A source for new adventures?

[TwiceBorn]

With no one to bounce rules questions off of, or to talk to, it just seems like a hard thing to get into. I start thinking about all the more productive uses of my time and pack it up.

There are a lot of in-depth card/rules discussions on the FFG boards and a pretty lengthy FAQ document… but yeah, the rules can at times be cumbersome and even occasionally counterintuitive. I can see why that would be a turn off for some players.

[Ferretz]

Played the LCG for the first time with my wife last night. She's not into card games or rpgs at all, but it went really well. It was the first story from the core set, where the heroes are on their way through Mirkwood with a message from Thranduil (sounds like your average TOR adventure, doesn't it? ).

I played Aragorn, Legolas and some other female Dunedain. My wife played Eowyn, Theodred and some other Rohirrim (what they did up there in the forest, I'm really not sure about... )

After trudging through the Old Forest Road for a time, and into a pass near Dol Goldur, fighting spiders along the way, we came to a fork in the road. There we met Radagast and some elves. When we reached the edge of the forest, some huge, nasty spawn of Ungoliant attacked. Luckily, Gandalf appeared, no doubt having heard from his fellow Istari. Gandalf smited the huge spider, who then attacked him, giving him a small wound. Legolas and the other elf from Mirkwood then flanked around to put some arrows in the huge thing, and the path out of the forest was clear.

I love how a card game like this can create a story like the one I just described.

E.

[Falenthal]

This LCG is great. I specially like the fact that it's cooperative, not competitive. This way it's always interesting to play with someone, and doesn't end being "whoever has better cards and spent more money, wins".
Also, the fact that it is organized as quests makes it look like adventures. I only own the first cycle, the Mirkwood one (and don't plan to spend more money on it), but I appreciate how every adventure makes small changes or additions to the rules to reflect some aspect of the quest you're playing: the hints you have to collect to pursue Gollum, the bleeding of the rescued eagle, the large amount of locations in Emyn Muil in an exploring mission,...

I only miss two things:
*More branching paths like the one in the first adventure, which makes for higher replayability. Even if you know what the options are ahead of you, if there're two possible mission cards then you can't really be fully prepared for both of them.
*More thematic cards for each cycle. I'm sure this is related to selling more, so that you have to buy several packages to, for example, get a decent Rohan or Gondor deck. I miss that the Mirkwood cycle doesn't rely on silvan elves cards, lake-towners, beornings, etc. The Spirit sphere, for example, is basically a Rohan deck.

But overall, an excellent game which can also be played solo with fantastic results.

[Ferretz]

From what I gather, the second expansion (Khazad-Dûm) has a lot of theme (Dwarves) and it contains plenty of branching paths in the adventures (you basically try to get out of Moria, I think). I don't have it yet, but it's my next purchase.

Now Moria is one thing I would love to see for The One Ring. A campaign around Balin's expedition?

E.

[TwiceBorn]

Yes, some of the adventures in the Khazad-Dum expansion and Dwarrowdelf cycle have adventures with quest stages that can vary from game to game (Flight from Moria and Foundations of Stone come to mind). Later adventure packs also provide stages with different possible endings (e.g., The Steward's Fear), and the current cycle (Angmar Awakened) features player side quests that players can include in their decks. The constantly evolving mechanics of the game truly are amazing and keep things fresh, and, for the most part, very thematic.

The player cards in Khazad-Dum, the Dwarrowdelf cycle, and the two Hobbit saga expansions really fleshed out the dwarf trait early on in the game, so it is possible to complete those quests with, appropriately, all or mostly Dwarf parties (Bilbo Baggins of course joins each of the 6 Hobbit quests as a hero).

I also agree that Cubicle 7 should make a dwarf sourcebook and campaign focused on exploring Moria and searching for signs of Balin's fate.

[Glorelendil]

I also agree that Cubicle 7 should make a dwarf sourcebook and campaign focused on exploring Moria and searching for signs of Balin's fate.

That's a tricky one, because if such a venture were successful (that is, Balin's fate both discovered and successfully reported) it would break canon.

The only two Moria campaign premises I can think of that would work for TOR (that is assuming it all takes place between The Hobbit and LotR) are pre-Balin, and/or concurrent with Balin's expedition.

Nevertheless, if and when they get around to Moria I trust C7 & Francesco to do something both surprising and amazing.

[zedturtle]

I also agree that Cubicle 7 should make a dwarf sourcebook and campaign focused on exploring Moria and searching for signs of Balin's fate.

That's a tricky one, because if such a venture were successful (that is, Balin's fate both discovered and successfully reported) it would break canon.

The only two Moria campaign premises I can think of that would work for TOR (that is assuming it all takes place between The Hobbit and LotR) are pre-Balin, and/or concurrent with Balin's expedition.

Nevertheless, if and when they get around to Moria I trust C7 & Francesco to do something both surprising and amazing.

I think, at a certain point, you have to regard things as mutable. Whether or not the Fellowship fight their way through Moria or not is not that big of a deal. If you want to maintain something resembling canonicity, then Gandalf falls protecting Balin et al from the Balrog.

[Blubbo Baggins]

You know, Balin's failed quest being discovered/known would not have stopped the Fellowship from entering Moria. Gandalf already kind of knew that the Dwarves had failed, and is one reason he was so hesitant to go. But he said to Aragorn that he would not go there unless there was no other option. So even if PCs provided knowledge of the failed quest and the Fellowship knew about it, canon would remain the same. Instead of Gimli saying, "Yay, let's go to Khazad-dum!" He'd be there right along with Gandalf. But then they'd all have to turn around, and would be perhaps even more careful on their journey through the mines. But canon would essentially remain the same.

The only thing that could screw up canon is if the PCs discovered AND survived to tell of the Balrog. But I don't think that would be a problem. First, they'd have to escape/survive, which just seems highly improbable. Second, I doubt if C7 will include the Balrog at all. The Balrog is just not something PC's should encounter...they would write something in a Moria sourcebook, "If the players demand to 'delve deep' to explore for treasure or Something Else, warn them, but do not do so a second time. If they delve too deep, there is no need for any rolls here. Simply narrate their PCs met their ends at the edge of a flaming sword." My guess is, if there is any info. about the Balrog for the LM in the Moria sourcebook, it will be about as detailed as C7 wrote for The Ring in the Magical Treasure section of Rivendell.