The One Ring RPG - a review

The One Ring Roleplaying Game, from Cubicle 7, the latest game that aims to create a roleplaying experience specifically for Tolkien's Middle-earth, is a fine game: well-designed, beautifully produced, closely and thoughtfully integrated with the background material. It is also one of the most restricted and procedural games in the Tinkerage collection.

Character creation, for instance, shows a lot of thought. Characters are deeply rooted in their cultural background, and character traits are evocative and interesting. But creating a character is largely a question of choosing options from a list, and although the cultures of Wilderland (Woodsmen, Beornings, Bardings, forest elves and dwarves) are represented, there's no option to play, say, a roaming Gondorian knight or a Rohirrim tinker – although in honour of The Hobbit, halflings are perfectly plausible player-characters. Now, other cultures are slowly being added as new sourcebooks are produced, but this restriction of the scope of character creation in the core rules to the types of the area represents the game's aims: narrow focus with exceptional depths, leading to guided play.

The core mechanic is elegant and nicely evocative, combining a single linear roll for effort on a d12 (with a "Sauron" face for automatic failure and a "Gandalf" face for automatic success) with a pool of d6s for skill and extra levels of success. These dice are rolled against a simple target number (with a nice fatigue mechanism to boot, meaning only the upper digits of skill dice are counted if the character is weary). But with this simple mechanic, there are procedures for almost every aspect of play. There are procedures for encounters with potential patrons and allies, based on a "tolerance" rating and multiple rolls. There are detailed procedures for travelling – one of the strengths of the game is this journeying system. And the abstract combat system requires a multistage approach from surprise to initiative to combat advantage and positioning. All this means that new loremasters will, unless very familiar with the rulebook, find themselves skipping or forgetting many of the stages of play. Speaking of which, there are even procedures for abstracting adventuring play (the adventure phase) from experience and character development (the fellowship phase).

If this weren't enough, there are points for everything. Attributes aren't just standing values, you need to spend a point of Hope to add an attribute score to a roll, unless it's going to a favoured skill, in which case you add the attribute's favoured value. Along with Hope, you spend Endurance; just keep it above Fatigue, or you become Weary (and keep Hope above your Shadow, or you end up Miserable). For encounters, you get Valour and Wisdom, and there are also your Fellowship points, and your Standing, which you keep up by spending Treasure points, and so on. To be fair, all RPGs have their lists of tallies and expendable hit points and fatigue points and so on, but play in The One Ring feels like a great big character points economy with a lot of interdependent values always in flux.

All of this helps to encourage deep, considered play with a detectable Tolkien theme, as characters are pitted not just against external dangers and weariness but the influence of the Shadow and personal corruption as well, but there is a fine line between rules that encourage a particular style of engagement and rules that force a  structure onto player choice, and the shadow of TOR's game design is this sort of prescriptive approach to play itself. Overall, TOR does a fine job of evoking and instilling a sense of Middle-earth and Tolkien themed roleplaying, but one can't help but think that a lighter hand on rules and sub-systems and more evocative and entertaining setting detail could have made this game into a true classic.

[This review is based on a reading of the core rulebook in PDF format, and is not a report on actual play.]

Roll and Read: a method for solo RPG play

Solo RPGs can be an interesting diversion, entertaining when the regular game group isn't around. And like playing chess with oneself, they can also be a way to test skills and scenarios. But managing complex rules and a full cast of characters can be too demanding when you're running it all by yourself, which is why many solo rpgs tend to abbreviated or minimal rules.

This isn't a post about seeding scenarios or figuring out a way to generate and resolve decision points. This is just a simple method for running a scenario and managing characters with minimal book-keeping and maximum speed.

Characters

Since the solo player generates and runs all characters, some are run as protagonists (as traditional player-characters), and the rest are encounters (as helpers, hinderers, enemies, and otherwise).
Protagonists should get a description. This can be detailed, a character sheet from another game, or just a brief tag (wily wizard, hardened ranger, calculating vac-trooper). Most other characters get a tag only, unless details are required.
If the description is brief, there's more room to explore who and what the character is. If the description is detailed, there may be more options, but the character is more defined before play.
All character have one rating, an abstract measure of their Resources [Res x]. Resources are an abstract representation of their Stamina or Hit Points or Hit Dice or Wounds or Luck, or whatever in-game credit is expended until the character is exhausted.
Protagonists might start with at least 2 or 3 Res, more if they have higher 'levels'.
Encounters can have individual Res, or group Res to represent a mass challenge. The Res in any scenario should roughly balance.

For example, the solo gamer might plan a scenario with:
A tough ranger [Res 3]
A clever hedge wizard [Res 3]
A nimble halfling [Res 3]
against a
Wolf Pack [Res 6]
Dire Wolf [Res 2]

Running the scene

This method is based on running notes.
Head up a note with the scene title: "Menacing Wolves," "Crossing the Swamp," and so on.
There is no initiative as such; just begin with the move that makes sense and move on to the next in order.
Each active character gets a 'line' each round, until everyone has taken a turn. The line is a brief tag or note of an action. Against any line, you can also note the counter-action, outcome or response.

For example:
The scene is "Menace of Wolves"
The first line is "Light the fire – wood's too wet!" (our halfling's first attempt to light a fire is a roll of 2, incomplete)
Then, "Spear throw – glancing hit" (the ranger's attack is a roll of 3, marginal)
And so on...

These lines are used to track turns and order actions, and estimate position if the player chooses not to use a battle board and miniatures.

Roll and read

In place of the usual rules and balancing of modifiers and multiple dice rolls, the player rolls once for each action and interprets the result.

Gauge what the character will most likely achieve, given their abilities and tactics.

For example, an armed ranger will most likely drive-off or even kill a ragged wolf, whereas a scrawny hedge wizard is likely to only keep the creature at bay, and at best wound it (but with magic, on the other hand…).

Then roll and read. The traditional pips on the dice hint at the result.

⚀ 1  Blocked, a failure or mishap
⚁ 2 Incomplete, a problem, breakage, or partially accomplished
⚂ 3 On the line, marginal, doubtful, or achieved at some cost
⚃ 4 Square, as expected, unremarkable
⚄ 5 Solid, a strong achievement, with some advantage which may be exploited
⚅ 6 Exceptional, full resolution, with a significant advantage

Resolve each action according to the roll and the likeliest result.

There are two other options:

• If the character seems massively advantaged by skill or circumstances, then roll two dice and read the highest.
• If the roll seems like sheer bad luck or the result would run against all reasonable expectations for the character, then spend a point of Res to reroll (representing the character's effort and resolve). If this roll is a 6, then the Res point is not lost.

Combat

In combat and other conflict, where the roll is low enough that the acting character is read as being hurt or wounded, deduct a point of Res. When the last point of Res is lost, the character is out of play for the rest of the scene. The player can then decide whether the character continues on play or is discarded.

A micro-review

A system for Tony Dowler's perfectly compressed micro-dungeon maps?

Try the ultra-concise Deeds & Doers.

Only players roll – 'to do' – when there is a significant risk.

The DM applies injuries and conditions with judgement, not hit points.

A game you can hold in your head.

Fantasy dungeons, sword and sorcery, all by suggestion. Pick your source; then where, who, why.

Here's a D20 adventure game

Basics and characters

Write down your character name and then a description. Make it concise or detailed. Include some skills or a calling/profession.
Roll 2d6 and add six. These are you Health Points, or HP. Write them in near the top. Hits wear them down. When you have no more HP, you cannot take a hit without serious consequences.

Rolls

Further down, you have three rolls: Fighting, Skill, and Magic. These have a base value of 6+.

For a random character, roll three d6 and assign each die to a roll.

For a bespoke character, distribute 11 points between the rolls, giving at least one point to each roll.

Now sort out what gear you have with your GM.

What would you use those rolls for?

Use that fighting roll in combat, to see if you hit something, or if you can avoid being hit. This also applies to physical challenges.

Use that skill roll to sneak, tamper, fiddle, search, and do anything associated with your craft.

Use that magic roll to cast magic, if that's in your power, resist magic if it comes to that, and otherwise recall fine points of lore.

Running adventures

In most cases, when characters are tested or challenged, choose an appropriate roll. If the character makes the roll, equalling or exceeding their number on a d20, they are successful.
Apply modifiers that fit the situation. Add points to the roll number to increase the difficulty, or deduct points to lower difficulty. A range from +5 to -5 should represent most conditions.

Experience

The system is intended for quick pick-up-and-play gaming, simply adapting any module or adventure or idea the GM has at hand. Hence, characters can begin with any adventure and level of expertise the GM requires.

However, if the game runs into campaign play, you can begin with an experience level of 0: adventurer. This can go up to 5: hero. The difference between a character's level and the challenge of a monster or task can be used as a modifier.

Running combat

Assume that a character's fighting roll represents the sum effect of their skill, weaponry, and armour matched against a middling foe.
Order of attacks and defence in each round of action depends on the tactical situation, so that's for the GM to decide, though generally the characters with better fighting rolls get to go first.
In each round, characters get a chance to attack and hit using their fighting roll.
The GM will decide if the foes they face have a "chance to hit" (a roll based on fighting) or simply hit automatically, as some powerful creatures will.
If a character is hit, then they can use their fighting roll as a save to try and block, parry, or dodge the impact, if their fighting style and the situation allows.

At the end of the round, deal damage to anyone who has been hit:

Light weapons: d4 (knives, staffs)
Skirmishing weapons: d6 (axes, daggers, darts)
War weapons: d8 (swords, arrows, spears)
Heavy weapons: d10 (great sword, pike)
Magical or terrible weapons: d12 (dragon claws, wraith-sword)

If a character has armour that is proof against a particular attack, then the GM can account for this by temporarily dropping the damage category (so a sword (d8) striking mail might do lighter (d6) damage).

Magic

Magic is tricky, so take your time over it. Magic effects each world differently. As a GM, you can't allow magic that would shortcut play, but magicians should be able to use their magic as effectively as other characters. 

Perhaps there's a price for gaining access to magic, such as a permanent reduction in HP or other rolls.

When you have worked out how magic works, assume that characters can effectively cast a handful of basic spells they know using a magic roll. Spells of greater power, or outside of the magician's ken, are progressively more difficult to cast.

Magic should be risky. If a roll fails disastrously, then inflict an interesting twist, side-effect, or even damage on the hapless caster.

Perilous creatures

Arihmere, as has been mentioned, is known for its haphazard and unlikely collection of perilous beasts. Here are a few, presented for use with Sword/Play.

Grimelocks

Could be mistaken for men in the distance, for they go on two legs. But their backs are broad and shaggy and their arms are longer, and they have only four digits on each hand. Their faces are like those of goats or sheep, though they have no horns. Grimelocks are silent; no one knows if they speak, or make their thoughts known only by grunts and howls. They are not needlessly cruel or given to mischief, but rather heedless and touchy, and they will slay any being they find within their territories. They weep during battles.
They have no true smith-craft, but arm themselves with spears and axes beaten out of stolen blades.

SKILLS: Tireless, Silent, Hunter
STAMINA: 10

Naggs

Naggs fly out of darkness, from caves or deep clefts in the ground. They have leathery wings, stretching as far as the arm-span of a man, but their beaks are long and blade-sharp. They attack by diving and are very swift, but cannot fly if wounded. They hunt for blood and sport, like wolves, and are most dangerous in packs where they will harass and slash before stooping to the kill.

SKILLS: Fly, Slash
STAMINA: 5

Trillits

Diminutive vermin, little taller than a man's knee. They scamper about in wastelands, preferring fens and marshes, where they hunt and scavenge. Oftentimes, they will attach the glowing seed pods of a knafer tree to a branch, creating a tiny, greenish light that they parade to lure the curious and unwary into sinkholes and other crude traps. They are cowardly, quick, dangerous only to those they trap when they mob their prey in large numbers, armed with sticks and sharpened stones. A trillit hole can often contain unregarded treasures as well as the leavings of their victims.

SKILLS: Sneak, Hide, Quick
STAMINA: 3

Taemsprits

Ancient, vile predatory spirits, that lurk in old tombs and bury-grounds. Having no bodies of their own, they dress themselves in grave-shirts, dust and bone, creating a vague mockery of the forms of the dead with cold blue eyes. Blades cannot wound them, unless spell-bound or forged of deep-steel. Their touch burns like ice. They cannot travel in daylight, and the wind and sun will destroy them.

SKILLS: Lurk, Terrify, Freeze
STAMINA: 20

Ourgarths

Ungainly, at least half again as tall as any man, with bulbous heads and features, and bones that are often uneven or ill-shaped. Ungainly and awkward in movement, they are easy to strike, but their thick hides and dense bones make them difficult to wound, and their great strength and terrible two-handed swords are to be feared. Surly and solitary by nature, they are unusually deft metal-smiths. They forge treasures and weapons of great worth, which they guard ferociously.

SKILLS: Smith, Greatsword, Massive strength
STAMINA: 18

Beyond Arihmere

Although the old realm of Arihmere is unfortunate enough to contain more than its share of dangers, there are many notable realms beyond its borders.

South: The Sundering Wars

Cordaigne, once known as the Captured Kingdom, was held entire by the Theran Empire, but the empire is now divided, and both successor states, east and south,  claim a patchwork of provinces and cities within its borders. As though the separation were not chaotic enough, the brawling Andaran Princess and the nominal King of Arihmere intervene in the simmering conflict, siding with one side and the other, warring and aligning, claiming and ceding territory, every year.

North: The Fell Lords

A hundred years ago, or more (for historians argue the dates as much as they doubt the events) it is said that Haladrin the Good was the only king ever to unite Arihmere under the one banner. Naturally, he was murdered by an ambition noble, Streigil, the Lord of Vosse and Cabel. Streigil did not rule alone, for he had nine (or eleven, or twenty three) dark lords at his side to impose his terror, and a witch-wife besides. Naturally, there was a revolt, and Streigil was struck down in battle (some say, slain). But his lords would not accept defeat, and turned to sorcery and infernal pacts, and three years later the Lord of Vosse and Cabel (or his revenant) returned to the throne with his wife as Queen and First Minister.

Whatever the truth of it, the Lady Streigil was finally undone by blade and magic, and her Fell Lords retreated far into the north. Most likely they perished among the fens and mountains, but in the north they say that the Fell Lords still rule among the black forests and dead lands where the pastures wither, planning their return, when they will recover the master and his lady from the deep, secret barrow where they were interred.

The Copper Road

The Wolve's Lane is but the end of a long road, winding from the far, forgotten south-east, from mountains, steppes, deserts and rivers and boundless forest, from sprawling kingdoms, empires, satrapies, protectorates, khanates and republics. Through all of this runs The Copper Road, named for the earliest coins that travelled between its markets, before even steel was forged.

The Arrant Sea

The Arrant Sea is wild, cold and clear. Most ships follow the shore, but there are uncounted islands and strange landings out there. For three hundred years, the Reaver Thegns have come from over the horizon, raiding or seeking kingdoms to steal, and every once in a while, the great armoured backs of the Heviathands, bristling with walls and turrets, heave into view from the shore.

On the realm of Arihmere

Arihmere is a varied country, and its terrain includes wild coastlines, valleys and moors, and rugged mountains. There are many manors and villages, watch-towers and castles, and a handful of villainous cities and deep ports.

The peoples of Arihmere, townsman and peasant alike, have long settled within stout walls and hedges. Under the manorial system, most commoners are protected by the arms of a nobleman and his knights. But the realm is divided, tugged in many directions. In the south, the impetuous King Martyn spends the campaign season mired on the Sundering Wars, draining his treasury while he clings to the ancient title of king in the city of Warrensworth. At odds with him, but scattered along the north marches, the great houses bicker over precedence and territory, in the shadow of the Withered Lands.

In truth, Arihmere, like most of the Harrowmarch, has never been under a single law, but a subject of incomplete rule, from the ramshackle empires of the Erduath and Kees, to the clannish realms of the Ellfolk, to the Reaver Thegns and the witch-realms of the Leaden Lords before their fall. Much of what is known or said of the history of Arihmere is mere guesswork, were it not for the old pits and works of these lost domains.

The only certainty is that the realm is known for its haphazard and unlikely collection of perilous beasts and strange folks, for its grimelocks and trillits, ourgarths and teamsprits, monstrous wyrms and shy fae, and countless other oddities.