Although the main narrative of the game runs parallel to the narrative in the
film trilogy, the plot is not intended as an original canonical story to fit into the plot as developed in the films. This is primarily seen insofar as the party are present during certain battles which in the films are solo fights, such as when
Gandalf faces the
Balrog in
The Fellowship of the Ring or when
Éowyn faces the
Witch-king of Angmar in
The Return of the King. The game also features events which don't take place in the films at all; such as a battle between the party and
Gríma Wormtongue in
Snowbourne, and another against the Eye of Sauron atop
Barad-dûr. Throughout the game, Gandalf 'speaks' to Berethor by means of "Epic Scenes"; film clips which the player can collect and which feature original narration by Gandalf. These clips give context to much of the plot and serve to offer advice to Berethor of events in the wider world.
Background The game is presented against the background of the history of the
One Ring. At the dawn of the
Second Age, after the defeat of the Dark Lord,
Morgoth, the
elves forged
Rings of Power to help themselves, the
dwarves and
men rule
Middle-earth. However, the elves were unaware that Sauron, Morgoth's closest ally, had survived his master's defeat, and in the guise of Annatar had been the one who taught the Elven-smiths, led by
Celebrimbor, how to forge the Rings, whilst, in secret, he forged his own One Ring in the fires of
Mount Doom, a Ring far more powerful than any of the others. However, in order for the One Ring to be powerful enough to control the other Rings, Sauron had to transfer most of his power into it. As soon as he put it on, the elves became aware of his ruse, removing and hiding their
Three Rings, which Celebrimbor had forged without Sauron's aid. Sauron waged war on the elves, conquering much of Middle-earth and killing Celebrimbor. Thus began the Dark Years, when Sauron took possession of the remaining sixteen Rings, giving seven to the dwarves and nine to men in an effort to corrupt them. The dwarves proved relatively immune to the powers of the Rings, acquiring only a greed for gold, and becoming unconcerned with events in the wider world. Men proved less resilient, and the nine kings given the Rings turned into the nine Ring-wraiths, or
Nazgûl, led by the Witch-king of Angmar. In his ongoing efforts to conquer Middle-earth, Sauron regained the allegiance of many of Morgoth's servants from the
First Age, and successfully corrupted
Númenor. However, in doing so, he expended a great deal of his power, and lost the ability to ever again assume a pleasing disguise. Returning to
Mordor, he regained his strength, eventually capturing
Minas Ithil. However, realizing that if they did not join together, Sauron would destroy both men and elves,
Elendil and
Gil-galad formed the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, and attacked Sauron in his fortress, Barad-dûr. The alliance was victorious, with
Isildur cutting the One Ring from Sauron's hand. However, although presented with a chance to destroy the Ring, Isildur, already beginning to succumb to its corruption, chose not to do so. As such, although Sauron's physical form was vanquished, his spirit, bound to the Ring, survived. Some time later, Isildur was attacked and killed by a band of
orcs, and the Ring was lost in the river
Anduin for over two thousand years. Meanwhile, during the
Third Age, a still weakened Sauron covertly established a stronghold at
Dol Guldur. In response to this undetermined evil, the
Valar sent five
Maiar to Middle-earth. Taking the form of
wizards, they were led by
Saruman. Unsure of the origin of the evil power in Dol Guldur, the wizard Gandalf was sent to investigate. However, Sauron hid from Gandalf, waiting for four hundred years before returning. Around the same time, the One Ring was found by a
Hobbit named
Sméagol, who became utterly corrupted by it, living in the caves of the
Misty Mountains, and physically transforming into a creature known as Gollum. For five hundred years, Gollum was consumed and corrupted by the Ring. Eventually, Gandalf was able to determine the evil presence in Dol Guldur was indeed Sauron. Gandalf reported back to the
White Council, but Saruman dissuaded them from moving against Sauron. Only when he learned the One Ring may be in the vicinity of the
Gladden Fields did Saruman agree to attack Sauron, hoping to find the Ring himself. The Council drove Sauron from Dol Guldur, unaware that he knew the Ring had been found. Just prior to Sauron's departure, the Ring passed to another hobbit,
Bilbo Baggins, who used it to assist in the victory of elves, men and dwarves at the Battle of the Five Armies. Sixty years later, Gollum was captured by Uruk-hai, and taken to Mordor, where he was tortured into revealing the owner and location of the Ring; Bilbo Baggins of the
Shire. In the meantime, Bilbo had left the Shire to live in
Rivendell, and upon the advice of Gandalf had (very reluctantly) given the Ring to his nephew,
Frodo Baggins. With the information given him by Gollum, Sauron, still unable to take physical form, thus sent the Nazgûl to the Shire to retrieve the One Ring. Frodo, and his friends,
Samwise Gamgee,
Peregrin "Pippin" Took and
Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck managed to escape the Shire and make it to
Bree, where they encountered the
ranger Aragorn, the last surviving descendant of Isildur, and rightful heir to the throne of
Gondor. Aragorn protected the hobbits on their journey to Rivendell, and upon their arrival,
Elrond formed a
Fellowship with the goal of bringing the Ring to Mordor to destroy it. The Fellowship is composed of Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Gandalf, an elf named
Legolas, a dwarf named
Gimli, and a man from Gondor named
Boromir, son of
Denethor,
Steward of Gondor.
Plot The game begins with Berethor (voiced by
Rhys Lloyd), a captain in the Citadel Guard of Gondor, traveling to Rivendell to find Boromir. On the outskirts of Rivendell, he is attacked by the Nazgûl, but is rescued by Idrial (
Lori Phillips), an elf in the service of
Galadriel. As they travel through the forest, they see a murder of crebain (evil crows sent out as spies) and Idrial deduces that Saruman (
Christopher Lee) has betrayed the elves leaving Middle-earth for the Grey Havens. Seeing her convoy under attack by
Isengard orcs, she and Berethor intervene. They then head to
Caradhras to seek any further survivors, and there meet Elegost (
Chris Edgerly), a
Dúnedain ranger hunting
Warg. They learn the Fellowship tried to pass over Caradhras recently, but were prevented from doing so by a snowstorm unleashed by Saruman, and so they instead elected to pass through the mines of Moria. Elegost explains he was hunting with a dwarven companion when they were caught in the storm, and separated. The three head towards Moria, soon finding the dwarf, Hadhod (
Lewis MacLeod), whom they save from a Cave Troll. They fight the Watcher in the Water shortly after it failed to kill the Fellowship. Upon entering Moria, they fight the Watcher again, and this time they kill it. Hadhod learns the rumors regarding
Balin and the dwarves are true; they have been wiped out by orcs. They pursue the Fellowship, finding themselves on the floor below them, and seeing a Balrog ascending from the depths. After fighting countless wargs, goblins, and 9 Trolls, they reach the
Bridge of Khazad-dûm. There they join Gandalf (
Ian McKellen) as he faces the Balrog. They help him to victory, but are unable to prevent him falling from the bridge. However, unbeknownst to the Fellowship, Gandalf is resurrected by the Valar. Meanwhile, the party exits Moria and follows in the footsteps of the Fellowship, passing through
Lothlórien. They soon learn that Boromir is dead, that Frodo and Sam have headed towards Mordor to destroy the Ring, and that the rest of the Fellowship have gone to
Rohan. They too head towards Rohan. However, Saruman has used his agent, Gríma Wormtongue, to corrupt
Théoden, King of Rohan, manipulating him into banishing
Éomer, captain of the Rohirrim. Saruman plans to use the division caused by this to destroy Rohan. The party meet the resurrected Gandalf, who tells them they must assemble Éomer's men and head towards
Helm's Deep, where Rohan will make a last stand against Saruman's army. In the meantime, Gandalf will attempt to release Théoden from Saruman's curse. Soon thereafter, they meet a woman named Morwen (Lori Phillips), who joins the party on the road to Helm's Deep in the hopes of finding her family. Having assembled Éomer's scattered forces, the party begin to make their way to Helm's Deep. On the journey, Morwen reveals she is originally from
Minas Tirith, and the party receive word that Théoden has been released from Saruman's spell. On the road, they meet Éaoden (
Charles Martinet), a member of Rohan's Royal Guard, who joins them. Soon thereafter, they find the bodies of Morwen's family, killed by wargs, before arriving at Helm's Deep. Inside the fortress, they prepare for battle. Soon, Saruman's army of 10,000
Uruk-hai arrive. They breach the outer walls using explosives and overwhelm the inner defenses. As Berethor fights, he suddenly hears the voice of Saruman telling him he shall be punished for his betrayal. Gandalf and Éomer arrive with the Rohirrim, attacking and decimating the Uruk-hai army. Meanwhile, the
Ents, roused to war by Saruman's partial destruction of
Fangorn Forest, lay siege to
Orthanc, ending Saruman's involvement in the war. Gandalf then explains to Berethor why he heard the voice of Saruman – Berethor was captured by Saruman, who put him under a spell. Saruman believed Boromir would take the Ring from Frodo, and Berethor's job was to take it from Boromir and return it to Saruman. However, Boromir did not take the Ring. Knowing of Saruman's plan, Gandalf and Galadriel sent Idrial to find Berethor and stay by him until the spell could be broken, and with the destruction of Orthanc, Berethor is freed from the spell. Gandalf tells the party that Sauron will now turn his eye to Minas Tirith. Gandalf rides on ahead, and sends the party to the ruined city of
Osgiliath, to stand alongside Boromir's brother,
Faramir. As they await the arrival of the army, Berethor muses that Osgiliath seems familiar to him. Éoaden remembers a Gondorian warrior who fought under Boromir during the defense of the city some time ago, but who fled the battle in fear. The party realize that Berethor is that man. He vows he will never flee again, and the party join Faramir in a fight against Gothmog. They defeat him, but he flees before they can kill him. Gandalf then summons the party back to Minas Tirith. Before they leave, however, Berethor learns the reason he fled Osgiliath was because he was stabbed by a
Morgul blade, the tip of which is still within him. He and Idrial face the Witch-king, but Idrial explains he cannot harm the Witch-king whilst the blade is still inside him. He cuts it out and they attack the Witch-king, driving him off. The party then head to Minas Tirith. They reach the city just after the Mordor army has breached the main gate, with orcs rampaging through the streets. Meanwhile, the Witch-king confronts Gandalf, who is joined by the party in the fight. During the battle, they hear the horns of the Rohirrim, and the Witch-king flees. The party head to the citadel at the top of the city, where they witness the death of the insane Denethor at the hands of Gandalf. They then learn that Aragorn is on his way with the Army of the Dead. The battle moves to the
Pelennor Fields as the Rohirrim charge the Mordor army. The Witch-king attacks Théoden, and Éowyn comes to his aid. The party join her as she fights and they are able to defeat him. Soon thereafter Aragorn arrives with the Army of the Dead, who wipe out the Mordor army. As the party celebrate, the eight remaining Nazgûl attack, stabbing Morwen. They defeat the Nazgûl, and Aragorn is able to save Morwen's life. He then tells the party the entire army is to march on the Black Gate to distract Sauron from Frodo's approach to Mount Doom. At the same time, the party attack the Eye of Sauron itself. As they fight, Frodo successfully destroys the Ring, and Sauron is defeated. In the aftermath of the victory, Gandalf tells Berethor he will face more adventures, saying "Your tale has hardly begun." ==Development==