The Rooms in Jet Set Willy: The Lord Of The Rings
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Each Jet Set Willy room corresponds to a chapter in The Lord of the Rings, plus
there is a bonus room. This section contains a detailed description of each room
in JSW:LOTR. It is ordered by the chapters in LOTR, _not_ by JSW room numbers.
The description is based on the /hard/ version (LORDRING.TAP), not the easy
version (LOR-LITE.TAP, which has been made considerably easier and has had the
quirky features taken out).

The Lord of the Rings is divided into three parts: The Fellowship of the Ring,
The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Each part is further subdivided into
two books.


The Fellowship Of The Ring
--------------------------

The Fellowship of the Ring follows the first part of the journey of Frodo
Baggins and his eight accomplices: fellow hobbits Samwise Gamgee (Sam), Peregrin
Took (Pippin) and Meriadoc Brandybuck (Merry), plus Aragorn the man (heir to the
throne of Gondor), Gandalf the wizard, Legolas the elf, Gimli the dwarf and
Boromir the other man.

Book I follows the journey of Frodo, Sam and Pippin from Frodo's home in the
Shire to Rivendell. They are joined by Merry at the border of the Shire, and by
Aragorn in Bree. Their journey is unexpectedly perilous as they are pursued by
nine Black Riders. These are the Nazgl (Ringwraiths), the main servants of
Sauron. One of them stabs Frodo with an evil knife, in order to subdue him to
the dark side of the force(!), but Frodo reaches Rivendell just in time for
Elrond to heal him.

Book II follows the journey of Frodo from Rivendell in the company of the
Fellowship of the Ring (Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir,
Legolas and Gimli - nine walkers against the nine Black Riders of Mordor). They
journey south, and are forced to pass through the Mines of Moria, where Gandalf
falls into an abyss with a Balrog. The other eight Fellows escape from Moria,
and pass through the Elvish land of Lrien, where they meet the lady Galadriel
(who bears one of the Three Rings for the Elves). Upon leaving Lrien, the
company travel down the River Anduin, and so come to the Falls of Rauros, where
it becomes necessary for them to decide whether to go west towards Minas Tirith
(the capital of Gondor), or to turn east and make directly for Mordor. The
Fellowship divides between these two courses, as related in The Two Towers.


BOOK I, CHAPTER 1: "A Long-expected Party". In a parody of the first
chapter/room of The Hobbit, you begin at Bag End, during an even wilder party to
mark the joint birthday of Bilbo Baggins (played by Miner Willy - Bilbo is the
white one) and his nephew Frodo (played by Jet Set Willy). The place is chock-
full of partying hobbits (graphics ripped from Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy
II), and you have to collect the treasure that Bilbo stashed here at the end of
The Hobbit! After the party, Bilbo retired to Rivendell, and was never seen in
the Shire again.

BOOK I, CHAPTER 2: "The Shadow of the Past". Seventeen years later, Gandalf
visits Frodo and tells him the truth about the Ring, Sauron and everything, and
Frodo realises he must leave with the Ring. In this awkward room, you have to
pick up the Ring after some very tricky jumps over fire and Gandalf, implemented
here as a horizontal guardian hovering four pixels above the ground. If you can
make it back without losing a life, give yourself a pat on the back! :-)

BOOK I, CHAPTER 3: "Three is Company". Frodo leaves Bag End, in the company of
Sam (who helpfully collects one of the items for you!) and Pippin, on the
pretext of going to live in Buckland (which is near the border of the Shire -
good for slipping out quietly). You encounter two Black Riders on the road, from
whom you must hide to prevent their catching you!

BOOK I, CHAPTER 4: "A Short Cut to Mushrooms". Frodo continues his journey to
Buckland with Sam and Pippin, and they come to the farm of Farmer Maggot, who is
renowned for his mushrooms and nasty vicious dogs!

BOOK I, CHAPTER 5: "A Conspiracy Unmasked". Frodo, Sam and Pippin arrive in
Buckland. You must cross the Brandywine River (by jumping across lily-pads), and
so in time come to the house that Frodo bought in Crickhollow, where Merry is
waiting for you. It is there revealed that Sam, Pippin and Merry know the truth
about Frodo's journey (Sam was eavesdropping in Chapter 2), and conspire to
accompany him out of the Shire.

BOOK I, CHAPTER 6: "The Old Forest". You leave the Shire through a hedge in
Crickhollow, which leads into the Old Forest. This is a tricky room, full of
traps for the unwary, namely the vertical screen wraparound, some difficult
jumps through floor-ramps which can easily lead to a multi-death scenario (at
least it's very early in the game! ;-) ), a jump through an innocent-looking
block, a sticky conveyor (I have kindly put an arrow to come and kill you if you
get stuck on that), and an awkward jump over Old Man Willow (from further back
than you might think possible) to get to Tom Bombadil's house.

BOOK I, CHAPTER 7: "In the House of Tom Bombadil". A 'safe' haven, where Tom
Bombadil, the powerful but kind and gentle Maia who owns this neck of the woods,
lives with his girlfriend Goldberry (played by Kari Krinkov - she of We
Pretty fame). Another innocent-looking block for you to jump through, and
another sticky conveyor. It will not avail you to jump out of the upstairs
windows! ;-)

BOOK I, CHAPTER 8: "Fog on the Barrow-downs". To leave the land of Tom Bombadil,
you must pass through a barrow, avoiding the deathly barrow-wight and collecting
the jewellry of the dead.

BOOK I, CHAPTER 9: "At the Sign of The Prancing Pony". You arrive in Bree and
stay at an inn called The Prancing Pony, owned by one Barliman Butterbur - the
jolly fat man dancing on the table (an 'off' conveyor). You are to sleep
downstairs (for fear of an attack of the Black Riders), which requires another
jump through an innocent-looking block. Do NOT go upstairs!

BOOK I, CHAPTER 10: "Strider". You find a stranger waiting for you in your room
in the basement. He goes by the name of Strider, but actually turns out to be
Aragorn, heir of the throne of Gondor and bearer of the Sword That Was Broken.
There's a letter from Gandalf to collect, explaining Strider's identity and
advising you to make for Rivendell with him.

BOOK I, CHAPTER 11: "A Knife in the Dark". You pass Weathertop on your way to
Rivendell - climb it and collect the rune of Gandalf. In the book, Frodo is
stabbed by the leader of the Black Riders in a dell under Weathertop, but
obviously you should try to avoid that in the JSW game. The cyan knife in the
shape of a cross symbolises analogies with the stabbing of Monica Seles and the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ. A horrible room, swarming with Black Riders, but
it's nothing compared to...

BOOK I, CHAPTER 12: "Flight to the Ford". To make it to Rivendell, you must
cross the Ford of Rivendell. The Black Riders will try to cut you off at the
ford, hoping that the knife-wound will subdue you to their will. Dodging them
requires frame-perfect timing and pixel-perfect movement - the pause key is an
invaluable aid to this! :-) Watch out for the invisible static nasties, and
another innocent-looking block. While it was not possible to be as faithful to
the book as I would have liked (the Black Riders are washed away in a flood
commanded by Elrond when they try to cross the ford), I think that this room and
the previous room are just as fearsome as their corresponding chapters in the
book! :-)


BOOK II, CHAPTER 1: "Many Meetings". This room lives up to its name, I think -
watch out for the elf when you enter from the left! You are in the left half of
the House of Elrond in Rivendell - meet Gandalf and Sam by your bedside (you
have to fetch a rather awkwardly-placed item (a piece of mithril mail) from
there - beware the pillow, a sticky conveyor). Meet also Merry and Pippin; and
Bilbo when you enter from the bottom-right - don't make the reunion too
intimate! ;-)

BOOK II, CHAPTER 2: "The Council of Elrond". Frodo meets with Aragorn, Gandalf,
Legolas, Boromir, Gimli and Elrond to tell their respective tales and debate
what should be done with the Ring. In the end, Frodo agrees to take the Ring to
Mordor and destroy it in the only way possible, by casting it into the fires in
Mount Doom. Set in the right half of Elrond's house, the objective of this room
is for Frodo to jump across the other councillors and collect the Sword That Was
Broken - not really faithful to the book, but makes for an interesting JSW room.
It is safe to fall down after doing so, because there's an invisible floor
there. It is also possible to exit at the bottom-left of this room by walking
along the bottom platform, in order to complete the previous room.

BOOK II, CHAPTER 3: "The Ring Goes South". The Company of the Ring leaves
Rivendell: Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry, Gandalf, Aragorn, Boromir, Legolas and
Gimli. They first try to go /over/ the Misty Mountains via the Redhorn Gate, but
it is blocked by snow (think block...). So they decide to go through the Mines
of Moria instead, but must first solve a lateral-thinking puzzle to gain access
to Moria (in the book, it was a door protected by a password; in the game, it's
a puzzle of a JSW kind). First you must climb up the snowy mountain, avoiding
your milling companions - this requires nimble fingers and a lot of practice!
:-)

BOOK II, CHAPTER 4: "A Journey in the Dark". Watch out for an immediate shock
with arrows!! This chapter relates the relatively eventless first part of the
company's journey through Moria. I could have taken the title literally, and
made it as dark as "Not at Home" in The Hobbit, but that would have been
extremely unfair of me, because then you wouldn't have been able to see the
holes through which you can fall to your doom! :->

BOOK II, CHAPTER 5: "The Bridge of Khazad-dm". In which the company escape from
Moria, but only after an attack by orcs and a Balrog. Gandalf fights the Balrog
on the bridge of Khazad-dm, and they both fall into an abyss. Don't fall into
the abyss yourself, or you'll fall forever! Jump over the broken bridge and
escape (the right section of the bridge is a left conveyor). This is a very
tricky manoeuvre, because it requires excellent timing with the Balrog and the
orcs, a pixel-perfect jump over the green orc, and it's all too easy to fall
into the abyss when trying to jump the last gap with the green orc hot on your
heels!

BOOK II, CHAPTER 6: "Lothlrien". Having escaped from Moria, the company reach
the land of Lrien, still grieving for the loss of Gandalf. Traverse the Golden
Wood via the treetops, and watch out for those speedy elves! To get to the
bottom-right of this room, jump left from the very edge of the room to the
right...

BOOK II, CHAPTER 7: "The Mirror of Galadriel". Frodo and Sam meet Lady Galadriel
of the Golden Wood, a wise and fair Elvish lady, of whom there are many terrible
(but ill-founded) rumours. She can see right through anybody, and she owns a
mirror which shows the future to anyone who looks in it (do not touch the
water). In this adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Galadriel is played by
Kari Krinkov - she'll clip you if you try to walk under her! :-) Do not
<walk< back into the room to the left.

BOOK II, CHAPTER 8: "Farewell to Lrien". The company leaves the land of Lrien
with fond adieu, but this is actually one of the deadliest rooms in the game as
you jump from tree to tree, avoiding the elves, to get safely down to the river.
The jumps over the elves are very difficult to time, and if you fall down, the
impact with the water in the room below will kill you indefinitely.

BOOK II, CHAPTER 9: "The Great River". You must negotiate your way down the
rapids of the River Anduin. Beware of getting swept away by the invisible
currents! Watch out for arrows from orcs on the east bank, especially when
reentering the room from left to right through the portage-way. You need to find
the correct diagonal line to avoid being dashed to pieces on the rocks at the
bottom; this takes some jumping around.

BOOK II, CHAPTER 10: "The Breaking of the Fellowship". This is where the company
must decide whether to go west towards Minas Tirith, east to Mordor, or divide.
Frodo goes off to contemplate this crucial decision in solitude; he climbs the
hill of Amon Hen, which gives him an excellent view of what's going on all over
Middle-earth! However, he is attacked by Boromir, who wants to take the Ring for
himself and go to Minas Tirith. As the player, you have to decide whether to go
left now, or whether to turn right and make for Mordor immediately. If you make
the wrong choice, the quest will be irreversibly doomed to failure. I'm not
going to make the choice for you, but don't blindly follow what Frodo did in the
book, because just as the narrative divides at this point in the book, you will
play characters other than Frodo as appropriate after this point in the game.


The Two Towers
--------------

The Two Towers relates the fortunes of the Fellows of the Ring after the
breaking of the Fellowship. The two towers of the title are the tower of Orthanc
in Isengard (where the traitor Saruman lives - a wizard who has turned to evil
and now wishes to take the Ring for himself, to overthrow Sauron and rule in his
stead) and the city of Minas Morgul on the border of Mordor. In the Two Towers,
the narrative divides to follow the respective fortunes of the Fellows of the
Ring as they split up, and you get to play as different characters.

Book III follows those Fellows who go west towards Minas Tirith. As Frodo and
Sam are setting off east towards Mordor, the rest of the company is attacked by
orcs. The orcs capture Pippin and Merry, and kill Boromir. Aragorn, Legolas and
Gimli (the Three Hunters) decide to pursue the orcs in a bid to rescue the
hobbits. The narrative thus further subdivides. The orcs are taking Pippin and
Merry to Isengard - via Rohan - because Saruman thinks that one of them might
have the Ring. However, the orcs are attacked and destroyed by the Riders of
Rohan, and the hobbits escape into Fangorn Forest. There they meet the ent,
Treebeard, and the wrath of the ents is aroused against Saruman. Meanwhile,
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet Gandalf, who has risen from the dead and is now
Gandalf the White. They pay a visit to King Thoden of Rohan, and Gandalf
encourages him to fight against Saruman. The army of Rohan defeats Saruman's
orcs in a battle at Helm's Deep, and then Gandalf, Thoden, Aragorn, Legolas and
Gimli proceed to Isengard to confront Saruman himself. They find that the ents
have trashed Isengard, and meet Pippin and Merry in the ruins. Saruman locks
himself in Orthanc, and after attempts to negotiate with him, Gandalf demotes
Saruman from his wizardly status. Saruman's servant Wormtongue throws a crystal
ball out of the tower, which turns out to be a palantr - a device which Saruman
used to communicate with Sauron. Pippin looks into the palantr and Sauron
believes /him/ to be the Ring-bearer - an opportunity which is crucial to the
plot in that it distracts Sauron's attention from Frodo, causing Sauron not to
anticipate Frodo's attempt to destroy the Ring (the very idea of which is
inconceivable to Sauron - to his mind, the only threat is that someone will take
the Ring themself and use it to overthrow him and rule in his stead as Dark
Lord).

Book IV follows Frodo and Sam as they journey east towards Mordor to get the
Ring destroyed. They catch Gollum following them, and make him promise to help
them. Gollum leads them through the Dead Marshes, but when they reach the gates
of Mordor, they realise that to enter that way would be suicide. Gollum suggests
the pass of Cirith Ungol as an alternative. They reach Cirith Ungol after a long
journey south, but Gollum betrays them to Shelob the giant spider. Shelob
poisons Frodo, Sam thinks he's dead and takes the Ring from him, but Sam learns
that Frodo is still alive when Frodo is captured by orcs.


BOOK III, CHAPTER 1: "The Departure of Boromir". You play as Aragorn in this
room. The orcs of Saruman have riddled Boromir with arrows. With his dying
words, Boromir tells you that the orcs have taken Pippin and Merry. After a
brief funeral, you must pursue the orcs, together with Legolas and Gimli, the
Three Hunters. The orcs have all left the scene already - or have they?

BOOK III, CHAPTER 2: "The Riders of Rohan". Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli, in their
pursuit of the orcs (who have gained an excellent head start), meet the Riders
of Rohan. You must decide whether to go left from this room and follow the
fortunes of Pippin and Merry in Chapter 3, or stay with Aragorn, Legolas and
Gimli by going up (Chapter 5). Whichever you choose now, you must come back
later and take the other course, in order to collect all the items. The item to
collect in this room is the brooch of Pippin, which he discarded as a sign to
you. Making your way to the exit at the top of the screen is one of the most
difficult challenges in the entire game - one for the adroit among you... (Tip:
do NOT jump when you land on the ramp at the top-right - walk straight up into
the room above, and then stop immediately.)

BOOK III, CHAPTER 3: "The Uruk-hai". This chapter follows the fortunes of Pippin
(as whom you play in this room) and Merry, after their capture by the orcs.
Saruman's orcs are taking Pippin and Merry over the countryside of Rohan to
Isengard because Saruman thinks /they/ might have the Ring. However, the orcs
are attacked by the Riders of Rohan, who destroy them in battle and the hobbits
escape into Fangorn Forest. Somewhat reminiscent of "The Forgotten Abbey" in the
original Jet Set Willy, this room entails awkward jumps over the orcs, although
the conveyor actually helps you to get it right. If you jump over the fire at
the bottom-left a frame too soon, you actually land *inside* the wall!! This is
one of the esoteric quirks of the JSW game engine, but quite fatal here! :-> The
ramp-floor blocks also add to the difficulty, and if you manage to collect the
lembas and escape without losing a life, give yourself a pat on the back! :-)

BOOK III, CHAPTER 4: "Treebeard". Pippin and Merry meet Treebeard the ent in
Fangorn Forest. On hearing their story, the ents' wrath against Saruman is
aroused, and they storm Isengard - to the left of this room is "The Road to
Isengard" (Chapter 8). Collect the jars of ent-draught to keep you "green and
growing" - the ones on the left may look impossible to reach, but are easily
accessible courtesy of another quirk in the JSW game engine; watch out for the
sticky conveyor and the arrows when you attempt to collect the ones at the
top-right!

BOOK III, CHAPTER 5: "The White Rider". In this chapter, the narrative returns
to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli; the room has to be reached by going up from "The
Riders of Rohan" (Chapter 2), and quite a wide peregrination is required to
return to that room if you went left from there first. Anyway, the Three Hunters
encounter an old wizard dressed in white. They take him to be Saruman (formerly
Saruman the White, now the self-styled Saruman of Many Colours), but he actually
turns out to be Gandalf, who fell in Khazad-dm as Gandalf the Grey but now is
risen as Gandalf the White. It is, in fact, possible to bypass this joyous (but
somewhat hazardous, as Gandalf strides four pixels above the platform) reunion
by walking right through the wall when you enter this room, but you'll miss out
on the items if you do. ;-) (Hint: you need to jump left from inside that wall
to reach the items.)

BOOK III, CHAPTER 6: "The King of the Golden Hall". Gandalf (as whom you play in
this room) leads Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli to Meduseld to see King Thoden of
Rohan. Gandalf persuades Thoden to fight against Saruman, and exposes his
councillor Grma Wormtongue as a traitor who is in league with Saruman. It's a
meridian screen: to go left, you need to jump up off the top of the screen -
don't land in the hill or you will die infinitely! :->

BOOK III, CHAPTER 7: "Helm's Deep". A battle between Thoden's army (plus
Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli) and the orcs of Saruman takes place at Helm's Deep.
You play as Gimli in this one. The arrows are particularly deadly in this room,
and if you stay too long, an arrow will kill Legolas and cost you a life
(because arrows collide with white-ink pixels - you can hide from them yourself
by standing in floor blocks).

BOOK III, CHAPTER 8: "The Road to Isengard". When you enter this room from the
right, you need to move left immediately to avoid being killed repeatedly by the
static nasties. Gandalf, Thoden, Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli travel to Isengard,
where they find Saruman's fortress in ruins after the attack of the ents. They
also find Pippin and Merry, keeping guard as it were. The hand is the White Hand
of Saruman. It's very tricky to reach your ultimate destination of the tower of
Orthanc (left of this room), because the path is chock-full of clever tricks,
and good timing is needed to pass the guardians at the end. First, however, you
need to visit the room below - accessible via innocent-looking blocks. Oh, and
going right from this room takes you (back) to "The Uruk-hai" (Chapter 3), which
you need to visit if you went up from "The Riders of Rohan" initially - you are
advised to jump the static nasty from as close as possible without clipping it
on the rise.

BOOK III, CHAPTER 9: "Flotsam and Jetsam". You play as Merry inside Saruman's
flooded fortress. Avoid the 'flotsam' and collect the 'jetsam'.

BOOK III, CHAPTER 10: "The Voice of Saruman". Gandalf confronts Saruman in his
tower, trying to persuade him to come out and repent. However, Saruman refuses,
and Gandalf breaks his staff and expels him from the council of wizards. In the
book, Grma Wormtongue throws the palantr of Orthanc out of the tower, but in
the game you have to go up and collect it. The fact that Saruman is represented
by the same graphics as Gandalf, but in cyan rather than white, is a reference
to the good/evil colour symbolism in We Pretty.

BOOK III, CHAPTER 11: "The Palantr". On the night following the parley with
Saruman, Pippin looks into the palantr and finds himself face to face with
Sauron! Gandalf then takes Pippin to Minas Tirith (Book V, Chapter 1 - go
right). Go down to follow the fortunes of the rest of the company (Aragorn,
Legolas, Gimli and Merry) in Chapter 2 of Book V. Entering the palantr
teleports you back to "The Breaking of the Fellowship" (Book II, Chapter 10),
which you need to do to follow Frodo and Sam's journey to Mordor (Book IV), and
to get back to "The Riders of Rohan" in order to go up if you went left from
there initially. The teleport is implemented using John Elliott's teleporter
extension.


BOOK IV, CHAPTER 1: "The Taming of Smagol". Frodo and Sam are navigating the
dangerous terrain of the Emyn Muil on their way to Mordor. You need to use the
technique of jumping through an overhead wall-block from right to left, and use
the non-moving rope (this effect is achieved by having two ropes in the room) to
get down the steep cliff. They encounter Gollum (aka Smagol), who has been
following them since Moria, but catch him and make him promise to "serve the
master of the Precious [i.e. the Ring]". The hobbits journey on, with Gollum as
their guide.

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 2: "The Passage of the Marshes". Gollum guides Frodo and Sam
through the Dead Marshes, which are full of the faces of dead warriors. Avoid
the winged Nazgl (the Black Riders, now riding pterodactyl-like steeds). A very
difficult room to cross.

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 3: "The Black Gate is Closed". Frodo, Sam and Gollum come to
the main gate at the northwest of Mordor. However, they realise that they cannot
enter this way, and there's nothing for it but to journey south (via an
innocent-looking block) and attempt to sneak in via the pass of Cirith Ungol.

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 4: "Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit". Frodo, Sam and Gollum are
making their way south through Ithilien, and the surroundings have a pleasant
dryad atmosphere. Frodo goes to sleep and Sam (as whom you play in this room)
has Gollum catch some rabbits (the items) for him to cook. The fire attracts the
attention of Faramir (brother of Boromir), who detains Frodo and Sam for
questioning. An attractive room, which is chock-full of many of the tricks I
know - it will fool you in many ways if you're not an expert in JSW mechanics!
;-)

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 5: "The Window on the West". Faramir takes Frodo and Sam to his
mega-secret hideout at Henneth Annn (blindfolding them for the last mile of the
journey). The most striking feature of the hideout is a window of water facing
west. The real reason for this chapter's title, in my interpretation, is that it
is Frodo and Sam's only link with the company that they left behind at the
breaking of the Fellowship. Frodo and Sam learn of the death of Boromir, and
Faramir learns of the fall of Gandalf in Moria. They reveal their quest to
Faramir; luckily he turns out to be trustworthy. Watch out for the hidden ramp!

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 6: "The Forbidden Pool". Faramir catches Gollum, who has
followed them, fishing in a pool by his hideout. Faramir wants to kill Gollum
(to protect the secrecy of the hideout), but Frodo persuades him otherwise and
rescues Gollum. The lower arrow is harmless because you don't have white ink
while underwater. You have to be correctly aligned to exit the pool.

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 7: "Journey to the Cross-roads". Faramir sends Frodo and Sam
on their way, giving them a supply of food. They journey through the sombre
forest of Ithilien, and come to the crossroads (north back to the Morannon,
south to Harad, west to Osgiliath and east - the road you are to take - to Minas
Morgul). Watch your step carefully in this room, or you could be forced to
concede a life.

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 8: "The Stairs of Cirith Ungol". Frodo, Sam and Gollum come to
Minas Morgul, the city of the Ringwraiths. You must avoid the city itself - do
not even set foot on the bridge, because once you start down that dark path,
forever will it dominate your destiny! :-) Instead, you must negotiate the
'straight stair' and the 'winding stair' to get to the 'tunnel'... Watch out -
static nasties look the same as walls in this room! :->

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 9: "Shelob's Lair". The tunnel Gollum spoke of turns out to be
the lair of Shelob the giant spider! He has lead them in there in the hope that
Shelob will kill them and he can take the Ring. First you must give Shelob the
slip, and then find a way through her web to escape - not easy because I've
crammed in an array of my favourite tricks! :-)

BOOK IV, CHAPTER 10: "The Choices of Master Samwise". Sam escapes from Shelob's
lair, but she has caught Frodo, bound him in cobweb, and is about to eat him!
Sam bravely fights her off, but Frodo appears to be dead. Sam takes the Ring and
the Phial of Galadriel from Frodo, thinking that he must continue the quest
alone. However, Frodo is captured by orcs, who say that he is merely unconscious
from the spider-venom. The floor blocks behave as ramps in this room, and to get
past the first pair of static nasties you encounter it is necessary to jump back
into Shelob's Lair - this can result in a multiple-death scenario if you do so
at too low a level! :->


The Return Of The King
----------------------

The Return Of The King tells the story of the War of the Ring and the conclusion
of the Ring-bearer's quest. The title refers to Aragorn, who goes on to be
crowned King of Gondor (the country had been ruled by Stewards for centuries,
following the end of the previous line of Kings). Again, the narrative is
divided and you get to play as different characters.

Book V continues where Book III left off. Gandalf takes Pippin to Minas Tirith,
where they meet Denethor, Steward of Gondor and father of Boromir and Faramir.
Merry rides to war with Thoden, and Aragorn takes the Paths of the Dead with
Legolas and Gimli. Minas Tirith is besieged by the forces of Mordor, then the
others converge on the Pelennor Fields, where there is a great battle which sees
the death of Thoden and the end of the Lord of the Nazgl. Denethor, corrupted
by the evil influence of Sauron, despairs and commits suicide. These events
attract the full attention of Sauron, who is oblivious to the quest to destroy
the Ring. In order to further distract Sauron, the army of Gondor rides to the
ates of Mordor to challenge him.

Meanwhile in Book VI, Sam rescues Frodo from the tower of Cirith Ungol. They
enter Mordor, and so come in time to Mount Doom, where Frodo is supposed to
cast the Ring into the fire. He is unable to bring himself to do so, but the
Ring is destroyed when Gollum bites it off Frodo's finger and falls into the
fire with it. Sauron and the eight remaining Nazgl perish when the Ring is
unmade, but Frodo and Sam are rescued from Mordor by eagles. They are honoured
on the Field of Cormallen, and Aragorn is crowned King of Gondor. When the
hobbits return home, they find that Saruman has taken over the Shire, but they
defeat him and Wormtongue murders him. Weary of Middle-earth after all his
tribulations, Frodo sails to the Undying Lands along with Gandalf, Elrond,
Galadriel (bearers of the Three Rings for the Elves) and Bilbo.


BOOK V, CHAPTER 1: "Minas Tirith". Gandalf arrives at Minas Tirith with Pippin
(you play as Pippin). The city has seven layers, each with a wall and a door,
and I've tried to realise this as faithfully as I can in my JSW room. You must
find the hidden ways toward the top of the fortress, where you will find food
(it is possible to collect all of the food with only one climb of the fortress).
In the book, Pippin swears fealty and service to Denethor, Steward of Gondor
(and father of Boromir and Faramir).

BOOK V, CHAPTER 2: "The Passing of the Grey Company". This chapter relates the
fortunes of those whom Gandalf and Pippin left behind when they rode to Minas
Tirith. Merry swears service to Thoden, and rides with him to Dunharrow (take
the exit on the upper right of the screen). Aragorn (as whom you play in this
room) takes the Paths of the Dead (the bottom of the screen) with Gimli and
Legolas, for time is short and he must summon the spirits of the Dead to fight
against Mordor. The Paths of the Dead is one of the most terrifying places in
Middle-earth, and requires excellent timing to pass!

BOOK V, CHAPTER 3: "The Muster of Rohan". Thoden musters the riders of Rohan
for to ride to the aid of Minas Tirith, which is under siege. Merry and owyn
(Thoden's niece, a shield-maiden of Rohan) are forbidden to come, but owyn
disguises herself as a rider called Dernhelm, and takes Merry (as whom you play
in this room) with her. The Paths of the Dead continue at the bottom of the room
(even though they belong to the previous chapter). The strange 'T' symbols are
my own artistic licence: I associate them with Thomas Muster! :-)

BOOK V, CHAPTER 4: "The Siege of Gondor". Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor,
is under siege from the forces of Mordor; the Nazgl are circling the city on
their winged steeds. You (Pippin) can fall down to the right-hand side of the
screen without dying if you jump so as to land inside the top wall block.
Faramir is gravely wounded by an evil dart from the Nazgl, and is in a fever
(the bright-on-dull yellow guardian is Faramir). Denethor, mad with despair,
prepares a funeral pyre for both himself and Faramir. At the end of the chapter,
in rides the Lord of the Nazgl, but the riders of Rohan arrive in the nick of
time.

BOOK V, CHAPTER 5: "The Ride of the Rohirrim". The Riders of Rohan ride to the
aid of Gondor and to the battle of the Pelennor Fields (above, next chapter).
They are led through Dradan Forest by the Woses (Wild Men of the Woods). You
play as Merry. At the bottom of the screen, Aragorn emerges from the Paths of
the Dead, and reaches the rock at Erech (again, this really belongs to Chapter
2).

BOOK V, CHAPTER 6: "The Battle of the Pelennor Fields". One of my favourite
chapters of The Lord of the Rings, in which the riders of Rohan reach the
Pelennor Fields outside Minas Tirith, and defeat the forces of Mordor that
besiege the city. Thoden is slain by the Lord of the Nazgl, but, in a hair-
raising encounter, the Lord of the Nazgl is slain in turn by owyn (with a
little help from Merry, as whom you play. owyn is played by Kari Krinkov).
Thoden's death means that omer (his nephew and owyn's brother) is now King of
Rohan. Black boats arrive from the South, which everyone believes to be
reinforcements for Mordor, but it turns out to be Aragorn and his army. A very
tricky room to cross (which you have to do in both directions) because it's
swarming with horizontal guardians in a manner reminiscent of "The Forgotten
Abbey" in the original Jet Set Willy.

BOOK V, CHAPTER 7: "The Pyre of Denethor". This chapter takes place
simultaneously with Chapter 6. Denethor commits suicide by burning himself on
his pyre, but Gandalf (as whom you play) manages to save Faramir (who becomes
Steward of Gondor after his father's death). It is revealed that Denethor has a
palantr, which he used to communicate with Sauron, who warped his mind and
drove him to despair (as symbolised by the Nazgl, who was not literally present
in the book). It is possible to retrieve the palantr from the flames without
getting clipped by the Nazgl if your timing is perfect.

BOOK V, CHAPTER 8: "The Houses of Healing". Aragorn (as whom you play in this
room) doesn't want to claim his kingship of Gondor before Frodo's mission is
completed, but he heals Faramir, owyn and Merry using the herb athelas ("the
hands of the king are the hands of a healer"). Collect the leaves of athelas
from the Houses of Healing. Precise jumping is needed to complete this room.

BOOK V, CHAPTER 9: "The Last Debate". Gandalf counsels that Sauron cannot be
defeated by arms, but that they should march to Mordor with war, in order to
distract Sauron's attention away from the Ring-bearer (Sauron does not know
where the Ring is; for all he knows, they could have it in Minas Tirith). The
fly is a reference to the comment of Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth at the end of
the chapter, that Sauron might crush their army like a fly that tries to sting
him. You play as Legolas in this room, since I wanted to give him a turn at
last! :-) Take the exit on the upper left to get back through the Houses of
Healing.

BOOK V, CHAPTER 10: "The Black Gate Opens". And so the army of the Free Peoples
marches to the main gate of Mordor (c.f. Book IV, Chapter 3). They are met by
the Mouth of Sauron (a man who speaks on behalf of the Dark Lord himself). He
claims that Frodo has been captured, and shows them the gear that the orcs took
from Frodo in Cirith Ungol. He offers to release Frodo if they promise never to
assail Sauron in arms again, and give the lands around the Great River to
Sauron. Gandalf rejects these terms, and the forces of Mordor pour out of the
Black Gate to attack them.


BOOK VI, CHAPTER 1: "The Tower of Cirith Ungol". The orcs have imprisoned Frodo
in the tower of Cirith Ungol, just inside Mordor. Sam must take the irrevocable
step into Mordor and rescue Frodo. You enter and exit the tower via awkward
jumps through wall blocks (in lieu of the Watchers in the book, who could hold
you with their will). Frodo is right at the top of the tower, accessible via a
ladder. You get back down again via innocent-looking blocks. You must put on
orc-gear as a disguise - it /is/ possible to collect the items without
sacrificing a life if you use the technique of jumping through an overhead wall
block from right to left when you jump up to get them. Note the 'ghost conveyor'
effect, as discovered by Philip Bee and first seen in JSW Ivy.

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 2: "The Land of Shadow". Frodo and Sam travel through Mordor on
their way to Mount Doom. It is too dangerous to make a bee-line for Mount Doom
(east across the plain of Gorgoroth), so they initially go north towards Udn.
Surprisingly, they find light and water (the items). They also encounter
enormous thorns growing in Mordor, and a pack of orcs. The skull and the cyan
Nazgl (well, black and hence invisible would have exceeded even my threshold of
unfairness! ;-) ) are my own artistic licence. I should issue a health warning
about this room: the first time I played it, it reduced me to a shuddering
wreck in twenty minutes! :->

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 3: "Mount Doom". Frodo and Sam finally arrive at Orodruin, the
mountain of fire in which the One Ring was forged. They find Gollum waiting for
them at the Cracks of Doom. This room is the equivalent of "The Bathroom" in the
original Jet Set Willy. You had better enter this room having already collected
255 items, otherwise you've narked it! Gollum will collect the 256th and final
item himself: the Ring with Frodo's finger thrust through it. In the book, Frodo
puts on the Ring, but Gollum bites it off, finger and all, and falls into the
fire with it, thus destroying the ring. The closest approximation I can manage
(without you playing as Gollum in this room, which I did not want to do) is for
Frodo to fall into the fire (which corresponds to the toilet in the original
JSW) himself, after collecting all the items and completing the game as in the
following rooms...

BONUS ROOM: "The Lord of the Rings". Frodo visits Barad-dr, the Dark Tower of
Sauron, who takes the shape of a giant red eye. This never happened in the book,
but this extra room corresponds to "Master Bedroom" in the original Jet Set
Willy, and Sauron corresponds to Maria. If all 256 items have been collected,
Sauron disappears and you can go through and complete the game. Before you can
do that, however, you must cross the rooms which correspond to the chapters
after Book VI Chapter 3. If you do so successfully, you will reenter this room
on the left and be carried to the completion of the game. Not quite faithful to
the plot of the book, I know, but I had to map it to the plot of Jet Set Willy
somehow, and it gives you an extra little challenge before you complete the
quest! :-)

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 4: "The Field of Cormallen". Frodo and Sam (after being rescued
from Mordor by eagles in the book - why didn't they just have an eagle fly the
Ring to Mount Doom?) are honoured on the Field of Cormallen, where they meet up
with the other surviving members of the company. Don't loiter in this room or
Legolas and Pippin will crash into each other and kill you! The gap in the right
wall is for getting back to the bonus room, "The Lord of the Rings", at the very
end of the game.

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 5: "The Steward and the King". Aragorn (as whom you play here)
is crowned King Elessar of Gondor, and enters Minas Tirith. The two guardians
are Faramir and owyn, who fall in love with each other while recuperating in
Minas Tirith. Faramir (now Steward of Gondor) is created Prince of Ithilien.
Aragorn marries Arwen, having finally fulfilled Elrond's conditions for his
daughter's hand in marriage!

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 6: "Many Partings". Treebeard tells the Company that he has let
Saruman go, because he can't bear to keep living things locked up. On the road
home, they cross paths with Saruman, now a beggar in the wilderness, who hints
at trouble in the Shire. The chapter ends in Rivendell, where they are reunited
with Bilbo. Watch out for the arrow when you enter this room!

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 7: "Homeward Bound". The hobbits and Gandalf revisit The
Prancing Pony in Bree, and learn from Butterbur that there is trouble in the
Shire. The hobbits go back to the Shire without Gandalf, who knows that they are
now capable of sorting out the problem on their own.

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 8: "The Scouring of the Shire". The hobbits find the Shire
overrun with ruffians, and when they get to Bag End they find Saruman and
Wormtongue there. As his revenge on the hobbits, Saruman has ruined the Shire,
filling it with oppressive rules and eyesores. Hence this room is deliberately
badly-designed, with garish colours, the paper colours of the blocks don't agree
with the background colour, Saruman is a dull-on-bright guardian, the ramp
graphic is the wrong way round and the room is littered with ugly attribute-255
static nasties. There are two alternative ways to do this room: it's easier to
enter from the top-right, but you can also enter from the bottom-right if you
feel like an extra challenge! :-)

BOOK VI, CHAPTER 9: "The Grey Havens". Weary of Middle-earth, Frodo goes to the
Grey Havens. Together with Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel (the bearers of the Three
Rings for the Elves) and Bilbo, he sails to the Undying Lands. This room draws
heavily on "The Yacht" in the original Jet Set Willy. Only after you have set
sail will you be able to reach the left edge of "The Lord of the Rings" and
complete the game.
