The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game

The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, released by

The system for LOTR is called CODA, and involves rolling two six-sided dice to resolve actions. The game is the second licensed role-playing game for the setting, the prior game being Middle-earth Role Playing from Iron Crown Enterprises. A third role-playing game set in Middle-earth was published (2011-2019) by Cubicle 7 under the title The One Ring Roleplaying Game, which has since been acquired, revised, and is now published by Free League Publishing, alongside a 5th Edition OGL game titled The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying.^[1]

Races

The character

• Dwarves (Khazad): Short, stocky bearded folk, strong and hardy, able to endure pain, fatigue and suffering better than other races. Upon reaching maturity they appear old in a fashion that belies their hardiness. They often live in subterranean kingdoms, and have a great love of craftworks, especially things made of gold, silver, and mithril
  .
• Misty Mountains. During the Third age, they live in woodland realms such as Lothlórien or caverns in the mountains of Mirkwood
  . They have facility with wilderness skills.
• Buckland
  . These are the only Hobbits who know anything about boating, swimming and fishing.
• Anórien
  and the Lossoth (Snowmen of Forochel) who live in the Northern Waste.

The character classes available in the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Adventure Game are:

• Ghân-buri-Ghân
  and his people the Drúedain belong to this order, as well as many Dunlendings and easterlings
• Barliman Butterbur
  , many Dwarves, and the Noldorin jewelsmiths, such as Fëanor, are all craftsmen.
• Lore-master: One wise in the lore of Middle-earth and who, though not a true caster of spells, can use some minor or subtle magics. Denethor, Elrond, Celeborn, and many Elves are lore-masters.
• Magician: One who works magic and casts spells based on learned lore and wisdom but who is not nearly as powerful as a wizard. Galadriel is a good example of a magician, as is Melian the Maia, Queen of Doriath and the consort of the elven King Elu Thingol from The Silmarillion
  .
• Mariner: A sailor, one who knows how to work and helm ships great and small over the wide seas and on the Great River. Coastal Gondorians and the Corsairs of Umbar count many mariners among their number.
• Rohan
  sang around Theoden's mound. Tom Bombadil, a mysterious character not only known for his love of song and dance, could likely be considered a member of this order.
• Noble: A person who, due to birth, wealth, accomplishment, or the like, is regarded as of high rank in society, entitled to deference and respect from other folk. Characters such as Aragorn, Galadriel, Denethor and his sons, Elrond and his daughter Arwen, the Rohirrim Royal Family, and even Frodo belong, at least in part, to this order.
• Rogue
  : A person who lives and works with his wits and deft hands, often at questionable or outlawed pursuits. He may be a spy for the Enemy, a professional treasure seeker, or simply one who prefers subtlety and guile to warfare and bloodshed. Bilbo, during his brief adventure with Thorin and company, became a member of this order. Gríma Wormtongue is also a rogue, as are the thugs hired by Saruman who raided the Hobbit Shire.
• Warrior: People, such as guardsmen, soldiers, and archers, who are trained to fight with weapons. This is the most common order depicted in The Lord of the Rings, and it may likely be so in most chronicles as well. It includes Aragorn, Boromir, Éomer, Éowyn, most Rohirrim, Beregond, Prince Imrahil, and eventually, Merry and Pippin.

Publications

Printed publications

The following printed publications have been released by Decipher for this roleplaying game.

Digital sourcebooks

• Isengard
• Paths of the Wise. The Guide to Magicians and Loremasters

Digital adventures

The following adventures were available for free download on the website of Decipher.

• Moria
• Adventures over the Edge of the Wild

Errata

Decipher published a PDF version of corrections to the Core Rulebook and several sourcebooks. The PDF includes some errors that were not corrected in the first and second printings of the book.

Unofficial Digital Supplements

Due to some criticism of the game by the gaming community for its lack of balance, especially during character creation,^[2][3][4] some digital supplements have been created, which can be found on the Ambarquenta website.^[5] These supplements are unofficial and are not published by Decipher.

Reception

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2023)

• Pyramid^[6]
• Envoyer #72^[7]

Awards

• In 2003, it won the Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Game 2002.^[8]

References

External links