Middle-earth Role Playing
Encyclopedia
Role-playing game
A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...
(specifically The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
) under license from Tolkien Enterprises
Tolkien Enterprises
Middle-earth Enterprises, formerly known as Tolkien Enterprises, is a trading name for a division of the Saul Zaentz Company based in Berkeley, California which owns the worldwide exclusive rights to certain elements of J. R. R. Tolkien's two most famous literary works; The Lord of the Rings and...
. Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises
Iron Crown Enterprises was a publisher of role playing, board, miniature battle, and collectible card games.ICE was incorporated in 1980 shortly after the principal founders graduated from the University of Virginia...
(I.C.E.) published the game until they lost the license on 22 Sep
Hobbit Day
Hobbit Day is the birthday of the hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, two fictional characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's popular set of books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In the books both Bilbo and Frodo were said to be born on September 22, but of different years...
1999.
Setting
The setting for MERP is an expanded version of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earthMiddle-earth
Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....
. Published campaign sourcebooks are usually set either around the year 1600 of the Third Age, or just after the War of the Ring
War of the Ring
In the fictional high fantasy-world of J. R. R. Tolkien, the War of the Ring was fought between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth for control of the One Ring and dominion over the continent. The War of the Ring took place at the end of the Third Age. Together with the Quest of Mount Doom,...
. Therefore, MERP represents an interpretation of Middle-earth that does not directly involve the players in the continuity of Tolkien's published works. Several of the campaign modules depict lands to the east and south of the lands described by Tolkien, and I.C.E. may be seen as having created an original setting, inspired by and including several elements of The Hobbit
The Hobbit
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, better known by its abbreviated title The Hobbit, is a fantasy novel and children's book by J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published on 21 September 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the New York Herald...
, The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
and The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion
The Silmarillion is a collection of J. R. R. Tolkien's mythopoeic works, edited and published posthumously by his son Christopher Tolkien in 1977, with assistance from Guy Gavriel Kay, who later became a noted fantasy writer. The Silmarillion, along with J. R. R...
.
System
The rules system of the game is a streamlined version of I.C.E.'s generic fantasy RPG, RolemasterRolemaster
Rolemaster is a role-playing game published by Iron Crown Enterprises. Rolemaster has come in four separate editions. The 3rd edition, first published in 1995, is also known as the "Rolemaster Standard System" . There are two editions currently in production...
.
Characters possess Attributes and Skills rated between 0 and 100. Skills can be modified to a rating above or below these limits (i.e. under 0 or over 100). An attack roll consists of a percentile roll, to which the attacker's skill rating and appropriate attribute rating are added and the defender's dodge rating is subtracted. The result is compared to the defender's armor type and looked up on a table to determine success or failure. A separate critical table is used if the initial chart result called for it.
Spell casters learn lists of ten spells as a unit. Each of the spells is based on a theme (e.g. Healing spells.)
Critical reaction
MERP was generally well received, although not recommended for beginners. Some commentators disliked how the system handled magic. In Tolkien's books, magicMagic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
is a rare, subtle force only used by a few powerful characters, whereas in MERP magic (from healing to throwing thunderbolts) was possible for nearly any Player Character. This lack of continuity with the source material was seen to upset the game's authenticity. However, in many early reviews the game play was described as being true to the spirit of Tolkien's work and a pleasure to play. Others enjoyed the detail of the maps and praised many of the early adventures.
The game's early editions were later printed in many countries, including Brazil, Argentina, Spain and France.
History
I.C.E. published a First and a Second Edition of the MERP ruleset, along with many adventure and campaign modules, until Tolkien Enterprises revoked the license for games based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in 1999. I.C.E. subsequently declared bankruptcy in 2000.A related quarterly magazine, Other Hands Magazine supporting the MERP community, was also sent a cease and desist by Tolkien Enterprises, and ceased publication in 2001.
A magazine named Other Minds Magazine (named in recognition of the previous Other Hands quarterly, both in reference to a quote from J.R.R. Tolkien's Letters) began publication in 2007, it also supports the role-playing community using ICE's MERP, Decipher's LotR, and other Tolkien-centric role playing games.
In 1991-1993, I.C.E. also published the Lord of the Rings Adventure Game
Lord of the Rings Adventure Game
Lord of the Rings Adventure Gaming is a role-playing game based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises published the game until they lost the license on 22 Sep 1999.-Setting:The setting for LOR is an expanded version of J. R. R. Tolkien's...
. It used a much simpler system than MERP and was intended to introduce new players to role-playing.
A UK edition was published by Games Workshop
Games Workshop
Games Workshop Group plc is a British game production and retailing company. Games Workshop has published the tabletop wargames Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000...
in 1985. It featured the First Edition rules, with new box and booklet art by Chris Achilleos
Chris Achilleos
Chris Achilleos is a painter and illustrator who specialises in fantasy artwork and glamour illustration. Born in Famagusta, Cyprus, his family emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1959, where he currently resides....
, along with 25mm floorplans for the sample adventure.
In Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
a translated version called Sagan om Ringen: Rollspelet was released in 1986 by Target Games
Target Games
Target Games was a Swedish publisher of role-playing games active from 1980 until the year 1999 when they went into bankruptcy proceedings.-Publications:...
, followed by several translated modules, but it never became popular, possibly because most fans of the setting already had bought the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
version and others preferred the popular Drakar och Demoner
Drakar och Demoner
Drakar och Demoner is a Swedish fantasy role-playing game first published in 1982 by the game publishing company Äventyrsspel .First edition was basically a translation of Steve Perrin's Basic Role-Playing Drakar och Demoner (Swedish for Dragons and Demons, in Sweden commonly referred to by the...
.
A Finnish language
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
edition (Keski-Maa Roolipeli or KERP) was published in 1990 and the game became one of the most popular fantasy role playing games in Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
.
A subsequent Middle-earth based RPG, the Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, released by Decipher Inc. in 2002, is a role-playing game set in the Middle-earth of J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction. The game is set in the years between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring, but may be run at any time from the First to Fourth Age and...
(often abbreviated by the Tolkien role-playing community as Dec LotR or just LotR), was published by Decipher Inc. Except for the original source material, (and some of the same authors) the Decipher game shares no link to ICE's MERP and uses an entirely different rules system. Decipher chose not to renew the Tolkien license and let it expire in 2007.
In the Summer of 2005 a new annual convention began known as Merpcon
Merpcon
MerpCon is an acronym for "Middle-Earth Role Playing Convention", a role playing game convention dedicated solely to role-playing gaming in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. The event is held annually on the last weekend of July and runs for 3 days from Friday, through to the end of Sunday...
(Middle-earth Role Playing Convention). It initially used exclusively the ICE MERP and ICE Rolemaster role playing game systems, but has since expanded to include other Tolkien-centric game systems.