Probably a silly question

[Trotter]

Hello!

I love this game, but though I have all of the books I have yet to play it. I think I'm going to have reproduce my own gaming group (we're expecting our third hobbit!). I'm sure everything will be clear once I actually get to play.

I'm going through the character creation process, and though it's still somewhat spread out in the new edition as the old it doesn't seem that complicated. However when I compare a character to the examples in the back of the book I have only two distinctive features compared to three in the examples. There is no experience point total listed, so if there is a stage of character creation in which the third is chosen, I'd appreciate the page number.

Thanks for any insight, and have a great day!
Stephen "Trotter"

[Hermes Serpent]

Two from the Culture stage and one from the Calling stage IIRC.

[Trotter]

Two from the Culture stage and one from the Calling stage IIRC.

Thank you! I just found it!

[Fenton Hardy]

I love the game too and I think you will find that you will pick up the mechanics relatively quickly once you start playing. I see the confusion. The pre-generated characters at the back of the rule book list distinctive features and traits together on a single line on the character sheet even though they are generated at two different points in the character creation process. Every character receives two distinctive features (adventurous, cunning, reckless, etc) based on the hero's culture. Then each character also receives a trait, such as rhymes of lore or burglary, associated with his or her calling. So, for example, Lifstan has the distinctive features of adventurous and hardy and the treasure hunter trait of burglary. It does not help that the pregens place the calling trait between the two culturally-defined distinctive features. I hope this helps.

[Hermes Serpent]

it smacks of a late change in design that didn't get carried through to the pre-gens.

[Majestic]

I agree that once you get rolling (literally) and start playing the game, you'll discover how wonderful it is! There are parts that us veteran gamers struggle with at first, but once everything starts clicking it has layers of nuance and brilliant design that you can appreciate.

Welcome, Trotter! Don't I recognize your name from the Decipher game?

[Trotter]

Thanks for the encouragement, all. Some of this I can envision from my limited gaming experience, but honestly I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rins almost every year, and that helps more than anything. Also, my Middle-earth geography isn't too bad thanks to LotRO.

Welcome, Trotter! Don't I recognize your name from the Decipher game?

Thanks! I've actually been on the forums since the game came out. My status is largely "lurker," I guess. I did buy he Decipher game when it was out, but wasn't on the forums. I adopted the "Trotter" name when I started playing LotRO at launch, though I rarely play it now. I'm a fuddy-duddy, and am not crazy about the changes. My pen and paper is limited to A weekly Star WRs Saga Edition game for two years, and an off and on kids game I run using Savage Worlds and Mouse Guard (which has some interesting similarities to TOR if you haven't tried it).

Perhaps this is a question for another thread, but if as the book says, it is really possible to play with one player and one LM, I'd love to hear if anyone has done it. Maybe if my wife runs two characters and I run one? I can play dumb a little too easily. I bought the Mythic GM Emulator, but haven't tried it. Maybe that's one way to go.

In the mean time, I really enjoy reading these books. I think any Tolkien fan, gamer or not, would be glad to have them. Making characters is also a lot of fun. I made some random tables for character generation some time ago. They were on the old forums, and one of these days I'll try to make a nice PDF fan supplement. I really like the lack of min-maxing in a system that just lets you focus on who the character is.

Bah! Enough babbling! Have a great night!
Stephen "Trotter"

[Fenton Hardy]

You can play with just an LM and another player to get the hang of the mechanics but you would lose much of the dynamic that makes RPGs so much fun. You might join a VTT or a PbP game if you can't find players in your area. I am currently running a campaign on Roll 20 and am a player in a PbP and both have been good experiences. Check this forum and other sites for games that are staring up or looking for players.

[Wbweather]

You are more than welcome to check out our Thursday night game. We use Fantasy Grounds. You can play for free (I have the Ultimate License so anyone can join my game with just the demo). We have room for a good player.

[Corvo]

(...)
Thanks! I've actually been on the forums since the game came out.
(...)

By the way, I remember you from the old forum, when you announced the coming of your first (it was the first?) hobbit
It was one of those nights I spent awake, with my own kid that refused to sleep