View source for Elendor

{{Infobox video game
| title = Elendor
| developer =
| platforms = [[Cross-platform|Platform independent]]
| released = 1991
| genre = [[MUSH]]
| modes = [[Multiplayer video game|Multiplayer]]
}}

'''''Elendor''''' is a free online text-based multi-user game that simulates the environment of [[J. R. R. Tolkien]]'s [[Middle-earth]].{{R|netgames|moss-pantuso}}  Users create characters by determining species, sex,{{R|netgames}} culture, description, history (and sometimes persona) and then role-playing with other users within the setting and atmosphere of Tolkien's world. For the purposes of consistency, the game accepts ''[[The Lord of the Rings]]'', ''[[The Hobbit]]'' and ''[[The Silmarillion]]'' and to a lesser extent the other works of Tolkien as canonical materials. The time frame is shortly before the onset of the main events of ''The Lord of the Rings'' with Bilbo having gone to Rivendell.{{R|netgames|elendor-theme}} The game is run on a [[MUSH]]{{R|netgames}} server using a variant of PennMUSH.

The game was established in October 1991 and has been called "the original Tolkien Middle-Earth MUSH".{{R|benediktciskowski}}  It has been noted for its large player population,{{R|moss-pantuso}} and at its height during the late 1990s and early 2000s, the time of the production and release of Peter Jackson's [[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|film trilogy]], ''Elendor'' was regarded as one of the most popular text-based worlds on the Internet.{{R|davis}}  It was chosen as "Best Tolkien Community Site" by [[Yahoo! Internet Life]] magazine.{{R|yil}}

==Game play and mechanics==

''Elendor'' comprises twenty-one factions known within the game as cultures.<ref name="cultures">{{cite web|url=http://www.elendor.net/index.php/Category:Cultures |title=Category:Cultures |work=Elendor.net |access-date=2013-01-27}}</ref> Each covers a different group or geographic area of Middle-earth. As in ''The Lord of the Rings'', action is confined to the northwest of Middle-earth.  Users may play an [[Orc (Middle-earth)|Orc]] from [[Moria (Middle-earth)|Moria]], an [[Elf (Middle-earth)|Elf]] from [[Mirkwood]], a mortal [[Man (Middle-earth)|Man]] from [[Dunland]] or a [[Hobbit]] from the [[Shire (Middle-earth)|Shire]] and other creatures and species.<ref name="cultures" /><ref name="netgames"/> Some cultures and species are restricted and require approval by the game administration. These include the [[Ent]]s, [[Troll (Middle-earth)|Trolls]] and [[Dúnedain]] as well as other special or powerful species. "Feature" Characters (FC) and "Book Feature" Characters (BFC) are granted to users as rewards for their dedicated work for a culture, good roleplaying ability and seniority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.elendor.net/index.php/Get_started#Roleplay_.26_Setting |title=Roleplay & Setting |work=Elendor.net |access-date=18 June 2014}}</ref>

The cultures are each governed by a "+ruler" (an out of character position) and a council of "Local Admins" or "LAs" who assist the +ruler.  These users are responsible for the theme and day-to-day operation of their respective cultures. Above the +rulers is a council of "royals", and then "wizards", who are MUSH-wide administrators who have wide-ranging responsibilities that range from code and server maintenance to user arbitration and game theme oversight.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}

==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=40em|refs=
<ref name="elendor-theme">{{cite web
 | url = http://www.elendor.net/index.php/Get_started#Roleplay_.26_Setting
 | title = Get started: Roleplay & Setting
 | work = Elendor MUSH
 | quote = As mentioned at the start, Elendor's timeline is set in the period between Bilbo's farewell party and the War of the Ring. We accept as past history all the events which took place in The Hobbit, along with the first chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring (which describes Bilbo's farewell party).
 |access-date=2011-02-04
}}</ref>
<ref name="netgames">{{cite book
 | last1 = Maloni
 | first1 = Kelly
 | last2 = Baker
 | first2 = Derek
 | last3 = Wice
 | first3 = Nathaniel
 | year = 1994
 | title = Net Games
 | publisher = Random House / Michael Wolff & Company, Inc.
 | isbn = 0-679-75592-6
 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/netgamesyourguid00malo/page/78 78–79]
 | quote = '''Elendor''' "You have entered the lands of J.R.R. Tolkien's imagination."  Once you've "locked" your character so that no one else can control it, specified your gender, and given your email address, you are transported to the "Hall of Races", where you may choose to be a hobbit, elf, dwarf, or another creature from the world of Tolkien. [...] Based in the third age, shortly after the events in ''The Hobbit'', the MUSH is less about reenacting the books and more about exploring "what would happen if..." questions.
 | url-access = registration
 | url = https://archive.org/details/netgamesyourguid00malo/page/78
 }}</ref>
<ref name="benediktciskowski">{{cite book
 | last1 = Benedikt | first1 = Claire Lisette
 | last2 = Ciskowski | first2 = Dave
 | title = MUDs: Exploring Virtual Worlds on the Internet
 | publisher = BradyGames
 | year = 1995
 | isbn = 1-56686-246-9
 | pages = 218
}}</ref>
<ref name="moss-pantuso">{{cite book
 | last1 = Moss | first1 = Will
 | last2 = Pantuso | first2 = Joe
 | title = The Complete Internet Gamer
 | date = 6 April 1996
 | publisher = John Wiley & Sons
 | isbn = 0-471-13787-1
 | pages = 142
 | quote = Elendor is a very large and successful Mush dedicated to role playing and exploration in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth.  This is the same universe immortalized in the classic ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, the books that defined sword-and-sorcery fantasy.  If you don't want to encounter a lot of other players, this is the wrong Mush to play in.  Elendor is well populated, and it is hard to move around without encountering other characters.
}}</ref>
<ref name="yil">{{cite web
 | url = http://www.yil.com/daily/lotr/index.asp?date=nominees
 | title = The Great Lord of the Rings on the Net Contest
 | date = 2001-12-05
 | access-date = 2010-04-06
 | work = [[Yahoo! Internet Life]]
 | publisher = Ziff Davis Media Inc.
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20020124051519/http://www.yil.com/daily/lotr/index.asp?date=nominees
 | archive-date = 2002-01-24
}}</ref>
<ref name="davis">{{cite magazine
 | last = Davis | first = Erik
 | url = https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/9.10/lotr_pr.html
 | title = Wired 9.10: The Fellowship of the Ring
 |date=October 2001
 | magazine = [[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]
 | publisher = Wired Digital, Inc.
 | quote = Elendor, an old-school Middle-earth multiuser shared hallucination, remains one of the most popular text-based worlds in cyberspace.
 | access-date = 2010-04-13
}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite web |url=https://www.thelantern.com/2002/01/elendor-allows-users-to-create-own-game/ |title=Elendor allows users to create own game|date=27 January 2002 }}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.mudmagic.com/listings/game/1722/ |title=Mud Magic: Elendor MUSH - Enter the world of Tolkiens imagination |quote=Game of the Month for June 2006 |work=mudmagic.com |access-date=2010-04-06 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623231244/http://www.mudmagic.com/listings/game/1722/ |archive-date=2006-06-23}}
*{{cite web |url=http://haven.theonering.net/reviews/games/elendormush.html |title=Tolkien Gaming - Gaming Havens / Game Reviews / Elendor MUSH |publisher=theonering.net |date=2000-01-25 |access-date=2010-04-06}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.elendor.net/}}

{{The Lord of the Rings}}
{{MUDs}}

[[Category:1991 video games]]
[[Category:MU* games]]
[[Category:Role-playing games based on Middle-earth]]
[[Category:Role-playing games introduced in 1991]]
[[Category:Video games based on Middle-earth]]
[[Category:Video games developed in the United States]]