Arda Marred

A tabletop role-playing game set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Arda

Basics

● Has been in development since 2006
● Based indirectly on Basic Role-Playing (BRP)
● Attributes
● Skills
● Level-less
● Spells solely from Tolkien’s writings, somewhat inspired by The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game
● Strives to be extremely faithful to Tolkien’s writings

Noteworthy

● Almost all Middle-earth peoples carefully researched and designed to be true to Tolkien’s writings — no balance of power between peoples
● Currently 11 ‘Tolkienish’ professions to choose from including Gardener, multiple professions also possible, no balance of power between professions
● Not restricted to play in 3rd age Middle-earth, but allows playing in any time also in Beleriand, Númenor and Aman
● The earlier the age, the stronger the characters
● ‘Fading’ for Elves and Dúnedain
● Almost HârnMaster-like grittiness and realism
● Senses as attributes such as Sight, Hearing and Smell
● Seldom implemented skills such as Short Distance Running and Travelling
● Carefully researched and designed weapons, armour and turnless combat system
● Almost complete weariness system
● Rules for the ‘daily lives’ of the Player Characters
● Personality attributes resembling those in Pendragon
● Extensive background for Player Characters, including annals and a name generation system true to Tolkien’s writings
● Very extensive and carefully researched equipment list drawn from ...and a 10-Foot Pole
● Rulebook is currently illustrated by Ted Nasmith, Jef Murray, Anke-Katrin Eissmann, Svetlana Nikonova and Icy Maiden (with permission)

Below are download links for the Rulebook and other material for the game.

Character Sheet (15 Jan 2013) [ODS Spreadsheet] [PDF]
Rulebook (1 Apr 2013) [PDF]