An update on The One Ring! Finally!

It's a fantastic year to be a Tolkien nerd. First of all, obviously I'm obsessed with the Lord of the Rings Card Game from Fantasy Flight Games (I've posted about it a bunch in its less-than-three weeks of existence), and I continue to play the game almost once a day.

The other Lord of the Rings game set to be released this year, The One Ring rpg from Cubicle 7 has been a much bigger mystery than the Card Game. We've got bits and pieces here and there including the fact that, like the Card Game, the license for the RPG is based on the books rather than the movies (which I much prefer to games based on the movies - simply because we have so many based on the movies in the last ten years). We've also heard that the designer, who also designed one of the best board games I've ever played - The War of the Ring - has taken a more generational approach to the game. He cites Pendragon as a major influence. Cubicle 7 has released more insight in that the game will release the different time periods for Middle Earth (note: not the Ages) as distinct settings that players can either play the same elf or possibly dwarf through out but may produce offspring and new generations of heroes for humans and, potentially, hobbits.

I'm stupid excited for this game now that we've gotten our first glimpses of some art. The picture included in this post is that of a Misty Mountain Goblin and drips with a unique flavor that I'm hoping runs through out the game. If this is the style they're going for - slightly cartoonish with larger-than-life details - I'm pretty much sold on the game and books if for no other reason than a fresh perspective on Middle Earth. You need to go check out Cubicle 7's website directly (if that link doesn't work, you can find their homepage here) to find an image of Smog as well as a really great interpretation of Dol Guldor. Chuck was able to get a ticket for The One Ring at Gencon for him and me for separate sessions, and it's now the game I'm looking forward to most playing there. I'm actually happy that we are in different sessions as we'll get a good feel for how the system works independently of helping each other enjoy it. I'm sure there'll be more to report in the future!