25. The Lord of the Rings™ World
World Summary
Gold bricks to discover: 28
Locations to repair/upgrade: 8
Red bricks to discover: 1
Quests/mysteries to solve: 5
Requires Gandalf, Gollum, Legolas, or Gimli minifig to access
This chapter provides details on The Lord of the Rings world. This world’s gateway is found on the upper-middle platform of Vorton.
Areas to Explore
Welcome to Middle Earth! Depending on where you’re standing, you can see either sunlight or a sky filled with volcanic ash. Middle Earth has a lot happening right now, with the hobbits, elves, humans, and dwarves all defending against the evil Sauron. You need to explore this world carefully; there are many hidden areas and secrets to uncover.
When you exit the gateway, you find yourself in Hobbiton. It’s a nice quiet place to explore. Not only can you find the jukebox somewhere around here, but one of the houses has the parts to build a Location keystone device. Activate it and find the white diamond to find a chest with a gold brick inside. There are a few other surprises for those who look carefully.
From the gateway, look to the right (east), and you see the towers of Minas Tirith (Figure 25.1). You’ll definitely spend some time in this fortress, solving a few puzzles and collecting studs. Behind the fortress is a destroyed statue, the Argonath; help repair it, and you’ll receive a nice reward.
Mordor is a very dangerous place. Plenty of enemies are nearby, and there’s also deadly lava. Other dangers here are Saruman, a wizard who turned evil and now serves Sauron, and many, many orcs.
Thankfully, Mordor is surrounded on all sides by heroes, including the elves of Rivendell. Many secrets wait to be discovered in Rivendell, including a Scale keystone relic device and a tube puzzle that can get you another gold brick.
Explore every corner of Middle Earth, even beneath it. Many of the repairs and upgrades you do in this world open up other secrets, so collect studs wherever you can find them!
Locations to Repair/Upgrade
Middle Earth already suffered much damage before Lord Vortech arrived, with Sauron’s army of orcs running rampant over the land. Many areas can use some repair work, and many of them offer up quests or hidden secrets. Look for all of these repair or upgrade opportunities:
Restore the water mill—For 40,000 studs, you can help the hobbits by repairing the mill. After the upgrade, look inside for a giant brick that contains dozens of studs.
Invest in the crop field—You can help the hobbits feed their families by fixing up the crop field for 35,000 studs. The reward is handsome: giant bricks that contain plenty of studs to collect (Figure 25.2).
Unlock the Jukebox—For 25,000 studs, you can repair the jukebox and change the background music that plays.
Restore the Rivendell Council Chamber—For 55,000 studs, you can help the elves in Rivendell fund repairs to the large chamber.
Restore the forge at Mordor—This repair costs you 45,000 studs, but if you do it, you find some giant bricks filled with studs. (Also, be sure to look in the nearby cave for another giant brick filled with purple studs. Do not miss it!)
Restore Barad-Dur—This is the most expensive repair in Middle Earth. This 100,000-stud restoration costs plenty, but Sauron will be appreciative when his tower rises high into the sky (Figure 25.3).
Restore the Argonath statue—Repairing this collapsed statue costs 60,000 studs, but inside the helmet is a gold brick you can nab if you have a character who can destroy silver objects.
Restore the courtyard at Minas Tirith—The castle has taken some damage, and you can chip in 50,000 studs to repair it. A Shift keystone relic puzzle becomes available after this repair.
Tip: Boulders Are Filled with Valuable Studs
In Mordor, when you spot giant glowing boulders, hit them a few times. There are always blue studs tucked inside.
Find three troublesome hobbits—Sam needs your help in rounding up some bad seeds in Hobbiton. Find the three troublemakers, and you get a gold brick as a reward.
Protect Gollum from the orcs—Gollum wants you to follow him and protect him from any orcs that might attack. If you protect him and let him complete his task, you are rewarded with a gold brick. You need Batman or a character who has Stealth ability to get Gollum through the gates of Mordor.
Go fight some bad guys with Saruman—Saruman wants to demonstrate his loyalty to Sauron, and he’s asking for some assistance. If you follow Saruman (Figure 25.4) and help him defeat a few orcs, he gives you a gold brick for your trouble.
Defeat an underwater beast—Boromir needs you to investigate the lake to determine whether a large creature is still around. You need a character who can swim underneath the water. Defeat the beast if you find it, and Boromir gives you a gold brick. You can find the location of the creature by looking for the red dot on the map in the lower-left corner.
Find some sunken treasure—If you have a character with the Dive ability, you can help the orc commander recover some treasure. Find all five gems and return to the commander for your reward. Look for mint-green boxes in the water where you dive.
Don’t Miss
Middle Earth is filled with secrets—what would you expect from a place filled with elves and orcs and wizards? Keep your eyes open as you wander the land, and maybe you’ll spot some of these special locales:
The tapestries—Hanging from the walls in Minas Tirith are numerous striped tapestries. These tapestries hold a surprising number of gold studs, so give them a few hits each time you pay a visit to the fortress.
The waterfall—If you have the right character, take a peek behind the waterfall in Rivendell for a surprise.
The Mines of Moria—There’s only one way into the mines (at first), so use Gandalf and Batman to clear the doors and then proceed in (Figure 25.5). You can find a lot of studs here, along with a number of puzzles and rewards.
Up Next...
The world of Ninjago is a mysterious one, with lots of unusual characters roaming the land, and not all of them friendly. Fortunately, Sensei Wu and his students are working to repair the world after the damage done by Lord Vortech. But they need more help, and you’ll find plenty of quests and repairs to be made to this colorful and magical world.