Grand Adventure in Realms of the Three Rings for The One Ring RPG

RockyMountainNavy, 1 May 2025

“In the twilight of the Third Age, three realms of the West-elves still endure in Middle-earth. By the power of the Three Rings, they exist as a testament to a time that was. But not only the Elves remember. As Sauron gathers his strength to bring war to Middle-earth once again, he plans a devious vengeance against those who humbled him long ago.” [Realms of the Three Rings Press Kit]

I am not a Dungeons & Dragons fan. Sue me. That does not, however, mean I ignore fantasy roleplaying (RPG) games. Case in point is my affection for The One Ring RPG from Free League Publishing. Not only do I find the Lord of the Rings setting well packaged, the Strider Mode expansion for solo play actually delivers strong narrative play with decisions that matter. The latest expansion, Realms of the Three Rings, delivers adventuring opportunities with the Elven kingdoms in the time of The One Ring; that is, the Twilight of the Third Age or the time period between the events in the books The Hobbit to The Lord of the Rings.

“In Eregion long ago many Elven-rings were made, magic rings as you call them, and they were, of course, of various kinds: some more potent and some less. The lesser rings were only essays in the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles –yet still to my mind dangerous for mortals. But the Great Rings, the Rings of Power, they were perilous.”
[Realms of the Three Rings Press Kit]

Realms of the Three Rings is broken into four major sections:

Setting: The realms of Lórien, Rivendell, and Lindon.
Adventure: Taking place alongside the events of Lord of the Rings, player-characters can learn details of Sauron’s schemes—and maybe do something about them.
Locations: Visit sites of interest including some mentioned in The Lord of the Rings.
Elf-Lords and Solo Play An Appendix contains guidelines for creating and playing High Elves or Elf-lords, including ways to play solo.

As is usual for a Free League Publishing game, the artwork for Realms of the Three Rings is incredible.

Coming in at 140 digital pages, Realms of the Three Rings may seem “lite’ by some standards for an expansion. The reality is that the material provided is dense in gaming opportunities and adventure hooks. A worthy investment useful for creating worthy adventures.

“The Three were not made by Sauron, nor did he ever touch them. But of them it is not permitted to speak. So much only in this hour of doubt I may now say. They are not idle. But they were not made as weapons of war or conquest; that is not their power.’
[Realms of the Three Rings, p. 3]

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