Willem Haverford never wanted anything more than a simple life, raising a family on the outskirts of Bree. He was successful enough to have been able to adopt two children, a boy named Adney and a girl named Elodee. He was proud of how his children had grown up. Each had their own talents and skills, and he loved them both with all his being. Adney, with his impish ways and sly smile, was a good man who had gone on to adopt two children of his own. He was a successful hunter and tradesman, just the sort of son to make a father beam with pride.

Elodee? Well... Elodee had always been highly intelligent, but downright stubborn - some might even say too smart for her own good. She remained headstrong and rebellious through childhood, and eventually she and her father had a falling out. Willem watched his daughter pack her things that day, and leave their little farm to chase her dreams. In anger, Willem marched right down to the local Notary and disowned Elodee, and though he often regretted doing so, his daughter was not the only stubborn member of the Haverford family.

Adney remained on the farm to help his father, and their daily routine became a yearly routine, and so the days passed. Every evening, after a normally fruitful hunting trip, Adney would be joined at the local tavern by his own children Sophie and Danton, now fully-grown, and they would toast the day with a pint of ale. While he missed his sister, and often wondered where she was and what she was doing, Adney remained satisfied with the adventures that kept him near his family.

Sophie, Adney's daughter, now had her own children, Alton and Freda. Sophie would often host dinner in her small home inside the town of Bree for the family. She often observed how happy her grandfather, Willem, seemed as he sat at the head of the table, discussing all things important and trivial - though his voice always had a hint of sadness when he mentioned Elodee.

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Adoption

Throughout the course of your adventures in The Lord of the Rings Online^TM: Shadows of Angmar^TM (LOTRO), the people you play with often come to feel like family, whether they are members of a closely-knit kinship, a group of your real-life friends, or even members of your actual family. You can recognize such bonds by creating your own in-game family tree with the LOTRO Pedigree System!

If you want to start a family, you can, like old Willem Haverford, adopt children of your own. The first step is to assign your character a generation (in Willem's case, the first generation). Using the drop-down box next to Change Generation, choose 1, then select "Change Generation."

In this example, Adney selected Generation 2 to prepare to be Willem's son. Willem then adopted Adney by targeting him and typing "/adopt." A confirmation window appeared for Adney, and after he accepted the adoption, Willem saw him listed as a "child" in the family tree, and Adney saw Willem as his "parent."

Let's examine the story, and see how the Haverford's full family tree was created:

Willem is 1^st generation; he adopted Adney and Elodee, both 2^nd generation. Elodee then left, and Willem went to the local Notary to disown her (we'll discuss the Notary below). Elodee is no longer in the Haverford family tree after being disowned.

Adney is 2^nd generation; he adopted 3^rd generation Sophie and Danton.

Sophie is 3^rd generation; she adopted Alton and Freda, who are set as 4^th generation.

Characters can adopt up to two children. As those children adopt children of their own, the generations will continue on (offspring should always have a generational number one higher than their parent.) This system will also result in the titles of, "Son of ...", "Father of...", "Daughter of...", and "Mother of..." becoming available to the appropriate players.

Surnames and the Notary

The first of two services provided by Notary NPCs is the registration of surnames. When your character reaches level 15 you can assign yourself a surname. Each member of a family can visit the Notary to add the family name to their name, or even give themselves a different last name if they desire (in-laws, for example).

The second service provided by Notaries is a sad, but sometimes necessary business - when a child or a parent is no longer interested in being a part of the family unit. You can abandon (disown) your parent or child with this panel.

 

Notaries can be found in many major towns:

Thorin's Gate - Thorin's Hall - Wárr Ink-sleeve

Bree - Bree-town Hall - Bonnie Milkweed

The Shire - The Delving Fields - Wistan Whitfoot

Trollshaws - The Forges of Rivendell - Calbeniel

Ered Luin - Duillond - Lubathred

Try making your own family tree, and start creating your family history in Middle-earth!