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I've started reading through the latest quick-start document and was wondering what sort of comments you were after?
Grammatical?
Factual (in as much as any fantasy world can have facts!)?
Appearance?
Rules mechanics/feel?

Certainly any instances of poor grammar I'd like to know about.

I want clarity and for the text to flow so it is easy for the reader to understand.

Any rules which appear confusing I would like to know about them.

I will listen to pretty much anything you throw out there about the rules.

Don't worry about layout, this is not the final product Andreas will take what I've done and clean it up. Any issues in that area will need to be directed at him:)

I like what I've seen so far after reading the latest quickstart guide. I intellectually understand everything, I think. Some good examples would be very helpful though.

The one thing I do not want to do is make the Quick Start Rules, the actual rules. I want people to download the Core Book and not just the abbreviated version.

What about an actual play example as a separate pdf document?

A separate document would be perfect.

Just skimming through the quick start rules you sent me, and noticed the following:

Typo of sorts, you stated the same sentence twice in a row on page 14:
"When such conflicts occur they are resolved with a twelve-sided die (d12)."


Is there a reason for the introduction you quote the Peter Jackson movies rather than Tolkien's works, or your own introduction? Personally that's one of my (many) complaints about Decipher's LotR rpg is that it in some areas emphasizes the movies too much in some areas, instead of Tolkien's works themselves.

Even though it's only 28 pages, it would be nice to have a TOC (Table of Contents) at the beginning to make it easier to find the relevant sections in a timely fashion.

I like the style of the game and descriptive emphasis. The simplicity has some appeal, but I'd have to playtest it for a few sessions to see how well that actually works out. ;-)

For playtesting I will have to see if anyone of my groups (have 3 currently) would be interested. Most are either ICE MERP/RM gamers or D&Ders. None have really played Decipher's. And I'm already trying to see if we can game test Decipher LotR and Ambarquenta as well. Both of which I have, but none of us (about a dozen) have ever played. I'm an "old time" gamer since 1979 myself. Most of the others are a mix of newer and older, but I'm the most senior by more than 10 years, and 80% of the time end up the GM.

If it looks like you will be having a table at MerpCon III, then I'd like to have some experience with the system, and be able to explain to people what about HL system would be of interest and worth trying out. ;-)

I don't have it (Decipher lotr books) with me right this minute, but is HL just a modification of Decipher's LotR? If so, what are the goals, differences, and comparisons between the two? Do you already have some sort of "mission statement" detailing this information?


Do you have a more complete version of the rules available?

Thanks for sending me the information. And please let me know what you find out in regards to making it to MerpCon. The sooner the better so that we can determine seating, GM assignments, table assignments, session assignments, and of course promotions to all the sites, radio, etc. that we're planning in the next few weeks.

Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
-Hawke

Dwarf names.
Since you're not under the license restrictions of Decipher by Tolkien Enterprises, why don't you go ahead and use the Dwarvish names of the different Dwarf tribes? Chris Seeman commented, in creating his Decipher Moria module that he had all the names, but wasn't allowed to use them, or much of the history, because if it wasn't in the LotR or the Hobbit, Decipher couldn't use it That's yet another of my complaints about the Decipher LotR system, the over restrictive license really crippled something that had a lot of great potential for more accurate source material in many ways than the legacy of ICE MERP material.
Just a thought. ;-)

I think for the Quick Start Rules using the summation of the prologue found in the film version of Fellowship of the Ring, it serves to quickly let the reader jump into the game. The core book covers in much more detail the background Tolkien's written works and is far less reliant on the films. Hither Lands will always be in cooperation with the novels before the films for all things.

Most quick start rules I've seen do not have a table of contents and I had not planned on this either. However the core book will have a table of contents and an index.

Hither Lands has very little in common and is not in any way a modification of Decipher's CODA rules. Really the differences are vast. Hither Lands is a very narrativist type of game, similar to some indie games that have come out in the past few years. Really no other LOTR/ME RPG is really close to it in terms of style (perhaps Legend of Middle-earth comes closest). There will be a mission statement in the core book.

The Quick Start Rules are pretty much complete and only a few adjustments will be made for the final version. I think everything is covered for a pickup game. We will include a short adventure as well.

I believe I sent you Chapter Two of the Core Book which details character creation. I am busy at work with to get remaining chapters of the book core done. It will be quite large!

Thanks for the feedback.

The names of the seven houses of the Dwarves ARE used in Hither Lands. They fall under culture. This is mentioned on page 5 of the Quick Start Rules and detailed in Step Three: The Peoples Choice of character creation in Chapter 2. Each tribe is given background information. On the character sheet it is broken down into race, culture and background.

Example, you would have:

Race: Dwarf
Culture: Longbeard
Homeland: Erebor

What is "Legends of Middle-earth"? And RPG? I've not heard of it. Is it still being developed, or defunct?

How far along are you beyond the "quick start" rules? How much (total and percentage-wise) do you have completed of the Core Book? What other documents do you have?

What is your plan for distribution of the core rules and any other documents besides the quick start rules?

How much time are you using in artistic/aesthetic layout versus system "real" system content?

Any word on whether you'll have someone able to run a session or a table at MerpCon III?

Thanks and cheers!

I found it here: http://www.1km1kt.net/rpg/Legends_of_Middl...th_Free_RPG.php