How long do you think these rules will be in the market...

[Hammers]

...before the GW lawyers guns them down in the street?

I was happy to discover there were wargaming rules based on the books but surely they are unlicensed?

http://www.wargameshop.co.uk/rules.htm (scroll down)

[abhorsen950]

To quickly  It is a shame

[OSHIROmodels]

I don't know how closely the rules match the GW ones (I have the rule book, just never got round to reading it  ) but I didn't think that GW had the rights to gaming in Middle Earth, unless I'm missing something (which is more than likely    )

I've saved them away anyway just in case 

cheers

James

[Christian]

I really like the LOTR books: they have some wonderful ideas for terrain in there. I'd like to give these rules a go, anyway

[Red Orc]

...I didn't think that GW had the rights to gaming in Middle Earth, unless I'm missing something (which is more than likely  ...

My understanding is that you're right, various companies have the rights to different aspects of gaming in Middle Earth. Everything that follows should be prefaced with 'as far as my understanding goes...'

GW have the rights to produce 25/28mm gaming material that is based on things in LotR (including Appendices), and the films, but not the Hobbit or Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales or what have you. So no First Age gaming.

Other companies have rights to produce character models (not gaming pieces... but what are they going to do? Unwin's or New Line's or GW's lawyers come round and say 'no you can't use those diorama/character models as gaming pieces'?) based on Tolkien's works, hence the 'Unexpected Party' minis that many of us have drooled over, and the plethora of plastic 'action figures' that were around a couple of years ago.

GW also has the rights to produce stuff related to the Hobbit in (?)10mm or 6mm or something, hence 'The Battle of Five Armies' game. 'Some other company' has a licence to produce 25mm Hobbit stuff, but hasn't done anything with it. Maybe waiting for the films to come out? Maybe waiting for GW to offer them a massive amount of money for the contract?

Then there are RPG rights that I don't understand at all, but are (if anyone's thinking of producing an RPG) likely to be as tangled as the rights to everything else to do with this.

[Hammers]

Other companies have rights to produce character models (not gaming pieces... but what are they going to do? Unwin's or New Line's or GW's lawyers come round and say 'no you can't use those diorama/character models as gaming pieces'?) based on Tolkien's works, hence the 'Unexpected Party' minis that many of us have drooled over, and the plethora of plastic 'action figures' that were around a couple of years ago.

It's Mithril Miniatures you are talking about. Using these miniatures in such an wanton and unlawful way is how I got into the wargaming hobby. If the lawyers have been at my door I was not aware. Perhaps I mistook them for pedlars and set the dogs on them.

[Red Orc]

I know, we just don't care do we? So disrespectful of other people's carefully constructed ideas of how we should appreciate the things we've purchased. I mean, imagine using things that aren't supposed to be toys (even though they look exactly like toys) as toys... where will it end? Sooner or later we'll be building our own terrain and using models from one intellectual property to represent things in another, and then there'll be anarchy, let me tell you.

[Verderer]

Cubicle 7 is the current owner of LOTR RPG rights, and are in the process of testing their NEW system.

[YPU]

It could be possible that GW has the rights to miniatures but that it is impossible to copyright them? There is some lawyer dude doing this with wizard dnd 3.5 stuff, something about rules not being copyrightable. I heard it was because rpg/wargaming rules are a form of simulation, thus somebody else can reach the same rules trough trying to simulate the same thing.

[thebinmann]

has anyone taken the full set

does any one else think they should be shut down for saying the uk is metirc?

[Red Orc]

Apparently, the UK has been metric since 1884 (see wiki on the 'Metre Convention' here). The way I heard it, France (especially) agreed to abandon local meridians (eg the 'Paris Meridian') in favour of the Greenwich Meridian, and the British government agreed to adopt the metric system. However, either due to British inefficiency or the fact that we really are perfidious, we backed out of the deal.

[kidterminal]

Not very long if people keep talking about it.

[Gibby]

Shame their license also gave GW the rights to create enough "super cool awesome" models/characters that just blatantly took the Middle Earth feel away from the game. Don't get me started on the LotR based computer games. I tried LotRO, and when my Dwarf (amongst many thousands of heroes who decided not to show up at the black gate?) was running around fetching Quill Rat (or something) pelts for a quest... well...  

So, the rules linked to in this thread look refreshingly devoted to the books. I particularly like the magic being more subtle.

[YPU]

BTW, GW apparently has a licence to the hobbit as well, or so the local Blackshirt claims. Are we going to see a box with 13 dwarfs a hobbit and a wizard?

[Verderer]

BTW, GW apparently has a licence to the hobbit as well, or so the local Blackshirt claims. Are we going to see a box with 13 dwarfs a hobbit and a wizard?

What do you mean, a box? I've already lost count how many different versions of Aragorn, Gandalf, Gimli, Legolas et al. I have, must be four or something? My guess they will squeeze Hobbit for all it is worth, and at the same time try to resuscitate LoTR while they're at it. Then again, I might be wrong...

On the other hand, if you're playing Middle-Earth games in one form or another, returning back to more familiar subjects from the Easterlings, Harad etc. is only welcome.