“The quest stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail, to the ruin of all... Yet hope remains while the company is true.” – Galadriel, ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’
Time for another update on my possible 2027 gaming project, ‘The Road Goes Ever On’ (RGEO).
At the start of September, I released 3 Sample Booklets for RGEO, plus the opportunity for supporters of the project to purchase a (virtual) pint of Golden Perch Ale! The booklets have had a reasonable amount of downloads and a few kind people did buy me a pint (many thanks – it comes in pints!), but I’ve had little real feedback on whether the project has enough support and if my ideas for it are good enough for a new game.
To this end, I’m going to give it one more month to try and garner some support and feedback, and then I’ll make a decision on whether RGEO will continue as a project for me.
So, if you’d like to see RGEO become a reality, please consider joining the Fellowship! I need your sword! And axe! And bow.....
What is RGEO?
RGEO will be a solo game, combining the best elements of my recent projects (STAFF and DWSSG3e+ along with Barbarian Prince) where the player assumes the role of a fellowship of adventurers in Middle Earth!
Fellowship Mat
To show some of Tyler’s talent as a designer, I’ve showcased here his Fellowship Mat that goes alongside the 3 RGEO Booklets - Rules, Adventures and Lands. Here you can place your Characters and their Possessions, Treasures and Statuses. It also provides tracks for you to record totals for Shadow, Eye, Fate and XP.
Shadow represents Sauron’s power growing through Middle Earth and Eye represents Sauron’s attention turning specifically to your Company. If either Shadow or Eye reaches 50 then you lose the game. The object of the game is to reduce Shadow to 0. Fate is gained by completing Quests and will be very important in your adventures by allowing you to change the roll of the dice. XP is how your Characters grow and gain abilities.
Why is RGEO only a ‘possible’ gaming project?
There are many, many games that take place that use ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘The Hobbit’. I want to make sure that players would actually play another one before I commit myself to months of work only to find nobody will play it! I believe I do have some really good ideas to go forward to make RGEO more of a solo rpg experience than the a card or war game, to instead create heroic adventures in Middle Earth.
Hobbit and Wizard RGEO Memberships
To gauge interest in RGEO, I have created a membership scheme here on my website so that real support for RGEO can be determined. There are two tiers of membership – Hobbits ($2 a month) and Wizards ($5 a month). If there is not enough support for RGEO to go forward by the end of November, I will close the membership so members will not lose more money.
‘Hobbit’ membership shows support and backing for RGEO. Think of it as buying a drink for me in ‘The Green Dragon’, and I’ll make sure all the Hobbits get some fun ‘second breakfasts’ on the journey. ‘Wizards’ also get some exclusive ‘first-looks’ at concepts and materials for RGEO. They’ll also sit on my ‘White Council’ for the game, where I’ll be asking them for feedback on possible content. Both will also gain exclusive RGEO cards.
Golden Perch Ale
If you don’t want to commit to a monthly membership, but would still like to support the RGEO project, then you now buy a (virtual) pint for me for $2. I’ll make sure that if RGEO is released, all those who do buy a pint, gain an exclusive RGEO card too!
If RGEO is commissioned as a project it will, as always, be a FREE set of PDF files to download and PNP here on my coffee website in April 2027: https://buymeacoffee.com/dragoncymru
I’m always open to questions and feedback about RGEO and membership, so please get in touch about the project and whether what I have released and previewed so far is enough to make those Hobbit toes tingle!