Today's game is Middle-earth Role Playing (1984) from Iron Crown Enterprises. As a huge Tolkien fan, I snapped this game up as soon as it was released. #CuratedQuarantine

I was already buying ICE's Middle-earth sourcebooks, which they'd begun publishing a couple of years earlier as more generic supplements. #CuratedQuarantine

I had high hopes for the rules but the decision to use Rolemaster as the basis for the game just never felt right for the source material. It was a lighter version of Rolemaster at least. #CuratedQuarantine

However, the crunchy rules and inappropriate magic system did not mesh well with Middle-earth in my opinion. And it's not that MERP is a bad game. It's certainly of its era but it's definitely playable. I just wouldn't use it for Middle-earth. #CuratedQuarantine

I did try to run a campaign in college but it didn't go well. For example, a mage tossed a firebolt at an orc but critically fumbled. The spell bounced back and then critically hit the mage, incinerating him. Funny? Sure. Tolkienesque? Ehhhhh. #CuratedQuarantine

What I will say about the MERP line is that the supplements were generally very good. Great maps, lots of detail about Middle-earth, and the Angus McBride covers were killer. #CuratedQuarantine

Honestly, I wish I'd kept up with them more after 1988 because they are not cheap these days. Pictured at the top of this thread is the game's second edition from 1993. #CuratedQuarantine

My first edition and many of the original supplements are in a box in Massachusetts I really need to dig them out some time. #CuratedQuarantine