Having missed a summer quarter, Chris Seeman decided to publish a double issue for Other Hands in November 1995. Contributors for the double issue included Fredrik Ekman, Bernie Roessler, Dirk Brandherm, Wesley Frank, Torquil Gault, Magnus Seter, Anders Blixt, Laurie Battle, Michael Bailey, Sam Daish, and Gerrit Nuckton. Lisa Disterheft handled layout and design. Sophia Caramagno, Alina Nemirova, and Patrick Wynne contributed artwork.
Editorial: Spreading the Word
Welcome to our second annual double issue! It’s been a long haul since our last issue in April, with the completion of the Southern Gondor manuscript and other commitments hanging over me; but at last we are back, and will hopefully be able to stay on schedule with future issues. (It all rests on YOUR submissions coming in on time, so don’t be squeamish!)
Anyway, there’s plenty to tell about before we get to the introductions for this issue. Firstly, the Southern Gondor realm module is FINISHED and safely in ICE’s hands! Jessica Ney-Grimm has begun editing, and we can look forward to an early 1996 release date (further details on this and other forthcoming publications in “Frontlines” for this issue). Even better news: since April the number of subscriptions has reached the highest yet— 51! And the number is growing every few-weeks. Thanks to all of you for your continued support.
Among our many new subscribers we are honored to include Wesley Frank, eminent author of the Arnor and Shire realm modules, who heard about us from the advertisement we put in the Gencon issue of The Gamer’s Connection. This is heartening, because the more active MERP authors we can get on the bandwagon, the more Other Hands will be able to serve its intended function as a forum for discussion, debate, and presentation for honing what gets published by ICE. A final bit of news is that ICE has begun to commission and actively search for writers to author new MERP modules, which means that we will (hopefully) see a lot of great new products coming out in the not-too-distant future.
And now for the introductions. To begin with, Fredrik Ekman, a Tolkien-related computer games enthusiast, has proposed a newcolumn, rather appropriately dubbed “Digital Hands,” in which he hopes to keep us abreast of the latest and the greatest products available in that field. To be sure, this is not strict role-playing, but if you, the readers, would like (or not like) to have this as a regular feature of Other Hands, let me know. Another “crossover” area with Middle-earth gaming will be ICE’s new line of collectible card decks (following from the success of Magic: The Gathering) adapted to Tolkien’s world, beginning with their core release (due out this Christmas), Middle-earth: The Wizards. I have interviewed Coleman Charlton of ICE (the game’s principal designer) and have summarized the substance of our discussion of the game in a short article in this issue. One of the ways in which this line of products will overlap with the existing MERP series will be in its use of characters, artifacts, and sites developed in the MERP modules, accompanied by lavish new artwork.
We begin our larger contributions with a lengthy essay by Bernie Roessler entitled “The Streets of Minas Tirith,” which is a response and development of some of the logistic issues raised by Anders Blixt in his article on the same subject a few issues back (OH 6/7: 25). Whether one agrees or disagrees with Bernie’s analysis, I think the enduring value to be found in such exercises is that they help uncover the implicit assumptions that govern rational game design. Who knows? Perhaps we will get a third viewpoint on this next issue.
In the preamble to his article, Dirk Brandherm anticipates your response as “Oh no, not again an article dealing with magic in Middleearth!” Indeed, we have TWO articles on magic in Middle-earth this issue (the other by Wesley Frank). But I think that Dirk and Wesley have both made a real advance over previous discussions of this topic in that they have moved beyond the topic of magic “in general,” and have moved on to talk about magic and spells in the concrete, with a view to practical application within a game. Dirk does a close reading of some key texts in The Lord of the Rings, and has come to the important conclusion that Tolkien himself appears to have made some fairly precise internal distinctions between different kinds of magic.
For his part, Wesley has assumed the perspective of a Gamemaster who wishes to run a game with Tolkienian flavor while still satisfying the expectations about magic-use that most fantasy role-players will bring with them to Middle-earth. From the vantage point of the Tolkien purist, Wesley’s treatment might well be viewed as “unorthodox;” but then again, not all gamers who are attracted to Tolkien’s world are interested in meticulously adhering to holy writ. The play’s the thing, whatever style one may prefer.
Not to be outdone, Torquil Gault returns to our pages with a set of helpful herb and spell reference tables for those who roleplay in Middle-earth with MERP or Rolemaster. Also as an insert we are featuring an annotatcd map of the Ice-bay of Forochel which Wesley had originally prepared tor the Arnor module, but which never made it to the final version. Jessica Ney-Grimm has informed me that another author has undertaken the task of a Forodwaith module, which may present a map that differs from that of Wesley. Still, it will be nice to have something to carry us through the interim.
Following the tradition begun last issue, we have printed some more adventure material excised from Southern Gondor due to space limitations. This issue’s offerings are by Magnus Seter and Anders Blixt. Magnus was in charge of the Harithilien material for the module, and his scenario “The High Cost of Living,” deals with the greed of one of the Harithilien nobility, and opens possible avenues for getting player-characters mixed up in local crime and punishment. Continuing in what might be called the “Gondorian vice” genre, Anders has devised a mini-campaign set on the eastern frontiers of Harondor, in which playercharacters can take part in an unexpected goldrush that has swept across the foothills of the Ephel Dúath. With strong evocations of the American West, Anders depicts a land of rugged prospectors, greedy criminals, resentful natives, and corrupt Gondorian officials in “All That Glitters.”
Several of our readers have, in the past, queried me concerning Tolkien Enterprises, who were responsible for licensing ICE as the exclusive publishers of Middle-earth role-playing products. It is therefore with great pleasure that we are now able to offer the transcript of an interview conducted with Laurie Battle, the licensing director for Tolkien Enterprises, on the subject of the Middle-earth license. I’m sure vou will all find this of great interest, whether or not you actually play MERP.
To round things off, we have three new product reviews: of The Shire realm module, of the Rolemaster Standard Rules, and of the Laketown citadel module. All in all, I hope that this double issue will measure up to the success of its progenitor from last year, and I hope to see many new exciting pieces to fill the coming January issue. Until then, happy reading!
Chris Seeman
October 31, 1995
You may download Other Hands Issues 10/11 for free either from Other Minds’ Other Hands archive or MERP.Com’s Other Hands archive.