What's the best system for Tolkien-esque fantasy?

What's the best system for Tolkien-esque fantasy?

That's actually a good question. Sparing magic, but not necessarily low magic... Heroic, but not unstoppable juggernaut.

It's very middle fantasy in middle Earth innit

I feel like Burning Wheel gets the non-human races closest in feel to Tolkien

The dark eye.

Difficult to make OP characters, rules for trades.

Adventures in Middle-Earth is pretty good. It's a splatbook/expansion for 5e D&D. It takes the basic rules (20 levels, skill system, feats, d20 based, advantage/disadvantage mechanic), but it introduces some new mechanics that allow for a Tolkien feel, like rules for Journeys, Audiences, and Sanctuaries.

The 12 core classes of 5e are replaced by 6 classes that better fit the world. Notably, NONE of them are spellcasters, not even the Sage. Most of them have magic, but their really kind of vague magic. Likewise the standard 5e races are replaced by Tolkien fantasy Cultures, most of which are variations on Men (Gondorian, Rohirrim, Bardings), but also includes Hobbits, Elves of the Mirkwood, and Dwarves of Erebor. Having said that, the game was designed to be fully 5e compatible, so if you REALLY want to run a Tiefling Warlock in the setting, there's nothing stopping you except the Loremaster (DM). Who probably should stop you.

The default setting of Adventures in Middle-Earth is the northern lands around the Mirkwood not long after the events of The Hobbit, but it could probably be run in any era.

Is there something wrong with One Ring RPG?

The One Ring rpg

OG DnD is literally founded upon Tolkien, you'd be crazy to run anything else. But you'd also have to be crazy to run Tolkien in the first place.

my favourite part of Lord of the Rings was when the fellowship carefully poked their way through Moria in order to get the treasure in its depths

If you can find it (hint: PDF thread) then MERP is ideal.
The modules can also be used with RoleMaster.

FAAAAAR too much emphasis on travel, singing songs and camaraderie. And not enough on super fightan' action.

As we all know Tolkien abhorred descriptions of travel and the introduction of small tidbits of esoteric lore via narration, stories or songs and though that friends were fro pussies. He truly was the Michael Bay of his time.

Except LotR did very little to influence DnD, and Gygax literally admits to just including Tolkien material for the sales boost.

I liked how everyone noticably grew in power and skill set tgrough their travels.

I mean the hobbits absolutely did

is this some 5D irony I'm reading?

fantasycraft works well

Basically this and only this.

no, just pretty basic sarcasm (except for the third comment anyway)

It really isn't. MERP is an interesting game but you can't call it the best system for Tolkien by any stretch. It's not just the system, which is a stripped down version of early rolemaster with all the horrific clunk that implies, but they also really dopped the ball on capturing the feel of ME.

The biggest problem is the magic, there's way too much and the types don't fit the setting. Every class can access spells, with two full casters who could be renamed wizard and druid. The spells don't resemble Tolkien's magic at all, I don't remember Gandalf flying (no, Eagles don't count), summoning walls of stone from nowhere or reviving the dead. Every PC can roll on magic item and special ability tables for overt supernatural power seldom found in the books. The reason of course is because ICE ported everything over from Rolemaster, which was designed for 80s post-D&D fantasy and not Middle Earth. Likewise the mood is distinctly dungeon-crawling at times, the intro adventure in the book where you break into one of the Witch-Kings castles with extensive dungeons filled with traps and treasure and monster and so on. I could go on but the point is that MERP is RM with a coat of Tolkien paint.

If you want a ME RPG which hews closer to Tolkien One Ring is best, Burning Wheel for something captures the essence brilliantly without having to be set in ME itself.

Pathfinder

4e.

Of course, I'm only half kidding.

To be totally fair the TT does seem like Gimli and Legolas tought they got XP only by combat...

Either The One Ring or Fellowship.

Dude, MERP is awesome. The actual game perhaps not so much, and it takes more than a few liberties with the lore. But the sourcebooks and feel are pure gold.

MERP was my first rpg, and I've got fond memories of my Sindar bard running up and down the Troll Country. I've still got my copy, held together with tape, which I flick through sometimes because it is a fun book to peruse. But between a janky and dated system that doesn't fit the setting, and said lore departures you can't claim it's the best game out there for Tolkien gaming. A great piece of rpg history, but not something I'd recommend in this day and age.

Seconding Fellowship if it's supposed to be in spirit akin to ME, but it doesn't work if the people aren't there to invent their lore.

BTW what is gonna be the next TOR release? The book about adventures in Erebor? Then?

>I need my Lorien sourcebook, damn

The one ring?

You bump a thread from page 11 and 4 hours after the last post with a suggestion that has been made 5 times already?

D&D 5e.

/s

What is up with people dissing MERP? I've been playing in a campaign for the last 5 years which has seen over 20 members coming and join and we've all had a blast playing the Rolemaster system.

I think you meant to say DnD was founded on Fritz Leiber

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>shitty convoluted chargen
>shitty convoluted leveling mechanics
>shitty convoluted combat mechanics
>shitty convoluted magic system that doesn’t emulate Tolkien

Which doesn't exclude the possibility that he was just a lyin' bastard. Just sayin'.

Honestly? I would pick MERP with better Magic system over TOR. The combat rules of TOR kills it for me.

t. brainlet