The Lord of the Rings RPG: Core Rulebook (D&D 5E Compatible)

Let me start by saying that this book is super good, even awesome, and worth owning. As a fan of LOTR and D&D 5e, this is the one we’ve been waiting for! I’m all in, and I wasn’t disappointed. The book is beautiful, great design with coherent theme, and the rules flow and make sense. My only criticism is that I think there was a missed opportunity on the artwork. What’s there is certainly good! But when I think of Lord of the Rings, I think Alan Lee, I think the Brothers Hildebrandt, so many great artists. One thing that I love about D&D 5e especially, and this contrasts very well with say Pathfinder or D&D 4e, is that they erred on the side of generous, beautiful, immersive artwork throughout the books. Now, granted, we have tons of art already for LOTR, and we have two trilogies, a TV series, cartoons, and illustrated editions and trading cards and playing cards. The art is out there, for sure, if you need inspiration. But here, it could have been an opportunity to either collect or offer new artwork that projects the setting. Instead, we got something perhaps a little more like Bilbo’s journal, which has its own charm. It’s perfectly fine, but not quite as eye catching or immersive as it could have been. I want to emphasize that this is a minor quibble! This book stands on its own merits, but it also feels more out of the continuity of 5e products and artwork in order to be in its own design aesthetic. This is a matter of taste or preference, to be sure, but there was already the One Ring and books for the different rules set. I fell like catering this version entirely to 5e could have been met with a true meld of design in that direction. However, with the new MTG card set coming out, there’s plenty of new artwork from WoTC to accompany this tome. You’ll just have to look outside the book to get it.

Comprehensive book that allows you to run a LotR game within the 5e. That said the playstyle that the book caters to is a low magic setting. Rules that many disregard like encumbrance, are a focus in this. If you want to play a game that focuses more on local heroes entering and exploring a larger world, this is a good book to add to your collection. If you want to explore Middle Earth with standard 5e characters, it may not be fulfilling. Still a worthy purchase, but if your budget is tight you could get the same level of inspiration from reading the hobbit.