The Ring as Anti-Sacrament
The One Ring is usually understood as an object of power. It tempts, corrupts, dominates, and destroys. It offers invisibility
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Throwback Review: The One Ring, First Edition
The One Ring: Adventures over the Edge of the Wild, was first published by Cubicle 7 in 2011, designed by
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Tolkien and the Power of Small Places in RPGs
One of the easiest ways to make a fantasy world feel large is to make its small places matter. Tolkien
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The Long Defeat: Tolkien’s Philosophy of History
One of the most haunting phrases in Tolkien’s legendarium is “the long defeat.” Galadriel uses it in The Lord of
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Throwback Review: The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game, 2002
There was a very specific window of time when The Lord of the Rings was everywhere. Peter Jackson’s films were
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Helm’s Deep and Running the Battle Your Players Can Actually See
The Battle of Helm’s Deep is one of the great fantasy battles. The rain. The wall. The torches in the
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The Third Age of Middle-earth as a Post-Apocalyptic Tale
The Third Age of Middle-earth is often remembered as the age of hobbits, wandering wizards, hidden kings, and one final
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Throwback Review: Middle Earth Role Playing, 1984
For a certain generation of tabletop players, this was the doorway into Middle-earth. When Iron Crown Enterprises released Middle-earth Role
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The Council of Elrond as Great RPG Session Design
One of the strangest things about The Fellowship of the Ring is that one of its most important chapters is
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Eucatastrophe and the Role of Hope in Tolkien’s Narratives
In his landmark essay On Fairy-stories, J.R.R. Tolkien coined the term eucatastrophe to describe “the sudden joyous turn,” the moment
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