We officially opened whitelisting season!

This server will open its gates for whitelisted players tomorrow!

The server has just opened for whitelisted players.

Sharing some of the in-game feel of the wonderful LOTRmod for minecraft with a few screenshots of only one of the dozens of major biomes in Middle-earth:

The Angle, home to the Dúnedain of the North, heirs of the once mighty Kingdom of Arnor.

Been playing this in 'Creative' mode - helpful, as a noob, to both Minecraft and LOTR. I also really enjoying the huge diversity of the game. Can definitely see how a group of pledged-Elyrians playing this will be assisted to get used to each others ways and skills... A great way of bonding those who'll be a future Elyrian group (whether settlement, town, guild of crafters or whatever).

A new series of in-game screenshots to show villages of some of the men of the free peoples of Middle-earth:

• In Rohan, you'll find fortresses and villages with or without wooden defences. Will they be able to fend off the invaders from Isengard and Dunland?

• In Gondor, the people hide behind solid walls, hoping for their lords and military to keep out hordes from Mordor, Easterlings and Haradrim.

• In Dale, men live relatively peacefully in scattered open hamlets, but orcs from Gundabad and Easterlings from the Rhudel might ruin that scene sooner than any northman would expect. The Dalish alliances with Durin's Folk, Dorwinion and the Wood-elves may prove crucial for their survival.

Will you make one of those your own?

If you guys ever set up a first age server that would be great to see. Working on the cold dark of Utumno; the spires of thangorodrim dwarfing Angband; the mysterious and beautiful cave city of Doriath; Minas Tirith on the lonely isle of Tol Sirion... so much potential!

Posted By Mandos at 1/31/2019 6:56:25 PM

If you guys ever set up a first age server that would be great to see. Working on the cold dark of Utumno; the spires of thangorodrim dwarfing Angband; the mysterious and beautiful cave city of Doriath; Minas Tirith on the lonely isle of Tol Sirion... so much potential!

That has been done, can be done again and in fact there is still a First Age Server up with a dedicated First Age Submod, developed with approval of the LOTRmod creator. I was rather involved in the project for the first two servers we created for that purpose, and for the first Second Age submod and server as well. The ownership of the submods has been passed onward to the main coder. The server curently running the First Age submod is called 'The Elder Days'. Do note that the rules and settings of that server are significantly different than those of Ilu Ambar.

Do note that Utumno is in fact part of the Third Age LOTRmod, as a separate dimension, playable as a type of dungeon world for special loot and boss fights. Not for the faint-hearted. On Ilu Ambar, we will open Utumno for special occasions / player organised server events.

I've been playing on this server for a couple of weeks now and I'm having a great time. The mod is very excellent--I'd not had a chance to play it prior to this and I was pleasantly surprised. There are many similarities to CoE, so it's worth checking out.

The community is very helpful, mature and a joy to play with. New, active players every day. Join us!

The server community is still growing and has a nice mix of young adults and 'older' gamers. Gradually small communities ('fellowships') begin to form of players working together to establish their own settlements and outposts, and roleplay and adventure together in the vast world of Middle-earth.

Here's another batch of screenshots displaying mod-generated content. This time featuring some of the (lesser known) mannish factions who live 'Under the Shadow' of the fallen Maia Sauron, who resides in Mordor:

• The Easterlings of Rhudel thrive whilst they profit from both their trade relationships with Dorwinion, and their allegiance to Sauron.

• The Corsairs in Umbar are seeking to get their revenge on the declining realm of Gondor.

• The Gulfings of the Gulf of Harad may hardly see war, but support their saviour Sauron regardless, as it was he who freed all of their kin in Near Harad from the horrendous rule of the men of the west.

I've been playing on this server for a couple of days, and I must say it's a must-have experience, especially for those hyped with CoE. Huge world (bigger than CoE), with mature players, immersive survival and roleplay, together with an amazing Lord of the Rings mod. I feel like it simulates the experience we expect to have in CoE.

If you like CoE, LotR or simply wants to roleplay in a player-driven world, this server is for you. Still hesitating? Join the discord and ask around. I'm sure you will be pleased.

We adjusted our rules regarding player character/faction changes:

Players can now create multiple characters and switch character every week if they please. Upon character switch their old character LOTRmod data will be saved for later use and they will start with a blank sheet for their new character, or an old character LOTRmod data file if they wish to resume playing an old character they had.

Player characters start to make their mark on the server world. Here's a post by Belzeref showcasing his latest survival build:

"Gazing upon the newly reapired Morannon, Gorbag the Lesser could feel the twilight of Man be upon this world."

Showcasing another finished player character build in nice contrast with the previous one. As described by Níssel, a Dorwinion elf character of OttraTheFox:

"Southern Politea - Polis on the western shores of Rhun sea.

Temple of Yavanna on the top of the "Palitos" Hill. Shooting range, private manors and civilian houses, baths of Orome (far left) and numerous summer houses."

All player created sites are roleplay hubs and potential stages for future events, of any kind.

Currently, players are also working to establish massive lore sites like Rivendell, Erebor and Fornost Erain.

Others spend their time exploring, questing for their sub-faction or its allies, roleplaying or building more modest, but often equally satisfying, builds.

We now officially also support players to choose a pacifist character role. More info about this is presented in §2.7 of the Rules & Guidelines document.