Suggestions for a first time player

[RoyandMoss]

Hey everyone, first off thanks for accepting me onto the forum. I want to learn more about Middle Earth Roleplaying games and this seems like the perfect spot for it!

I will be going to a friends place next week to play The One Ring for the fist time. I have played table top games before (Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons) and lots of card games but I have never tried a Cubicle Seven game. My friend assured me that I would like it based on my interests, but I hate being the guy at the table that needs everything explained to them or ends up doing everything wrong. So, if you guys have any resources that I can learn from that would amazing thanks in advance.

[Grey Seer]

OK. I'm relatively new, but I think it might help to know a bit more. Are you going to be a player or the Loremaster? Are you looking for advice on playing in the setting or more about rules and mechanics?

Making a guess from your post, I am going to guess that you are looking for player specific advice surrounding rules.

From that point of view, and and based on your previously listed game experience, I don't think you'll have much problem getting your head around the core dice mechanics. Below I've broken down my thoughts about what you might like to know prior as a player :

• General : TOR is more narrative as a system, especially compared to WFRP or D&D (with the possible exception of 5th edition). So don't try to worry too much about what rules let you do something and just try to go with what you think your character would do
  Dice Mechanic : basic mechanic is roll a d12 plus a number of d6 equal to the number of boxes you have checked in the relevant skill. Basic target number is 14.
  Traits: these are descriptors of your character that you can invoke to automatically pass skill tests or get a test when you might not otherwise be able.
  Endurance and Fatigue: no hitpoints in this game. Your character has endurance determined by his culture and heart. Fatigue is determined by how much armor /weapons and "stuff" you carry. As you travel or fight your endurance goes down and when your endurance and fatigue meet,your character becomes wearied. This makes you less effective a skill checks (including weapons)
  Wounds : very basic, this is the enemy getting a sort of critical on you. When you are wounded and weary, your character passes out and starts to die.

There's more, but I think that's the majority
Hope this helps!

[Stormcrow]

For a player, one of the most important things to remember is that Hope is a limited resource. You need it a lot as a beginning hero, but you only regain it slowly. But this is dependent on how tough the Loremaster makes the challenges you face—I've played in a campaign where everyone's Hope was always topped off because the challenges were so easy we rarely needed to spend Hope, and when we did we took it out of the Fellowship pool. (We also had two hobbits in the company, which helped a lot.)

Another thing to pay close attention to are Traits. These let you take control of the narrative as often as you want by playing in character. Remember their three functions: automatic (but basic) actions, unforeseen actions, and Advancement points. The most important thing to remember is that you can be creative with these; they don't only do what they say on the surface. Consider the example in the book (The One Ring Roleplaying Game, p. 141) where Trotter uses the Smoking Specialty to gain an automatic action on a Stealth task. This means that even seemingly useless Traits are valuable if you're creative.

Finally, do not be a passive participant in the adventure. This game, more than those you mentioned having played before, thrives on active participation by players. There are times you get to take control of the unfolding story, whether it's for the duration of a single task or for an entire Fellowship phase. Use those opportunities well. Don't wait for the Loremaster to tell you what you can do now.

[Majestic]

Excellent advice so far!

I'll just add that, a little bit different from most other RPGs is the way this game breaks down into an Adventuring Phase and a Fellowship Phase. The Adventuring Phase is the 'meat' of the adventure, and this takes up the majority of your time at the table (this is the majority of what you do in those other games), but The One Ring RPG also has a specifically defined 'Fellowship Phase' (this is that time in the other games where you might level up your character, buy gear, etc.). In The One Ring RPG the GM (Loremaster) controls the narrative in the Adventuring Phase, but the players dictate what happens in the Fellowship Phase (and the LM gives results based on what they choose).

The three main 'pillars' of an Adventuring Phase are Encounters (where you meet other folks of influence; this game has a specific system for how well you do in your interactions with them), Journeys (much more emphasized in this game than it is in most other traditional fantasy RPGs, like D&D and WHFRP), and Combat.

Combat is more abstract that those other games often are. Overall the game often is more narrative in focus, with less emphasis on nitty-gritty specifics. You don't have to detail exactly how many feet away your hero is from an enemy, or figure out the angle of a target to know how well you can see them.

Most importantly, there are mechanics that really emphasize Middle-earth and Tolkien's writings. Things like Shadow and Hope, Fellowship Focus (you get to pick another PC and, depending on how they fare in the adventure, you might be rewarded or penalized later on), and Shadow Weaknesses (over time, Hope dwindles and your character might exhibit flaws based on tough moments in the campaign).

It is an excellent game, and it really immerses you in the worlds of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings!