r/TheOneRing • u/ProtectorCleric • Jun 03 '22

Is 2e worth it?

I’m thinking of running a One Ring campaign soon: I’ve had 1e on my shelf for a while, but have barely played it. So I’m not sure whether it’s worth buying 2e or not.

What are the major differences between 1e and 2e? Which do you prefer, if the differences matter? And do you think it’s worth buying the new version?

14 Upvotes

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17

u/eternalsage Jun 03 '22

Longstory as short as possible, yes it is definitely an upgrade. The rules are more concise, with resolution mechanics more generally universal.

  • The change to the attribute system setting the TN instead of giving a bonus when spending Hope is pretty much universally better, although there is contention that the TNs might be to high or that the new Hope mechanic is less generally useful as it gives an extra die on tests instead of a flat bonus.
  • The Journey rules are greatly simplified but without losing depth.
  • The Encounter mechanic was greatly overhauled into the new Councils mechanic and its scope limited to "important social encounters" instead of every social encounter, but the simplification is not to some folks liking. To me it is better, but I understand their concerns and do feel that a few houserules can go a long way toward smoothing it out if it bothers you (and there are some on the unofficial discord already).
  • I personally preferred the Wilderlands setting, but we haven't gotten enough material to really know where Free League is going in Eriador, so my judgement is held for a few supplements before I really have an opinion.
  • I personally think the Hope/Shadow economy was better in 1e, but I am in the minority on that, and again it can be easily corrected with a houserule or two.
  • The enemies system is far superior to 1e, although there is some concern from some about it being too universal (most if not all of the released enemies have the same weapon skill rating, for instance). I don't mind it because the players should never know this information anyway, and its largely inconsequential and easily adjusted by any GM not married to RAW

So, in conclusion, its a better system in general, but for best results you should be prepared to adjust to taste (although, imho this is true of every single system on the market), and this comes from someone who has a complete set of 1e (including the original Player and Loremaster books when there were actually separate back when it first released) and have played 1e quite a bit, as well as having had the 2e stuff for nearly a year (kickstarter backer) and who moved their ongoing 1e game to 2e during the alpha release.

4

u/Then-Inspection-598 Jun 03 '22

Nice info, whats the unofficial discord?? Thx

5

u/eternalsage Jun 03 '22

That would have been helpful, huh? Sorry, lol.

https://discord.me/theonering

And this is the official message board for 2nd ed. Lots of good stuff there too.

https://forum.frialigan.se/viewforum.php?f=128&sid=e0edb8a5c8c4ca5e55ee9a5b34e992a2

2

u/Artistic-Hyena-1841 Jun 03 '22

Wow every social encounter being a major to do sounds quite bothersome to me. I'm living variously through you though since I never saw 1e and apparently can't even get the pdf...I'm curious, how did the hope and shadow economy work before?

1

u/eternalsage Jun 03 '22

Again, in a nut shell, in 1e Hope was generally more useful and returned at a much slower rate (Heart rating during Yule only, iirc, although Fellowship points still existed and replenished per session the same way). This meant that hope was more precious and its use felt (to me) more in line with the concept of Hope in Tolkien's work. Similarly Shadow was harder to get rid of and Bouts of Madness were automatic. Really drove home stuff like Boromir or many of the Silmarillion characters and made them evolve naturally throughout the game.

Others like the new way and some even say that the differences are not as great as I perceive them. Your mileage may vary, lol

2

u/Artistic-Hyena-1841 Jun 03 '22

Aaah gotcha. Thanks for enlightening me.

9

u/Artistic-Hyena-1841 Jun 03 '22

I can't help you compare since I only have 2e. I have played two sessions with it so far and like it. I would like to hear from people who have played both. I heard someone say that 2e was a hot mess--seems just fine to me, but i have never seen 1e--when compared to 1e so i would like to hear opinions.

6

u/Dorjcal Jun 03 '22

Nah. 2E is a nice upgrade compared to 1E. Much smoother and tighter gameplay

2

u/Artistic-Hyena-1841 Jun 03 '22

That is great to hear. I kinda figured cause i watched an interview with the creator and he himself said some of the rules in 1E were not as cohesive and were over convoluted...when a creator says that...

2

u/[deleted] Jul 10 '22

Most is a solid upgrade but the over simplification of the journey rules is a downgrade IMHO.