Question Concerning Epic Book 14

[anthonyx]

Epic book 14

This will contain spoilers.

I have finally been able to get some time to start playing EB 14. I am not finished with it yet and look forward to completing it soon. I am prepared for the scaled back presentation and I do not even mind the session play.

The problem I have is when Aragorn meets up with the Grey Company. Why was this distorted compared to the book? One thing I really enjoyed about LOTRO is how they work at keeping the lore and the book true. There are times when their interpretation of the lore can be questioned (as can mine) but as far as the story it has been very close to what the book lays out. Maybe this is a minor point and most people will not care. It took me out of immersion as soon as I came to that arc. Maybe this is because I recently finished rereading the books and the original story line of the reunion and the decision to take the paths of the dead is an important part of the book. It has no place on the road to Isengard.
The story feels cheapened to me. There have been many requests to add this or that to the story line and the devs uses the book to defend their reasoning. I do not see how this can be defended by the book. I am not saying that story-line was Jacksoned but it feels like it doesn't belong. I am hoping that I get over this when the story is expanded.

Overall the strong point of LOTRO is evident in the Breaking of Isengard; great writing and storytelling, and outstanding landscape.

[OldMadeOfLions]

Maybe this is because I recently finished rereading the books and the original story line of the reunion and the decision to take the paths of the dead is an important part of the book. It has no place on the road to Isengard.

I think it's a minor change. Moving it to take place on the road *to* Isengard rather than the road *from* Isengard allows me to have the Rangers available for the conclusion of 'Allies of the King,' which provides an important motivator for some of the plot developments that close out the Volume. Since this Volume began with gathering the Grey Company, I felt it was important to have them present at the close, so I moved their arrival up slightly. I think their presence doesn't change the confrontation with Saruman or Gandalf's upcoming decisions, but allows me to tie up some loose ends and provide a more emotional conclusion to the Book. So it is a change, but I think it's a small one and doesn't have the cascading ramifications that we really try to avoid.

If you're worried that we're minimizing the importance of the Paths of the Dead, I don't think you should.

MoL

[lf2536]

If you're worried that we're minimizing the importance of the Paths of the Dead, I don't think you should.

MoL

MoL, you are the worst, and I mean that in the best way possible

[anthonyx]

I can see your reasoning. I think that it was more of a mild shock but in the end it is a minor point. I look forward to continuing. The paths of the dead (book version) has a lot of drama, before and after. As annoying as Eowyn was getting, the next phase should push her over the edge.

[anthonyx]

I finished the epic book. I still have trouble seeing the grey company in the ruins of Isengard. I have no desire to finish it on my alts. It does sound petty on my part and I am glad most players do not feel the same way as I do. I have no problem with adding to the lore and book. After all we are inserting our hero into the story-line. I don't like the changing of the book. Again I blame it on the fact that I just finished reading LOTR about 2 months ago. The section from Helms Deep on is fresh in my mind because of LOTRO. Then again I can not watch the part of the LOTRO movie when Sam and Frodo fight and Sam leaves him. I know it added drama for the movie but it is very different from the book and it changes the dynamics of the journey.

[Cheery]

I don't object to pushing up the arrival of the Grey Company and inserting them in the Isengard sequence. But I am surprised that the devs took such a shortcut with the Company's story. When we left them, they were bogged down in Dunland, apparently unable to decide what to do next. During Wildermere epic quests, we learned that they had split up, each involved in their own concerns. I was quite surprised to see them on the road to Isengard because I don't know how they regrouped and refocused. Seems like there's a large part of their story missing.