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This was the most surprising news I have seen a long time. I had to double check that it as still March. And at first I just thought that some mistake had made this years April's Fools news be posted way early. But then it turned out to be true.

First I must say I am happy for C7. Seems like they have made some deal with WotC because this is labelled as D&D and not OGL. This may be a great success for C7. But I am quite sceptical on behalf on the games. I am a Gamemaster in D&D 5e and Loremaster in TOR. While I enjoy both games they have quite different feel and themes to them. While I think TOR is a shining example of what an RPG can be. D&D 5e is a more general system and has more flexibility for play style. It is perhaps the best iteration of D&D. But still many limitations. As was proven in the d20 era adapting D&D to other settings has its limitations. You can only budge the system so far. Most of the time the system doesn't support the story/setting. I agree as other has said if there are someone who can get it right it is C7. But I am still sceptical to that even they can get it right enough. I speculate that D&D ME will be more setting light system than TOR. A game for all those people who like ME but who don't know so much more about it than that they've watched the movies and/or read The Hobbit and LotR once or twice years ago. They might want a ME setting but don't care about all those finer details are according to the legendarium. Just looke at the computer games LOTRO and SoM. For them it can be a good taste of gaming in ME and if they want a more "authentic" experience they can come over to TOR.

2 things to add quickly as I'm at the airport and boarding soon.

1- welcome to the thread that beats deadly archery for longest post and page count

2-jon...can you give us any indication of whether you are going to start out doing a simple d20 conversion of all presently made material? Or are you going to be wholly reorganizing the product line (and / or doing new stuff only) for d20? (Ie will you have both the TOR and d20 versions of "Adventures over the edge of the wild", etc)

I think it doesn't matter if it doesn't fit with the feel of TOR player. It will benefit other player, other experience, and C7. Nobody own Middle Earth and absolutly says what it should be. So let the products D&D ME rolling out, and peek at the result. If you don't love it... Leave it and keep to the TOR line

Jon Hodgson wrote:The best selling The One Ring Roleplaying Game will continue as a separate and independent line, with some very exciting announcements coming this week.

I just read this bit over and over.

By the way, I have practically never play a D&D scenario. May be two or three times in more than thirty year of gaming&mastering. It would be ironic that D&D ME made me play to D&D...

Ernst-Jan wrote:

Jon Hodgson wrote:The best selling The One Ring Roleplaying Game will continue as a separate and independent line, with some very exciting announcements coming this week.

I just read this bit over and over.

Yes that was actually the exciting news coming out all of this. makes a bit up for that yucky feeling of D&D coming into destroy our beloved Middle-earth. (Not saying that it will! I have faith C7 won't suddenly go crazy on ME lore. But d20 conversation have ruined other setting before, so it's a reason people are wary and on the fence.) But to hear the words spoken of more TOR support is like music in my ears. Let it be true this time. Waited long for some other promised supplements...

It may not be realised that a licence for most3rd party IP has a limited duration. If teh one for TOR is say 10 years then it'll be coming to and end unless a (5 year) renewal is forthcoming.

If another company (not Sophisticated Games but Cubicle 7) opts to apply for a licence for an RPG set in ME then the 10 year clock starts again. I suspect that with the release of the SRD for 5e C7 see an opportunity to weld 5e mechanics onto teh ME setting and appeal to a larger fanbase than the one ofr TOR - mechanics make a huge difference to some people who wont try anything that doesn't use a D20 roll over mechanic.

I have mixed feelings, but i hope that not much TOR material will be recycled.
And if the D&D version has new content, I do hope the books are fluff heavy and light on mechanics so I'll have a good excuse to buy them.

Rocmistro wrote:2 things to add quickly as I'm at the airport and boarding soon.

1- welcome to the thread that beats deadly archery for longest post and page count

2-jon...can you give us any indication of whether you are going to start out doing a simple d20 conversion of all presently made material? Or are you going to be wholly reorganizing the product line (and / or doing new stuff only) for d20? (Ie will you have both the TOR and d20 versions of "Adventures over the edge of the wild", etc)

What we've said in general is that we very much see TOR as leading the way, and the 5e game will follow that lead. That should give you some clues.

So same period (IE 2950/3018) and revamping of already published stuff.