I've read a little Tolkien fanfic. Fan fiction is rarely worth reading. There are some stunningly bad examples but occasionally something pops out that is a gem.
I did not know it started as fan fiction but Harry Turtledove's Misplaced Legion series started out that way. He worked on it before he became a published writer then decided to dust it off and reset it in a world of his own creation.
So for you fanfic writers out there. Don't worry somebody might find their inspiration in your work.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Saturday, November 7, 2015
Server Updates and the New Content
My son has been greatly concerned about the server updates. He's worried he'll lose things in the process or that his characters will be too crowded. He picked emptyish servers because he wanted a more 'Tolkien' experience. He wanted to feel the Lonelands being lonely. He wanted to see Bree as a quiet little town in the middle of nowhere. Instead it is the hub of the world. In every public space and spaces that there would be no place for them you'll find bands of people playing music as if they were putting on a performance.
This problem has accelerated. There are stages for just such things. They sit empty while you are serenaded by 'The Beetles' or 'Led Zepplin' in the crafting halls. Now while Zep really got Tolkien, they are not compatible with a Tolkien experience. I don't know what people are really experiencing. I have been trying to put my finger on it for years now, but it is by no means Tolkien.
Four hobbits from the Shire were the news for a week and a day. Now you have more player characters wandering through town than live there, in the movies, games, or books. There are still 'empty quarters', the back side of Chetwood for instance that are mostly empty. But there are places that are so crowded that they make the muster of Rohan look like the regulars at a roadside diner.
The server updates are going reasonably well. They are if anything generous in allowing transfers. I am sad that they are having to do this. It is a sign that Turbine is winding down on the game and it is not making the money it should.
Maybe it is time for them to work on their next Lord of the Rings. MMORPG? Technology has advanced at a phenomenal rate and the game is nearly at the edge of it's viability anyway. While the game is exciting and fun in some places and Tolkienesque in others and both sometimes it lacks a dedication to his work that something as simple as The War in The North captured for the console.
By far the best (and by that I mean truest to Tolkien's vision) that game which played somewhat like Dragon Age series was by and far the closest to Tolkien in spirit. The cut scenes were all well voice acted and the characters all had their own voices. No sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher for these characters. Interactions were multilayered and with multiple choices.
Building a better MMORPG should not be hard. You cannot out WoW, WoW. It is a losing game one doomed from the start. You can build a game that really feels like Tolkien's world but the developers have even admitted that is not the main goal.
In Bree you have people everywhere playing rock anthems in matched garb while people in the audience do things that in Tolkien's world would have had you run out of town or gotten a good talking to by the mayor. At any given time there are more PC's in town than lived in the village in the book.
Time maybe to plan not just an update but overhaul. Ignore Shadows of Mordor. While the interface wasn't horrible and combat was far better than LOTRO, the setting, atmosphere, message, and even the 'orc captain vs orc captain' cut shots were anti-Tolkien. It was downright hateful.
Find the men who really know Tolkien scholarship. Look at the games that set the mood and have good graphics and intuitive interface and go from there. You could have avoided the 'own goal' of the Rune Keeper entirely and the explanation for the Warden if you had wanted to but you were too lazy and didn't bother to change it from The 300. In one case the class simply doesn't belong and in the other Haldir is no more the 'inspiration' for the Warden than Barliman Butterbur. Leonidas was clearly the inspiration for the Warden. They would have been better served to find an in mythos inspiration that fits and one existed but they were too lazy to look for it.
Create new quests. Design a new crafting system that isn't simply a WoW clone. Have resource distribution make sense. Perhaps explore a skill based system like Skyrim. Because it's clear if something isn't growing it's dying and pruning and replanting sometimes works sometimes it doesn't.
Be bold and you'll go further than if you just try to make Tolkien flavored WoW soup.
This problem has accelerated. There are stages for just such things. They sit empty while you are serenaded by 'The Beetles' or 'Led Zepplin' in the crafting halls. Now while Zep really got Tolkien, they are not compatible with a Tolkien experience. I don't know what people are really experiencing. I have been trying to put my finger on it for years now, but it is by no means Tolkien.
Four hobbits from the Shire were the news for a week and a day. Now you have more player characters wandering through town than live there, in the movies, games, or books. There are still 'empty quarters', the back side of Chetwood for instance that are mostly empty. But there are places that are so crowded that they make the muster of Rohan look like the regulars at a roadside diner.
The server updates are going reasonably well. They are if anything generous in allowing transfers. I am sad that they are having to do this. It is a sign that Turbine is winding down on the game and it is not making the money it should.
Maybe it is time for them to work on their next Lord of the Rings. MMORPG? Technology has advanced at a phenomenal rate and the game is nearly at the edge of it's viability anyway. While the game is exciting and fun in some places and Tolkienesque in others and both sometimes it lacks a dedication to his work that something as simple as The War in The North captured for the console.
By far the best (and by that I mean truest to Tolkien's vision) that game which played somewhat like Dragon Age series was by and far the closest to Tolkien in spirit. The cut scenes were all well voice acted and the characters all had their own voices. No sounding like Charlie Brown's teacher for these characters. Interactions were multilayered and with multiple choices.
Building a better MMORPG should not be hard. You cannot out WoW, WoW. It is a losing game one doomed from the start. You can build a game that really feels like Tolkien's world but the developers have even admitted that is not the main goal.
In Bree you have people everywhere playing rock anthems in matched garb while people in the audience do things that in Tolkien's world would have had you run out of town or gotten a good talking to by the mayor. At any given time there are more PC's in town than lived in the village in the book.
Time maybe to plan not just an update but overhaul. Ignore Shadows of Mordor. While the interface wasn't horrible and combat was far better than LOTRO, the setting, atmosphere, message, and even the 'orc captain vs orc captain' cut shots were anti-Tolkien. It was downright hateful.
Find the men who really know Tolkien scholarship. Look at the games that set the mood and have good graphics and intuitive interface and go from there. You could have avoided the 'own goal' of the Rune Keeper entirely and the explanation for the Warden if you had wanted to but you were too lazy and didn't bother to change it from The 300. In one case the class simply doesn't belong and in the other Haldir is no more the 'inspiration' for the Warden than Barliman Butterbur. Leonidas was clearly the inspiration for the Warden. They would have been better served to find an in mythos inspiration that fits and one existed but they were too lazy to look for it.
Create new quests. Design a new crafting system that isn't simply a WoW clone. Have resource distribution make sense. Perhaps explore a skill based system like Skyrim. Because it's clear if something isn't growing it's dying and pruning and replanting sometimes works sometimes it doesn't.
Be bold and you'll go further than if you just try to make Tolkien flavored WoW soup.
Friday, October 23, 2015
Lord of the Rings Online Old vs New
I thought I would post a short blurb about the differences in player characters over the years in Lord of the Rings online. I have been a player since the beginning. I purchased my membership right after it went live and I have been playing ever since with breaks off and on. Some of the breaks have been very long and some of the characters long neglected. With the new world closures and transfers long neglected players are getting a chance to come out and play again.
Imagine my surprise when I checked the crafted gear on my older players. Despite not being 'critical hit' items, the older items were several levels higher and much better than the newer crafted items that were 'special recipes' and 'critically hit' crafted items.
The new crafting is nerfed compared to older items and nerfed hard. I am playing a hunter that I made level thirty items for several years ago. He is now level thirty nine and the old gear is still better than the new gear. I see no reason to constantly nerf classes, crafting, items, and abilities. They keep extending the level caps although I think 100 is plenty. If you want to start over with another class, race, and build go ahead it will be a different and interesting experience.
LOTRO is still a fun rpg and I do not intend to quit playing until they shut the doors and turn out the lights. I know it will still be an hour here or there. If they ever really up grade the game (and I have some suggestions in coming articles). I think it could and will remain for years.
Imagine my surprise when I checked the crafted gear on my older players. Despite not being 'critical hit' items, the older items were several levels higher and much better than the newer crafted items that were 'special recipes' and 'critically hit' crafted items.
The new crafting is nerfed compared to older items and nerfed hard. I am playing a hunter that I made level thirty items for several years ago. He is now level thirty nine and the old gear is still better than the new gear. I see no reason to constantly nerf classes, crafting, items, and abilities. They keep extending the level caps although I think 100 is plenty. If you want to start over with another class, race, and build go ahead it will be a different and interesting experience.
LOTRO is still a fun rpg and I do not intend to quit playing until they shut the doors and turn out the lights. I know it will still be an hour here or there. If they ever really up grade the game (and I have some suggestions in coming articles). I think it could and will remain for years.
Electronic Table Top Game Play
This is my first post on my experience gaming with G+ hangouts and Roll 20. Both systems work very well. I am pleased that the experience is as much like playing at a table as you can get absent a table, pencil, and dice.
I have done play by email PBeM and play by post PbP in the past and both left much to be desired. There was no way to interact during a scene except with a joint post and with much editing back and forth. With the other services you are there. It is a night and day type of difference and reinvigorated my desire to play table top rpgs.
The game I have been playing is Dungeon World. It is a fine system that precisely captures the old school revival OSR feel with modern rules and flexibility. I have played paladins, rangers, fighters and I class I created myself using the Class Warfare supplement. Whatever type of character you play the game is just as fun and engaging. One of the first rules for the Dungeon Master DM is 'be a fan of the characters'. Once a DM is finished narrating whatever he needs to tell the players the very next thing out of his mouth is 'what do you do?' Questions or situations that normally are elaborately laid out by a GM are worked out between the DM and the players. "What is the king of Alam's name?" a player might ask, "I don't know what is the king's name?" is a typical DM reply. The game is so easy to learn that I have seen neophytes go from zero to playing in fifteen or twenty minutes tops.
The game is designed to make the player characters not just another set of adventurers but the adventurers for their world. They are the ones that bards sing and tell tales about for years to come and if they die it is an exciting moment that can give the player a chance to make a death scene worthy of Boromir or Theoden in The Lord of the Rings. So pick up the book. It's less than 1/4 of the price of all the D&D books and find a group through G+ or another service and go to town. You'll never regret it.
I have done play by email PBeM and play by post PbP in the past and both left much to be desired. There was no way to interact during a scene except with a joint post and with much editing back and forth. With the other services you are there. It is a night and day type of difference and reinvigorated my desire to play table top rpgs.
The game I have been playing is Dungeon World. It is a fine system that precisely captures the old school revival OSR feel with modern rules and flexibility. I have played paladins, rangers, fighters and I class I created myself using the Class Warfare supplement. Whatever type of character you play the game is just as fun and engaging. One of the first rules for the Dungeon Master DM is 'be a fan of the characters'. Once a DM is finished narrating whatever he needs to tell the players the very next thing out of his mouth is 'what do you do?' Questions or situations that normally are elaborately laid out by a GM are worked out between the DM and the players. "What is the king of Alam's name?" a player might ask, "I don't know what is the king's name?" is a typical DM reply. The game is so easy to learn that I have seen neophytes go from zero to playing in fifteen or twenty minutes tops.
The game is designed to make the player characters not just another set of adventurers but the adventurers for their world. They are the ones that bards sing and tell tales about for years to come and if they die it is an exciting moment that can give the player a chance to make a death scene worthy of Boromir or Theoden in The Lord of the Rings. So pick up the book. It's less than 1/4 of the price of all the D&D books and find a group through G+ or another service and go to town. You'll never regret it.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Thoughts on The Beorning
Beorn, the Skinchanger from The Hobbit is an iconic character. His descendants are known as stout men who hold the passes against the forces of darkness in the years between the death of Smaug and the beginning of The Lord of the Rings.
I have to say that Turbine got this one right the first time with only minor 'tweaking' needed. The character is interesting to play has a different beginning. Although I feel that beginning is definitely a bit too short and doesn't explore the region or the history of the Beornings enough. In addition the character has a unique niche that no other character quite fills.
The character has been slightly nerfed since its introduction. New Beornings definitely have a slightly harder time of it than my first Beorning that made it past level sixty before being defeated. However it is still a viable alternative for group or solo play. It is well worth the Turbine points to purchase the character.
The look of the character matches the story well. The only down side is that he has no ranged weapon. Since Beorn provided the dwarves with bows and arrows and he was unlikely to make them for their pretty decoration nor would he have give orcish weapons he captured as a gift it is safe to assume that he used them at least on occasion. It would have been a nice character to introduce the idea of being able to use javelins or bows. There is no mechanical reason for a character to be unable to use either it is purely a game 'balance' issue.
All in all the character is one of the better things to come out of Turbine in a long time. It is a shame that it is coming so late in the game's history. It fits the setting far better than the Rune Keeper (which even the developer admitted had no place). It also has a better background story than the Warden (which is an excellent character role by the way). The story he is inspired by Haldir is risible on its face. That is truly sad because an 'Elven Spearman' is an excellent fit for the character and setting. Instead of trying to fit it into the setting organically they threw the first backstory they could come up with to hide the fact that the Warden was a direct response to The 300.
Coming Next: A look at the best Tolkien Fan Fiction you never realized was fan fiction and we'll talk about some actual pencil and dice roll playing over Roll 20.
I have to say that Turbine got this one right the first time with only minor 'tweaking' needed. The character is interesting to play has a different beginning. Although I feel that beginning is definitely a bit too short and doesn't explore the region or the history of the Beornings enough. In addition the character has a unique niche that no other character quite fills.
The character has been slightly nerfed since its introduction. New Beornings definitely have a slightly harder time of it than my first Beorning that made it past level sixty before being defeated. However it is still a viable alternative for group or solo play. It is well worth the Turbine points to purchase the character.
The look of the character matches the story well. The only down side is that he has no ranged weapon. Since Beorn provided the dwarves with bows and arrows and he was unlikely to make them for their pretty decoration nor would he have give orcish weapons he captured as a gift it is safe to assume that he used them at least on occasion. It would have been a nice character to introduce the idea of being able to use javelins or bows. There is no mechanical reason for a character to be unable to use either it is purely a game 'balance' issue.
All in all the character is one of the better things to come out of Turbine in a long time. It is a shame that it is coming so late in the game's history. It fits the setting far better than the Rune Keeper (which even the developer admitted had no place). It also has a better background story than the Warden (which is an excellent character role by the way). The story he is inspired by Haldir is risible on its face. That is truly sad because an 'Elven Spearman' is an excellent fit for the character and setting. Instead of trying to fit it into the setting organically they threw the first backstory they could come up with to hide the fact that the Warden was a direct response to The 300.
Coming Next: A look at the best Tolkien Fan Fiction you never realized was fan fiction and we'll talk about some actual pencil and dice roll playing over Roll 20.
Friday, October 9, 2015
We're Back
I am expanding the focus of this blog. We're going to be talking about Lord of the Rings. Although the last of the movies are over the books, games, and such still remain. I will also be expanding to cover roleplaying games.
My favorite game is Dungeon World. It is a pencil and paper game that is an updating and simplification of D&D and other OSR games that captures the feel of the old school gaming while having a simple and easy to learn rule systems. This blog has been dormant for a long time. First, we lost many, many members of our families and our professional and personal lives have been turned upside down.
I won't be doing many long posts. I will focus on quality rather than quantity but my real reason is that I am working on other writing projects with hard deadlines. You can play in a Tolkien created world with Dungeon World just as well as with other systems if you give the game a bit of a tweak.
In future posts we'll be talking about the server move for LOTRO. A Lord of the Rings themed table top game, and I'll be reviewing Mindfaring Through Middle-Earth by Michael Martinez a Tolkien scholar and very interesting writer.
My favorite game is Dungeon World. It is a pencil and paper game that is an updating and simplification of D&D and other OSR games that captures the feel of the old school gaming while having a simple and easy to learn rule systems. This blog has been dormant for a long time. First, we lost many, many members of our families and our professional and personal lives have been turned upside down.
I won't be doing many long posts. I will focus on quality rather than quantity but my real reason is that I am working on other writing projects with hard deadlines. You can play in a Tolkien created world with Dungeon World just as well as with other systems if you give the game a bit of a tweak.
In future posts we'll be talking about the server move for LOTRO. A Lord of the Rings themed table top game, and I'll be reviewing Mindfaring Through Middle-Earth by Michael Martinez a Tolkien scholar and very interesting writer.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Sorry for Silence
Sorry for the recent silence. The Last Homely House has been under assault from the Plague. We have lost our dear old Huan and very nearly this pilgrim. They say the flu comes from Swine but whatever the source it was black indeed.
I lost my dearest friend when she breathed her last in my arms even as the fever took me into evil dreams. My own Evenstar has nursed me back but it was close. I am still too weak to see where she lays but my daughter tells me that it is a good spot under pleasant trees.
She was a good dog and faithful to the last. She loved her children and would put up with anything and the only time she growled was when an intruder stood over my daughter with a stick. She frightened him away but not her own illness. I'm going back to rest now as the Healers have ordered since they have released me from their care but not their authority.
I lost my dearest friend when she breathed her last in my arms even as the fever took me into evil dreams. My own Evenstar has nursed me back but it was close. I am still too weak to see where she lays but my daughter tells me that it is a good spot under pleasant trees.
She was a good dog and faithful to the last. She loved her children and would put up with anything and the only time she growled was when an intruder stood over my daughter with a stick. She frightened him away but not her own illness. I'm going back to rest now as the Healers have ordered since they have released me from their care but not their authority.
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