The cool thing about the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar from Turbine is the appearance of several NPCs that have direct relations to the events that transpired in the movies and the books. Take, for example, the case of the ranger Amdir. Know his story after the jump!

In Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, you'll find a lot of familiar faces from both the movies and the books. However, rack your brains if you remember this guy: Harry Goatleaf. Head over to the full article to see if you have the right answer.

What we have for you here is a brief backgrounder on the NPC Gloin from the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. He is actually the father of Gimli and was very vital to the success of the Fellowship of the Ring. Know more details bout him after the jump!

 If you are eager to visit some new places in the world of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, then we would like to inform you about the Goblin-Town situated in the Misty Mountains.

However, beware that this place will not give you a warm welcome as it is inhabited by goblins who were once under the rule of the Great Goblin. Know more after the jump!

It's now time again for another lore update for the MMORPG The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. This time, we take you back within the Old Forest, to the peaceful yet sad place called Bonfire Glade.

This particular place is a reminder of the once-hostile relationship between the Hobbits and the creatures of the forest. Know more after the jump!

As most players would attest, housing is one of the more highly-anticipated features in Turbine Inc.'s and Codemasters' The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar expansion Book 11.

Community Manager Vanessa Price (aka Saffron) said that "due to the high level of interest" the community has shown, the developers have decided to add more Housing Brokers to help players find and purchase new property.

True enough, two new additional Housing Brokers have been added in each of the different neighborhoods making it much easier for players to purchase their own houses. For example, players based in the Bree-land Homesteads will find their new Brokers outside of The Comb, the Wattle Inn in Combe, and in the center of Staddle. Here are the locations of the other Housing Brokers as separated by homesteads:

• Shire Homesteads: Post Office in Waymeet, center of Tuckborough
• Falathorn Homesteads in the Elvish lands of Ered Luin: near the docks in Celondim, near the Scholar's Enclave in Duillond
• Thorin's Hall Homesteads in the Dwarvish lands of Ered Luin: the courtyards of both Noglond and Gondamon

Players who want to buy houses through these new brokers may have to act fast since Price mentioned that the additional Housing Brokers are temporary and could be removed at any time.

The summer solstice is about to take place. The event means different things for the different races in Middle-earth, and in The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, there's no excuse for you to not take part in the festivities. Time to do the happy Hobbit dance!

Events in the game are scheduled on June 20 all the way up to the 10th of July. The different races will have different kinds of festivals:

• Humans' Summerdays at the Bree-fields Festival Grounds
• Hobbits' Lithe Festival at the Party Tree
• Dwarves' Summerfest at Thorin's Halls
• Elves' Festival of Enedhin at Duillond

But no matter who you are, there'll be special quests, rare items, lots of drinking, and dancing. You can even visit the other areas even if you aren't of that race. You can meet up with a Dance Leader and learn some moves or maybe even participate at the Inn League (drink all you can!) which makes college frat boy parties look tame as having tea with the queen.

There's also going to be some "Hobnanigans" event over at the Bree-fields Festival Grounds. Codemasters didn't reveal any further details about this Hobnanigans celebration, aside from the fact that it involved chickens (huh?!). Regardless, we'll keep you posted on the specifics as they come along.

The lifetime membership opportunity for MMO title The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar first became available for fans who pre-ordered a copy of the video game in Europe. It's actually part of a bigger offer known as Early Access giving early Hobbits the option to populate virtual Middle-Earth 10 days prior to the official release date.

Codemasters is now happy to announce that the said lifetime membership option can now be availed by both new and current subscribers. This specific subscription will cost fans 219.99 Euro and that's roughly around US$ 294. Not bad considering the six-month subscription package of 53.94 Euro (US$ 71.51).

For current subscribers of LotRO: Shadows of Angmar who would like to change their subscription plans, be informed that you will be able to do this through Codemasters' Online Player Account System. Then, the following simple step-by-step process should be done:

• Log into the Codemasters Online Player Account System.
• Cancel your current payment plan.
• *If Applicable* Wait until the remainder of your paid time is up.
• Select Re-Activate/Make Payment
• Select "Single Instant Payment"
• Select either Paypal or WorldPay
• Select "Lifetime Membership"
• Pay and Play forever!

For more information, please refer to our Read link below. It should take you to Codemasters' official community site for more details.

The Shire. Yup, we've talked about this carefree place, inhabited exclusively by Hobbits, when we report something about Turbine's The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar. Oftentimes, when we talk about it, we usually give you some screens of this place which is removed from the goings-on in the rest of the realm.

This time, instead of giving you picturesque screens of the Shire, we'll let you in on a LOTRO vid of the Shire. While going over Google Video, we found this vid. Apparently, it is an actual gameplay footage of the place. So without anymore interruptions, here's the clip for your own viewing pleasure.

 

Just as a bit of background, in The Fellowship of the Ring, Aragorn and the hobbits meet for the first time in Bree. They then realize that they were being followed by the Black Riders, so our mangy ranger leads their escape, and decides that the party go through the Midgewater Marshes.

Travelers have to navigate away from the bogs with deep pools of mud and water. A number of creatures call the Marshes home, and there are tales of dark creatures hiding in the bogs and trees. There are also rumors that groups of corrupted Men and goblins frequent the area.

Okaaay, so this place doesn't sound like a perfect vacation getaway, but in Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, avoiding the Midgewater Marshes would also mean missing the quests and treasures within it. Rewind to 10 centuries before, when the Midgewater Marshes was a place where great battles were fought between the kingdoms of Rhudaur and Arthedain of Arnor, laying claim to the lands between the Weather Hills and the Tower of Amon Sul. Even the Witch-king of Angmar from Carn Dum laid claim to the area.

The ruins of the abandoned outposts of Arnor still stand as a grim reminder of the great wars. These forgotten structures would be open for brave adventurers to discover their secrets.