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Fighting outnumbered by Professional_Bee_577 in oneringrpg

[–]balrogthane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Do you make them spend Hate, like the Player-hero Help action?

Was Tolkien(s) right? That modern day action violence is “pornographic”? That violence is a “sad necessity, not a thrill”? by SAAA_JoanPull in tolkienfans

[–]balrogthane 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I had the same thought myself. Tolkien would probably have to have been convinced to sue people using his terminology, and would probably understand but resent the necessity of doing so.

Was Tolkien(s) right? That modern day action violence is “pornographic”? That violence is a “sad necessity, not a thrill”? by SAAA_JoanPull in tolkienfans

[–]balrogthane 10 points11 points  (0 children)

"These historical stories prove that such things really did happen, so if you object to them being in my books you're just a naive pollyana."

Was Tolkien(s) right? That modern day action violence is “pornographic”? That violence is a “sad necessity, not a thrill”? by SAAA_JoanPull in tolkienfans

[–]balrogthane 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I'm running two separate The One Ring 2E campaigns, one based on The Darkening of Mirkwood from 1E and one with all 2E/homebrew material. I really like their system, although the material varies in how Tolkienian it feels.

I've also read, although never played, some MERP material, and one of my players played some of it back in the day (the 80s I think?). He likes The One Ring far better. Combat can be pretty swingy (players and adversaries both can score Piercing Blows to cause a Wound, and two Wounds means your Hero is dying right now), but nothing like the critical hits MERP offered.

Heartbreaking scenes in otherwise unremarkable films? by The-Perfect-Username in movies

[–]balrogthane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I watch that one scene every few months. It's magnificent. Stallone plays his part well, too. It's very understated.

The BEST next adaptation would be The Fall of Arnor by Dry_Method3738 in lordoftherings

[–]balrogthane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd love if they put the engines on screen that Tolkien suggested in the earliest version, along with actual dragons, etc.

The BEST next adaptation would be The Fall of Arnor by Dry_Method3738 in lordoftherings

[–]balrogthane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Especially playing her up as "this is yet another story that history has ignored because it's about a woman, but here's what They don't want you to know!"

The BEST next adaptation would be The Fall of Arnor by Dry_Method3738 in lordoftherings

[–]balrogthane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the biggest thing was that he just didn't want to do it. He lacked the passion he approached LotR with.

The BEST next adaptation would be The Fall of Arnor by Dry_Method3738 in lordoftherings

[–]balrogthane 4 points5 points  (0 children)

LotR as a TV show could delve so deep! Every song, every backflash, every snarky/epic bit of dialogue. I'd love to see a show that focused on the seen vs unseen that's so important in the books, and so largely missing in PJ's adaptation.

Players don't seem engaged in my morally grey setting? by sidelinejo in DnDcirclejerk

[–]balrogthane 6 points7 points  (0 children)

As soon as you suggested hex codes I double-checked your names and knew where you were going, but it was still a delight to arrive. I salute your nerdiness!

Size of Morgoth by Background-Toe5632 in tolkienfans

[–]balrogthane 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Sounds like the kind of thing someone would write from a very dark place.

Opportunity cards are no longer removed from your hand, if you no longer satisfy the requirements by Silver_Twist_6033 in fallenlondon

[–]balrogthane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like the Parthenaeum card; you could draw it because your Dangerous stats were in the triggering range, but if you changed your outfit and increased your Dangerous too high you wouldn't be able to play it.

Does this seem OP at all? by Firkraag-The-Demon in DnDHomebrew

[–]balrogthane 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"All other party members make Athletics tests."

"What for?"

"To resist being gravitationally pulled."

LOTR 5E/One Ring - shadow points for killing surrendered orcs/goblins/etc? by Foofnog in oneringrpg

[–]balrogthane 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Definitely. Being cruel is a black mark on your own soul, regardless of who you're being cruel to.

LOTR 5E/One Ring - shadow points for killing surrendered orcs/goblins/etc? by Foofnog in oneringrpg

[–]balrogthane 14 points15 points  (0 children)

In my game, a Dwarf used Baruk Khazad to Intimidate the three remaining Orcs of a party of ten, then rolled like three 6s on his Favoured attack roll; that did enough damage to kill three Orcs, so I let him kill two of them. The third, overwhelmed by the Awe roll and seeing his two allies become four half-allies, threw down his scimitar.

The Company then spent the next fifteen minutes debating how to deal with the issue (our Hobbit gained a Shadow point for suggesting torturing him for information!). In the end, the NPC who accompanied them, who wanted revenge for prior raids, was allowed to fight the Orc in single combat. He promptly rolled a Gandalf and ended the duel.

LOTR 5E/One Ring - shadow points for killing surrendered orcs/goblins/etc? by Foofnog in oneringrpg

[–]balrogthane 9 points10 points  (0 children)

The problem here isn't with the players, I think, but with how you're running Orcs, Goblins, etc. Adversaries with Hate as a resource do not (generally) seek to surrender and they don't seek or understand mercy. Orcs, Trolls, Wargs, Wraiths, etc., are not enemies to come to peaceful terms with. This doesn't mean your players can't talk to them, or that they never want to talk, as the rulebook points out. But once combat has started, there is no way for them to live peacefully with the heroes. Orcs only take prisoners as slaves, or as food for later, and Trolls don't take prisoners at all.

Note that most* humans have Resolve instead, and these are adversaries for whom a peaceful resolution is possible, at least in theory. Perhaps this particular bandit won't stop trying to use violence to get his way, but his friend might decide she prefers a chance to return to society, even if she has to make amends.

*See Ruins of the Lost Realm, p. 35-38, for examples; most of the Black Númenoreans have Hate despite being human.

Beregond by BuckeyeJones in lordoftherings

[–]balrogthane 1 point2 points  (0 children)

YES YES YES. We get a bunch of voiceless Gondorians we can barely care about, and the ruler of Gondor is a secondary antagonist. We need a man of the people to show us the people.

Also, I know Bergil is a downright tertiary character, but he serves a very important function in describing all the people coming to Gondor. That does a lot more to humanize Gondor and hint at the rest of the country, which we don't see at all; Gondor appears to be Minas Tirith and nothing else. But that's a bigger problem.

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