. They get the feel of Middle Earth, but 75% of the rules are not needed. They've confused roleplaying with roll playing. So if we want to play, we'll be converting it to a better system.
It's definitely a little more to get used to - though our reviewer thought it ultimately worked out!- the nice thing being though, as you say, that if you're not a fan the wider world building is great, so it's not too bad a conversion :)
It's too bad they didn't actually take the opportunity to use Free League's excellent Year Zero Engine (despite some claims that they did). The rules are really inelegant and clunky. Still, the flavor elements are great, and I am considering to run it and see how it goes.
Is there a link to the artwork? Thank you
It's in their press section on their website, though you'll need to contact them for approval depending on your usage intentions!
@@TabletopGamingMag I just want to see the full artworks that's all, ok thanx