(Right.)

But now we come to the really tricky part: spells and spellcasting.

Loremasters, Magicians, and Wizards must take the Spellcasting Order ability to gain spell picks. Loremasters get two spells picks each time that ability is selected, while Magicians and Wizards get five. Each spell costs a variable number of spell picks, and further picks may be applied to a spell in order to make the spell more effective and/or easier to cast.

The actual casting is, to my mind, the weakest part of the process. Spellcasting can result in Weariness, which is fine -- that both fits the source material and has a longstanding tradition in game design. The problem is that the success of the spell and the avoidance of Weariness depends upon a Stamina roll, which is based on either Strength or Vitality. Now, flipping back to Chapter Four, I look at the attributes considered most important for Magicians and see Wits, Bearing, and Perception, with Willpower and Wisdom being the usual favored reactions. In other words, spellcasting characters aren't expected to excel in the attributes that govern their hallmark ability. In game terms, it is the burly youth, not the aged scholar, who is the most natural magician. This runs directly counter to the source material, and as such, is a deeply flawed mechanic. Willpower, it seems to me, would be a far more logical choice of reactions to use for spellcasting.

Like I said, though, the Weariness itself isn't a problem for me. I even like the fact that the difficulty of the Stamina TN increases for repeated spellcasting within a limited period of time, as this helps explain why Gandalf didn't repeatedly blast his foes with fire and lightning.

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Playtest: Make sure your spellcasting characters having something to contribute to a fight other than spellcasting, however, if you want them to be near a fight at all. One player took the Magician archetype, who lacks combat skills, whole-cloth from the book. In our trial combat, all he could really do was repeatedly cast the Lightning spell. The cumulative penalties quickly shut that down as well.

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Things improve markedly from there, however, as the chapter takes basic spellcasting through a number of useful permutations that match the setting very well. For example, spellcasting ordinarily requires both words and gestures, but extra spell picks may be spent to eliminate the need for either or both. Furthermore, sufficient picks can turn certain spells into innate magical abilities, such as Beorn's shapechanging. And since not all beings in Middle-earth with such abilities are magicians -- again, see Beorn -- non-spellcasters can purchase innate magical abilities with the expenditure of sufficient advancement picks.

Given the specialties of the Wizards in the books, it's only fitting that the game's magic system incorporate specialties as well. For example, spellcasters can become particularly adept with Fire, Smoke, and Light like Gandalf, or with Beasts and Birds like Radagast. The system also takes into account the fact that some magic in the books clearly takes forms other than "traditional" spells: spellcasters can learn spellcasting methods such as Runes (popular with Dwarves) and Songs of Power (popular with Elves). Both increase the effectiveness of the spell at the expense of increased casting time -- duration from Runes, power from Songs of Power. Spellcasters can further tweak the potency of their spells by increasing the TN for the Stamina roll or by combining multiple spells.

But what of the spells themselves? Again, Decipher's extensive homework shines through. Every spell comes straight from the books, albeit with some of the spellcasting options required to make them match here and there. As a result, the spells are relatively low-key as fantasy settings go: While there are such things as lightning bolts and blasts of magical power, there's no teleporting, no flying, and no demon summoning. The spells are divided into two general categories: Wizardry (good magic) and Sorcery (bad magic). PCs can learn either, although using Sorcery risks Corruption (see below). However, countering a spell requires that the defender knows that spell, so good magicians can learn Sorcery spells safely as long as they only use the knowledge to block their use.

A discussion of magic items ends the chapter, complete with notable examples: Dwarf doors and toys, Elven food and gear, magic blades, Ent-draughts, Morgul-knives, the Palantiri, and, of course, the Rings of Power. I like the fact that the book distinguishes between literally enchanted items, like Gandalf's sword Glamdring, and "heroic" items which gain their power through fine craftsmanship, lost secret methods, or lineage and history, such as Aragorn's blade Andúril.

Even by Middle-earth standards, the magic weapons seem remarkably under-powered. Andúril, for example, gives its wielder a mere +2 to hit and a +3 to inspiration attempts -- hardly the stuff of legends.

Chapter Eight: Axe and Sword: Weapons and Gear

The chapter suggests that the GM shouldn't nickel-and-dime his players over equipment, simply letting them have whatever's reasonable. Not that there's much choice, since there is no means given to determine starting wealth aside from the Hoard trait. Which, of course, makes the Hoard trait a little silly -- non-Hoard PCs get everything the GM thinks they should have, and Hoard PCs get everything the GM thinks they should have plus something extra.

The weapon list is fairly small, which makes sense, given that there just aren't a whole lot of different types of weapons featured in the books. The weapon and armor lists struggle to be as authentic as possible, not just by what's included, but also what's excluded -- there are no crossbows, for example, and no full plate armor.

There's not really much differentiating the various weapons stat-wise. Almost all of them are rated 2d6 plus a modifier ranging from 1-7, and a few offer a small parry bonus.

Some weapons make no sense at all to take over others. For example, both the mace and the mattock do 2d6+4 damage, have no parry bonus, are medium-sized, and cost 3 silver pieces. But the mattock weighs 15 pounds to the mace's 9 pounds and requires two hands to the mace's one. This, in turn, means that the mattock can't be used with the two-handed attack maneuver, which gives +4 damage when using a one-handed weapon with two hands at the expense of giving foes a +2 to hit the character.

The text and the shield table are at odds regarding the value of shields. The text says that shields give a bonus to parry/block attempts and a penalty to attacks on the wielder, while the table stipulates that the attack penalty is only for ranged attacks. And whatever that attack penalty is, the text says that it's -3 for a small shield, while the table says that it's -5. As near as I can tell, the table has it right regarding what the attack penalty is, but the text is right regarding the small shield value. Just one of many annoying proofing errors in this book.

Chapter Nine: Good Words and True: The CODA System Rules

The skill chapter introduces the basic game mechanic. This chapter goes into the details -- mostly consisting of lots of tables of modifiers and accompanying descriptions.

Important details are often difficult to find. For example, the main text doesn't mention the fact that rolls open-end with a single d6 when both dice come up 6 -- that's relegated to a side bar. In at least one other place, the sidebar seems to contradict the main text: a sidebar on one page talks about the "action allowance" as being the number of actions a character can take per round (normally 2, with certain abilities allowing for more), while the text on the following page asserts that it is only the limit on unpenalized actions a character can take per round.

Combat

Aside from the many possible modifiers, combat is easy enough: a standard roll using Armed, Unarmed, or Ranged Combat with the target's Defense score as the TN. The defender can choose to Dodge or Parry/Block in response to a successful attack roll, with Dodges using a Swiftness reaction test and Parries/Blocks using Armed or Unarmed Combat. The total of a successful Dodge becomes the new TN for all attacks against that character for the rest of the round, but Parries/Blocks apply to only a single attack. There's some nice symmetry there, since the Swiftness reaction score will mostly likely be lower than the Armed/Unarmed Combat scores.

The problem is that the Defense score is already Nimbleness + 10. So, it's pretty unlikely that a Dodge attempt is going to make any difference.

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Playtest: Our Elf Warrior managed to pull off a Dodge -- barely -- but he had the Evasion ability, which improves Dodge.

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The biggest problem I have with combat, however, is that it is impossible to kill almost anything with a single blow. And I mean almost anything. On a successful hit, the player rolls for damage based upon weapon type and subtracts for any armor. Any remaining damage begins filling up the victim's Wound Levels. Damage rolls do not open-end, and superior attacks can either result in automatic maximum damage without the need for a roll or else in some form of special effect, such as unhorsing a mounted foe.

But remember that each Wound Level take damage equal to the character's Health score, which in turn is based upon the Vitality score plus the Strength modifier. So, an average person will have six Wound Levels of six points each, meaning that he can take a total of 36 points of damage.

The Balrog of Moria can do a maximum of 31 points of damage with its enormous sword.

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Playtest: The Magician in our group hit a Troll with a Lightning spell, which the text says is "powerful enough to slay even mighty warriors". It just managed to drop the Troll one Wound level. Now, maybe you're thinking that Trolls are supposed to be really tough? Fair enough... except that the same spell wouldn't have killed the Orc involved in the same battle, either -- not even at maximum damage. Combat dragged so much as the characters bashed each other that I called the fight on account of boredom.

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Corruption

Middle-earth is a morally absolute setting, and corruption is a very real threat. So, it's only fitting that Corruption be a very real game mechanic as well. Characters tempted by Evil or using Sorcery must make a Willpower roll to resist picking up points of Corruption, and learning Sorcery spells (with the intent of using them actively, rather than countering them) adds Corruption automatically. A disastrous failure forces the PC to give in to the temptation at hand, and a PC whose Corruption score is equal to his Bearing has become fully seduced by evil and serves Sauron, knowingly or otherwise.

Heroes can reduce Corruption by performing selfless deeds or, ironically, by getting a sufficiently high result on their Willpower roll to resist Corruption. That's the only real flaw I see in this mechanic: a character with high Willpower can lose Corruption by deliberately seeking out temptation or by using Sorcery.

Battles

The game offers two methods for resolving battles -- the basic method, and unit combat.

The former involves the GM assigning modifiers to the opposing sides based upon their relative strength advantage, then applying those modifiers to opposed rolls and moving the winner one step closer to victory. Rolls on separate tables may be used to determine the location and general disposition of the PCs during the conflict, if desired. It's a nice, simple system, although I'd prefer to play out the actions of the heroes in lieu of relying on a table.

Unit combat is somewhat more complicated, rating units in terms of size, strength (overall offensive prowess), toughness (overall defensive prowess), mobility, and morale, with attacks based on the leader's Siegecraft skill. Again, not a bad system, except that damage to units is based on (attacker's Strength + Size)-(defender's Toughness + Size). If those scores are equal, it becomes impossible for the attacker to affect the defender.

A hodge-podge of other rules in the chapter includes sieges and siege engines, horses, healing, Weariness, and travel.

Chapter Ten: Saga and Grandeur: Elements of Epic Fantasy

It is in this chapter that the book truly distinguishes itself as a Tolkien roleplaying game, stressing easily overlooked aspects of all that entails. For example, the natural world plays a huge part in the grandeur of the setting and should be played up whenever possible. Authority figures are treated with respect -- a stark contrast with the typical PC attitude, in my experience. Most importantly, heroes are expected to be heroes, not anti-heroes, and creatures like Orcs and Trolls are evil, not misguided and/or misunderstood. Good must be preserved in the face of overwhelming Evil. The in-depth analysis in this chapter will be just as valuable as any list of names and places in introducing a newcomer to the setting, if not more so.

Chapter Eleven: Storied Heights and Firelit Halls: Creating and Running the Chronicle

If the previous chapter was the "what" of Tolkienesque gaming, this chapter sets out to be the "how".

It starts out by breaking down the elements of a campaign all the way down to individual scenes, and examines the wide variety of campaigns that are possible. These include adventures set before the War of the Ring (the default setting), during the War, and in the Fourth, Second, and even First Ages. Again, I find the First Age suggestion awfully disingenuous, as the text gives no indication that that time period can never, ever be supported by Decipher. On the bright side, the chapter does include helpful tips for keeping your group's saga from overlapping with the course of the books, providing a sample chronicle set in the North to illustrate the point.

The chapter isn't limited just to advice, however -- it also includes still more rules and rules options.

Now, to my mind, a sure warning sign that a system has problems is a bunch of advice to the GM to ignore that system for the sake of the story. Such is the case here.

First, I will admit to a slight bias against the concept of "mook rules". Ideally, I'd prefer that PCs be able to cut a swath through minor NPCs because the PCs are quantitatively better, not because the NPCs are qualitatively handicapped. Still, I've played and enjoyed Feng Shui, so I can accept the concept in practice.

What I cannot abide, however, is the manner in which LotR implements the concept.

Remember how I said that nothing could be killed in one blow using the standard rules? Well, clearly, that won't work if you're trying to simulate the Orc-slaughterfests of heroes like Gimli and Legolas. So, LotR here suggests that rather than having unimportant NPCs take Wounds, they should be able to take from 1-3 success levels in hits before going down.

There are two problems with that.

First of all, this method totally eliminates damage as a factor. As a result, the strength of the attacker and his weapon and any armor worn by the defender all become irrelevant. It's just a game of tag. Deft but fragile characters take a sudden and inexplicable leap in competence as compared to burly warriors when faced with nameless hordes. (Yes, I know this is an issue in Feng Shui as well.)

* * * * *

Playtest: Just as an experiment, I pitted the PCs against two Orcs -- one using the standard rules, the other using the one-success "mook rule". As a result, the wee Hobbit lass in the group was able to drop the latter Orc with a single thrown rock.

* * * * *

Second, the enormous disconnect between what's possible using the standard and "mook" rules completely shatters suspension of disbelief, slapping players upside the head with the fact that they're fighting NPCs who don't matter. Why? Because players remotely familiar with the rules will know that there is no way to drop a foe in one hit unless the GM is using the "mook rule". (Contrast this with Feng Shui, in which it is at least possible to drop a "named character" with one punch.)

And because damage doesn't matter, the GM has to decide whether to let his players waste their time rolling damage that doesn't count or to blow his paper-thin cover by telling them that the rolls aren't needed.

* * * * *

Playtest: My players were completely flabbergasted when the aforementioned Hobbit lass dropped the Orc with her rock, especially when the Elf in the group fought round after round with an identical Orc using the standard rules. It was just transparently obvious that the Hobbit hadn't done enough damage to warrant a legitimate kill.

* * * * *

And as if this weren't enough rules tweaking, the chapter also suggests that the GM only pretend to roll to hit the PCs for all but major foes, or at the very least he should not allow the PCs to drop below the first Wound Level. The reason for this, we're told, is that while PCs shouldn't be loaded down with arms and armor, healing is very hard to come by in the setting.

It seems to me that it would have made far more sense to develop a combat system that actually fits the setting in the first place, rather than creating a system and then coming up with a series of ways to get around its shortcomings.

Experience

Of all the mechanics in the game, experience awards seems to be the biggest throwback to old-school D&D; or, rather, the biggest throwback to an attempt at "D&D done right". In addition to gaining experience from completing story objectives -- the points for which are divided equally amongst the group members -- individual PCs gain experience equal to the TNs of successful story-related tests, with the other PCs getting half that amount. That strikes me as being awfully Gamist for a setting like Middle-earth. By contrast, rewards for good roleplaying are relegated to an undefined and optional "little something extra". We're told that "depending upon the Narrator's personal style and the type of game she runs, good roleplaying may [emphasis mine] be as important as the completion of story objectives." After all of the effort this chapter and the one previous go to in explaining how to evoke the feel of the setting, this basically absolves players of any responsibility in aiding that effort, subject to GM discretion. I find that a really strange approach.

Chapter Twelve: The Fear and The Shadow: The Enemy and His Servants

In any new game, but especially in a new licensed game, one of the first things I check out is the bestiary. It generally seems to be a good indication of how thoroughly the core rulebook intends to cover its setting. In the case of LotR, I'd call the bestiary a decent start, but not much more. Included are stats for:

• Sauron (well, more like a pointed lack of stats)
• Nazgul (the Witch-King of Angmar and the eight Lesser Nazgul)
• Saruman ("Race: From across the Sea". Riiiiight…)
• Gollum
• Gríma Wormtongue
• Dunlendings
• Orcs (normal, Uruk-hai, and Half-Orc)
• Trolls (normal and Olog-hai)
• Balrog of Moria
• Barrow-Wights
• Brood of Ungoliant (Small Giant Spider, Large Giant Spider, and Shelob. But what is Ungoliant? "You… shall not… pass!!!")
• Hell-Hawk (The flying steeds of the Nazgul. No idea where they got the name.)
• Mumakíl (Oliphaunts)
• Wolves (normal, Wargs, and Werewolves)