«For the fashion of Minas Tirith was such that it was built on seven levels, each delved into the hill, and about each was set a wall, and in each wall was a gate. But the gates were not set in a line: the Great Gate in the City Wall was at the east point of the circuit, but the next faced half south, and the third half north, and so to and fro upwards; so that the paved way that climbed towards the Citadel turned first this way and then that across the face of the hill. And each time that it passed the line of the Great Gate it went through an arched tunnel, piercing a vast pier of rock whose huge outthrust bulk divided in two all the circles of the City save the first. For partly in the primeval shaping of the hill, partly by the mighty craft and labour of old, there stood up from the rear of the wide court behind the Gate a towering bastion of stone, its edge sharp as a ship-keel facing east. Up it rose, even to the level of the topmost circle, and there was crowned by a battlement; so that those in the Citadel might, like mariners in a mountainous ship, look from its peak sheer down upon the Gate seven hundred feet below.» – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Minas Tirith
If there is one city I’ve always wanted to explore in a game it’s Minas Tirith – and now the guys from the ‘Middle-earth Role Playing’ mod are making my dreams come true. This latest batch of screenshots is showing the White City in all its glory, with my favourite shots being of the Great Gate and the outer wall of the First Circle (though it should be black, if we go by the book), the Hall of the Kings, and the Tower of Ecthelion.
The Tower of Ecthelion
All the screens of the great City of Kings can be seen here, where you’ll also find some close up shots of Third Age Gondorian armour (it’s the plate kind seen in the films, not the maille from the book). Make sure you explore the MERP forums, as well – there are a lot of interesting gems to be found there, especially in the MERP Videos thread and the Screenshots thread.
The Hall of the Kings (Tower Hall)
The MERP team have released a BETA version of the mod (v0.2.2) which allows you to run around in and explore some of the areas of Middle-earth that they’ve landscaped. All instructions on how to download, install, and play can be found here.
The outer wall of the First Circle and the Great Gate
‘Middle-earth: Role Playing’ is a modification for ‘The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion’.
Discuss in the forums.
Tags: Bethesda, City of Kings, Fantasy, First Circle, Gondor, Gondorian Armour, Great Gate, Hall of the Kings, Lord of the Rings, LotR, MERP, Middle-earth, Middle-earth Role Playing, Minas Tirith, Oblivion, Outer Wall, Screenshots, Shivering Isles, TES:IV, The Elder Scrolls, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, Tolkien, Tower Hall, Tower of Ecthelion, Tower of Guard, White City
