Know Your LotRO Lore: Hobbits in the game
As Turbine is allowed certain liberties with the game world versus what is known in a handful of Tolkien's works, they did a wonderful job of staying on target with the Hobbits. This is shown in everything from where they live, how they live and how they interact with others. As such, the Hobbits in Lord of the Rings Online are a favorite among players.
Hobbit characters
If you decide to create a Hobbit character, you have certain racial modifiers to contend with. Your Vitality, Out-of-Combat Morale Regeneration and Resistance to Fear are all increased, while your Might and susceptibility to Shadow Damage are both decreased. You can choose from five classes of the total nine, being Burglar, Guardian, Hunter, Minstrel or Warden.
The three ancestral branches of Hobbit described previously are also a choice in the character creation process. You can choose to be of the Harfoot, Stoor or Fallohide lineage, which can create quite the incentive to roleplay your character if that's your thing.
The Shire and beyond
The Shire itself is done in accurate detail. From the Mathom House in Michel Delving where Hobbits collect their most prized mathoms, to the western shores of the Brandywine River, the Shire is where the majority of Hobbits call home. You can run north of Hobbiton and visit Bag End, home of Bilbo Baggins. You can visit the Gaffer tending his prized garden. You can witness that old Lobelia Sackville-Baggins spreading gossip as she's been known to do a time or two. You can even have a frolic through Farmer Maggot's crops, if you'd like. The NPCs within the Shire make Tolkien's Shire come alive, and it adds so much to the immersion of being a true Hobbit.
Beyond the Shire, we have Buckland, located between the Brandywine and the Old Forest. The inhabitants of Buckland have always been described as a bit different, according to those Shire-folk. This is played out in the game as well, in certain quest lines.
Then, of course, we have the Hobbit settlements east of Bree in Staddle and Combe. According to lore, this is accurate as not all Hobbits went as far as the Shire to settle. The land is fertile and the atmosphere is still relatively peaceful there, just as any good Hobbit would enjoy.
Conclusion
Despite the fact that there are a few details which give hardcore lore-buffs a heart attack (such as straight hair options for Hobbits!), Turbine's interpretation lets us enjoy the Shire in a way that we've otherwise only explored in our minds. Reading the books, you may have wanted to sit back and fish in the Brandywine or tend your crops in the fields of Hobbiton. Or perhaps you've always wanted to see what it's like to play as a chicken in the Shire, pecking at the ground for worms and keeping away from those pesky wolves. In the game, this is all entirely possible.
We hope you've enjoyed this installment of Know Your LotRO Lore. Next week, as hinted already, the topic will be Smeagol. We'll describe his Hobbit roots, his degradation into the creature Gollum and more!