Forming a family in Middle Earth

The family that plays together, stays together!

by Brasse

Perhaps you have seen someone running about Middle Earth with the title like "Wokky, Daughter of Wren". It sounds very homey, and in keeping with fantasy lore. Maybe you are close to some friends in game, and want to strengthen your ties by forming a family unit.

Although not as full-featured as some might like, Lord of the Rings Online does provide for familial organization. It can be a little confusing, so let's walk through it. Marriages are not yet in game (due some time after launch), but one can be a parent or child of another player.


Let us say that Wren would love to be a great old gaffer one day. She doesn't, but let's say she does, and picture her hobbling about, whacking people with her cane of much butt-whooping. She wants children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren at her feet. Assuming that she can talk her friends into going along with this, she can get started with no special skills – just like real life!

Your LOTRO Family Tree:

Understanding the generational relationships is vital to setting up your family tree.

Open your Character Journal (default is the "C" key), and click on the Bio tab at the bottom. This will show you a blank family tree.

Although up to 24 generations are available on the drop-down menu, you will only see a maximum of three associated with your character: yourself, your parent, and your children.

The default generation number is 1. It is important to note that the "oldest" person possible in any family will be Generation 1. You cannot be someone's child if you are Generation 1 – let us assume that your parents have passed on, or that you were hatched.


In order to be the child of a Generation 1 person, you have to be further down the generational numbering scheme.
In order to be eligible to become Wren's daughter, Wokky clicked the drop down button by the Generation number and chose 2. It is important to remember to click on the "Change Generation" button after choosing your number! She could choose 4 or 7 or 19, but 2 is more reasonable and allows for a long string of descendents to be added later.

In order for someone to become Wokky's child, they would have to set themselves to be generation 3 (or 4, 5, etc.) If you set yourself to Generation 24, you cannot adopt children.

You CAN change your generation as long as you are not part of a family group already. Once your familial ties are recorded, you cannot change your generation without first dissolving the relationships, via the Notary.

Say someone decided to be "child of Wokky". They would have to set themselves to be at least generation 3 (though 4, 5 or further would work as well).

For instance, a family tree might be set up thus:

Wren (generation 1)
|
Wokky (generation 2)
|
Jabber (generation 3) & Puchi (generation 3)

Jabber and Puchi may themselves adopt two children each, if they choose. Their children MUST be generation rank 4 or further.

Adopting:

The parent must target their prospective child and type /adopt. The child will see a pop-up window of the offer and may click on accept or decline. If you get an error message, check to ensure that the child's generation number is higher than that of the parent. As soon as the adoption is accepted, the relationship appears on your bio screen. None of this waiting for nine months, no toilet training, no orthodontists!

Races:

In Lord of the Rings Online, there are no race restrictions on forming a family. You may join a family of mixed racial heritage.

No, you cannot adopt a Monster Play character. Silly person.

Disowning (or Rebellion):

What if your son Jabber turns out to be an absolute prat, and you are tired of having people associate his name with you? He obviously takes after the other, bad, reprehensible side of the family, right? You may relieve yourself of your family ties at any time by visiting a Notary and dissolving your family relationships. It is not functioning in game yet, but it appears that for a fee, you may disown a child, or abandon a parent.

Notaries are found in major towns:
Bree – Bonnie Milkweed (31.2s, 51.3w) inside the Bree Town Hall.
Michel Delving – Whistan Whitfoor (33.2s, 75.1w) He is actually in the "Delving Fields," but on the edge of the town, by a wall.
Thorin's Hall – Warr Ink-sleeve (just inside the entrance, to the right of the foot of the stairs).

We'll keep you apprised of any changes to the family system in Lord of the Rings Online!