HI! I am released from my NDA and can Discuss LotR:Online

[Kevin]

HI!:D

The NDA was finally released on FEB 12th. As a former Beta Tester I can finally tell you about the game.

My beta reports begins with me writing down and reporting major lore/storyline conflicts.

How I'd do it? Well, I'd find the entry in the book, and copy and paste it for the Turbine people. All I would say is: This is what happened, this is what your game said, it needs to be changed. It's just wrong.

It got me banned for "No Reason". I did not violate the agreement, all I did was apparently tell Turbine something they did not want to hear. Which is totally their porogative.

So I sent a letter detailing much of what is a problem with Lore issues in the game. From Turbine saying that you can create new Nazgul through a ceremony and a knife (Amdir's ceremony was to change him into a Nazgul - and yet he didn't own a ring of power), through to making Rolo Maggot a murdering Arsonist in a quest where you have to assist in covering it up.

S.Z.C. replied with a letter that stated they "shared my concern" and thanked me -- this is a company which could've just as easily ignored me or sent me a form letter.

However, it appears that much of what I was concerned about (if not all) has not changed. Turbine is continuing with their interpretations of the books, as in many cases it appears they haven't read portions of these books and certainly not Tolkien's letters.


Here is a copy of the letter I sent to S.Z.C., - if you really want me to, I can provide a copy of my detailed beta log (when I completed quests, when I gained experience). But it's a bunch of nonsense that you probably don't care about. The point is, I managed to make it to level 22, and should not have seen or experienced as many major lore issues as I did. I'd hate to see what more lore issues there are for the rest of the levels.

You are free to purchase the game, but do not put too much stock in any lore that Turbine produces. Some of it is glaring in the face of Tolkien (Tom Bombadil "saving" all the Entwives), and totally unecessary.

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RE: Turbine’s Mismanagement of your License in Lord of the Rings, Shadows of Agmar

To whom it may concern:

In accordance with:

§11. of “THE LORD OF THE RINGS ONLINE™: SHADOWS OF ANGMAR™ PREVIEW AND NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT” as it was presented to me post May 26, 2006

I hereby acknowledge that Turbine's licensor, The Saul Zaentz Company d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises, is a third-party beneficiary of this Agreement and exercise my right to contact your legal department notifying you of the possible violation of agreements signed between Turbine Entertainment and the S.Z.C. d/b/a Tolkien Enterprises.

I have participated in Lord of the Rings Shadows of Agmar produced by Turbine Entertainment. I take these types of participation very seriously. After posting a 10 page list of bugs, and lore violations against the Tolkien universe I was ignored and refused from the messageboard for, and I quote “No Reason” (that is a direct quote given to me). However, Turbine still insists I play the game.

This has caused great confusion.

Turbine is willfully ignoring all elements in the franchise they have licensed out from your company. Elements which will cause severe distress among the Lord of the Rings community. Elements of which I promise to you will make this game a complete and utter failure to match Turbine’s other franchises: Dungeons and Dragons Online and Acheron’s Call.

The below list is a compilation of violations Turbine has committed upon the license gained from your company, as well as direct lore contradictions lifted from Tolkien’s own hand (from either the trilogy, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, or other relevant sources).

I take no joy in listing these, however I feel it is my duty. While Peter Jackson made some changes to his movies, he never outright violated any of the novels. He followed Tolkien’s Directions as had been laid out for past productions (i.e.: should you read The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien you will see Tolkien said that Tom Bombadil and Goldberry should be left out of productions if there are time constraints, and that battles should be combined in Helm’s Deep for the same reason. Both things Jackson had done). Turbine, on the other hand, has committed acts which outright violate what Tolkien had expressly forbidden in such letters. When confronted with these violations Turbine gave absolutely no defense, and persisted in committing these same changes.

I will say this only once: This game will never break the 2 million subscription mark. It will be a complete and total failure should Turbine continue on its current path. I suggest that actions are taken by your company to block this game if these listed aspects are not immediately fixed (which includes the firing of whomever is in charge of Tolkien lore at Turbine Entertainment).

I promise you, you will have difficulty dealing with the fan base if this game is allowed to persist. Unlike other videogames, a MMO is lore intensive. As such it panders to a specific faction of the fan base, just like a movie.


Table of Contents

I. ...........................Time of Year
II. ...........Distance Measurements
III. ...............Government/Military
IV. .......Rewriting of Tolkien Lore
A. ..............The Entwives
B. .........Farmer Maggot’s Murderous Son
C. .............The Witchking and the Barrowdowns
D. .....The Haunted Forest
E. .......10 or more Nazgul
V. ....Tom Bombadil & Goldberry

Conclusion

I
Originally Written by J.R.R. Tolkien page 272 Number 4 final paragraph The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
Seasons are carefully regarded in the original. They are pictorial, and should be, and easily could be, made the main means by which the artists indicate time-passage. The main action begins in autumn and passes through winter to a brilliant spring: this is basic to the purport and tone of the tale. The contraction of time and space in Z destroys that. His arrangements would, for instance, land us in a snowstorm while summer was still in. The Lord of the Rings may be a ‘fairy-story’, but it takes place in the Northern hemisphere of this earth: miles are miles, days are days, and weather is weather.

Please also reference Originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien in the Fellowship of the Ring. In section V. referencing the Time of Year as it was so marked.
I want to expressly point this out. Tolkien’s disgruntled nature concerning the 1958 movie and how they ignored such facts as Time of Year. This was laughed at by Turbine.

The Time of Year is critical to the story, as J.R.R. Tolkien clearly stated. Now, Tolkien made the express connection between England and Middle-earth weather changes in this letter. England is bordering the 50th latitude. They are 10 degrees higher than my state of Colorado.

The books begin at around September 25th. In Colorado, the leaves are already changing by the 25th.

I have included photographs of my house and surrounding area which I took between September 25th and October 2nd.

On the miniature Pocket CD-R, you will find enclosed with the letter, it contains screen shots of the Middle-earth portrayed by Turbine Entertainment. The Middle-earth screen shots you will see, are clearly, and without a doubt, depicting a Middle-earth summer.

Since England is a full 10 degrees further north than Denver Colorado, I have to point out that Trees in England would be far more fantastic in their displays of color by the 25th, than even the fabulous mountain aspens of Colorado!

You may think this is a small potato, but small potatoes can add up to feed an army.
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II
The compass and directions given in this game are in Meters. I direct you to the quoted book entry under numeral “I”. Tolkien wrote his novels in feet, yards and miles, not meters. Turbine refuses to correct this.


III
Originally Written by J.R.R. Tolkien page 272 Number 8 line 24 The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien
The landlord does not ask Frodo to ‘register’! Why should he? There are no police and no government. (Neither do I make him number his rooms.) If details are to be added to an already crowded picture, they should at least fit the world described.

While you are in the game, when you walk into Bree you will see armies of soldiers, constables, as well as a Mayor who give you quests. I have included screen shots of these men on the enclosed minu-CD-R.

The only mayors I can find in the book are in the Shire. There are absolutely no constables in these books. Constables and the Mayor suggest government, Tolkien expressly states there is none in Bree. In fact, there is no Constable anywhere in the lands. There is no government.

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ScreenShot00096.jpg and 97 depicts the mayor and captain of the guard in Bree-town. Two elements which should not exist in this game.

IV.A
Originally Written by J.R.R. Tolkien page 179 The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien concerning letter To Naomi Mitchinson [Mrs Mitchinson had been reading page-proofs of the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings, and wrote to Tolkien with a number of questions about the book.]

I think that in fact the Entwives had disappeared for good, being destroyed with their gardens in the War of the Last Alliance (Second Age 3419-3441) when Sauron pursued a scorched earth policy and burned their land against the advance of the Allies down the Anduin (vol. II p. 79 refers to it). They survived only in the 'agriculture' transmitted to Men (and Hobbits). Some, of course, may have fled east, or even have become enslaved: tyrants even in such tales must have an economic and agricultural background to their soldiers and metal workers. If any survived so, they would indeed be far estranged from the Ents, and any rapprochement would be difficult -- unless experience of industrialized and mitilarized agriculture had made them a little more anarchic. I hope so. I don't know.

As you can expressly see on the image provided in the media CD-R diskette I have enclosed, Turbine’s rendition of Goldberry re-writes Tolkien History.

I believe that Turbine was prevented from re-writing any history which directly conflicts with J.R.R. Tolkien’s statements as stated in their agreement, however this report I received may be incorrect.

Regardless, there is a definite violation of lore as depicted by Goldberry’s conversations with the players.
Goldberry says in this game:

Flowers of the Old Forest
‘Greetings, <player name>. You have seen an unusual breed of flower that grows within the depths of the Old Forest? Their origins are most unusual.

'As the old tale goes, eight Entwives came into this forest from the distant south many years ago and took shelter here beneath the boughs of the Old Forest. But darkness was everywhere in the lands in those times, and Tom thought it wise that the sisters should pass into the heart of the forest where no evil might reach.

'The flowers I speak of mark the places where each of the Entwives disappeared into the weave of the forest, and it is possible to understand their nature in those places.

Only Tom knows when or if they will ever awake from their slumber, and he will not tell even me!'
– Goldberry in the Lord of the Rings Online Shadows of Angmar videogame

Ignoring the serious grammar issues in Turbine’s account, you can plainly see this is a direct violation and contradiction of the lore set forth by J.R.R. Tolkien. Should you go back and read J.R.R. Tolkien’s notes on the subject: the Entwives were either killed, captured and forced into slavery, or traveled far east where they hid. According to Tolkien, NONE of them reside anywhere near the Old Forest, and Tom Bombadil had absolutely nothing to do with their disappearance.

This is also a contradiction to what Treebeard states in latter chapters of the Trilogy when he explains to Merry and Pippin what happened to the Entwives. It is a total dismantling of a portion of lore that is critical in relaying the difficulty the Ents have in deciding to enter the war.

Game or no, Tolkien would be outraged.

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IV.B
In the videogame quest “Old Forest Investigation”, Rollo Maggot (son of Farmer Maggot) kills a brigand in his sleep, and sets fire to his house.

Nowhere in any of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings did he discuss how Rollo Maggot was a murderous arsonist. Nowhere.

In this quest, you are asked to assist in covering up Rollo’s activities. I find this quest offensive on two levels: lore and moral. Tolkien would not approve.

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IV.C

Originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien Fellowship of the Ring Chapter 7 In the House of Tom Bombadil
As they listened, they began to understand the lives of the Forest, apart from themselves, indeed to feel themselves as the strangers where all other things were at home. Moving constantly in and out of his talk was Old Man Willow, and Frodo learned now enough to content him, indeed more than enough, for it was not comfortable lore. Tom's words laid bare the hearts of trees and their thoughts, which were often dark and strange, and filled with a hatred of things that go free upon the earth, gnawing, biting, breaking, hacking, burning: destroyers and usurpers. It was not called the Old Forest without reason, for it was indeed ancient, a survivor of vast forgotten woods; and in it there lived yet, ageing no quicker than the hills, the fathers of the fathers of trees, remembering times when they were lords. The countless years had filled them with pride and rooted wisdom, and with malice. But none were more dangerous than the Great Willow: his heart was rotten, but his strength was green; and he was cunning, and a master of winds, and his song and thought ran through the woods on both sides of the river. His grey thirsty spirit drew power out of the earth and spread like fine root-threads in the ground, and invisible twig-fingers in the air, till it had under its dominion nearly all the trees of the Forest from the Hedge to the Downs.
Suddenly Tom's talk left the woods and went leaping up the young stream, over bubbling waterfalls, over pebbles and worn rocks, and among small flowers in close grass and wet crannies, wandering at last up on to the Downs. They heard of the Great Barrows, and the green mounds, and the stone-rings upon the hills and in the hollows among the hills. Sheep were bleating in flocks. Green walls and white walls rose. There were fortresses on the heights. Kings of little kingdoms fought together, and the young Sun shone like fire on the red metal of their new and greedy swords. There was victory and defeat; and towers fell, fortresses were burned, and flames went up into the sky. Gold was piled on the biers of dead kings and queens; and mounds covered them, and the stone doors were shut; and the grass grew over all. Sheep walked for a while biting the grass, but soon the hills were empty again. A shadow came out of dark places far away, and the bones were stirred in the mounds. Barrow-wights walked in the hollow places with a clink of rings on cold fingers, and gold chains in the wind.' Stone rings grinned out of the ground like broken teeth in the moonlight.
The hobbits shuddered. Even in the Shire the rumour of the Barrow-wights of the Barrow-downs beyond the Forest had been heard. But it was not a tale that any hobbit liked to listen to, even by a comfortable fireside far away. These four now suddenly remembered what the joy of this house had driven from their minds: the house of Tom Bombadil nestled under the very shoulder of those dreaded hills. They lost the thread of his tale and shifted uneasily, looking aside at one another.


(cont. on next page)
Also Concerning the Barrow-downs – Found in Appendix A of Return of the King
'But the Host of the West came down on him out of the Hills of Evendim, and were was a great battle on the plain between Nenuial and the North Downs. The forces of Angmar were already giving way and retreating towards Fornost when the main body of the horsemen that had passed round the hills Came down from the north and scattered them in a great rout. Then the Witch-king, with all that he could gather from the wreck, fled northwards, seeking his own land of Angmar. Before he could gain the shelter of Carn Dûm the cavalry of Gondor overtook him with Eärnur riding at their head. At the same time a force under Glorfindel the Elf-lord came up out of Rivendell. Then so utterly was Angmar defeated that not a man nor an orc of that realm remained west of the Mountains.”

As you can plainly see, the Witch King has NOTHING to do with the Barrow-downs after his defeat. That is how Tolkien wrote it. The Barrow-downs were haunted by a shadow from dark places far away.

As Tolkien said concerning William and the other Trolls in the Hobbit – not everything evil comes from the devil.

If you take note of the quests and Turbine’s butchery of the lore, they claim that it is the Witch King who has corrupted the Barrow-downs.

This is a complete re-write of the lore and Mythology of Lord of the Rings.

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IV.D


Haunted Forest
'My word! This is worse than I thought! I've seen the trees move, but never a tree that talks. I don't know anything about witches, but they say those Barrow-downs beyond the Old Forest are haunted...perhaps ghosts haunt the wood now too!

'I've heard rumour that there are -- or were -- great ones even among trees, wicked and bent, who rule the Old Forest like kings. If it's one of these that haunted that old oak, it's no wonder the Forest is disturbed!

'Maybe now that you've put the spirit to rest, the trees will go back to sleep and the animals will calm. Well done...well done, I say!'

–Gillemin Brandybuck in the Lord of the Rings Shadows of Angmar videogame

Concerning the Withywindle: J.R.R. Tolkien Fellowship of the Ring Chapter 6 The Old Forest.
'That,' said Merry, pointing with his hand, 'that is the line of the Withywindle. It comes down out of the Downs and flows south-west through the midst of the Forest to join the Brandywine below Haysend. We don't want to go that way! The Withywindle valley is said to be the queerest part of the whole wood - the centre from which all the queerness comes, as it were.'

Please also reference the Tolkien Example under IV.C entitled “Originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien Fellowship of the Ring Chapter 7 In the House of Tom Bombadil”

As you can plainly see, this is yet another disgusting abuse of the Lord of the Rings Mythology and Lore set forth by J.R.R. Tolkien. But, not only have they come to re-write the fact that it is now the ghosts from the Barrows who haunt the trees of the old wood (whereas Tolkien stated it is Old Man Willow), but they also have you killing a “Haunted Oak” that they claim is the one possessed by the evil of the Barrow-downs.

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IV.E

I don’t believe it’s necessary for me to quote anything of Tolkien’s which clearly states there are only 9 Nazgul. Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, after all, is part of the poem!

Unfortunately I do not have any pictures of one of the Quests which breaks this purely simple statement by introducing even MORE Nazgul. Why? Well, the quest was bugged while I was playtesting. So, I will have to give you the basic rundown:

Turbine is re-writing the lore, by claiming that a blade of a Nazgul will turn someone into a Nazgul. After a victim starts turning into a Nazgul they start a ceremony and give them ceremonious robes. They then turn them into a Nazgul.

Tolkien clearly states over and over that Nazgul may only be one of those who possesses a ring of power and is then thus corrupted and turned into a Nazgul. Because of this there can only truly be 9 Nazgul. The only reason Frodo nearly became lost to the shadows like the Nazgul is because he was in possession of the One Ring! Had he NOT been in possession of the ring, or any ring of power, then had Nazgul blade killed him it would have turned him into an undead servant of Sauron. It would not have turned him into a Nazgul.

This is probably the most vulgar butchering done by Turbine unto the Lord of the Rings Mythology, as it completely violates even the most basic portion of the story! Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die!

V


This is probably the most ridiculous abuse and rewrite of Tolkien’s mythology, and as everyone knows from experience with Peter Jackson, Tom Bombadil has some fanatic followers. While I could care less about Tom, I do care about taking any job I receive seriously. As a Beta Tester I noticed some ridiculously outrageous liberties taken by Turbine, liberties which will backfire on both Tolkien Licensors, as well as Turbine.

While Peter Jackson followed J.R.R. Tolkien’s wish to have Tom Bombadil not shown if he should be cut down to time constraints, Turbine has instead chosen to make up their own lore. As is demonstrated by several of Tolkien’s letters quoted herein, J.R.R. Tolkien was always disgusted when people chose to re-write his mythology to such degrees.

This is a critical example in understanding the approach taken by Turbine to hack the Middle-earth mythology to pieces.





The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Let’s begin with the final letter concerning Goldberry and T.B. on page 272. I will then jump around to various letters and novel entries.

Originally written by ”J.R.R. Tolkien page 272 Number 7 The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien”
The first paragraph misrepresents Tom Bombadil. He is not the owner of the woods; and he would never make any such threat.‘Old scamp!’ This is a good example of the general tendency that I find in Z to reduce and lower the tone towards that of a more childish fairy-tale. The expression does not agree with the tone of Bombadil’s long later talk; and though that is cut, there is no need for its indications to be disregarded.I am sorry, but I think the manner of the introduction of Goldberry is silly, and on par with ‘old scamp’. It also has no warrant in my tale. We are not in ‘fairy-land’, but in real river-lands in autumn. Goldberry represents the actual seasonal changes in such lands. Personally I think she had far better disappear than make a meaningless appearance.

Originally written by ”J.R.R. Tolkien page 189 Sep 1954 letter second paragraph down The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien”
I suppose that actually the chief difficulties I have involved myself in are scientific and biological – which worry me just as much as the theological and metaphysical (though you do not seem to mind them so much). Elves and Men are evidently biological terms one race, or they could not breed and produce fertile offspring – even as a rare event: there are 2 cases only in my legends of such unions, and they are merged in the descendants of Eärendil. But since some have held that the rate of longevity is a biological characteristic, within limits of variation, you could not have Elves in a sense ‘immortal’ – not eternal, but not dying by ‘old age’ – and Men mortal, more or less as they now seem to be in the Primary World – and yet sufficiently akin. I might answer that this ‘biology’ is only a theory, that modern ‘gerontology’, or whatever they call it, finds ‘ageing’ rather more mysterious, and less clearly inevitable in bodies of human structure. But I should actually answer: I do not care.


Basically what he says here is Elves/Man are two sides of the same racial coin. As far as half-elves, he clearly states he is only counting those he has written about. Believe it or not the fact Elves and Men are the same race (with subtle differences) plays a major role in Goldberry.

Originally written by ”J.R.R. Tolkien page 192 Sep 1954 letter second paragraph down The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien”
Frodo has asked not ‘what is Tom Bombadil’ but ‘Who is he’. We and he no doubt often laxly confuse the question. Goldberry gives what I think is the correct answer. We need not go into the sublimities of ‘I am that am’ – which is quite different from he is. She adds as concession a statement part of the ‘what’. He is master in a peculiar way: he has no fear, and no desire of possession or domination at all. He merely knows and understands about such things as concern him in his natural little realm. He hardly even judges, and as far as can be seen makes no effort to reform or remove even the Willow.

~snip for space~

Originally written by ”J.R.R.”
T.B. exhibits another point in his attitude to the Ring, and its failure to affect him. You must concentrate on some part, probably relatively small, of the World (Universe), whether to tell a tale, however long, or to learn anything however fundamental - and therefore much will from that ‘point of view’ be left out, distorted on the circumference, or seem a discordant oddity. The power of the Ring over all concerned, even the Wizards or Emissaries, is not a delusion - but it is not the whole picture, even of the then state and content of that part of the Universe.





Examples of how Tom Speaks


Originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien Page 169 of the Fellowship of the Ring “The Old Forest”
'What?' shouted Tom Bombadil, leaping up in the air. 'Old Man Willow? Naught worse than that, eh? That can soon be mended. I know the tune for him. Old grey Willow-man! I'll freeze his marrow cold, if he don't behave himself. I'll sing his roots off. I'll sing a wind up and blow leaf and branch away. Old Man Willow!' Setting down his lilies carefully on the grass, he ran to the tree. There he saw Merry's feet still sticking out - the rest had already been drawn further inside. Tom put his mouth to the crack and began singing into it in a low voice. They could not catch the words, but evidently Merry was aroused. His legs began to kick. Tom sprang away, and breaking off a hanging branch smote the side of the willow with it. 'You let them out again, Old Man Willow!' he said. 'What be you a-thinking of? You should not be waking. Eat earth! Dig deep! Drink water! Go to sleep! Bombadil is talking!' He then seized Merry's feet and drew him out of the suddenly widening crack.



Originally Posted by J.R.R. Tolkien Page 169 the Fellowship of the Ring “The Old Forest”
Tom Bombadil burst out laughing. 'Well, my little fellows!' said he, stooping so that he peered into their faces. 'You shall come home with me! The table is all laden with yellow cream, honeycomb, and white bread and butter. Goldberry is waiting. Time enough for questions around the supper table. You follow after me as quick as you are able!' With that he picked up his lilies, and then with a beckoning wave of his hand went hopping and dancing along the path eastward, still singing loudly and nonsensically.

~snip for space~

The grass under their feet was smooth and short, as if it had been mown or shaven. The eaves of the forest behind were clipped, and trim as a hedge. The path was now plain before them, well-tended and bordered with stone. It wound up to the top of a grassy knoll, now grey under the pale starry night; and there, still high above them on a further slope, they saw the twinkling lights of a house. Down again the path went and then up again, up a long smooth hillside turf, towards the light. Suddenly a wide yellow beam flowed out brightly from a door that was opened. There was Tom Bombadil's house before them, up down, under hill, surrounded by crumbling walls and an unseen path. Behind it a steep shoulder of the land lay grey and bare, and beyond that the dark shapes of the Barrow-downs stalked away into the eastern night.

~snip for space~ next page:

The four hobbits stepped over the wide stone threshold.

(cont next page)

~snip for space~

In a chair, at the far side of the room facing the outer door, sat a woman. Her long yellow hair rippled down her shoulders; her gown was green, green as young reeds, shot with silver like beads of dew; and her belt was of gold, shaped like a chain of flag-lilies set with the pale-blue eyes of forget-me-nots. About her feel in wide vessels of green and brown earthenware, white water-lilies were floating, so that she seemed to be enthroned in the midst of a pool.'Enter, good guests!' she said, and as she spoke they knew that it was her clear voice they had heard singing. They came a few timid steps further into the room, and began to bow low, feeling strangely surprised and awkward, like folk that, knocking at a cottage door to beg for a drink of water, have been answered by a fair young elf-queen clad in living flowers. But before they could say anything, she sprang lightly up and over the lily-bowls, and ran laughing towards them; and as she ran her gown rustled softly like the wind in the flowering borders of a river.'Come dear folk!' she said, taking Frodo by the hand. 'Laugh and be merry! I am Goldberry, daughter of the River.' Then lightly she passed them and closing the door she turned her back to it, with her white arms spread out across it. 'Let us shut out the night!' she said. 'For you are still afraid, perhaps, of mist and tree-shadows and deep water, and untame things. Fear nothing! For tonight you are under the roof of Tom Bombadil.'
The hobbits looked at her in wonder; and she looked at each of them and smiled. 'Fair lady Goldberry!' said Frodo at last, feeling his heart moved with a joy that he did not understand. He stood as he had at times stood enchanted by fair elven-voices; but the spell that was now laid upon him was different: less keen and lofty was the delight, but deeper and nearer to mortal heart; marvelous and yet not strange. 'Fair lady Goldberry!' he said again. 'Now the joy that was hidden in the songs we heard is made plain to me.

~snip for space~
'Then all this strange land belongs to him?'
'No indeed!' she answered, and her smile faded. 'That would indeed be a burden,' she added in a low voice, as if to herself. 'The trees and the grasses and all things growing or living in the land belong each to themselves. Tom Bombadil is the Master. No one has ever caught old Tom walking in the forest, wading in the water, leaping on the hill-tops under light and shadow. He has no fear. Tom Bombadil is master.'

The entry below from The Fellowship of the Ring is specific for portion I. Time of Year. If you take note, Tolkien wrote the time of year to be in the fall, and he even identifies many of the trees as being “yellow, russet under the sun.”


Originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien in the Fellowship of the Ring.
They hastened up the last slope, and stood breathless beside her. They bowed, but with a wave of her arm she bade them look round; and they looked out from the hill-top over lands under the morning. It was now as clear and far-seen as it had been veiled and misty when they stood upon the knoll in the Forest, which could now be seen rising pale and green out of the dark trees in the West. In that direction the land rose in wooded ridges, green, yellow, russet under the sun, beyond which lay hidden the valley of the Brandywine. To the South, over the line of the Withywindle, there was a distant glint like pale glass where the Brandywine River made a great loop in the lowlands and flowed away out of the knowledge of the hobbits. Northward beyond the dwindling downs the land ran away in flats and swellings of grey and green and pale earth-colours, until it faded into a featureless and shadowy distance. Eastward the Barrow-downs rose, ridge behind ridge into the morning, and vanished out of eyesight into a guess: it was no more than a guess of blue and a remote white glimmer blending with the hem of the sky, but it spoke to them, out of memory and old tales, of the high and distant mountains.They took a deep draught of the air, and felt that a skip and a few stout strides would bear them wherever they wished. It seemed fainthearted to go jogging aside over the crumpled skirts of the downs towards the Road, when they should be leaping, as lusty as Tom, over the stepping stones of the hills straight towards the Mountains. Goldberry spoke to them and recalled their eyes and thoughts. 'Speed now, fair guests!' she said. 'And hold to your purpose! North with the wind in the left eye and a blessing on your footsteps! Make haste while the Sun shines!' And to Frodo she said: 'Farewell, Elf-friend, it was a merry meeting!'










Concerning the House, what does Turbine present in the game? A run down cottage on the edge of a giant waterfall with tons of trees blocking the view east to the Barrow-downs, an unkempt path with crumbling stone walls. In other words, this is absolutely nothing like what Tolkien wrote, and in fact, is a complete re-write of Tom Bombadil..Let me put the description of the game into narrative if Tolkien would have written it:


Tom Bombadil’s House as presented in the videogame Lord of the Rings Online Shadows of Angmar.
The grass under their feet was broken and turned with dirt, as if it had been a path heavuly used by merchants. The eaves of the forest behind were overbearing, ominous as a dark shadow cast warning all those who might approach. The path was now forked before them, ignored but used. To the right sent them straight to the top of a grassy knoll, now grey under the pale starry night; and there, still high above them on a further slope, they saw the twinkling lights of a run down house. To the right of the path, they could see water, as its birth lay in a waterfall as a steep cliff to the side of the house. Down again the path went and then up again, up a short rocky hillside turf, towards the light. Suddenly a wide yellow beam flowed out brightly from a door that was opened. There was Tom Bombadil's house before them, up down, under hill. Behind it a steep shoulder of the land lay grey and filled with water, and beyond that the dark shapes of the trees prevented the moonlit night from peering through their branches.

That's what they have presented to players in the game. It's nothing like what Tolkien wrote/described. They failed so completely, that they have a threshold made of wood and not stone.

I stated to them the following that needs to be done to “fix” the Tom Bombadil encounter. They in turn denied they had screwed up and removed me from the beta test:
“First of all the forest surrounding tom's house needs to go. Waterfall too. Move tom's house back further NE, eliminate that rock wall completely and make it into a new hill. The barrow downs also need to be reduced in escalation height or Tom's house needs to be raised by 200 feet. I feel like I'm on a roller coaster when I walk through the place. Tom's house OVERLOOKED the Barrow-downs not vice versa! If you read the entry, the LONG WINDING PATH goes under a grey hill. Then it goes up again to Tom's house. Whomever was in charge at Turbine confused that entry to read that Tom's house was under a grey hill. I have absolutely no idea where they got the waterfall though. That waterfall needs to be removed. The stone walls of and around Tom's house were also clean and smooth. These stone walls are dirty, mold/moss covered ruins. The entire area needs to be fixed. Especially considering that there was not forest directly around Tom's house like it is in this game. In the game, Tom's house is also level or lower than many of the hills in the south barrow-downs. This is wrong. Tom's house overlooked them in the book.”The waterfalls along the withywindle stated in the book were small. They were “bubbling waterfalls”, which meant they were no more than 3-4 feet in height.

The foaming waterfall shown in the game is a massive affront to the eyes standing next to Tom’s house. It is not only out of place (being placed next to Tom’s house), but it also suggests it comes from a mountain runoff (which doesn’t exist, as the river in the books - The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and The Fellowship of the Ring - originated from the barrows as well as from the swelling of groundwater.


Concerning T.B.

Originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien in the Fellowship of the Ring
He had a blue coat and a long brown beard; his eyes were blue and bright, and his face was red as a ripe apple, but creased into a hundred wrinkles of laughter. In his hands he carried on a large leaf as on a tray a small pile of white water-lilies.

There is absolutely no mention of purple water-lilies that I can find in this entire book. In fact, the only things which are Purple in the ENTIRE novel are Mountains and Shadows. Why? Because purple was a color used for foreboding imagery. White is purity, which is pretty much why she likes white lilies.

Tom is also too thin in this game and his face is as white as a sheet.

He doesn’t say “Merry dol, my hearties!” outside of song/verse. The conversation with Tom Bombadil in the game is mostly outside song/verse and yet he says “me hearties” and “merry dol” literally every two sentences.

This game seems to give him the impression that he is in ownership or custodian of the Forests. Now, that’s just wrong. That comment made by Strider in the game concerning Tom being master of the wood is completely and totally taken out of context.

Tom is master of himself and yet of nothing. When Goldberry says he is master of the wood, what she really meant was he knows no equal in the wood. This isn’t just interpretation. Read Tolkien’s letter on how Tom Bombadil doesn’t believe in ownership or power (and that is the reason why the ring affects him not), and also read Goldberry’s response.

Finally Tom tells the players at the end of that one quest that it is time to “go a-wighting”.Tolkien sums up his entire view towards any concept that Tom would suggest to anyone to combat evil in such a way that he would say “go a-wighting”.

I re-read two chapters, just to make sure that Tom Bombadil does not say “go a-wighting” anywhere in them. He doesn’t. Not only that but I obtained a .txt copy of the Lord of the Rings to supplement many of my books during this Beta-period. and I searched for all possible occurrences of “wight” and absolutely none appear in Bombadil’s speech. I found none.
Concerning Goldberry

In the book, she gives the impression of being an elf. whether or not she is an elf is not for Turbine to decide. The ONLY differences between her and elves is she has a warm fondness about her for all things mortal. That is the only difference. In this game, Turbine represents Goldberry as a HUMAN woman. When defending their position, one of the Turbine employees stated, “Elves have a specific creation/history behind them unlike other fantasy worlds.” Well, Tolkien says without any room for mis-conception that Elves and Men are the same race. The One (Iluvatar) is the only one allowed to create life. Hence, nobody else is allowed to create a new species. In the Adventures of Tom Bombadil ( which it is out of print) The River-woman is described in as much detail as anywhere else. She has a house, and somehow exists within the river but is not the river:


Originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien ”The Adventures of Tom Bombadil”
'You bring it back again, there's a pretty maiden!' said Tom Bombadil. 'I do not care for wading. Go down! Sleep again where the pools are shady far below willow-roots, little water-lady!' Back to her mother's house in the deepest hollow swam young Goldberry.

The absolute only thing the River-woman can be is a Valar (just like Tom). Valar are prohibited from creating life. The only Valar in all of Tolkien who created life are two. One who re-produced with one of Illuvatar’s children (think it was a maia/elf actually) and one who created the dwarves. The one who created the dwarves needed Iluvatar to give them life. The only possibilities are as follows:
I. River-woman did the hipsie dipsie with an elf.
II. Goldberry is supposed to be the incarnation of the seasons of the forest. River-woman was the Valar responsible for singing into existence the forests/rivers. Iluvatar thus gave the seasonal change form after the creation of the world, and that form is like unto his other creations (Elves and Men).

In either case it doesn’t matter, because Tolkien says flat out she gives the air of appearance to be an elf, only she possesses the warmth of humans. Either way, no where does it say she’s dull, lacking of color, and with ROUND EARS. Moreover, in the book her long yellow hair rippled down her shoulders. It did not reach shoulder length and stop. That is not what this passage means. It means her hair was long and in the process of it dangling down in great length it rippled down her shoulders!.

Her dress is wrong as well. Now forgetting the purple lilies for a moment, let’s look at her dress. It is supposed to be the color of young reeds shot with silver-like beads of dew. Instead in the game it is a very dark green. I used to live by the river, and right now I live by an open dike. Young reeds are a light green. I don’t know where those beads of dew are either, cause I sure don’t see them in this videogame representation.

Her belt was of gold, shaped like a chain of flag-lilies set with the pale-blue eyes of forget-me-nots. What we have in the game is a Medieval belt that dips down her front in a very Royal-maiden non-Tolkien fashion.

There are no “blue forget me nots” on the dress, and instead two god awful ugly daisy bursts on either hip.

So what do we wind up with?

The long yellow haired beauty who portrayed all the elvish qualities, but had a human warmth, in a light green dress beaded with silver-like dew (which means the dew was silver) wearing a golden belt that looked of flowers and was imbedded with blue forget-me-nots?

No. In the game we see a round eared very human looking bland woman, with short hair, Medieval style dress and a harsh gold belt that latched her very dark green dress.

Let me stress the importance of her dress:
Excerpts originally written by J.R.R. Tolkien
Here's my pretty lady!' he said, bowing to the hobbits. 'Here's my Goldberry clothed all in silver-green with flowers in her girdle!

~snip for space~
'Goldberry!' he cried. 'My fair lady, clad all in silver green! We have never said farewell to her, nor seen her since the evening!' He was so distressed that he turned back; but at that moment a clear call came rippling down. There on the hill-brow she stood beckoning to them: her hair was flying loose, and as it caught the sun it shone and shimmered. A light like the glint of water on dewy grass flashed from under her feet as she danced.

In the books, Goldberry is not seen ever wearing sandals. She has no need for them. And in fact, her description is of her feet. They do not see sandals or shoes. In the videogame she is given sandals.

Now you may think these are silly and ridiculous complaints against Turbine, but please, take note, we’re talking about a franchise which has fanatic fans (as you well know). We’re also talking about details that Tolkien himself considered to be of great importance to his mythology. The details he wrote were written out of necessity to set the mood and character representations of his novels.


Filelist: ScreenShot00028.jpg (Goldberry human ears, daisy sunbursts, purple lillies) - ScreenShot00029.jpg (Goldberry dress/belt) - ScreenShot00030.jpg (purple lillies) - ScreenShot00031.jpg (Path to TB) - ScreenShot00032.jpg (TB’s house/path) - ScreenShot00033.jpg (Dingy walls of TB’s residence) - ScreehShot00034.jpg (TB’s house) - ScreehShot00035.jpg (TB’s house/Wooden Threshold) - ScreehShot00036.jpg (TB’s house/Wooden Threshold Dingy Walls) - ScreehShot00037.jpg (TB’s unkempt walls) - ScreehShot00041.jpg (TB’s house/Giant Waterfall nearby) - ScreehShot00044.jpg (Trashy - Dirty Path to TB’s house) - ScreehShot00050.jpg (TB’s house/ trashy walls/hidden inside the forest and not on a hill like it should be) - ScreenShot00099.jpg (TB talking about going a wighting)

Conclusion


I am not a fanatic of Tolkien. I do not speak elvish. I read the books all the way through once. However, I take pride in whatever I do. Beta Testing is supposed to be a forum where you point out flaws, whether they are from a storyline standpoint or programming standpoint.

When I first discovered the mythological flaws, I knew something was wrong, as will anyone who plays this game and has read the books at least once. So, I did my research, as anyone would in my position who takes pride in themselves and what they do.

What have I found? I found a complete butchery of the Mythology.

What happened when I reported it? I was removed from the program for “No Reason”. Even Turbine admits I did nothing wrong, however, they refused to even acknowledge their failure to uphold the mythology.

Without a doubt, Videogames take shortcuts. In Battle for Middle-earth, you can summon Arwen and Elrond to fight and kill Sauron. What you need to understand is that Role Playing Games are far different. They are like Movies. They rely intensely on lore and mythology set forth. Turbine is trying to market to the Role-players, the people who dress up like elves, the people who speak elvish, when they produce a Tolkien role playing game. They have failed.

Not only have they failed, they unnecessarily re-wrote fundamental aspects of Tolkien’s Mythology!

Unlike Peter Jackson, who had to make allowances for space and running time, Turbine has no space or time constraints. Peter Jackson followed Tolkien’s Letters to the best of his ability. When Turbine was presented with the letters, they deleted the threads and made up their own mythology.

If Turbine is allowed to continue on the path of which they have begun, I promise you nothing but failure. Where you have the opportunity to sell more than 2 million copies of a videogame, you will only see a floundering RPG with luke warm sales. Where you have the opportunity to make fans happy, by giving them the option to play an elf from Mirkwood, you will experience a flood of angry letters from people who have read the books 2 or more times in their life. Where you have the opportunity to experience web-based fan sites promoting the new RPG, you will experience those same sites demanding that Turbine be removed from the licensing agreement and replaced by another company.

Turbine has absolutely no “lore experts” working on this game to solidify the Middle-earth mythology, and it shows in their half-shod failure. Just as Dungeons and Dragons Online was a failure for Turbine, so will this game for the same reasons.

Should Turbine refuse to correct these massive mythology conflicts, my only suggestion is that you remove their right to the Lord of the Rings franchise license, just as Sierra Games had their license revoked for their own failure and mis-management of the franchise.

I promise you, the alternative - allowing a game such as this to fulfill production with as many mythological conflicts as there are - will only net you in less money, having the Tolkien license locked with a total flop, and hundreds of very angry letters/petitions from very fanatic fans.


I believe I have now done my duty as a Beta Tester, by informing you of Turbine’s treatment of this franchise. How you wish to proceed is up to you. I sincerely hope you take all of my comments into consideration, I did it of my own free will with my pride in my own character and what I do as the only reward.

[strobe_z]

[Kevin]