Reggie Watts, Kate Welch and Sauron’s actor among players in upcoming Lord of the Rings RPG charity event
Stupid, charitable Hobbitses!
Those attending the Los Angeles Comic Con will have the chance to watch a fairly star-studded actual play set in the world of Middle Earth and raising charitable funds for children’s hospitals through Extra Life.
Lost Odyssey: The Red Scribe will take place on December 3rd as part of LACC’s schedule of events. Dungeon master Kate Welch, a game designer who’s no stranger to RPG actual plays, will lead a party of adventurers through a crafted experience using Free League’s Lord of the Rings Roleplaying - an adaptation of The One Ring using Dungeons & Dragons 5E’s ruleset.
Joining Welch is comedian Reggie Watts, actor and longtime fellow dungeon master Deborah Ann Woll, who has led previous Lost Odyssey events. Luke Gygax, son of D&D’s co-creator Gary Gygax, actor, stunt performer and Lost Odyssey veteran TJ Storm and Sala Baker - the actor wearing Sauron’s armour in the Lord of the Rings trilogy - round out the seats at Welch’s table.
Details on what the audience and players can expect to encounter are scant, though a press release mentions the possibility of audience participation. The Red Scribe title could allude to the Red Book of Westmarch, an in-universe frame story that author J. R. R. Tolkien to explain how the myriad tales were collected and retold by characters.
The charity event will benefit Extra Life for Kids, with donations going towards Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The US-based non-profit distributes funds to children’s hospitals and medicine research centres across the country and in Canada.
According to the press release, direct donations will be supplemented by a “digital marketplace, hosted by eBay, where both fans and companies can buy and sell products to benefit Extra Life.” Exactly how that works isn’t clear, and Dicebreaker has reached out for more information.
LACC attendees can watch the show for free but must claim a ticket in advance, as supply is limited. While there’s no word on a concurrent live stream for digital audiences and those not at LACC, previous Lost Odyssey shows have been uploaded to YouTube after the event. A donation page claiming to be Lost Odyssey is already live on Extra Life’s website, but there’s little information connecting it to the upcoming actual play.
More information on Extra Life and Children’s Miracle Network can be found on their websites, but Lost Odyssey’s website has yet to post information on this particular show. The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying is currently scheduled to release in early 2023 and will include a core rulebook along with a Shire Adventures supplement full of information on portraying the humble smallfolk and their region of Middle Earth.