Greetings, Friend!
Online and serving the community since early 2002, Shadows of Isildur is a roleplay-intensive,
completely free and non-commercial Tolkien-based MUD. Our world has been lovingly crafted,
and our playerbase is active and of extremely high
calibre. Come join us today!
We are reached only at middle-earth.us, ports 23 or 4500. For more information, click here.
Quick start: Register on our forums and then create a character!
NEW TO SOI? Check out The Guide to your Playing Areas.
Latest Game News in June 2010:
About Us
We have created a vast, breathtakingly beautiful and stunningly
detailed rendition of Tolkien's masterpiece. Originally opening in the
year 2460 of the Third Age, four hundred years before the War of the
Rings, Shadows of Isildur features the epic conflict between Minas
Tirith, the bastion of the remnants of the fabled Numenorean Empire, and
the outposts of Mordor, a dark and twisted nightmare under the
iron-fisted rule of the dreaded Witchking of Angmar. With players living
out the lives of those on both sides, our intense storylines are rife
with conflict, strife, and heart-pounding rushes of adrenaline.
We are a Role-Play Intensive MUD, which means the death of your
character is permanent, and in-character behavior is required in-game at
all times - roleplay is absolutely mandatory, and strictly enforced.
Finally, characters here are by application only - sometimes it may take
a few runs to get a character approved, but we promise you that it will
be worth the wait. Heroes and legends were born before the War of the
Rings began. Play a crafter, a shopkeeper, a warrior, a thief, a husband
or a wife, child or old man, noble or beggar. Together we write the
story of the years before the War of the Rings.
The war with the Enemy began many years before the War of the
Ring. In the waning years of the Third Age, the Free Peoples of
Middle-earth stand divided from each other, beset on all sides by the
Shadow...
In the Black Land of Mordor the Witch-king has ascended and taken
up the cause of the former Dark Lord. Driving his subjects with an iron
fist, his reign of horror has spilled over the peaks of the Ephel Duath
and washed into Ithilien for decades.
To the West stands Gondor, a kingdom without a king, whose
valiant men are the first and, for themselves, the only line of defense
against the might of Mordor. Osgiliath, once the fair and regal city of
the eastern border, lies in ruins, shattered by the armies of Mordor ere
they could be repelled. In the war-ravaged fief of Ithilien, a quiet
falls across the land for the time, but the Watchful Peace has ended.
To the distant North in the untrodden paths of Mirkwood, a new
terror rises, and its shadow grows long across the lands of Rhovanion.
From the darkest corners of the forest pour forth spies, orcs, and a
host of other horrors. The purpose of this power is not yet known, but
all who hear of it know it to be a herald of darkness.
At Shadows of Isildur we strive to replicate the
works written by Tolkien into a three-dimensional game world for you -
canonicity is key but not so much as to stifle the part you will play in
this epic story.
Your story can begin in one of three places, each of which have
tantalising connections to some of the most pivotal and exciting parts
of the Lord of the Rings:
Gondor:
You will have the opportunity to experience the great citadel of
Minas Tirith and its hinterlands for yourself, the setting for the most
climactic battle of Tolkien's work decades later. Whether you want to
live as a hunter in the Druadan forest and provide food for a community
or aspire to great wealth and power, working your way up in one of the
merchant houses based in the city itself, there are endless options for
players to choose here. The Citadel of Stars (Osgiliath) has only
recently been destroyed and the armies of Gondor are still locked in
battle with the enemy in Ithilien which has such a rich history, woven
by the tales of hundreds of characters that have come before - will yours
become part of that?
Mordor:
Experience the horror and dark glory of a newly-discovered fortress
in the Mountains of Shadow, playing in one of the Orkin factions, or as a
Haradrim slaver or (coming soon) a Balchoth devoted to the Call west.
Raid Ithilien, conquer the forests and hills, attack Gondor at its
heart.
Caolafon:
The town sits within Nindalf, the marshes otherwise known as the
Wetwang, and far to the northeast of that there is the Dead Marshes.
Deserted and forgotten by Gondor after being abandoned during the Fall,
now the northlanders have been invited to occupy it. It is connected by
marshy trails to a bridge crossing at the top of Ithilien, with an
existing trail running south through the hilly forests to Amdir where
the Northern Army of Gondor is based. Live as a northlander and wage war
with Mordor, trade with Gondor and face imminent destruction should you
prove weak against the Shadow.
Recently Posted Special Roles
Latest Player Contributions
Some of Our Features
For the latest updates, you should head on over to the
staff announcements forum,
or check out the archived issues of our newsletter, the Palantir Weekly.
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