Lone Wolf Adventure Game Hardcover – September 30, 2015

A while ago I wrote a review of a game named “Hobbit Tales: From the Green Dragon Inn” by Cubicle7. Without delving into that review again, the game is tremendous. You should go by this game if you do not already own it. It’s great for friends or family and is just fun all around. Along with this game (or actually connected to this game) is the game “One Ring” which is a fantasy role playing game set in Tolkien’s world set between the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I’ve tried for a while to get my boys interested in this game, and they both are to different levels. Role Playing games where an important part of my childhood and I wanted to introduce them both to it, even if only to show them something I enjoyed at their age. The issue I came to with the game was that for their ages, particularly the younger one, the game mechanics were too complicated. They made him bored with the game and frustrated with his role in the game (some of that was my fault because of rustiness at running a RPG. So while I continue to buy the books as they come out, and eventually I plan to run a game again, I mostly do so because the books are wonderfully put together and the rules to govern Tolkien’s world are very well done.So a few months ago I saw that Cubicle7 was releasing a fantasy RPG based on the old Lone Wolf series of game books. If you aren’t familiar with game books they were a lot like the Choose Your Own Adventure books except that there were hit points, and battles resolved with random number generation built into the book (such as number on the corners of the pages that you would flip through) so no dice needed. I read the description of the game and from the description the mechanics seemed much easier than One Ring.Well I ordered a copy of the game last week and I have read through the rules. I was correct. The mechanics are very simple. You don’t even need dice. The game works on a random number system of 0-9 that you get by flipping a token into the box top (or bottom) to generate your random number. You could also use a 10 sided die if that was more to your liking. Tasks are easy to resolve and the combat system makes use of the random numbers and a chart to determine hit point loss. As you play you can add some or all of an expanded rule set (think of this as something like the difference between D&D and AD&D) but you don’t have to.The game even has an initial adventure that not only guides the game master (here called the Narrator) through his or her first game but also explains all of the rules to the game in a more practical way that just listing them out. Oftentimes RPG rule books can explain rules in an accurate, yet clinical or detached way. This makes the rules more abstract than necessary. One Ring tries to solve this by using simulated scenarios after explaining a rule. That isn’t as effective as the method employed by Lone Wolf. Though with the level of complexity of One Ring I don’t think it’s possible to do it the same way as Lone Wolf.The artwork of the set is fantastic (as is all the artwork I’ve seen from Cubicle7). Most of it by the same artist that worked on One Ring. I also like that this comes as a boxed set. Like the old D&D sets of my younger years. You remember the “Red Box” (or maybe those sets that came out before the “Red Box”). There is something nice about having a contained set rather than a group of books in your bookcase (no matter how much you love those books) when it comes to a game. I do miss the addition of dice, and truth be told, I will probably use dice instead of the tokens, but even without them the box contains everything you need to play the game (minus some pencils and scrap paper).The best part is that my boys are chomping at the bit to play. I like it when they are both excited to play a game I buy. They want to pick their character (the set comes with 6 pre-made characters which I think was a stroke of genius, no character generation, unless you want to) and play. The only reason we haven’t yet is because I wanted to get through the instructions before we played. It is well set up to play a game quickly but also giving you all the fun and feeling of RPGs.I know what we’re doing this weekend. You should do it too.

An impressive and beautifully illustrated roleplaying box set! It has good heft, feels weighty in the hand, and for good reason: the box is stuffed with goodies! Books, chits, map, and more! A great introductory set to those new to roleplaying, but it also has appeal to experienced gamers: it can serve as a lighter system and a different roleplaying experience, and offers the intriguing world of Magnamund, a venerable fantasy setting. In all, this literally is the full package!

This is a BEAUTIFUL game. As the other reviewer mentioned, the materials contained within ooze quality, attention to detail, and plain old TLC. The character sheets are gorgeous and I'm terrified of even writing on them - I'll probably just photocopy a couple and use those. :-) I've not played it yet, but as I've been reading through it to prep, I've been so impressed that I had to write a review.The thing I like most about this game is that it is an excellent trainer for game masters. I'm in a category where I've played RPGs but have scant experience running games. This book provides a part linear, part 'choose your own adventure'-type approach where blocks of text are read aloud to the players. The writing is quite extensive and takes into account a number of common player responses. I like a bit of hand-holding when I'm learning something, and I've found this game to be perfect as far as that goes - it really holds the GM's hand and gives you some experience in principles that can be spread to other RPGs in the future. It doesn't just give you a suggestion and then toss you out into the air but really walks you thoroughly through a couple quests.Plus, the Lone Wolf universe is just fun anyway.Last thing, the "random number generator" table. This is largely a matter of taste. If you don't feel like flipping tokens into the box lid, or if you're OCD about your games being in good condition and don't feel like constantly handling the tokens, just have a couple d10's on hand. Rolling a d10 amounts to the same thing in most cases, as far as I can tell.

Bought this for my husband who has been a Lonewolf fan since the 1980's. We haven't played the game yet but I have gone through the the material and find it top notch. The only downside is that the digital copy didn't come with this set and I would have liked that just because it helps to have more than one copy when creating your own characters. The generic remade characters make the game basically ready to play and the materials in the set are thick and sturdy. I'm not sure if the PDF version lets you modify the forms but that would be a great feature if you like keeping your character sheets on your tablet or laptop. I made hard copies and found the sheets good for character building. The mods seem interesting and the game was highly reviewed on other sites. The game play is very similar to D&D but instead of dice, random number charts are provided, very similar to the game book series. I think the main seller has a PDF option to add on and would recommend for the reasons above that you take that option. Otherwise, the set is very well thought out and we are excited to give it a try our next game night.

As others have pointed out, it's a high production value RPG, aimed at beginners . As a whole it's not a bad system, but is fairly limited in option. I seem to recall there are plans to expand the game , giving players more choices. My biggest disappointment however , is the book of Kai training has several pages out of order ( page 43 is followed by pages 48 and 49,

Quick revue: Very carefully thought out adventure scenarios, with something for almost all Kai Lords. On the longish side, only three are included. Last part is full with ideas for adventure creation, LW style. Also, without much fuss could accomodate folks from the Heroes of Magnamund supplement. All around a cool buy. All of this line has, up till now, been top notch.