Lord of the Rings Mod



The Lord of the Rings Mod is an expansion for Minecraft that adds the world of Middle-Earth to the game, complete with the Factions, NPC's and animals of the realm.

Landscape
The mod adds 138 biomes in its own right, with each biome having many variations on the basic biome theme. From the frozen lands of the North, to the scorching deserts of Near Harad, to the steamy jungles of Far Harad, you can visit practically the entire continent of Middle-Earth. In between these extremes, you will find virtually every single area mentioned by Tolkien, ranging from Lindon to the Iron Hills to Gondor to Mordor, complete with biome-appropriate NPC spawns, vegetation and generated structures, ranging from small ruins of the former kingdom of Arnor to fortresses in Rohan to large villages in Near Harad. Beautiful mountain terrain generation will bring you back to the highlands of Middle-Earth time and time again. And, if you find climbing over every mountain and hill to be too much work, have no fear; the mod adds roads, which smooth out the terrain around them, allowing you to go over even the tallest mountains with ease.



Factions
The mod adds 21 different factions that you can ally with or slaughter. Each faction has an alignment meter, which indicates your standing with that faction. Positive alignments give you various bonuses, such as the ability to craft faction-exclusive equipment and armour, with better-than-average stats. Gain alignment with factions by killing their enemies or completing favours, but be careful; killing a faction's units will make them angry with you, causing them to attack on sight, and maybe even launch a full-scale invasion in time. One of the main benefits of gaining faction alignment is the ability to trade with various trading NPC's and to hire troops, described below.

Unit Hiring
With all these factions at war in Middle-Earth, travelling around can be a rather dangerous affair. To help you in your campaign, factions will allow you to hire their troops if you have a good standing with them. Hire yourself an army of Swan Knights and Gondorians and defend Gondor against the Mordor Orcs that spawn at night, or conquer the Free People of Middle-Earth using your army of Black Uruks and Olog-hai. Command your troops with the horn and Sword of Command, and assign them to Squadrons using the Table of Command.



Armour and Equipment
Each faction in the mod has a complete set of armour and equipment. Blend in with the mightly Eorlingas or get yourself an Uruk Berserker Scimitar and cut all that oppose you in half. Many factions have unique types of weapons, each with varying attack speed, reach, and damage. Make sure to pick the right weapon for the fight! You wouldn't want to try fighting an enemy pikeman with a dagger.

NPC's
All factions have their own NPC's. Some of these NPC's are military, and others are civilians. These NPC's vary in attack strength, health, and damage. NPC's can be passive, such as hobbits, but most NPC's will attack you if you attack them or if you have a negative alignment with their faction. Some NPC's will attack you using melee weapons, such as Gundabad Orcs, others will try to shoot at you, including Gondorian archers, and a select few can use both a bow at long range and a sword at close range, such as High Elf Warriors. A few NPC's are hostile all the time, such as Bandits, which will attempt to steal loot from your pockets.

Vegetation
To make the world of Middle-Earth more authentic, the mod adds over 20 species of flowers, ranging from Elanor to thistles. Some of these flowers are simply cosmetic, but others are important ingredients in Brewing, described later. The forests of Middle-Earth are equally detailed, with 32 species of tree that can potentially be found, depending on which biome you're currently in. Many biomes will also spawn Berry Bushes, which can serve as a quick source of food when underway.

Brewing
For those who enjoy sitting around at home with a mug of ale, the mod adds a complete barrel brewing system. Create over 20 different kinds of booze using nothing more than a barrel, three buckets of water, and the appropriate brewing ingredients. All these drinks fill up your hunger bar, and some have useful status effects. Be careful, though; if you drink too much alcohol in a short amount of time, you'll become drunk, and if an invasion comes at the same time, things might not end well...

Food and Drink
All this fighting and adventuring is likely to make you hungry and thirsty. Aside from berries and alcoholic beverages, the mod adds 7 different kinds of non-alcoholic beverages, such as Orange Juice and hot cocoa, and 45 different types of food, ranging from common-place items such as apples and Rabbit Meat, to more exotic items, such as Banana Cake and Rhino Meat. Enjoy a feast by placing food on plates, or get drunk and start throwing the plates around for a fun party.

Two distinct dimensions
While there are countless epic adventures and wars to be had in Middle-Earth, if you really want a hostile adventure, head over towards the pits of the Underworld. All the NPC's found there serve none other than Melkor the Great, and will attack even the most evil of players. Make sure to get good armour and equipment before heading in there, as there are far worse things than Orcs in the deep places of the world...

Bosses
If you're still not having enough combat for your liking, there are two bosses in Middle-Earth, the Mallorn Ent and the Mountain Troll Chieftain. Both bosses are tough, with very high attack damage and special attack styles. Fight them yourself with your hired army, or take them on with your friends on a server.

Server
The mod team hosts an official server. Engage in great wars between good and evil, or work together to build Minas Tirith or other great builds from the lore. If you find that the official server is too full or that it isn't for you, the community runs many other great servers that you will no doubt enjoy.

Blocks
The mod adds several hundred new types of building blocks to the game, ranging from new types of wood to Ores to faction exclusive bricks. Make your build look authentic by using that faction's building style, or use your creativity and build whatever you please.

Achievements
The mod adds over 300 achievements. These range from simple, such as entering a biome, to somewhat more exotic, such as riding a barrel through the rivers of Mirkwood. If you ever get bored, try collecting all the mod's achievements -- you'll probably discover a new feature of the mod during your travels.

Installing the Mod
Everything you need to know about installing the mod can be found on the relevant page.

Gameplay tips
Head over to the Middle-Earth Gameplay Guide to begin your adventures in Middle-Earth.