A few weeks ago, RoleCraft covered some roleplaying tips concerning a few of the new additions to the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Wrath of the Lich King. Another major MMORPG expansion was released a few short days after that, this one being the Mines of Moria for Lord of the Rings Online. Like Wrath of the Lich King, Mines of Moria comes complete with its own set of new additions, including locations, two new classes, a new legendary items system, and more. For us roleplayers, the opportunities for quality roleplaying has increased tenfold at the very least, and I'll be sharing some advice and tips for roleplaying in and around the Mines of Moria in this edition of RoleCraft.
Compared with all the most popular and successful MMORPGs, the lore that LotRO is based on is what makes it a much more solid game than the others. Knowing the lore of a game is the most vital element when starting or continuing your roleplaying character. MoM may well be the most widely known of underground location in all of literature, perhaps second only to Hell itself. With that, the lore of MoM is just as deep, and should be the first consideration for roleplayers as they begin their adventures in Khazad-d?.
Of course, the first place to go to is Tolkien's book, The Lord of the Rings, in particular, the chapters The Ring Goes South, A Journey in the Dark, and The Bridge of Khazad-d?. Reading those along with playing MoM will help firmly establish the where and why of roleplaying your character, allowing you to concentrate fully and freely on the how. If, however, you don't have access to any of the books (and what a travesty that is!), add The Thain's Book - Guide to Tolkien's Middle-earth website to your bookmarks, and take a few minutes to read over the section on the history of Khazad-d? / Moria.
Once you have a solid grasp of MoM lore, you can better set your character with a firm footing within the current events in game. In MoM, two of the most important aspect to keep in mind are found in the phrase 'dwarven expedition'. As your character starts to make way into the Walls of Moria and towards the Hollin Gate, you may notice that the NPCs are almost exclusively dwarven. It is these dwarves who begin to tell the tale of current events, about how the dwarves have mounted an expedition into Khazad-d? to reclaim their lost territory from the vile denizens that now inhabit within.
If you happen to be roleplaying a dwarf, the width and breadth of roleplaying opportunity is seemingly endless, as I can see it. If your dwarf has merely been wandering Eriador with no aim or goal, you now have a purpose to adventure to a specific region that no other race has! A primary example would be roleplaying a proud and stalwart dwarf who wishes to see the glory of the fabled Khazad-d? return, giving the dwarves another stronghold to rival the current locations from whence dwarves hail. Maybe your character is a Longbeard, or related to that line of dwarves who once ruled within Khazad-d?, and is seeking to learn the fate of a relative. And, there is always mithril, the reason why the dwarves dug so deeply under the mountain of Caradhas. Maybe mithril is still to be found, and if so, what an advantage it would be to have that valuable component smithed into equipment for adventurers to carry into battle against the Dark Lord's minions!
With a bit of imagination, it is not hard to fathom why the other races would be and are joining up with the dwarves and their expeditions into the Mines. As the elves and dwarves slowly decline, the race of Man is ever expanding their knowledge of and presence on Middle-earth, and assisting the dwarven expedition is but a natural step in that process. The starter quests for the elves and dwarves tell of the brittle ties that bind their relationship to each other. To that end, roleplaying an elven ambass
