Summer tends to be the season of conventions, at least for me. And for LOTR LCG, it was always the time that FFG released their special scenario pack at GenCon. But since the hiatus, their attention has shifted away from the game more and more. On top of that, not everyone is comfortable to go to such a large event like GenCon, and no major LOTR LCG event will be held there. So I thought that we would just do an online convention, since so many people are interested in playing some more multiplayer games of this game, but don’t always have someone to play with.
Because of this, I will be co-hosting the LOTR LCG Completion Weekend on the LCG Con Discord server. This is a place where multiplayer events have been held in the past for LOTR, Arkham, and Marvel. The Discord server will allow anyone to make a table, find fellow players to make a group, and then play the game online, using any program you find the most convenient. Some possible programs to play the game on are DragnCards (play in your browser without downloads), TTS (especially useful for those used to the program), OCTGN (perhaps a bit out of date), or by streaming your table through your webcam (in case you want to still use your physical cards). A link to the Discord server can be found here: https://discord.gg/5X642ag
The event will be held between Friday 29th of July, and Sunday 31th of July. There is no actual start time or end time, just have a look in the group when players are available to play a game with you. I recommend keeping the group size to 3, instead of 4, just so that games don’t take too long. This is just a suggestion though. It doesn’t matter if you cannot attend all three days, but if you have a spare evening with nothing to do, join the server and play some games!
During the weekend, we will be facing a difficult challenge: Can we, as a community, play through all the scenarios in the game on Normal/Easy mode (Nightmare is allowed if you really want to, but you don’t have to). This will include both the Hobbit and LOTR Campaigns, all nine cycles, every POD quest (perhaps not the custom scenario ones), and any other scenario that you fancy. Some of these will be easy to beat with a team of pick-up decks, but others might require you to bring some special decks. There will be a bot available that can track which quests have been completed, and which ones still have to be done. The earlier you join in, the more quests you like will still be available. We will also have an option there, to generate a list of quests that still have to be done. These can be randomized a little bit, so that you get a list of 5 quests that haven’t been completed yet. Surely there is something on that list that you can play! (And otherwise, just run the command again).
With enough teams, we will be able to go through each of the scenarios. I myself will start with the first cycle, working through it in order. From there, I’ll be looking for some pick-up games to help add to the completion percentage. Other teams can just take quests at random, though this is a great opportunity for people to play a complete campaign if you haven’t before. We will also need people to sweep up the remaining quests on the final day, which will likely be the more challenging quests of them all. But it will be a good time whether you win or lose!
The event is open for any player, both veteran and new. New players can use this event to play with some more experienced players to learn a bit more about the game, and to play some scenarios you haven’t seen before. Even if you are just doubting whether or not you will want to attend, join the group and lurk in the #looking-for-games-lotr channel. Hopefully, you’ll see how easy it is to join players, and people should be willing to teach the game a little if you ask them.
During the weekend, we will also have a few events being held. Since we have so many players ready to play games at the same time, we will be hosting an event with an Epic Multiplayer quest. This will be the Epic Multiplayer variant of A Storm of Cobas Haven. This is a fan-made version of the quest, made by the Purple Wizard. More details on that one can be found here. This will also immediately knock out that quest on the To-Do list. We can also attempt the Epic Multiplayer version of Fire in the Night if there is enough interest. Several creators will also be live-streaming the online convention, allowing people to follow the games if they are not able to join themselves. I will be live streaming as well (hopefully), and will put out a link to the streams via Twitter and Discord once we go live. We welcome any other suggestions for events that you can do with so many players at the same time. You could for instance host a tournament for the custom scenario quests.
I hope I’ll see you all in a few weeks at the event, or even before that time in the Discord server. The same server is often used for pick-up games of LOTR LCG throughout the week, and we also have a weekly session on Sunday evening (EU time) where we host a multiplayer game or two. So even if you cannot make it to the event, but still want some more LOTR LCG in your life, join up!
Vision Of The Palantir 