The Fellowship Walk: A Child’s Play Event

Once again we are starting a very special Fellowship that will undertake one of the most epic journeys of virtual Middle-Earth.  In previous years, A Casual Stroll to Mordor podcast hosts have organised and hosted this event.  Unfortunately, this year, they are unable to do so but, with their support and best wishes, the Lotro Players staff (the Fellowship) have taken up the banner and we hope you will join us in this epic event.

The Fellowship Walk is an online fundraising event for Child’s Play Charity, an organization providing toys and games to sick kids in hospitals.  Penny Arcade founded the charity, and we are aware of the bad publicity they have been receiving however, we are raising money for the children and not the Penny Arcade company itself.  We feel that to not support Child’s Play would be a disservice to the children that they help.

The Fellowship Walk will follow on the heels of Frodo and his friends, tracing their steps from Bag End up to the Last Homely House in Rivendell.  Maybe beyond if we are fortunate enough with supporters help.  For every donation made to Child’s Play, our Fellowship will take one step further towards the healing hands of Elrond and his house.

Our goal this year is $5000 but we would love to surpass it with your help.

Event details:

The Fellowship will be conducting a virtual walk inside the online game The Lord of the Rings Online. The goal is to walk from the in-game location of Bag-End all the way to Rivendell following the path of Frodo and his fellowship from the stories written by J.R.R. Tolkien.

The event will take place from September 23rd, 2013 (the departure date of the original fellowship) until October 24th, 2013 (when Frodo woke up in Imladris).

Every donation we receive will help move the fellowship forward on the same path as Frodo. We have developed a goal chart that will determine how the donations relate to the distance in game.

 

 

100% of the donations will be given directly to Child’s Play; Lotro Players is not retaining any of the donations collected.

Walk With Us!

Once a goal from the chart has been reached the Lotro Players staff will host a virtual walk in game from one location to the new goal location.  Most of the walks will be conducted on a Saturday, 2pm Server time so that as many players as possible will be able to join us.  We have a number of things happening to make the walk fun for all including a Treasure Hunt.  More details of this and other competitions will be listed over the upcoming weeks.

This walk will be hosted on the Landroval server and the community will be encouraged to log in and join us on our walk across Middle-earth.

Let’s get the party started!

We are kicking off this year’s walk with a Birthday Party for Frodo on September 22, 2pm Server time.  It is a day of celebration with gifts, pie and ale.  We are also planning a concert from a well known band, a “Walking” based fashion show, fireworks and Trivia.  Come along and share in the fun and receive your Mathom from the local hobbits.

The first walk will take place on:

LANDROVAL SERVER

September 23, 2012 at 7pm /servertime

Meet at Bag End in the Shire

Guests to Landroval are welcome to create a character and join us! No level requirement is needed to join in our adventures and we have wonderful folks who make sure our lower level friends arrive at our destination safely. There is a The Fellowship Walks kinship which your alts can join and even a kinship you can join called “Visitor from Another Server” where you can ask for help prepping or getting to event locations.

Future walks are held when a new goal is reached using the chart above. The walk will continue from its last goal location and will set out to walk to the next goal reached. Notification of  the next online walk will be done primarily through Lotro Player’s twitter, Steam group and facebook but we will post updates of the journey to the blog as well in the events widget located on the right.

There will be a weekly progress post created to show the Fellowship’s current location in game.

Charity Auctions!

We will be holding charity auctions again this year for the Fellowship Walk fundraiser! Players like yourself have donated their time and talents to offer a special item or skill for you to bid on.

All auctions are hosted right here on Lotro Player’s web site with a widget that WILL be on the right side of the page. There’s no separate site to visit and no new account to register for. Serious bids only!

Thank you to donators of things are up for auction and prizes.

Thank you to Greenman Gaming for donating to this year’s Fellowship Walk

Thank you to WetaNZ  who have generously donated to this year’s Fellowship Walk

Thanks also to the Players who have donated prizes and auction items to this year’s Fellowhip Walk.

 

All proceeds from the auctions go directly to Child’s Play! It’s a great way to donate to a terrific cause and get something really fun in return. Payment not due until the auction ends so bid early and bid high to be sure to win!

A complete list of auction items and prizes will be listed in upcoming weeks.

Giveaways & Events

Apart from the amazing charity auctions, we will have a huge pile of goodies to giveaway on the site during the Fellowship Walk!  These events will be spaced out during the Fellowship Walk and a listing will be posted with links to more details as they become available, but I can tell you, we are planning a video competition, screenshot competition, poetry competition and yes, even a cosmetic competition.

We are also introducing the Inaugural Fellowship Walk Treasure Hunt.  A list of clues will be listed on the website and as you walk through Middle Earth, you can keep an eye out for the answers.  Answers will be then submitted once the Fellowship Walk arrives at the Ford of Bruinen with the Winner to be announced at the End of Walk Party.  The main prize for this has been donated by WetaNZ and is the Daniel Reeve’s designed, Parchment Map of Middle Earth.  If there is a tie for first place, a tie-breaker question will be the method of choosing an outright winner.

As is the tradition set by A Casual Stroll to Mordor Hosts, we will be holding a mid-event concert to raise awareness to players about the Fellowship Walk and to have some fun times!

Frequently Asked Questions

Please visit the FAQs for more information on the Fellowship’s Walk.

We have a separate set of FAQs for questions related to the charity auctions which will be posted closer to the Auction date.

For any other questions, please write to fellowshipwalk@gmail.com

About Child’s Play

Child’s Play is an international charity nurtured by the gaming community since 2003. Its mission is to donate games, movies and toys to sick kids in children’s hospitals.

Since 2003, Child’s Play, a game industry charity, has been dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in a network of over 70 hospitals worldwide. Over the years, you as a community have answered the call and come together to raise millions of dollars.

We appreciate your support for this worthy charity helping sick Baby Hobbits, Elves, Race of Man and even Dwarfs, all over the world smile and play and, for at least a little while, forget they are sick.