Question About Character Progression

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I jumped no guns, Amy.

you might have said it a little more tactful than you did but anyways back to the discussion ............

Otaku, you may not have jumped the gun, but the Google comment was a bit flippant.

And Amy, just be glad you are asking this stuff on these forums, as C7 prides itself on keeping their forums calm and civil and friendly. I shudder to think about the replies you would get on other forums I visit if you were to post such hate for 5E while not having any direct experience with said rules.

As for free quick start rules or something like that, as of now C7 has not put out anything like that. The following page describes some of the system:

http://cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/the-one ... me-system/

[Yepesnopes]

I have been a long time player of AD&D although I don't play it anymore since a long time ago (and I have read the rule sets for D&D 3, 4, 3.X and 5). Just to clarify that I know the d20 system.

I play TOR since its release and I find the mechanics one of the best ever and definitely the best in capturing the "Middle - Earth" feeling. Said that, from reading your posts I have the impression you are going to be more comfortable playing AiME than TOR. The change in play style and mechanics is going to be less big.

Depending in which city you live, you can try to find a store or gaming club where they run TOR sessions, jump into one and see if you like it.

[Majestic]

Glad to see others have clarified, but I was definitely getting the impressions (after reading through this entire thread) that you seem to be mixing up editions.

4th Edition was the one where the PCs are more like superheroes, and which (to many) feels like an MMO.

5th Edition (which to me and my friends is the best edition of the game) has been compared by many to 2nd Edition, or to a streamlined AD&D.

I'm a big fan of both TOR and Adventures in Middle-earth, but in the end me and my group decided to move our campaign over to AIME. Both games are very similar, and honestly for the majority of the game everything is exactly the same (the role-playing doesn't really change, as the characters are the same ones). It's only the mechanics that are different, and even then the same three core pillars (Encounters, Journeys, and Combat) are in both games.

[AmySmith]

I jumped no guns, Amy.

you might have said it a little more tactful than you did but anyways back to the discussion ............

Otaku, you may not have jumped the gun, but the Google comment was a bit flippant.

And Amy, just be glad you are asking this stuff on these forums, as C7 prides itself on keeping their forums calm and civil and friendly. I shudder to think about the replies you would get on other forums I visit if you were to post such hate for 5E while not having any direct experience with said rules.

As for free quick start rules or something like that, as of now C7 has not put out anything like that. The following page describes some of the system:

http://cubicle7.co.uk/our-games/the-one ... me-system/

Well, I didn't come here to be put down or made fun of. I simply came here because I adore the movies, all 6 of them and am interested in the game. It's over with, I don't hold grudges lol but I am not interested in 5th ed AiMe in any way shape or form. I don't need to give a reason why even if I already did. I am not sure I can adjust to these rules since they are totally different from anything I ever used.

Work keeps me so busy I have little time to study rules which sucks. As was mentioned already, I might like to watch some TOR videos of groups playing, maybe that shows me enough to either catch my interest or not .... I just don't know.

I'm a big fan of both TOR and Adventures in Middle-earth, but in the end me and my group decided to move our campaign over to AIME. Both games are very similar, and honestly for the majority of the game everything is exactly the same (the role-playing doesn't really change, as the characters are the same ones). It's only the mechanics that are different, and even then the same three core pillars (Encounters, Journeys, and Combat) are in both games.

Notice how in the movies, the characters could easily be killed by something as simple as an Orc? I'm not interested in running around Middle-Earth as a super hero "so to speak" I think TOR is why I am so interested in it, its not about the levels and powers that come with the levels, its about the adventure, the experience and most of all, its about the setting. So with that being said, if I learn a ruleset to play Middle-Earth it will be TOR or nothing for me

****************************************************************************

I usually play in my D&D group, but I "have" DM'd it as well ..... although 95% of the time I am a player in the group. If I were to DM, I would want it to be something special, something the players can really get into. Its not an easy thing for a young woman to run a game like this. I mean I should be doing girly stuff and such haha but I am just such a huge fan of Middle-Earth I only want to experience it in an RPG fashion and give my group something special.

PS: "Otaku-sempai" Stop PMing me please, I am not the least bit interested in participating in a digital feud with you in PMs. thanks

[Winterwolf]

I usually play in my D&D group, but I "have" DM'd it as well ..... although 95% of the time I am a player in the group. If I were to DM, I would want it to be something special, something the players can really get into. Its not an easy thing for a young woman to run a game like this. I mean I should be doing girly stuff and such haha but I am just such a huge fan of Middle-Earth I only want to experience it in an RPG fashion and give my group something special.

Amy, great to hear that you're thinking of LM/DMing TOR; you have some experience of doing so with D&D which is a start. It certainly can be a scary thing to run DM/LM a RPG, especially with a new ruleset. However if your gaming group is interested in playing, maybe try to find out (through this forum first?) if anyone runs TOR nearby where you live so you can go along and watch, or, as you have mentioned, watch a video of a TOR session, if you can find a suitable one.

I started a gaming group just for TOR and, whilst I didn't (and still don't) know all the rules, we are having fun and I'm enjoying making a story with the players in this amazing world of Middle Earth. It certainly tests your improvisation but I found skills that I didn't know that I had.
It might be hard sometimes but it should be FUN and hopefully fulfilling too. We're filling in the gaps of our knowledge of the rules as we go. Sorry, we haven't nor are likely to video our sessions - enough to do just running it.
I had been waiting many years to run a RPG, I came across TOR, decided to run with it and I am more than happy that I took the plunge.

You may not have the time or inclination but reading The Hobbit will give you a different (better?) feel than the movies for the flavour of Middle Earth which might boost your enthusiasm for running TOR. At the very least, it would add to your enjoyment of Middle Earth.
If you decide to give it a go and buy the rulebook:

• Take your time to prepare

• Read bits of the rulebook when you can

• Read up what people have written on this forum about starting up with TOR

• Borrow ideas from the forum for adventures, hints on making it interesting for your players, whatever

And best of luck with whatever you decide to do!

[Otaku-sempai]

Amy, I don't think anyone here is making fun of you. I've been playing AD&D for over 30 years and, while there are certainly changes in the later editions of D&D, I don't see 5e as totally different from the game I started with. There are changes; some are improvements, others less so. Your mileage certainly varies. If you think that TOR works better for you, all the better. These are the TOR forums after all.

PS: "Otaku-sempai" Stop PMing me please, I am not the least bit interested in participating in a digital feud with you in PMs. thanks

Well, I PM'd you exactly once. I have no desire for a feud either, but I did have things to say that had no business in this topic. They've been said and I consider the subject closed.

[zedturtle]

I usually play in my D&D group, but I "have" DM'd it as well ..... although 95% of the time I am a player in the group. If I were to DM, I would want it to be something special, something the players can really get into. Its not an easy thing for a young woman to run a game like this. I mean I should be doing girly stuff and such haha but I am just such a huge fan of Middle-Earth I only want to experience it in an RPG fashion and give my group something special.

Still recovering from Gen Con, but this especially caught my eye. Amy, everyone is invited to the fun. Exploring Middle-earth and getting to tell your own stories of adventure there is a girly thing. And a boyish thing. And for Men and Women (and Hobbits and Dwarves and Elves too). Don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't be doing something you love!

I totally get wanting to give your RPG group a special experience by allowing them to adventure in Middle-earth. Either game system will allow you to do that, and TOR was built from the ground up for that purpose. The ideas of Weariness, being Miserable and of accumulating Shadow might be a little different to a group familiar with other systems but it all build up the experience of gaming in Middle-earth.

—•—

PS to everyone in the thread: perhaps it's more productive to take newcomers at their word rather than getting bogged down in semantics. That way we can get to the good stuff (their actual questions about a game we love) quicker!

[Wagyora]

Q: So, in Dungeons & dragons, character progression is measured in character levels. The higher level a character is, the more powerful enemy he/she can fight. In TOR, how is character progression done? Do characters get more powerful as they adventure? I don't think characters gain levels in TOR so how do they become stronger, more powerful over time to fight harder enemies?

A: In TOR, you don't have to defeat or even confront powerful enemies. Sometimes, the best choice is to delude them, or avoid conflict whatsoever. And don't worry: still you will be awarded XP. The most important thing is attaining your adventuring goals. You just have to play it smart.

Q: How do you keep track of damage dealt since I don't think TOR uses hitpoints or does it? Such a BIG change in rules from Classic AD&D that I am used.

A: Each weapon has it's damage, which reduces enemies' resistance, what will make them collapse, but not die. There's also a chance for a single hit to kill an opponent instantly. It depends on the weapon's "edge" and enemy's luck on a kind of "saving throw". Of course, you can modify these numbers by improving your weapon or getting a special one, and this is also modified by your character's "body" stat.

Still, defeating the enemy is not the most important thing here. All you have to do is solve the problem the best way available, what includes just fleeing, specially when facing some particularly powerful enemies.

Q: Haven't bought any books yet, still researching with what little resources I have available to me atm. Still deciding if I want to commit to buying the core rule book or not. Money is a little tight for me currently so I really need to make sure I want to commit to TOR or not and I know I do not want to invest in AiMe with its yucky 5th edition rules haha but I do love Middle-Earth. Watched the movies multiple times, never read the books though. I simply adore this fantasy setting.

A: You should definitely read Tolkien's books, maybe borrowing them from a local library. They're much better than the movies, believe me. Peter Jackson misrepresented Tolkien's Middle-Earth. Concerning gaming books, that's up to you.

[Majestic]

A: You should definitely read Tolkien's books, maybe borrowing them from a local library. They're much better than the movies, believe me. Peter Jackson misrepresented Tolkien's Middle-Earth.

While I very much agree that people should be encouraged to read the books, which are absolutely brilliant, I don't feel it's accurate to say that PJ "misrepresented Tolkien's Middle-Earth". The craftsmanship, care, and authenticity that went into all six movies was nothing short of amazing, and rightfully won many awards for their painstaking detail and artisanship. They worked incredibly hard to make sure languages were done right, cultures were correctly shown, and strived for authenticity by literally crafting chain mail armor one link at a time.

Now many of us were disappointed in some of the silliness, especially in the Hobbit films. And not everything might be to a particular person's personal tastes. But the movies are too often denigrated here, as if they were sloppily or carelessly made, and that's just plain not factual. Overall they are wonderful representations of Middle-earth, and I think it's important to remember that some people here (myself included) might actually really love them!

[Glorelendil]

I'll try to consolidate some specific answers to the OP:

Instead of "Hit Points" it's Endurance, but Endurance barely goes up over time (with some few exceptions, and even then not by much.)

In general, the "power curve" in TOR depends on the category:
- Your skills...including your skill at hitting things with weapons...go up the most noticeably, as you roll more and more dice. That also means you get more natural 6's, which in some situations have benefits.
- The damage you deal goes up more slowly, partly as a result of the natural 6's and also because you can choose virtues and reward increase it.
- Your survivability changes very slowly. As mentioned, Endurance barely goes up, but some of the virtues and rewards you can choose will help with both resisting wounds and healing.

Thus, a very high "level" TOR character will be really good at doing things, and will output more damage in combat, but can't take much more punishment in combat than when he/she was a new character.