New LM with some newbie questions

[Dreyton]

Hello all. So I'll be LM for a new TOR game starting tomorrow. I've been DM'ing for the group in a D&D 4e campaign for the last 2.5 years. Bittersweetly, it just wrapped. So we're moving on and wanted to try something different. We're all LotR's fans and we're really looking forward to playing TOR. That said, I had a few questions that I wasn't able to find answer to in the book. Maybe they're not in there, more likely I just overlooked them. Was hoping for some clarification.

1: When a creature scores a success, do they deal attribute level damage extra? I know in the rule book it says a creature deals its attribute level in bonus damage on a great or extraordinary sucess. But is it only applied once if it's an extraordinary sucess? or is it doubled like it is for PC's? Example: Hill troll (att level 6) attacks and deals 6 damage, but because it was an extraordinary success is the damage increased by 12 or only 6?

2:When starting, based on culture, each person has a starting wealth for their standard of living, whether it's frugal or rich or whatnot. If someone wants to live at a particular standard of living, they must pay treasure to live that way for the year. Is the culture's starting wealth the minimum a character can have? or is it just what their standard of living is for their first year, until they are forced to pay to maintain it? For example: a dwarf of the lonley mountain starts as rich. At the end of the year, does he have to pay his 24 treasure to stay rich the next year, or is he automatically considered rich because of his culture?

3:Do characters start at 0 or 1 standing?

4:Are characters considered to have rested when they are traveling? For example: if the company travels for 5 days, on the third day one of the PC's loses some endurance, that night does he recover as if he had taken a rest, or does the endurance loss stay until he can rest comfortably?

5:How does weariness affect travel? If a character is weay, is his travel rate slower? Also, is there a fatigue point where a character becomes too tired to travel? For example, if one PC has encumbrance of 20 currently, the PC's travel for 12 days and he fails rolls the first 10, gaining 2 fatigue each, and now has 30 fatigue compared to his 20 endurance, does the weariness affect his travel speed? Will he eventually be unable to continue due to fatigue?

On this matter, I've considered making the characters take endurance loss when they gain fatigue beyond their max endurance, forcing the those too weary to find shelter and recover. But that's a side thought.

6:Can creatures invoke hate to boost rolls? I know if they're favored with something, they can add their att level to it passively, and I also know there are some abilities that allow them to spend hate to increase damage, use spells, etc. But I was curious if they could spend it on other rolls.

7:Last question. If a wounded character has their wound treated, but before they recover from it is wounded again, does the wound become untreated once more? Basically replacing the old one with a new one, or for stories' sake the old one gets reopened...

Anyway, thanks in advance for any insight and clarity you can provide!

[Woodclaw]

First of all welcome.

1: When a creature scores a success, do they deal attribute level damage extra? I know in the rule book it says a creature deals its attribute level in bonus damage on a great or extraordinary sucess. But is it only applied once if it's an extraordinary sucess? or is it doubled like it is for PC's? Example: Hill troll (att level 6) attacks and deals 6 damage, but because it was an extraordinary success is the damage increased by 12 or only 6?

The extra damage from the Attribute level works exactly like the extra damage for the PCs. On a nomral success you deal the weapon damage, on an Great Success you add the damage bonus once, on an extraordinary you add it twice.

2:When starting, based on culture, each person has a starting wealth for their standard of living, whether it's frugal or rich or whatnot. If someone wants to live at a particular standard of living, they must pay treasure to live that way for the year. Is the culture's starting wealth the minimum a character can have? or is it just what their standard of living is for their first year, until they are forced to pay to maintain it? For example: a dwarf of the lonley mountain starts as rich. At the end of the year, does he have to pay his 24 treasure to stay rich the next year, or is he automatically considered rich because of his culture?

Not sure about this one.

3:Do characters start at 0 or 1 standing?

At 0, I made the same mistake on my first game.

4:Are characters considered to have rested when they are traveling? For example: if the company travels for 5 days, on the third day one of the PC's loses some endurance, that night does he recover as if he had taken a rest, or does the endurance loss stay until he can rest comfortably?

I think he should, since one of the possible complications during a journey doesn't allow to recover endurance during the journey if the scout fails a roll.

5:How does weariness affect travel? If a character is weay, is his travel rate slower? Also, is there a fatigue point where a character becomes too tired to travel? For example, if one PC has encumbrance of 20 currently, the PC's travel for 12 days and he fails rolls the first 10, gaining 2 fatigue each, and now has 30 fatigue compared to his 20 endurance, does the weariness affect his travel speed? Will he eventually be unable to continue due to fatigue?

On this matter, I've considered making the characters take endurance loss when they gain fatigue beyond their max endurance, forcing the those too weary to find shelter and recover. But that's a side thought.

Weariness does not affect travel speed. Still, having to drop all the 1s, 2s and 3s means that the character are more likely to accumulate Fatigue and being knocked out more easily.

6:Can creatures invoke hate to boost rolls? I know if they're favored with something, they can add their att level to it passively, and I also know there are some abilities that allow them to spend hate to increase damage, use spells, etc. But I was curious if they could spend it on other rolls.

No, Hate is used just to boost some special traits of the creatures, not to boost rolls.

7:Last question. If a wounded character has their wound treated, but before they recover from it is wounded again, does the wound become untreated once more? Basically replacing the old one with a new one, or for stories' sake the old one gets reopened...

A Wounded character stay wounded until he/she has recovered to full endurance. If he/she is wounded again before making full recover they're wounded twice with all the usual consequences (being knocked out of combat etc.) and the new wound replace the old one basically the same as reopening.

[beckett]

The extra damage from the Attribute level works exactly like the extra damage for the PCs. On a nomral success you deal the weapon damage, on an Great Success you add the damage bonus once, on an extraordinary you add it twice.

I do not think this is correct. The attribute level is not doubled on an Extraordinary success.

From the LM, page 64, emphasis mine.

Attribute Level

This replaces the three Attributes used to describe player-heroes. It is added as a bonus every time that a creature attempts a roll using a characteristic indicated as favoured (without the need of spending any point to invoke the bonus) and as a Damage bonus to be applied when the creature hits an opponent in combat rolling a great or extraordinary success.

I read this as meaning the Attribute Level is added once on a Great or Extraordinary success.

[Hermes Serpent]

Woodclaw has generally got it right except for the travelling question number 4.

You only recover Fatigue gained on a failed Fatigue/Travel test at a safe place. You do not get it on the road. It must be a location such as Beorn's House or Thranduil's Halls and you have to be safe as in no watches set, no chance of ambush etc.

The standard of living thing only requires paying if you want to be at a higher than cultural norm level. As you are only adventuring for a short time each year you do normal things for the rest of the time, trading, farming etc.

I've played it as the Attribute level is added in the same way as the heroes Damage Rating +1 for Great, +2 for Extraordinary success.

[Glorelendil]

The extra damage from the Attribute level works exactly like the extra damage for the PCs. On a nomral success you deal the weapon damage, on an Great Success you add the damage bonus once, on an extraordinary you add it twice.

I do not think this is correct. The attribute level is not doubled on an Extraordinary success.

From the LM, page 64, emphasis mine.

Attribute Level

This replaces the three Attributes used to describe player-heroes. It is added as a bonus every time that a creature attempts a roll using a characteristic indicated as favoured (without the need of spending any point to invoke the bonus) and as a Damage bonus to be applied when the creature hits an opponent in combat rolling a great or extraordinary success.

I read this as meaning the Attribute Level is added once on a Great or Extraordinary success.

I'm hardly an authority, but I think it can be read either way. Admittedly it could be clearer, but I could see Francesco saying, "Oh, yeah, I meant it is the value that you use for damage bonuses, just like a Hero uses his or her body score. Once for Great, twice for Extraordinary."

[beckett]

The extra damage from the Attribute level works exactly like the extra damage for the PCs. On a nomral success you deal the weapon damage, on an Great Success you add the damage bonus once, on an extraordinary you add it twice.

I do not think this is correct. The attribute level is not doubled on an Extraordinary success.

From the LM, page 64, emphasis mine.

Attribute Level

This replaces the three Attributes used to describe player-heroes. It is added as a bonus every time that a creature attempts a roll using a characteristic indicated as favoured (without the need of spending any point to invoke the bonus) and as a Damage bonus to be applied when the creature hits an opponent in combat rolling a great or extraordinary success.

I read this as meaning the Attribute Level is added once on a Great or Extraordinary success.

I'm hardly an authority, but I think it can be read either way. Admittedly it could be clearer, but I could see Francesco saying, "Oh, yeah, I meant it is the value that you use for damage bonuses, just like a Hero uses his or her body score. Once for Great, twice for Extraordinary."

Yeah, now that you bring it up, I can see it being read that way as well, and now I'm thinking, Oh I've been playing this wrong this whole time!

[Woodclaw]

Woodclaw has generally got it right except for the travelling question number 4.

You only recover Fatigue gained on a failed Fatigue/Travel test at a safe place. You do not get it on the road. It must be a location such as Beorn's House or Thranduil's Halls and you have to be safe as in no watches set, no chance of ambush etc.

I may have read it wrong, but I thought that #4 was about recovering Endurance, not Fatigue during a journey. As I read the rules, recovering Endurance while travelling happens as normal (otherwise the "Uncomfortable Lodgings" Hazard - LM 35 - would have no sense), while Fatigue is only recovered while resting at a safe place as you pointed out.

[Hermes Serpent]

I too may have read it wrong
I thought it was about fatigue due to failed Travel rolls because that's a common question, but you are correct it does seem to be that Endurance lost in a fight is the question in which case you are correct.

[Glorelendil]

Now I'm confused. How does fatigue recovery differ from endurance recovery?

[Hermes Serpent]

Fatigue loss due to failed travel rolls only get recovered in a safe place. Endurance loss due to combat gets recovered normally (+Heart during the 30 minute rest. Heart +2 if unwounded or wound is treated, +1 if wound not treated, after a good night sleep). Endurance can also be recovered by the Rally Comrades task.