Free League Publishing released three new supplements for their official Tolkien tabletop roleplaying games on June 2, expanding both The One Ring 2nd Edition and The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying (5e) with new adventures centered on Saruman the White and the Shire. The releases mark a significant addition to the growing library of official Middle-earth RPG content.
The two Saruman-focused supplements — Hands of the White Wizard for The One Ring and Trials of Saruman for the 5e game — draw on one of the most compelling and underexplored corners of Tolkien’s legendarium: Curunír before his fall. Tolkien established in Unfinished Tales that Saruman was the chief of the Istari, sent by the Valar and “the most skilled in the works of Sauron” — a wizard of immense craft who, as Gandalf noted in The Fellowship of the Ring, had “long studied the arts of the Enemy himself.” The Third Age years leading up to the War of the Ring, during which Saruman ruled from Orthanc and secretly coveted the One Ring, offer rich but sparsely documented territory in Tolkien’s texts. These supplements step into that space.
Hands of the White Wizard (The One Ring, 2nd Edition)
Hands of the White Wizard is an adventure anthology for The One Ring RPG featuring six adventures set between Third Age year 2965 and the opening of the War of the Ring. Players serve or observe Saruman the White before the treachery of Isengard takes root — and, crucially, may have the chance to influence his fate. The supplement introduces new allies, foes, mysteries, and lore tied to Isengard. The adventures can be played individually or woven together into a longer campaign.
This is genuinely intriguing design territory. The question of whether Saruman’s corruption was inevitable — or whether a different set of choices might have preserved the White Wizard as a force for good — is one Tolkien leaves largely unresolved. The game invites players to test that question at the table.
Hands of the White Wizard, a new adventure anthology for The One Ring RPG. Image courtesy of Free League Publishing.
Hobbit Tales (The One Ring, 2nd Edition)
Hobbit Tales brings five ready-to-play adventures set across the four farthings of the Shire, now available as a standalone supplement for The One Ring 2nd Edition. The material was originally part of the game’s starter set; this release makes it accessible to players who came to the game through other means. Notable Hobbits — including Primula and Rory Brandybuck, Paladin Took, and Bilbo Baggins himself — are available as playable characters.
Tolkien described the Shire as his “ideal vision of the English countryside” — a place defined by its smallness, its comfort, and its studied indifference to the wider world. Adventures set there have their own distinct texture, lighter in scale but no less grounded in what Tolkien imagined about Hobbit life.
Trials of Saruman (The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying, 5e)
Trials of Saruman is the 5e-compatible counterpart to Hands of the White Wizard, adapted for The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying game. The same six-adventure Saruman-focused storyline is retooled for D&D 5e rules, giving players already invested in that system a way into the same narrative without switching rulesets.
All three supplements are available now via the Free League webshop, with immediate PDF access upon purchase. Physical editions are also available to pre-order.
The June releases follow a strong run for Free League’s Middle-earth line — The One Ring took home the Gold ENNIE for Best Game in 2022 — and underscore the ongoing appetite for material that ventures into the quieter, less-mapped moments of Tolkien’s world. Whether your players want to sit across the council table from Saruman or share a meal in a Hobbit hole in the Westfarthing, there’s now a good bit more Middle-earth waiting for them at the table.
Sources: Free League press release via GamesPress; ComicBook.com
