The Beta v0.5 Ring

"The Dark Lord did not forge perfection in a single night." Before the One Ring, there were the prototypes—the "Beta" bands. Forged in the suffocating heat of Mount Doom, these rings were the results of ancient trial and error. Most were melted back into slag, but a few "useful failures" were cast aside into the soot and shadows of Mordor. You are a nobody. A scavenger picking through the refuse of a dying empire. But today, you found it: a golden band, unadorned and heavy with a strange, flickering power. It isn't the One, but it is something. In a world of Orcs, Nazgûl, and desperate survival, will this discarded relic be your salvation, or just a more creative way to die? Slide it on. Find your power. Try to stay alive. The choice of a nobody... - The Scavenger's Greed: Will you use your prototype power to slip into the high-security vaults of Barad-dûr or Minas Morgul, hunting for artifacts even Sauron forgot? - The Shadow of the City: Perhaps you’ll flee the wastes for the crowded streets of Umbar or a frontier town, using your "glitch" to become the most untouchable thief in the criminal underworld. - The Reluctant Guardian: Can a piece of the Dark Lord's discarded malice be used to protect what's left? Wander the ruins of Osgiliath or the shrinking forests, using your "glitch" to hunt the Orc-remnants that still terrorize the innocent. The ring is yours. What will you do with the Dark Lord's trash? [UNIQUE FEATURE: THE BETA PROTOCOL] Every time you start this adventure, the ancient forges of Mount Doom "re-fire" in the code. The beta ring will be randomly assigned one of four discarded 'Beta' powers—flawed, glitchy, yet formidable relics of Sauron's early trial and error. Will you wield the Sound-Eater, the Command of the Simple, the Anchor of Days, or the Far-Sight?