For today’s Beta Journal, we asked our Beta Program participants to talk about memorable adventures they’ve had during the course of their travels in LOTRO.

Sign up for The Lord of the Rings^TM: Shadows of Angmar^TM Beta Program, and a chance to start forming your own impressions! European players, sign up for the Codemasters LOTRO Beta at http://www.lotro-europe.com.

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I am writing this journal about when I first received my beta key for Lord of the Rings Online. After settling on playing as a member of the race of men, I was surprised to find out that I now had to choose a lineage for my character. This was a harder choice to make as each group had its very own look and feel for how the character would be portrayed in the world. There were the Dale-landers, with their roots stretching all the way back to the shadow of the Lonely Mountain, there were the men of Rohan, with their golden hair and stern mien. There were the men of Gondor with the air of nobility and resolve from living in the shadow of Mordor. Lastly, I could choose one of the Bree-landers, growing up on the edge of the Chetwood and Midgewater. Each character set had their own hair, colors and clothing choices.

I settled on Rohan as my homeland and quickly moved on to choose his class, which was difficult as well as men can be anything. I chose Lore-master and dove staff-first into the game. Immediately I was immersed into a story within a story. I was not to be some big haired, round eyed youth - counseled by my long lost uncle as to my secret destiny from my birth - no; I awoke with an aching head, lying in the mud, imprisoned by those who would wish me harm. Now - that’s the way to start a story!

Within a half hour of gameplay, I had freed myself, engaged in a couple of quests (the first time I saw spiders dropping out of the trees I had to wake my wife - who is also in Beta - up to come see), and had brought my tutorial missions to a very gripping end. That was just the beginning. The tutorial zone was big, or at least it had the definite feeling of being big. After all, how many newbie zones do you find where you can climb to the top of a sprawling ruin from ages past and then look down into the valley floor to see your starting village nestled quaintly between two hills?

It only got better from there. Making my way down into the next hamlet along the road, I continued my adventures - ranging into deep woods with ruined encampments, wild creatures and keen-eyed brigands. I crept into the marshlands where an evil den of goblins awaited me, jarring the senses and filling my character with a sense of dread (no really - you experience this). I traversed high hills overlooking pleasant Hobbit farms with the green walls of Bree beckoning off in the distance. I plumbed the remains of ancient fortifications left over from the great northern kingdoms of men. All the time, I kept thinking to myself just how big and expansive the game was. Overhead, an ever changing sky kept me busy as I watched the sheer differences the various clouds made in the environment. Wispy clouds with flocks of birds lifting off of the forest canopy. Thick fluffy clouds that darken and threaten rain as the day wears on. Roiling, boiling, angry clouds that seem to center upon wherever the stain of evil fouls the world beneath. Then the night came, and I found that I could look into the heavens and pick out constellations that are familiar to me - I found five so far that I recognized.

The levels ticked by as I became familiar with the game. Everywhere I went I found something new, something captivating - and then the time came where I looked up from where I had just killed a goblin in the marshes. A path up and over the high hills that lay before me seemed to be calling to me to come and take a look. So up I climbed. No changes in color fell upon the grass. No slime or ancient rotten trees suddenly sprouted from the ground in front of me - yet a palpable change fell upon the environment to tell me that I was standing on the edge of civilization. As I topped the hills, I looked to the east across the expanse of the Lone-lands. I looked back toward Bree and realized just how small a part my little niche of civilization was now. Before me, the challenge is just beginning. The empty and wild lands to the east call. I shall set out in the morning!

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We hope you enjoyed this week’s Beta Journal! Check back next Wednesday for more!