It's SO good to see someone actually browsing through the pages so we can see the actual product. Thanks to this video I made up my mind and will buy it. Thanks for the review and the presentation. Now I need to decide if I'll order Adventures in Middle-earth Loremaster guide as well; so far I haven't found a video that browses through the pages of the book.
We have been playing Aime for a year, and love it. Really it does feel like its own unique game which is what I like. When I tell others I shy away from describing it as D&D since it really only feels like D&D during combat.
Great review, I’m considering DMing a LOTR campaign. To get around no spell caster restriction I’d have a “Child if Melian” multiclass option that only the Elves and Dunedain can pick. Elves who are Children of Melian are Druids with a level cap at level 6 (i.e. only have access to three spell levels). Dunedain are Rangers with a level cap at level 8 (i.e. only access to level 1 and level 2 spells). Once they level cap they have to pick the in game option. The level cap keeps the low magic atmosphere of LOTR.
WASD20 I'm still a little confused on one thing. Could the different cultures of humans be played in a party with humans taken out of the 5e Player's Handbook?
Each human culture has distinct characteristics. Mechanically speaking one human culture is as different from another as gnomes and half orcs in 5e core rules. I might be exaggerating a bit there, but I don't think so. :)
WASD20 From my recollection of the book, it's been a while since I read it, most of the human cultures essentially formalise the "optional human variant" from the PHB through specifying what stat bonuses, skill and virtue (feat) the culture gets. Of course that doesn't include the role of standard of living into the equation.
Really wish Easterlings, Haradrim, Dunlendings, and Corsairs of Umbar were playable ancestries. They're not inherently evil like Orcs are, and it stands to reason that not all of them would support Sauron.
I have the players guide, loremaster guide, and the wilderland adventures and now the newest rhovanion region guides that are only in pdf currently, and they are excellent. The game is wonderful. I am curious to see what creatures or beast will continue to be included as it is significantly limited in specifics in the Tolkien middle earth universe. There are some quotes in the silmarillion that vaguely describe other demonic like creatures of the dark but no real description of what those are. So I'm taking that as an open invitation to put some variety from 5e that isn't necessarily specificily described in Tolkien works But I'd say that's the only thing some people may run into is the limited creatures u fight against and how much magic or high fantasy like play is involved in the game but it lets the DM decide
Had no idea this existed! Looks amazingly well done, even if you're not going to go for the full setting, you could take some ideas from there and include them into your regular 5e campaign, thanks for bringing this to our attention!
My cousin got this, had few sessions with it. This very fun to play, I play as the tenth nazgul, who is trying to break from Sauron's control, and to do that I have to find my true name. Non-canonacly that is how to die for real, although I'm to op I have to talk to my dm to nerf my character a bit
I am looking forward to playing and running this - I've always recoiled from D&D promoting a dozen bizarre Races ... last sessions I played other players took up a half-hour or more at the start of every session to compare and boast of their non-human characters wings, talons, tails, non-human eyes, demon-pacts, special powers, etc.
Hi Nate, I love your book reviews! And your channel in general. I don't have the time, or the friends interested enough to support a gaming group to play D&D, so I really enjoy watching all your videos (along with a little Critical Hit podcast) to satisfy the craving. I wish there was a 5E version of the 4E Adventurer's Vault books! Even though I don't really play, I still buy a few books here and there and those were awesome resources to nose through on occasion. Keep up all the great work! And thanks again. Jim
This is a great overview! And I totally agree with your concerns, one thing I'm struggling with is all the nuances of how shadow points work. How many points does it take to go mad? etc.
I love this book so far and already rolled up my Rider of Rohan Wanderer. Do you plan on reviewing the Lore Master's Guide? I was debating purchasing that as well but don't know too much about it.
It seems to me that, in a Middle Earth setting, hobbits ought to be the race that doesn't adjust their attributes, and everyone else ought to be adjusted in relation to them. In the books the hobbits are effectively the 'humans', and the Men--at least the ones who go adventuring--are super-human.
Used to play MERP back in the 80s/90s (and Rolemaster) and loved it but was conscious of the fact it allowed a lot more magic use than Tolkien narrated in the books. It was ok though, because it was sort of toned down, seemed more logical than D&D spells (also played a hell of a lot of BECMI and AD&D 1e) and the MERP/RM systems were great. Intrigued by this and looking forward to trying it (100% on my buy soon list) but also curious about how The One Ring RPG ties in with it - seems like the adventure and campaign books that go with these core books are also used for The One Ring to some extent? Anyone know if that's right? Has anyone played MERP, Adventures in Middle Earth AND The One Ring?! Would LOVE to hear your thoughts on all systems if you exist. Thanks for the review, Nate, found it really interesting.
As he notes, these books are all cribbed from The One Ring. The journey, fellowship etc., mechanics (which I don't really like at all) are adaptations from The One Ring. That game is more story/journey oriented than D&D or MERP. Personally I think they try way too hard to simulate the books. I don't need to replay LOTR or The Hobbit; I just want to game in Middle Earth. Scaling magic back is okay, but they could have kept magic, but just made it less flashy. The character classes in general are pretty weak. MERP is a bit more creative with things and by setting their game in the mid Third Age rather than at the end, they allow for more variation in scenarios without necessarily affecting the canon. MERP also has those awesome crit tables and also has the shadow mechanics. While it might deviate at times from the strict adherence to the unwritten rules of Middle Earth, I think MERP is more flexible and dynamic than AiME. But note that I'm not fond of 5e at all and I think this just adds more needless mechanics like embarkation phases. Any good DM can create interesting random encounters and meaningful journeys without predetermination via a very limited table.
MERP had cool sourcebooks and adventures, but i never liked the system.Lotrrpg wasn't all bad as a system but had not much depth in terms of background.Have never played TOR but only heard very positive reviews.Nor D&D for middle earth is just logical and i am happy it is out... would like to try it some day.
Predominance of male names has nothing to do with sexism. It's because Tolkien drew names for his characters from actual early medieval records, cleverly avoiding "cultural kitchen-sink" by pairing fictional culture with a historical one (Rohirrim use Anglo-Saxon names, people of Dale use Old Norse, people of Rhovanion use Gothic, etc.) Obviously, medieval chroniclers were much more eager to name dukes, kings and bishops than their wives and daughters. As a side note, said "cultural kitchen-sink" is often a major flaw of American fantasy, with authors cramming together names from all around the world without any rhyme or reason (and often badly - or humorously - garbled).
Strange, only Elves of Mirkwood? How about Elves of Rivendell or Lothlorien? Same with the Dwarves, just the Lonely Mountain, what about the Blue Mountains, the Iron Hills, or Khazad-dum? And no Wizard class?
It's important to understand that Adventures in Middle Earth actually doesn't incorporate ALL of Middle Earth. It covers a specific area (Wilderland) at a specific time, with very specific events occurring. It isn't a Middle Earth sandbox game. In terms of Wizards, this would be very hard to pull off at low levels. I believe in LoTR there are 5 Wizards in ALL of Middle Earth. They are nearly god-like beings. To have a party member be a wizard would be imbalanced and not representative of the people of Middle Earth or Wilderland.
From the look of the adventure books, region guides and campaign books that go with this, they are all set around the Rivendell to Rhovanion region, not taking in the Shire or Minas Tirith or the East etc. I assume they added enough info to cover Mirkwood and surrounds to get people started (there's a lot to cover in Mirkwood and surrounds) and added Elrond and co in the Rivendell region guide, etc.
Every book adds a little more to cultures as C7 continues to produce the line. There's even a Moria box comming out. But I admit that these books do lack as far as dungeons go... so I bought Tales from the Yawning portal to have some examples and ideas for some dungeons that would be under say, Dol Guldur or Carn-Dum.
Will you be doing a review of the Loremasters book any time soon? I hope so since it is a key supplement for running a Middle Earth game using 5e. If I was ever to run a Middle Earth game & use 5e (not likely since I sold my books), i'd use these books.
Well thanks. :) . I haven't read any of the Loremaster's guide yet, but it does look really cool at a glance. More setting info, npcs, monsters, some elaboration on how to handle journeys, magic, and the shadow and stuff like that.
Hi! I haven't played DnD since the 3.5 days or so, and that was a once off that I GM'd. My main games were MERP, Warhammer, and some others. My main issue with DnD is the lack of lethality, with pin-cushion high level characters (when they can't die by a basic arror). The solution I came up with then, many years ago, was to do something like the hits dealt equal the percentile chance for some serious critical. (I'm recalling, as it was a long time ago. I think a save roll was allowed or the damage was taken from the Con, leading to death. The aim was to create a MERP feel where even an arrow 'could' kill you, but likewise even a low level character might get very lucky against a beast.) Anyways, my query is, does 5e allow for lethality so that, as per Tolkien, Isildur (high level) was killed when an orc just short him with an arrow. With MERP, etc., that could be done. Or in general, any suggestions how to make 5e more lethal? I heard good things about it, but it all hinges for me on whether it can be dramatically lethal. Otherwise, I won't make the reading plunge to eventually get the Middle-Earth supplement. Thanks in advance!
D&D5 is very lethal to low level characters. I'm not so sure that Isildur is a high level guy. Besides, AiME changes rules of short- and long-rest, so even highlevel and very powerful PC's cannot easily heal their wounds, and they can be in serious danger if they allow themselves to be surprised in the wilderness. Besides, it is still Dungeons & Dragons and characters are meant to be powerful, but not as powerful as in corebook D&D5. You can forget about killing brave 10th level warrior with one arrow or one swing of orcish sword. He will prevail. Such character will show himself as a hero, persistent attacks by superior enemy numbers, ambushes or betrayals will eventually wear him down and kill him - but it is not a game where one hit equals one death (at least not on higher levels).
My best advice if you want to have a more lethal game is to run adventures in which the characters do not reach a very high level. I believe that the game encourages characters to eventually retire, and the adventure can continue with the children of the original adventurers. This way, they can be heroic and special while still risking the chance of death. And from what I have seen of the Loremaster's Guide, the monsters are not especially high in Challenge Rating; I want to say there are some that are around 6 or 7 (I haven't closely looked at them, as I just got them a few days ago, so I could be wrong). If you cap the adventurers at, say, 7th level or 9th level, the monsters listed in the LG can still be of a serious threat. My advice will only work, however, if you are playing with a group of players that do not get especially attached to their characters. It is very easy for players (myself included) to get a sentimental attachment to a character, if you get my drift.
Amazing book i saw it but i didn't realize it was for D&D. I need to check it even if i play ad&d 2nd edition. I prefer middle earth than forgotten realms. I ll try to set a campaign here. Time between Bilbo and Lord of the rings is the best period. Moria , Moria, Angmar & Arnor realms ruins can be explored and so other many places.
Pretty much. It’s missing some elements, but it’s pretty much a situation of, “ we know some of you are really into DND 5e, and won’t try our lord of the rings game, so we’ll make it easier for you by bringing our previous game into the game you like!”
I've read both the book of your video and the One Ring core rulebook. I'm pretty much a GM that is open to play in any system, so I'm only a little biased towards particular systems, but DnD is not among my favorite systems. So I had higher expectations for One Ring, since the system is built with only Middle-Earth GMing in mind. I gotta said it disappointed me. Surprisingly, the Adventures in MIddle Earth looks better to play, for several reasons. I've seen multiple adaptations of this scenario made for several gaming systems, several attempts being made since the 90's and this 5e one is the best one I've seen so far. I know this system is a money grabber but even still I recommend the other 5e books they made for this. There's the "Loremaster Guide" (which is a GM's guide + a bit more bestiary) and also one book for each of the major regions in Middle-Earth. These books are very crunchy with detailed maps, new regional monsters, other playable "races" (Cultures) not available in Player's guide, more "feats" (Virtues), cultural heirlooms, magical items, sanctuaries and regional rules and events to be used on the "Journey" part of the game.
I wants it.... I have the other middle earth book the campaign setting book. But I didn't know this one had come out yet... also did anyone else get the Mario campaign setting one?
Thanks for the great review! I never knew it existed and want to check it out. I am leary on it tho... No mage class will definitely be an obstacle with players. I know, I know, its true to the books, but unless you have big Tolkein fans as players.......
Weve been playing this for a few months now. Its very flat, perfect for LotR fans and big in Role Playing character depth. The add on virtues and things of favors at level are very descriptive and do extemely little for anythig interactive related to your character so it really doesnt matter. The Man folk are all very similar making it feel "thin" compared to just DnD. The journeys are a variation of what was touched on in Abyss module. The stripping away of magic again aids in flattening the depth of DnD offerings. If you build for combat but play to what the game aystem caters too in stats you will find these things at odds. Begging for combat as you suck at doing anything else in the system that caters to about 3-4 stats or skills of the same stats. If you like the realm, it is well done, but its for the fans. If you just want to play something DnD, DnD itself is way more diverse and caters to a variety of styles for all those DM types. AiME really narrows down the scope to either youll like it or youll abandon it and go someplace else entirely for a game.
Sure, but as I said in the review I think many of us get a little sick of the kitchen sink approach of D&D and appreciate a limiting of options and a narrower focus. To me it tends to give more of a sense of place and a really authentic feel than something like Forgotten Realms. There's certainly a place for both, but in terms of being an immersive place I can really buy into, forgotten realms and my own homebrew D&D worlds have never done it for me unless I narrow options and strip away some of the things in the D&D rules that don't seem to fit.
Hi, I’m starting a new D&D party where pretty much everyone (including me the DM) are newbies. Besides this book, what else do I need to successfully have an adventure that everyone can enjoy?
The problem is that 5E can't accomplish what the real intend of adventures in middle earth, that is, you are able to kill something much higher level that yours. The system was design to be able to cut a finger to Sauron, kill a dragon with an arrow and epic battles like that. 5E can't do this because is more hack slash simple system. No compatible
Hello i m a bit late but did you play this game? Did your player enjoy this low magic World ? I bought loremaster and player Book. I m long time player of Becmi AD&d2 and recently d&d5 wich is great. Greeting from France. Keep your good work
Somewhat unrelated.. I recently received the LotRR 5E bundle which includes core rules, but it does not include the base D&D rules. I have found the D&D Basic Rules online and will be reading through that. That said, outside of the base D&D 5E rules, are there any other manuals from D&D that I would need to read through and use? Thanks to anyone that can help!
I'm new to D&D and this may be a silly question but... How do I know what monsters to use in this world? I am assuming there is something special specifically for Lotr creatures?
I believe the companion book for the Game Master (the Loremaster's Guide) contains some Middle-earth specific monsters, as Nate mentions at the end of the video.
Catching up on some of your videos.....thanks for this Nate, great review! I have to say it makes me quite keen to play it. I wonder if the low-magic and culture-heavy approach could also be adapted to other (non-Tolkien) D&D 5th edition campaign settings (as you touch on in the review).
Yeah it seems a little odd when you say it that way, but remember that there are only a handful of people in the whole of middle earth who can purposefully use magic in any meaningful way. The wizards of the realm are practically gods, and to expect an adventurer to be able to do anything remotely close to that seems like a stretch.
This book is designed to be totally 5th edition compatible. You can incorporate things like journeys, audiences, the fellowship phase and even the Shadow and corruption into any RPG, really. You don't necessarily need to run a game in Middle Earth, if that's that you're asking.
That's what I'm asking, thanks. It's currently at my local game store. I have to pick up a couple of starter sets for gifts, so I'll have to give it a browse, thanks!
WASD20 ok thank you. I was thinking of making a character in middle earth to see how difficult it was and I was thinking “why waste paper if I can use a regular d&d sheet?” But ya thank you!
I recently bought both the Adventurer's book and the Loremaster's guide, and I would guess that the biggest issue with using regular D&D 5e sheets is that there are some skills that are unique to Middle-earth that are not in regular D&D. As WASD20 said, you could probably get away with it if you are in a pinch. But it wouldn't be ideal. Now, I haven't gotten in depth with the books yet so I could be wrong. But that's my impression so far.
“Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E” is now out. Published by FreeLeague. Over the past year they have published The One Ring RPG 2nd edition and their conversion of that original game to 5E. Essentially a 2nd edition of “Adventures in Middle-Earth”
“Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E” is now out. Published by FreeLeague. Over the past year they have published The One Ring RPG 2nd edition and their conversion of that original game to 5E. Essentially a 2nd edition of “Adventures in Middle-Earth”
Not the estate! Tolkien ENTERPRISES, those were the guys who did the sublicensing after they got the hobbit and Lotr film rights for bakshi and rankin bass and who took MERP away frommice and gave it to decipher. Estate had nothing to do with it
I was so disappointed with these books. I have been really excited to run a Silmarillion campaign but I'm relatively new to dnd, so I was really hoping this would have more for all the races/cultures and more of a magic set of rules since its relevant to elves but often kind of nebulous in the books. The people who wrote these books clearly know *something* about the Silmarillion, as they use many of the names from Silm as a reference, but they just kind of... didn't do anything with a huge part of the world. (Another very weird thing is they included a lot of names of female characters in Silm as male character names, which seems wildly unnecessary since there are way more men in these books than women to reference.) I wish they had done more to make this more open to a lot of different types of games in this world and left specifics like what age things are taking place to campaign books. Still going to be doing a ton of modding for this. 😔
@@jameshicks7254 Yes - my complaint was that I wish that the most widely published 5E Tolkein source book was more open to any world age of play rather than locked into a very restrictive one. I don't think it's particularly nuanced for the age it's in, for that matter, but okay.
I understand that, and I agree, it would be so sweet if this was useable for a Belariand campaign. I like the Silmarillion much more than the Lord of The Rings.
“Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E” is now out. Published by FreeLeague. Over the past year they have published The One Ring RPG 2nd edition and their conversion of that original game to 5E. Essentially a 2nd edition of “Adventures in Middle-Earth”
6:49 Maybe this is unfair, because in 2017 the world was a different one, but I have grown tired of hearing that everything is some kind of "ist" or "phobe". It's compulsive behaviour, you can come up with the most pc version of a Tolkienesque rpg and there are still people who can't help themselves. It's enough, thumb down for this comment.
Yeah remember a time when a creator could create what he wanted to create. People try to stand on the shoulders of legends and try to tell them what they should think or how to write their vision. Tolkien was a mastermind, a male, who write a story through his own eyes. Thank you Tolkien.
Just picked up a full set of these works today and it was a great review...until you jumped to "muh sexism" over what was objectively obvious... sheesh
This setting will at least allow me to stop pretending I didn't rip a bunch of my characters off from LotR
Haha! Sounds good. :)
It's SO good to see someone actually browsing through the pages so we can see the actual product. Thanks to this video I made up my mind and will buy it. Thanks for the review and the presentation. Now I need to decide if I'll order Adventures in Middle-earth Loremaster guide as well; so far I haven't found a video that browses through the pages of the book.
We have been playing Aime for a year, and love it. Really it does feel like its own unique game which is what I like. When I tell others I shy away from describing it as D&D since it really only feels like D&D during combat.
How many players and how do they handle no Mage type class?
I bought the complete set of books for Adventures in Middle-Earth in PDF form for 15 bucks from humble bundle
Great review, I’m considering DMing a LOTR campaign.
To get around no spell caster restriction I’d have a “Child if Melian” multiclass option that only the Elves and Dunedain can pick.
Elves who are Children of Melian are Druids with a level cap at level 6 (i.e. only have access to three spell levels).
Dunedain are Rangers with a level cap at level 8 (i.e. only access to level 1 and level 2 spells).
Once they level cap they have to pick the in game option. The level cap keeps the low magic atmosphere of LOTR.
I've been looking at this book and have been debating buying it. Thanks for the review!
Thanks for watching.
WASD20 I'm still a little confused on one thing. Could the different cultures of humans be played in a party with humans taken out of the 5e Player's Handbook?
Each human culture has distinct characteristics. Mechanically speaking one human culture is as different from another as gnomes and half orcs in 5e core rules. I might be exaggerating a bit there, but I don't think so. :)
WASD20 From my recollection of the book, it's been a while since I read it, most of the human cultures essentially formalise the "optional human variant" from the PHB through specifying what stat bonuses, skill and virtue (feat) the culture gets. Of course that doesn't include the role of standard of living into the equation.
That is correct, but in addition the stat bonuses vary for each culture and there are other cultural features specific to each.
My kind of game! No casters, low magic, yes!
Really wish Easterlings, Haradrim, Dunlendings, and Corsairs of Umbar were playable ancestries. They're not inherently evil like Orcs are, and it stands to reason that not all of them would support Sauron.
Humble bundle for the lot happening for another day, you've helped me make my decision
Knishook just bought that myself lol, can’t beat 15 bucks for the whole lot
Please never change the ending music theme. I already said that before xD
That's okay. Keep on reminding me. :)
I'm pretty sure by the time I'm watching this they stopped publishing this book
I have the players guide, loremaster guide, and the wilderland adventures and now the newest rhovanion region guides that are only in pdf currently, and they are excellent. The game is wonderful. I am curious to see what creatures or beast will continue to be included as it is significantly limited in specifics in the Tolkien middle earth universe. There are some quotes in the silmarillion that vaguely describe other demonic like creatures of the dark but no real description of what those are.
So I'm taking that as an open invitation to put some variety from 5e that isn't necessarily specificily described in Tolkien works
But I'd say that's the only thing some people may run into is the limited creatures u fight against and how much magic or high fantasy like play is involved in the game but it lets the DM decide
Thanks for the comment. I definitely think if a group was playing this game for a long campaign, more monsters would be good. T
Nate as always thanks so much for everything and your reviews.
My pleasure, Russell. Thanks for the comment!
Had no idea this existed! Looks amazingly well done, even if you're not going to go for the full setting, you could take some ideas from there and include them into your regular 5e campaign, thanks for bringing this to our attention!
For sure!
My cousin got this, had few sessions with it. This very fun to play, I play as the tenth nazgul, who is trying to break from Sauron's control, and to do that I have to find my true name. Non-canonacly that is how to die for real, although I'm to op I have to talk to my dm to nerf my character a bit
I am looking forward to playing and running this - I've always recoiled from D&D promoting a dozen bizarre Races ... last sessions I played other players took up a half-hour or more at the start of every session to compare and boast of their non-human characters wings, talons, tails, non-human eyes, demon-pacts, special powers, etc.
that bg music is so cheerful hehe
Hi Nate,
I love your book reviews! And your channel in general.
I don't have the time, or the friends interested enough to support a gaming group to play D&D, so I really enjoy watching all your videos (along with a little Critical Hit podcast) to satisfy the craving. I wish there was a 5E version of the 4E Adventurer's Vault books! Even though I don't really play, I still buy a few books here and there and those were awesome resources to nose through on occasion.
Keep up all the great work! And thanks again.
Jim
I prefer old school frp artwork.
This books art looks like screens of a video game.
We were playing D&D Middle Earth years ago. I’m really pleased it’s been made 5e compatible.
This is a great overview! And I totally agree with your concerns, one thing I'm struggling with is all the nuances of how shadow points work. How many points does it take to go mad? etc.
Do Loremasters Guide review! Please! :)
One of my favourite games: love that you reviewed this!
I love this book so far and already rolled up my Rider of Rohan Wanderer. Do you plan on reviewing the Lore Master's Guide? I was debating purchasing that as well but don't know too much about it.
I will eventually, for sure.
so far i watched the first 42 seconds. this guy gave me exactly the answer I was looking for. thanks mate. Im gunna keep watching though.
It seems to me that, in a Middle Earth setting, hobbits ought to be the race that doesn't adjust their attributes, and everyone else ought to be adjusted in relation to them. In the books the hobbits are effectively the 'humans', and the Men--at least the ones who go adventuring--are super-human.
Used to play MERP back in the 80s/90s (and Rolemaster) and loved it but was conscious of the fact it allowed a lot more magic use than Tolkien narrated in the books. It was ok though, because it was sort of toned down, seemed more logical than D&D spells (also played a hell of a lot of BECMI and AD&D 1e) and the MERP/RM systems were great. Intrigued by this and looking forward to trying it (100% on my buy soon list) but also curious about how The One Ring RPG ties in with it - seems like the adventure and campaign books that go with these core books are also used for The One Ring to some extent? Anyone know if that's right? Has anyone played MERP, Adventures in Middle Earth AND The One Ring?! Would LOVE to hear your thoughts on all systems if you exist. Thanks for the review, Nate, found it really interesting.
As he notes, these books are all cribbed from The One Ring. The journey, fellowship etc., mechanics (which I don't really like at all) are adaptations from The One Ring. That game is more story/journey oriented than D&D or MERP. Personally I think they try way too hard to simulate the books. I don't need to replay LOTR or The Hobbit; I just want to game in Middle Earth. Scaling magic back is okay, but they could have kept magic, but just made it less flashy. The character classes in general are pretty weak. MERP is a bit more creative with things and by setting their game in the mid Third Age rather than at the end, they allow for more variation in scenarios without necessarily affecting the canon. MERP also has those awesome crit tables and also has the shadow mechanics. While it might deviate at times from the strict adherence to the unwritten rules of Middle Earth, I think MERP is more flexible and dynamic than AiME. But note that I'm not fond of 5e at all and I think this just adds more needless mechanics like embarkation phases. Any good DM can create interesting random encounters and meaningful journeys without predetermination via a very limited table.
MERP had cool sourcebooks and adventures, but i never liked the system.Lotrrpg wasn't all bad as a system but had not much depth in terms of background.Have never played TOR but only heard very positive reviews.Nor D&D for middle earth is just logical and i am happy it is out... would like to try it some day.
It'll be interesting to see what Free League does with it now that they have the license.
Agreed. I backed. I’m a big free league fan.
Predominance of male names has nothing to do with sexism. It's because Tolkien drew names for his characters from actual early medieval records, cleverly avoiding "cultural kitchen-sink" by pairing fictional culture with a historical one (Rohirrim use Anglo-Saxon names, people of Dale use Old Norse, people of Rhovanion use Gothic, etc.) Obviously, medieval chroniclers were much more eager to name dukes, kings and bishops than their wives and daughters.
As a side note, said "cultural kitchen-sink" is often a major flaw of American fantasy, with authors cramming together names from all around the world without any rhyme or reason (and often badly - or humorously - garbled).
No Lothlorien elves? (I think there's a difference...yeah?)
Strange, only Elves of Mirkwood? How about Elves of Rivendell or Lothlorien? Same with the Dwarves, just the Lonely Mountain, what about the Blue Mountains, the Iron Hills, or Khazad-dum? And no Wizard class?
It's important to understand that Adventures in Middle Earth actually doesn't incorporate ALL of Middle Earth. It covers a specific area (Wilderland) at a specific time, with very specific events occurring. It isn't a Middle Earth sandbox game.
In terms of Wizards, this would be very hard to pull off at low levels. I believe in LoTR there are 5 Wizards in ALL of Middle Earth. They are nearly god-like beings. To have a party member be a wizard would be imbalanced and not representative of the people of Middle Earth or Wilderland.
From the look of the adventure books, region guides and campaign books that go with this, they are all set around the Rivendell to Rhovanion region, not taking in the Shire or Minas Tirith or the East etc. I assume they added enough info to cover Mirkwood and surrounds to get people started (there's a lot to cover in Mirkwood and surrounds) and added Elrond and co in the Rivendell region guide, etc.
Every book adds a little more to cultures as C7 continues to produce the line. There's even a Moria box comming out. But I admit that these books do lack as far as dungeons go... so I bought Tales from the Yawning portal to have some examples and ideas for some dungeons that would be under say, Dol Guldur or Carn-Dum.
Caster classes can work in ME if you balance them correctly.
Will you be doing a review of the Loremasters book any time soon? I hope so since it is a key supplement for running a Middle Earth game using 5e. If I was ever to run a Middle Earth game & use 5e (not likely since I sold my books), i'd use these books.
Soon? Probably not. Took me three months of reading on and off to get through this one. :) I read RPG books very slowly.
I wasn't sure if you had read both in prep as you were previewing on. I'll be looking forward to it when you get around to it. I like your reviews.
Well thanks. :) . I haven't read any of the Loremaster's guide yet, but it does look really cool at a glance. More setting info, npcs, monsters, some elaboration on how to handle journeys, magic, and the shadow and stuff like that.
Hi!
I haven't played DnD since the 3.5 days or so, and that was a once off that I GM'd. My main games were MERP, Warhammer, and some others. My main issue with DnD is the lack of lethality, with pin-cushion high level characters (when they can't die by a basic arror). The solution I came up with then, many years ago, was to do something like the hits dealt equal the percentile chance for some serious critical. (I'm recalling, as it was a long time ago. I think a save roll was allowed or the damage was taken from the Con, leading to death. The aim was to create a MERP feel where even an arrow 'could' kill you, but likewise even a low level character might get very lucky against a beast.)
Anyways, my query is, does 5e allow for lethality so that, as per Tolkien, Isildur (high level) was killed when an orc just short him with an arrow. With MERP, etc., that could be done.
Or in general, any suggestions how to make 5e more lethal? I heard good things about it, but it all hinges for me on whether it can be dramatically lethal. Otherwise, I won't make the reading plunge to eventually get the Middle-Earth supplement.
Thanks in advance!
D&D5 is very lethal to low level characters. I'm not so sure that Isildur is a high level guy. Besides, AiME changes rules of short- and long-rest, so even highlevel and very powerful PC's cannot easily heal their wounds, and they can be in serious danger if they allow themselves to be surprised in the wilderness.
Besides, it is still Dungeons & Dragons and characters are meant to be powerful, but not as powerful as in corebook D&D5. You can forget about killing brave 10th level warrior with one arrow or one swing of orcish sword. He will prevail. Such character will show himself as a hero, persistent attacks by superior enemy numbers, ambushes or betrayals will eventually wear him down and kill him - but it is not a game where one hit equals one death (at least not on higher levels).
My best advice if you want to have a more lethal game is to run adventures in which the characters do not reach a very high level. I believe that the game encourages characters to eventually retire, and the adventure can continue with the children of the original adventurers. This way, they can be heroic and special while still risking the chance of death.
And from what I have seen of the Loremaster's Guide, the monsters are not especially high in Challenge Rating; I want to say there are some that are around 6 or 7 (I haven't closely looked at them, as I just got them a few days ago, so I could be wrong). If you cap the adventurers at, say, 7th level or 9th level, the monsters listed in the LG can still be of a serious threat.
My advice will only work, however, if you are playing with a group of players that do not get especially attached to their characters. It is very easy for players (myself included) to get a sentimental attachment to a character, if you get my drift.
Give it a shot
the book on amazon is now 100+ dollars
Yikes! That’s crazy.
Amazing book i saw it but i didn't realize it was for D&D. I need to check it even if i play ad&d 2nd edition. I prefer middle earth than forgotten realms. I ll try to set a campaign here. Time between Bilbo and Lord of the rings is the best period. Moria , Moria, Angmar & Arnor realms ruins can be explored and so other many places.
Is it just me or does this conversion bascially emulate The One Ring?
Pretty much. It’s missing some elements, but it’s pretty much a situation of, “ we know some of you are really into DND 5e, and won’t try our lord of the rings game, so we’ll make it easier for you by bringing our previous game into the game you like!”
I've read both the book of your video and the One Ring core rulebook. I'm pretty much a GM that is open to play in any system, so I'm only a little biased towards particular systems, but DnD is not among my favorite systems.
So I had higher expectations for One Ring, since the system is built with only Middle-Earth GMing in mind. I gotta said it disappointed me. Surprisingly, the Adventures in MIddle Earth looks better to play, for several reasons. I've seen multiple adaptations of this scenario made for several gaming systems, several attempts being made since the 90's and this 5e one is the best one I've seen so far.
I know this system is a money grabber but even still I recommend the other 5e books they made for this. There's the "Loremaster Guide" (which is a GM's guide + a bit more bestiary) and also one book for each of the major regions in Middle-Earth. These books are very crunchy with detailed maps, new regional monsters, other playable "races" (Cultures) not available in Player's guide, more "feats" (Virtues), cultural heirlooms, magical items, sanctuaries and regional rules and events to be used on the "Journey" part of the game.
Does Cubicle 7 also publish adventure modules for the Middle Earth setting?
I've seen one before but I can't remember if it has actually been released yet.
I wants it.... I have the other middle earth book the campaign setting book. But I didn't know this one had come out yet... also did anyone else get the Mario campaign setting one?
This one actually came out before the Loremaster's Guide.
I love Lord of the Rings but hate 5th edition.
Then you might look into the One Ring RPG. All the Lord of the Rings goodness, none of the 5th edition.
WASD20 Is it like D20?
@@pappabear4977 I don't think so, but I honestly don't know.
@@pappabear4977 This video looks decent: ruclips.net/video/4XLEZIrqMeQ/видео.html
WASD20 It’s a strange d6 system
Personal timestamp
Dwarves 5:55
Thanks for the great review! I never knew it existed and want to check it out. I am leary on it tho... No mage class will definitely be an obstacle with players. I know, I know, its true to the books, but unless you have big Tolkein fans as players.......
Yeah, if your players want D&D . . .
Anyway, it's a great book for sure. :)
Weve been playing this for a few months now. Its very flat, perfect for LotR fans and big in Role Playing character depth. The add on virtues and things of favors at level are very descriptive and do extemely little for anythig interactive related to your character so it really doesnt matter. The Man folk are all very similar making it feel "thin" compared to just DnD. The journeys are a variation of what was touched on in Abyss module. The stripping away of magic again aids in flattening the depth of DnD offerings. If you build for combat but play to what the game aystem caters too in stats you will find these things at odds. Begging for combat as you suck at doing anything else in the system that caters to about 3-4 stats or skills of the same stats.
If you like the realm, it is well done, but its for the fans. If you just want to play something DnD, DnD itself is way more diverse and caters to a variety of styles for all those DM types. AiME really narrows down the scope to either youll like it or youll abandon it and go someplace else entirely for a game.
Sure, but as I said in the review I think many of us get a little sick of the kitchen sink approach of D&D and appreciate a limiting of options and a narrower focus. To me it tends to give more of a sense of place and a really authentic feel than something like Forgotten Realms. There's certainly a place for both, but in terms of being an immersive place I can really buy into, forgotten realms and my own homebrew D&D worlds have never done it for me unless I narrow options and strip away some of the things in the D&D rules that don't seem to fit.
This is the main reason I moved our group to Aime. Farun was just too generic with too little depth for my taste.
Hi, I’m starting a new D&D party where pretty much everyone (including me the DM) are newbies. Besides this book, what else do I need to successfully have an adventure that everyone can enjoy?
Patience on both ends for learning and just have fun
Hi, What's happened? :D
Great review, thanks.
The problem is that 5E can't accomplish what the real intend of adventures in middle earth, that is, you are able to kill something much higher level that yours. The system was design to be able to cut a finger to Sauron, kill a dragon with an arrow and epic battles like that. 5E can't do this because is more hack slash simple system. No compatible
Yeah, that’s a very fair critique.
Hello i m a bit late but did you play this game? Did your player enjoy this low magic World ? I bought loremaster and player Book. I m long time player of Becmi AD&d2 and recently d&d5 wich is great. Greeting from France. Keep your good work
My brother started with that then went to pathfinder I played it with him then went to D&D 5e
Hi fella will you be doing character creation videos love the channel
Somewhat unrelated.. I recently received the LotRR 5E bundle which includes core rules, but it does not include the base D&D rules. I have found the D&D Basic Rules online and will be reading through that. That said, outside of the base D&D 5E rules, are there any other manuals from D&D that I would need to read through and use?
Thanks to anyone that can help!
Don't go the way of The Smeagel!
Does anyone have a link to the ending music? I know the song, but can't find the exact version of it on YT.
I'm new to D&D and this may be a silly question but... How do I know what monsters to use in this world? I am assuming there is something special specifically for Lotr creatures?
I believe the companion book for the Game Master (the Loremaster's Guide) contains some Middle-earth specific monsters, as Nate mentions at the end of the video.
Yep. Very true. You could also make do with Monster Manual baddies if needed.
Catching up on some of your videos.....thanks for this Nate, great review! I have to say it makes me quite keen to play it. I wonder if the low-magic and culture-heavy approach could also be adapted to other (non-Tolkien) D&D 5th edition campaign settings (as you touch on in the review).
I think it definitely could, though I haven't tried it yet.
These guys should do Ravenloft this is very Ravenloft like along with being Middle Earth like.
What were the other book options you had on the voting board?
No thank you Evil By Monte Cook, Hero Kids, Numenera Core book. I think. :)
Could you just use the classes in an otherwise not LOTR but still low magic setting?
Absolutely. I do mention that in the review.
I need the entire collection. Anyone know where I can get that?
I’m not sure if they still have it, but I heard Humble Bundle may be the place to look.
The trove
@@melfacidarrow3363 Can confirm. Recently found the entire collection (as well as the original The One Ring) on The Trove.
No casting classes, yet we see Gandalf front/center in the cover... Beautiful book!
Yeah it seems a little odd when you say it that way, but remember that there are only a handful of people in the whole of middle earth who can purposefully use magic in any meaningful way. The wizards of the realm are practically gods, and to expect an adventurer to be able to do anything remotely close to that seems like a stretch.
WASD20
Excellent point sir!
How compatible is it to possible incorporate into a standard 5th ed. Game?
This book is designed to be totally 5th edition compatible. You can incorporate things like journeys, audiences, the fellowship phase and even the Shadow and corruption into any RPG, really. You don't necessarily need to run a game in Middle Earth, if that's that you're asking.
That's what I'm asking, thanks. It's currently at my local game store. I have to pick up a couple of starter sets for gifts, so I'll have to give it a browse, thanks!
I just got into playing 5e and any tips for new players?
Recruit friends, family, have fun, and don't split the party. ;)
Smaug, not Smog.
Can’t you just use the 5e character sheet? Or are there differences?
You could in a pinch, but there are enough differences that I don’t know why you would if you have free access to this one.
WASD20 ok thank you. I was thinking of making a character in middle earth to see how difficult it was and I was thinking “why waste paper if I can use a regular d&d sheet?” But ya thank you!
I recently bought both the Adventurer's book and the Loremaster's guide, and I would guess that the biggest issue with using regular D&D 5e sheets is that there are some skills that are unique to Middle-earth that are not in regular D&D. As WASD20 said, you could probably get away with it if you are in a pinch. But it wouldn't be ideal.
Now, I haven't gotten in depth with the books yet so I could be wrong. But that's my impression so far.
why is it $300 now?
It’s out of print!
@@WASD20 thank you
“Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E” is now out. Published by FreeLeague. Over the past year they have published The One Ring RPG 2nd edition and their conversion of that original game to 5E. Essentially a 2nd edition of “Adventures in Middle-Earth”
so do you need the dnd rulebooks to play this?
Pretty much, though you could probably get by with just the basic rules PDF. dnd.wizards.com/articles/features/basicrules
@@WASD20 ok thank a lot I appreciate it
well this is neat but it's $200 now bc discontinued lol
“Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E” is now out. Published by FreeLeague. Over the past year they have published The One Ring RPG 2nd edition and their conversion of that original game to 5E. Essentially a 2nd edition of “Adventures in Middle-Earth”
After all the crap Gary Gygax and TSR got years ago from the Tolkien estate, this comes out? WOW. Times sure have changed.
Not the estate! Tolkien ENTERPRISES, those were the guys who did the sublicensing after they got the hobbit and Lotr film rights for bakshi and rankin bass and who took MERP away frommice and gave it to decipher. Estate had nothing to do with it
7:00 dude chill out, it's just names. Males were far more common adventurers anyways. It certainly doesn't prohibit you in any way.
I’m chill. How are you?
WASD20 right on that’s good man, it just seemed like you got super upset for a moment in the video
I was so disappointed with these books. I have been really excited to run a Silmarillion campaign but I'm relatively new to dnd, so I was really hoping this would have more for all the races/cultures and more of a magic set of rules since its relevant to elves but often kind of nebulous in the books.
The people who wrote these books clearly know *something* about the Silmarillion, as they use many of the names from Silm as a reference, but they just kind of... didn't do anything with a huge part of the world. (Another very weird thing is they included a lot of names of female characters in Silm as male character names, which seems wildly unnecessary since there are way more men in these books than women to reference.)
I wish they had done more to make this more open to a lot of different types of games in this world and left specifics like what age things are taking place to campaign books. Still going to be doing a ton of modding for this. 😔
5 people would buy that book, they have to be realistic.
It’s based in the wilderland in the third age, not in belariand in the first age. You’re buying the wrong book if you want a Silmarillion source book.
@@jameshicks7254 Yes - my complaint was that I wish that the most widely published 5E Tolkein source book was more open to any world age of play rather than locked into a very restrictive one. I don't think it's particularly nuanced for the age it's in, for that matter, but okay.
I understand that, and I agree, it would be so sweet if this was useable for a Belariand campaign. I like the Silmarillion much more than the Lord of The Rings.
No playable Orcs? Awww...
Haha. That could be a fun one shot. Would be pretty easy to figure out stat-wise, using a guide like this. www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Orc_(5e_Race)
... my advice is to never EVER use dandwiki.com ... it has some OP bullshit that is much more powerfull than all other races in d&d 5e
You could play evil characters in MERP, especially the gorgoroth sourcebook.pretty cool.
214$ on Amazon crazy
“Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E” is now out. Published by FreeLeague. Over the past year they have published The One Ring RPG 2nd edition and their conversion of that original game to 5E. Essentially a 2nd edition of “Adventures in Middle-Earth”
"that's really kinda sexist"
ok beta
And proud
6:49 Maybe this is unfair, because in 2017 the world was a different one, but I have grown tired of hearing that everything is some kind of "ist" or "phobe".
It's compulsive behaviour, you can come up with the most pc version of a Tolkienesque rpg and there are still people who can't help themselves. It's enough, thumb down for this comment.
Yeah remember a time when a creator could create what he wanted to create. People try to stand on the shoulders of legends and try to tell them what they should think or how to write their vision. Tolkien was a mastermind, a male, who write a story through his own eyes. Thank you Tolkien.
I sold mine, couldn't get anyone to play for the lack of mage classes.
This is my fear too.
Would've been a good review until you said it was "sexist"
The small pathetic map alone would prevent me from buying this product. WTF! No Mordor? No Shire? Pathetic.
Helgamond Ratbone i agree but middle earth maps are pretty easy to find
Just picked up a full set of these works today and it was a great review...until you jumped to "muh sexism" over what was objectively obvious... sheesh