The Lord Of The Rings RPG The One Ring Smashes Crowdfunding Goal In Under An Hour

The One Ring

Credit: Free League

It’s Hobbit Day, the fictional birthday of famous Hobbits Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, and so it makes sense that Free League Publishing would kick off its crowdfunding campaign for new editions and expansions of its award-winning tabletop roleplaying game, The One Ring, today.

The game is set in Middle-earth and features all things Tolkien and Lord of the Rings. It’s one of my favorite TTRPGs, and my gaming group happens to be playing a One Ring campaign at the moment, which makes this Backerkit campaign even more exciting.

The campaign launched this morning and hit its funding goal of $50,000 in under an hour. That was a modest goal, however. With about 20,000 backers signing up to reserve a spot for $1 apiece, this campaign was destined to be a hit. As of publication, just under 3,000 (and counting) have backed the project, which is nearing $700,000. I’m watching the counter go up as I type, and suspect that by the time I hit “publish” the campaign will have crossed the $700,000 mark.

The crowdfunding campaign has various pledge points and rewards, including the new expansion The White Tower and the Hall of Gold which expands the realm of Rohan, the new Creatures Strange and Foul bestiary and the updated Core Rules, as well as rules for solo play – called “Strider Mode” in honor of our favorite mysterious, hooded, pipe-smoking ranger.

Special, gorgeous Collector’s Editions are available during the crowdfunding phase only, so if you have extra cash burning a hole in your pocket, it might be worth checking out.

All these volumes are also available adapted for Dungeons & Dragons 5E, though I personally prefer the game’s native system, which is quite elegant and unique and a nice change of pace from d20 gaming. (The game uses die pools, including both d12 and d6 dice).

Currently, six stretch goals have been unlocked, and as far as I can tell that’s all the stretch goals unless Free League adds more. These include:

1. A printed map of Rohan and Gondor ($100,000)
2. Hobgoblins as a Bonus Adversary in the bestiary ($200,000)
3. Cloth ribbons in the Collector’s Editions ($300,000)
4. Printed map of Minas Tirith ($400,000)
5. The Prison of Ras Morthil as a Bonus Landmark ($500,000)
6. Cardboard Standees miniatures ($600,000)

You can read more about The One Ring crowdfunding campaign and pledge levels over at Backerkit. Whether or not you back the game, I definitely recommend you give it a shot at your table. It’s really a wonderful way to adventure across Middle-earth.