“The One Ring RPG Official Newsletter” Reveals New Details for 2e

Over on the mailing list for The One Ring by Francesco Nepitello has some great new details about The One Ring 2e. Primarily, that the setting for 2e will be Eriador.

“This time we’re focusing on Eriador for the core publication, the region that for many readers lies at the heart of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. To constitute an ideal ‘second chapter’ to the first edition of TOR, we’re also advancing the default date, setting the game at about the year 2960.”

This places the timeline after Saruman has taken up residence near Dol Guldur to study the influence of the Necromancer, after Aragorn has descovered he’s the heir of Gondor, and after Arwen has returned to Rivendell from Lothlorien. It’s a bustling time for the world, as The Shadow is beginning to creep out of the dark places of the earth.

“And to kickstart this new edition we will visit a place in Eriador that we didn’t cover before: the starter set for The One Ring will detail the Shire, the home of Hobbits, with a dedicated sourcebook and adventures penned by our own Master Hobbit, James Michael Spahn.”

This is great news. I’d probably be picking up the starter set anyway, but providing a guide to the Shire makes it necessary. In the same way the Loremaster’s Screen had an extensive writeup on Laketown, I hope we get just as much if not more detail on The Shire, including all the villages throughout.

I’m really excited for the new edition. We’re 9 months past when we were supposed to see it from Cubicle 7, but with Fria Ligan at the helm, I have a lot of confidence in what this game will turn out to be.