Lord of the Rings: The One Ring RPG Review

boardgamequest.com:

We review Lord of the Rings: The One Ring RPG from Free Leauge Publishing. This new system lets players adventure in. middle earth, using a lore master and a group of players.

Lord of the Rings holds a special place in my heart and is one of my favorite fantasy series of all time. So, I was excited to read and get a chance to play The One Ring RPG from Free League. I have a bit of experience with different RPG systems and had even played the Alien RPG by Free League as well, so reading through and playing a quick game of One Ring was interesting. For my review I want to focus on the mechanics that are different and my experience playing through one of the starting scenarios as a character player.

The time-period of The One Ring is set in the 80 years between The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Mainly the adventures will take place in Eriador during this time. While you won’t be immediately fighting against the hordes of Mordor, the tentative, almost mystical environment in the wilds is extremely atmospheric while adventuring, and not knowing what is around every corner makes player planning a major part of the game.

As with most pen and paper RPGs, you will need a player to run the game (the Loremaster) and each other payer will create a hero from Middle Earth. There are a handful of choices in the game for players to choose a heroic culture and a calling. Heroic cultures consist of Bardings, Dwarves of Durin’s Folk, Elves of Lindon, Hobbits of the Shire, Men of Bree, and Rangers of the North. Callings are like classes in other RPG games. Some of the callings in The One Ring are Scholar, Champion, Treasure Hunter, and Warden.

Your culture will dictate your attributes, skills, and proficiencies. While your calling