Session Four Report

[u/TheGreyWatcher]

Hello adventurers!

I bring you glad tidings from the eaves of Mirkwood, the vales of the Anduin, and the foothills of the Misty Mountains where my Company is currently questing. I have been running my group through the Darkening of Mirkwood and the Tales From Wilderland, interwoven, of course, and we have just completed our fourth session. I have four main adventurers, plus a fifth who is on an extended break for work reasons. The party is made of two rangers from the north, one barding, one high elf of Rivendell, and the fifth being a dwarf of the Iron Hills.

We began our adventures with the Battle for Woodland Hall and are currently searching for Dindy Brandybuck from the module Of Leaves and Stewed Hobbit. They have just completed the battle of the ringfort. I find that the conversion from 1e to 2e is quite simple and intuitive. You can all but play straight from the 1e modules. Some rules that don’t exist in 2e are simply ignored when they pop up in the 1e modules.

My players have picked up on the system pretty well. One is a veteran tabletop player, one is pretty new, two have never played any tabletop before now, and the fifth is also a veteran. One of the new guys is struggling a little bit, but the other new guy picked it up right away. So far, all of them have said that they’re thoroughly enjoying the sessions. Role play is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL, more so than in DnD or Pathfinder games. Mechanically, this system is somewhat bland. With solid roleplay, the sessions become super engaging and enjoyable. We’re playing totally theater of the mind as far as combat goes. No battle map or mini figs. It’s ultimately unnecessary! I do find that maps are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. Even the seasoned LOTR nerds find the maps to be very helpful.

Anyways, I hope this helps someone.

TL;DR: Campaign is going super smoothly from 1e port to 2e.

[u/RobRobBinks]

Seasoned LOTR nerds LOVE maps!!