You may have noticed– tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs) are experiencing a renaissance, and there is no shortage of amazing games to play. One of the best out there, ranked at #15 on RPGGeek.com, is The One Ring 2e from Free League Publishing.
If you have heard of The One Ring 2e and are looking for a group to start playing, you’ve already fought half the battle, and I applaud you. Taking a risk on a newish game that barely anyone knows about shows that you are the perfect person to begin this journey.
But where do you find people to play with? Here are five options I’ve tried, and my best advice about where you should start playing.
5. Roll20
“I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.” - Bilbo Baggins
Theoretically, looking on Roll20 is a good idea. Based on what I’ve seen online, people do find games by looking on Roll20’s community pages. However, there are no One Ring games listed on the Roll20 board. The “Find Games to Join,” or “Looking for Group Listings” page has listings for nearly 500 D&D games available, and 0 listed for The One Ring.
Even though there is a module built for The One Ring on Roll20, it seems there’s not anything by way of actual One Ring games you could join. I would not bother looking here.
4. Local Gaming Store (LGS)
“If by my life or death I can protect you, I will.” - Aragorn, son of Arathorn
The vinyl record of the game economy. If you have a Local Gaming Store in your town, I strongly encourage you to support them as much as possible. In a world of corporate corruption, these local shops are, for many, the lifeblood of the hobby. No reason to give your money to the oligarchs when you can get the books and dice you need at a local shop.
Mine (my own, my precious), is a huge space with multiple tables in the back for game nights. Unfortunately, there are no One Ring 2e games listed on their calendar! An entrepreneurial Game Master could, I assume, ask permission to set up shop in their LGS once a week and try to recruit some players, but this is probably akin to going fishing in a very small pond, and not likely to succeed. But don’t let it stop you from trying if you feel led! We must protect these hidden treasures. Remember: All that is gold does not glitter. Not all who wander are lost.
But if you want to find a One Ring 2e game that’s ready for you to join, I would not count on finding one here either.
3. Conventions
“I don't know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.” - Bilbo Baggins
Last year at GenCon, there were 10 sessions of One Ring available. At PAX Unplugged 2024, there were 3 sessions of One Ring. A 4-day pass to GenCon is $155, and a 3-day badge at PAX will set you back $91, plus gas or flight tickets, and the cost of booking a hotel or private vacation rental. Once you get there, you’ve got a weekend to play some one shots.
Needless to say, this is an expensive option. I had a great time at GenCon last year, and I plan to go again this year, but it’s not the best place to get into a niche game like The One Ring 2e, and definitely not if you’re looking for a long-term campaign.
If dipping your toes in to try out the system is your goal, go ahead and sign up! Just know that, without the ability to shop around, you may end up with Game Masters that have less experience than you hope.
2. Discord
“May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” - Galadriel
If you have the privilege of joining the One Ring / LOTR Discord server, I recommend you do.
There are great resources there for Loremasters (the One Ring equivalent of Dungeon Masters), including channels for lore, rules, and even help with technology.
To find a group to play with, check out the channel for The One Ring game listings.
There is also a channel for casually finding One Ring 2e games, but it is somewhat chaotic and hard to sort through. You might find something, but it will probably be a 1-3 sentence pitch with the bare-bones details, and nothing else to help you make an informed decision.
As of the writing of this article, there were 9 One Ring adventures listed that appeared to be recently active. When I looked closer, I realized that 4 of those 9 were actually games that had been posted by Game Masters with listings on StartPlaying!
Long story short: use Discord, but not to find One Ring 2e games.
1. StartPlaying
“For we put the thought of all that we love into all that we make.” - the SPG team, probably
The design team really put their heart and soul into making SPG a beautiful experience.
StartPlaying should really be the industry standard for finding a One Ring group. When I wrote this, there were 22 games with open seats available for The One Ring 2e, with a good mix of new campaigns looking for players to start from scratch, and ongoing campaigns that are open to adding new players.
Why is StartPlaying so good for finding One Ring 2e games?
- You can search by your availability
Instead of wading through all the One Ring 2e games that exist on a platform, you can just search for the games that fit your schedule. Whether you want a weekly, biweekly, or monthly game, you can find the campaign that’s right for you, on any day of the week. You can also narrow it down by the start time!
- You can filter by theme
As demonstrated by the differences between the original Peter Jackson films, the Hobbit movies, the Rings of Power, and the latest movie, War of the Rohirrim, there are many ways to tell a Tolkien story. Are you looking for more of a One Ring mystery game, or a supernatural-themed adventure? Just select those in the drop-down menu. There was even one “grimdark” One Ring campaign on offer as of the publication of this post, and I find that almost irresistible!
- There are no old campaigns taking up space
StartPlaying recently began a new feature on their website that alerts GMs when their game listings haven’t had any activity for 30 days, and then automatically unlists the game unless the GM renews it. This means that the One Ring 2e games you are seeing when you search for games are ones that are actively recruiting.
- You can look at your Loremaster’s profile
Social proof and reviews are everything. I would never rent an AirBnb without reading the host’s reviews first. Similarly, I feel so much more comfortable signing up for an RPG session knowing that the Game Master is not only experienced, but trusted by other players.
On a GM profile page on StartPlaying, you can see all the reviews they’ve received, as well as how many paid sessions the reviewer has played with that GM, so you know it’s not just bots or fake accounts. You can also see descriptions of their playstyle, how they handle safety tools, what VTT they’re using for the game, and what qualities they consistently get highly rated for.
Especially once you get into reading reviews from players who have played over 100 sessions with a GM, you can really get a sense of what kind of person they are and if you think they would be a good fit for you.
There is even a way to search for all the Game Masters on StartPlaying who offer One Ring 2e games! A group recently reached out to me out of the blue to ask me to run a One Ring 2e campaign for them, even though I didn’t have a campaign listed at the time.
The Verdict
If you want to find a group for the One Ring 2e, then head over to StartPlaying. It is the best platform to find a One Ring 2e game and group. The website is always improving, and is the single best place to find a group to game with that I know of. You can’t go wrong when you have over a dozen GMs to choose from, and can read what other players have to say about their experiences with them.
Isaac Sanborn is a professional game master who runs weekly, biweekly, and monthly games for The One Ring 2e, Blades in the Dark, Call of Cthulhu, Cyberpunk RED, and D&D 5e on StartplayingGames, with an emphasis on creativity, proactive roleplaying, and character-driven stories. His favorite character voice to use is Gandalf the Grey. You can play with Isaac here.
