Hello chaps. So anyway, some of you may know that I have, with the help of my friends, been working on creating various new cultures for The One Ring, due to wanting a greater choice, but also due to be incredibly bored. The Rohirrim were the first culture we tackled, and today I finally finished the pdf. I would greatly appreciate feedback from you guys, despite having play tested the culture with my friends. I'm well aware that everyone plays in a different way. So anyway, without further ado, I give you the Men of Rohan.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rvsycvf3t7jvauz/M...0Rohan%20v1.pdf

P.S Be Nice!

Hi Beleg,
I downloaded the PDF to my I-pad but can only see some of the Titles and the artwork.

That's odd... the link works fine on my computer. It's like that iPads don't have support for the various fonts I used, as I downloaded a hefty number to make the pdf 'pretty'. Have you got access to a computer, or would it be useful if I uploaded a dumbed down version with simpler fonts?

I can see it fine. I'll post some thoughts up once I've read it through properly.
T'would probably be best to upload a compatibility version anyway, if it is indeed the fonts that are the issue.

And nice? Pffft! I'll try to be as critical as possible! And still probably come off the nice guy.

Dito

Here's the combatibility copy guys. Sorry about that. I guess it's the price you pay for attempting to make things pretty
Happy reading!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gkzq5mrhzpr0nya/M...atible%20v1.pdf

Great work. My only "concern" is this. IIRC Eomer says something about the Men of the Mark telling no lies, so it is easy for them to discern when others do. So, perhaps there should be at least a point in Insight.

HN

P.S. When I first heard Riders of Rhovanion I thought the eastern side of Mirkwood
( probably because many maps I have seen have Rhovanion written on the east side). So, I envisioned Easterlings.

However, after reading this I finally got " The Upper Vales of Anduin" also being Rhovanion

This is awesome! With this PDF, I can finally realize my life-long dream of being a Shieldmaiden of Rohan!

hoplitenomad,
Be very, very careful with the term "Rhovanion". It has, in some respects, three definitions: Rhovanion (Realm), Rhovanion (Region) and Wilderland (which is used interchangeably with Region) - but none of these three terms cover the exact same terrain.

If you want to discuss this further, we'll need to start another topic. I've reduced my original post to the above to avoid hijacking the thread.

Another very nice variation on the theme Beleg. There are some ideas in there that I wish I had thought of.

I hope you don't mind if I offer some constructive criticism though.

1) You have 3 more points to spend on your common skills. They don't add up to 29. Yours add up to 26.
2) The 3 extra points are enough to purchase the Insight skill at 2 dice.
3) Your attribute spread is outside the normal parameters for Heroic Cultures. No culture (afair) can have a basic attribute of 8.

Each culture has a primary, secondary and tertiary attribute and each spread is as follows
A) primary=5-7
secondary=4-6
c) tertiary=2-4

The total may not exceed 14 and this gives 6 variables(hence, six backgrounds)

The virtues and the rewards are nice. Warhorse and the Horn are a little powerful for my tastes but that is just personal preference.(I do think that,if toned down slightly,they are both excellent variants though)
I like the spear very much
The Cultural blessing is seriously overpowered though, assuming that you mean that all skills are Favoured when mounted.

Garn just did a check on the term Rhovanion. Once again thanks for the input.


HN

Thanks for the feedback guys.
First off, Halbarad, thanks for the common skills advice, I didn't realise I did the maths wrong
Second, I'm unsure as to how the 3 points would only get the Insight to 2 dice, though I may just be being a bit dense. Also, I'll change the attribute parameters.
Third, I agree that the Blessing and the Warhorse and Horn appear overpowered, as I felt that way when I created them. However, my three friends play tested the Rohirrim with me: all three of them were Rohirrim, one of them had the horn, and they all had the Horsemaster's Bond Virture and the Warhorse to varying degrees, and we discovered that as soon as they were on foot, they began to rely heavily on luck. While on horseback they are capable of bein extremely devasting, we reasoned that in a 'normal' adventuring party there would be only one or two Rohirrim, and it would not always be possible to fight on horseback: Mirkwood being a prime example. So while the Virtues and Rewards are powerful, there is also a great flip side. That's what we found anyway

Thanks again

Beleg

Hi Beleg,

You may have a point there. I took my lead on the Blessing from advice given by Francesco (in my mounted combat thread) but there could be situations where being mounted wouldn't be of much use to a party. I have always found that Rohirrim players tend to use any excuse to be mounted though.

I just changed the things you mentioned Halbarad

'Pretty' version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hftdmh4ji85a71p/M...ohan%20v1.1.pdf
Combatible version:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/f88oroft2jpt4sv/M...ible%20v1.1.pdf

This version is quite impressive. What is your next cultural endeavor?

HN

Hi Beleg,

I don't want to be a pain in the arse, but your attribute spreads are still skewed for your backgrounds.
If I could offer some advice, you need to choose which of the Attributes is Primary, which is Secondary and which is Tertiary at a 'Heroic Culture' level(not at an individual background level, which is what you appear to have done).

Apart from that, it's looking really good.

Hoplitenomad I'm glad you like it. The next culture I want to create is the Knights of Dol Amroth, as I already have an idea on most aspects of them, I've just yet to put any of it down. My friends and I have even come up with how we'd like them to look... issue being none of us have had the time to draw them

Beleg, this is a very well done write-up. Men of Rohan are by far my fav culture throughout M-e.

3 points equals 2 dice because:

Raising from 0 to 1 is 1 point.
Raising from 1 to 2 is 2 points.

That's a total of 3.



I will say that I too feel that the "All skills are favored" when mounted is too powerful. I know that limiting it "only when mounted" makes it appear a check and balance, but like someone said - players will typically make any excuse to always be mounted.

Unlike other games where most advenuturing/combat etc happens in a crypt, or tomb or dungeon, TOR seems to spend most of it's game adventures outdoors in the wild and except for while in Mirkwood I would guess 80% of time will be while mounted.

That being said - I have no idea how to balance it any further.

Perhaps this instead: Your favored skills that you already have will count as favored when mounted (saving them from needing a Hope Point to enact it).

Aside from that balancing factor, I really love what you've done.

It actually wields 7 permutations, but the rules ignore the one where the secondary attribute score is higher than the primary score.

I've been tempted to create "the 7th background" for each culture, a bit aside from the others like the combination of their attributes would suggest...

Oh and btw, good work Beleg!

Hi Glorfindel,
Sorry, poor wording on my part. There is the 5/6/3 array as well, which as you rightly point out seems to be unused because it's the only one where the secondary exceeds the primary.
I should have said 6 acceptable permutations.

Thats a really interesting idea about using the seventh permutation for creating a further background.