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I really like the Eye of Mordor mechanic from Rivendell but haven't had a chance to use it yet. As of late my players are realizing that you have to use your skills to get AP, and are adopting a habit of rolling dice using skills that aren't always necessary. The Eye of Mordor seems to be the perfect cure for such behavior.

So, I'm wondering if any of you have had the chance to test it out. In my campaign the year is still 2948 and I'm thinking of waiting until 2951 and Sauron's return to make his declaration in Mordor have more impact on the game. An addition of such a rule would definitely make the players realize that something bad has happened in the world. On the other hand, the description of the rule suggests other forces of the land as well, so maybe the players will link it to the doings of the dark lord too tightly if I wait until 2951 to introduce it. In what way have you handled it in your campaigns? And is it working well?

/Magnus

I used it for my G+ hangout game last Wednesday. I started at 5 and quickly racked up a few more points as players managed to roll Eye's. Now the company is only in 2948 but in Shadow Lands really close to Dark Lands, almost on the Withered Heath so the closer the total Awareness Score gets to 12 or 14 the more they'll feel the dread of the Necromancer's power and I'll ramp up the feelings of unease in my descriptions.

I think implementing the Eye of Mordor rules in 2951 is a pretty good idea and I've used it before that date but in very localised areas.

I'm also using this rule as well in my campaign:

Shadow Lands and Dark Lands
Shadow lands are treated in all respects as Wild lands until 2947.

Dark lands are treated as Wild lands until 2947, then Shadow lands until 2951.

So from 2951 onwards these region types revert to what they are listed as on the Loremasters map.

I think it's fine to use before. You could simply raise the level by 2-4 points to account for the slumbering shadow.

Dunkelbrink wrote:As of late my players are realizing that you have to use your skills to get AP, and are adopting a habit of rolling dice using skills that aren't always necessary.

Tasks are supposed to have clear consequences in the game (see Set Objective); the Loremaster should require the player to alter his objective if a proposed task has little consequence to the situation. Furthermore, a task that fails is also required to have consequences (see The Task Failed) that have an impact on the game, and it's the Loremaster who decides what those consequences are.

Stormcrow wrote:Tasks are supposed to have clear consequences in the game (see Set Objective); the Loremaster should require the player to alter his objective if a proposed task has little consequence to the situation. Furthermore, a task that fails is also required to have consequences (see The Task Failed) that have an impact on the game, and it's the Loremaster who decides what those consequences are.

Yeah, I know, but this is one of the more difficult tasks of roleplaying: it's boring to say "no" to players. On the other hand you don't want a lot of unnecessary rolls and you want there to be something at stake for every roll. If a player wants his character to sing at the Easterly Inn one night (and grabs the dice to roll Song) I won't stop him, even if there aren't any particular consequence. I probably won't reward him with AP but for me it's fine that he rolls. Because I know that when I'm playing rolling dice is fun. But the Eye rule makes every roll interesting (I think, as I haven't tried it out yet), as every action has the potential to raise eye level.

Haven't decided on introducing the rule now or in 2951. Heilmans idea of rasing the cap before that year is interesting. I am also using the same area modifications as you Rich. Maybe 2951 will have enough impact with those changes. Thanks for the input.

Dunkelbrink wrote:If a player wants his character to sing at the Easterly Inn one night (and grabs the dice to roll Song) I won't stop him, even if there aren't any particular consequence.

That depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? If there's no adventuring happening (say the adventuring phase has just begun), it's just an automatic action. If there might be someone listening relevant to the adventure, failure might indeed have a consequence (whether it's just noticing the singer or providing an adjustment to tolerance in an encounter) and so advancement points are acceptable.

Stormcrow wrote:

Dunkelbrink wrote:If a player wants his character to sing at the Easterly Inn one night (and grabs the dice to roll Song) I won't stop him, even if there aren't any particular consequence.

That depends on the circumstances, doesn't it? If there's no adventuring happening (say the adventuring phase has just begun), it's just an automatic action. If there might be someone listening relevant to the adventure, failure might indeed have a consequence (whether it's just noticing the singer or providing an adjustment to tolerance in an encounter) and so advancement points are acceptable.

I'm with Stormcrow on this one. If the player says, "I'm going to use my Song 2 and sing for the other guests in the Inn" I'm gonna tell him they all enjoy his song and he doesn't have to roll. If he says, "I'm going to try to soften them up so that when we try to Persuade them to help us with the orcs they'll be disposed more favorably to us," then he's gotta roll. If he gets an Eye it means something went badly wrong: maybe some of his listeners started to wonder, "...who is this loudmouth foreigner, trying to educate us locals like he's some big shot? Maybe he needs to be taken down a few notches, and have his purse lightened at the same time."

The Enemy just loves it when that stuff happens. He notices.