The threats to the land take many forms. In Ered Luin, Dwarves betray Dwarves, and the Shire has its share of bog creatures and brigands. Orcs invade the borders of Bree, and up in the North Downs, wraiths threaten anyone daring the dying Fields of Fornost.

Difficulty Indicators

Name Color / Con Level

Creatures that you can fight have their names in specific colors to indicate their difficulty relative to your own level. This color coded designation is often referred to in the gaming community as con or con level (which is a shortened form of either constitution [health] or of consider, implying that the player must consider the creature's level before deciding whether or not to attack). The con level color will change as your character grows.

As an example, you will find that a level 15 bear appears purple and is practically impossible to defeat when your character is level 7. That bear will also be extremely aggressive toward you, and will offer a significant amount of Experience points, or XP. Once you have gained level 15 yourself, the bear's name will appear in white and be much less of a challenge to defeat; it will also offer a lesser amount of XP. When your character is level 30, the bear's name will appear in grey and will offer no challenge whatsoever; for this reason, you will no longer receive any XP for defeating this level 15 foe.

Incidentally, creature names of any level may also appear grey if they have already been attacked by another person. This condition is simple to identify because the creature's morale bar will also appear grey, rather than yellow or orange.

Challenge type	Description
Grey	9 or more levels below - yields no XP / Was attacked by another person.
Green	6 - 8 levels below
Turquoise	3 - 5 levels below
Blue	1 - 2 levels below
White	(creature has the same level as yourself)
Yellow	1 - 2 levels above
Orange	3 - 4 levels above
Red	5 - 7 levels above
Purple	8 levels above (creature is far greater than yourself)