So a few days ago I was going over the Stars and Shadows section on page 56 of the LM book. Going over the part about sources of corruption we have mentioned four.

Distressing event

Tainted areas

Misdeeds

Cursed items/treasure

The section then goes on to go into detail about all of the first three sources and straightaway skips any mention or covering of the items and treasure source. Am I missing something here or did this just get left out? Has anyone else encountered this? Also, since Bilbo had The One for so long it would be interesting to see the mechanics covered about how it affected him.

I agree - and rather interesting is the fact that there is only three sources of corruption (the first three) listed in the Index. Planned for a later release maybe?

I think Cursed Items and Treasure did not get a seperate section from the general rules is that they can't be categorised in the same way the other three can. We know of all kinds distressing event, tainted areas and misdeeds but cursed items and treasure are all unique. As such, the LM needs to apply the general rules to each such item and treasure individually.

Good point about making individual rulings dealing with each uniquely on a case by case basis. However, it is odd that they give no guidance or examples of such items. I'm not calling for them to say " The One Ring has such and such effects, yada, yada", but giving some sort of suggestions and sample items would have been much appreciated by myself and for sure other novices to this game and RPGs in general.

In the adventure in the Lore Master's book, there's an jewel that was once a part of Smaug's hoard.

"When they first lay their eyes on it, all heroes must pass a Corruption test or gain a Shadow point, as a fierce desire is kindled in their hearts."
-- Page 132 Loremaster's Book

Great find Codex!

What about cursed items that someone might carry for a while?

Make a Corruption roll per # of uses or per time period depending on the strength of the item.

What I think is pointed out by Skywalker's comments is that as things stand without any guidance these must be handled on a case by case basis as all such items are unique. Additionally his followup suggestion also points out that without covering this aspect of corruption that is mentioned as one of the forms, there is quite a wide leeway for interpretation of the how/when/what aspects of it. My worry on this point is that without some form of yardstick to measure off of (and I would have liked to have seen The One, as it would be the "gold standard" of a corrupting item) a Loremaster could end up creating something extremely over/under effective in comparison to such a yardstick item.

I agree but only to an extent. As said, most benchmarks would generally be meaningless given the unique nature of magic items in Tolkien's work. I think they are an area that the GM is more likely to be in a better position to make a call on than a designer unfamiliar with the specifics of the game.

Yes, but...The designers are definitely sure of what they want specific items to do within the framework of the mechanics they have set forth (specifically if they were to stat out an item like The One Ring). With this in mind if a Loremaster has a few of these examples to consider, it makes for a more informed ability to customize their items to their campaigns in a reasonable manner. I say this from the standpoint of the distinct possibility of a Loremaster introducing an item that is either fairly under the bar in consequences or over it in respect to corruption results. I'm sure it can be said that who's to say what is too little or too much of a consequence better than the game's Loremaster? I don't disagree with this, but not every Loremaster is going to be as adroit at the task. It's like teaching painting. You don't want to tell an aspiring artist what colors he should or shouldn't use, but you definitely should give them an assortment of techniques and brushstrokes with which to apply the shades they choose.

Are they? I thought TOR had no hard rules on magic items in any capacity except Rewards (which aren't Corrupting)?

I understand the point you are getting at but I think the approach given is consistent the rest of the RPG's design. Maybe its a mileage may vary moment

Duly noted, but I don't necessarily consider all cursed items to have to be 'magic' items either. In fact until you had brought up the point I hadn't really meant it in reference to such extraordinary things, with the exception of The One. A sword that is completely normal in all other ways save it's dark and tainted past can be just as much a corrupting influence for it's owner because it has been soaked in the blood of the innocents it slew down through the years.

EDIT Also perhaps you are coming at the rewards from an overly DnD'ish angle? I don't sense any indication that they are magic, nor that they are ever represented in that light by the rules. All of the properties that they possess can be attributed to cunning craft and exceptional quality. None of them accomplish anything close to the feats of elven rope or elven cloaks, which I do consider 'magic' in the form that it takes within the lands of Middle-Earth.

I think the nature of Tolkien magic is subtle and often indiscernable from (or perhaps even the same as) craftsmanship. As such, I can see the argument going either way.

But this seems tangental to the main thread. I only raised them for completeness on the basis that its the only mechanical system in TOR that covers items of extraordinary quality. I agree it emphasises that TOR does not give any definite mechanical treatment to "true magic items".

Alright, I'm going to jump in between the two of you and ask each to provide a mechanical description of the "curse" that would be on the following relatively minor item (I apologize for the rather bland description; I am not a good author):

A pommel-stone of ancient make recovered near the ruins of Necromancer's lands, when mounted on a weapon, causes the blade to shine with a fierce red glow when held, and also grants the "fell" quality to the weapon.

Perhaps even a pair of "cursed" mechanics, one assuming that its just found treasure, another assuming that it's a Valor Reward. I have my own idea, but I want to see what each of you come up with.

I've got a couple other item concepts, but I haven't been able to quite nail them down yet.

The weapon instils in the bearer a lust for blood. The corruption due to the weapon starts the bearer down the path of the corrupt Slayer, in addition to the path of their character's own calling. If the character's calling is Slayer, then they are doubly open to the corrupting influence of the blade. The blade's bearer will not easily give it up.

With all due respect BC, I would have to excuse myself from the task. I haven't had enough time to compare the various forms of corruption to come up with my own opinions on creating cursed items yet. Additionally, I'd fall into the 'subtle' camp as Skywalker so ably described it as far as 'magic' in Middle-Earth. I don't usually have overtly obvious effects on items within my games set in Tolkien's realms. But sans the red glow I think this item sounds very good.

What Valarian brings up highlights my point about some guidelines very well. I would never have thought to attach any other game mechanics to a cursed item other than Shadow points. I see that Valarian has invoked effects that take into account a character's calling and an attachment to the item. What 'easily give it up' translates into would be up to how the player role-played their attachment I guess. What this shows is that as things stand there is quite an open interpretation as to how to create cursed items. This is all well and good if you are fluent in the rules but as the game is new and I'm sure there will be many new Loremasters checking it out they may not be as able/creative as others without some inspiration. Thank you for the ideas Valarian.

Without the red glow, its functionally identical to the generic Valor Reward "fell".

Also, elven blades glow blue when orcs are near, and they have elf-lights magic and certain vials and gems that can be made to glow; how is this any more overt?

Please note, I said I don't USUALLY use ... in MY games. Also I certainly didn't want to give the impression that I refute the existence of some quite fantastical items in the world, i.e. Glamdring, Phial of Galadriel, etc...

However, without some qualifying provenance of this gem having fallen from the pommel of a Ringwraith or being enchanted by a sorcerer trained by Sauron I would be unlikely to give it such SFX myself. I tend not to allow very much in the way of legendary treasures into my games is all I'm saying.

Difference of opinion, then; I don't consider a weapon like "sting" to be a legendary artifact - Glamdring and Orcrist, yes, Bilbo's Mithril Shirt also yes, the Ring huge yes, but not the little unremarkable dagger.

In point of fact, I'm listening to the Hobbit on audiobook on my way to and form work, and just this morning I got to - and through - the Battle of Five Armies. The weapons of the elven host, who came geared for war, were explicitly stated to be glowing blue; this to me says that the elves have quite a lot of goblin-bane weapons laying around, to the point that I'm actually surprised there isn't one listed as a possible Valor Reward.

Now, I'll grant that they are the only ones who seem to bother about magical light sources at all, so maybe the item isn't a good fit; but glowing orc-bane elf blades seem plentiful enough.