TOR adaptations for one-shot sessions format

[tomfish]

You could also let the players decide by purchasing XP and AP for Hope and Shadow.
Lets say 1 Hope equals 2XP and 1 Shadow equals 8 AP.
Accept a permanent Shadow and a negative trait for a Wonderous magic item, or two for an enchanted weapon / armour...

That's a very good suggestion. I could present them with these options to make their PCs stronger (an irresistible option !), but also more vulnerable to becoming Miserable. I'll test that next time I get the occasion.

[Dunheved]

Hi
If you want a random bout of madness in a one-shot, how about this?

1. Calculate a number by doing (Hope minus Shadow).
2. Every time you gain a Shadow point, you also roll the Feat dice. If the score is more than the calculated number - it's a bout of madness. An Eye roll gets a loss of Hope; a Gandalf rune on this roll gives you a extra Hope point as you gain new resolve.

I haven't run any one-shot sessions so I have no idea if this mechanic is a game breaker or not. It is just a quick thought.

[Finrod Felagund]

Sorry, bit of thread necro here, but just spotted this. It occurred to me that another approach might be that any time a hero gains a shadow point, then it could have an immediate impact.

I developed "Elf Madness", which is a variant on shadow for mortal wanderers in Elven lands such as Lothlorien. Each time you gain Elf Madness, you roll a standard TOR D12 (with Gandalf, Eye etc) to gain a flaw which has an impact on both role play and character stats. So for example, you gain a point of Elf Madness, roll on the table below, get an "5" result and thus the "Live in Faerie" flaw which makes your Adventurer restless and reduces their Standing. The stuff below would need to be modified to match the standard flaw types in the core rule book (so 'Live in Faerie' could be replaced by 'tyrannical' from page 228 for example), but it does show how shadow and corruption can have an immediate impact.

'Eye' Dark understanding.
The Adventurer gains awareness of a dark flaw within their character, and it gains a greater hold over them. The character will not necessarily start to carry out evil acts as a result, but they will have to exert more control over their nature. As a result they may become darker in mood, more distracted, and possibly more sombre. The type of dark flaw will depend upon the character's personality and past deeds but it might include any of the shadow weaknesses on page 228 of the core rule book such as fear, treachery and brutality. The dark flaw may be invoked by the LM in exactly the same way shadow weaknesses are.

'1-2' Sea wandering.
The Adventurer desires to leave his home and family and sail across the seas in Middle Earth. He or she won't leave the adventure, but they can never rest and this desire is ever present. If they have not married they will now never do so. If they have married, they will become distant from their family. They will also start to become distant from their friends and become increasingly withdrawn. The tolerance of people the Adventurer encounters should be reduced.

'3-4' Fades Away.
The Adventurer has become so affected by what he or she has seen that they begin to think of nothing else. Normal life becomes distant and they forget to eat or sleep. As a result they start to fade away and become physically weaker. The character permanently loses 2 points of body to a minimum score of 1 (i.e. Body can never be 0).

'5-6' Live in Faerie.
The Adventurer has become so affected by the beauty he or she sees, that they want to leave their quest and live forever with the Elves, singing under the stars. He or she won't actually leave their companions, but as with the "sea wandering" flaw, they can never rest and this desire is ever present. If they have not married they will now never do so. If they have married, they will become distant from their family. The Adventurers standing should be permanently reduced by 1 point.

'7-8' Mad Obsession.
The Adventurer becomes obsessed with emulating some Elf object or activity he or she has seen in Lindon. This might include trying to build one of the Swan ships of the Teleri for example, carve a statue like those in Mirolos, or dance like Erien. Increasingly Adventurers will use the Fellowship Phase to carry out their obsession rather than carrying out an undertaking, which makes it harder to recover Hope points or gain Standing for example.

'9-10' Hopeless Love.
The Adventurer falls in love with an Elf of the different or same gender as the player chooses. It is extremely unlikely that the Elf will return their feeling, but they will probably be compassionate and distant. If this is the case, it is likely that the Adventurer will stay with their companions but this desire will be ever present and last throughout their life. If they have not married they will now never do so. If they have married, they will become distant from their family. The character permanently loses 2 points of heart to a minimum score of 1 (i.e. Heart can never be 0).

'Gandalf' Visions of Beauty.
The Adventurers' dreams are full of visions of people and places of utter and total beauty. Many of the people seem to be speaking to the Adventurer but cannot be understood. This affects the Adventurer so profoundly that they cannot wait to get back to sleep and dream again. The character permanently loses 2 points of wits to a minimum score of 1 (i.e. Wits can never be 0).

[atgxtg]

Are you sure you want "bouts of madness" in a series on one-shots. In a normal campaign it make sense as you see the character's shadow accumulation build up to it, but in a one shot it will just look like somebody suddenly went cuckoo and could easily disrupt the adventure.

i think you might be better off dropping th madness and instead just have the players get the negative traits from their shadow weaknesses. That way they can see their characters being corrupted.

I'd also not reset shadow pools when the character gains shadow (in a one shot there is not much distinction between temporary and permanent shadow - it's all lasting for the rest of the adventure). That way you'd be able to keep the mechanic of the players being corrupted and turned to evil.

[Glorelendil]

Bouts of madness are one of the highlights of the game (when handled well by the LM). They can be really memorable moments. That's my experience, anyway.

[atgxtg]

Bouts of madness are one of the highlights of the game (when handled well by the LM). They can be really memorable moments. That's my experience, anyway.

Oh they certainly are. I'm just thinking that they are probably too distracting for a one-shot. In normal play you don't usually have to worry about any or all of the PCs having a bout of madness or two each game session. In a one shot it will probably derail the campaign and make everybody seem very erratic and bipolar. Image how LOTR would have gone if all the hobbits and Aragon had had bouts of madness on the way to Rivendell.