Moria in Tabletop Games

Moria: Through the Doors of Durin for The One Ring 2E recently won Gold for Product of the Year in the 2025 ENNIES. I am interested in TTRPGs based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. I thought it would be interesting for me to look into how Moria has been represented in roleplaying games. 

Gloin sighed. ‘Moria! Moria! Wonder of the Northern world! Too deep we delved there, and woke the nameless fear. Long have its vast mansions lain empty since the children of Durin fled. But now we spoke of it again with longing, and yet with dread...'

Giving real reviews are hard. I tried it for a while and was defeated by the task. So this post is not a real review. It is a historical survey, followed by my impressions and thoughts as a GM who is approaching these games with a thought towards "How would I actually try to run this?" and "What does this edition offer that I could borrow?"

Note

Before reading this post, go read my survey of licensed Tolkien games to get a sense of the landscape. I'll wait. Finished? OK. Let's go.

In short, we have three game systems to talk about:

1. Middle-Earth Role-Playing (MERP), published by Iron Crown Enterprises (1982-1997)
2. Lord of the Rings RPG (LotR RPG), published by Decipher (2002-2005)
3. The One Ring RPG (TOR), second edition published by Free League (2011-present)

These games are the three main, licensed attempts to capture Middle-earth in RPG rule systems. And each of these games have large, significant books dedicated to exploring Moria using these rules. This post will look at each edition's attempt to represent Khazad-dum.

As you could see in my linked survey of licensed games, some of these systems align with my own preferences more than others. I'll try and judge each module by their own merits, and not let the system intrude on my commentary.

For the sake of thoroughness, there's possibly a few other products we could mention: 

a. Middle-earth Quest: Mines of Moria, published by Iron Crown Enterprises (1988): Middle-earth Quest was a line of Choose Your Own Adventure gamebooks published by ICE that eventually led to their downfall. It does have a basic RPG-esque resolution system that you use to play the book. And solo roleplaying books are still roleplaying, right? But ultimately, the CYOA nature of this book made it feel that its inclusion wasn't merited. 

b. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Adventure Game, published by Decipher (2005): A starter set for the Lord of the Rings RPG, the introductory adventure is actually set in Moria. But this isn't a real treatment of Moria as a space, just a small adventure designed to teach players the fundamental  rudiments of roleplaying. Doesn't feel quite qualifying, either.

1. MERP: Moria: The Dwarven City (1984) & Moria (Citadel Series) (1994)

Angus McBride's covers brought so much value to MERP

There were two Moria supplements for MERP. The first edition was Moria: The Dwarven City published in 1984. The second edition came a decade later as part of the Citadel series for MERP second edition. 

The second edition of MERP is not a significant departure from the first edition. Rather, it was a reorganization and expansion of the same rules. Similarly, the second edition version of the Moria supplement is mostly an expansion and reorganization of the same original content. However, it does introduce "six adventures and three episodes," giving prospective GMs a little more idea of how the module could actually be used at the table. The 1984 edition is 72 pages long. The 1984 edition is 168 pages. 

The 1994 edition cover says:

• FULL-COLOR MAPS of Dimrill Dale, the headwaters of the Sirannon, and the spires above Moria: Redhorn, Cloudyhead, and Silvertine.
• CROSS-SECTION OF THE STRONGHOLD depicting the core of Khazad-dûm, its sprawling mines, its Deeps and Levels, the Endless Stair, and the unfathomed Under-deeps.
• STONE MAPS portraying the complex network of avenues, roads, accessways, and mineways that connect Moria's myriad armories, ceremonial chambers, dungeons, gathering halls, and treasures.
• KEY LOCATIONS - the hidden West-gate, outside the enchanted doors of which Gandalf searched his ancient memory for the word which would open the portal; the Chamber of Mazarbul where Frodo stabbed a Cave-troll with his blade Sting; and the Unending Well bridged by the narrow span where Gandalf confronted the Balrog.
• FLOORPLANS for the Second Hall of the First Deep, the East- and West-gate, the Chamber of Records, the King's Armory, the Cold-forge, the Balrog's Lair, etc.
• SMITHIES where precise recipes for smelting, fire-forging, and cold-forging produce ingots, coins, and artefacts of unparalleled quality.
• TRAPS - the perilous devices with which the Dwarves guard treasured or sacred places in their cavern home.
• 6 ADVENTURES AND 3 EPISODES - confront treason amid the hotbed of political intrigue that comprises the royal court of Khazad-dûm under King Báin; accompany an aged Dwarf into abandoned Moria on an expedition seeking ancient treasures and heirlooms; learn the mystery of the Under-gates in the baffling Dwarven runes that hint at a Stone of Closing forged by Durin's Folk long ago. 

In addition, the second edition version contains several removable full color topographical maps. 

What's inside?

MERP modules have a very encyclopedic approach to their content. Every supplement covers its region like a textbook, outlining its climate and ecology, plant and animal life, and history of the region. Elvish names for animals are given parenthetically instead of scientific Latin names. Unfortunately, these are about as interesting (to me) to read as a middle-school textbook.

Information about dwarves of Durin's line is typical of supplements for the era. There's lists of how they're organized, with lists of units, number of warriors, number of divisions, type of commander, parent unit, and types of weapons and armor used. There's attention given to dwarven smithing methods (so GMs and players could roleplay these things effectively I guess?) as well as construction methods and minerals found in the region. Tons of flavor text about their lifestyle, their religion, their habits: nothing particularly interesting or gameable that stands out with a quick read--though, in my experience, there's usually a few gems hidden buried in all the cruft (heh heh). 

Example of the cultural overview of dwarves provided

Details of Moria depict some standard building blocks that are repeated throughout the dwarven areas: roads, mineways, lodgings, crypts, ceremonial chambers, gathering halls, guard chambers, etc. etc.

There's thorough diagrams of different types of traps, ranging from your standard pit traps and dart traps to more complex steam traps and wheel traps (where victims are trapped in halls bisected by rolling wheels of stone). 

There are high-level, partially-keyed maps of the different levels of Moria. Here's an example spread:

You can see the map shows a slice of one of the levels, with nodes and roads. Areas of note are keyed with short descriptions. Otherwise, unmarked nodes (and roads!) are randomly generated. Quote:

"The features are too many and too varied to discuss individually. Instead, we describe standard room designs in Section 10.0. ... The route maps do not show the countless smaller rooms, mineways, accessways, and natural phenomena found in Hadhodrond. (It is said, in fact, that no map can document the totality of the grand complex.) To determine the location of these spots, you should rely on the Random Feature Table in Section 19.1."

So, to traverse Moria, players would move along grid patterns. The GM will randomly determine at the table (or pre-roll) the sections, sights, and traps the party would encounter while dungeon delving until they get to a keyed location. Then, they would use the short description provided to tell the party what they find. Layered on top of this is a random encounter table (based on what region / time period you're in). 

Random room features and encounters

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A problem: Layers of History

A brief aside, there is a persistent problem in design and information presentation throughout all of the texts we're discussing today: history. 

MERP enjoyed the most permissive license of all the games, and could include information from The Silmarillion. As such, its books took care to try and provide expansive options for campaigns in different ages. By contrast, the modern TOR 2E sets its adventures in a specific time period (2965 T.A.)

So, using this book, you might have to do a lot of double-think as you prepare your game. Are you setting the game in the Third Age? If so, all the dwarven redoubts and guard towers are unmanned. In fact, orcs might dwell there instead! The GM is expected to do this prepwork. 

But even TOR 2E with its crystalized time period and setting don't quite escape this problem, as I'll discuss later.

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All in all, the expected dungeon generation and movement procedures aren't terrible, but many rooms will be somewhat dull or monotonous until you get to a random encounter. 

There's stats provided for a variety of orcs and monsters like the Balrog, as well as "cave worms" or "lake drakes" that might be dwelling below. They even have the stats rendered in Lord of the Rings Adventure Game format (my preferred system), which is a nice surprise! 

The book is rounded out by a series of "adventures" and "episodes" (sort of campaign seeds, where the GM is expected to do most of the work to build them out). The campaigns are simple hooks, really. An escort quest of a dwarf who wants to go to the Chamber of Records, but the players need to avoid alerting enemies. Find the Axe of Durin, which is currently held by a troll king in a deep level. Go X, get Y.

How would I use this?

Would I try to run this as is? Maybe, but definitely not without tweaking for my own sensibilities. The key concept of randomly generating routes in between sites of interest remind me of Nick LS Whelan's flux spaces. I'd probably automate this using a Perchance generator so I could do it at the table without slowing down game, but without making me pre-generate every room (which goes against the spirit of the thing). 

I think the NPCs - the various gangs of trolls (A gang of Dwarf Hunters! Skilled Trolls! A Troll King!) are pretty fun, really. I feel like I can definitely pick these up and steal them.

The different adventures could be picked up and placed as rumors in a sandbox-style game, allowing players to choose what sort of Moria-based fetch quest they want to pursue.

2. LotR RPG: Moria boxed set (2003)

In 2003, Decipher released the Moria boxed set. It was the largest release to support their Lord of the Rings RPG product that this edition had. The boxed set contained two books - Dwarves of Middle-earth (32 pages) and Khazad-dum (96 pages) - and a handful of folding dungeon maps to represent the endless sprawl of Moria.

The Decipher system was essentially a movie tie-in, and suffers for a lack of art

What's inside?

First, the maps are pretty bad. They're neither usable, nor beautiful, nor evoke a sense of "unmappable wonder." They just look random. 

I googled to find images of the book and this came up. It was my own picture.

So what about the books? 

Dwarves of Middle-earth contains descriptions and stats for each of the Seven Houses of the Dwarves. Each house has a backstory that expands on the names they sketchily get in ...The Peoples of Middle-earth? (Wait a minute, LotR RPG doesn't have that license. Shh! I won't tell the Tolkien Estate if you won't!) For example, one house of dwarves was called the "Stiffbeards." In this supplement, they're called "Thulin's Folk." Their stiff beards were because they migrated to the uttermost north, where their beards are often frozen. There, they have warred against and been plundered by the dragons who dwell there. And, since this was 3E D&D days, a few of the dwarven houses even had "prestige classes" (advanced orders, in LotR RPG parlance) you could get. 

(Selling a boxed set with one book for GMs and one book for players to drool over was pretty clever on Decipher's part.)

The actual Moria content is in the last book, Khazad-dum. It divides Moria into three basic sections (Dwarrowdelf, Western Deeps, Mines) with different target numbers for each section for travel. When traveling, players need to make Lore (Moria) checks to avoid becoming lost. They need to make Weariness checks to avoid status effects. They need to make Willpower checks to avoid becoming afraid, which makes the rest of their checks harder. They make Stealth tests to avoid being noticed/attacked by orcs. And if they have no light, they suffer -5, but if they have light, they suffer -2. So, you know, a lot of checks to move around. A grind.

Although a bit of a mechanical mess, I always thought the themes the writers of LotR RPG discussed were on point. This spread about chronicle elements and adventures seeds is an example of stronger writing in the book.

Sorry for the bad scan

Like the MERP version, LotR RPG's Moria book gives brief descriptions of some keyed rooms and some pictures of generic halls, mansions, or corridors. I think the writing is more successful in this adaptation as it's somewhat more inventive: a planetarium, singing chambers, crystal pillars, chamber of statues, Durin's Way, etc. And, like the MERP version, you're expected to randomly generate "the rest" using some generic random chamber tables and the ugly maps. 

As I mentioned earlier, there's Stealth tests to avoid random encounters with Shadow forces. The degree of success determines which random table you roll on, which I quite like. For example, a complete failure earns a roll on the "Massed Attack" table (where orcs hear you coming and plan an ambush or get you dead to rights in a shooting gallery) whereas a near miss earns a roll on the "Patrol" table (where neither you or the orcs were ready for combat). In a normal overloaded encounter dice situation, that level of granularity isn't represented. 

Overall, both the ICE and Decipher products hit much of the same beats: dwarf lore, keyed encounters, random dungeon building, monster stats, small adventure seeds. 

How would I use this?

For what it's worth, the lore of the Seven Houses of the Dwarves from this product is my "official" headcanon. Whenever I run games set in Middle-earth, I use this more or less wholesale. I think there's wonderful story telling here - far better than the outline of the House of Durin's boring religious practices and "pretending they're tall" from MERP. 

There are two things that I think are clever from the Decipher Moria module: 1) Nested random encounter tables. These could be based on Stealth rolls, but also region, group encumbrance, group light level, lots of factors. You could make an "engine" that determines the danger of Moria using this table structure. 2) Nested dungeon generation tables. Rolling to find that the next room is an armoury, then rolling again to discover that has been scavenged by orcs who tunneled through it into an adjoining room is an improvement on the previous module's structure. Setting these up to be actually good would take some work, but is a nice way to handle this sort of space.

3. TOR2E: Moria: Through the Doors of Durin (2024)

Let me assure you: this is a very beautiful book.

Moria: Through the Doors of Durin for The One Ring 2E is by far the most ambitious attempt to capture the scope of Moria across the three editions. It is a beautiful book, with excellent presentation and just lovely art. The book is 224 pages long. 

What's inside?

The first 30 pages talk about the framing of a Moria-based campaign: provides hooks for player characters of different backgrounds, rumours, and themes. 

Without unkindness, I find the text frequently lacks conciseness. These sections all feel very overwrought. I would have preferred the text to be shortened by 50%. (But this is a preference I commonly express.)

The next session covers how the system's Journey rules work in the underground context. (Really, the process is similar to the one I developed for an Isengard fan supplement I wrote during TOR1E days. I was surprised by the parallel development--but then it's probably a very expected evolution.) The party chooses an area they want to journey to. The GM measures how far away it is, which will determine how many tests they need to make between point A and point B. The Guide makes a Travel test to see if they make progress/how much progress they make. With either success or failure, the party encounters a random event, which might ask other people to make tests as well (the Scout must roll an Explore test if they get the "Right Way" event). Etc. I won't belabor my feelings about this procedure as this level of random rolling is standard for the system.

Parallel to this, as the party encounters foes and makes noise, their Eye Awareness score rises. Once they accumulate enough points, a revelation episode plays out. There's a variety of random tables for these, ranging from dire portents to orc attacks or even the balrog. The GM chooses which makes the most sense in the context of where the party is and what they've been up to.

And, like the previous two editions, the TOR module also includes a random chamber generator. Like the Decipher module, this one has a nested table to describe the state that the chamber is in. 

(I think LotR RPG has the most interesting chamber descriptions, and I think the TOR module has the best "condition" of the chamber.)

Stats for Moria-specific monsters are also given in the first chunk of the book. There's a random orc band generator, which is a cool thing to include. 

At the end of the book, there's a section on solo-play. 

A frequent theme of the text of the book is to forefront questions that the text leaves ambiguous or show places where the GM might decide to break with "canon." For example, Gandalf warns the fellowship not to drink the waters of Moria--so the book gives options about why that might be. The backstory of Durin's Bane is not told, so the text offers several suggestions--and even includes alternate foes that aren't balrogs that could be Durin's Bane. I think this general approach towards "canon" is good, even if I frequently wanted the suggestions to be shorter, punchier, weirder. 

Of all the three editions, this is the first one to really make Moria feel sprawling.

The meat and potatoes of the book is in the largest section: the Mansions of the Dwarves (pp. 68-175). Each landmark area has a rating of obscurity: famous, obscure, or hidden. Famous landmarks are known to players who pass a Lore check (hfff) whereas Hidden areas have to be discovered through play. Cool!

Landmarks exist in different regions: Dimrill Dale (outside!), Old Moria, Dwarrowdelf, Mountains of Moria, the Road, West Moria, the Deeps, and the Mines. Already, you can tell that this module has more granularity and sprawl than, say, the three regions of the LotR RPG. 

Each landmark looks like this:

An obscure landmark in the Dwarrowdelf region

Each landmark section begins with a Rumour (what the PC might learn from a Lore test). Then, Old Lore + Background, which centers the truth of the place for the GM. Then, several keyed locations with a cool isometric map. In the Chamber of Mazarbul, for instance, you have the Hall, the Corridor, the Well and Storerooms, the Chamber itself, and the Eastern Stairs out. The hall is currently held by an orc named Hagrot the Sneak, a nephew of Granny Goblin who rules the local Goblintown. 

Compare this to the keyed locations + random generation of the previous two modules. The content of these spreads is more gameable. It leaps off the page. 

The problem for this content is that it falls into a classic dungeon keying trap: telling the GM what has happened, could happen...and not what's there. Zooming in.

How many of these sentences are conditional phrases, or look forward and backwards into time. "Different bands of Orcs have struggled for control of the hall over the last few decades," "If the Player-heroes make a little light when it's dark," "On a clear morning." OK? The content is difficult to extrapolate at the table for play for the GM describing things to the players in real time. A lot of reading for probably a sentence of description to the players--the GM mining away wordstone to get at the silver lode in real time. And the lode has little to offer: a corridor, a hall with an orc band, a potable well, a library (partially looted) [<- the real interactable space...gated behind a good skill roll], a staircase. 

Yes, you can make a very cool encounter here. The books proved it! The movie proved it! But there's so much ink spilled for so little said. Coming from an OSR tradition, I want more interactable pieces of things for the players to tinker with. Dungeon rooms should have things to wiggle. And most of these rooms have histories--things that were or will be--but not things that are that impact play. 

In a lot of ways, Moria represents the culmination of the promise of TOR as a system: there's a huge world, and there's lots of content here. Travel by making rolls, and the GM will set scenes and stories in front of you. Then, you can interact with the scenes! Then, travel on. Moria is a good space for that model to play out. 

How would I use this?

The great benefit of the module is that there's so many of these landmarks and so many story ideas that you can get from them. OK, the dungeon descriptions aren't as tactile or parsable as what the OSR standard has established. But they could be, with a little work. And there's so many of them!

Not every dungeon room needs a weird puzzle. The Chamber of Mazarbul works as a keyed location -- an orc, a library, a well. That stuff can be gameable. I just need to put it into a format I can read and use. 

And combine it with my favorite procedures for travel and spice it with the bits and bobs from the previous decades' Moria supplements? Baby. You got a stew going.

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‘I too once passed the Dimrill Gate,’ said Aragorn quietly; ‘but though I also came out again, the memory is very evil. I do not wish to enter Moria a second time.’

‘And I don’t wish to enter it even once,’ said Pippin.

‘Nor me,’ muttered Sam.

‘Of course not!’ said Gandalf. ‘Who would? But the question is: who will follow me, if I lead you there?’

A recurring theme for me is that there's no perfect game: there's only tools to use to make the perfect game because my preferences and predilections are unique and weird. And RPGs are a great medium because they allow me to create these bespoke experiences. 

Taking on the premise of Moria as a space in a TTRPG is as daunting a feat as ...I don't know, traveling through Moria, I guess. It's a huge task! 

Each of these modules, I think, honestly took a good run at the attempt. None are perfect. But all offer something to your toolkit.