I bought into The One Ring as soon as it came out and have always appreciated its beautiful look, high production values, good taste in focus (i.e., time period and geography for the default setting), and, most importantly, its devotion to getting the tone right. But...for most of the last couple of years I've not been very interested in playing it, both because of the complexity of the core rules (each rule is relatively simple, but there are a dozen or more idiosyncratic sub-systems — it is like Burning Wheel in this respect) and because of poor organization of the core book (strange separation of subjects across two books; repetition; lack of index).
I recently noticed the product line has grown a lot in the last year and decided to give it another chance. I've now basically 'caught up' with everything they have put out, and its really changed my opinion. All the things I initially liked about the system remain true or have become even more self evident; the writing and artwork has gotten even better; the setting and adventures have grown to the point that you can deeply explore the core areas crossed by the novels, either using pre-written scenarios or building your own using the setting material.
The second edition of the core book missed the opportunity to fix all the editorial weaknesses of the original (it is still true that the basic description of core mechanics is spread across hundreds of pages in several sections... why on earth didn't they move this stuff around into an obvious chapter structure!). But, it is now all in one book and has an index, so you can find what you need without all the infuriating flipping back and forth between volumes. So, I give them a pass with a bit if side-eye on this point.
The game's core rules remain as they were: simple looking but actually complex. Core mechanics of nearly all rolls can be explained in a couple of sentences, yet to play you need to understand the different meaning and uses of a half dozen different sorts of character qualities and master three different games-within-a-game (fellowship, journey and combat). When the only materials available were the core rules and introductory adventure it was too much for me. But I've changed my mind; basically, their hard work over the last year has made it worth it. Now, this game feels a bit like the best of several classics: the concrete support of campaign play and setting appropriateness of Pendragon; the journey rules are a uniquely excellent approach to travel in roleplaying games; the treatment of Hope and Shadow points as the essential 'resource management' units of the game feels like an extremely good choice; and the things I detest about the combat system are easily fixed so the way it works at my table suits me.
How are the rest of our TOR enthusiasts doing with the game these days?
I recently noticed the product line has grown a lot in the last year and decided to give it another chance. I've now basically 'caught up' with everything they have put out, and its really changed my opinion. All the things I initially liked about the system remain true or have become even more self evident; the writing and artwork has gotten even better; the setting and adventures have grown to the point that you can deeply explore the core areas crossed by the novels, either using pre-written scenarios or building your own using the setting material.
The second edition of the core book missed the opportunity to fix all the editorial weaknesses of the original (it is still true that the basic description of core mechanics is spread across hundreds of pages in several sections... why on earth didn't they move this stuff around into an obvious chapter structure!). But, it is now all in one book and has an index, so you can find what you need without all the infuriating flipping back and forth between volumes. So, I give them a pass with a bit if side-eye on this point.
The game's core rules remain as they were: simple looking but actually complex. Core mechanics of nearly all rolls can be explained in a couple of sentences, yet to play you need to understand the different meaning and uses of a half dozen different sorts of character qualities and master three different games-within-a-game (fellowship, journey and combat). When the only materials available were the core rules and introductory adventure it was too much for me. But I've changed my mind; basically, their hard work over the last year has made it worth it. Now, this game feels a bit like the best of several classics: the concrete support of campaign play and setting appropriateness of Pendragon; the journey rules are a uniquely excellent approach to travel in roleplaying games; the treatment of Hope and Shadow points as the essential 'resource management' units of the game feels like an extremely good choice; and the things I detest about the combat system are easily fixed so the way it works at my table suits me.
How are the rest of our TOR enthusiasts doing with the game these days?
Changing my thinking on The One Ring
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