The whole concept of TOR is that of generational play, with the first box covering only a certain timespan. I look forward to see, how exactly the designers will handle the generational gameplay. One player playing an elf, another a dwarf and another a human. What happens after 25, 30 years when the human is supposed to retire? I love the concept of generational play where the son can continue the quest of his father. This opens many new roleplaying possibilities to me. The elven character going on adventures with generations of humans from the same family? The young human hero knowing many stories about a dwarf from his father? This sounds very interesting to me. But even with non-power-gamers (which luckily my groups consist of), not caring to "have to" play the weakest character, the whole balancing will be tricky. I never played any system which could cover this right.
I think it's a great idea to have a campaign covering a timespan of about 100 years. With the next release, the game will play about 25 years later. The elf and the dwarf will have made quite some experiences. What happens with the human son continuing what his father started?

There is some generational rules on page 119 and 120 of the LMB.

I am guessing that generational play has less to do with age and more to do with the toils of an adventuring life. In this regard, Elves, Dwarves, Men and Hobbits are likely to be not all that different.

On page 120 is a paragraph about retirement and about how fast the game pace is planed. You have retirement ages for each race which suggests that players of humans will have to play a successor more often than the other races. On page 120 is also written that a rate of 13 experience points per year are normal. So if a human character retires, he will have 200+ experience points. The rules say that the characters successor will then get 12 extra experience points. But what about the rewards? Why does the father not give his legendary sword to his son? And how about standing? The son of a famous warden should surely profit from his fathers reputation.

I love the idea of generational play but I guess it will be hard for the human players to retire their loved characters and getting 12 experience points while the elves continue playing their 200+ experience point characters.

Or am I interpreting this wrong? When the next boxset is going to be released, is everybody supposed to make new characters? Or is the game designed for elven characters to play through all 3 boxsets and the human players to make a new character every few years?

As said, the big issue will be Shadow not age. Elves that adventure for long periods of time will fall to darkness and they can't heal from it just like anyone else. As such, many will retreat back into havens and retire in much the same time frame as humans, I am guessing.

I doubt that the generational gameplay thing will actually be a big part of TOR, other than the rules already provided. I may be wrong of course, others know more about what is planned, but personally I would not expect too much in this regard. Its not personally an issue for me in any way.

Hm, then I maybe had wrong expectations regarding this. I understood that this whole "Frodo follows in Bilbo's footsteps" issue will be an important part of the game. And there are traces of it in the books. For example the birthright virtue. I hope that we will see more of this in the future releases.

Do you read this Francesco?

If you do, I have to tell you that all of you have been doing a fantastic job! In my opinion, you are the first guys capable of capturing the true Middle-earth feeling and spirit for a fantasy RPG! Thank you.

Wuh? Just because Elves retire due to the effects of Shadow rather than age, doesn't mean you need to make the leap to generational play not being a part of the game. There will be some focus on generational play. In fact, we have already seen some of it in pages 119 and 120 of the LMB and in other places as you mention.

I'm quite happy with the simple rules on generational play. Retired character, next one gets experience bonus. I don't think it needs to be more complicated than that.

I think what Hirobumi is trying to say is that he expected more from this aspect of the game in general. If you ask me, this part is NOT the focus of the game, but rather something added on the side, more like an afterthought.

Me, I like have it as an option. But I don't see this as the big focus for the game, and therefore I think the amount of rules (i.e. not that much) governing it etc. are just fine.

But if you want to "really" play something with heavier focus on generational play (like say, Pendragon) the rules in ToR might let you down.

I can understand that.

/wolf

I can understand that too

IMO, I think generational play can be central to playing elves true to Tolkein's creation. In running MERP campaigns, the game mechanics allowed elven characters to reap the benefits associated with immortality without consequences. Always, I had to narrate the weariness all elven characters eventually feel as they involve themselves more deeply in the affairs of the world outside of their havens. Sometimes players embraced this, and other times they resisted the notion that their immortal character couldn't go being the immortal hero. (This despite the example of Galadriel, one of the two oldest of Illuvatar's Children remaining in Middle-earth who claims she must fade from the affairs of Middle-earth and return to the Uttermost West. Now that's one hell of a retirement if you ask me...)

Without forcing decisions on us, I think TOR is trying to provide a game mechanic for players and LMs to really work with the obvious fate of human mortality, and the not so obvious implication of elven immortality. I think Skywalker hit onto something with the way that a longer-lived character will accrue shadow. For elves who are keenly tied to creation and feel the age of the world and its suffering, there is only one answer--to sail to the Uttermost West (i.e., retirement).

Now that I write this, it seems to me that part of Galadriel's test in the FOTR might involve the question whether she would "retire" or not. This might be interesting inspiration for LMs when running campaigns with elven characters that are resistant to the idea of retirement. Who can say if that resistance is not the affect of the Shadow acting on the player-hero...

I'm not sure I follow you here though Hirobumi.

Rewards = XP Spent on Valuor.

So if you gain 12 XP, from your father.... you can decide for yourself if that was a magical sword passed down or not by spending them on Valour and create that Reward.

That said... I still think the rules in this area are not really a Mechanic as such at all, but rather a "gesture".

/wolf

The only problem with that is you can only choose one reward, if the sword (ow whatever) had two or more enhancements then you can't do it that way.

E

There is a way you can do that.

First of all, they start with the sword/armour/helm/shield, but only have access to one Reward. Others are 'unlocked' as you learn to use your 'ancestral weapon'.

Consider Aragorn. He started with the 'Shards of Narcil', a broken sword that Boromir noted was still sharp after 3000 years. When the blade was reforged (after several fellowship phases), it became Anduril, Flame of the West. Aragorn had in effect, spent experience to earn Rewards.

Or, if you really want a fully active weapon at the start, create it as such, but inform the player that all experience must be spent on Rewards, and nothing else, until he has unlocked all of them.

Again that works, as the player can't improve any weapon skill or learn a Virtue until he has 'paid for his sword', in other words, you give an awesome sword to an incompetent fighter!