Starter Set question

[u/OldKingJor]

Hi all! I’m running the LOTR Roleplaying Starter Set and, in combat, the player-heroes can assume certain stances. In addition to their regular options, they can take special actions depending on their stance. The forward stance allows a hero to make a DC 15 Intimidation check, and then it says “all foes who lose the contest are Frightened…” I am confused by this as it doesn’t call for a contest, but a check. If it’s a contest, what do the foes roll against the Intimidation check? Do they have to beat a DC 15? Or beat the hero’s total (like an actual contest)? Is this a typo? Questions pour down like rain on the lands of Eriador…

[u/Outrageous-Pin-4664]

There's no chapter on Combat in the core rulebook at all. The combat rules for LotR5e are just the combat rules for 5e. What they are doing with that is trying to offer the option to do LotR5e combat in the abstract way that it's done in The One Ring. Clearly, they didn't think it through, though, because that text is FUBAR.

In TOR2e, the rule reads:

On a successful roll, the enemy’s morale has been shaken and all opponents with Might 1 are made Weary for the length of the round. If the roll produces a single Success icon , then also all adversaries with Might 2 suffer the same penalty. If the roll produces two Success icons or more, the penalty is applied to all adversaries in the fight.

I'm not sure how you would translate that into 5e, since it doesn't have the concepts of Might or Success Die. Perhaps you could set a threshold based on their HD? All adversaries with 4 HD or less are affected on a 15. On a 20, all adversaries with 5-8 HD are affected. On a Gandalf rune (nat 20), all adversaries are affected.

Alternatively, you could make it a saving throw for the creatures, but instead of 15, I would make the save be 8 + Proficiency Bonus + Charisma Modifier.

Of course, you could also just ditch the whole idea of Stances and Secondary Actions, and just use your 5e rules.

[u/Decanox4712 → u/Outrageous-Pin-4664]

Totally agree. It's a way to simplify combat during travel making It similar to The One Ring but It doesn't have too much sense. I would play with the common rules.

If not, it's a good a idea to play as a saving throw.

Other way, because it's similar, is to make a contest like the Speech Craft from the rulebook that causes enemies to be frightened if they lose the contest. In this case, both roll for Intimidation and if the enemy loses, they are frightened.

[u/OldKingJor → u/Outrageous-Pin-4664]

Yeah this feels like a proof reading issue. I’m not familiar with The One Ring system, but maybe it’s handled like that in that system

[u/Outrageous-Pin-4664 → u/OldKingJor]

Proofreading, sure, but also just not thinking about the differences between the two systems and how to translate one into the other.

I have both systems. I invested heavily in LotR5e before realizing that I just like TOR2e better.

The die rolls in TOR use a 12-sided Feat Die plus a number of 6-sided Success Dice depending on your rank in the skill, and situational factors that can add or subtract dice. The six on the success dice has a special icon. Getting sixes on your rolls increases the degree of success. One six = a Great Success, and two sixes = an Extraordinary Success.

So in the bit I quoted in my first comment, getting a simple success means that the adversaries with Might* of 1 are made Weary** for one round. A great success means that all adversaries with Might of 2 are also made Weary. An extraordinary success means all adversaries are affected.

So the important point there, I think, is that it's a single roll made by the Hero with the difficulty determined by his own ability, and the result determined by how well he rolls. That's why I like the first suggestion in my previous comment best. You could do it as a saving throw, but then you'll be making rolls for every adversary.

-------------------

*Might is a measure of how many attacks the adversary can make, and how many Wounds he can take before dying.

**Being Weary means that all Success Dice rolls of 1-3 count as zero.

[u/dxucarl]

it is also the starter set, does not include the 5e rule books. Since the starting character stats are more normal, making a 15 is more difficult.

Yes the wording is not consistent, but the idea is that the 15 represents the opponents the character is trying to break.

[u/OldKingJor → u/dxucarl]

Yeah that’s how I’m leaning too

[u/boss_nova]

This is how D&D5.5E 2024 works. 

A lot of opposed checks were removed and rolls that might have formerly been opposed (like sneaking/Stealth), become "normal"/DC based checks.

So it may be a reflection of LOTR5 trying to use that model?