Lord of the Rings - Decipher, Juxtaposition

I have mentioned before that right after my introduction to D&D I was told I had to read a book called The Fellowship of the Ring. I had been a hard sci-fi person before getting introduced to the D&D so I was skeptical. To reiterate what has been said before...I never really looked back.

I have collected most of the MERP stuff and sold it and have since recollected most of it. I own a few of items for the second version of game from ICE as well. After seeing the movies I had to own the Decipher version of the game as well. I know the movies are not loved by all and there were some liberties taken but over all I still rank all three in my top ten movies of all time.

Having said I had to have them I need to add that having a game in my world and having played it do not always mean the same thing. I buy many games with the intent to play them and it just does not happen. Sadly this is the case with The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game. The book is impressive to look at and someday I hope to play it.

In doing some research I find that the game won the 2003 Origins Award for Best Roleplaying Game 2002. It uses the CODA system which Decipher uses in its Star Trek games so if you have played those this system will be old hat. I have never played the Star Trek games either though (but again do own a number of them).

Most people seem to like the book itself but there are issues apparently with the way the content is laid out and proofreading. Having occasionally caught what I type online I am a little forgiving of errors like that but then again I am not selling the stuff I post. The book is also limited by the license that Decipher was granted. It appears that they could only use whatever was in the movies, the book trilogy and the Hobbit. This would seem to make explaining somethings hard but most things can be addressed.

There has not been anything new from Decipher in this line for some time. I do not think they still hold the license and with the Cubicle 7 release of The One Ring pending this seems like it may be the case. I will of course be spending a lot of money buying a new game system based on something that is so tied to my introduction to D&D, and roleplaying, it would be impossible to separate the two.

The books and other material for the game can be picked up fairly cheap on eBay and through Amazon even. I would say pick it up if you like the books and movies just so you can have it. I can't advise picking it up to play since I have not even done that myself.


Spell:

Juxtaposition

Level: Seventh
Range: 3"
Duration: 5 Rounds + 2 Rounds/Level
Ares Effect: Two Individuals/Creatures
Components: V,S,M
Casting Time: One Round
Saving Throw: Special

Through use of this spell the magic user si able to cause two individuals/creatures to be summoned to a single spot for the duration of the spell. There are three options on how the spell will work and the caster specifies how things will transpire at the start of the spells casting.

The first possible option is that the caster will be pulled to the location of a second individual. The second option is that the specified individual will be pulled to the location of the caster. The last option will be that two individuals will be pulled to the current location of the caster.

For this spell to work the caster must have at least seen the individual entities that will be affected and have been in direct physical contact with them. One other option is that the caster posses a personal item that belonged to the individual. An actual portion of the individual such as lock of hair can also be used.

If the caster has either a part of the individual ora personal item then the intended participant in the spell is not entitled to a save. If the caster has only been in physical contact them the participant will be entitled to a save if desired. If they are willing no save is required but if they are unwilling then they are entitled to a save versus Spells with a -2 modifier.

The material component of this spell will be the a fore mentioned personal items. If these are not available then there is no material component required for the spell.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :) Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in advance and all I ask is proper credit.

The Brandywine Star - Vol.1 No.1, Mage Flame

One of the worst things that can happen when buying from eBay other than  never getting the item is when the item is damaged or incomplete and was not  described as such. I recently got a pile of d20 books (please no that is what you get for buying d20 stuff) that had the edges covered with either soda spray, vomit, mold or something worse.

One of the best though is when there are things included that really did not  need to be there. I have had this happen more times than I can count but  three stand out right now but I am sure there are others I am just forgetting at the moment. One with Call of Cthulhu, one with Marvel Super Heroes and  the one that had this. I saw a copy of the ICE Middle Earth Campaign Guide  with a cheap BIN and bought it for the map as I had at one point hung mine and it had pin holes. When I got it I found the pictured item inside. I had  bought mine new so I know this was not supposed to be included.

The Brandywine Star from what I can tell appears to be a fan newsletter for  "The Fellowship" which was not part of ICE from what I can tell. It appears  to have been a fan club from back in the 1980's and may still be around but  am not sure. This was there initial offering and I have never seen another  copy of it anywhere. Noble Knight has an entry for #2 but it is listed as  sold out so they must have had one at some point. When I got it I thought it  was nice and figured I might be able to find more but never have.

I wish I could tell you more about it must most of the items I post about  have been packed away as I attempt to inventory items. I scan them and then  pack them away until such time as I can dedicate a proper space to all the gaming stuff I have accumulated. If anyone knows anything about this and/or  has copies of other issues I would love to hear about it.

I mentioned having similar experiences with CoC and MSH. With Call of Cthulhu  it was a second or third printing of the original box set. I opened it and  inside other than what should have been there was the book version of Cthulhu  by Gaslight. With Marvel Super Heroes it was a copy of the Basic Set and  inside it was the Ultimate Powers Book and Realms of Magic. I guess the books  I got recently weren't the end of the world after all!


Spell:

Mage Flame

Level: Second
Range: 6"
Duration: 12 Turns + 6 Turns/Level
Ares Effect: One Item/Level
Components: V,M
Casting Time: 4 Segments
Saving Throw: None

This spell enables the magic user to create a magical flame. This flame is  similar in some ways to the light effect of a Faerie Fire spell. When the  spell is cast the items willed to carry the flame by the caster will ignite  with a bright blue fire like flame.

The flame created need to be attached to the end of an item such as a torch  or staff but can also edge an item such as a sword or other weapon. There is  no limit to the size of the item the flame can be attached to and it will  adjust in size and effect accordingly. This flame can not be directly  attached to living creatures other than the caster.

The flame will provide light just as if it were a real flame. It will not use  oxygen though and will not produce smoke or heat. The light will also persist  underwater or in an environment where a normal flame would be extinguished.

Once an item has been imbued with mage flame the control of the mage flame is  granted to the person who is in control of the item. The wielder of the item  can distinguish the flam on command. They can also transfer the flame to  another item if desired simply by touching the two items and willing it. The  item that had the flame initially will lose it when this is done.

The material component for this spell is a small ball that will be made up of  sulfur, bat guano and a small lock of the caster hair. The ball is thrown  into the air and is consumed by the spell when the spell takes effect.

Disclaimer: The spells that you will see, for how ever long the write ups  last, were all written up or conceived of back in the 80's so the terminology  may not appropriate for anything other than 1e and depending on how well I  did back then it may be slightly off for that as well. If there is any  duplication of spells that exist now it is most likely I wrote mine first :)  Please feel free to comment on them but try not to be too hard on me. If  anyone wishes to use these in anything they print please let me know in  advance and all I ask is proper credit.