The Family Line

Please note: The following post was an April Fool’s joke and is not real.

Hello, Lotroplayers. For close to two years now I have been sharing my series, “The Family Line” with you all. It has been nothing but a joy for me to write for you and I hope you have also enjoyed it was well. It seems as though there has been another fan out there that has also enjoyed the series.

During my month long hiatus between Book 1 and Book 2, I received a call from a developer from Turbine. MadeOfLions first sent me an email regarding my series and asked if he could give me a call. I was on vacation at the time and dedicated my time to family. It sat for a week or so until I returned home sometime at the very beginning of August. I called him and he first expressed gratitude for using Turbine’s game for the setting of my series. He then went on to tell me of copy right infringement and I would be fined and their lawyers were on the line with him. For that moment it devastated me until he told me it was all a joke.

What he really wanted to talk to me about was actually placing The Family Line into the Lotro World. Meaning it would actually be a side story that would be placed ingame. At first I didn’t believe him because of his last joke but he was serious. They already had teams dedicated to developing and implementing weekly updates to the Bingo Boffin series and this would not be too different from that.

So we sat at the phone for the next three hours hashing out what was going to take place and I had to divulge much of the story to him. He knew I already had an ending in mind and if anything had to be added. I explained to him where I was going with the story (a very rough generalization of it) and he was excited. I could hear wheels turning in his head as I explained it to him because he would add how it could be implemented into the game.

So, here are the specifics on what is going to happen and when it will be released, at least what they were willing to share with me. I only say now because there is (as of this evening) a release date:

1. Release date: September 22, 2016
2. It will be accessible at level 75 in Rohan. Once you complete the quest chain in Langhold, you can access the new quest content.
3. You will mostly follow along Theomin’s trail as he solves his mysteries and will also battle along side him in some instances.
4. Some NPCs will be added to the game and they will have quests in earlier levels that will lead up to later quests when Theomin reaches those specific maps.
5. You will have a chance to do a session play as Eleswith in the taking of Annuminus.
6. Layering will give the devs a chance to add and remove NPC’s at will.
7. Much like they did with Bingo Boffin, they will be revamping some zones to make them match the content in the series. Some NPCs will be added or removed from Rohan and the Helesdir and Magla in the Lone Lands. Athegdir will be accessable in Esteldin. Bree’s mayor will have a son and other additions.

I am so excited for this opportunity to share The Family Line to a wider audience. This news hit me like you wouldn’t believe and I am blessed to have Turbine so interested in my little series. I now hope that it is well received by the rest of the Lotro community. Thank you very much Lotro Players for giving me the opportunity to not only start my series on the site but to also be the launching point for a much wider world. If anyone would like to share a comment, feel free!

Thank you,

TimHedden