Has anyone thought about or actually run a module in dungeons and dragons based on anything from middle earth like the hobbit or lord of the rings? I’ve had interest ever since I started DMing in dungeons and dragons years ago.
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I've done that a few times. I play 1st and 2nd Edition AD&D, as well as the Basic/Expert boxed sets. Early issues of White Dwarf included adventures set in Middle-earth; they usually included both AD&D and MERP stats. Here are a couple of adventures I've run for my friends:
Khazad Dum
The Dawn of Unlight
It's not a new concept. The earliest D&D rulebooks included many references to Middle-earth until the Tolkien Estate threatened legal action. But a lot of folks have created their own versions of Middle-earth using various D&D editions, including 5th edition.
Well, Adventures in Middle-earth may be exactly what you're looking for. It is the conversion of The One Ring Roleplaying Game as a D&D 5E setting. The original version published by Cubicle 7 is out of print, so you might need to track down second-hand copies, but Free League Publishing is expected to bring it back (maybe under a new title) in 2021.
I’ve seen a Role playing game specifically for lord of the rings but the place that sold it isn’t open anymore. I play 5e and love it. I run a few things from Goodman games and just the entirety of dungeons and dragons feels like it was heavily influenced by lord of the rings. I’m aware TSR used the same names at first and was ordered a cease and desist. I very much enjoy learning the history of things such as lord of the rings and it’s very extended universe and the history of dungeons and dragons. the more I learn about middle earth the more I want to include it in my games.
it would be interesting if wizards could work out a deal to do a campaign module with middle earth.
Yeah, for example: D&D halflings were originally called hobbits. but that was just a little too close to Tolkien's IP.
There have been several authorized tabletop RPGs based on Tolkien's Middle-earth:
Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP), Iron Crown Enterprises (1982-1999)
Lord of the Rings Adventure Game, Iron Crown Enterprises (1991-1993)
The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, Decipher (2002-2006)
The One Ring Roleplaying Game, Cubicle 7 (2011-2019)
Adventures in Middle-earth, Cubicle 7 (2016-2019)
Adventures in Middle-earth was a 5E conversion of The One RIng. Cubicle 7 lost the license from Middle-earth Enterprises in 2019; however, the license was picked up in 2020 by Free League Publishing which is expected to debut a new edition of The One Ring Roleplaying Game in the first half of 2021. The 5E Middle-earth setting is also expected to be revived by Free League, possibly under a new name.
That would be great
TSR had the chance in 1992, but the CEO at the time passed on it. The reason for that was while a game and some merchandize were allowed, writing novels (the real money maker for TSR by then) was not.
I haven't heard that story before, but it sounds plausible (though Iron Crown Enterprises held the rights from 1982 to 1999).
@andrewlaubacher Here's the summary of the incident.
https://www.enworld.org/threads/when-tsr-passed-on-tolkien.667322/
TSR had a bad habit of including content it did not have a license to use, including the Cthulhu and Elric genres, which had been granted to Chaosium.
@eldariontkd Well, there was a complicated mess involving the rights for Fritz Leiber's Nehwon, with Chaosium going through Leiber's agent and TSR approaching the author directly (under dubious circumstances). As far as Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos goes, I think that TSR's position was that H.P. Lovecraft left an open invitation for writers to add to the canon. However, that does seem a weak argument regarding game development rights.
Now I want to run a Basic/Expert game set in Middle-earth, using the Rankin/Bass cartoons as visual inspiration. Legolas would look nothing like Orlando Bloom!
The 70’s cartoons?
@Dungeonwyrm Yup! Although it may be preferable to make it a clone of Middle-earth instead. Just call it "Midgard" or "Middle Realm" and ignore the Ages as listed. I know some people pick and choose bits and pieces to include in their campaigns.
I am actually using Basic Fantasy RPG (Basic/Expert retro-clone with a few d20 touches) to run a solo Middle-earth game. I am also working on a MERP to Basic Fantasy conversion. While I have a lot of MERP stuff, I'm trying to limit my background sources to Foster's Guide and Fonstad's Atlas, just to see how well it would work out.
Not familiar with MERP