Balrogs and Bagginses (B&B) is not really a retro-clone, but a new re-imagining of Middle Earth as an RPG variant in the old school style. The author of B&B, Lars Dangly, borrows from early editions of the game as well as other sources, freely combines ideas from J.R.R. Tolkien's writings and his own imagination to give us a variant set of rules for use with White Box and other published editions of the game. On the front cover the author clearly states this isn't a complete game and requires access to The World's Most Popular RPG. The 58-page digital file is nicely illustrated with art taken from various Middle Earth sources and is written in a witty and sometimes humorous style making it fun to read.
Redesigning the game for a Middle Earth milieu will mean different things to different people and B&B represents but a single interpretation of the best way to game Middle Earth. In adapting a game written to cover many literary sources, Mr. Dangly has made several major and minor departures from published editions. Character classes are replaced with a less rigid system of character "roles" based on the races of free people and the "walk of life" players imagine their character will follow.
B&B characters have seven rolled attributes, the usual six plus Luck. Characters also have Abilities, some are tied to race or homeland and some are prerequisites for certain Roles. A Flaw may be taken in order to give the character an additional Ability. Traits are a character's "loves, hates, quirks, fears, virtues and vices" and these take the place of Alignment and may give situational bonuses and shape behavior.
Abilities may give a character skills such as tracking or gambling, may increase hit dice (from d6 to d8 for example), may bestow birthrights such as nobility, or magic such as healing or sorcery. Elves may take the Light of Valinor which gives the ability to turn undead (as a cleric). Traits are chosen by the player, but many are associated with certain races or homelands such as melancholy for elves and greedy for dwarves. Certain Traits such as Greedy make the character susceptible to Corruption by the Enemy.
Race determines which Homelands and Roles may be assigned to a character. The generic Role is that of Adventurer - one who roams the land exploring and having adventures. A dwarf character may be a merchant, miner or soldier in addition to an adventurer. An elf character may be a noble or wood elf or adventurer. A hobbit may be a bounder, a bumpkin, a country squire, a merchant or an adventurer. Dunedain roles include northern ranger or adventurer. The roles available to common men are many and include adventurer, berserker, brigand, horselord, huntsman, knight, merchant, noble, pirate, ranger of Ithilien, rider of Rohan, scholar, soldier, thief, witch, wizard and yeoman.
Experience points are earned for recovering treasure (coin, gems and magic items), defeating foes, surviving adventures, making saving throws and casting magic spells, succeeding at goals and notable actions be they glorious, honorable, infamous or just hilarious. Experience points earn advancement in levels which in turn grants the character increases in hit points, die rolls involving abilities and attribute scores. Traits evolve through play and a character's behavior may result in granting a new trait or removal of an existing one. Characters who fail to resist (Wisdom saving throw) the influence of The Enemy gain new traits through corruption. Saving throws are made by choosing an appropriate Attribute, rolling a d20 and adding (or subtracting) the attribute modifier and comparing the result to a target number set by the referee. An easy task needs a modified roll of 10 or better to succeed. B&B uses the advantage/disadvantage mechanic from 5th Edition so a saving throw may in involve rolling two d20s and taking the higher (advantage) or lower (disadvantage) roll.
Magic and its availability is something the author suggests be considered carefully for the Middle Earth campaign. Mr. Dangly points out that there are a number of possible ways to use magic in the game. Certain types of magic may be appropriate for elves, other types for the sorcerer servants of The Enemy. Some groups may want to include acolytes of the Necromancer or Saruman, hedge mages, orc shamans or scholars of Gondor who have access to ancient Numenorean secrets among the magic user types in their campaign. The author offers a brief list of suggested spells found in published editions of the game which could be incorporated into a Middle Earth campaign.
B&B offers some referee advice on running adventures and campaigns using Middle Earth and these rule additions as well as a brief bestiary and guidelines for adapting monsters from published editions of the game for use in a Middle Earth campaign should the group wish to bring those creatures into play. Mr. Dangly suggests a Middle Earth campaign should be a cooperative affair with players and referee discussing many aspects of play prior to the start of a campaign. He also suggests all players take turns as referee so as to create a collective world and to "give different voices to different stories".
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