Campaign Audiobooks

I’m in the throes of running The Enemy Within for Warhammer Fantasy 4e, and we’ve reached the part (if you’re familiar with the campaign) where the characters are about to find out what’s happening in Bögenhafen. As a GM the next part of the campaign is where it really opens up and keeping it all straight is honestly a bit of a task, especially considering how little prep time I generally have.

I’ve previously had similar problems with other large pre-written campaigns, where uploading all the information about the next ‘pod’ of the story into my brain is a larger undertaking.

This led me to thinking how nice it’d be if there campaigns came with audiobook chapter preps. A succinct overview of the chapter, of what’s most important, who the main NPCs are and which leads binds it all together. It’s so much easier for me now that I have a son to pop in some AirPods and listen to something like that for a bit while I do the dishes, than it is to sit down and study the campaign book in detail.

Some campaigns do a better job than others of pulling out this information, and honestly I’m not too impressed with how The Enemy Within does this, whereas the new Masks of Nyarlathotep puts a lot of emphasis on the the overview and prep portion of running a beast like that.

Anyway, I guess we’ll see whether I have to pull the oldest trick in the book for unprepared GMs later today: “Roll for initiative”.

Rolemaster for Fantasy Grounds (v2)

There’s a seemingly great new Rolemaster module for Fantasy Grounds by ‘Dakadin’, which I’ve been keeping my eye on. Here’s a video walking through character generation, and it’s really quite nice how much functionality is built into the module (and books etc).

This seems to run counter to how Roll20 is approaching this, which is a real shame because due to its nature as a web platform I think, biased though I may be given my background in the web, that it could be so much more approachable than the archaic nature of Fantasy Grounds (LUA and XML?… XML!?).

With the new Fantasy Grounds Unity beta being able to run quite well on macOS (fucking finally!) I think I might give it another look for future games. Hopefully stuff like GM prep will eventually be made easier by allowing the drag and dropping of images from the desktop and so forth (although given that FG has been around for 15 years or whatever and has seen as little change as it has, I’m not holding my breath).

First Encounter

Lo, after many a year I have returned again to the fold of MERP, and it is good. Stuck inside in these dark days of the pandemic, I’ve found myself playing more games, although online, and I took the opportunity a few days ago to set up a small session with the sole purpose of taking the MERP combat system for a test run.

It was great fun, with plenty of botched rules (we didn’t apply DB for the first two rounds) and “wait a minute, it’s in here somewhere…”. But likewise rewarding in a way I wouldn’t have expected the first go at an unknown system would be (unknown in that of the three of us, two of us have played it, but more than twenty years ago).

In one instance Gimilkhâd the black númenorean charged into a river ford to lay waste to a brigand demanding toll, but fumbled and found his blade shattering on impact, unhindered the brigand brought Gimilkhâd to his knees (stunned for two rounds) and reaching for his hand axe.

Now there’s something that doesn’t happen in most games!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a MERP character sheet for Roll20 to do some touchups on.

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On the Lineage of MERP

I’ve been trying to find a way to map out the relationships between the large number of modules released for Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP) over the course of its circa 16 years of publishing. In particular I want to know two things.

  1. Which modules were replaced in their entirety by updated versions, either revised or in the case of second edition books, rewritten or otherwise significantly updated while being rolled into a larger book

  2. Which books were published with maps?

The maps in particular is a bit of a sticking point, since Peter Fenlon’s maps are so extraordinary, and buying the books off of eBay it’s often not obvious whether they’re supposed to come with a map or not!

I found a list of books, along with notes about their line and which book succeeded them, and I have included it below (and fixed a lot of formatting problems with it).

I’ll probably come back and begin to fill in some more information as I find it.

MERP System Rules (1st Edition)

  • Middle-earth Role Playing (1984, #8000 - replaced by 1986 Edition)

  • Middle-earth Role Playing (1986, #8000 - replaced by 2nd Ed. MERP)

  • Middle-earth Role Playing (boxed set) (1986, 1985 UK, #8100)

  • MERP Combat Screen (1984, 1989, #8001 - replaced by 2nd Ed. Combat Screen)

Campaign Settings (1st Edition)

Give a sweeping overview of large regions and come complete with campaign notes and color maps.

  • ANGMAR Land of the Witch King (1982, #2300 - replaced by 1st Ed. EMPIRE)

  • COURT OF ARDOR in Southern Middle-earth (1982, 1983, #2500)

  • DUNLAND and the Southern Misty Mountains (1987, #3600)

  • EMPIRE of the Witch King (1989, #4020 - revised 1st Ed. ANGMAR, replaced by 2nd Ed. ANGMAR)

  • ENTS of Fangorn (1987, #3500)

  • FAR HARAD The Scorched Land (1988, #3800)

  • GORGOROTH (1990, #3112)

  • GREATER HARAD (1990, #3111)

  • The GREY MOUNTAINS (1992, #3113)

  • HAVENS of GONDOR (1987, #3300)

  • ISENGARD and Northern Gondor (1983, 1987, #2800)

  • LÓRIEN & the Halls of the Elven Smiths (1986, #3200)

  • Lost Realm of CARDOLAN (1987, #3700)

  • MIRKWOOD The Wilds of Rhovanion (1988, #4010 - combined Northern & Southern

  • Mirkwood, replaced by 2nd Ed. MIRKWOOD)

  • MORIA The Dwarven City (1984, #2900 - replaced by 2nd Ed. MORIA)

  • MOUNT GUNDABAD (1989, #3110)

  • Northern MIRKWOOD (1983, 1984, #2600 - combined with Southern Mirkwood for 1st Ed. MIRKWOOD)

  • RANGERS of the North (1984, #3000)

  • RIDERS of ROHAN (1985, 1987, #3100)

  • SEA-LORDS of GONDOR (1987, #3400)

  • SHADOW in the SOUTH (1988, #3900)

  • Southern MIRKWOOD (1983, #2700 - combined with Northern Mirkwood for 1st Ed. MIRKWOOD)

  • UMBAR Haven of the Corsairs (1982, #2400)

Adventure Modules (1st Edition)

Provide a setting in one locality and a variety of specific ready-to-run adventures based on that area.

  • BREE and the Barrow Downs (1984, #8010)

  • BRIGANDS of Mirkwood (1987, #8090)

  • DAGORLAD and the Dead Marshes (1984, #8020)

  • DARK MAGE of Rhudaur (1989, #8013)

  • Erech and the PATHS of the DEAD (1985, #8060)

  • FOREST of Tears (1989, #8015)

  • GHOST WARRIORS (1990, #8016)

  • GOBLIN-GATE and Eagle's Eyrie (1985, #8070)

  • HILLMEN of the Trollshaws (1984, #8040)

  • Mouths of the ENTWASH (1988, #8011)

  • RIVENDELL The House of Elrond (1987, #8080)

  • ROGUES of the Borderlands (1990, #8014)

  • THIEVES of THARBAD (1985, #8050)

  • The Tower of Cirith Ungol and SHELOB'S LAIR (1984,   #8030)

  • WARLORDS of the Desert (1989, #8012)

Ready-to-Run Adventure Modules (1st Edition)

Designed to be set up in a few minutes, played in a few hours, and require little or no preparation.

  • ASSASSINS of Dol Amroth (1987, #8106)

  • DENIZENS of the Dark Wood (1989, #8111)

  • Gates of MORDOR (1987, #8105)

  • GHOSTS of the Southern Anduin (1989, #8109)

  • HAUNTED RUINS of the Dunlendings (1985, #8101)

  • HAZARDS of the Harad Wood (1990, #8112)

  • The Necromancer's Lieutenant (1990, #8113)

  • PERILS on the Sea of Rhûn (1989, #8110)

  • PHANTOM of the Northern Marches (1986, #8102)

  • PIRATES of Pelagir (1987, #8104)

  • RAIDERS of Cardolan (1988, #8108)

  • RIVER RUNNING (1992, #8114)

  • TROLLS of the Misty Mountains (1986, #8103)

  • WOSES of the Black Wood (1987, #8107)

Cities (1st Edition)

Detailed overviews of the most famous and significant cities in Middle-earth with each package documenting the history, design, layout, garrison, and inhabitants of the city, and including painstakingly elaborate maps, floor plans, and perspectives

  • MINAS ITHIL (1991, #8302)

  • MINAS TIRITH / Hardcover (1988,    #8301 - replaced by 2nd Ed. MINAS TIRITH)

Fortress Modules (1st Edition)

Detailed overviews of individual towers, castles, citadels, and other fortifications of particular note, documenting the history, design, layout, and garrisons, and including suggested adventure themes, painstakingly elaborate maps, floor plans, and perspectives

  • CALENHAD A Beacon of Gondor (1990, #8203)

  • HALLS of the ELVEN-KING (1988, #8204)

  • NÂZGUL'S CITADEL (1991, #8205)

  • TEETH of MORDOR (1988, #8202)

  • WEATHERTOP Tower of the Wind (1987, #8201)

Sourcebooks and Reference Works (1st Edition)

  • Angus McBride's Characters of Middle-earth (1990, #8007)

  • Campaign and Adventure Guidebook (1982, 1983 #2200)

  • Creatures of Middle-Earth (1988, #8005 - replaced by 2nd Ed. Creatures)

  • LORDS of Middle-earth Vol I: The Immortals (1986, #8002 - split for 2nd Ed. ELVES and VALAR AND MAIAR)

  • LORDS of Middle-earth Vol II: The Mannish Races (1987, #8003)

  • LORDS of Middle-earth Vol III: Hobbits, Dwarves, Ents, Orcs & Trolls (1989, #8004)

  • Middle-earth Adventure Guidebook II (1989, #2210)

  • Poster/Map of Middle-earth (flat) (1982, #2100)

  • Northwestern Middle-earth Campaign Atlas (199?, #4000 - combined Gazetteer & Map)

  • Northwestern Middle-earth Gazetteer (1992, #4002)

  • Northwestern Middle-earth Map Set (1994, #4001)

  • Poster/Map of Middle-earth (folded) (1982, #2100A)

  • Treasures of Middle-Earth (1989, #8006 - replaced by 2nd Ed. Treasures)

Second Edition MERP

Slightly modified rules but compatible with previous publications. Has been published since 1993 with some of the original ICE supplements being re-released in a revised and expanded form alongside larger and more comprehensive new supplements.

MERP System Rules (2nd Edition)

  • MERP 2nd Ed. / Hardbound (Collectors Edition) (1993, #2000)

  • MERP 2nd Ed. / Softbound (1993, #2001)

  • MERP 2nd Ed. Accessory Pack / Boxed (1994, #2002)

  • MERP 2nd Ed. Combat Screen (1993, #2004 - revised 1st Ed. Combat Screen)

Realms (2nd Edition)

Documents specific geographical regions or political entities in Middle-earth, each volume being a comprehensive compendium describing notable events, sites, and characters, in addition to summaries and charts describing the region’s inhabitants, sites and challenges

  • ANGMAR (1995, #2018 - reprinted 1st Ed. EMPIRE)

  • ARNOR (1994, #2005 - replaced by 2nd Ed. ARNOR: the Land & The People)

  • MIRKWOOD (1995, #2019 - reprinted 1st Ed. MIRKWOOD)

  • The NORTHERN WASTE (1997, #2025)

  • The SHIRE (1995, #2017)

Lands (2nd Edition)

  • ARNOR: The Land (1997, #2023 - split from 2nd Ed. ARNOR)

  • SOUTHERN GONDOR: The Land (1996, #2021)

Citadels (2nd Edition)

Detailed overviews of the most famous and significant cities, strongholds, and havens in Middle-earth with each package documenting the history, design, layout, garrison, and inhabitants of the citadel, and including painstakingly elaborate maps, floor plans, and perspectives.

  • DOL GULDUR (1995, #2014)

  • LAKE-TOWN (1995, #2016)

  • MINAS TIRITH (1994, #2007 - revised 1st Ed. MINAS TIRITH)

  • MORIA (1994, #2011 - revised 1st Ed. MORIA)

Peoples (2nd Edition)

Documents specific races or groups found in Middle-earth with each volume being a comprehensive compendium describing all the notable characters from one of Endor’s varied races, and including alphabetical listings covering the appearance, motivations, characteristics, and background of each figure, in addition to summaries and charts describing each character.

  • ARNOR: The People (1996, #2022 - split from 2nd Ed. ARNOR)

  • ELVES (1994, #2013 - revised 1st Ed. split of Lords of Middle-earth Vol I)

  • SOUTHERN GONDOR: The People (1996, #2020)

  • VALAR AND MAIAR (1993, #2006 - revised 1st Ed. split of Lords of Middle-earth Vol I)

Sourcebooks / Other (2nd Edition)

  • Creatures of Middle-Earth (1994, #2012 - reprinted 1st Ed. Creatures)

  • Hands of the Healer (1997, #2026)

  • Kin-Strife (1995, #2015)

  • Lord of the Rings Poster Map (1997, #2024)

  • Middle-earth Campaign Guide (1993, #2003)

  • Middle-earth Role Playing Poster Maps (1994, #2008)

  • Palantír Quest Adventures (1994, #2009)

  • Treasures of Middle-Earth (1994, #2010 - revised 1st Ed. Treasures)

Lord of the Rings Adventure Game

A highly simplified version of MERP for introducing first-timers to fantasy role playing

  • Darker than the Darkness (1991, #LR1)

  • Lord of the Rings Adventure Game / Boxed (1991, #LR0)

  • Over the Misty Mountains Cold (1993, #LR2)

Tolkien Quest Solo Game Books

Solo adventure paperback books, but this range was quickly withdrawn due to a copyright dispute (and, according to Pete Fenlon, was a major contribution to the financial troubles of ICE culminating in their loss of the MERP license).

  • Night of the Nazgûl (1985, #101)

  • The Legend of Weathertop (1985)

  • Rescue In Mirkwood (1986) WAS THIS ACTUALLY PUBLISHED AS A TOLKIEN QUEST? (SEE BELOW)

  • Murder In Minas Tirith (1986) WAS THIS ACTUALLY PUBLISHED? (POSSIBLY UK ONLY)

Middle-earth Quest Game Books solo adventure paperback books

  • The Mines of Moria (1988, #3)

  • Rescue In Mirkwood (1986)

  • Search for the Palantír (198?, #?) [published in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, but not in English]

  • A Spy In Isengard (1988, #1)

  • Treason at Helm's Deep (1988, #2)

Boardgames based in Middle-earth

  • The Battle of Five Armies (1984, #7200)

  • The Fellowship of the Ring (1983, #7100)

  •  The Hobbit Adventure Boardgame (1994, #2222)

  • Lonely Mountain (1984, #7300)

  • Riddle of the Ring (198?, #7400)

Return of the Dork

Well, he’s at it again, your old Loremaster. It’s been ages since I last played in Middle-earth, but recently I’ve been getting back into MERP (and Rolemaster and Space Master and many other things). I’ve been buying a bunch of older modules (at great expense, I might add, these things are worth their weight in gold!) and have been slowly wrapping my head around MERP’s representation of Middle-earth, the system itself and so on.

I made a character recently, using 2nd ed. Of all the things I love I.C.E. materials for, editing is not one of them. Not once, but twice I ran into a block of unnecessary text trying to sell me on the benefits of Rolemaster, in the midst of charact…

I made a character recently, using 2nd ed. Of all the things I love I.C.E. materials for, editing is not one of them. Not once, but twice I ran into a block of unnecessary text trying to sell me on the benefits of Rolemaster, in the midst of character generation. Sheesh!

Anyway, I wanted to get back into sharing a few finds and rekindled the flame on this old thing again to do so. First up I wanted to share an interview with Anders Blixt, the lead author on Kin-Strife, a campaign module I recently bought for MERP 2nd edition.

One of the reasons I started buying up older modules was because I wanted to re-scan all of Peter Fenlon’s maps and make them available at a truly high resolution (not just ‘fairly high resolution’). Still a long way to go, but so far so good.

Fatigue and Equipment on Roll20

Thought I'd take a moment to point out that because the Encumbrance rating on the character sheet for Roll20 is auto-calculated from weapons and equipment, and because treasure weighs 1 point of encumbrance per point of treasure, writing Treasure as an item on the equipment list, and using the number of treasure as the encumbrance value, will automatically include its weight in the companion's Encumbrance.

Furthermore, some companions have special powers that make them capable of carrying more, in that case you can write in the special ability in the equipment list as well, giving it a negative value.

Valter the Bloody

Driven by friendship and duty, the company attended the funeral proceedings with the Beornings at The Old Ford before turning south on the trail of the mysterious passenger. Joining the fellowship, under the banner of Beorn himself, was Theodvech, brother of Merovech the Mighty. Soon the trail leads them through Stonyford, then across The Great River and under the eaves of The Gladden Fields where they finally catch their prey; and something more.

Read More

To Eagles Eyrie and Journey's End

And so it was that on May the 15th in the year of 2946, five years hence the Battle of Five Armies, Balin son of Fundin, hero of the Battle of Five Armies and envoy of King Dáin II Ironfoot and King Bard of Dale, heir of Girion, met with Gwaihir the Wind Lord, king of Eagles, inviting him to join in the Dragon Tide festivities in Dale in late November. Gwaihir graciously accepted. 

Read More

Roll20 Character Sheet Updated

I finally found the problem that was causing the favoured weapon skill checkbox to not save properly. The good news is that this means that the favoured weapon skill state is now saved, and it can be used to do macros like this (NPC vs. Adversary, first weapon), one of a series of macros I'm experimenting with that makes setting up characters and having them duke it out with each other a lot easier.

/emas @{selected|token_name} attacks @{target|token_name} (TN #pc_vs_npc_defense ) with a @{selected|repeating_npc-weapon-skills_0_npc_weapon_skill_name} (Damage @{selected|repeating_npc-weapon-skills_0_npc_weapon_damage}, Edge @{selected|repeating_npc-weapon-skills_0_npc_weapon_edge}, Injury @{selected|repeating_npc-weapon-skills_0_npc_weapon_injury}, @{selected|repeating_npc-weapon-skills_0_npc_weapon_called_shot}, Damage Bonus @{selected|attribute_level}).

/r 1t[feat] + @{selected|repeating_npc-weapon-skills_0_npc_weapon_rating}t[@{selected|bar3}] + [[@{selected|repeating_npc-weapon-skills_0_npc_weapon_skill_favoured} * @{selected|attribute_level}]] + ?{Modifier|0} > #npc_vs_pc_defense

This uses the Favoured Weapon Skill State to calculate whether the NPC gets to apply his Attribute Level to his roll (because the Favoured Weapon Skill State is 0 or 1, it's just multiplied with the Attribute Level).

The bad news is that because the new 'true' value of '1' is different than the old one (which was 'on'), all characters will lose their Favoured Weapon Skill States. Sorry about that. I try to not break things going forward unless there is no other way, and in this case it was a matter of me not understanding how Roll20 saves default data (I still don't understand why anyone would want 'on' as the default value over 1, which is much more useful in dealing with macros, but whatever).