RPG Developer Cubicle 7 Rolls Nat 20 in Tolkien Studies

Grab your Rings of Doom and hold on to your d20s, ladies and gents! The Lord of the Rings universe is finally (officially) coming to the D&D world!

The geniuses at Cubicle 7 Entertainment and Sophisticated Games recently announced their plans for an upcoming roleplaying campaign to be set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. And if that wasn’t enough to send you running for your dice bag, here’s a factoid that will: The new series will be fully, completely, and entirely compatible with the 5th edition of Dungeons and Dragons®.

Both D&D and Tolkien fans should rest assured that they are in good hands. Cubicle 7 is quite experienced in creating role playing mechanics for popular fantasy and scifi media. The company already offers games set in, among others, the Doctor Who and H.P. Lovecraft universes, as well as an original Steampunk world and “mythical Scandinavia.” More importantly, they are also the creators of the award-winning The One Ring Roleplaying Game which debuted in 2011. Set five years after the Battle of the Five Armies, the game also features several expansions that allow adventurers to roam unfettered across Middle Earth.

This new venture is made possible by Wizards of the Coast’s recent Open-Gaming License (OGL), which allows fans of Dungeons and Dragons to publish their own custom content for the game, traditionally referred to as “homebrew” content. Wizards also created the DMs Guild, a venue for enterprising individuals to sell their homebrewed campaigns, monsters, and spells online, with Wizards receiving a cut of the proceeds. Both the OGL and the DMs Guild open the door for creators like Cubicle 7 to combine their ingenuity with the world’s most well-known and widely used role playing rules.

The new game is slated for release in summer 2016. Other than this, Cubicle 7 has released few details as of yet. We do know that the new game will be based off of the existing The One Ring Roleplaying Game, with One Ring creator Francesco Nepitello acting as consultant. Says CEO Dominic McDowall, “We’re all very excited to be building on the success of The One Ring Roleplaying Game and bringing Middle-earth to D&D® players. Uniting two things very close to the hearts of gamers, me included, is very cool – I can’t wait for the summer.”

Neither can we, Mr. McDowall, neither can we.