Lord of the Rings Online's latest addition of Exploring Middle Earth takes a close look at Agamaur.

North of the Great East Road, as it leads from the barrens of the Lone-lands to the Last Bridge, north also of the ruins of Ost Guruth, home of the scavenging Eglain, lies a vast marsh known as the Red Swamp. The swamp had not always been this way. Once, it had been a small lake beside a green meadow, but tales tell that a great bloody battle between the Hillmen of Rhudaur and the armies of Arthedain and Cardolan took place upon that site. The blood of the fallen tainted the water of the lake, corrupting it and the lands around it.

Little did the Men of Arthedain realize that within the lake, which now lies in the northern reaches of the Red Swamp, slept a powerful creature of nature. This once-peaceful being fell beneath the corruption of the swamp and awakened as something hideously destructive, slaying with abandon to feed her bloodlust. The Eglain of Ost Guruth say that the Dead have arisen within the bounds of Agamaur, the northern reaches of the swamp, and that evil men now dwell within the ruins of Garth Agarwen, worshiping the power which dwells there. It is also said that the shades of the Men of Arthedain can be found somewhere within the swamp, cursed by a great Power for failing to reclaim the swamp from the corruption which taints the land.

The designers of LOTRO were able to take advantage of a stretch of land with little to no history or description and combine it with themes from the lore to create Agamaur and the rest of the Red Swamp, a treacherous questing arena for the truly daring. Players of The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar would be wise to gather friends before venturing into the marshes of Agamaur, for the dangers which prowl the Red Swamp are far beyond the measure of a lone adventurer.

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