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And Then There Were Three
Today, I begin a series discussing my top three tabletop RPGs of all time, starting with The One Ring RPG, 1st Edition. This post will delve deeper into the topic than the video did.
Building the RPG Elite network doesn’t leave much time to sit back and enjoy tabletop RPGs personally. When I’m not actively producing something for the network, whether a video about another tabletop RPGs, or a tool that you can use for tabletop RPGs. Playing for my personal tabletop RPG mental vacations which you will never see on the YouTube channel or here on the website.
Over the years, myriad tabletop RPGs have been released. As an RPG Elite, I focus on a few games for my personal enjoyment (see RPG Elite quality #2). I’ve played and read quite a few and have scores of tabletop RPGs. Whether in hard copy or PDF. Over that time, I find that I whittle down my list of go to tabletop RPGs to less than a handful.
Don’t get me wrong. There have been many tabletop RPGs I’ve enjoyed reading over the years. I discover numerous games through my work for this website and YouTube channel. However, at the end of the day, the three in this series are the ones that have captured my heart personally in creating stories with tabletop RPGs.
I want to make it clear that my intention is not to elicit agreement or disagreement. This is a subjective post, for sure. It’s a means to connect with those curious about my work at the RPG Elite network and my take on different tabletop RPGs.
First, let’s start at the beginning of how I came into this wonderful hobby.
My Discovery of Tabletop RPGs
I started playing tabletop RPGs back in the mid-1980s. I’m an OG in this RPG thang.
What’s odd is that I used to make fun of people who played tabletop RPGs. I did this knowing nothing about them. In my eyes, people who played them were geeky losers. I never bullied people, but I did tease people pretty hard.
When I actually understood what they were, I was hooked. This was a game that encouraged you to live out and develop stories through an avatar you created in a world where you could make a difference. I loved this. Part of that came from being an avid reader. The other came from being a prolific writer.
I went on the hunt after that. I looked at several types of tabletop RPGs spanning different genres.
Back then, there was only one small shop in my town that catered to tabletop RPG players. Despite its small size, the store was a treasure trove of tabletop RPGs. Geeks loved it. I would frequently go there to check for new releases.
I experimented with many games over the years. As I changed as a man, my approach and philosophy to tabletop RPGs did as well. In the mid-2000s, the first inklings of the RPG Elite philosophy was born. This influenced the type of games I would play and invest a lot of time into.
That brings us to today. The games I come back to play to for long stretches of time are three. If given a choice to play only three tabletop RPGs for the rest of my life, it would be the ones in this series.
This Is a Countdown
I want to start from the lowest and count up to the highest. I will also list four key things I like about each game. Two of these games you can’t get anymore unless you go on eBay or Noble Knight Games. I’ll make sure you have access to all the links for your own review.
So, let’s get this countdown started.
#3: The One Ring RPG
This may come as a surprise since the RPG Elite Network doesn’t cover fantasy tabletop RPGs. It is a pillar of our mission statement. We cover non-fantasy, alternative genre tabletop RPGs. However, we are talking about personal likes here, so this is outside the scope of that, or what we call an exception to the rule. In fact, I can say with confidence this is the only fantasy tabletop RPG you will ever hear about on the network because I’ve been running a campaign for the past six years. But this article is the full extent of what you will ever hear about the game on RPGEN.
Also, I am talking about the 1st edition of The One Ring RPG, not that train wreck of the 2nd edition released by Free League Publishing. I say this with respect and love for that company’s treatment of me as a content creator. I love me some Free League Publishing. I’m just really not a fan of that version of the game for multiple reasons. At all. They dropped the ball on that one.
What’s funny is you can’t even find that edition anywhere except on sites like eBay. When you do find it, it isn’t cheap, running anywhere from $100 to $120. It disappeared off of the internet and Cubicle 7, the original game publishers, dropped it like a bad habit without prejudice. There was no love lost there, from what I’ve heard.
I won’t even go there.
A Short History
The One Ring RPG released originally in 2011. The name was The One Ring: Adventures Over the Edge of the Wild. It was re-released and renamed in 2014 as simply The One Ring Roleplaying Game (what I have in the picture above).
When I began playing The One Ring RPG, I had seen the movie trilogy from the early 2000s and was enamored with the characters in the story. To this day, it is my favorite movie trilogy of all time. Hands down. I have lost track of how many times I’ve seen the movie.
The only Tolkien book I had read then was The Hobbit, which I enjoyed. Only recently did I read the first book in the series, The Fellowship of the Ring. My excitement for my campaign has grown even more.
Also, I have written a 38 page addendum to this game. You would think after writing that much extra material that it wouldn’t elevate to the status it does on my list. It proves there are cons with this game, but the pros far outweigh them. I still love it that much.
Key Aspects
Here are the key points I love personally about this game.
Hope and Shadow
There is a mechanic in the game called Hope and Shadow. Hope is something you have based on your culture that allows you to add a point when you have to make those rolls at crucial moments in the developing story. This is a big deal because it embodies the true definition of hope. Hope is not a wish, which is how we use the word today. It means “looking forward to an expected end”. That’s a far cry from a wish. When you spend Hope in the game, you will get an expected end. I adore that.
It’s important to say that this has been done away with in The One Ring RPG 2nd Edition, a BIG thumbs down. Hope is still there, but it doesn’t work the same. This has hurt the game as a result (my opinion, of course).
Conversely, there’s the shadow mechanic. This occurs when a character faces darkness. Seeing something horrible (Anguish), performing an evil act (Misdeed), or being in an atmosphere tainted by darkness (Blighted or Cursed). How many times have you been somewhere where you can feel the foreboding uneasiness in the air weighing upon your soul? I love it.
Cultural Background
Creating a character in The One Ring RPG is based on that character’s culture. There are four different humanoids in Tolkien’s world — man, elf, dwarf, and hobbit. I say humanoids and not race because the definition of race as we deem it today is absolutely wrong. I’ve talked about this in a video you can check out.
The One Ring RPG is a classless system. Everything is based on what culture you came from.
For example, all elves do not come from the same culture. One may have come from Rivendell. Another may have come from Lorien. And yet another may have hailed from Mirkwood’s dark forests. Yes, they are all elves, but their culture dictates how they interact in Middle-Earth.
Within your culture, you get to choose from one of six backgrounds. Being from the same culture doesn’t mean you’ll be identical to another elf from that culture. Also, you get to distribute points to put in your character attributes and skills however you want to build your character. That flexibility makes it possible for players to custom make their RPG avatar.
The One Ring Dice
The One Ring RPG has specialty dice you can use, though you can also use regular dice if you don’t want to go that route. However, using the specialty dice adds an element of enjoyment to playing that keeps your mind in the game.
There are two types of dice — the Feat die, and the success dice. The Feat die is one 12-sided die. The success die is a six-sided die.
The feet die has two special symbols taking the place of numbers 11 and 12. Number 11 is a Sauron eye. No, that is not a good thing. When rolled, the Feat die is not figured into your test.
The next symbol is a Gandalf rune. This is a good thing. Whenever this is rolled on the Feat die, it is an automatic success.
The last symbol is on the success die from the tengwar. This is the official script created by J. R. R. Tolkien. The character who actually created it within Middle-earth lore was an elf named Feanor.
Rolling one of these is a Great Success. Rolling two is an Extraordinary Success. How those are interpreted depends on the situation, but it’s always a splendid thing for the character. I really enjoy that mechanic.
My dice shown here are hard to find nowadays (if not near nigh impossible). However, you can still find the white and black dice sets at various tabletop RPG vendors on the net.
The Lore
Tolkien’s lore for Lord of the Rings needs no introduction. It is one of the most well-known, rich bodies of work in all of English literature.
I confess, it wasn’t until I started playing the game when I delved deeper into this fantastic world. It’s a lore filled with betrayal, hope, animosity, courage, pride, integrity, and a full panoply of virtues and vices that run through the human condition. It is inspiring.
Actor Christopher Lee, who played Saruman in the classic movie trilogy, reported that he read the books every year. For a tabletop RPG to have access to use and mold that for new, untold adventures is a debt of gratitude every The One Ring RPG fan owes to Professor Tolkien.
Conclusion
There are many other things I love about this game despite its flaws. There is so much to discover, explore, and create in this beloved world, that it can be a cornucopia of enriching stories you can tell your children and grandchildren for bedtime stories.
Yeah. It’s like dat. 👊🏿
