'Return of the Shadow'; An incredible journey into the world of Tolkien, and the reshaped world of the Fourth Age. The armies of the Uruk-hai, Uruk-lhuth and the common Orc threaten the existence of the pure and lighthearted, in what can only be considered an epic battle against the dark, evil magics of Mirkwood and its seemingly endless forces, who will prevail in the war of the ages? 'RotS' is a mud of endless possibilities; a playerbase who consist of seasoned veterans, ambitious newbies and a creative immortal staff. Player killing (PK) is very much encouraged and with a good diversity of classes, equiptment, spells and techniques to use in your quest to defeat your opposition. Leveling consists of gaining experience (XP) from PK or computer controlled enemies (NPC's / MOB's), while quests offer some experience when completed. The map itself is gigantic, with a huge variety of MOB's and quests to spend hours of playtime learning and completing. Equiptment (EQ) is readily available for newbies, and due to the range of different classes, races and type of weaponry and armour available there is alot of time to be spent learning and exploring RotS; something that even I, after 8 years of playing, am still extremely motivated and excited about doing. Return of the Shadow is a well established MUD and is a great way to spend free time. Its playerbase has a large number of different nationalities and personalities which welcome new players, and recently the game has been undergoing changes that have made it very newbie friendly; and players as always are there to answer queries and provide helpful information. Don't be afraid to pop in and show yourself, if you enjoy MUDs and Tolkien then I am sure you will find yourself at home; see you soon! Bern Ar-Tugal, the Dunedain Warrior.

Return of the Shadow is an adventure. It does not matter if you are one for roleplaying, questing, playerkilling or a mixture of all three, this is a MUD to try. Also, a very active staff allows for new dynamics to be added constantly. So, after serving for several years as both a player and an administrator, I can personally vouche that no other MUD has been more entertaining than Return of the Shadow.

This is by far one of the best MUDs out there. Newbie friendly and fairly easy to learn but not to master. The info that is displayed on here about the MUD is a bit out of date. The world is closer to 22,000 rooms and still expanding. The race war consists of what i would call 4 different sides. Uruks, Orcs, Lhuths, which can fight against all races and then you have the usual good side which only fights evil. I suggest this MUD to everyone. If you haven't made a character yet what are you waiting for you are missing out.

While not a Pk essential mud Return of the Shadow has it where it counts for everyone who likes to occassionally rip someone's still beating heart out of their chest. From stimulating 1 on 1 pk to the intense joy of storming the enemies caves/towns, slaying all in your path. A three sided race war ensures they're is plenty of fun for all who play. Play the rumbling dwarven warrior or the enjoy the calm intellect and devestating power of an elven mage pitted against the brute force of the fighting Uruk-Hai, the hoards of the Common Orc to the recluse and devastating power of the mysterious and rare Uruk-Lhuth. Coupled with a large selection of Tolkien races and a wide variety of skills and spells which can be combined in any form to create truely unique characters. A large world stretching from Erebor in the north-east to dol-guldur in the south-west, from the terrifying Goblin Gate in the north-west to the deep swamps of mirkwood to the south and all of Rhovanion inbetween this mud filled with many dangerous creatures and treasues. Give it a try. You won't be sorry!

'Return of the Shadow' is a Tolkien-based MUD featuring a very large and very detailed world. This world is the primary reason I play the game, but worth mentioning are also a number of other things: for example, that this is a pkill MUD with three sides of the war and very visible information on the state of the war, that mystics can engage in mental combat which is quite unlike physical combat, that the game has an active management that makes an effort to communicate with players, and that the game is quite newbie-friendly. The map stretches from the Halls of Thranduil in the north to Dol Guldur in the south and from the caverns of the goblins of the Misty Mountains in the west to Laketown in the east. If you think you might enjoy visiting Laketown or Dol Guldur, buying a toy in Dale, or seeing where the barrels with Bilbo and company went through the trapdoor, down the portcullis, and along the forest river to Laketown, this may be a MUD for you. The level of detail is in places incredible. Weather messages are different for different room types, so that one gets to see rain forming puddles in the ruts of the roads, clouds covering the sky above the mountain tops, storms brewing in the sky above the branches of the trees in the forests. Clothes come in a variety of colours including lavender, indigo, blood-red, and ithilien-green. Toy shops sell many kinds of beautifully described toys. There are more food items than I have seen on any other MUD, including many kinds of meat (including wolf meat, grouse, venison, wild boar), seven kinds of apples, and many interesting specialty items (such as, for example, baskets of honey muffins). If a large and very detailed part of Tolkien's Middle-earth is something you may enjoy seeing in a text game, I highly recommend checking out 'Return of the Shadow'.

I have been playing Return of the Shadow for almost 8 years now, and have seen it smoothly transition itself from a naive young mud, into a sophisticated, enormous world. Speaking from the perspective of both a Staff Member and Player, I can honestly and wholeheartedly endorse this mud as one of the most diverse, expansive, customizable and fun to play. We now have a huge world, spanning over 15,000 rooms and ranging from the depths of Goblin Gate within the Misty Mountains, to the peaceful streets of Laketown, and southward to Dol Guldur. We boast 7 playable races, and a 3-sided race war, with plans to implement even more races. We have a superb PK-System, and keep track of our 'famous' pkillers for the whole mud to see. Come join us, whether you like the RP atmosphere of 4th Age Tolkien, or the excitement of hunting *an Uruk-hai* through the depths of Mirkwood, you will find yourself wondering why you haven't been playing here all along! -Felagund Finrod Implementor, Return of the Shadow

Return of the Shadow has traversed a sea of change in the past several months. Our landscape now stretches from the Lonely Mountain to the depths of Dol Goldur in the southern reaches of mirkwood. Play is still nice and straightforward. Log in, make a character, grab a rusty sword from outside the inn and make a place in our world! The brave can even play evil races or design their own character classes. On a personal note, we spent over a year developing some of the more recent additions and they're really quite good.

ROTS is ultimately the best. with a well define theme, GOOD VS EVIL....you can really sense the tension when the battle is on. it is a very unique MUD...and i dont think other muds has the virtue that ROTS offers... all the best, and may ROTS lives on!

After a long search through over 50 muds I found rots and never looked back. The people on here are great and the pk and xp are both tons of fun. Role-playing can also be very interesting. Come visit us in the Mirkwood.

To anyone new to mudding, or anyone who loves Tolkien, I wholeheartedly suggest this mud. It is dynamic and addictive, with a friendly pbase and exciting gameplay. It's one of my favorite past times.