3. Monster Play

* 3.0.1 What is Monster Play?
* 3.0.2 Sauron's Army? We can play the evil races?
* 3.0.3 Is Monster-Play consensual?
* 3.0.4 Is LotRO Going to Change Because of PvP?
* 3.0.5 Why was PvP Added?
* 3.0.6 I want to play as a Monster... what do I do?
* 3.0.7 Can I play the same monster from session to session?
* 3.0.8 Where does Thunk get to play (where does Monster Play occur)?
* 3.0.9 What will Thunk do (what's the point of Monster Play)?
* 3.0.10 What are Destiny Points?
* 3.0.11 What are the Ettenmoors like?
* 3.0.12 Will Solo-ing as a Monster be an option?
3.0.1 What is Monster Play? (

"Monster Play" is Player Versus Player combat as found in The Lord of the Rings Online. It allows players to battle each other, with some combatants as heroes, and others as members of Sauron's army.

[Source: Official Forums MP Info Thread]



3.0.2 Sauron's Army? We can play the evil races?

In Monster Play, yes. While it is not within the realm of the lore to let players play consistent Orcs or Trolls like they play Men and Hobbits, it is feasible to let them play as monsters on a temporary basis, in a controlled environment, as they shall in LotRO's Monster Play system.

[Source: Official Forums MP Info Thread]



3.0.3 Is Monster-Play consensual?

No matter how PvP is manifested in LOTRO, you will not get attacked by another player without your consent. PvP does not mean getting “ganked” – that won’t happen in LOTRO. If you don't like PvP, you don’t have to participate if you don’t want to. Ever.

[Source: PvP, LotRo, and You]



3.0.4 Is LotRO Going to Change Because of PvP?

We haven’t made any changes to our core designs (combat, questing, crafting, kinships, etc.) to accommodate PvP nor do we anticipate doing so. While there will probably be some balance changes for some of the class skills, the core game will not change. If you've been excited about LOTRO before we announced PvP there is no reason for that interest or excitement to diminish. In fact, everything we are discussing is always in the context of what will work best for this game, and for Middle-earth. The fact is, lots of things will cause us to change details within the game during development, Beta, and even after launch - with or without PvP.

[Source: LotRO, PvP, and You]



3.0.5 Why was PvP Added?

PvP creates an interesting gameplay dynamic that we believe will not only help LOTRO to be more successful, but will also add to the immersion of the game for those who enjoy PvP. For those who don’t, we’re going to make sure they don’t have to participate. Right now we’re finalizing how PvP will work and once we are comfortable with the design and feasibility of the plan, we will post it and ask for your feedback. Bear in mind that this system leverages the game we have already built, and is by no means a last-minute "add-on".

[Source: PvP, LotRO, and You]



3.0.6 I want to play as a Monster... what do I do?

When you go in as a player into the game, you create a character. And your character's just a hero. Let's say you pick a dwarf and you start playing. Once your character gets to about Level 10, you'll start finding that there are places that we have in the world called scrying pools. These scrying pools are basically portals that can take you to a region of the world called the Entmoors.

[Source: GS's Jeff Anderson (CEO of Turbine) Interview]



3.0.7 Can I play the same monster from session to session?

That's correct. So let's say you name your Uruk-hai Thunk, because you're not very creative. Next time you come in, Thunk will still be there.

[Source: GS's Jeff Anderson Interview]



3.0.8 Where does Thunk get to play (where does Monster Play occur)?

Monster Play, at launch, will be held in the region of The Ettenmoors. From a Dev's Diary:

"North of Rivendell are the troll-fens where Aragorn’s grandfather, Arador, met his end at the hands of the Hill-trolls dwelling in the Coldfells. Long lost to corruption, the Ettenmoors once served as a home to the kingdom of Rhudaur."

[Source: Dev's Deep: Welcome to the Ettenmoors!]



3.0.9 What will Thunk do (what's the point of Monster Play)?

You take Thunk to the Ettenmoors, you earn a bunch of destiny points from killing a bunch of players--and also, by the way, we've built a lot of PVE into the Entmoors so that monsters like Thunk can go out and just kill hobbit villages, burn towns, and more. They can go on monster missions and earn money, items, and destiny points for doing those activities, too.

[Source: GS's Jeff Anderson Interview]



3.0.10 What are Destiny Points?

So now you've got Thunk, the Uruk-Hai. He's done a bunch of stuff and he's earned some destiny points. What do you want to do with the destiny points? What do you do with the money you get? Well, with the money you get, you can actually turn them in for potions, things that cure your character. So you've got that. You can also take your destiny points and turn them in for upgrades to your monster. You can basically improve the stats of the monster, his health, or his armor settings. You can also give yourself new, powerful traits, or you can buy yourself new skills. And some of these are going to be rank restricted. I don't want to overlook that one. But you also can do other things with destiny points. So what's cool is that with monsters, unlike characters, you can actually upgrade the whole body, their look, or put war paint on your monster by buying them with destiny points.

[Source: GS's Jeff Anderson Interview]



3.0.11 What are the Ettenmoors like?

There is kind of in the northwest side, there is a monster citadel, which only monsters can be in. It's actually walled off. There's no way for a hero to get in there. Because it's a place where [you spawn], basically, right? And in the southeast side, there's a hero citadel. But between those two things, you have multiple keeps and castles for you to capture. And you or your group gets benefits from capturing those. You get destiny points. You get other benefits. And that really then propagates your group. So there are objectives like capture the flag within Entmoors to play for as well.

[Source: GS's Jeff Anderson Interview]



3.0.12 Will Solo-ing as a Monster be an option?

While it's likely safer to patrol in groups, lest you be hunted by nasty hobbitses, the devs do have solo-ers covered in MP as well:

Monster play tends to be more difficult than regular play, since there tend to be pesky hobbitses hunting you while you're trying to do simple things, like despoil hobbit villages, or slaughter the free people of Middle-Earth. Annuvin: With that said, we plan on having solo viable monster play quests, for those people that just want to be monstrous alone, without pestering anyone.
Source http://lotrovault.ign.com/faq/