One Afternoon. One Ring. One Million Dollars.

Free League Publishing's latest The One Ring crowdfunding campaign has passed the $1 million mark within hours of launching, and shows no sign of slowing down.

The Backerkit campaign is offering us three new releases for the multi-award winning Middle-earth roleplaying game: an extensive bestiary, a major campaign expansion covering Gondor and Rohan, and a revised edition of the core rules. In addition all three books are also being produced for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E game, which will also see the core rules updated to the 5.5 rules set as well as adding a solo game mode (which will also appear in the new The One Ring rulebook).

A Tolkien Bestiary

Creatures Strange and Foul, written by lead designer Francesco Nepitello with Michele Garbuggio, gathers adversaries ranging from Orcs, Trolls, and Ents to Ringwraiths, Dragons, Balrogs, and the mysterious Nameless Things. Its 5E counterpart will be titled Of Orcs and Evil Things.

Explore the Lands of Rohan and Gondor

The campaign expansion, The White Tower and the Hall of Gold is written by Gareth Hanrahan, and explores Gondor and Rohan, including Minas Tirith, the South-kingdom’s fiefs, the Riddermark and their surrounding borderlands. Alongside locations, landmarks and camp[aign frameworks, the book also adds new Heroic Cultures, Virtues, and expanded rules for mounted combat, boats and journeys by sea and river. The 5E edition will be going by the name Realms of the South.

Revised Rulebooks

Completing the trio are revised rulebooks for both The One Ring and The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying 5E versions of the game. The game rules are expanded, further clarified and revised by Francesco, and also add a Solo mode of play for each. Antonio De Luca also supplies brand enw cover art for both titles.

Along with brining related rules together, making it easier to learn and reference, combat has been revised for smoother and more dynamic play, character creation and other aspects of the game such as adventure guidance and advancement are also refined.

And what’s more, if you already own the current version of either rulebook digitally on DriveThruRPG or Free League Unbound you will automatically be upgraded to the revised version once completed.

Collector’s Editions

All six books in the campaign are also available as gorgeous looking Collector’s Editions, exclusive to this campaign. These special limited editions will be covered in deluxe faux leather wth silver or gold foil printing, with cloth ribbons.

From Humble Beginnings…

The campaign began with a comparatively modest $50,000 target and attracted over 4,500 backers during its opening hours. With funding already into seven figures, Middle-earth’s latest expedition has plainly found its Fellowship.

The One Ring RPG: Bestiary, Gondor Campaign & Updated Rules crowdfunding campaign is currently live on Backerkit and is running until Thursday 15th October 2026, with fulfilment currently estimated to be around October 2027.