The One Ring: The Lord Of The Rings® Rpg

PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release.

Cubicle 7 Entertainment and Sophisticated Games announce that they are developing The One Ring: The Lord of the Rings® Role-playing Game.

Cubicle 7 Entertainment and Sophisticated Games are proud to announce that they are jointly developing The One Ring: The Lord of the Rings® Role-playing Game.

“We’re tremendously excited about The One Ring,” said Dominic McDowall-Thomas, Cubicle 7 Director. “Our aim is to give our audience an authentic Middle-earth gaming experience, one that really captures the feel of Tolkien’s world.”

The designer and lead writer of this project, Francesco Nepitello, is a games industry veteran, best known for the hugely successful and critically acclaimed War of the Ring strategy board game, which he designed with The One Ring co-designer Marco Maggi and Roberto di Meglio. A recipient of the International Gamers Award, War of the Ring is recognised by many ‘Lord of the Rings’ enthusiasts and hobby gamers alike as one of the most engaging recreations of the world-renowned fantasy saga by J.R.R. Tolkien. Francesco and Marco are the designers of other immersive board game titles like Marvel Super Heroes and Age of Conan, but started their game-designing careers creating Lex Arcana, the most successful and popular fantasy role-playing game published in Italy.

Francesco has designed the new LOTR RPG game system to make sure that players are completely immersed in Middle-earth from the moment they begin creating their characters. As an experienced designer of games based on JRR Tolkien, as well as being a lifelong devotee of the Tolkien works, Francesco brings a dimension -and a depth- to this RPG which has probably never been seen before in a LOTR game.

Robert Hyde, head of Cambridge (UK) based Sophisticated Games said, “When we first acquired the rights from Tolkien Enterprises to publish this RPG - as part of our wider LOTR book based board game license- we had no hesitation in approaching Francesco to conceive a completely fresh LOTR and The Hobbit RPG, and for him to be the writer. We knew that he possessed both these skills and that the game would be in very safe hands. His presentation of Middle-earth, along with stunning artwork from John Howe and others, brings this incredibly evocative and exciting world to life.”

“We also approached Cubicle 7 to be our publishing partners on the new The One Ring RPG because we loved the quality of their previous publications and felt that Dominic and Angus (Abranson) had both the experience, and with the creation of Cubicle 7, the role playing game resources, to bring LOTR and The Hobbit to a very wide audience.”

For more information on The One Ring: The Lord of the Rings® Role-playing Game please contact Cubicle 7 on info@cubicle7.co.uk


The One Ring: The Lord of the Rings® Role-playing Game will be published in the second half of 2010.

About Cubicle 7 Entertainment Limited
Cubicle 7 Entertainment is a British-based publisher and events company, specialising in the games industry. Founded in 2006, by Angus Abranson and Dominic McDowall-Thomas, the company has published role-playing games from a list of licensed and home-grown properties including Victoriana, Starblazer Adventure (based on DC Thomson’s 80’s Starblazer comic series), SLA Industries, Qin: The Warring States and the recent Doctor Who: Adventures in Time and Space (licensed from the BBC). In June 2009 Cubicle 7 announced it had joined the Rebellion Group.

Cubicle 7 Entertainment: http://www.cubicle7.co.uk

About Sophisticated Games
Sophisticated Games is an international board game publisher, specialising in book based Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit games. It is also the publisher of Reiner Knizia’s Ingenious and Callisto, and has recently done Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth, Shakespeare and a Horrible Histories game. Sophisticated Games is based in Cambridge UK.

Sophisticated Games: http://www.sophisticated-games.com

The One Ring, Middle-earth, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and the characters, items, events and places therein are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Middle-earth Enterprises f/k/a Tolkien Enterprises and are used under license by Sophisticated Games Ltd and their licensees.

Congratulations, can't wait to see what this looks like. As a former Decipher LOTR RPG playtester and huge fan of the game and setting, I'm thrilled someone has picked up the license.

Well I've been massively impressed with Dr Who, so its nice to see Lord Of The Rings in equally capable hands! I wonder if the involvement of Francesco Nepitello and co. means we'll see something in a box, with lots of bits, akin to the latest edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (albeit at a more reasonable price)?

Now, if you C-7 guys could just do Star Trek as well....

Good Lord, let's hope not. No cards and no silly special dice, please. One ruined game is enough, thanks...

Anywhoo, good to hear the LotR gets a new version, let's hope it's gonna be good. We tried the Decipher, and it had it's merits, but it was pretty 'buggy'. We're still playing MERP...

First, it's really great to hear about the upcoming new game. I can hardly wait to see what it's gonna be like

Talking about MERP still being played I'd love to see two things: Good Rulebooks for the technical side of gaming plus many sourcebooks for the setting. The DEC LotR RPG was a bit weak on the second point (beside an amateurish handling of the whole line), and MERP on the first one

I'd prefer the system to be another simple 2d6 engine myself. This would be consistent with the previous version to a degree, but more importantly, I just think using 6 sided dice is more accessible to more gamers. I'd have to see more details about the game before I could really comment on how it works though.

I dunno man, I think I would rather have a versatile, realistic system rather than simple one. I am not saying you can't make simple system with good medieval combat (Pendraken is very good yet simple), but on the whole, I'd prefer something more solid, not necessary complex though. I always prefer realistic comabt to heroic, but in LoTR there should be room for great deeds in battle, so exceptional feats should be possible, but not everyday events.

The way I am looking at LoTR, there should be plenty of combat, not so much magic (at least for the lowly PCs). So what's left, social interaction and intrigue? The latter aspects are traditionally left pretty light ruleswise, because often you don't need much rules to handle that aspect, to be honest.

I guess it's all down to what aspect of the game the system wants to highlight. In my view LoTR should concentrate on the combat aspects, because combat it bound to feature heavily in most campaigns. Call it the traditional or simulationist approach, if you will. Then again, today it seems fashionable to make games that are easily approchable and simple to lure new blood into gaming?

Of course, it would be interesting to know which era the new game is going to concentrate on, or will it be generic, 'play what era you like' type? The obvious one would be the third era and the War of the Ring, as portrayed in the LoTR trilogy and the movies, or perhaps you want to use the upcoming Hobbit to boost your sales?

Anyways, choosing a particular era would go hand in hand with the type of game you make, if you choose a period of constant fighting, you'd better have solid combat system etc. If the system wil be for generic (era-free?) gaming, then you'd better have a solid system in all aspects.

The period of the trilogy would benefit from a detailed combat (small melees), toned down magic (few people actually use magic in the books), and relative lot of sneaking and diplomacy etc (unite the free people and/or take the ring to Mt Doom). If you played earlier periods as described in the Silmarillion, the you'd have massed combat (propably), high magic (relatively), and heroic deeds (rather than sneaky ones)?

but I guess these things are developed the other way around, first you create a game 'engine' or system, and then you choose the campaign that fits with it?

For authentic Tolkein-esque roleplaying, I've had good experience with Burning Wheel. I would prefer a system that uses D6s (to minimize barriers to adoption), has a small number of simple but flexible core mechanics (like FATE or Burning Wheel), and emphasizes character and story telling (again, like FATE or Burning Wheel).

What I don't want is a system with an overly complex core, that emphasizes rule mastery over character and story telling. I don't want something like RoleMaster, or Champions. To the extent there are detailed sub-engines, they should be optional.

Smeelbo

It's a funny old start to the near year. For ages I have been saying to myself if someone new picks up the LOTR license I'll buy the game and also get back into reading the Tolkien novels - lo and behold the day I google "LOTR rpg" I find the announcement from two days prior to me searching.

I haven't looked at the Dr Who rpg, but the local Forbidden Planet to me (in Liverpool) said it is a great system and didn't know about the LOTR rpg announcement, but they said it'll be in safe hands then - so good praise from them!

Anyways, really great news, made my 2010 so far, can't wait to see what you do with the game.

Even losing SW rpg for the moment can't dent this announcement

For authentic Tolkein-esque roleplaying, I've had good experience with Burning Wheel. I would prefer a system that uses D6s (to minimize barriers to adoption), has a small number of simple but flexible core mechanics (like FATE or Burning Wheel), and emphasizes character and story telling (again, like FATE or Burning Wheel).
Smeelbo

I enjoyed reading Burning Wheel, but that game is WAY too freaking crunchy for me. Though, I really do love the character development system. Spirit of the Century is also too overly complex (ironically), although I really like the concept of that too. Those two indie games are lovely in concept, but I have never dared to run them because I would be too focused on how things work and forget the story. I feel like I am the only person who bought Mouseguard and was confused on how to run it.

"Questers" is a better game, if only it was more serious. It kind of does what FATE does without the 400 page rule book. Thought, that is not going to stop me from buying the Dresden Files game

I really like the Dr. Who system and how it deals with the basic conflict system being resolved across the board. So combat, social combat and mental combats are equal unlike most other games that have a complex combat system, yet a "one roll" system for everything else. It reminds me of Shadow of Yesterday, but without those annoying Fudge dice.

I hope they use a similar system for The One Ring.

The Burning Wheel is too complicated for my tastes, and personally I wouldn't want that sort of system in a game designed for mass appeal. Dr. Who had it right in the level of simplicity (and notably it didn't stop using gaming ideas like Story points and so on, either, it just made them accessible).

I also agree that Mouseguard was confusing, albeit with very impressive presentation.

Basically, a Middle Earth game would need to pass the 'Granny test'. That is, if you gave it to your granny she'd understand it and be able to run it if necessary.

Still using my old MERP books, and despite the system lacking in a few places (nothing HARP couldn't handle if I worked on it a bit) I still consider it a great game.
But I put my full faith in the new version being able to match this, something Decipher didn't accomplish imho.

As for what I would like to see in the system?
Skills! Lots and lots and lots of skills. I like my systems skill-based. Anything from perception to riding to spellcasting to foraging to using armour to different weapons to lore-skills to you-name-it(apart from everyday things like walking, eating, sleeping etc.).
Diversity in the character creation. Classes is not a must, though it would be helpful when it comes to introducing new players to the game.
Active and passive defence, like MERP.
A simple way of resolving skill rolls (2d10+skill, like SLA would work for me).
An innovative, action minded, realistic, lethal combat system, using manoeuvres, and the active/passive defence mentioned above.
Low-magic, with very limited attack-spells.
Great diversity in races and subraces (again MERP).
Lots of great source books detailing the different parts of the world at different ages, the flora/fauna, the gods, the races. And with some adventures and adventure ideas in each one.

Go ahead - colour me exited

Amen! That's IMO the soul any roleplaying game in Middle-earth.

LOTR roleplay mentioned... can't help but wade in.

Glad to hear a new system is to be developed by you guys! Obviously, a beloved setting such as, Middle-earth, brings out all sorts of anticipation (and fears) when a new project is started, beyond whether Balrog's have wings or not...

I agree with many here that MERP is the best so far. Great stuff, with all the atmosphere and charm with a Billion tables to remember the page no. of.. Decipher's effort was a lot more accessible, less consistent, Movie tie-in which left one not entirely fulfilled.

My anticipation is that this could be a great new addition to ME roleplaying, but its hard to hide my instinctive fears relating to such a project:

1) Not getting the 'full' ME in the core book. Meaning a separate book for each realm and unnecessary expense for masses of made up jibberish to pad out the quite sparse descriptions given by JRRT.

I would really suggest, humbly, that the expansions be based on TIME and NOT . Perhaps,
Core Book, followed by
1st Age (perhaps broken down into: examples 'The Coming of Men', 'Awakening of the Elves', 'Melkor in Chains', 'unnumbered tears', 'Hidden Kingdoms'... etc etc),
2nd ('Numenor', 'The Last Alliance' etc etc),
3rd (obvious stuff + 'kinstrife (civil war in Gondor)', 'Arnor Marred', 'Fall of Hollin', 'Order of Wizards', 'The Great Plague(?)'),
4th age...

Lots of maps showing how boundaries and regional control changed over centuries. Would be lovely.

My fear is that, depth-wise, we'll see, 'ooh look evil Orc, heres a good Rohirrim guy'... 'Ugly troll with club' followed by a string of kingdom based supplements which have lots of pretty pictures but add very little to the actual game.
+ focusing ENTIRELY on the Ringwars is actually very restrictive in terms of game options, which should be even tighter considering the travel restrictions in that time of doubt.

"Elf, Man... and Dwarf together... a rare sight in these times"

But will it be. I fear there will be a sample adventure of an Elf, Man, Dwarf and Hobbit running around in all the places they are never seen in the third age...


2)Fear of Movie license tie ins, they are ONE interpretation , not THE interpretation of Tolkien's world.. You end up writing about what happened in the Films and the illustrious Elves at Helm's deep with another section saying what happened in the Book like in Decipher's works. It didn't help anyone, just meant endless repetition and parts of material unused. No one needs to be told what happened in Peter Jackson's trilogy... it was watched by MILLIONS.

The use of EXCESSIVE ARMOUR!! Every single man woman or child wears full 13th century plate armour 24hrs a day.. Tolkien said MAIL!


3) Assuming its right that there is perhaps some input from those who worked on a strategy Battle game...(?) Let them do mechanics and not get into making up daft stuff like Assassin cults in Harad and stuff thats lifted from the 12th century. Call a Mumak rider a Mumak rider not 'Mahud' or some other guff. Also Japanese style Easterlings with back banners are a no no, simply not necessary... with such a rich subject matter, why bring the Middle Ages into it at all...

lol Or swan nights that look like something out of an eighties power ballad video... like in GW range lol

Fear has gripped my heart..


I'm sure hope will return once the next news item for these new books is released

A cool thing would be to team up with Mithril Miniatures, for the rpg-related minis.
That would be so absolutely sweet