Today we will tackle the review of The Lord of the Rings – Roleplaying, a new version of the RPG dedicated to the Tolkien universe, compatible with D&D5e; a manual by Francesco Nepitello and Michele Garbuggio published by Free League. The long publishing adventure of role-playing games set in the world created by Professor Tolkien had reached an important point last year, with the publication of the second edition of The One Ring, a game with its own system also published by Free League. Now comes to us a version of the same game adapted to the rules of the world’s most famous role-playing game.
The game is available in English on the Free League website for the price of approximately 58$, accompanied by a digital version.
Review of the Aesthetics and Structure of The Lord of the Rings for 5e
Those familiar with The One Ring 2ed will find the look of this manual extremely familiar. The pages are inspired by what should be the aesthetics of Bilbo Baggins’ Red Book of the Western Borders; they also skillfully manage to make the various categories of information distinguishable at first glance. In black is the main text, in red the quotations from the work, and with gray insets summarizing the central mechanics of the paragraph for quick reference. Exquisite illustrations, almost sketched in grayscale, accompany our eyes through the rulebook.
The manual begins by introducing the main new mechanics, useful in dealing with new character creation. It then goes on to explain the scene types and adventure phases and then comes to a chapter devoted to the role of the Loremaster, i.e., the Dungeon Master. Finally, it concludes by devoting a chapter to insights into the setting. Mechanics, characters, and scene structure will be addressed later in this review of The Lord of the Rings – Roleplaying
Playing in Tolkien’s canon and setting
Approaching a game with a setting such as Middle-earth can cause some apprehension. There is a lot of existing material and it ranges across a broad chronology and an equally broad geographic space. No need to worry: the manual offers a precise setting frame. With The Lord of the Rings – Roleplay you will play in the years between Bilbo’s journey and Frodo’s, a time span of about eight decades. Your Fellowship of Dwarves, Elves, Men, Rangers and Hobbits will explore the mysterious lands of Eriador, the portion of Middle-earth between the Misty Mountains and the Grey Havens.
The game offers numerous insights into these lands and its inhabitants; at the same time it allows great freedom to embroider and invent specific events, characters and places. The Tolkenian canon, at first glance, may give the impression of being a monolithic block of granite and unbreakable material, but this is not the case. The Third Age is a time when little is known about Middle-earth’s past, places, and secrets. Moreover, what is recounted by the internal narrators of Tolkien’s works is not from an objective point of view, but from their own journey; it may therefore contain inaccuracies and oversights. A section of the chapter devoted to the Loremaster deals thoroughly with this very issue.
The Heroes
The heroes you are going to play are Middle-earth dwellers from one of the six cultures available in the handbook: Bardians, Dwarves of Durin’s Folk, Elves of Lindon, Men of Bree, Hobbits of the Shire, or Ranger of the North. Each culture deeply defines the nature of the character, influencing him mechanically and narratively. In addition, each culture provides access to a selection of backgrounds and a list of unique virtues. We can conceive of heroic cultures as the mechanical equivalent of the traditional races in D&D5e.
After choosing a culture, the character creation process continues with the choice of a calling. The game offers six: The Captain, The Champion, The Messenger, The Scholar, The Treasure Hunter, and The Warden. The callings are the mechanical equivalent of classes, so each offers unique traits, skills and abilities and a path to enhancement through progression in levels. All provide two specializations, the subclasses, classically obtainable by the character’s third level. In addition, the calling determines your character’s Shadow Path, that is the evil tendencies that will emerge in their inner self should the Enemy’s Shadow grow too large in their heart.
A group of heroes is called a Fellowship. Each Fellowship can access a reserve of Fellowship Points, which represents the bond between the heroes. Fellowship Points can be spent to gain advantage on a roll, in agreement with the rest of the group. Each Fellowship has its Patron, an important character in Middle-earth to whom the group refers and who directs them on their journeys. Examples of Patrons are Bilbo Baggins, Elrond, Balin or even Tom Bombadil and Goldberry.
Game structure
The journey is an important theme in Tolkien’s work; it will be an equally important theme in your adventures. Travel through Eriador is handled through an essential and effective table, which determines the type of event without specifying in detail what will happen. You may run into a chance encounter, find a shortcut, or find yourself forced to make a difficult choice. The specific circumstances of the event are left for the game group to determine. Within the Fellowship each of the characters will have a specific role; through a die roll it will be determined which adventurer, based on his or her task, will be called upon to intervene in the resolution of the event.
New game mechanics are also introduced to handle Councils, i.e., scenes in which the Company encounters some non-player character in a somewhat formal setting. The mechanics handle both the first impressions the heroes will make and the actual interaction phase.
Game phases consisting of journeys, councils and confrontations with Enemy forces are called Adventuring Phases. Between the Adventuring Phases you will play a Fellowship Phase, a moment in which your heroes rest in a safe haven, gathering strength, information and resources for the next adventure.
Review of the new mechanics in The Lord of the Rings for 5e
As we see in this review, The Lord of the Rings introduces a number of new features and adaptations to the basic D&D5e rulebook, while remaining this essential to playing with this product. The most obvious changes are undoubtedly found both in the structure and categorization of the scenes and in the construction of the character sheet. This strong characterization of the game mechanics certainly works to introduce the themes and especially the tone of the Tolkien work.
A very interesting addition is that of Shadow Points; this is a value that represents the corruption of the character. By confronting the Enemy and his minions the soul of all creatures is put to the test. Dread, sorcery, greed and misdeeds dig into even the purest of heart. Characters have a certain degree of tolerance for the Shadow, but the difficult situations they face will take their toll. Exceeding the threshold of tolerance, the character will fall prey to an attack of madness, gaining a flaw and taking one more step toward the Enemy. Should these attacks become too many, his soul will be lost and he will not be able to continue his quest.
An additional point of note are the Treasures. Middle-earth hides many traces of its great past, and the heroes may come across some artifacts from the glorious old days. The manual provides all the tools to characterize and make unique the treasures the heroes will collect, once again bringing back the feelings of wonder and awe upon which the world of The Lord of the Rings is built.
Conclusions of the review of The Lord of the Rings for 5e
In concluding this review of The Lord of the Rings, it must be said that this product succeeds in doing what it sets out to do: bring the Middle-earth setting to D&D5e. Despite the fact that the world’s most famous role-playing game has a style of storytelling that is not completely aligned with that of Tolkien’s work, the mechanical adaptations and the authors’ great mastery of sources give this game a strong identity of its own.
If you are a regular player of Dungeons and Dragons and have a desire to tread the lands of Eriador this manual is absolutely for you. In case, on the other hand, you are a Tolkien fan, but not too fond of D&D, I recommend that you also evaluate The One Ring 2ed. This is a game by the same authors and publisher, but one that goes to take advantage of a dedicated independent game system built specifically around the narrative style of the Professor’s work.
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Before going into The Book of Rituals review, I want to thanks Board & Dice for sending us a physical copy of this product for us to tell you about.
The Book of Rituals is part of the Escape Tales series of games and is presented as a book full of puzzles on whose pages important characters presented in other games have studied or worked; for example Samuel of The Awakening or the heroes ofChildren of Wyrmwoods. There are footnotes, digressions, corrections and improvements as if someone else had physically put their hand to the book before us.
You can find it directly at the publisher’s store for around 14 euros if you want to buy it.
I want to specify that it is not necessary to know the series or have played one of the other books to approach The Book of Rituals. The prerequisite for approaching this gamebook is to imagine yourself as an alchemy scholar. The goal is to learn the secrets of alchemical elements and ingredients to be able to perform powerful rituals.
A Look at the Whole The Book of Rituals
The Book of Rituals is a volume of about 120 pages essentially divided into three chapters, each specific to a specific topic. Each of them contains several specific puzzles that must be solved in order, even if the sequence of resolutions is not always linear. Overall, 45 puzzles are presented, each different from the others; many are based primarily on logic.
Solving the puzzles of the ingredients is necessary to deal with the 13 rituals found in the last pages of the book.
Each puzzle has its own level of difficulty linked to the illustration proposed. In my opinion, it is interesting to analyze the structure of the pages of this first section because it helps to understand the subsequent ones.
Each puzzle takes up two pages. In the upper left corner, there is the symbol of the element whose alchemical name and value you need to find out. In the upper right-hand corner, with a lighter stroke, are signed which elements must be addressed before to solve the puzzle. For example, to solve the riddle of the element gold you must have already solved the riddles of the elements: water, mercury, lead, ether and philosopher’s stone.
The central part of the two pages consists of the actual enigma. It is always an illustration accompanied by indications and suggestions. The puzzles are meant to be solved right on the book, so I suggest using a pencil and eraser; this also and above all because many of the puzzles are not immediate and require some reflection.
Three Chapters Divided by Topics
The first chapter is dedicated to the basic elements: Air, Water, Fire, Earth and Soul. In the second chapter, you find puzzles related to the ingredients themselves, like gold or mushrooms. The third chapter involves all the solutions from the previous chapters in thirteen rituals that must be solved to complete the gamebook.
As I said at the beginning of this review, The Book of Rituals features puzzles of varying difficulty. To give a more precise idea, I can say that about a third I solved them with a certain immediacy; some instead required a more prolonged effort and for others I was forced to make use of the suggestions.
A Puzzle Solving App
To solve the puzzles, The Book of Rituals uses a completely free application that can be accessed through a QR code on the introduction page. The solutions must be inserted into it in order to be able to progress; at the same time, it also provides a space with hints to help players. The hints are numerous and in any case, it is possible to get the answer to the riddle directly from the app. This way you don’t risk getting stuck when a puzzle gets frustrating, which, as I said, can happen.
The hints are offered in sequence and there are at least 4 hints for each puzzle before the answer is directly selectable. Using the hints does not penalize the game experience in any way; in fact, there is no scoring system, it is a challenge with oneself. However, I advise against immediately resorting to the suggestions offered by the application, after all the aim is to play.
A Challenging Game?
The Book of Rituals is a gamebook that requires effort. In general, it takes about twenty hours to complete it; the help of the suggestions may be necessary even if not fundamental if you want to rack your brain a bit. Certainly these are excellent puzzles, proposed in a particularly interesting way, which certainly offer a good dose of fun to those who love challenges.
The Book of Rituals, as can be seen from this review, is a game that once solved cannot be replayed. However, I believe that some of the puzzles can easily be exported to be used in other contexts or that they can be taken as a starting point to insert puzzles into any RPG campaign.
Review of the Aesthetics of The Book of Rituals
The Book of Rituals is presented as a hardcover book with a rough feel to the touch. The title is slightly raised and the chosen font recalls the ancient tomes. All the pages are made of thick, rough paper and, consistent with the context of the game, are not numbered in any way.
The quality of the drawings is undoubted: there are thematic images which are all particularly significant within the puzzles. Magdalena Klepacz’s ability to transform an image into an enigma is equally commendable.
Perhaps the only aesthetic flaw of the project is the visibility of some of the “comments” of previous users which, at times, are not very recognizable.
Final Thoughts of The Book of Rituals Review
To conclude, I can say that The Book of Rituals is an interesting and aesthetically very beautiful book; guarantees a good number of hours of entertainment without ever being banal or boring. The absolutely affordable price also makes it an original gift and a good complement if you want to add a touch of mystery to a more traditional RPG campaign.
If you love solving riddles and puzzles and are familiar with the Escape Tales series of games, then The Book of Rituals can’t escape you!
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First of all, I want to thank Max Moon Games for sending us a review copy of Abyss of Hallucinations – Volume 1. This is a setting compatible with the old-school RPG Mörk Borg.
This work is inspired by and based on the Book of Lies by the English occultist and writer Aleister Crowley; within this text from over a hundred years ago, there are cryptograms, poems, questions, rituals, ambiguous allusions and philosophical instructions. Max Moon has taken inspiration in content and tone, without the pretension of revealing an analytical reading of Crowley’s work. This also allows you to appreciate the manual I’m about to review without ever having read the Book of Lies.
If you are interested in buying Abyss of Hallucinations – Volume 1, keep in mind that it is available in the official store for the price of $25 (currently around €22.70).
The Structure of the Abyss
First, I’ll try to give some context. The Abyss represents Hell, or rather an interpretation of it; an absurd, distorted interpretation of it, full of temptations, desire, fornications, shocking ideas and symbolism. Some say that the greatest sages can even come out of it but, of course, there are no certainties about it.
The manual contains a map of the Abyss. Its hexagons represent the main structure and places of interest, which I report below:
Unicursal Heptagram: centre (and symbol) of the Abyss, anyone who enters it must pass this test (more information later).
City of Pyramids: glass settlement with perennial flames.
The Southern Cross: desolate expanse with a huge inverted cross in black stone in the centre.
Desert of the Slouching Beast: desert where strange rites take place.
V.V.V.V.V.: vvvvv vvvvv vvvvv vvvvv
The Wound of Amfortas: rift created by a huge spear, from which the False God is said to have come.
The Skidoo Inn: no one can enter, but the place is always crowded and leaving is permitted (and welcome).
How to Enter the Abyss
A big doubt that the manual took away from me was: how do you enter this Abyss? For this purpose, we find a short introductory adventure: Unicursal Heptagram.
After some pages of introduction and explanation of the few necessary mechanics, we find a random table that gives us various ways in which the characters can be knocked unconscious; this is the pretext for introducing them to this place (later described room by room).
In this review I will now analyze the plot of Abyss of Hallucinations – Volume 1; as usual, I will do it without spoilers that could affect the gaming experience. The characters wake up in a seven-sided room, with irregular engravings on the floor; in addition to the central structure from which they came out, they notice that on each of the walls, there is a door with a symbol on it. Interacting with a strange figure submerged in filaments and exploring what lies behind the doors, they will be faced with puzzles and esotericism. Combat can be an option in some cases, but it plays a marginal role and above all, it’s not what makes this adventure special. After all the characters will have to figure out just how to get out of this area, and doing so will require acumen.
Reviews of Mechanical Options Proposed by Abyss of Hallucinations – Volume 1
The new options for players are not so many, but they manage to be very thematic.
We find three new classes. The Mountaineer is very robust and used to surviving in difficult territories. The Offspring of Pan is the chosen one of the deities of this setting and embodies its power. Finally, the Seeker of the Left Hand Path is instead a sorcerer who owes their power to a deity.
The other important element that has been introduced in this manual are some specific divinities. These are six new beings with dark and dangerous powers who pour their influence over these lands and their inhabitants. Each of them manages to be unique and fascinating, outlining a bleak aspect of the setting. I really enjoyed The Stag Beetle, the god of midnight and the end; when invoked, he devours corpses and leaves only the skeletons, ready to serve his worshiper. Also very interesting is Our Lady of the Stars, the companion of chaos and infinite space; she grants her worshippers the ability to fly and breathe any atmosphere.
Conclusions of the Review of Abyss of Hallucinations – Volume 1
In addition to these intriguing contents, the 44 pages of this manual also contain black and white illustrations. They are very simple, yet deeply themed; they manage to raise the level of immersion further (thanks also to very high legibility due to a classic layout).
As the title of the protagonist of this review says, Abyss of Hallucinations – Volume 1 suggests that there will be other manuals that will expand the setting; I’m very much in favour of this idea because the material included is already enough to start sessions with strong elements that can easily make an impact, but I’d be very happy to see more variety and depth added. For this purpose, the reference work, the Book of Lies, can be an excellent source of inspiration.
To conclude, I can say with certainty that lovers of esotericism and OSR will love this manual!
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Before talking about Dragondale in this review, I want to thank Genitori di Ruolo for providing us with a physical copy of their game. The project stems from the desire to give a role-playing game that is within everyone’s reach: children and adolescents, game neophytes and first-time masters.
If after this chat you would like to buy it, you can find it on the author’s website for 39.90 euros. I also point out that it is possible to get a more precise idea of the game by trying it thanks to the quickstart available directly on the authors’ website. The pre-generated characters are also downloadable on the same page.
An Ambitious Project Dedicated to Role-Playing Families
The Dragondale project was born under another name: Lacrime di Stelle. With this name was opened Kickstarter which achieved a good result in 2022; this is the campaign played, studied, tested and written with the support of many children and young people who participated in the projects and events organized by Genitori di Roolo.
With a decidedly robust hardcover, the manual consists of 345 pages and is in A5 format, one of the favourites of recent years, definitely handy and transportable. Inside the volume, you can find everything you need to start playing. The manual is divided into chapters, each characterized by a dominant colour and introduced by an illustration.
Dragondale, as we will see in this review, therefore serves not only as a master manual but also as a player manual, setting and monster manual.
Start Playing with Everything Available
As I said, Dragondale contains everything you need to start playing. No expansion, no added compendium to consult: in its 345 pages we have it all. However, let’s look a little closer, following the precise and well-kept index at the beginning of the volume, what we find in this game.
We start with a chapter dedicated to the rules. About twenty pages contain the basics for playing, from the character’s characteristics to the rules for combat.
The second chapter is dedicated to the characters. In this section, we find references to all available Origins, Classes and Pasts. As in many other role-playing games, these represent the type of character we are going to play, what she can do and what formed her. At the end of this chapter, we find an important element to underline the collaborative intent of the game; each character has a specific Role in the group.
The third chapter is entirely dedicated to equipment and spells; practical and exhaustive summary tables allow you to have everything under control.
Be a Storyteller in Dragondale
Introduced by a beautiful image that in my opinion perfectly represents the Narrator’s task, this chapter accompanies anyone who wants to take this path step by step; it is suitable both for adults who have never done it, and for children who decide to have a first experience on the other side of the screen.
This part of the manual is full of hints and tips ranging from how to describe a scene to how to organize a Session Zero. Every possible doubt, every plausible difficulty you may run into when you are a beginner, is dealt with exhaustively; the manual offers a series of useful suggestions not only for approaching already written plots but also for trying to create your game world to offer to the players.
Knowing well how complicated it can seem to be a Storyteller the first few times, I believe that Dragondale can provide good support for everyone in this, even for those who have been playing for a long time.
Dragondale Game System Review
The game system of Dragondale is a simplified version of the 5e of the best-known RPG in the world. The basics of the game, all explained in a dedicated chapter, are meant to be simple and complete; they certainly manage to be so for those who have at least some experience in role-playing games.
The reference system receives a series of practical expedients, especially about combat. First, the distances have been simplified; instead of thinking in meters, it is sufficient to establish whether the opponent is in the melee, near or far. Movement allows you to shorten by one distance, so from close to melee and vice versa, or from close to far and vice versa. Even the part dedicated to skill rolls has been made more immediate; once the proficiency bonus has been eliminated, only the d20 is rolled, with an advantage if the character knows that specific skill.
However, not all the rules have been simplified; the math, while basic, will still be used for circumstances such as saving throws and attack rolls. Even the part dedicated to magic, which can generally prove to be a bit tricky, is treated and resolved with a remarkably streamlined approach. The spells are described more simply, there is no trace of the components and the concentration is also gone.
In linea di massima quindi Dragondale, come si evince da questa recensione, ha un regolamento immediato soprattutto per chi proviene da D&D5e. Troveremo infatti tutte quelle meccaniche che piacciono tanto e potremo trasmetterle, senza troppa difficoltà, alla prossima generazione di giocatori.
Lacrime di Stelle: Dragondale Campaign Review
A pre-made introductory adventure could not be missing in such a complete manual; Lacrime di Stelle is the plot proposed by Genitori di Ruolo. The adventure is designed for characters from 1st to 6th level and will involve the heroes in saving the Cusius Valley from a terrible evil that is awakening. The story is meant to be played by a group of 4 or 5 players.
Without wanting to make any spoilers, as usual, I can say that it is well thought out and doses the narrative parts to the more action-packed ones in a balanced way. Also aiding the narrator is an extensive chapter with a setting detailing in detail the places and all the people the characters will encounter. If you then try to find the real references behind the names chosen by the authors, then the fun will be doubled.
A Respectable Artistic Department
Dragondale is particularly interesting in terms of graphics. Each chapter is preceded by a beautiful double-page illustration, always thematic and evocative. Sabrina Normani paints the cover. The internal illustrations are by Alessandro Savino, Anna Schilirò, Jacopo Tagliasacchi, Luca Maiorani, Moreno Paissan, and Paolo Naretto Rosso. Although the manual does not present a real aesthetic uniformity, in my opinion, it embodies the spirit of the game very well, Each artist has been able to capture the atmosphere that the game wants to convey.
Choosing a large font and a dominant colour for each chapter undoubtedly helps reading. On many pages, there are also valuable suggestions for the narrator as if they were annotated slips added later.
The text does not have a uniform subdivision; within the volume, we find single-column pages, two-column pages and mixed pages. Overall, it’s not an unpleasant choice, but in some cases, the lack of uniformity could be annoying.
Dragondale Review Conclusions
Dragondale is a manual that, in its simplicity, brings together years of experience and passion, not just at the gaming table. Leafing through the glossy pages, observing the chosen fonts and colours, and looking at the maps and illustrations, one realizes how much passion and how many people have contributed to its creation. A job that required time and dedication demonstrates, once again, that even in Italy there are excellent authors and artists in this sector that is still too niche.
Dragondale is certainly an interesting game, specially designed for children and teenagers; it is not a game which, however, can be easily managed independently by the little ones and requires the presence of an adult to start the sessions. The product is still of an excellent standard, made to last and to pass from hand to hand and from generation to generation. If you have children and adolescents in your family who may want to try role-playing, Dragondale is the right product to bring them closer to this passion!
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