To MERP or not to MERP, that is the question....
Matthew G. Woodard
is no apparrent policy against it, I'll try anyway.
I am a great fan of Tolien, and have been most of my life. However, I also
have other interests, one of the major ones being roleplaying. Just a few
years ago, I came upon a set of rules from I.C.E. (Iron Crown Enterprises)
which outlined rules for roleplaying in Tolkiens magnificent world. Like
many of you, I sometimes wished I could go there, and this was as close as
I was likely to get.
My only problem is, how does one adventure in Middle Earth and still
keep that magic feeling which draws one to the world in the first place? I
have tried but once before to run a Middle Earth campaign, but found myself
trying to incorporate all of what I know about Middle Earth into one playing
session. This is perhaps a fatal flaw of mine, but I am trying to get better.
I guess my question is, has anyone run a good campaign in Middle Earth, and
if so, did it meet everyones expectations (which are high most of the time).
Any advice would be appreciated, and any one who does not what this
type of discussion in the group, let me know. If so, could I suggest a
subgroup?
Thanks,
Matt Woodard
(woo...@aix.rpi.edu)
Bill Seurer
nice RPG *BUT* it fits Middle Earth NOT.
The MERP game is a pretty standard Wizards, Warriors, Thieves, and etc.
RPG. The magic especially does not fit Middle Earth.
--
- Bill Seurer Language and Compiler Development IBM Rochester, MN
Internet: BillS...@vnet.ibm.com America On-Line: BillS...@aol.com
Jeffrey J. McWilliams
Well, you can always use RoleMaster, I have that too,
but that RPG system can get quite complex and
overwhelming, because it covers almost
EVERYTHING, especially if you purchase the companion
rulebooks. Which is why I purposely stick to MERP,
I can concentrate on the M.E. aspects of the game
and not spend all my time going through the mechanics
of the rules, tables, etc. Now, if i had the
gumption to program all the rules into my computer,
so that Gamemaster tasks were automated,
that would be cool, because then I could really
concentrate solely on entertaining the players,
not , "Just a minute, let me look up the characteristic
table for Falchions in Arms&Claw Law, and roll the dice,
and consult the table for dual weapon combat, and I'll
be right with you....".
--
Jeff McWilliams jjmc...@mathlab.mtu.edu EE Engineer --> Michigan Tech.
On Linden, when the sun was low,
All bloodless lay the untrodden snow,
And dark as winter was the flow
Of Iser, rolling rapidly.
Mark Sulkowski
> My only problem is, how does one adventure in Middle Earth and still
>keep that magic feeling which draws one to the world in the first place? I
>have tried but once before to run a Middle Earth campaign, but found myself
>trying to incorporate all of what I know about Middle Earth into one playing
>session.
I've found it VERY, VERY difficult to capture the same feeling
in a roleplaying game as you get from reading a book. It may be
impossible. Roleplaying games tend to be chaotic. A writer has
ultimate control of the characters, and so the story will be orderly.
If you really want to try, I suggest you read some of LOTR to
get an idea of how Tolkien describes things. You might want to prepare
written descriptions of surroundings, of objects, of characters, etc.,
in the style of JRRT. Maybe that would help. I really can't say for
sure.
Mark Sulkowski
Eric.Cannell
> My only problem is, how does one adventure in Middle Earth and still
>keep that magic feeling which draws one to the world in the first place? I
>
Back in school, I spent a lot of time role-playing in ME using the Iron Crown
settings. It worked out great, because our DM was wise enough to set up the
campaign in the middle of the Third Age about 1000 years before The Hobbit and
the LOTR. So there was no temptation to tag along behind Frodo and the like.
Our greatest pleasure was simply visiting places and making friends with
men, women, elves, dwarves, etc., who never amounted to anything.
Bill Wilson
> My only problem is, how does one adventure in Middle Earth and still
> keep that magic feeling which draws one to the world in the first place? I
> have tried but once before to run a Middle Earth campaign, but found myself
> trying to incorporate all of what I know about Middle Earth into one playing
> session. This is perhaps a fatal flaw of mine, but I am trying to get better.
> I guess my question is, has anyone run a good campaign in Middle Earth, and
> if so, did it meet everyones expectations (which are high most of the time).
I am an experienced GM for MERP and am also one of ICE's authors in
the Middle-earth line. I have found the genre invigorating (sp) and
have had great luck running ME campaigns. However, I find the MERP
system lacking when it comes to portraying the feel of Middle-earth.
There is way to much magic in the system and the classes do not quite
come out right for the professions in ME. I would suggest that if
anyone wants to "adventure" in Middle-earth that they try the Lord
of the RIngs Adventure Game by ICE. The mechanics are simple and
work very well for the genre. If you intend to play for an extended
period of time, I would suggest that you think ahead what you want to
accomplishg with your game. Do you want to help in the War of the RIngs?
Is the Second Age to your liking? Does your group of players all know
LoTR inside and out? Etc...
If you have any specific questions please feel free to email me.
J.W.Baxter
played the game only read some of the material it never quite seems to fit with
the flavour of the books in that there are rules for magic. In the books it is a
strange unknown quantity which none of the hobbits understand. I find this to be
true of almost all role playing games, once you have rules the mystery of the
magic is lost or at least reduced.
Jeremy Baxter
Bill Seurer
Actually, there is one role-playing game system that I think would work
wonderfully for Middle Earth. Ars Magica. The emphasis on magic there
is on how mysterious and unknown it really is. A few of the ties to
Medieval Europe would have to be tossed out of course and some specific
Middle Earth things added. But overall I think it would work well.
Now, if I just had the time...