The Lord of the Rings is getting two new RPGs this summer. J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminal fantasy series has often served as a point of inspiration for games: officially, the trend goes as far back as 1982’s Middle-earth Role Playing, but Lord of the Rings definitely indirectly inspired lots of fantasy games that came before that.
More recently, the series was adapted into the Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War duology of stealth-action games, in addition to the cozy game Return to Moria and that one Gollum game we don’t talk about. Two of its newest and most expansive tabletop releases, though, are about to get much bigger.
On June 2nd, we’ll see three new releases for two major *Lord of the Rings *tabletop games: *Hands of the White Wizard *and *Hobbit Tales *for The One Ring, and Trials of Saruman for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying. All three releases are through Free League Publishing, and are currently available for preorder on their website.
The reason these only count as two new “games,” though, is because *Hands of the White Wizard *and Trials of Saruman are technically the same campaign. Both include an almost-identical series of quests revolving around Saruman prior to the War of the Ring: only Hands of the White Wizard is designed for use with LOTR’s original One Ring RPG system, while Trials of Saruman is adapted for its *Dungeons and Dragons *5e-based Lord of the Rings Roleplaying.
Players will be sent to aid or observe Saruman in his role as Lord of Isengard and, depending on their actions, may aid his descent into treason or attempt to redeem him. There are six missions in the book, each of which may be played individually or tied together into a larger adventure.
Also on June 2, Free League will put out another set of adventures called Hobbit Tales. This features five ready-to-play quests for *The One Ring *RPG only, naturally featuring Hobbits and, according to a Free League press release, “the kinds of adventures Hobbits get up to when they cannot avoid it.” You’ll be able to play as one of several notable Hobbits whose descendants are featured in the main series, including Primula and Rory Brandybuck, Paladin Took, and Bilbo Baggins.
Each of the books goes for $41.61 at the time of writing; prices on the site are in Swedish kronor and may be subject to exchange rates. Your purchase includes a physical book, which won’t arrive until after release, and a PDF version to be delivered through DriveThruRPG. All three new Lord of the Rings adventures will be released on June 2.
The Lord of the Rings ](/tag/lord-of-the-rings/)
The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim
The Lord of the Rings (1978)
Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Character(s)
Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, Sauron, Gollum, Samwise Gamgee, Pippin Took, Celeborn, Aragorn, Galadriel, Bilbo Baggins, Saruman, Aldor, Wormtongue, Thorin Oakenshield, Balin Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Tauriel, King Thranduil, Smaug, Radagast, Arondir, Nori Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow, Marigold Brandyfoot, Queen Regent Míriel, Sadoc Burrows
The Lord of the Rings is a multimedia franchise consisting of several movies and a TV show released by Amazon titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. The franchise is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s book series that began in 1954 with The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings saw mainstream popularity with Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.