Connecting
To quickly start playing The Two Towers, we recommend that you use our web client. The client is available under the "Play Now" button in the upper left corner of the page, or under this link.
Advanced MUD players may wish to pick a specialized MUD client instead. Clients have many features, such as triggers, aliases, scripts and even auto-mappers. Most players use MUSHclient or zMUD.
You may also use a simple telnet connection.
Creating Your First Character
Choosing a Name for Your Character
At the login prompt, enter the name "new" to create a new character. Next, you will be asked to choose a name for your character. Please choose one that's fitting to Tolkien's world, and avoid names that are real words or common modern names. We do not allow legendary character names, such as Legolas or Galadriel. If your name is deemed not acceptable by the staff, you will be required to choose another before advancing.
Choosing a Password
You will also be required to choose a password. Please make it something that you can remember easily. Never give out your password to anyone. No one, including Ainur (the staff who maintains the game) should ever ask you for your password. Keep it secret. Keep it safe.
Inputting Your Real Name and Email Address
During the character creation process you will be given a prompt to add your real name and email address to our database. We do not sell or give out email addresses to outside sources. You need to provide a real email address in the event you lose or forget your password and need to recover it. If you create a fake email address, it will come back to haunt you if you are ever stuck with a password problem.
New Players
You will receive a prompt asking if you are new to The Two Towers. Answer yes to register yourself as a new character. Areas of the game will now provide some additional instructions to guide you through your adventures, and our new player Helper staff will be better able to assist you.
If you are connecting to the game while logged on to Facebook, you will be prompted whether you want the game to post information about your character's progress on your facebook wall. Answering yes to this question will make the MUD display a prompt for you each time you achieve something important in the game, such as gaining a new level. Note that you can always change this preference later (or even decide which events should send messages) in game through the "settings" command.
You can determine if you are logged in to facebook by checking the last button in the menu in the lower part of the client display - if it says "[f] Login", it means you are not connected. If it says "[f] Logout", you are.
Selecting Your Character's Gender
The next step in the character creation process will be to pick your character's gender.
Choosing a Side
Type "create" to continue with your character creation. You will now be asked to choose a side in the war. Those who choose "service" are born in servitude to the Dark Lord Sauron and begin in the southern lands. Those who choose "freedom" are born free and begin west of the Misty Mountains. The side you choose will determine which races are available for you to choose from. For example, a dwarf can not be born into servitude. If you choose "service" the dwarf race will not be an option.
Note: The "service" (evil) side is considered to be more challenging, and therefore is not recommended for truly new players.
Selecting a Race
The final step in the character creation process is to choose a race. There are several races you can choose from on either side.
The Tutorial
Now that you have a character, you will be moved into the tutorial area. It is highly recommended that you go through the tutorial even if you have played the game before. The tutorial gives your character some handy "autoloading" equipment (an item that will stay with you through logons) which will make playing a little more convenient. If you still do not want to take the tutorial, though, you can type "skiptutorial" at any time to exit it.
During the tutorial, a helpful ranger (or a sniffer, if you chose an Evil Race character) will teach you some basics about the game. If you have played online text games before, this may be a little elementary for you. However, it only takes about twenty minutes and will help you learn some of the basic commands on The Two Towers.
Hints
Once you have completed the tutorial, you will be free to go out on your own and explore Arda. At this time, hints will automatically turn on. We recommend that you keep hints on if you are new to the game. However, if you would like to turn them off, simply type "hint off".
Help Files
The Two Towers has extensive help files to aid you. You may view them by using the "help" command in the game window (type "help help" for a quick reference on how that works if you are unsure) or by using the help files available on the website and this help window.
For a list of help files type "help topics" in game, or click here. You can also use "help commands"' as a quick reference guide for common commands in The Two Towers. This list is also available here.Helpers
Helpers are characters who have volunteered to help you along with your travels. If you have questions or get stuck, please type 'who helper' and see the list of helpers online. You can contact a helper by typing: tell (their-name-here) and your message and pressing ENTER.
Example: tell Lyneah How do I buy food?
You may also ask a question on the newbie channel (comm) by typing:
] Hello all. How do I get to Bree?
Professions
You are not asked to pick a profession when you create your character. There are many trainers throughout Arda that you can study with. You also have the choice of advancing to the highest level as a civilian. Take your time exploring and choose a profession when you are ready.
We wish you a safe journey and hope you have fun on your adventures in Middle Earth!