Hi

I am running a session of the One Ring at the local Furnace convention next week and wanted to ask for ideas at how to make TOR shine as a con game.

I have a 3 1/2 hour slot, so probably 3 hours of game time after introducing the rules and choosing characters.

I am thinking I might have everyone roll 1d10 for shadow at the start of the game so it's more likely to come into play. What do you think?

What else could I do to add atmosphere and to best show off the system? An ideas welcome.

Thanks

vs

I'd drop Hope to 1/2 its normal starting value instead of giving Shadow (unless a Shadowed past really fits the character).

Have an Encounter, a Journey, a Battle and maybe even mention what happens in a Fellowship Phase.

Have a battlemat with the Stances and associated rules for quick reference.

Depending on the venue - if you can give stools or low seats to the Hobbits and Dwarves, do so!

Brilliant! I love it.

For an example of an adventure designed to be run in under four hours, I'll offer Over Hill, Over Dale. I originally wrote it for Decipher's LotR game and ran it at a convention. Recently, I converted it to the new system, ran it online (in about 3 1/2 hours), and then made it available online via the Gaming Security Agency website.

I have nothing to add to the great things said already, other than - know your stuff and be enthusiastic! If you have the Loremaster's Screen, use it, show it off. Put the player's map in the middle of the table and have extra dice sets if possible.

Words of the Wise highlights all three heroic ventures (as Mytholder suggests) and can be done in a couple of hours if you are well prepared. You might even have time to highlight the character-creation process in the end if there is time remaining.

Rather than that maybe place the adventure in a blighted land and expose the PCs to great horror (ie, violent events, works of the Enemy, etc)? That way they get to see how Shadow can (easily) increase in extreme circumstances and how avoiding it constantly will rapidly drain Hope.

Thank you for all the replies. I've written the game now - it features a quest to rediscover Dain's Hll in the Grey Mountains.

Here are the PCs: https://docs.google.com/document/pub?id=1x5...qe0MFUR2Rc9oEV8

I've tried to keep them stereotypical enough to easily get into character and provide enough friction for some interesting roleplaying as they travel. What do you guys think?

vs

PS If you recognise some of the characters, a few are based on those in an old RPGnet thread from when TOR first came out...

Cool - you'll have to write-up the adventure later and post here. Sounds like it could be lots of fun from your little one-liner about it!

First and foremost let me say that I'm a perfectionist - so minor things jump out at me. Secondly, be careful with some of these as they might alter your adventure and you don't have time to make extensive changes with the con a couple days away. But at least consider them for future edits.

I would suggest mentioning: The use of Languages is an optional rule in TOR. Considering Tolkien's love for language, you're using it here but other LM's might not.

You have not listed the Rewards and Virtues as separate items unless it is a user initiated ability. I would recommend that you list them consistently. This way players understand they have something good / unique.

It might just be my system, but the layout of the sheets is a mess, at least as I'm seeing it from Google Docs. Kind of like creating a message for these forums with a particular format/layout (columns), posting it and seeing it's been garbled. For instance, I see the skills section in particular like this:

Anyway, lets get on with the real edits, shall we? I've listed them by character.

Botil:

• It is not made clear that this is a female character, at all. While I realize that TOR's CS doesn't provide a space for Gender, you have to make this clear. Otherwise some stranger may seriously wonder about Ulfarr's player's actions.
• Typo: Background: EVerything you hold dear... lower case "v".

Runi:

• Typo: History: ...falling to a goblin arrow. H survived... change to He.
• Also, might I suggest "wounded by" instead of "falling to"? Falling is going to imply death; it did for me.
• Typo: Appearance: Akuato [to] perch on.
• Typo: Connections: Runi took it upon... change the sentence structure: "Runi chose to act as the [young man's|boy's] benefactor, until he came of age, by finding an apprenticeship for him with a Dwarven smith." Use young man or boy above as Runi would think of this person. It could have a huge impact in the RPing. Whichever you choose make sure to use it through all of Runi's material. (But see Ulfarr, below!)

Onar:

• "The Onar who escaped..." This sentence's structure varies in tone from the rest of the material. It is also awkward. Try "Onar may have escaped and survived, but the emotional scars he carries have placed a shadow on his soul. Watching his father's torture has instilled a malice against others, which he tries to hide, but his cruelty bubbles close to the surface."
• Axe Owner: Whose axe is Onar using? His father's? Or some other Dwarf's axe? This needs to be stated clearly. You also might want to consider where the proper owner is located currently, because if it's back in Erebor.... see Risking Exile, below.
• Abandoned?: If the axe Onar is using is not his father's why did he leave a part of his heritage lying around an Easterling camp? How has doing so affected Onar?
• Risking Exile: The Axes of Azanulbizar are vitally important to the families, being a mark of distinction and honor. They are almost sacred items as the Dwarven culture almost practices ancestor worship as a religion. So taking another lineage's Axe is tantamount to stealing their name and history. If it is Onar's intent to keep the Axe, as opposed to trying to return it, he is risking banishment and exile.
• Notes: It is not actually made clear that this really is one of the famed Axes of Azanulbizar. What you have is Onar's got a good axe and Burin thinks he might not have the right to it. But whether it really is an Axe? It is not stated.

Ulfarr:

• Valour: Remove everything about the Tower Shield from this . You've got it below under Virtues & Rewards. Not to mention the note is wrong - that is the text for Stout-hearted.
• Rewards: This provides the correct info.
• Weapons: Where is his Spear skill? Even if he doesn't have the weapon, he might pick one up and fight with it.
• Typo: ... woman Botild around the [city of] Dale. Add "city of". (BTW, reading this was the first indication I had that Botild was a woman.)
• If Runi is treating Ulfarr as a boy, Ulfarr might be annoyed by it and take exception to it. It creates a bit of a love/hate relationship between them.

Burin:

• Typo: Background: (You to judge others... remove extra word.
• See Adventurer's Book: You might want to make things a bit easier and print out the relevant info either onto the character sheet or on a separate page.
• Typo: History: Thurin's Company... it's Thorin's Company.
• Reference to Axe of Azanulbizar: Any Dwarf anywhere in Middle-earth can have one of these axes. All seven Dwarf clans participated in the Battle of Azanulbizar and all suffered losses so all of them would have Axes of Azanulbizar. While Burin might privately question Onar's worthiness to use such an historical/sacred axe, he cannot really question his right to have it without knowing his entire lineage and every Axe of Azanulbizar. There is no way to know that he doesn't have legitimate right to have/use the axe from some distant family member. Now, it might be Burin's idea to question Onar's lineage and go from there...
• Typo: Connections: ... if no men accompanied ... change this to Men (capitalized). Under normal circumstances it would be lower case but Tolkien uses it at times as a race - Dwarf, Elf, Man/Men.
• Uncle: Who is Burin's uncle? I think you are implying King Dain Ironfoot, but cannot be sure. Your players might not be able to make this connection so you should state it clearly. Probably back in the part about the character getting this mission because of their connections.
• Party Leader: As a side note, if he is the King's nephew, he might be assumed to be the head of the party. Which may not be what you want. This might actually make an excellent point of disagreement between Burin and another party member. Or maybe split the leadership - maybe someone else handles the Journey but once inside Dain's Halls, it becomes another party member's?

Thanks, Garn, for going through my PCs. I've taken your suggestions on board.

Oh, and don't worry: the sheets look fine when printed, they're just a mess when you export them to the web from Google Docs.

vs

Ive run TOR at Conquest and Expo in the UK this year

Both time i have had pregens starting with hope at half normal levels. It seemed to work very well

Voidstate,
So now that the Con is over and you've had a bit of time to rest, how did the adventure go?

I am curious as well!