Firsttime TOR Loremaster asking for Marsh Bell Oneshot Advice

[HunterGreen]

I have run The Marsh Bell at game days and conventions in a four hour slot for people who'd never even heard of the game, and had it fit, but it was tight. I only spent about ten minutes introducing basic game mechanics: that is, a tour of the character sheet, just giving a very high level introduction to how to read it, and some tips on what a few of the skills mean when it's not obvious (notably Awe, Song, and Riddle) and no more. Then each game mechanic (encounters, travel, combat, tests, etc.) got introduced in play as it came up. The Marsh Bell does a great job of introducing each mechanic as it comes up, and not penalizing the players for not having learned about it before that point. Making it fit a four-hour block requires the Loremaster to know the adventure and rules pretty well, so if this will be your first time too, expect more than that -- it took us probably 6-7 hours my first time with my own group.

[Thormgrim]

Ok thanks =)
Seems I wasnt that far off with my guess that it would take some 6-8 hours. Of course this can vary greatly with what the players are doing and how the adventure is narrated, but I can work with that =)

[Stormcrow]

Consider putting less emphasis on combat. It's only a small part of adventures in Middle-earth. "The Marsh-bell" is an adventure designed to showcase the rules of the game, so combat is involved, but in an ongoing campaign the recommend frequency of combat is once every other session. I'd sooner add another encounter or major obstacle than another combat.

If your players are using pregenerated characters, don't spend an hour explaining the rules to them. Just explain their characters' major strengths and motivations, and teach them the game mechanics as they come up.

[Thormgrim]

Okay I'll think about that, Marsh Bell seems relatively low on Combat though,
while they can encounter alot of people already and the exploration / narration part is relatively large.

Another Thing that came to my Attention is, that all Links to Cheat-sheets, the Revised Travel Rules, Revised Preliminary Rules and so on are offline or not reachable.
Is there a Source where I can get the latest Revised Rules and a good Cheatsheet for my Players?

[Earendil]

Okay I'll think about that, Marsh Bell seems relatively low on Combat though,
while they can encounter alot of people already and the exploration / narration part is relatively large.

Another Thing that came to my Attention is, that all Links to Cheat-sheets, the Revised Travel Rules, Revised Preliminary Rules and so on are offline or not reachable.
Is there a Source where I can get the latest Revised Rules and a good Cheatsheet for my Players?

Sorry, I don't know which links work, but I will say that you don't need the revised travel rules. They actually predate the current edition of the rulebook, so if your rulebook is hardback it contains the most recent (and best IMO) travel rules. (Of course other people may prefer one of the earlier versions!)

As for combat, I agree you don't want to overdo it, but it is exciting for the players to get into a fight or two. I remember when i ran this I made a point of emphasising how many Marsh-Dwellers there were lurking in the darkness, slowly approaching... The players got the hint and ran for it without trying to defeat them.

I actually think that's likely to be more of a problem with players who are used to other games like D&D and expect the difficulty of fights to be tailored to their abilities. Inexperienced roleplayers are less likely to assume fights are winnable and therefore tend not to try something suicidally dangerous...

[Thormgrim]

Okay, thats good to know. I was bit confused by the numerous Travel Rules mentioned on the Forum to be honest.
Can anyone point me at an Cheat Sheet though? As far as I know C7 has none in their downloads

[Stormcrow]

I actually think that's likely to be more of a problem with players who are used to other games like D&D and expect the difficulty of fights to be tailored to their abilities. Inexperienced roleplayers are less likely to assume fights are winnable and therefore tend not to try something suicidally dangerous...

Yes, there should be no expectation of "balanced" fights. Combat is not adjusted or prearranged to match the abilities of the player-characters. There is no metric that will tell you which adversaries will be too difficult or too easy. The best way to win a fight in The One Ring is not to get into one.

[Thormgrim]

Regarding the Journey Rules again, I found that the Travel Gear encumbrance and Journey Rules in General differ in my Core Rulebook to my Adventurers Book and Loremasters Book.
For example: In AB Encumbrance of Travel Gear ist 1 in Spring/Summer and 2 in Autumn/Winter, whereas in Core Rulebook ist 2 and 3.
Another thing is: my LB does not mention Lore Roll/Preliminary Rolls and Journey Advantages at all, whereas AB and Core Rulebook do.

Which one of the Books is the latest? Oo

[zedturtle]

The hardcover core rules are the latest, the softcover rules were part of the original slipcase. There’s an update file, indicating what changes in the game resources section of the website.

[Thormgrim]

Uhm I dont know which Version that would be :/
I got the PDF from DriveTrhuRPG because the Physical Copies are no longer available here.

Edit: Ok I think I figured it out.
Was likely to begin with, but the Adventurers Book and Lorebook I bought used on a Convention are outdated by my Core Rules pdf it seems.
DrivethruRpg had an Clarifications and Amendments PDF available as well.