The Nosey Hobbit. Mysterious Travellers

The Hobbit Collective sends out its seasoned social sleuth, Avellana Addlefoot, to investigate the appearance of a mysterious group of night-time travellers making their way through the Shire. With the help of a crafty disguise and much sweet-talk, she has learned that the Shire might not be as peaceful as she once thought! She also discovered that our Bounders could certainly use some help...

Greetings, fellow inhabitants of the Shire! Prompted by rumors of suspicious night-time disturbances in our beloved countryside, I decided to don a sneaky disguise and see what information I could gather. Is our peaceful life really at risk? You won’t believe the answer!

To give credit where credit is due, I do have to commend Shire leaders for keeping a well-organized force of Bounders patrolling our borders day and night. True to his duties, this young Bounder (who, as I learned later, goes by the name of Boffin) reacted quickly when I approached him.

“Good work, Bounder!” I thought. And yet, he seemed uneasy about something.

Truth be told, it was a warm night for autumn, and anyone should be happy to spend time under such a clear starry sky. To prove my point, we were soon interrupted by a group of gentlehobbits making their way through the fields.

Mr. Underhill, for that was the lead traveller’s name, introduced himself and his companions, extolling the virtues of an invigorating night-time promenade. However, no sooner had he said this, a chill did indeed come over us all! In fact, some mysterious presence seemed to have us quaking in our boots! I did manage to note, however (because even cowering should not deter a professional reporter from her duties) that Mr. Underhill remained strangely calm throughout this ordeal...

At the prompting of his friend Sam, however, he finally slipped away with his companions, leaving Bounder Boffin and myself to confront the dark shape that was making its way toward us at breakneck speed.

Now I have met some rude hobbits in my lifetime (more on that later), but the behavior of the stranger who accosted us was beyond that of the most unrepentant pie-stealing, ale-watering, mathom-hoarding hobbit. After making some vague threats involving his “master,” he asked repeatedly for directions to the hole of a Mr. Baggins. Was he looking for old mad Bilbo, who disappeared years ago? I certainly wasn’t going to offer up that information without a “please,” and he certainly wasn’t going to utter that word. Well, too bad for him! If he’d asked nicely...

Well, dear readers, you won’t believe how huffy he got when we wouldn’t give him the answer he wanted!

Good riddance it was, when he finally rode away! I hope he wasn’t going to bother Mr. Underhill and company, who were the most polite gentlehobbits I’d met in a long time. Well, nothing to be done now, I thought, as I turned back to our not-so-brave Bounder. Luckily, once he stopped cowering he suggested a quick escape route.

However, I was soon to learn that there was once thing (besides the stranger on his murderous horse) that truly terrified Master Boffin.

Fine, I thought, I’ll clear the spiders out from the path. Anything for a story, my beloved readers!

Sigh.

Fine.

I think I’ll be investigating the hiring practices of the Bounders’ Committee for one of my next stories...

I decided to guide our brave Bounder to safety (for it certainly seemed as if the tables had turned, and I was now his protector), but the third surprise of the night was upon us.

Enter Mundo Sackville-Baggins, the Shire’s rudest hobbit next to old Lobelia. Claiming a brigand attack, he “asked” Bounder Boffin for assistance.

Mind you, our Bounder friend hadn’t exactly shown himself to be a paragon of protection this evening, and he certainly wasn’t going to start now.

And once again, we encountered strangers looking for a Baggins! Incredible!

We tried to reason with them...

...to no avail.

I did, however, manage to extract some juicy information from them...

... although I would eventually pay for my impertinence.

I awoke much later, in a jail whose location I could not identify. A true reporter at work, dear readers! Once again, my innocent and beguiling semblance paid off, and I was able to learn more about these violent strangers.

However, we were just getting to the juiciest tidbits when we were interrupted by yet another tall foreigner.

Cursing his poor timing, I followed our rescuer out of the jail...

...and was confronted by a shocking scene! The mysterious rider had reappeared, and was in frenzied battle with a man whose strength was obviously faltering.

As usual, our brave Bounder confronted danger in the only way he knew.

And alas, the brave defender fell.

The dark rider, however, seemed distressed by the fire blazing around him. He did, however, provide yet another clue to our mystery as he galloped off.

Who, or what, is Dúnedan? I suspect I’ll be investigating that little scrap of information in the near future. In the meantime, though, it was time to tend to the defender’s wounds.

Sensing my competence (or Boffin’s lack thereof), this Ranger person, Strider, sent me to the nearby town of Archet with Celandine and Mundo. Yes, dear readers, I had been whisked away from my beloved Shire in the course of this adventure! Incredible!

What will happen next? I’ll keep reporting from my current post in Archet, because I’m determined to get to the bottom of the matter! No more idle gossip for this hobbit reporter! I’ve seen the threat to our community, and am willing to risk my second breakfast to eliminate it! In any case, it’s not like the Bounders are going to do it for us...

Back from break!

I’m back from summer break, and from starting up at work again.

This week, we’ll resume our class discussions, within the Welcoming Committee project.

Also, I’ve received notice of a Nosey Hobbit going deep undercover to meet up with a group of mysterious travelers making their way through the Shire. Stay tuned!

The Hobbit Collective on Vacation!

Well, the hobbitses are off for a couple of weeks.

When we return, look for more investigative adventures from the Nosey Hobbit, further culinary delights from the Hungry Hobbit, and the continuation of our Welcoming Committee series on LOTRO classes.

Have fun!

The Welcoming Commitee. Stay Classy! Part 1: The Burglar

[The Welcoming Committee is a category of posts created in the spirit of Meavar’s New Player Relations initiative.]

In this series of posts, we’ll look at each of the classes available in LOTRO, from the standpoint of a new player. We’ll be focusing on each class’s strengths and weaknesses, and the type of player each might attract. We’ll also try to tie that classes in with general LOTRO lore, to see what makes them a special part of the story environment.

Please note that these notes are taken from my own experience playing each of the classes. I’m not a min/maxer, and don’t spend much time calculating damage, bonuses, etc. I play these classes for the unique experience each one offers in terms of solo and group play. More in-depth discussions can be found in the LOTRO Class Forums.

We start with the Burglar.

What Defines the Burglar Class?

New players to LOTRO often think that the Burglar class is the equivalent of Rogue classes in other games. However, while Burglars in LOTRO are indeed sneaky and make their best attacks from the shadows, they’re not the DPS monsters that, say, Rogues in World of Warcraft are.

The LOTRO Burglar is best thought of in relation to the character of Bilbo Baggins in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Bilbo was recruited to help Thorin and his Dwarves reclaim the Lonely Mountain and its treasures from Smaug, and there are numerous references of him as “a Burglar” (though he’s quite inept in the beginning!). However, although Bilbo did have to resort to violence at times (against the spiders in Mirkwood, for example), he usually preferred to find other, more diplomatic ways around dilemmas. Remember that he “defeated” Gollum by winning a riddle competition, and chose not to kill him in the end (a choice that would at first be criticized by Frodo in The Lord of the Rings). Likewise, he used his wits to steal from Smaug’s treasure horde.

Thus, in LOTRO the Burglar can best be described as a Crowd-Control/Debuff class. The Burglar’s most powerful abilities involve moving unseen, mesmerizing enemies through the use of the Riddle skill (which only works on humanoid mobs), and weakening them through a series of “Tricks” that lower armor, reduce speed, etc. This doesn’t mean that the Burglar can’t deal a respectable amount of damage; but damage often relies on being able to strike from stealth or by flanking an enemy, and is thus more dependent on specific achieving specific conditions. Players interested in dealing large amounts of head-on damage might want to look at the Hunter, Champion, and Warden classes instead.

The Class Traits available to Burglars are divided into the following branches:

1. The Gambler. Generally focuses on making your debuffs (Tricks and removal thereof) more powerful.
2. The Quiet Knife. Generally focuses on making better use of stealth movement and attacks.
3. The Mischief Maker. Generally focuses on meeting enemies “in the light” and improving crowd control abilities like Riddle.

In terms of armor and equipment, Burglars can wear Medium Armor (not right away, but after a few levels), and dual wield various weapons. Hobbits receive a racial damage bonus fro using clubs (which also have the advantage of sometimes stunning your opponent), and Men/Women receive a bonus to sword use.

What LOTRO Races Can Play a Burglar?

The Burglar class is restricted to players who create Hobbit or Human characters. The class is not available to Elves or Dwarves for (probably) lore reasons. While Elves are naturally stealthy, they would probably not want to partake in the thievery and mischief associated with Burglars! And from what we know about Dwarves, we can imagine that they would prefer to meet their enemies head-on.

Burglar Play: Solo and Group Strengths and Weaknesses

In my experience, while Burglars make good solo characters (I’ve leveled mine mainly through solo play), they’re much more fun as part of a group.

For solo play, Burglars have the advantage of being able to sneak by mobs and to reach certain quest objectives (for example, retrieving an object, scouting a location, or defeating a specific enemy). Of course, this means that they don’t receive the XP from defeating all the mobs on the way to that objective, but on the other hand they can move on to the next quest more quickly, and in LOTRO quest completion gives more experience than defeating mobs.

One disadvantage that I’ve found in solo play is that the poor Burglar can easily be overwhelmed when there are more than 2 mobs to handle at the same time. If those mobs are humanoid, Riddle is a definite advantage. But against, say, a group of Wargs, things can get dangerous! This is where tools such as Marbles and Caltrops come in handy, but even then it can be a tough fight because Burglars can’t take enemies down as quickly as the highest DPS classes.

Groups are much more fun. Burglars are great for scouting ahead, and with a good tank it’s easy to attack from behind and thus deal more damage. Also, Burglars can initiate Conjunctions for their parties, which makes them a valuable addition to any fellowship.

In Conclusion...

Burglars are a great option for players looking for a challenging class that has solid roots in Middle-earth lore. Remember that for solo play the Burglar needs to choose battles wisely, and that sometimes the best solution is to sneak by! While Bilbo would never have dared charge Smaug head-on, he did manage to steal some treasure and eventually draw the dragon out of hiding! When grouped Burglars make a great support class: Riddling, scouting, initiating conjunctions, and striking from the shadows while enemies are distracted by the tank’s shiny armor!

The Welcoming Committee. Race Matters Part 4: The Elves

[The Welcoming Committee is a category of posts created in the spirit of Meavar’s New Player Relations initiative.]

One of the first things we do as LOTRO players is create a character; and one of the first choices we have to make here is what race our character will be. In this four-part series, we will look at each of the races from the perspectives of lore and gameplay.

Today, we look at the Elves. Mae govannen! Well met!

Who are the Elves?

The Elves have the most complex history of all the races in LOTRO, and in Tolkien’s lore in general. Although we see some Elves in The Hobbit (Mirkwood elves, mostly) and The Lord of the Rings (Legolas, Elrond, Galadriel, and a few others), their story really belongs to The Silmarillion.

Elves are sometimes called the “First-born” or the “Children of Ilúvatar.” This is because they were the first race Ilúvatar created (the Race of Man came later, Dwarves had been fashioned by Aulë, and Hobbits are of unknown origin).

There are many families of Elves throughout Arda and Middle-earth, but we can separate them into two broad categories: those who have been to Valinor, and those who have not. We can also separate them into those who decided to travel West (whether or not they actually made it to the end of the journey), and those who refused from the start. What happened to the Elves, to create this split in their branches? Soon after the Elves were “awakened” on Middle-earth, they were discovered by the Valar and invited to travel with them to Aman, in the West (mainly to keep them safe from Melkor/Morgoth). While many Elves accepted the offer, others decided to stay; and many of those who did set out on the journey stopped along the way. These aspects (decide to travel or not, reach Aman or not) help us tell some Elves apart from the others: the few Elves who have traveled to the West and returned to Middle-earth (such as Glorfindel) are described as being surrounded by (or emanating) an unearthly light. They are described as taller (in Tolkien, stature often means nobility of spirit or heroism), fairer and more powerful than their non-traveling counterparts.

Otherwise, there are several “families” of Elves described throughout the Silmarillion, and their stories are often extremely intricate, especially once they begin interacting with the Race of Man. Describing their history here would take pages, but there are some interesting details that become important in The Lord of the Rings, and thus for LOTRO. One of these is their love for fine craftsmanship, and their talent for creating objects of unfathomable power that become the focus of strife. The Silmarils, the jewels that give name to The Silmarillion, were crafted by Fëanor and became greatly desired by Melkor. The struggle to possess the Silmarils is a central story of the First Age in Tolkien’s lore. And then, of course, we have the Rings of power, which are created during the Second Age. Sauron, a servant of Melkor/Morgoth who has taken over his late master’s ambitions, forges the One Ring to control the ones made by the Elves. Once again, a great struggle begins over these objects, spilling from the Second Age into the Third, and from The Silmarillion into The Lord of the Rings.

The second important detail about the Elves, which we had briefly discussed in our previous post on Men, is that of their immortality. While Elves are certainly subject to death through war or other mishaps (sometimes grief will “kill” and Elf), they are otherwise immortal, and will live on while creatures of other races pass on. Many Elves become weary of this, and at some point might choose to sail West and there “die.” This “death” simply means that they spend some time as spirits in the Halls of Mandos, and are later returned to a body and (usually) sent to Valinor (we see some exceptions, such as the “reborn” Glorfindel). In time, it is said that Elves will join Ilúvatar in a new symphony of creation. What does all this mean? That Elves are inextricably bound to Arda (the planet), and will always be part of the world, either in bodily or spirit form. This is why, as we discussed last time, many Elves consider the mysterious after-death of Men to be “the gift of Ilúvatar.”

One final interesting fact is that the first Orcs were once Elves, tortured and twisted by Melkor for his own evil purposes in what can be seen as a parody of Ilúvatar’s act of creation.

So we can see how Elves can be a very intriguing race for role-players. In the timeframe of The Lord of the Rings, they are slowly vanishing from Middle-earth, heading West and letting the Race of Man take over as stewards of Middle-earth. There’s a sense of melancholy and almost resignation that can provide a lot of material for a character’s backstory.

Playing an Elf in LOTRO

Passive Skills and Traits

For players who choose race/class combinations according to traits and bonuses, it’s important to know what makes the Elves special in gameplay. But even for those of us who don’t take these characteristics into consideration when making a character, it’s interesting to see how the lore was adapted by LOTRO.

The LOTRO Lorebook has a nice chart with a detailed description of Elf Skills and Traits (there’s also a good overview of Elf history towards the bottom of the page). Here’s what you get as an Elf:

1. Passive Skills (these exist and are in effect from the moment the character is created)
   • Agility of the Woods: Improved Agility
   • Fading of the Firstborn: The Elves are passing from Middle-earth, and thus have reduced Fate.
   • Sorrow of the Firstborn: Elves are subject to great sorrow and empathy towards the events taking place. Reduced out-of-combat Morale and Morale regeneration.
   • Suffer no Illness: As immortal beings, Elves are more resistant to Poison and Disease.
2. Slotted Traits (these are earned after certain levels/deeds, and must be slotted the way Virtues and Class Traits are)
   • Eldar’s Grace. Elves are graceful and experienced fighters, and have better Parry skills than other races.
   • Elf Bow-damage bonus: Increased damage when using a bow.
   • Elf One-Handed Sword Damage Bonus: Increased damage with one-handed swords.
   • Friend of Man: The Elves see the Race of Man as their successors, and will help them achieve their destiny. Improved Fate (helps balance Fate reduction from Fading of the Firstborn)
   • Power of the Eldar: A bonus to fellowship Power.
   • Return to Rivendell: A Map back to Rivendell, which allows you a second instant-return if your main Map is set elsewhere.
   • Silvan Shadows: Elves can move about unseen when they wish.
   • Tactics and Conviction Bonus: increased effect to certain fellowship maneuvers (for Morale and Power restoration).

We can see how much of the character described by Tolkien has been incorporated into these characteristics: Elves are closely bound to nature and expert fighters; at the same time, they’re aware of their fading role in Middle-earth, and are putting much effort in guiding the races that will stay once they have passed on.

Male or Female?

Before you choose your Elf’s class, origin, appearance, and name, you will need to decide whether to play a male or a female avatar. There are absolutely no differences in terms of stats or bonuses: in LOTRO, male and female characters can play the same classes and are affected equally by their race’s Passive Skills and Traits.

Class

Your next choice will be class. We will go more into the various classes in LOTRO in our next Welcoming Committee series, but for now it helps to know what classes an Elf can be.

As an Elf, we can choose to play a Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-master, Minstrel, Rune-Keeper, or Warden. The classes not available are Burglar and Captain.

Origin

One of the interesting aspects of character creation in LOTRO is that you not only get to choose a race, but also an origin within that race. Choosing an origin will affect the appearance of your character (general body shape, plus available ranges of skin, hair, and eye color) and also give you a backstory to work with for roleplaying.

For the Elves, this means that you can choose from one of five nationalities:

1. Edhellond: Edhellond is a haven on the Bay of Belfalas, a place from which many Elves have sailed West. Once a great settlement, it has diminished and now become a home for ship-builders and a stop for Elves traveling to the Undying Lands.
2. Lindon: Lindon is located to the West of Ered Luin, and is the only area to survive the end of Beleriand. It’s now best known for being the location of the Grey Havens.
3. Lórien: Ruled by Galadriel and Celeborn, the golden woods of Lórien are full of mystery and speculation for outsiders. Some will say that travelers entering the woods never come back out. While Lórien Elves are wary of outsiders and determined to protect their enchanted land, they know that the time of their passing (for good or ill) is at hand.
4. Mirkwood: Once known as Greenwood the Great, the forest of Mirkwood has become a place of danger, and a border-land in the fight against the forces of the Enemy. Sauron was exiled within these woods (in his tower of Dol Guldur), and nothing has been the same ever since.
5. Rivendell: Rivendell, or Imladris, is the home of Elrond, and a safe haven for Elves escaping the dark times brought forth by the Enemy. However, Elrond himself knows that the magic of Imladris will not hold out forever.

Thus, origin gives us important details about Elves: where they originate; their ties to other famous figures; and their place in Middle-earth history. There are no advantages or disadvantages to choosing one branch over another; it’s simply a matter of personal preference.

Name

The character creation screen gives us some good tips for naming our Elf. Elves almost always have Sindarin names, and there are very good resources for these online. For example, the Sindarin Name Generator provides many examples and good guidelines for choosing a name. There’s also a comprehensive list of Sindarin names at the Tolkien Gateway. For a quicker approach, there’s an automatic name generator at Slack ’n’ Hash.

Hopefully this will help you choose a cool and meaningful Elvish name; and will hopefully keep me from having to see too many more Legggolllassses and Aaaarwwens running around! ;-)

Cuio mae! Live Well!

I hope this has been a useful introduction to the lore and characteristics of the Elves, both in Tolkien’s works and in Lord of the Rings Online.

Next up in our Welcoming Committee section is an in-depth look at the various classes, starting with Burglars.

Back in a few days!

Sorry for the lack of posts in the past few days! Between the record heatwave we’re having and a few days away from my computer, the last post on the Race Matters series has been stuck in limbo. I’ll be back at my keyboard (and hopefully a little cooler) next week, so stay tuned!

The Welcoming Committee. Race Matters Part 3: The Race of Man

[The Welcoming Committee is a category of posts created in the spirit of Meavar’s New Player Relations initiative.]

One of the first things we do as LOTRO players is create a character; and one of the first choices we have to make here is what race our character will be. In this four-part series, we will look at each of the races from the perspectives of lore and gameplay.

Today, we look at the Race of Man.

What is the Race of Man?

In Tolkien’s Middle-earth lore, the Race of Man (also called Man/Woman in LOTRO) is the second branch of the “Children of Ilúvatar.” While the Elves are the “First-born,” Men come along at a later stage in Middle-earth history.

There is very good background material on the Race of Man, both in The Silmarillion and the Appendices to The Lord of the RIngs. One of their distinct characteristics, and what sets them apart from the Elves, is the “Gift of Ilúvatar” : death. When we look at the Elves, we’ll see that Elves, although they can die, are irrevocably tied to Middle-earth, until a new era arrives and they join Illúvatar in creating a new Music. Men, however, are subject to disease, have shorter lifespans, and don’t know what happens to them when they expire (it’s suggested that Hobbits are similar in this respect).

So why is this a “gift”? There’s actually a mutual jealousy of sorts between Elves and Men on the subject of death: while the near-immortal but often weary Elves envy the freedom of Men to leave Middle-earth when they die, Men long for the immortality and knowledge (knowledge of what happens after death) of the Elves. This conflict is, in fact, at the heart of one of the most important events described in The Silmarillion: the fall of Númenor. In the Appendices to The Lord of the RIngs, where we read the story of Aragorn and Arwen, we see that at the end of his (extremely long) life he decides to “go to sleep.” This suggests that at least some Men also have control over when they expire.

The history of the Race of Man is long and complex, and often tied to that of the Elves; there are intermarriages and the existence of half-Elven folk. The union of Beren (Man) and Lúthien (Elf) (see The Silmarillion), for example, further strengthened these ties by leading to the start of an especially long-lived branch of Men: the Númenoreans, of whom Aragorn is a descendant. The first king of Númenor is Elros, brother of Elrond; the brothers were mixed descendants of both Elves and Men, and were given a choice as to how they would live out their lives. This is why we see Elrond referred to as “half-Elven.” in The Lord of the RIngs. The Númenoreans are also called Dúnedain or - in The Lord of the Rings - Rangers.

The Race of Man comprises several groups that settled into different regions of Middle-earth, such as Gondor and Rohan. Their stories are also included in Tolkien’s writings.

So how does all this translate to LOTRO?

Playing a Man/Woman in LOTRO

Passive Skills and Traits

For players who choose race/class combinations according to traits and bonuses, it’s important to know what makes the Race of Man special in gameplay. But even for those of us who don’t take these characteristics into consideration when making a character, it’s interesting to see how the lore was adapted by LOTRO.

The LOTRO Lorebook has a nice chart with a detailed description of Man/Woman Skills and Traits. Here’s what you get as a member of the Race of Man:

1. Passive Skills (these exist and are in effect from the moment the character is created)
   • Diminishing of Mankind: reduced Will.
   • Easily Inspired: Men/Women regenerate Morale more quickly than other races
   • Gift of Fate: Improved Fate. While the Elves and Dwarves are passing from Middle-earth, it’s the Race of Man that will dominate the Third and Fourth Ages.
   • Strong Men: Increased Strength that leads Men like Bard of Dale or Aragorn to accomplish great feats in battle.
2. Slotted Traits (these are earned after certain levels/deeds, and must be slotted the way Virtues and Class Traits are)
   • Balance of Man: increased combat proficiency.
   • Duty-bound: a bonus to fellowship morale
   • Man of the Fourth Age: The Race of Man is ready to fulfill its role in Middle-earth’s future. Increased Will, to help balance the reduces Will from Diminishing of Mankind.
   • Man Sword-damage Bonus: Men/Women deal more damage when using a sword
   • Fateful Dwarf: improved Fate (helps balance the Lost Dwarf-kingdoms passive)
   • Return to Bree: a Map back to Bree (you will appear in the stone circle outside the West Gate), which allows you a second instant-return if your main Map is set elsewhere
   • Upper-cut: A short-distance melee attack.

We can see how much of the character described by Tolkien has been incorporated into these characteristics: while the Race of Man lacks the endurance and resilience of other races, its increasing proficiency in warfare and willingness to lead the charge signal that Men/Women will become the leaders of Middle-earth’s future development.

Male or Female?

Before you choose your Man’s/Woman’s class, origin, appearance, and name, you will need to decide whether to play a male or a female avatar. There are absolutely no differences in terms of stats or bonuses: in LOTRO, male and female characters can play the same classes and are affected equally by their race’s Passive Skills and Traits.

Class

Your next choice will be class. We will go more into the various classes in LOTRO in our next Welcoming Committee series, but for now it helps to know what classes a Man/Woman can be. And really, the Race of Man is one of the most fortunate class-wise in LOTRO, because players have eight out of the nine total classes open to them. This includes one class (Captain) not available to anyone else.

Therefore, we can choose to play a Burglar, Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-master, Minstrel, or Warden. The class not available is the Rune-keeper, which only Dwarves and Elves can play.

Origin

One of the interesting aspects of character creation in LOTRO is that you not only get to choose a race, but also an origin within that race. Choosing an origin will affect the appearance of your character (general body shape, plus available ranges of skin, hair, and eye color) and also give you a backstory to work with for roleplaying.

For the Race of Man, this means that you can choose from one of four nationalities:

1. Bree-land: Bree-land is a cosmopolitan area, at the crossroads of two major paths. Its main village is Bree-town, which has become the meeting place for merchants, mercenaries, and wanderers of all nationalities and races.
2. Dale-lands: Located at the foot of the Lonely Mountain, Dale thrived anew after Bard the Bowman helped slay the dragon Smaug, and subsequently drove the goblins out with help from the Dwarves and Elves. Dale features mainly in The Hobbit. In The Lord of the Rings, Bilbo orders wondrous toys and trinkets for his birthday party from the skilled crafters of Dale.
3. Gondor: The heirs of Elendil ruled Gondor until their deaths; since then, the kingdom has been managed by a Steward, and become a barrier trying to hold back the evil marching out from Mordor.
4. Rohan: The inhabitants of Rohan are highly skilled warriors who possess a special skill and empathy with horses. These Horse-Lords have their capital at Edoras, where King Théoden sits in the golden hall of Meduseld.

Thus, origin gives us important details about Men/Women: where they originate; their ties to other famous figures; and their place in Middle-earth history. There are no advantages or disadvantages to choosing one branch over another; it’s simply a matter of personal preference.

Name

The character creation screen gives us some good tips for naming our Man/Woman. Characters from Dale and Rohan generally have Norse or Anglo-Saxon sounding names (the “eo” element that is present in many of these names actually comes from the Old English (Anglo-Saxon) word for “horse”). Gondorians, however, tend to have Sindarin names, while Bree-landers prefer simple English names (Bill Ferny, for example). Some examples of Anglo-Saxon names can be found at Behind the Name; this website also has pages for Norse and Scandinavian names

“Tomorrow we will make a song-worthy end...”*

I hope this has been a useful introduction to the lore and characteristics of the Race of Man, both in Tolkien’s works and in Lord of the Rings Online. Next up: the Elves!

*From Théoden’s speech to Aragorn at Helm’s Deep