You Can Lead a Horse to Water…

…But you cannot make it drink. Until Volume II Book 9: Siege of Mirkwood, that old proverb applied very well to the mounts of Middle-earth. Every rider knew it was all fun and games until you wanted to interact with your environment; every door in Middle-earth was closed to you, every NPC uninterested in your business, and every skill you learned completely blocked while riding. It didn’t take long after buying your first mount to feel just how unforgiving and restrictive the system could be.

To understand why the system was so restrictive, you have to look at the technology behind it; the channeling system. It’s the same system originally developed to deliver pies across the Shire and pour buckets of water on fiery blazes, and it was later leveraged to saddle players onto mounts. The channeling system was an adequate solution during a time when developing a new system was out of the question, as development was coming to a close for the launch of Shadows of Angmar.