coda lotr rpg pdf download PDF Max 2018. Decipher, Inc., was later licensed to create role playing game and CCG products based on The Lord of the Rings. They issued their first RPG components in their. Decipher has done a great job on The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and in general perfectly suited for. Decipher’s take on Lord of the Rings using the CODA system. Note: This game is different than the similarly named games Lord of the Rings Adventure Game. Author: Tasar Nizilkree Country: Slovenia Language: English (Spanish) Genre: Photos Published (Last): 11 March 2010 Pages: 228 PDF File Size: 3.38 Mb ePub File Size: 8.94 Mb ISBN: 582-4-55367-743-1 Downloads: 70971 Price: Free* [ *Free Regsitration Required ] Uploader: Vora. The following descriptions give only the introductory part of the text from the pord sheets themselves. Designed to help gaming novices and Lord of the Rings fans become familiar with the world of RPGs, the three-part adventure leads the heroes across the plains of Rohan, into the city of Edoras, and finally to the epic siege of the Hornburg. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game | The One Wiki to Rule Them All | FANDOM powered by Wikia. Weapons feature a new characteristic, the initiative modifier, and their damage codes have been totally revised. The vivid descriptions of your attack’s effects are closely related to the Coda System’s xecipher for extra success in combat and help to speed up combat resolution quite a lot For damage-dealing spell attacks, there is a critical fire damage table that comes deciphre with rules on how to use spells with the ranged combat skill The “Mind” spell specialty and new rules on learning spells Thirty-six additional flaws, carefully tailored to match Decipher’s Coda System Five pages of additional equipment and gear, both ordinary and obscure, weapons, armours, and herbs. Here is the categorized list of RPG resources produced by Decipher: The overall impression the book gave rongs that wizards’ apprentices and dwarven runecarvers and such were commonplace. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This is the second in a series of roleplaying adventure tpg based on the epic trilogy, The Lord of the Rings. The Two Towers Sourcebook. The Heren Turambarion’s Compendium The revised 2nd edition of the Heren Turambarion’s Compendium comprises 56 pages of optional rule suggestions and official errata that add a lot of excitement and realism to any chronicle by introducing new or rebalancing existing game mechanics, especially in the field of character creation. The PDF includes a black-and-white version of the cover and the following content sections:. It has a color cover. I looked, but never found a rule that could stop a mage from transforming a balrog into an insect and squashing it. Tolkien ‘s The Lord of the Rings. Paths of the Wise: Elves being powerfulbut I do not like changing the setting to make it more gamelike. Each game is decihper with maps and rules for mass combat. LotR RPG (Decipher Lord of the Rings Role-Playing Game) Colin Chapman’s Name Aids provides an extensive list of typical names for all peoples native to north-western Middle-earth Finally, the tools package provides a Player Character Overview sheet for recording the most important statistics and skills of your group’s heroes, as well as an Initiative Overview sheet with which you can easily keep track of the turn order during encounters with multiple combatants Download the Heren Turambarion’s Narrator’s Tools package here. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. Shadow of Mordor Middle-earth: Originally Posted by Revlid. Views Read Edit View history. Maps of Middle-earth Box Set. Results 1 to 11 of Through the Mines of Moria begins at the western doors leading into Moria, taking players through several encounters with servants of the Shadow, and culminates with a climactic battle against the dreaded Balrog. All prices have been altered to establish a historically more realistic price structure. The Lord of the Rings: Roleplaying Game — displays complete system to date double-sided. The revised 2nd edition of the Heren Turambarion’s Compendium comprises 56 pages of optional rule suggestions and decipherr errata that add a lot of excitement and realism to any chronicle by introducing new or rebalancing existing game mechanics, especially in the field of character creation. Is that even illegal? At some points he functions as a member of the fellowship but at other points he steps out and does god-like things such as slaying a Balrog, dying, and being resurrected. Live out the greatest fantasy adventure of all time! Based on the richest environment in fantasy literature, this classic but ever-changing line is fifteen years old and now available in twelve different languages. There was some weaker magic decipheer classes, you could be from the start. Nothing short of legendary, these latest introductions will prove to be must-have content for your loyal Lord of the Rings customers. It is a treasure trove of new rules, background material, and game advice for player and Narrator alike. The following material, other than the complete contents list, repeats what appeared in the section above on 4. DECIPHER LORD OF THE RINGS RPG PDF. Decipher, Inc., was later licensed to create role playing game and CCG products based on The Lord of the Rings. They issued their first RPG components in their. Decipher has done a great job on The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and in general perfectly suited for. Decipher’s take on Lord of the Rings using the CODA system. Note: This game is different than the similarly named games Lord of the Rings Adventure Game. Author: Tausar Vogal Country: Vietnam Language: English (Spanish) Genre: Science Published (Last): 11 September 2012 Pages: 243 PDF File Size: 12.84 Mb ePub File Size: 7.80 Mb ISBN: 464-9-79123-513-1 Downloads: 3400 Price: Free* [ *Free Regsitration Required ] Uploader: Taugami. Cities and Strongholds Box Set. At some points he functions as a member of the fellowship but at other points he steps out and does god-like things decihper as slaying a Balrog, dying, and being resurrected. The official Decipher website was http: God I love Exalted. Roleplaying Adventure Game Box Set. In detail, rimgs Compendium II features: Originally Posted by Balain. The GM pre-made some characters and said, You can be this one or this one. Shadow of Mordor Middle-earth: He was uber-powered compared to the rest of the fellowship but Tolkien included limitations. It provides everything you need to portray mighty spellcasters and characters of awesome learning and great wisdom. A third role-playing kf set in Middle-earth is currently being published since by Cubicle 7 under the title The One Ring Roleplaying Game. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game – Wikipedia. So, even if you’re perfectly pleased with Decipher’s original work, you might find some interesting contents that’ll hopefully enjoy to add to your game! The Compendium adds material on various topics such as attribute generation, courage, spells and spell specialties, initiative, combat manoeuvres, combat pacing, resisting fear, horses, and healing. The Ringx Towers Box Set. This boxed set for the award-winning The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game is a worthy addition rinys players and collectors. The Two Towers Sourcebook. There may have been some half-hearted attempts to stress that dexipher was rare and PCs were supposed to be heroic exceptions to the rule, but when every party ends up with one or thr wannabe wizards that falls pretty flat. Tables and rules for resolving critical strikes: You can choose from game aids, sourcebooks, campaign aids, maps, and atlases! Not a fan of that; I can deal with game imbalances to reflect the setting i. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. And the system would have to allow for a goblin’s spear being a lethal thing to anyone Od using deprecated image syntax. The Hero’s Scroll has been specially created for use with the optional rules introduced in the Heren Turambarion’s Compendium II, but it works equally well if you ignore or delete these references. Enter Middle-earth and re-live the adventures of the Fellowship in this exhaustive guide to the people, places, and events of The Fellowship of the Ring. Scott The New World, Part 9: Although Thomas’ map is not particularly close to the sketch by J. The richness of Middle-earth lies in the depth of its histories, the detail of its languages, and the breadth of its cultures. There was a PDF download of this same booklet available from the Decipher website. It also features an adapted version of Decipher’s official step-by-step character generation guideline and provides enough space for all skills, spells, items and rjngs you may ever wish to acquire. Gandalf tells Frodo there are many magic rings that make you invisible, so he wasn’t sure if it was the one ring I didn’t like wizards being a playable master class. Although my LOTR Collector Notes site features products based on the Peter Jackson film trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, sometimes background on other sources and systems helps give the context kf which these products were released. This boxed game will premiere in stores Decemberoffering both RPG and movie fans the excitement and exhilaration that Hobbits, Dwarves, and Men face as they journey through the mythic expanses of Middle-earth. I’ve recently started thinking about it, and given how massively popular and detailed the Middle Earth setting is it struck me as odd that I never see it mentioned anywhere. Also, I remember the transformation spell being way overpowered. Live out the greatest fantasy adventure of all time! Maps of Middle-earth single-sided. There was some weaker magic using classes, you could be from the start. For a complete list of contents, see the section below on Box Set — Moria. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game | The One Wiki to Rule Them All | FANDOM powered by Wikia. I’ve only used the system for a brief while though, and hardly to its full extent, so I can’t tell how good it is overall just yet. From a Iron Crown Enterprises catalog: Don’t miss to check out the Narrator’s Tools presented below as well – they’ll be a great help if you choose to incorporate some of the Compendium’s options in your game. Dwarves, Wood Elves, men Numenorian or otherwiseand hobbits. Packed with all of the most important charts, tables, and forms from the RPG, as well as a complete introductory adventure, The House of Margilthis is one product no Narrator should be without! Good Deeds Gone Unpunished! Through the Mines of Moria begins at the western doors leading into Moria, taking players through several encounters with servants of the Shadow, and culminates with a climactic battle against the dreaded Balrog. It’s functional, and not too complicated, but the mechanics are not very imaginative and the balance is haphazard. The Lord of the Rings RPG by Decipher Aside from certain races being hugely more powerful than others without any kind of balancing factor elvesI quite liked it as a system. However, there are certain weaknesses, some obvious, some a matter of personal taste. Combat could get pretty repetitive, since it consisted mostly of rolling some combat skill against some defense skill until all the enemies were dead. Here is the categorized list of RPG resources produced by Decipher: Roleplaying Game — displays complete system to date double-sided. I was okay with that. DECIPHER LORD OF THE RINGS RPG PDF. Decipher, Inc., was later licensed to create role playing game and CCG products based on The Lord of the Rings. They issued their first RPG components in their. Decipher has done a great job on The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and in general perfectly suited for. Decipher’s take on Lord of the Rings using the CODA system. Note: This game is different than the similarly named games Lord of the Rings Adventure Game. Author: Gurisar Vudok Country: Jordan Language: English (Spanish) Genre: Medical Published (Last): 17 November 2004 Pages: 216 PDF File Size: 12.15 Mb ePub File Size: 4.75 Mb ISBN: 248-5-23634-577-3 Downloads: 27795 Price: Free* [ *Free Regsitration Required ] Uploader: Jujind. Decipher’s Lord of the Rings RPG – The Heren Turambarion. The Two Towers Sourcebook. Paths of the Wise: The Decipher description appears first in each section, and any additional information gleaned from other sources appears in after that. Nothing short of legendary, these latest introductions will prove to be must-have content for your loyal Lord of the Rings customers. This introductory game contains a page adventure narrative, a page guide to the lands and peoples of Middle-earth, ddcipher explanation of the basic principles rpb role-playing games, full-color character sheets that include loed and game data describing each character, four full-color tactical maps for use in the major action sequences of the adventure, cut-outs of the characters and monsters in the adventure, and a poster map of Middle-earth. I’ve only used the system for a brief while though, and hardly to its full extent, so I can’t tell how good it is overall just yet. They were elite classes or master classes or what ever they were called. The game is the second licensed role-playing game for the setting, the prior game being Middle-earth Role Playing from Iron Crown Enterprises. Explore the creatures, both fair rinfs foul, and the magical places and items found throughout the trilogy. I feel some nostalgia for it, but when I looked at the full book years later I felt it was sort of clunky. The Fellowship of the Ring Sourcebook. A new method for generating attribute scores, secipher new guidelines on spending Courage A complex, yet easy rrings use set of tables and guidelines for awarding experience points based on TNs and TN Equivalents Tne detailed and colourful weapon fumble and spell failure table that can be used whenever double ones are rolled An all-new initiative system Smoothed guidelines on movement and encumbrance, including tables and formulas for determining your character’s exact height and weight Replacement movement rates for the creatures presented in Fell Beasts rppg Wondrous Magic Jeff Tidball of Decipher admitted himself that something went quite wrong with them Detailed discussions of Lore skills, travelling, starvation, and other skills and tests new! The PDF includes a black-and-white version of the cover and the following content sections:. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game brings this epic adventure to players and fans the world over. Depart, and not one of you will be spared … You do not know your peril. Roleplaying Adventure Game single-sided. Yes, Elves are super, but that’s because the game’s focused on faithfully presenting Middle-Earth, which is only a bonus in my tne for a game that calls itself Lord of the Rings RPG. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. In The Two Towers Roleplaying Adventure Game, players assume the roles of the members of The Fellowship as they relive the dangerous and legendary adventures. Not a fan of that; Lird can deal with game imbalances to reflect the setting i. The Lord of the Rings: ICE has produced ready-to-run adventures, campaign books, fortress modules, city sourcebooks, tomes of famous peoples, treasures and beasts, maps, and even an art book. At some points he functions as a member of the fellowship but at other points he steps out and does god-like things such as slaying a Balrog, dying, and being resurrected. For instance, a pony now does no longer cost merely four times as much as an ordinary meal – but it still costs 4 silver pennies in Bree! Originally Posted by Balain. Also, I remember the transformation spell being way overpowered. Decipher RPGs* So, even if you’re irngs pleased with Decipher’s original work, you might find some interesting contents that’ll hopefully enjoy to add to your game! I remember it working well. The Fan Club was also run by Decipher. Maps of Middle-earth Box Set. Printable Tags for your Narrator’s screen, showing the tables for resolving critical strikes and fumbles as introduced in the Compendium, as well as the revised weapon and armour tables The LotR Hero’s Scrolla Microsoft Excel-based, four-page character sheet which makes character creation and advancing much easier and faster. The GM pre-made some characters and said, You can be this one or this one. This page was last edited on 11 Octoberat Adventure Game Box Sets. Download the Heren Turambarion’s Narrator’s Tools package here. Plan your next RPG adventure with maps depicting the lands of western Middle-earth in vibrant and painstaking detail. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and in general perfectly suited for roleplaying on J. On very rare occasions, I have seen it listed on eBay. This full-color book is packed with images from one of the most visually amazing films ever made. The Heren Turambarion’s Compendium The revised 2nd edition of the Heren Turambarion’s Compendium comprises 56 pages of optional rule suggestions and official errata that add a lot of excitement and realism to any chronicle by introducing new or rebalancing existing game mechanics, especially in the field of character creation. SeylerRoss Isaacs. I think that players could spend “action points” or something to boost their dice rolls, and since humans got extra points, that meant they could perform amazing feats once a day without fail my favorite being jumping 20ft straight in the air for no gosh darned reason. That’s why in vecipher game used the same mechanics and magic, just called it something else. It has a color cover. It also features an adapted version of Decipher’s official step-by-step character generation guideline and provides enough space for all skills, spells, items and mounts you may ever wish to acquire. Download the Heren Turambarion’s Compendium here. Adaptations and other derivative works. There was also a Limited Edition of the Core Book available. Easier said than done at a game table. Also included is lorx 2-page detailed summary of the character generation process. So you can simply pick the ones you like and discard the ones you don’t deem appropriate for your type of chronicle. I looked, but never found a rule that could stop a mage from transforming a balrog into an insect and squashing it. I’m also going to offer Burning Wheel Gold as an option for Tolkienesque gameplay. The New Lor, Part 9: If you choose to use the Heren Lf rules on experience awards presented in the Compendium, pass one of your players the LotR Experience Awards Sheet on which all events that warrant an experience point gain can be recorded. PDF Dreams. Decipher, Inc., was later licensed to create role playing game and CCG products based on The Lord of the Rings. They issued their first RPG components in their. Decipher has done a great job on The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. It’s easy to learn, fun to play, and in general perfectly suited for. Decipher’s take on Lord of the Rings using the CODA system. Note: This game is different than the similarly named games Lord of the Rings Adventure Game. Author: Dakasa Zulunris Country: Poland Language: English (Spanish) Genre: Software Published (Last): 13 July 2009 Pages: 485 PDF File Size: 7.78 Mb ePub File Size: 15.4 Mb ISBN: 828-3-37316-189-6 Downloads: 91498 Price: Free* [ *Free Regsitration Required ] Uploader: Mazular. It includes lined pages for notes on background, adventures, and anything else that you feel needs to be chronicled. The official Decipher website was http: Over the last decade, ICE has published over 50 adventure pord detailing specific areas in western and southern Lorr, making it the most heavily supported fantasy game universe in the industry. This site uses cookies. Others simply shed additional light on poorly covered issues such as flaws, equipment, creature movement, or experience awards. The Fellowship of the Ring Sourcebook. Don’t miss to check out the Narrator’s Tools presented below as well – they’ll be a great help if you choose to incorporate some of the Compendium’s options in your game. Colin Chapman’s Name Aids provides cecipher extensive list of typical names for all peoples native to north-western Middle-earth Finally, the tools package provides a Player Character Rpy sheet for recording the most important statistics and skills of your group’s heroes, as well as an Initiative Overview sheet with which you can easily keep track of the turn order during encounters with multiple combatants Download the Heren Turambarion’s Narrator’s Tools package here. There was also a Limited Edition of the Core Book decipber. The Two Towers Sourcebook. The following descriptions give only the introductory part of the text from the sell sheets themselves. The richness of Middle-earth lies in the depth of its histories, the detail of its languages, and the breadth of its cultures. The Lord of the Rings RPG by Decipher. For instance, a pony now does no longer cost merely four times as much as an ordinary meal – but it still costs 4 silver pennies in Bree! If you come across a copy of the Core Book, the printing number and whether it mentions the Origins award are indicators of whether it has the errors corrected or not. That’s why there is a bunch of magic items in middle earth. It also features an adapted version of Decipher’s official step-by-step character generation guideline and provides enough space for all skills, spells, items and mounts you may ever wish to acquire. I’m also going to offer Burning Wheel Gold as an option for Tolkienesque gameplay. They issued their decopher RPG components in their series in and the last one in Combat could get pretty repetitive, since it consisted mostly of rolling some combat skill against some defense skill until all the enemies were dead. ISBNs and release dates added from Amazon. The overall impression the book gave was that wizards’ apprentices and dwarven runecarvers and such were commonplace. On the LotR Combat Status Sheetyou can record all necessary statistics for the fast resolution of combat encounters, including the TNs a character must beat in order to inflict critical strikes. Decipher RPGs* There was some weaker magic using classes, you could be from the start. The Heren Turambarion’s Pf The revised 2nd edition of the Heren Turambarion’s Compendium comprises 56 pages of optional rule suggestions and official errata that add a lot of excitement and realism to any chronicle by introducing new or rebalancing existing game mechanics, especially in the field of character creation. Dwarf-holds of Middle-earth Chris Seeman, author of the Dwarves of Middle-earth book contained in Decipher’s marvellous Moria boxed set a must-have! I’ve recently started thinking about it, and given how massively popular and detailed the Middle Earth setting is it struck me as odd that Rgp never see it mentioned anywhere. In The Two Towers Roleplaying Adventure Game, players assume the roles of the members of The Fellowship as they relive the dangerous and legendary adventures. Live out the greatest fantasy adventure of all time! Bring this wealth of new challenges to your The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game Chronicle and let your players pit themselves against this fortress of the fallen Wizard! Packed with all of the most important charts, tables, and forms from the RPG, as well as a complete introductory adventure, The House of Margilthis is one product no Rog should be without! The Hunt for Gollum Born of Hope Results 1 to 11 secipher Cities and Strongholds Box Set. From the pastoral hills of the Shire to the majesty of the Argonath and the Falls of Rauros, this book gives tue and Tolkien fans alike a comprehensive overview of this beloved tale and its unforgettable characters. The Lord of the Rings RPG by Decipher This one I’ve only seen the book itself once, several years ago in the hands of an acquaintance I’ve long since dropped rlngs of contact with. Roleplaying Adventure Game Box Set. I looked, but never found a rule that could stop a mage from transforming a balrog into an insect and squashing it. Through the Mines of Moria begins at the western doors leading into Moria, taking players through several encounters with servants of the Shadow, and culminates with a climactic battle against the dreaded Balrog. So you can simply pick the ones you like and discard the ghe you don’t deem appropriate for your type of chronicle. The Lord of the Rings RPG by Decipher I own the core book, and the system is pretty solid, and the book has beautiful imagery from the movies. A deciphre method for generating attribute scores, and new guidelines on spending Courage A complex, yet easy to use set of tables and guidelines for awarding experience points based on TNs and TN Equivalents A detailed and colourful weapon fumble and spell failure table that can be used whenever double ones are rolled An all-new initiative system Smoothed guidelines on movement and encumbrance, including tables and formulas for determining your character’s exact height and weight Replacement movement rates for the creatures presented in Fell Beasts and Wondrous Magic Jeff Tidball of Decipher admitted himself that something went quite wrong riings them Detailed discussions of Deciphet skills, travelling, starvation, and other skills and tests new! It provides everything you need to portray mighty spellcasters and characters of awesome learning and great wisdom. I’m currently using the system with very little modification to run a game based on Fourth Age Gondor mixed with some aspects of the Dragon Age world, but dark and gritty as it should have been. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use. Gabilgathol, home of Linnar’s folk, the Broadbeams 3 – Moria Kh. If one boils the novels down to a glorified RPB, Glorfindel, Elrond, Celeborn, and Galadriel were the equivalent of NPCs, consulted by the fellowship, lended assistance to the fellowship, and so on. The Compendium adds material on various topics such as attribute generation, courage, spells and spell specialties, initiative, combat manoeuvres, combat pacing, resisting fear, horses, and healing. This boxed set for the award-winning The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game is a worthy addition for players and collectors. Limited Edition Core Book. A third role-playing game set in Middle-earth is currently being published since by Cubicle 7 under the title The One Ring Roleplaying Game. Natural Twenty Games. I’ve got a lot of gaming stuff. That’s not a brag or a boast. It’s the accumulation of years and years of impulse buying (ADHD), fear of missing out (FOMO), supporting major and/or independent creators, a lot of GenCon’s, and maybe a touch of hoarding tendencies. I am starting to inventory everything to get ready for a purge and as I do I’m going to post weekly characters or sessions from some of my old games. In reality, I’ve only run a handful of these games so I don’t have a lot of memories of playing them but oh the hours of fun I had making characters or just thinking about running them. The first game on the list will be Gamma World 2e. Six, level 3, 5e pregens from Whispers in the Dark. Here are the six, level 3, 5e pregenerated characters used for the Whispers in the Dark convention. They were all created using D&D Beyond (I’m a sucker for tools) and use Larry Elmore’s Character Art pack. Whispers in the Dark 5e Recap from NewGameAPalooza. This last weekend (10/5/2019) I ran a convention game. It’s been years since I’ve run a game at a convention and most of the time I was either running Living Greyhawk (yes, I’m aging myself), Pathfinder Organized Play, or Adventurer League for 5e. This time I decided to run a homebrew scenario that’s been bouncing around my head for at least ten (10) years. It’s got a Halloween theme and since the convention was in early October I thought I might as well put it together and see if folks like it. It’s not ready for publishing yet but I’m working on it! Thanks to the outstanding table that attended. We had a brand-new player who seemed to have a great time and the table accommodated her. Again, many thanks, players! Quite the range of players, veterans (Leo – taking the pic), high-schooler and guys from college, and a brand-new player, flanked by mom! Continue reading → NewGameAPalooza 2019. Natural Twenty Games will be running events at NewGameAPalooza 2019 coming up in early October (4th – 6th). The following games will be run (time slots are still TBD) Whispers in the Dark. Autumn approaches and in the small village of Chatham preparations for the Festival of the Twelve are well underway. The harvest was bountiful this year and there is a rumor that the mayor has hired a troupe of mummers! A D&D 5e adventure with pre-generated characters. Chatham and surrounds. Adventures in Middle-Earth for 5e – Two great tastes that go great together. Cubicle 7’s Adventures in Middle-Earth™ RPG line, supported by Dungeons and Dragons 5e, is, in my opinion, one of the most seamless combinations of a rules system supporting a fictional setting I’ve had the pleasure of reading and running. First, some background on myself and my love/hate relationship over the years with Middle-Earth based RPGs. My first exposure to Middle-Earth was listening to an early audiobook version of The Hobbit on a 45 record (I think I still have that down the basement somewhere. Note to self – look for it later) and then seeing The Hobbit cartoon movie by Rankin/Bass around 1980 or so. A couple years later I remember going over friends house to play The Hobbit computer game on his Commodore 64. At twelve years old, I hadn’t read the books yet. They weren’t above my reading capability but the length of the book more than likely intimidated me. During that same time frame, I got exposed to Basic Dungeons & Dragons (BD&D)by a kid in my Lutheran Catechism class – irony at its finest. Fast forward a couple more years, we’re talking 1984, and while hanging out at the mall and perusing Waldenbooks I remember seeing, and buying the Middle-Earth Roleplaying Game (MERP) by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE). For some reason, I didn’t get into Rolemaster (RM) but this scaled-down version of RM, had some really neat art, awesome maps, and seemed a little more streamlined than the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) I was graduating to from BD&D. Note 1 – I still hadn’t read The Hobbit or any of The Lord of the Rings (LotR) trilogy. MERP’s character creation system took a long time, had a lot of options (even for a pared-back version of RM) but those options did make you think about the background of your character, make some plausible connections to “why am I adventuring” and you were ready to become a hero in Middle-Earth. Note 2 – I then started to read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Full stop. In my mind, I couldn’t connect the MERP rules to The Hobbit or LotR fiction. I totally get that a game isn’t a piece of written fiction or vice versa. Two different mediums with a different outcome but they were so divergent. This isn’t a bad reflection on MERP. In and of itself it’s a great system but just not for The Hobbit or LotR. Even AD&D didn’t really emulate the feel of the fiction. Magic was just too prevalent in both MERP and AD&D and I wasn’t enough of a system tinkerer to take the magic out of either game and end up with something recognizable. Fast forward seventeen (17) years to 2001 and The Lord of the Rings movies come out. I re-listen (at this point I’m an Audible subscriber) to all of the books and hear rumblings at GenCon of a LotR RPG coming out. Shortly after the first movie is released The Lord of the Rings RPG comes out by Decipher. It’s got a great system, CODA, that emulates the “feel” of Middle-Earth. It’s got great art, well, a lot of shots from the movies, and it’s well laid out, but I’ve got no one in my group that’ll play it. I collect all of the material as it comes out but it sits unused for years in my library.