Middle-earth Role Playing


Middle-earth Role Playing is a 1984 role-playing game based on the writings of J.R.R. Tolkien under license from Tolkien Enterprises. Iron Crown Enterprises published the game until they lost the license on 22 September 1999.

System

The rules system of the game is a streamlined version of I.C.E.'s generic fantasy RPG, Rolemaster.
Characters possess Attributes and Skills rated between 1 and 100 on a percentile die or two ten-sided dice. Skills can be modified to a rating above or below these limits. An attack roll consists of a percentile roll, to which the attacker's skill rating and appropriate attribute rating are added and the defender's dodge rating is subtracted. The result is compared to the defender's armor type and looked up on a table to determine success or failure. A separate critical table is used if the initial chart result called for it.
Spell casters learn lists of ten spells as a unit. Each of the spells is based on a theme.

Critical reaction

In the February 1984 edition of White Dwarf, Jonathan Sutherland reviewed the various MERP supplements available at the time, and generally liked them, although he found their price a bit steep.
A few issues later, in the October 1984 edition of White Dwarf, Sutherland reviewed the main rules system of MERP and thought that it "mirrors the consistent high quality one has come to expect from ICE." Sutherland concluded that it "is a well conceived, reasonably well-written system. I can't say it's easy and ideal for beginners but I can honestly recommend that you try it. MERP gets my vote as best new RPG this year; in fact I've not been so impressed since I first read Call of Cthulhu."
In the March–April 1985 edition of Space Gamer, William A. Barton commented that "If you haven't yet taken a trip to Middle-earth via the Iron Crown, I recommend you remedy the situation as soon as possible."
In the January 1985 edition of Imagine, Andy Blakeman stated that "by its links with Tolkein, it cannot fail to attract many new gamers into this hobby; and I am reasonably confident that these newcomers will not be disappointed."
In the June 1985 edition of White Dwarf, Graham Staplehurst thought "Iron Crown have done superb development work on areas that Tolkien neglected or left unspecified." He found the rules system suitable "though not spectacularly original", and the combat system "can be rather bloody, which is no bad thing." However Staplehurst had issues with the magic system, pointing out that in Tolkien's books, magic is a rare, subtle force only used by a few powerful characters, whereas "The MERP system gives these sorts of powers to almost anyone after the acquisition of relatively few experience points; for me, it upsets the flavour of the game and its authenticity." He concluded, "MERP can be used to recreate the great adventures of which Tolkien wrote: going with Frodo or Bilbo or Beren into the lair of evil and trying to escape alive; and it can go some way to fulfilling the desires of people who want to know more about Tolkien's world."
In the January 1987 edition of White Dwarf, Graham Staplehurst reviewed the second edition of the rules, and applauded ICE for including more material for newcomers, such as an introductory booklet and a short introductory adventure. He also liked the rearrangement of rules, pointing out that "Much of the confusion of tables, lists and rules has been cleared by a sensible grouping of charts onto single pages and into a larger batch on the rear of the book." He concluded, "MERP remains one of the more inventive and enjoyable roleplaying game currently available."
In a 1996 readers poll taken by Arcane magazine to determine the 50 most popular roleplaying games of all time, Middle-earth Role Playing was ranked 11th. Editor Paul Pettengale commented: "The popularity of the books, we would suggest, explains why the game based on Tolkien's world is so popular. For the system is overly complicated, and it suffers from the problem of timing. For example, in which time do you set your campaign? Set it before The Lord of the Rings and everyone knows what's going to happen, set it after The Lord of the Rings and you've got to make a whole load of stuff up. Still, the supplements are all good, if you get off on bucketfuls of detail and polished prose. Not for everyone, sure, but die-hard Tolkien fans should check it out."

History

I.C.E. published a First and a Second Edition of the MERP ruleset, and was working on the third edition that was not published, along with many adventure and campaign modules, until Tolkien Enterprises revoked the license for games based on The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in 1999. I.C.E. subsequently declared bankruptcy in 2000.
A related quarterly magazine, Other Hands Magazine created by Professor Chris Seeman, supporting the MERP community, was also sent a cease and desist by Tolkien Enterprises, and ceased publication in 2001.
A magazine named Other Minds Magazine created by Hawke Robinson, began publication in 2007, it also supports the role-playing community using ICE's MERP, Decipher's LotR, Cubicle 7's The One Ring RPG, and other Tolkien-centric role playing game systems.
In 1991-1993, I.C.E. also published the Lord of the Rings Adventure Game. It used a much simpler system than MERP and was intended to introduce new players to role-playing.
A UK edition was published by Games Workshop in 1985. It featured the First Edition rules, with new box and booklet art by Chris Achilleos, along with 25mm floorplans for the sample adventure.
In Sweden a translated version called Sagan om Ringen: Rollspelet was released in 1986 by Target Games, followed by several translated modules.
A Finnish language edition was published in 1990.
In the summer of 2005, a new annual convention began known as Merpcon. It initially used the ICE MERP and ICE Rolemaster role playing game systems.

Supplements