FOTTA's Guide to Urugarth  

After countless visits into Urugarth, and careful consideration of all currently available strategy guides and scholarly thoughts on the topic, Founders of the Third Age is ready to publish it's own guide to Urugarth.  Granted, some of the strategies described herein may seem unorthodox, but they are in fact thoroughly tried and tested, and deemed to be the best possible methods for our purposes.

We begin at GF, since we have found a creative way to get to Urugarth.  Go ahead and spend an hour or two gathering all the fellows, because we're going to use our Burglar to sneak in and use the mustering horn.  If for any reason, he happens to get halfway there and does not have the Carn Dum key, send your guardian to fetch one, and then use his whistling nuts to bring him to your location and open the gate.  Now we can reach the mustering horn, and summon everyone right to Uru's gate.

Enter the gate, proceed forward, veer left, and kill the mobs.  Easy.  Mez Sorkrank, kill Burzfil, kill Sorkrank, done.  Gj guys.  Back the way we came, skip the trolls because we don't need the Teeth of Grothorog.  Oh, wait - we do? - ok, turn around and get the trolls.  Go ahead and break the Lore-Master's mez and aggro 8 trolls; it's all ok because we have uber DPS and healing.  Ok, now back down the hill, across the bridge, and all the way to Arkur.  Tank and spank that mug.  Easy.

Now on to Lhugrien, the big nasty dragon, and here is where it gets tricky.  Most strats say to take on the dragon hatchlings one at a time, that way the larger dragons will only come one at a time.  But as you're approaching the top of the hill, make sure your Lore-Master goes ahead and pulls one or two additional hatchlings.  This way you can take on 4-6 dragons at once.  Right about now your Minstrel needs to be combat-rezzing your Guardian, cuz he's already dead.  Obviously we're relying on the hunters and the champion to kill those dragons before they get the Minstrel.  Oh, wait, what? the Champ's dead, too?  Res her then.  Now take Lhugrien.  She will seem a piece of cake compared to the 4-6 other dragons.

Now proceed to the warg area.  The crowd-controllers can stand around and do nothing while the other fellows kill Lamkarn, because Athpukh won't aggro untill Lamkarn is dead.  Alright, 3 bosses left.  Next on the list is Gruglok.  Don't call him, he'll call you.  Send in your brave Guardian to pull one or two at a time (or three, ok, but no more please); take out all Grug's buddies, then him last.

Now Morthrang is up inside, so go back up to the front door and get ready to ring the doorbell.  Wait, Guardian, I said get ready, I didn't say ring it.  Run from the pursuing plague of mobs.  This was the plan the whole time actually.  Here is the beauty (and the irony) in this method - we are exploiting the games's anti-exploit feature.  Haha, in your face Turbine!  As you run back to the entrace, the mobs get stuck one at a time, so now when you reach the entrance to Uru, you only have a couple to contend with.  Take 'em out, and re-trace your steps all the way back to the fortress, killing one or two mobs at a time as they come out of anti-exploit mode.  Easy as mushroom pie.  Alright, now let's get ready to pull Morthrang.  Wait, Minstrel, I said get ready to, not "go".  Ok, well, the Minstrel is dead now, so lets run back to the main entrance again.  Now we're there and Morthrang is still upon us - Minstrel go ahead and retreat and now you're right with us.  Funny how Morthrang is much easier to kill right here at the start.  Great work guys!

Last boss is Lagmas, and he drops a Captain item.  What?  There aren't any Captains left in LOTRO?  OK, well, let's skip that one then.  We're done!  Oh, our Champ lost the roll on Lhugrien's Flawless Scale, so we need to reset the instance and go back again.  Alright, just like before, when we get to the top, make sure we pull in some extra dragons to speed things up.  What the?  Tank is dead?  Champ is dead?  Mins is dead?  Why didn't it work this time?  Hmm.  Well let's make a note to go back and review the strat on this one.  Anyway, for now, let's res, and finish killing Lhugrien again.  Good job guys!

So here's a quick graphic view of how our mission went:



We'll run Uru again, but I'm not sure we could ever do it as smooth as this run was!

Grats to Adanbelnor for collecting all the items she needed for the class quests and on becoming a full-fledged Champion!  And grats to Grunion, Xanderric, and Daesonuil on the acquisition of some of their class quest items.  Special thanks to Daesonuil, Cainnadan, and Andribald for killing things for us.

Book 13: Doom of the Last-king is Live!  

Book 13: Doom of the Last-king is now live on the LOTRO servers!  For an overview of what's new in Book 13, click here.  For those who want the nitty-gritty details, click here for the complete release notes.  Have fun in the game!

Founders Celebrate First Anniversary  

A bit of interesting Lore:

The Elvish solar year (loa) began with the day called yestarë, which was the day before the first day of tuilë (Spring); and in the Calendar of Imladris yestarë "corresponded more or less with Shire April 6." (The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D.)

APRIL 6  <-------- Did you catch that?

Happy Anniversary to the best Kinship ever: Founders of the Third Age!

Founders Celebrate First Anniversary  

Founders of the Third Age will be one year old this Sunday, April 6, 2008!  This is a great achievement, as we are one of the oldest kinships on the server.  We were founded on the first day of World Tour play, weeks before the game went live on April 25.

To celebrate our First Anniversary, we have scheduled many exciting activities for the week of April 6-13.  Realizing that not everyone will be able to participate in every activity due to work schedules and time differences, we have scheduled activities for each day at different times.  Everyone is welcome to attend as many as possible.  It will be an exciting week.  Please check the Events Calendar soon for continuously updated details on each event, and for the correct time for your time zone.  The general schedule (without times) is as follows:

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FOTTA 1-Year Anniversary Celebration
Schedule of Events

Sunday, April 6 (Opening Celebrations)

Commemorative Run to Rivendell
The first day of our 1-Year Anniversary Celebration is dedicated to honoring the spirit in which our kinship was founded.  Founders of the Third Age was formed on this day one year ago, when the 3 founding Founders affirmed their friendship with one another, established the kinship, and in the spirit of adventure and camaraderie, bravely ran from Duillond to Rivendell at level 15.  We will bring our lowest alts to Duillond, the place where the kinship was born, take screenshots for the website, and re-live the journey to Imladris.

Monday, April 7

Trophy Gathering
Throughout the week, today or any day, members are encouraged to group up and go seek out trophy items to decorate our kinship hall with.  Here are the newest trophy items added in Book 12 and where to get them.

Dimbledoor's Army
Meet at Combe in Breeland with your Harry Potter characters.  We will sort ourselves into the 3 houses of Gryfyndoor, Rayve-and-Clawe, and Huphlepuphe (remember Slytherins aren't allowed in DA).  Then we'll play "loads of wicked games" and award points to the winning houses.  At the end of the night, the house with the most points wins.

Tuesday, April 8

Horse Race
Meet at the Party Tree and race to the Breeland Freeze Tag zone on horse-back.  First person to use the freeze-tag start-point wins.

Freeze Tag
Umm, play freeze tag.  Oh, and be silly.  PS – no hunter speed buffs.

Wednesday, April 09

Virtue Trait Deeds
Completing Deeds for Virtues with a group is faster and more fun.  Meet at the kinship hall.  Decide which virtues those attending need to acquire, form multiple groups if necessary, and go out and have fun.

Thursday, April 10

Middle Earth Riddle Search
Meet at a location to be revealed just before the event.  Players may choose to play this solo or form teams.  Everyone will be given a list of clues and riddles about LOTRO locations and the lore of Middle Earth.  The first player/team to complete the challenges wins prizes.

Friday, April 11

Chicken Quests
Meet at Sandson’s Farm in the Shire.  Adventure through the chicken quests as one large chicken raid.  We're going to use Ventrilo so we can all communicate with voice.  Please be ready to use this before the event starts.

Saturday, April 12  8:00 MDT

Fellowship of the Ring Journey: Part 1: The Fellowship’s Path
Meet at Bag End.  Trace Frodo’s journey from The Shire to Rivendell, taking time to enjoy all the noteworthy sights and share the background lore.

Sunday, April 13  (Closing Celebrations)

Commemorative Run to Angmar
One week after the founding of the kinship and the historic run to Rivendell, the growing Founders of the Third Age attempted another daring run, this time deep into the dangers of Angmar.  We will meet at Bree and take our low alts as far as they can go.  Minstrels are welcome and encouraged, hehe.

Concert in the Neighborhood
Meet at the kinship hall.  Various performances by kin-mates, teaching the music system to those who don’t know, and plenty of singing, dancing, drinking, sparring, and jollification.

Kinship Charter  

Everyone please read the new reformed kinship charter.  You can find it in the Member Information forum here or a plain text printable version here.

Epic Quests and Alliance Events  

Many new event dates have been added to the calendar.  Many of us are near the same point in our epic quests line, so I've made plans to run Book 10 quests over 2 nights this week:  Monday and Wednesday.  Kinmates who need to do Book 10 should meet at Tinnudir in Evendim just prior to the scheduled time.  If you are close to Book 10, try to catch up before these events, and please ask someone for help if you need it.  Everyone else please be willing to help those who need to catch up to Book 10.  Secondly, Legacy of the Last Alliance is now running Carn Dum and Urugarth every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  If you still need your class quest items in these places, check the alliance website for details and use the alliance chat channel in game to connect with the group for the event.

Finally, be on the lookout for news concerning events and celebrations of our 1 Year Anniversary - coming in April.

Kinship Party on Friday!  

Click here for details.

Celebrating the Spring Festival:

The Free Peoples of Middle-earth have been eagerly awaiting Spring’s balmy kiss, and at last it has arrived! This can mean only one thing: time for LOTRO’s first Spring Festival! Players should visit the festival grounds beginning March 7 for some spring-themed celebration.

• Love is in bloom! Head to Bree to help with affairs of the heart.
• Get into the spirits! The Tavern League is back for another round with new shenanigans.
• Send a note of affection to that special someone… or maybe even catch the attention of a secret admirer!

So enjoy a respite from battling the encroaching Shadow, and take time to pick some flowers. Heroes picking flowers? Well yes, someone has to do it!

First Scheduled Rift Raid  

Legacy of the Last Alliance has scheduled it's first Rift Raid, and all level 50 FOTTA members are encouraged to attend.  Please read the information here on the LLA website, and sign up there if you plan to attend.  This is going to be a ton of fun.  A great opportunity for all of us to run a 12-person raid with our allies, and there is some excellent class-specific gear to be won there.  Please read the alliance charter for complete rules on alliance raid groups and how looting will work.

Book 12 Release Notes  

So, Book 12 is being added Wednesday, Feb 13.  Along with the new book, comes changes to Angmar quests, new character aesthetics and housing options, a new Monster Play dungeon, updates to the crafting system, major updates to Burglars and Guardians, and minor updates to other classes.  Click here for Turbine's full release notes. 

Here is a link to the LOTRO forums if you want Pre-Patch your LOTRO Client now.

Tolkien Estate Sues New Line Cinema  

The estate of "Lord of the Rings" creator J.R.R. Tolkien is suing the film studio that released the trilogy based on his books, claiming the company hasn't paid it a penny from the estimated $6 billion the films have grossed worldwide.

The suit, filed Monday, claims New Line was required to pay 7.5 percent of gross receipts to Tolkien's estate and other plaintiffs, who contend they only received an upfront payment of $62,500 for the three movies before production began.

The writer's estate, a British charity dubbed The Tolkien Trust, and original "Lord of the Rings" publisher HarperCollins filed the lawsuit against New Line Cinema in Los Angeles Superior Court. If successful, it could block the long-awaited prequel to the films.

Robert Pini, a spokesman for Time Warner Inc.'s New Line, declined to comment.

The films — 2001's "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2002's "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," and 2003's "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" — have reaped nearly $6 billion combined worldwide, according to the complaint.

The estimate includes everything from box office receipts to revenue from sales of DVDs and other products.

The plaintiffs seek more than $150 million in compensatory damages, unspecified punitive damages and a court order giving the Tolkien estate the right to terminate any rights New Line may have to make films based on other works by the author, including "The Hobbit."

Such an order would scuttle plans by New Line to make a two-film prequel based on "The Hobbit." "Rings" trilogy director Peter Jackson has already signed on to serve as executive producer on the project, which is tentatively slated to begin production next year, with releases planned for 2010 and 2011.

"The Tolkien trustees do not file lawsuits lightly, and have tried unsuccessfully to resolve their claims out of court," Steven Maier, an attorney for the Tolkien estate based in Britain, said in a statement. "New Line has not paid the plaintiffs even one penny of its contractual share of gross receipts despite the billions of dollars of gross revenue generated by these wildly successful motion pictures."

Maier also claims the film studio has blocked the Tolkien estate and the other plaintiffs from auditing the receipts of the last two films.

The lawsuit claims J.R.R. Tolkien established a trust through which he signed a film deal in 1969 with United Artists. After Tolkien's death, his heirs created the charity in the author's name.

Meanwhile, the original agreement terms were picked up by Hollywood producer Saul Zaentz, who produced an animated film in 1978 based on the "Rings" books, and eventually licensed the rights to make live-action films to New Line.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they have spent the years since the movies hit theaters trying to negotiate a settlement with New Line.

Other disputes over the film's earnings have surfaced in recent years.

In 2004, Zaentz sued New Line, claiming the studio cheated him out of $20 million in royalties from the film trilogy, which he optioned to New Line for a percentage of the movies' profits.

He and the film studio reached an out-of-court settlement a year later.

Jackson's production company also tangled with New Line in 2005 over profits from the films. A lawsuit was settled last year.

LINK!