SNES - Lord Of The Rings

THE TROLL SHAWS

 Head east on the Great Road until you come to the Last Bridge. If you talked
to some of the folk in Bree, you learned that there is a passage under the
bridge into the Troll Shaws caves. If you'd like, you can use this passage,
but I didn't; instead, I explored the Troll Shaws before going underground. If
you take this passage, you will still end up in the same place that I will be
talking about later, so don't worry.

 Cross the bridge, pick up the beryl on the bridge, and walk on the Great Road
until you get to a smaller path going north. Take this path, and walk until
you see some ruins to the east. Go to the center of the ruins and USE the
shovel. You have found the Troll Slayer, which is a great weapon. EQUIP
Aragorn with it. From the ruins, walk north until you see three troll statues.
From there walk west, crossing one stone wall, until you get to a second stone
wall. Walk a little north along this wall until you see an opening into it.
USE your prybar to get into this small cave. Use the PERCEPTION skill to get a
hint for later in the game. Exit this cave, walk west, bypassing some ruins,
until you get to a larger stone wall. Walk west along this wall until you get
to another opening in the rock. Use the CLIMB skill to enter the main caves.

 The main caves under the Troll Shaws are where you meet a few trolls, and get
two words of power. When you first enter, you will need to walk a bit along
the cave path until you are attacked by two trolls. Kill the trolls, and walk
west to the pool. Walk around the pool to the north, and enter a small cave
where you will get the !BEREN word of power. To the east of the pool, enter
this cave, where again, you will be given the !LUTHIEN word of power. The
paths leading south from the pool lead to the passage under the Last Bridge,
but I wouldn't take that path out since you'll probably meet up with some
Black Riders. Instead, backtrack out of this cave, and go east to the small
path to get back to the Great Road.

 Continue your trek eastward. You will soon meet up with Glorfindel who will
give Frodo his horse to escape the Black Riders. Once Frodo is across the
ford, use either the !ELBERETH or !LUTHIEN word of power to get rid of the
Black Riders once and for all. You will notice that their cloaks are along the
river banks, but ignore them for now; you will come back to get them.
Glorfindel has joined your party: let's go to Rivendell!

RIVENDELL

 Enter this large house (castle) and find Elrond who is in the conference
room. He tells you to go get Gandalf so the Great Council can begin. Exit
Rivendell, and immediately go east until you hit the Misty Mountains. Go a
little north and Gandalf will be hanging out by a rock (God knows what he is
doing there). He will disappear (must be nice to be a wizard). Go back to
Elrond, and the Great Council will begin.

 A lot will be said during the Great Council, most of it refers to paragraphs
in the manual. Finally, you are asked if you want to destroy the Ring. Answer
"Yes," of course! Elrond will then say he needs proof that the Black Riders
are gone. It's time to go back to the river to get the cloaks.

 But first, exit Rivendell, and immediately go west until you run into the
blacksmith's hut. Go in, TRADE him the bladepart and the Broken Wing, and he
will reforge the sword, Anduril. EQUIP Aragorn with it. TRADE the Trollslayer
to Glorfindel, and EQUIP him with it. Go back to Rivendell, go south across
the bridge and then west along the river until you see Legolas. RECRUIT him,
and go back to the main river where you crossed the ford.

 Frodo should be in the lead of your group. Use his PERCEPTION skill and walk
south along the river. It is important that you walk on the river bank and
not the path next to the river! You will never find the cloaks if you do. You
will find 4 cloaks on the east side of the river. One is protected by a band
of wargs, but with your powerful party, they are no match. Go back to the
ford, cross it, and walk south on the west bank of the river until you find
the other 4 cloaks. Go back to Elrond, and he will give you the !MELLON word
of power, and some sort of potion to keep you warm. GET the potion and some
athelas. DISCARD all 8 cloaks; you don't need them anymore.

 There are a few more things to do in Rivendell before you leave. North of the
conference room is Hawkeye's betrothed. Answer "Yes" to her question, and she
will tell you to put a ring on his tomb. Exit this room and go upstairs. Go
north, and TRADE Arwen the beryl that you found on Last Bridge. She will give
you her token in return. Go back downstairs and find Erestor in his room.  Ask
him about "Moria" to get some information. You can also GET some skills,
although I found none of them useful. Elrond's son will also offer you some
skills.

 Go downstairs, now, and head west. When you get to the tombs, USE the signet
ring you got from Hawkeye. His spirit is now at rest. (If you don't do this,
you will meet Hawkeye's ghost in Moria.) Go back east until you get to a wine
rack. Use the PERCEPTION skill and GET the wine bottle to reveal a passage
north. Gimli will be standing here. I heavily recommend recruiting Gimli -- he
is invaluable in Moria. My party was full at this point, however, so I
DISMISSed my pony (after TRADEing his equipment to my other characters) and
RECRUITed Gimli. You will also find Gloin in this cavern. Talk to him and he
will tell you very useful information about Moria.

 Go back upstairs, head east, and GET any equipment you need from the Elf
standing there. Make sure your party has one torch and one rope. You should
have enough in your inventory to give everyone a sword, bow, axe, or dagger,
as well as some sort of armor. Go back towards the entrance to Rivendell, go
east, and you will find Bilbo sitting in one of the south bedrooms. Answer
"Yes" to his question about the Ring, and he will leave Sting and some mithril
mail for you. I equipped Frodo with Sting, and gave the mithril mail to Gimli
(who I also put in the lead of my party).

 Exit Rivendell, now, and take the south path. You will come to a crossroads
where the south path goes to Moria, and the east path goes across Redhorn
Pass. Unfortunately, Redhorn Pass is blocked by a snowdrift at the summit (as
you will find if you try to cross it), so the only other way across the Misty
Mountains is to go through Moria. The south path will eventually end at the
entrance to Moria. Gandalf tries to open the door but fails. Take over the
situation, and use the !MELLON word of power to open the gate. When you do so,
however, you will be attacked by two Tentacles. After the Tentacles are dead,
walk north a bit to enter Moria.

MORIA

 You have persevered through about half of this game so far. Now, comes the
most enjoyable part of the game (in my opinion): Moria. Once you enter, the
entrance caves in behind you leaving you no other way out but to go through
the caverns and caves. The major quest to complete in Moria is to find Durin's
Axe which is buried somewhere within the mines. With this axe, your passage
to Dol Guldur will be assured.

 It is going to be a bit difficult for me to explain Moria in detail since
you must make maps for every level in Moria, and I can't explain exactly where
the stairs are, where the treasure is, etc. What I will do is to first give a
basic outline of Moria, followed by a level-by-level description, which will
help you to find the important pieces of treasure, and to help you find your
way out.

 If you were able to find Gloin in Rivendell, he told you what you will find
on some levels of Moria. This information will help you to find out exactly on
which level you are. There are a total of 13 levels in Moria. When you start,
you are on the first Level, which is also first Deep, and there are 6 Levels
above you, and 6 Deeps below you. There are two ways to go up or down in
Moria: you can take stairs, or you will come to the end of a passage and be
transported up or down. Unfortunately, you have no way to tell whether you are
going up or down, but this is where Gimli will help you.

 If you come to the end of a passage, Gimli may say "I feel we are ascending,"
or "I feel we are descending." Take his word for it; you have either just gone
up or down a level. And except for one case, you have either gone up or down
only one level. This is in contrast to the stairs in Moria, which may lead
several levels up or down. I don't recommend taking the stairs right off: you
may find yourself getting very lost very quick. Rather, explore the levels,
avoiding the stairs for the time being. Once you have got the hang of Moria,
take the stairs to get up or down quickly.

 Mapping is essential in Moria, but luckily, it really isn't too hard! The
hardest level to map is the 1st Level/1st Deep and 6th Deep since they are the
largest. Some of the levels in Moria are rather small and very easy to map.
Also, Moria is rather logical in layout, and since you have an aboveground
view, it makes it that much simpler to map. Since you have already had some
practice in mapping, I don't think you will have any problems.

 One last bit of advice before we start, if you missed Gimli in Rivendell, I
strongly recommend restoring a saved game (if you have one), and getting him.
Without his help and advice in Moria, you may find yourself spending twice the
amount of time there. That said, let's get started!

FIRST LEVEL/FIRST DEEP

 There is not much to be found on this level. I felt like it was really just a
test of your mapping abilities. There are multiple stairs up and down, along
with several other passages that will lead to other levels. The most important
thing about this level is that it contains the exit from Moria. If you have
no interest in Moria, you can exit quickly, and get on with the game, although
I don't know how far you would get without Durin's Axe. WARNING: If you choose
to find the Axe, don't read the "Exiting Moria" paragraph until you are ready
to exit Moria: it may spoil a bit of the game for you.

SECOND LEVEL

 This relatively small level holds nothing of interest. On it you will find
the Mining Hall and several orcs to kill. During certain sections of the
game, you will be told that you hear orc drums. You might as well get geared
up for a fight now, because if you keep traveling in the same direction, you
will more than likely run into orcs. With your party, however, you will have
no problem in killing any orcs that you come across.

THIRD LEVEL

 I found nothing of use on this level. The corridors twist and turn making
mapping a bit more difficult, but other than that, there is nothing that I
found.

FOURTH LEVEL

 On this level you will find three ghost statues who are blocking a corridor
that leads out of the chamber of Gabilgathol. TALK to them, and they want the
subject of Balin's note. Answer "khazad-dum." They will then tell you what you
need to get Durin's Axe: a Lady's Token, the Golden Wheel, a golden chisel,
anvil, and hammer, and a sign of the dwarven fathers. You have the token and
the wheel, you just got the word of power !SIGN OF SEVEN, and you will find
the other three in Moria. They also tell you some directions to follow from
Buri's tomb.
 
 Pass the ghosts, and when you find a set of tombs, use PERCEPTION to see if
you are at the right set. Follow the directions now (west, south, east, south,
east, north, west), and USE Durin's Pick at the end of the corridor. You will
be told that with the sign of seven, Durin's Axe can be regained. Exit this
side passage, and go north from the ghosts to exit this level. Note: You will
be transported to the 6th Level from here, not the 5th. The only way to Level
5 is from Level 6.

FIFTH LEVEL

 This is a simple level to map. Basically, it is a large hall surrounded by a
belt of passages, all of which lead into the hall. On the west side of the
hall you will find two things of note. First is Oin and Ori. They want you to
free them. Use the !KHAZAD word of power that the bird on 4 Deep gave to you.
They will tell you two helpful hints: "Use Durin's Pick to break the seal in
the Hall of the First Fathers," and "Durin's Bane hates the Golden Wheel."
North of Oin and Ori, you will find Drisnak, and he wants a ring. If you have
Smith's Ring, give it to him; otherwise, you will have to kill him. No big
loss. Go to the fireplace, use PERCEPTION, and you will find a black key. When
you get it, everyone in the party will be affected by a poison cloud. Time to
visit the healing pools on level 6.

SIXTH LEVEL

 This is an interesting level with many things to find and do. There are three
healing pools here. You can walk through one them as many times as needed
until you party is completely healed. Also found on this level is the Hall of
the First Fathers. Before entering the hall, turn on your PERCEPTION skill.
Walk around the hall a bit until Gimli tells you that Durin's tool will show
the way. USE Durin's Pick to find a secret cave. On the west side you will be
confronted by the spirit that you let loose when you got the Golden Wheel.
Four trolls will then attack you, and after they are dead, you are told that
Durin's curse has been lifted. I suppose that if you didn't do this, you would
find more trouble when you went to get Durin's Axe, I am not sure. Anyway,
exit by going back the way you came, and you will be back on the 4th level. Go
back to 6, this time going west of the Hall, and then head south and east to
find the stairs to the 5th Level.

SEVENTH LEVEL
 
 This is the smallest level in Moria and there is only one way out. Follow the
passage until you get to the book. Use the READ skill to read it. After a few
READs, you will be attacked by two orcs. Kill them, and then quickly exit
east: any hesitation will result in your death. The stairs here will lead to
the 3rd Level.

TWO DEEP

 The Deep levels are where you will get to the good stuff in Moria. On 2 Deep,
you will find an altar that will lead you back to the 4th Level if you decide
to clean it. Otherwise, find a small pit blocking the passage, and use the
JUMP skill to get across. In the far northeast part of this cave you will
find Kiri. If you can, RECRUIT him; in you can't, just leave him. South of
Kiri, you will come across two Snagas -- really wimpy orcs. Kill them and
go west. Here you can kill two Uruks to get Smith's Ring back if you gave it
to Drisnak.

THREE DEEP

 When you descend to this level, Gimli will say that you are getting into some
heavy orc territory. He is correct (as usual) because you will soon run into
two of them. When they are dead, find the stone troll that is guarding a
passage. Kill the troll and head to the tombs. Use PERCEPTION and you will
notice that a stone slab can be moved. USE the prybar to reveal a passage
down. If you have a rope, USE it now; otherwise, use the CLIMB skill to get
down. Without a rope it is very difficult to get back up since you need to
move in very small increments at the end of the passage; keep trying the
CLIMB skill until you can get out.

 Now that you are down, just where are you? This level (which I will call
Durin's Level) leads to Durin's Axe, the main goal of Moria. If you have the
gold anvil, chisel, and hammer, continue. If you don't, exit back up out of
Durin's Level because you will need these three items. Durin's Level is
explained near the end of this section.

FOUR DEEP

 This is a fairly large level and you will be fighting many foes, so be sure
your stamina is up. To the north of this level is a pool with two bridges
leading from the mainland to a small island. Cross either one of them, and
find the stairs up. You will have to kill an Olog-Hai before you can continue.
After the Olog-Hai is dead, go to the southeast corner, and use the PERCEPTION
skill. You will see a small passage leading up. USE the prybar, and then CLIMB
up. Go north a bit and you will have to defeat yet another Olog-Hai. After it
is dead, the bird will give you the !KHAZAD word of power which is used to
free Oin and Ori on Level 5. Exit back out, and cross either bridge again.
This time across, however, you will have to fight 3 sets of 2 tentacles each,
and they are not easy. The exit down is found in the southern region of this
level.

FIVE DEEP

 This is one of the smaller levels in Moria, and it holds two things of in-
terest. First, you will notice a set of several staircases leading down. Don't
take them. You will have to fight two trolls to get to a set of tombs. When
you get to the tombs, you can use the prybar to release yet another troll. It
seems like it was just a false passage to help decrease your stamina. Second
thing on this level, if you enter one of the side rooms, you will be attacked
by two Uruks. Kill them, and GET the magic mail and the axe. Walk the center
of the room to the hole and use PERCEPTION to find some mithril mail.

SIX DEEP

 After descending to 6 Deep, you will immediately enter a large hall. In the
center of the northern part of the hall is a gold throne, but when you ap-
proach, you will be attacked by some trolls and orcs. After killing them, I
found nothing to gain from the throne, so I suggest hugging the south wall of
the hall, and avoiding it altogether. Along the south wall you will notice two
small rooms. In the western room you can get back up to level 1 by walking
into the west wall. But you can only get back down if you have the star key!
The exit from this hall is to the west, cross the bridge, JUMP the chasm, and
from here you can north or south.

 On the north passage you will find a pit. Get close to the pit, and use the
CLIMB skill to get down to 7 Deep.

 After a bit of walking, the south passage will lead to a large cavern. Take
the first north passage from the passage you are on, and keep heading north
until you are attacked by six Uruks. Kill them, and go west to the Dragon's
Chamber. Here you will be notified that you will be toast if you don't leave
now. Ignore the comments, and keep walking west until you are told that you
have found something. GET the White Wings. Next thing to do is find the large
pool in this cavern. When you are told that you see a bird in the middle of
the pool, USE the White Wings, and then TRADE the White Wings to the eagle. He
will give you the !THORONDOR word of power. If you head west from the main
passage, you will cross a bridge where you will see a vision of the Witch
King, whom you'll meet later in the game. Also in this cavern is an exit to
Lorien if you have Galadriel's Key, which you don't. You may want to keep this
in mind to use this entrance to reenter Moria later.

SEVEN DEEP

 You will be in a small cave when you first enter 7 Deep which contains vast
amounts of mithril. USE the shovel to get some if you want, but I found no use
for it. For a laugh, save your game here, and keep digging for mithril. In
this cave is a pit where you find out that Durin's Bane was let loose. Walk
into the pit, and use the PERCEPTION skill to find a crawlspace. Use the CLIMB
skill to get the second section of 7 Deep.

 After climbing, follow the only passage you can to the east, JUMP the two
lava pits, and you will find a large hall to the north. On the north wall you
will find another throne, but this one is guarded by a Balrog! You have no
chance if you fight him, so USE the Golden Wheel to get rid of him for now. Go
to the throne, and use PERCEPTION to find a locked chest. Use the PICKLOCK
skill, and GET the lady's token, the golden anvil, chisel, and hammer. Just a
note here: I found that after I got these four items, I still didn't have
them, so I had to go through the whole process again. I don't know if this is
a bug or not; just make sure you have the four items before you leave. Going
back for them is a real drag.

DURIN'S LEVEL

 Now that you have the necessary items to regain Durin's Axe, go back to the
third level tombs, and climb back down to Durin's Level. Go up the stairs, and
you will see three doors. I found this area to be confusing, so I recommend
not trying to map it; rather just walk until you get somewhere, and don't take
any stairs. Take the left door, and head north until you find a pit. Walk into
the pit, and use PERCEPTION to find a hole in the ceiling. CLIMB up and
you will be in a small room.

 Walk due north. USE Durin's pick when you are told to use a tool, and a dwarf
will appear asking you two questions. TALK to him, and tell him "seven" first,
then "mahal" to answer his questions. You will be told you can pass, walk
north to yet another small room, and walk straight into the north wall. You
will be transported to the area where Durin's Axe is kept. Basically, this is
a central area, looped by a passage. Walk along the outside passage, TRADEing
to each of the ghosts you meet the item that it wants. When you have
doled out the three golden items, walk to the center and use the !SIGN OF
SEVEN word of power. Something will fall to the floor: pick it up, and you
have regained Durin's Axe!

EXITING MORIA

 To exit Moria, you need to find a long bridge on the far east side of the
first Level. When you've crossed the bridge, Durin's Bane, the dreaded Balrog,
will appear on the other side. You will be referred to many paragraphs in the
book about your doom which is what will happen if you don't do the proper
thing right now. Don't even think of fighting the Balrog -- he will waste you.
Instead, USE Gandalf's Wizard Staff. You will be treated to a fun sequence in
which Gandalf destroys the Balrog. Once the Balrog is gone, you will notice
that Gandalf has also disappeared. I guess he expended himself. You can now
exit Moria by taking the east passage. At the end of the passage, you will be
attacked by three Uruks (and you thought you were through), kill them and save
your game. You have exited Moria, and are now in the forests of Lorien.

LORIEN

 After exiting Moria, you will be standing near some ruins. Walk east a bit,
and suddenly the Ringbearer and another of your party (I lost Sam Gamgee) dis-
appear! They have been taken prisoner by the Witch King, and spirited to Dol
Guldur. This sets up your final quest of the game: rescue Frodo and defeat
the Witch King. But there is a lot to be done before you can do this, and the
first thing is to meet with Galadriel, the Queen of Lorien.

 Head northeast from here until you get to a river. Find the bridge that
crosses this river and keep going east. You will cross another bridge, and
this time an elf, Haldir, will ask you for a password. TALK to him, and say
"Elrond." He will take you to the Golden Wood, the home of Galadriel. Walk
north from Haldir, and you will see a gate to the east when you hit a row of
trees. This gate is one of two entrances to Caras Galadon, a city of elves.

 Walk through the gate, and go west to cross a bridge. Now, walk north and
follow this stream around until you are told that Galadriel's home is nearby.
Walk directly west and you will see a large tree guarded by an elf. This is a
flet, and this one is Galadriel's home. Walk up the ladder, and you will see
Galadriel and Celeborn. Galadriel will greet you, and tell you she will help
you out. She also states that if you find 5 objects for her, she will give you
something. These items are: the Crown of Elanor, a scabbard, a silver horn, an
elfstone, and the light of Earendil's star.

 When you talk to Galadriel, she won't say much except to meet her at the
mirror. You can RECRUIT Celeborn, and I recommend doing so. Exit this flet,
and head south until you get to the stream. Walk south along this stream
until you see the mirror (which looks like a bird bath, if you ask me).
Galadriel will appear and she will tell you the fate of Frodo and his com-
panion. Doesn't sound like he is doing too good. After a lot of information,
you can pick up Galadriel's key which opens a door back into Moria.

 From here, there are many things you can do. You can exit Lorien, and go to
Dol Guldur; you can walk around the city and talk to various elves for help;
you can attempt to retrieve the five objects Galadriel spoke of; and/or you
can back into Moria. The route I chose was to attempt to find the five ob-
jects. I saw no reason to go back into Moria, but if you missed something
there, this is a good time to go back. If you don't feel like finding the five
objects, skip to the last section: "Leaving Lorien."

THE FIVE OBJECTS

 The city is really quite large, and the only thing I can tell you in your
attempt to find the five objects is to just wander around and talk to the
elves, asking them about "elfstone," "crown," "scabbard," "earendil," and
"horn" for help. Enter all of the flets you come across: some you can enter,
and some you can't. In some, you will receive various useful items from the
elves within. Since you lost two party members, you can try to RECRUIT another
elf; you should be able to find several who will join your party.

 The order in which I found the five objects is: elfstone, horn, scabbard,
crown, starlight. From where you are standing at the mirror, exit the city by
the same gate you through which you entered, and walk south until you see
Haldir again. A bit to the east of Haldir is a large mound known as the "Mound
of Mourning." Walk around the outside of the mound using PERCEPTION until you
find the elfstone. From the mound walk west, crossing the bridge on which you
first met Haldir, until you come to the first bridge you crossed after exiting
Moria.

 From here, you can do two things. If you talked to some of the elves in Caras
Galadon, you might have learned that the reason that Redhorn Pass is blocked
is because of an evil spirit, Caradhas. He is holding the bird of spring pri-
soner, and freeing the bird will free Redhorn Pass. If you want to attempt
this quest, skip to the next section, "Redhorn Pass and Caradhas," then return
here; otherwise, continue.

 Stay on the east side of the bridge, and go north. You will see many ruins to
the west. When you can go north no more, and must go east or west, head a
little bit southwest until you see some ruins. Walk around the ruins using
PERCEPTION to find the silver horn. Go back northeast, and go east this time.
You will walk for a while, until suddenly, you are attacked by an orc. You
have stumbled across their camp, and they're a bit steamed. After the orc is
dead, an Uruk will attack. After it is dead, you will face an Olog-Hai and
another Uruk. After this victory, the rest of the camp will run away. From the
battle scene, walk southeast to a swamp. Walk around the outside of the swamp
to the east until you see a small clearing to the south. Walk to the clearing,
and you will find out that it is a sinkhole. Use the CLIMB skill and GET the
Eagle Eye. I was hoping that by using the eagle eye, I would get an
aboveground view, but it wasn't so.

 Walk south along the river, and the forest to the west will end. When it
does, head west, getting as close the tree borderline as possible. When you
see a little brown patch to the south, go to it and use PERCEPTION to find the
scabbard. Keep walking west, and you will get to the second gate into Caras
Galadon.

 Go back to the mirror, and from it walk west-southwest. In one of the flets
here you will find a female elf who is in love with Legolas, and because of
that she gives you a Crown of Elanor (don't ask me why). Go back to mirror
and wait until night falls.  When it does USE, a bottle or wine bottle to cap-
ture the light of Earendil's star. If you don't have a bottle, I think you
might be out of luck: I couldn't find any other way to get the light.

 You now have the five objects of which Galadriel spoke. Now comes a part that
got me a bit frustrated. Galadriel told you that when you found the five ob-
jects, you will get something in return. Well, I tried to TRADE all the ob-
jects to her, but that did no good. I DISCARDed the objects, but again,
nothing happened. I also tried to USE the objects, but that didn't help. I
tried TALKing to Galadriel to see what she would say, but it was the same old
thing about meeting her at the mirror. I went back to her flet, but was told
by the guard that I was ready for my final quest. I finally said, "enough." I
don't know how to get the object Galadriel promised. Perhaps I misread the in-
formation she gave me; maybe you will have more luck. But I did complete the
game without it, so who knows what the object might have been?

REDHORN PASS AND CARADHAS

 At the first bridge you crossed, go north from it on the west side of the
river. When the river curves off to the west, go west until you get to the
Misty Mountains. Walk along the foot of the mountains until you see the
entrance to Redhorn Pass. Follow the pass until you get to an impassable snow-
drift. Walk about 3 paces east, and use PERCEPTION. You may have to try it in
a couple different spots until you see a cave above you. Use the CLIMB skill
to get into Caradhas's cave.

 

This is a very small cave. In one of the two rooms of this cave you will see
a bunch of bones, and you can GET the malach-key. The second room contains a
ladder and some ice ponds. Don't walk on the ponds since you may fall in and
lose some stamina. Go up the ladder and you will find Caradhas. Surprisingly,
he is not happy to see you, and attacks! When you finish off Caradhas, walk
south to find a bird encased in ice. Have one of your party USE a torch to
free the bird. He is very grateful, and tells you that Redhorn Pass is free.
Exit this cave the way you came into it. To tell the truth, I didn't try to go
west to see if the snowdrift was still there. According to the bird it
shouldn't be, and you should be able to get back to Rivendell.

LEAVING LORIEN

 When you are ready to leave Lorien, take the east gate, and walk east to the
river. Along the river, you will see a dock, and Galadriel will appear asking
you if you are ready to go. Answer "Y," and she will tell you some information
about Dol Guldur, and she will give you two words of power and some lembas.
The first word, !OROME, will help you to capture something or someone that is
hard to get. The second !MELIAN will help you to counter any deception you
might find along the way. Also, Galadriel tells you that a wizard, Radagast,
may help you if you can find him. You are then taken across the river to make
your final assault upon Dol Guldur.

RADAGAST

 Travel west on the road you are on, and you will soon come to a north-south
intersection. Take the north road to Radagast's house. This is a long and
twisting road, and when it ends, walk a bit more north until you see
Radagast's house. Walk inside; there is nothing of interest on the first
floor, so take the stairs up.

 On the second floor, you will find three cages. If you go near the cages and
use PERCEPTION, you will find a lot of animals locked up. Use PICKLOCK to free
them. I don't know what good this does, but it makes you feel good, right?
(When I freed the animals, it said that the wolves on the far wall growled,
but for the life of me, I couldn't find any wolves anywhere.) Take the stairs
up to the third floor.

 On the third floor you will see Radagast, and a bird that is locked up in a
cage. If you ask Radagast about "bird" he will tell you that it is a spy of
Sauron. I tried to free the bird just for the heck of it, but didn't succeed.
You won't get anymore out of Radagast, so RECRUIT him. If you have a full
party of 10, get rid of an elf that you may have picked up in Lorien: Radagast
is a good fighter with lots of stamina, and his spells may help you out along
the way.

 Leave Radagast's house now. When you leave, you will be told that the animals
in the forest run from Radagast. I found this to be strange, and from other
players of LOTR, they said that Radagast turned into a werewolf on them at one
point in the game. It seems that this Radagast is a fake, and the real
Radagast is hiding out somewhere. Radagast didn't turn into a werewolf on me,
so if he does on you, you found a part of the game that I didn't get to play.
Follow the road back to the crossroads.

GOLLUM AND THE FOREST MAZE

 Take the south path now, and soon Celeborn will tell you he's leaving. At
about the same time, you will run into the vile creature Gollum. You can
either USE a rope, or the !OROME word of power to capture him. He agrees to
help you since in the back of his mind he wants to get his "precious" back.
He (or it) will tell you that you can't approach Dol Guldur via the main road,
and says he will show you a secret entrance.

 Walk east on the road until Gollum tells you to get off. Do so immediately!
Following the road any longer will result in a winged creature capturing all
of you. You will enter another forest maze, but unlike the Old Forest maze
that you already went through, this maze is much easier. There is only one
path through it. You will have to fight a few spiders here and there, but soon
you will come to an intersection where one path goes north, and the other goes
east.

 If you take the north path, you will find a statuary where you will be at-
tacked by five lifelike statues. They are not too easy to kill, and after they
are dead, you'll find nothing of use. And when I tried to exit, I was again
attacked. So, I think this path is just a red herring. Instead, take the east
path, and you will come to section where the hedges are rather small. Walk
right through the hedge, and Gollum tells you to go east to a big stone. The
stone is actually more north than east, but anyway, when you see a stone
pillar, walk around it until you find the secret entrance to Dol Guldur.

DOL GULDUR

 Dol Guldur is a fortress that is composed of ten levels. Inside, you will
fight a lot to get to Frodo and Sam. Mapping Dol Guldur's levels isn't really
necessary: each level is actually quite small. Your ultimate goal is to get to
the top level where you will meet up with the Witch King. As in Moria, I will
give a level by level description of Dol Guldur, in the order that I explored
them. I am using level 1 as the lowest level, up to level 10 as the highest.
You may want to skip some of the levels that I didn't find anything on, but of
course, I may have missed something. The level descriptions are only what I
found: you may find more.

LEVEL FIVE

 When you first enter Dol Guldur, you arrive on Level 5. Here you will find
two prisoners of Sauron: a dwarf who doesn't want much to do with you, and a
human who will join you if you free him (which I couldn't figure out how to
do). You will need to kill the Uruk and the two spiders and then use PERCEP-
TION to pick up the red key. This key doesn't open the cells on the level;
however, it will be of use later.

LEVEL FOUR

 Taking the stairs down you will immediately be attacked by three Olog-Hai's.
They are not easy to kill, but after you have finished them, head southwest
and go in the entrance. Follow the passage around (after being blinded twice)
and take the stairs down.

LEVEL THREE

 When you enter here, you are warned that not all is at it seems. Use the
!MELIAN word of power to put everything back in its proper place. I couldn't
find anything on this level; there is a staircase down in the northwest corner.

LEVEL TWO

 This is a maze level. Find your way to the area where you cannot cross be-
cause you are blocked by a red pit. If you try and cross the pit, your leader
will turn to stone. I found no way to get across other than losing at least
one character. I put one of my lesser characters in the lead, saved my game,
and kept trying to cross until I lost only that one character. When you are
finally able to cross, follow the path around until you see a staircase down.
Walk through the wall east of the staircase (I know it sounds stupid) and you
will be attacked by three sorcerers. Kill them to take the staircase down.
When you come back up to this level, walk south to the evil eye that is sur-
rounded by walls. When you walk into it you will be transported to another
area on this level, but this way you won't have to recross the pit.

LEVEL ONE

 This is the lowest level of Dol Guldur. From the stairs, walk west between
the fire pits. If you have Aragorn in your party, he will think that you are
trying to kill him, and he will abandon the party. Walk a bit more west and
you will see a cell to the north. Before you can get there, you are attacked
by a Nazgul. After he dies, you can GET another malach-key. Walk to the cell,
and USE the malach-key to free Sam Gamgee. He tells you that Frodo is being
held on the highest level of the tower. Time to head back up.

LEVEL SIX

 From level 6, you can exit Dol Guldur if you wish. There is a small box
located near the southwest stairs. Use the DEVICES skill to open the draw-
bridge. Before you can exit, though, you must get through some orcs. You are
then shot twice with some arrows which further lowers your stamina.

 When you exit Dol Guldur, you are informed that a Nazgul is going to finish
you off, but none attacked me. If you go west from the entrance, and then
north following the outside wall of Dol Guldur, you will soon see a keep off
to the west. The entrance to the keep is to the south. I found nothing of
interest on the first floor, take the stairs to the basement. There you will
find two Troll statues, and one of them is mumbling something about needing
some power. I searched the basement for any kind of a switch or something, but
I didn't find a thing to bring the Trolls to life. I also tried some spells
and words of power without luck. They probably would have just attacked me,
anyway. So, the keep was a dead end.

 Back on level 6 of the tower, in one of the rooms is a slave orc, Juithrech.
If you ask about "prisoner," he will tell you where they are being held, but
you already knew that. I searched some of the other rooms, but after meeting
six Uruks in about every one, I finally gave up and took the staircase up to
level 7.

LEVEL SEVEN

 This level contains a large center section surrounded by a several smaller
rooms. In the center area, you will see a red carpet that leads to a throne to
the north. Before you get there, you are attacked by a sorcerer and three
Uruks. After dispatching them, I searched the throne but found nothing.

LEVEL EIGHT

 We are reaching the top of Dol Guldur, which is evident since you are walking
around at the top of the castle. Walk east from the stairs and kill the four
orcs that attack you. You will find the entrance to the center section on the
east side. When you enter, I recommend taking the southern hallway, since in
the northern one you will be attacked by five humans. Taking the south hall,
you will be confronted by a single human. Answer "Y" to his question, and
defeat him. He will tell you that he hopes you fail (big surprise there). The
stairs to level 9 are to the west.

LEVEL NINE

 This is also a level with a main center section surrounded by two hallways.
If you attempt to go north on the red carpet, get ready for a hairy battle
with an Olog-Hai, a sorcerer, and a Nazgul. After this battle is over, you can
approach the throne, but, again, I found nothing! The stairs up are at the
northeast corner, but you can't get up them because of an invisible lock. Time
to USE the red key you found. Take the stairs up to level 10.

LEVEL TEN AND ENDGAME

 You will finally come into confrontation with the evil Witch King himself. He
is attempting to fly off with Frodo. Use the !THORONDOR word of power, and a
group of eagles will attack the Witch King. He can't fly away now, but he is
ready to fight. After a lengthy battle, you have finally completed the game!
You will be treated to a fun endgame sequence telling you what is going on in
the world since you got the ring back. Also, we are told that the game will be
picked up in the second volume of LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS. Now,
that's something to look forward to!

LORD OF THE RINGS VOLUME 1 is published and distributed by Interplay
Productions, Inc.

Fantatic answer!