I'm slightly annoyed. I checked my order in the cubicle 7 store (it's order no 4904, if anyone from C7 happens to be reading this), there's nothing about the status of my print copy of TFW, which I ordered back in March. I tend to buy directly from the publisher when possible, because I prefer to give my money directly to them rather than have amazon take a slice out of it. However, it would be nice if preorders were fulfilled as soon as possible, and not as an afterthought ...

Well, maybe it's on its way after all and I just didn't get confirmation. In that case, I'm sorry for nagging!

I got an email saying my order had been dispatched, but the status on the C7 store is unchanged. So maybe yours is on the way, too, and the mail was lost.

Thanks - I hope that's the case!

This is the most likely reason. As far as we are able to know this with 100% certainty, all preorders have shipped from both US and UK warehouses.

I will look into this for you right now.

Thanks! I know it's a little early to get grumpy, I#m just looking forward to the printed copy so much (and I think in my excitement, I just reported your post instead of quoting it, sorry.)

Ha ha! No worries, the report brought me here straight away, which was good as I need one additional piece of personal info from you. Check your PMs in 30 seconds or so!

Ok, Jakob, your order was dispatched on Friday via airmail. An email confirmation was sent, but is either in your spam folder or lodged in an intertube somewhere.

Thanks for looking into it!

My copy of TFW arrived in Lancaster, Lancs, this lunchtime, in perfect condition - the 'Amazon-style' corrugated card book mailer thingy protected it perfectly. It is a gorgeous book, and I'm really looking foward to running the adventures in it - which I've had a brief glance at.

Just back from work and delighted to find copy of Tales from Wilderland waiting for me!

Beautiful book, and has philhendry said, mine came in pristine condition

Ditto on mine. Nice to finally have it, tis very shiny looking

Mine arrived today too - also in perfect condition. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect - I don't think I've ever before received a book in such pristine condition. The quality of the paper, cover and binding was top notch too. Congrats to Cubicle 7 for such great service.

Mine arrived in New Zealand.

Mine's here, too. No problems with the packaging, looks great!

Awaiting mine from Leisure Games later this week. Really looking forward to this one.

Anywho... how about some reviews of the thing?

Lovely to see everyone finally getting their physical copies around the world. And the Italian version is very close to release too! Gareth, did I tell you before how much fun had the Italian translator working on Tales? He is a Merp veteran, worked on most of that line in Italian, and he said he never had so much fun translating something...

Francesco

I got an e-mail saying that the book was sent, so I expect it any day now.

This might have been up before, but any word on when the Loremaster Screen will be sent out? My order still says I ordered the GenCon adventures...

-Eirik

We'll be sure to pin a big announcement here, as well as posting to FB Twitter, our blog and the newsletter, when the Loremaster's Screens go out.

I got it today, mostly in good shape, just one corner is chipped. Anyway, woohoo!

Yesterday night, I read the first scenario. It is nicely written, makes good use of the rules, presents two very accessible NPCs in a classic rpg situation (PCs protect a caravan through dangerous territory). Because the scenario in itself is very simple, it also avoids some of the problems I had with "The Marsh Bell", which presented important information only when the PCs were supposed to find them, not when they were relevant to know for the GM.
All in all, a scenario to my liking: A simple quest, interesting NPC and and atmospheric setting.

I'm curios how the more complex scenarios in the book will turn out - at first glance, I would suspect that they suffer from the same problem as "The Marsh Bell", but that's something I can live with, as long as the writing, the NPCs, the integration of the rules and the story hooks are as good as in "Don't Leave the Path".

Mine shipped from a UK Vendor today.
Should be with me within a week.

/wolf

Its trade dress is a perfect complement to the core rules, sleek, beautiful (but not at the expense of content), and easy on the eye in low light (I read mine by candlelight). The adventures are superb and quite separate from the usual fantasy game themes. I really like the darker aspect to the later scenarios and how, sometimes, the players must make hard choices. I don't expect all the characters to survive to the end to be honest (I'll be running the book as a campaign) and I really think the arc of the story is better for it.

Possibly, apart from obvious examples like 2nd ed Nobilis, the most beautiful and well produced RPG book I own (the core would've held this honour had the books been hardback or in a gloss cover).

Sweeeeeeet!
I found Tales on my doorstep when I got home this evening, and as it's my birthday tomorrow the opening of said package was special. Oh yay! I was extra chuffed to find the book in pristine condition too.
Now I'm off to bed to read Tales till I nod off .... maybe I'll have Middle Earth dreams?

I received mine in France yesterday.

The package was perfect : very strong, almost no chance of having a damaged book.

I already knew the book from the pdf.
It's as good-loking on dead tree as I hoped. Maybe not the best-looking I own, but the concurrence is harsh.
And the scenarios really capture the mood and the tone of the Hobbit. They're solid and can be played almost without preparation (reading it twice before playing is enough). As a gamer with a full-time job (like a lot of gamers who started playing in the 80's-90's), I appreciate how convenient it is.

Some first impressions:

"Don't leave the path" - as I said before, a perfect "keep it simple scenario" with a wonderful tolkienean flair.
One gripe: Why are there no stats for the hermit, even though the possibility that the characters might have to fight them is mentioned? I know that a fight is not the "desirable" outcome of this encounter, but it could happen (there are a lot of "trigger-happy" characters in tolkiens works, too; just think of how many people Turin Turambar kills more or less accidentally ...).

"Of Leaves & Stewed Hobbits" - a little to cute for my taste; Bilbo's inclusion into the backstory feels a bit forced (but that element is easily edited out). The encounters on the way to the High Pass are interesting and could actually be used as hazards for any journey in that region - I'm especially fond of Shanker and the Night-Wight; again, this is really good stuff of the "keep it simple" kind.
I'm in two minds about the battle at the ringfort: on the one hand, the mini-system for handling the actions of the PCs allies (table on p 34) seems neat, on the other hand it might become unusable as soon as the PCs decide to mix it up a little (e.g., some of the PCs coming over to the other side of the ringfort to help their allies). Maybe TOR would profit more from more universal shorthand rules for combat among NPCs. This is also a minor gripe, however.
What bugs me a little more is the handling of the Kidnapping: I'm among the LMs who always wan't to give the PCs a chance to stop their foes from acting - the suggested handling of this scene would certainly annoy my Players to no end, and rightfully so. While I appreciate that the box on page 35 addresses this problem, it would have been nice if this crucial event would have been thought through a little more thoroughly by the author. I will probably just change the scenario so that the kidnapping has already occured when the PCs arrive.

Despite some problems, these first two scenarios are well-written, well-structured and full of wonderful little ideas, and I well certainly use them. the one general remark I have about all the TOR adventures I have read yet is that it would be nice to have better descriptions (and maps) of the places encountered. Most of the descriptions are written from the perspectives of the PCs approaching a place. I prefer a more general, neutral description. Usually, my players tend not to stick to the script, and it becomes much easier to handle the unforeseen if the adventure text gives you a good sense of the place.

Cheers for the feedback . All valid points, although the Hermit deliberately doesn't have stats - if the PCs want to kill him, it's a dramatic scene as opposed to a combat encounter. No need to roll dice.

You're probably right about the hermit. However, I still feel that it doesn't hurt to provide some stats - I probably wouldn't even use them if it came to a fight, but you never know, the situation might arise where they become crucial.
However, this is a really, really minor gripe. Apart from that, the first scenario is a perfect example of a good introductory adventure.

I will probably read kinstrife next, and then I'll have to go back to reading the rules again, because next friday, we'll finally start playing (with "Don't leave the Path").

(SPOILERS in this post)

"Of Leaves and Stewed Hobbits" probably is my favourite adventure in the book. I was a bit worried about some parts, but it worked perfectly. My players searched the fort but actually missed the underground passage. They looked for the hobbit during the fight, and he wasn't there anymore, but they assumed he was hiding. They actually thought about several ways of sabotaging the feast, including preparing a tasty soup with lots of meat and another disgusting one with just water and salt. And they seemed to enjoy the cuteness and humour.

I agree with Gareth about fighting the hermit, but here's my take on his stats, made up using the rules at page 24 of the Loremaster's Book.

The Hermit
Attribute Level: 4
Specialities: Shadow-lore
Distinctive Features: Mistrustful, Crazy
Relevant Skills: Riddle 2, Spear 1
Endurance: 6

Francesco

SPOILERS




Good to hear that it worked well with your group; I can certainly imagine it working well with mine. Still, there's always the possibility that the players make decisions that prevent the scenario from working as planned ("This terrified little hobbit is bound to end up in trouble - Lindil, how about if you look out for him?"), and I prefer adventures that prepare the LM for the unexpected.
On the other hand, the adventure still works if the players prevent Dindy from being captured - that way, it's just a little shorter, and still a good scenario. As I see it, this bottleneck is no big problem. What bugs me a little more is that the text of the adventure kind of suggests that the LM should force Dindy's kidnapping even if the PCs are careful and trying to prevent it. In my experience, this can ruin a session - there are players who react highly allergic to the feeling that they have too little influence on the events of the scenario (actually, I tend to be such a player). If I felt that my character didn't get a proper chance to avert the kidnapping, it would probably take me a huge effort of goodwill not to drag myself through the rest of the scenario mumbling and grumbling that we wouldn't BE in that goblin cave if the LM would have played fair.

I don't want to come across as nagging, I really love everything I've seen about TOR so far. I just feel the need to point out these kinds of problems, because sometimes they can become traps to inexperienced LM who feel that they have to stick to the scenario as written by all means and end up leading their players around on a string or bossing them around, when it would be so much more fun to just let them do their thing and see where it goes. I think the adventure is just a little bit too much in love with the (admittetly wonderful) idea of the goblin feast to discuss other possible outcomes more freely.

A good solution for "Of leaves ...", as I see it, would have been to discuss a few more reasons why the PCs might want to check out the goblin caves even if Dindy is not kidnapped in the text; or to present a few more ideas about when and how Dindy might be kidnapped (the characters might be victorious at the ringfort, but a few gobins might try another surprise attack in the following night - another chance for some of them to kidnap the hobbit). Just pointing in the general direction of such options often helps LMs to think out of the box, if necessary.

Thanks! And dammit, now I'll habe to make my PCs fight the hermit, just so that the stats aren't for naught

I agree with this and it's why I'd already decided to have Dindy kidnapped by the time the PCs arrive. In fact, I'm going to have them arrive a bit later than as-written in the adventure. So, instead of joining the Bree-men inside the ring fort, the companions witness the start of the goblin attack and Andy Blackthorn's death. And once the companions rescue the Bree-men (perhaps by ambushing the Orcs from the rear), they'll discover that Dindy had already been captured beforehand and they have to track the goblins to their lair.

Thanks, Ovid, that sounds like a good solution to make sure that the player's won't be denied the many pleasures of the goblin caves.

Yes - it was important for me to keep that bit, because it's very reminiscent of The Hobbit, IMO. A bit of background, though: I'm also weaving parts of 'Words of the Wise' into the campaign, and that also has a 'siege' episode with similar elements to the one in 'Of Leaves...' For that reason I'm comfortable giving the players the opportunity to attack the Goblins from behind at this point, so as not to be repetitive. If you want to make use of the siege scene here, you'll obviously need to let the PCs get into the fort.

Wonderful!
Any news about the translated Screen, too?

And mine arrived from Leisure Games! Beautiful, beautiful work Gareth (and Francesco)!

Just read "Kinstrife" and wanted to mention that I love it - no reservations this time. Love the setting and the way how the very simple events that precede the scenario engender a very complex and difficult situation for the characters. Also, the band of outlaws reminds me of some of the best aspects of MERP - the way that the villains were very often well-defined and interesting characters, who, while usually evil, had believable motives.
And I think I saw a hint of Turin Turambar's tragedy in Oderin's story ...

Finally got mine.... it's all glossy and beautiful and mine, all mine.... my oooown...

/wolf

At Last, I have mine!!

After reading through it briefly, I must say that what I particularly like about this supplement is that (being a bit of a lazy Loremaster) I don't think I have do too much tinkering before this is ready to play! I can also see where I can tie this into my own Fourth Age campaign, too!

The best things about it IMHO:

1) The social Interaction rules when the PC's meet an NPC - based on the formula IF the PC's do this, then the NPC does/says this. I have not come across many games that do this for the GM - most of the time you often have to ad-lib this stuff!

2) The little tips for the Loremaster on 'Roleplaying NPC X' - also often a neglected area IMO.

If one was to be critical of the whole supplement I can certainly see areas (as discussed earlier above) where it gets a bit 'railroady' in terms of what options/choices are available for the PC's.

CheeseWyrm

I live in Melbourne, Australia FYI - I will start another thread on this in case you don't see this message...


Robin S.

Yesterday, we finished playing "Don't Leave the Path" - it' really a nice little scenario! The only problem was Part Four. The thing with Baldor falling into the brook is kind of a bottleneck. I had to change it around, because one of the characters was really fast in getting to him - Baldor managed to get out of the stream und stumbled into spider-webs. The Spiders attacked Baldor and the Character and followed them back to the campsite. So I wasn't able to use the ruined castle, which is a pity, since it was a nice setting for the battle ...

What was really amazing was the final fight against the thing in the well - here, my characters kept rolling maximum damage and piercing blows; within two rounds, the thing was reduced to 0 endurance, then received a called shot from an arrow and rolled a Gandalf for its armor check. Good-bye, big bad! Anyway, my players really loved that fight, and it was kind of cool. I just which the creature had had the opportunity for more than one attack!

We'll continue with "Kinstrife", since my players have mentioned that their characters would like to get to know some Beornings. Looking really forward to it - I've read the scenarios up to "those who tarry", and kinstrife is my favourite.