The One Ring 2e

The central mechanic of The One Ring 2e uses two types of dice; regular six-sided dice (d6), and twelve-sided dice (d12). When your characters attempt something that requires them to roll, you roll a d12 (referred to as your "feat die"), and a number of d6s ("success dice") equal to the relevant modifier. If the total of your roll is higher than the target number of the check, then you succeed! The target number depends on your character's attributes and usually ranges from 14-18. A 12 on the feat die is an automatic success, and an 11 on the feat die is called the "Eye of Sauron," counting as a 0 and triggering some negative effects. 6s rolled on d6s in a successful roll count as "greater successes" that can be spent on additional benefits.

The One Ring 2e hones in on three major components to adventures: journeys, councils, and combat. Combat begins with an opening volley for anyone who has a chance to attack with ranged weapons, and then closes in to close combat. Characters choose a stance to take, whether forward, open, defensive, or rearward, enemies match with them and take stances of their own, and then each player character gets a turn to take a main action and a secondary action, like attacking and switching weapons, followed by their opponents. Attacks target opponents' parry rating, and armor helps reduce the effect of piercing and heavy blows.

Councils are important social meetings with high stakes where a decision must be made. Typically, your fellowship of heroes makes a request, the person or group you are asking gets a resistance rating based on how reasonable the request is, and one character makes introductions, which determine how much patience is allotted to your council. Then, characters take turns making cases and rolling dice to accumulate successes within the time limit. If they get successes equal to the resistance rating in time, their request is granted.

And it wouldn't be Tolkien without an emphasis on journeys! Every member of the fellowship plays a role in determining how quickly the journey completes, what happens along the way, and the fatigue your group takes. Throughout, you'll track your characters' endurance and load, as well as their hopefulness, even against the encroaching shadow of Mordor.

The core components of each character in The One Ring 2e are a Heroic Culture and a Calling. Heroic Culture represents your character's ancestry and upbringing, like dwarves of Durin, Rangers of the North, elves of Lindon, and hobbits of the Shire. These cultures come with heroic blessings that will help your character on their adventures. You'll choose or roll an array of attributes to determine the character's Strength, Heart and Wits. These scores will set the target number when rolling their associated skills. This will also help you derive your Endurance, or health and stamina, your Hope, or resistance to the shadow, and your Parry, or how difficult you are to hit in combat. Next, you'll fill in your starting skills, each point of which is a success die you'll roll for that skill. One or more of these skills might begin as Favored, meaning you'll roll two feat dice and take the higher when using it. Your character also begins with combat proficiencies, success dice they'll roll when using axes, bows, spears, and swords. Complete your Heroic Culture choices by selecting a few distinctive features and a name.

Your calling, or what the character's role is in their culture or the wider world, will supplement them with additional favored skills, another distinctive feature, and their "shadow path," the way the darkness calls to them. Each character then gets 10 points to spend increasing their skills. Equip your character with gear based on their skills and standard of living, keeping track of the load of everything you carry, which will affect your endurance in battle. Standard adventuring gear is assumed, but characters can also pick specific useful items to bring along, which might afford bonuses in special circumstances.

To finish your character, you'll start with one point each of Valor and Wisdom, which confer rewards and virtues, two types of bonus you'll be able to accumulate more of in play that offer improved gear and strength to your character. With the rest of your Fellowship, determine your patron, safe haven, fellowship focus, and fellowship score! Then you're all ready for the road, to help the Free Peoples of Middle-earth!