Combat Tasks to help archer in small Fellowships

[JoeArcher]

I think all movies suffer from the same thing - LOtR included. They're movies and not books. Different media. I love the books, but for me the movies present the story just fine. Different but great

[Glorelendil]

Discussions on these forums often devolve into love/hate fests toward the movies.

But I think the issue at stake here is not whether or not the movies are any good, but rather that the game of TOR is designed with the books in mind, and that anybody who wants to play a game based on the movies is likely to find some disappointments.

[JoeArcher]

Yeah people seem to be quite passionate about hating films based on books For me it's entirely different experiences and as long as the main story is intact, I find it pointless to compare them in detail.

I do generally prefer the books and when I think about lord of the rings and the hobbit, it's certainly the books that pop into my mind. I don't know how many times I've read the hobbit, for my own pleasure for students and my wife. But I still remember reading it for the first time almost 25 years ago. I had borrowed a rather torn copy from a friend of my mother and I read it over a weekend. I just couldn't put it down and no other book has made such a lasting impression on me. Read lord of the rings some time later, but the hobbit is my favorite book of all times.

[Mythicos]

I think that invoking "the Tolkien spirit" to back one's arguments when discussing minute details about combat rules in a RPG is, to say the least, a stretch.

[Glorelendil]

I think that invoking "the Tolkien spirit" to back one's arguments when discussing minute details about combat rules in a RPG is, to say the least, a stretch.

I would have agreed with this...before I discovered TOR. But now, at least in the case of TOR, I disagree with you strongly. I have never never seen (nor even imagined) game mechanics that were so beautifully aligned with an author's aesthetic.

[JoeArcher]

I think that invoking "the Tolkien spirit" to back one's arguments when discussing minute details about combat rules in a RPG is, to say the least, a stretch.

Agreed. Tolkien created an absolutely fantastic setting and story, with incredible depth. But his writing isn't exactly action oriented and frankly I wish for all players to experience more involved and exciting combat than what tolkien could come up with. It just wasn't his strong suit. I see nothing wrong with more movie inspired combat description, without compromising the setting.

I also agree that the rules capture the books incredibly well and that it's amazing. I just don't see any reason to dull down combat. I don't want to change any rules, but I certainly want a bit more exciting combat narration and description than the books deliver. For me the movies are fine in this regard and when my players enjoy themselves with a Gimli/legolas contest, I'm not going to deduct any xp for going main stream

The beauty of the rules is that while only a handful of combat tasts and actions are listed, you can easily improvise and the rules even suggest this. The example is quite action movie style.

[Curulon]

Honestly, to each their own with the opinions of Peter Jackson's films. I personally love both the books and movies equally, and I believe that no adaptation would ever please every fan of Tolkien, as that's the nature of adaptations. But, I don't see anything wrong with a player wanting to capture the feel of Tolkien's books while still wanting to explore the exciting combat that Peter Jackson portrays in the films.

I mean, it does say something when there are only small paragraphs about battles, and pages (perhaps not literally) of description about something like a flower or something more relaxed than intense combat. As some have said, big epic battle descriptions weren't what Tolkien was trying to evoke, and that's fine. But, if players who enjoy both equally wish to evoke those things equally through The One Ring, there's nothing wrong with that.

I guess sometimes I just see hate for the movies for the sake of hating, and it bothers me slightly. Not that I've seen that here in droves, but I have other places, so sometimes it's a bit of a "we get it, you don't like the films" case. Again, to each their own, though.

[Glorelendil]

The Gimli/Legolas contest is in the books, too. The original version just didn't have the wire-based acrobatics.

If people want to add house rules to make the game suit their tastes that's great, but I for one am glad Francesco made no attempt to incorporate high-fantasy combat in RAW, and I would be extremely disappointed if C7 ever decided to cater to that desire. Pretty much every other RPG out there already does.

P.S. You don't have to hate the movies to not want their influence in this lovely game. I liked the movies. I also liked Star Wars, but I'm glad there are no lightsabers in TOR.

[Curulon]

The Gimli/Legolas contest is in the books, too. The original version just didn't have the wire-based acrobatics.

If people want to add house rules to make the game suit their tastes that's great, but I for one am glad Francesco made no attempt to incorporate high-fantasy combat in RAW, and I would be extremely disappointed if C7 ever decided to cater to that desire. Pretty much every other RPG out there already does.

P.S. You don't have to hate the movies to not want their influence in this lovely game. I liked the movies. I also liked Star Wars, but I'm glad there are no lightsabers in TOR.

Oh, certainly. I'm so glad that it isn't like super high fantasy, because a little of that can go a long way - and in this game, it would be in a bad way. Just wanted to point out that you can want the influence and it's totally an okay thing.

I personally don't really want all that much, save for some combat flavor (more the excitement and urgency, not the sometimes unnecessary acrobatics), but otherwise I prefer what Francesco has done in evoking the feel of Middle-earth.

[Mythicos]

I think that invoking "the Tolkien spirit" to back one's arguments when discussing minute details about combat rules in a RPG is, to say the least, a stretch.

I would have agreed with this...before I discovered TOR. But now, at least in the case of TOR, I disagree with you strongly. I have never never seen (nor even imagined) game mechanics that were so beautifully aligned with an author's aesthetic.

The key to my part of the quote is "minute details".

I completely agree that TOR rules in general, and that includes the combat section, magnificently evoke "the Tolkien Spirit" (I feel that I should put a (tm) after the closing quote, but I don't want to be perceived as overly sarcastic since it'S not (completely) my intent). But I highly doubt that discussing a way to slightly accommodate the 2-for-1 rule (which, need I remind everyone, was the original object of this thread) Jacksonizes the game to the point that it's not recognizable anymore as Tolkienish.