Never played a roleplaying game, but love ME. Where do we start?

[maccollac]

So basically we never played a roleplaying game, but we love the lore of Tolkien and the Middle Earth setting. What is a good place to start for us? Which books should we buy and what other stuff do we need?

Is there also some overview of each supplement and what it offers? I live in the Netherlands but not really an option to get the hardcopies?

[zedturtle]

Awesome! You can do it.

So you'll need the core rules (in PDF form). There are also character sheets (a record of what each hero can do), which you can download from the website.

You will need dice. For just starting out, regular d6s (six-sided dice like lots of boardgames use) and a regular d12 (a 12-sided die... you'll probably need to visit a hobby store to get this.) are fine. Of course, you can get special The One Ring dice, which add to the thematics and ease of interpretation.

You'll want to run a prepared scenario for your first ever game. There are lots of options... there is an excellent scenario in the core rules, other excellent starting adventures (Tales from Wilderland and Bree are the first two to look at).

I'll be back after a bit with some answers to your other questions, and I'm sure others will help out too.

[zedturtle]

Okay, here's a link to the supplements page, which should give you an overview of what all is out there: The One Ring: Supplements

Here's a link to the FAQ, where you can find some of the other information mentioned above: Frequently Asked Questions.

[Rich H]

So basically we never played a roleplaying game...

And if you need some advice on RPGs in general then these are good options...

How to play RPGs: https://www.dropbox.com/s/qzgu13evpvk6y ... s.pdf?dl=0
How to run RPGs: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3gaibnflmnlxj ... s.pdf?dl=0

[farinal]

Just get the Corebook. It also introduces roleplaying games to new players and gives very good general advices. And has a very good introductory adventure at the end so you can directly go on and play that for your first time.

[Stormcrow]

You'll want to run a prepared scenario for your first ever game. There are lots of options... there is an excellent scenario in the core rules, other excellent starting adventures (Tales from Wilderland and Bree are the first two to look at).

Certainly run the adventure in the main book as a learning experience for your first adventure. But don't feel like you have to run any other adventures or campaigns in supplementary books. The core book is a complete game. If you enjoy making up your own adventures in Middle-earth, do so!

If you can afford more books and want to get them, know that they come in three varieties: setting catalogs (Lake-town, The Heart of the Wild, Rivendell, Erebor: The Lonely Mountain, Horse-lords of Rohan and Bree); adventures and campaigns (Tales from Wilderland, The Darkening of Mirkwood, and Ruins of the North); and additional rules (Adventurer's Companion and Journeys and Maps). Some of the campaign books require certain setting books (their blurbs tell you which). Rivendell also has a large section of new rules.

But remember that all of these are optional. You only need the core book and some dice, including a twelve-sided die, plus paper and pencils.

[Glorelendil]

What Stormcrow says is absolutely true...and I would suggest to a beginner that running pre-written adventures, official or otherwise, is a gentler/easier way to get into RPGing. You don't need to be "expert" to create your own adventures, but you will learn a lot about the possibilities in a roleplaying game by reading and running ones that are written by experienced players.

At the same time, don't be afraid to improvise and add your own ideas, characters, sub-plots, etc. Published adventures are frameworks for you to adapt as you see fit. It's not "cheating", for example, to decide that a battle is too easy (or too hard) and add/subtract some enemies. Just do it in a way that doesn't break the fiction: one or two enemies could flee (in terror, or to alert others?) instead of just magically disappearing.

If your group has fun with the starter adventure in the core rules, consider getting "Tales from Wilderland". It's several (what is it, 6? 7?) adventures linked together into a larger story.

[maccollac]

Thanks guys, a lot too read and think about! Useful to get the Journey and Travel Maps?

[Otaku-sempai]

Having Journeys & Maps certainly couldn't hurt; the booklet has some great advice, new rules for traveling on water, suggestions for hazards in specific regions, etc.

If you have a player who really wants to start out with a Hero from the new Lake-town then it might be worthwhile to track down the Lake-town sourcebook which conveniently comes bundled with the Loremaster's Screen. The screen is not by any means essential, but it is helpful to have.

[Falenthal]

My advise is always to buy, if possible, the Core Book and Tales from Wilderland.

The reasons behind are the same that Glorelendil so well exposed a few posts above.

Anything else should come after these two.