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Gorbad the Limb Rippa
2007-05-14, 02:20 PM
I have been recently been thinking that it is about time that i whip out the dm screen and don the mantle of the dm.I've been thinking about running my campaign in multiple setting ,mainly forgotten realms or dragonlance,but the most apealling setting is in fact Middle Earth,but i cant find any type of setting for it.
Is there anyone out there who will help this beginer dm out and point me in the direction of some Tolkien info.
Many thanks

Closet_Skeleton
2007-05-14, 02:35 PM
Funnily enough Dnd models Tolkien really badly. Who'd have thought aye?

For setting details you're pretty much stuck with stuff like the Symaralion or The Tolkien Beastery. You can find a lot of Tolkien stuff online nowadays.

The good thing about Tolkien is that its really easy to find rip-off minatures for it. If you play with minatures that is.

Ever Phasm
2007-05-14, 02:40 PM
There is info in the DM's guide for building a campaign.

Oh, there is a third age Middle Earth game. It is called: (drum roll please)

The Lord of the Rings roleplaying game.

Also, (i've noticed this from just reading the books) to make middle earth D&D, you would need to do ALOT of homebrewing (esp. wizards and arcane magic)

If you still are determined to spend ALOT of man hours making a third age middle earth campaign setting send me a copy when your done and start with the following.

Decide what to do about elves (make them immortal or not)

Work on modifying arcane spellcasters (make them more tolkien like)

get some maps (the books usually come with some)

read the appendices for Lord of the Rings (for back ground info)

decide what stuff (equipment, spells, classes, etc.) are allowed

Make an adventure.

Ever Phasm
2007-05-14, 02:42 PM
Oh, in fact they sell LOTR miniatures (based off of the movies).

themightybiggun
2007-05-14, 02:44 PM
Yea, the d20 system is a bit to...extravagant for the world of Tolkien.

However there is a role playing system for LotR known as the CODA system that I think works rather well. However, it is entirely different from the DnD system and many people don't convert well from one to the other.

Ever Phasm
2007-05-14, 02:52 PM
What does CODA stand for?

Telonius
2007-05-14, 02:57 PM
Check out the Appendices of "Return of the King." Tolkien's map of Middle Earth is good for a start. You can have pretty much anything happening way out East, since it wasn't ever described really clearly, except that there's supposed to be "mystery cults" and that sort of thing.

Some of the standard races would need a little tweaking. Elves would have to have all (non-magical) aging penalties removed. Remove Gnomes and Half-Elves as playable races. Orcs become "Always Evil." Tolkien morality is very much black-and-white at times, so bear that in mind.

As far as classes go, if you're going for accurately reproducing Tolkien's world precisely, only the non-spellcasting classes do it very well. It's an ultra low-magic world. I'll say again, with emphasis: Middle Earth is an ultra low-magic world. Magical items are rare, nearly unique. Mithral is worth more than its weight in gold. A single small-sized suit of mithral chain is worth as much as the Shire and everything in it. Clerics would be rare, wizards even more so. Druids exist, kind of; Beorn in "The Hobbit" is the shapeshifting template. It seemed to be the only magical thing he could do, though. Only two pantheons; Iluvatar/the Valar (good); and Morgoth (evil). Artificers might exist, but only in ultra-powerful characters; Celebrimbor, for example. Sorcerers .... maybe way out East. Otherwise, probably not. Monks; no real precedent for it in the books, but I don't see why not. Bard; yes (Luthien, Finrod, Maglor...). Bards would probably need a boost to be the most powerful class, since Tolkien's world was created out of music. "Words of Creation" feat would definitely apply to the setting. Fighter, Barbarian, Ranger, Rogue - all yes. Paladin - a definite maybe.

That's all I've got for now.

EDIT: One other thing ... you could play in the Fourth Age, after Sauron was dispersed. There are supposed to be new things that come in every age, that the Valar hadn't planned on and only the mind of Iluvatar knows for sure (Hobbits are an example of this). You could take it to the extreme and have all of the standard D&D classes, etc., in existence. There are plenty of opportunities for adventures. Maybe someone's trying to complete a ritual that will bring back Morgoth from the Void, or a new warlord of the Easterlings has risen up and is threatening Gondor. The Black Tower is being rebuilt. Corsairs are raiding the coasts again, and King Elessar needs you to check into it. Michel Delving has been broken into and Frangle Brandybuck's prized wig collection has been stolen. The possibilities are endless!:smallbiggrin:

Gorbad the Limb Rippa
2007-05-14, 03:46 PM
*snip*
EDIT: One other thing ... you could play in the Fourth Age, after Sauron was dispersed. There are supposed to be new things that come in every age, that the Valar hadn't planned on and only the mind of Iluvatar knows for sure (Hobbits are an example of this). You could take it to the extreme and have all of the standard D&D classes, etc., in existence. There are plenty of opportunities for adventures. Maybe someone's trying to complete a ritual that will bring back Morgoth from the Void, or a new warlord of the Easterlings has risen up and is threatening Gondor. The Black Tower is being rebuilt. Corsairs are raiding the coasts again, and King Elessar needs you to check into it. Michel Delving has been broken into and Frangle Brandybuck's prized wig collection has been stolen. The possibilities are endless!:smallbiggrin:


....Are you psychic?That was going to be the primary plot for the campaign.

any who,thanks for the advice one and all,i willll begin my planning asap.though i will probably need TONS more info.

mmm...corsairs....

Umarth
2007-05-14, 04:02 PM
Keep in mind that after the fall of Numenor the world was bent and it was no longer possible for any but the Elves and Valar to sail the straight path that would lead to the edge of the world.

An alternative idea you could go with is having one of the Silmarils being found. That would cause some massive chaos.

Dervag
2007-05-14, 04:03 PM
....Are you psychic?That was going to be the primary plot for the campaign.

any who,thanks for the advice one and all,i willll begin my planning asap.though i will probably need TONS more info.

mmm...corsairs....The idea practically plots itself; in any setting one of the simplest plot concepts is "someone wants to resurrect the greatest evil the world has ever known."

I think the idea that D&D classes open up because magic is somehow more available to mortals makes some sense. After all, this is supposed to be the age of men, not of elves or wizards.

The Tolkien-style immortal and superhuman elves will be largely departed from the world if you take that tack. However, the 'half-elves' of that setting, with a light sprinkling of elven ancestry, might very well be more like D&D elves.

Marius
2007-05-14, 04:41 PM
Rolemaster is great for LOTR, I've played it a lot and it works well. You just have to avoid using too much tables.

Dant
2007-05-15, 04:18 PM
I feel obligated to mention that I'm fairly certain it is literally impossible, according to LOTR lore, to bring back Morgoth. Still, your campaign, your plot. Nobody says you have to stick to the storyline.

I personally like the quest to retrieve the stolen wig collection myself. Sounds hilariously fun. And entire party of bumbling hobbits searching for the greatest collection of rare wigs ever collected!

Edit. Ahem, the joke of course being that it is plausible that the hobbits would take such a thing very seriously.