Acquiring and activating Traits is one of the most flexible methods for customizing your character in The Lord of the Rings Online^TM: Shadows of Angmar^TM. Simply put, Traits are new skills, bonuses, and other enhancements that benefit your character. There are four main categories of Traits: Virtue, Race, Class, and Legendary, which are earned by completing Deeds, quests, and other achievements during your adventures. Your Deed Log contains information about which of your current Accomplishment goals will reward you with a Trait.

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You can only have a few Traits active at a time, but as your level increases you’ll gain additional slots to put them in. Since, generally, you’ll have a much larger number of available Traits than slots, you must choose the Traits that best fit your character and your style of play.

Your current Trait assignments can be accessed at any time by bringing up the Character Journal (click on the Journal Panel icon in the lower left, or press “c”) and choosing the “Traits” tab. This tab lists all the Traits and slots you currently have available. Select one of the tabs (Virtue, Race, Class, or Legendary) at the bottom to get a list of available Traits in each category.

You cannot change your active Traits in your Character Journal; to make changes, you must speak to a Bard in one of the following towns:

The Shire

• Michel Delving: Gammer Took, Bard of the Shire

Bree-land

• Combe: Janie Sprigleaf, Bard of Combe
• Bree-town: Owen Oaks, Bard of Bree

Ered Luin

• Celondim: Faellindiel, Bard of Celondim
• Thorin’s Halls: Steinn Silvertongue, Bard of Thorin’s Halls

Trollshaws

• Rivendell: Fileglin, Bard of Rivendell

North Downs

• Esteldin: Garchadron, Bard of Esteldin

Ettenmoors

• Glân Vraig: Guleneth, Bard of the Ettenmoors

Monster players have their own version of Bards, called Corruptors. These NPCs function in the same way as Bards, and can be found in the following locations:

Ettenmoors:

• Gramsfoot: Cinaid, Corruptor of the Ettenmoors
• Dâr-gazag : Gavran, Corruptor of Dâr-gazag

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Speaking to a Bard will give you the option to manage your Traits. In the Trait Trainer panel, you can view all available Traits for each of the four categories by choosing the appropriate tab at the bottom of the panel. Information is displayed here about what each Trait does, and you can assign a Trait by dragging its icon to the appropriate open slot type. The Bard will charge a fee to update your active Traits, so choose carefully!

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More background information about the creation of LOTRO’s Trait system can be found in our Traits and Deeds Developer Diary. Traits are a great way to customize your character beyond the basic skills of your chosen Class, and we hope you have fun searching for new Traits and experimenting with different combinations for your character!