|
Bruce McGeorge
United States
Lawrenceburg
Indiana
Hey you kids, get off my Avatar!
-
First, I'd like to point folks interested in an overview of the mechanics to Martin's excellent A review and look at the core mechanics. I'll be concentrating on my experiences after three sessions:
Jagged edges need to be smoothed, but it's a promising start
Still some rough spots, curious where this is heading
The Village that Cried "WARG!"
The Good
The Flavour: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild (AOEW?) is oozing with the flavour (you have to use the extra 'u', you know?) of Middle-Earth. The art is beautiful and evocative. The writing shows that the AOEW team - led by designer Francesco Nepitello - knows and loves their source material. This is not D&D... but in Middle-Earth. This is a Middle-Earth RPG.
Setting meets System: While I do like generic systems, my favorite games marry the system to the setting. Traveling is important in Tolkien's Middle-Earth stories, so there is a full-fledged Journey system (which I think works if you mix narrative into the dice rolling). The various ways that people meet up in the stories are important, so there's a social-combat like Encounter system. "Smoking" is a Trait in the game that has multiple possible uses. There are dozens of examples such as these.
System meets Setting: In actual play, the mechanics have influenced the setting. For example, in the sample adventure "The Marsh Bell", my group of D&D "kill and loot" players, easily avoided the temptation to explore every nook and cranny. Why? Treasure is represented as an abstract number and "magic items" are not found laying around but are a part of the Wisdom and Valour sub-systems (related to experience). Another character argued about traveling through Mirkwood due to the number of Shadow points he had accrued. Nice!
Ease of Reading: (Contrast with Ease of Use below.) If you sit down to read AOEW, it's an easy read. It has large fonts, plenty of art, and a good use of space in my opinion. The two books are 336 pages combined - a number I would find intimidating these days - but it certainly doesn't feel like 336 pages.
The Unknown
Combat: I've now run four combats in AOEW; three have been easy for the players, and one was brutal by design. The players seem to enjoy the system so far, but I've noticed that they haven't used many of the optional maneuvers. They tend to go straight for 'Forward' stance (making it easier to hit and to be hit) and do regular attacks. Also, one of the players went for a combat skill of three to begin the game, and all the players wanted a three after the first session. As Aramis has discussed elsewhere, there is a huge difference between a skill of two and three in the game. To get the three in Weapons, the character is less well-rounded elsewhere.
Use of Traits: Traits are personality elements (Bold, Patient, Wrathful) that can be used in play in various ways. One of my players understands how to use them, but the other players are struggling or possibly don't care. It's similar to how I've seen Aspects (from Fate) go over with the group. I wanted to mention this... it's not a fault of the game in any way, but it might be something you find in your group as well.
The Fellowship Phase: When I told my players that the Fellowship Phase was like the Winter Phase in Pendragon, they were pretty excited. That was my mistake; it's not as involved as Pendraon unless you take advantage of some of the narrative options. Still, I think there are some interesting options here, the player's just need to get into the game a bit more. Also, since this phase tends to come at the end of a session, we run into logistics with some players having to leave quickly (a problem with every game we play).
Characters Feel "Same-y": This was some feedback I received after the second session. Mechanically, I think there is some unfortunate duplication across the characters (caused mostly by character choice). I'm working on this by having the characters do a series of "extra credit" work - descriptions of characters and answers to questions that are Middle-Earthy.
What's Next?: A problem with many games, after release, what am I supposed to do with it? I decided to use the Marsh Bell adventure in the core book due to time constraints, but I thought it had several issues. When it came time for the second adventure, I wasn't sure what to do... So I took a page out of Play Unsafe and did the obvious. I really want to see Tales from Wilderland so that I can get a better feel what the designers have in mind. Oh, in addition, I hope they get the dice sets out soon. Having only one set of the dice is a bummer.
The Bad
The Encounter System: While I just don't think social combat systems work for our group in general (not the game's fault), I think the Encounter System is poorly presented in the rulebook. By design, players are left out of the system if they fail rolls or choose a Spokesman. It's all just a bit vague in my opinion.
The Ugly
Ease of Use: The slipcase, 2 book version may be beautiful and easy to read, but I think it was a poor choice for play. Rules are spread between the Loremaster's Book and Adventurer's Book. Want to know about initiative in combat? It's in the Loremaster's Book. Ugh. The index is a mess and makes it frustrating to find something quickly.
Conclusion
I currently have The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild rated as an '8' out of 10. I feel pretty safe that it will stay in my 7.5 to 8.5 range.
When I heard the announcement of the game, I literally yawned. My RPG experience in Middle-Earth (MERP) was borderline awful, and I had condemned Middle-Earth to the "great setting for fiction, but not for RPGs" category. After seeing AOEW at Gen Con and talking to Francesco Nepitello, it slowly worked its way from "off the radar" to "I want to run this" in a 2-3 week span.
My plan is to finish a 3-adventure "arc" and then make a decision. I face the same problem with AOEW that I do with Pendragon: it's a great long-term game, but I'm not a long-term GM with our current group.
Thanks for reading. Please yell if you have any questions!
-
DMSamuel
United States
Ithaca
New York
-
Every time I go to the FLGS I pick this up and walk around with it for several minutes, looking at other stuff and pondering the purchase. So far, I have always returned it to the rack before I leave... This has happened 5 times now (since I started counting) and I am taking that as a sign that I really shouldn't spend the money to buy this product.
The problem is that it is so beautiful, but everything I read leaves me hanging in the middle of the road, not pushing me to buy it and not pushing me further away.
This review has done the same - I see that the system has good and bad stuff, and I see that the books are well done, but I... I.... I just can't bring myself to justify the purchase right now.
Is there any reason you can think of to push me one way or the other regarding this set?
-
Bruce McGeorge
United States
Lawrenceburg
Indiana
Hey you kids, get off my Avatar!
-
lorddillon wrote: Is there any reason you can think of to push me one way or the other regarding this set?
Thanks Sam, that's a great question.
For me... it came down to my desire to put it on the table. It had to overcome the $60US MSRP and my past experiences with Middle-earth. It passed those two obstacles.
I knew from past discussions that my players would be interested to try it. I looked at my alternatives and knew I had a near 100% chance to give it a try, and I took it. I was prepping to give 7th Sea a go, but I could tell that I was losing them before chargen.
I have low expectations. After my 3 adventure arc, I expect my players to tell me to try something else. Even if that happens, I'll be ecstatic that I purchased the game.
I wish I could say "Buy it!" or "Save your money!", but it's a tough call. Maybe Cthanta can make the decision for you! 
-
DMSamuel
United States
Ithaca
New York
-
Thanks for the insight - I am still on the fence, but you are edging me ever closer to pulling the trigger and purchasing it next time I see it
-
United States
Manhattan
New York
-
Thanks for your review. I've been following your session posts with interest as well. One thing I would be curious to hear you expand upon is how this game is tied to a specific time and place Middle-earth, namely Rhovanion (between the events of the Hobbit and the LotR, right?) Do you think this is a net positive? How much of this specificity is "built in" as opposed to incidental, if you know what I mean? Do you think the game will present challenges for those who want to explore other times and places within the setting of Middle-earth?
-
Bruce McGeorge
United States
Lawrenceburg
Indiana
Hey you kids, get off my Avatar!
-
SurrenderMonkey wrote: One thing I would be curious to hear you expand upon is how this game is tied to a specific time and place Middle-earth, namely Rhovanion (between the events of the Hobbit and the LotR, right?)
Correct. If you follow the guidelines in the book, it starts 5 years after the Battle of the Five Armies and goes to to the start of the Lord of the Rings (I want to say 74 years, but don't quote me on that.)
The book refers to the area as the Wilderland:
Quote: Wilderland stretches between the Misty Mountains to the west, the forbidding Grey Mountains to the North, the river Redwater to the east and the Brown Lands to the south.
I believe that future supplements will expand the geography.
SurrenderMonkey wrote: Do you think this is a net positive?
For me it is. I think the time span is plenty of time to do something significant. You have enough "canon" to build around, but there's plenty of space. Middle-Earth is so huge, I like that the core set zeroes in on one area. The core set also goes to great lengths to make the area still feel HUGE.
It does have the old problem of playing in someone else's sandbox. You feel like you could run a long campaign where tons of stuff happens... and then the canon (The Lord of the Rings) takes over. Did what you just play make any difference at all?
SurrenderMonkey wrote: How much of this specificity is "built in" as opposed to incidental, if you know what I mean? Do you think the game will present challenges for those who want to explore other times and places within the setting of Middle-earth?
I'd call 90% of of it "incidental" (presuming that I know what you mean  ). If you wanted to use this to run a 4th Age adventure set in Rohan, I don't see anything that would stop you.
If you wanted to have characters from other cultures (outside of Woodmen, Wood Elves, Hobbits, Dwarves, Beornings, and Bardings), you'd have to do some conversion.
That said, you would be jettisoning the maps and some chunks of the text.
-
Andy Leighton
England
Peterborough
Unspecified
-
Yes major moves in time require some of the cultures to be jettisoned or changed. I imagine that in future supplements that more cultures will be included.
Also the game is built around "shadow". Playing in an era where shadow has little effect on characters and land would probably not result in good experiences. I guess as the supplements come out that start to cover further south I imagine that the clock will move on, so as to depict the shadow moving through Dunland and Rohan and into Gondor.
-
|
|
|
Posted Fri Nov 25, 2011 7:52 pm
