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This section of the site contains the actual Eä RPGS (Role Playing Game System) pages for rules development. This is where the actual complete, independent system unto itself is contained. Development of this system is helped significantly not only by the designer and game testers, but by the entire international role playing gaming in Middle-earth community. With help from people from the merp.com, the Yahoo Fan Modules List, Decipher fans, Tolkien IRC groups, and many, many other resources.
"The goal of the Eä Role Playing Gaming System Ea RPGS, is to create a system more fully dedicated to role playing gaming in Tolkien's universe in ALL playable “Ages” and areas. Playable periods would be from the awakening of the Elves onward through the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Ages.
The system is also intended to allow play in alternate branches of Tolkien's reality such as sketched out in 'The Lost Road' and other released works and variants. Allowing the greatest range of flexibility, while remaining true to Tolkien's style and visions. No single RPG will EVER satisfy every gamer, or every Tolkien fan, especially the Tolkien purists. However, this will be a best effort project to get as close as possible, with reasonable "purity".
In some discussions on the merp.com mailing lists, there were those who stated that the ICE MERPS system was only about 10% Middle-earth-centric, whereas the Decipher LotR RPG might be closer to the 30-60% mark according to some. I have note heard back from others on how well the Ambarquenta and Hitherlands match this goal. It would be great to hear from people who have used those systems on what their strengths and weaknesses are.
The hope is that the Ea RPGS game system could build on all that has been learned from all these other Middle-earth designed systems, as well as all the other systems people have modified to "better fit Middle-earth" (such as Harnmaster, GURPS, HARP, etc.), and try to turn it into a cohesive whole that hopefully most will consider to be AT LEAST 80% of what a “perfect” utopian RPG in Tolkien's universe should be. This is of course, a very subjective consideration, and will be difficult to accomplish, but that does not make it impossible, nor any less worth pursuing. The hope is to draw on the now extensive middle-earth role playing gaming community for the full development of this project."