Volume 1 – 89 episodes. Volume 2 – 50 episodes. Volume 3 – 126 episodes. Seeing Saruman’s face when all he had created was flooded and destroyed – Priceless.
I have now recorded and released 265 episodes of the Epic Story. It has been a long road from essentially the start of my channel until now. When I started this series with Volume 1 back in 2012, Volume 3 only had 9 books and we were enjoying the plains of Rohan for the first time. I had no expectation of finishing Volume 3 in the series since Volume 3 itself was not even finished.
Now, 4 years later, I have finished Volume 3 and we are awaiting Mordor and the climax of Volume 4. It is kind of surreal.
Volume 3 starts off with Elrond’s holographic library as we learn of our increased temptation for mithril coin purchases. Once the rangers are assembled, the volume begins to introduce the geopolitical drama taking place in and around Rohan and Isengard. From there, the rest of the Volume is about the rise and fall of Isengard and how that relates to Rohan and Dunland.
While the overall plot seems fairly simple, the simplicity seems to also give clarity to the plot. With a couple exceptions, the story is not bogged down by needless side ventures just to tell a story within the particular zone we happen to be playing through. Instead, there seems to be a clear drive and purpose to every action we take.
Beyond that, the players are given a fellowship. For the first time it is not just our journey. We now have companions that really add to the feel of Middle-earth. They offer extra intrigue into the various situations and make the overall story much more interesting. It gives purpose and flow to the entire volume.
The plot also follows the actual fellowship much closer and our fates are tied with part of the Fellowship which really adds extra purpose to the story.
Another strength of the volume is the way Isengard seems to be a real threat. While Angmar was pretty bad, it was fairly contained. The same can be said about Mirkwood. Isengard is the first place that seems to be truly taking over everything and nearly succeeding.
While there were many great things about this volume, one of the letdowns is the lack of story contained within the Epic Battles themselves. Instead, the story surrounds the battles and has some pretty epic moments; I just wish some of these moments could have been hinted in or somehow tied to the Epic Battles.
That being said, all was made up for by The Last March of the Ents.
Unlike previous volumes, Volume 3 was pretty much exactly how I remembered it. The volume seems to have a lasting impression. If Volume 4 was not so amazing, Volume 3 would have been my favorite volume in LOTRO. It had amazing moments and told a truly epic story.
My Volume 3 series was made possible by supporters on Patreon. A big thanks to all 22 of them for helping my channel continue to grow.
Also a big thanks to Turbine for making this fantastic story for us to experience!
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