Thread: Umbar Wanted!
Planet Tolkien is archived and no longer updated, but the forums remain browseable. We have established a Telegram group for old and new visitors to stay connected and discuss all things Tolkien.I am going to have to check this game out before I can understand what you mean.
It is well worth the effort, if you can find a copy. The modules are superbly written and really add something to Tolkien's work.
Many are illustrated by Liz Danforth, a brilliant artist who has shaped how I imagine Middle-earth to look more than anyone else...and that's after seeing the films.
I may go and see if I can find anything about her on the internet.
Many are illustrated by Liz Danforth, a brilliant artist who has shaped how I imagine Middle-earth to look more than anyone else...and that's after seeing the films.
I may go and see if I can find anything about her on the internet.
Her home page is www.oakheart.com - some excellent drawings there but unfortunately I can't find any of her MERP stuff.
Hi JonnieA.
The nearest module I have to the one you are talking about is "The Brigands of Tolfalas" or some such title (I've moved house recently and haven't managed to find where I packed half of my modules away).
Coming from a bit of a backwater, I had real problems finding any sort of Middle Earth module when I began playing back in the late eighties. Through perserverance, I did manage to accumulate in the region of thirty modules covering a good bit of ME, but never saw the Umbar one. Am I correct in thinking that "Corsairs of Umbar" was part of the original series which included "Rangers of the North", "Weathertop" and "Bree"? In my opinion, they were far better quality than the later ones.
Because of the similarities between the two systems, it is easy to use Rolemaster characters in games based around MERP modules. In reality, I very rarely played games from the modules, preferring to write my own. I'd always use the maps and occasionally lift the characters and general ideas though.
Good luck in finding it. The ones I always wanted was Rangers of the North, and the Court of Arda.
The nearest module I have to the one you are talking about is "The Brigands of Tolfalas" or some such title (I've moved house recently and haven't managed to find where I packed half of my modules away).
Coming from a bit of a backwater, I had real problems finding any sort of Middle Earth module when I began playing back in the late eighties. Through perserverance, I did manage to accumulate in the region of thirty modules covering a good bit of ME, but never saw the Umbar one. Am I correct in thinking that "Corsairs of Umbar" was part of the original series which included "Rangers of the North", "Weathertop" and "Bree"? In my opinion, they were far better quality than the later ones.
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It is well worth the effort, if you can find a copy. The modules are superbly written and really add something to Tolkien's work.
I bought them mainly for the maps, which are the best maps of ME I have seen. Some of the older modules went into a great deal of detail on the history of the region too, but you have to be careful to pick out what is Tolkien fact from ICE fiction. It is well worth the effort, if you can find a copy. The modules are superbly written and really add something to Tolkien's work.
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BTW, is anyone else out there frustrated by the limitation of the MERP character generation system? It seems designed to only produce one-dimensional killing machines...
I found MERP too limiting in this respect. After just a few weeks I switched to the Rolemaster system. I find Rolemaster is to MERP what AD&D is to D&D. With Rolemaster there are in excess of 40 character classes and maybe 100 or more secondary skills to develop. The nice thing is, any class can develop any skill you want them to, with development costs being the limiting factor.BTW, is anyone else out there frustrated by the limitation of the MERP character generation system? It seems designed to only produce one-dimensional killing machines...
Because of the similarities between the two systems, it is easy to use Rolemaster characters in games based around MERP modules. In reality, I very rarely played games from the modules, preferring to write my own. I'd always use the maps and occasionally lift the characters and general ideas though.
Good luck in finding it. The ones I always wanted was Rangers of the North, and the Court of Arda.
I must admit that I no longer use the MERP character system, I have developed my own, which is probably along the lines of the Rolemaster system by the sound of it.
You are right that the first modules were the best. I have every one (as far as I am aware) except Umbar and Ardor. I'm not worried about Ardor (presumably 100% ICE fiction) but would dearly love to get Umbar.
Rangers of the North is far and away the best module for any system ever written. I really gives you a feeling for the atmosphere of Arthedain, and yes the maps are all excellent. Just pore over them for a few minutes and a host of adventure ideas spring to mind. One day I am going to sit down and draw my own mega-map in an attempt to combine them. ICE did release a cut-out-and-stick-together overall map of Endor but as the maps were all drawn seperately it doesn't actually join up properly.
You are right that the first modules were the best. I have every one (as far as I am aware) except Umbar and Ardor. I'm not worried about Ardor (presumably 100% ICE fiction) but would dearly love to get Umbar.
Rangers of the North is far and away the best module for any system ever written. I really gives you a feeling for the atmosphere of Arthedain, and yes the maps are all excellent. Just pore over them for a few minutes and a host of adventure ideas spring to mind. One day I am going to sit down and draw my own mega-map in an attempt to combine them. ICE did release a cut-out-and-stick-together overall map of Endor but as the maps were all drawn seperately it doesn't actually join up properly.
Have you got The Middle Earth Gazetter, Jonnie? That is one of my favourite Middle Earth add-ons. I also love the Lords of Middle Earth series of modules. Very informative.
No, I've never heard of it...I stopped collecting several years ago because I seemed to have everything and they were all out of print anyway.
I found the Lords of Middle-Earth series fascinating but have eventually decided that it is very poorly done. There is plenty to inspire the imagination, but there are also some howling typos (whoever did the family trees for the Three Houses of the Edain couldn't even copy the Silmarillion properly). I also decided that the levels given for most of the major characters were rubbish - how the hell could Dior reach 100th Lvl when he only lived into his mid-30's? His stats should be very high, but that was just silly. They seemed to set levels based on how cool they thought someone was.
I think I have mentioned that I have created my own character generation system..I am also goign through all the major characters from Middle-Earth and creating them in my system in a LOME style. (If we weren't geeks we wouldn't be here!) That way, Feanor, Luthien and Gandalf (as the White) are all 60th Lvl, with everyone else following on down from there. I have fiddled with it all quite a lot and it seems to make a lot more sense, at least to me. The best thing about the LOME series was Liz Danforth's illustrations, superb as ever.
I found the Lords of Middle-Earth series fascinating but have eventually decided that it is very poorly done. There is plenty to inspire the imagination, but there are also some howling typos (whoever did the family trees for the Three Houses of the Edain couldn't even copy the Silmarillion properly). I also decided that the levels given for most of the major characters were rubbish - how the hell could Dior reach 100th Lvl when he only lived into his mid-30's? His stats should be very high, but that was just silly. They seemed to set levels based on how cool they thought someone was.
I think I have mentioned that I have created my own character generation system..I am also goign through all the major characters from Middle-Earth and creating them in my system in a LOME style. (If we weren't geeks we wouldn't be here!) That way, Feanor, Luthien and Gandalf (as the White) are all 60th Lvl, with everyone else following on down from there. I have fiddled with it all quite a lot and it seems to make a lot more sense, at least to me. The best thing about the LOME series was Liz Danforth's illustrations, superb as ever.
