Imagine for a moment if Frodo was unable to find a group to help him get to Mount Doom to destroy the One Ring. What if the little Hobbit was more of a solo player and wanted to complete the quest by himself? Well, it looks like that's what the Lord of the Rings Online team is working toward in Siege of Mirkwood.

According to a blog entry by Orion, too many players are abandoning the MMO's epic storyline since it requires players to form a group. Once Dec. 1 hits, Turbine will be introducing the Inspired Greatness system to entice players to try out these quests by themselves.

Starting with Volume 1, Book 2, you'll be able to inspire your characters, which "increases morale and power significantly, increases in-combat and out-of-combat morale and power regeneration, increases damage output from melee, ranged and tactical sources, increases healing output for all healing skills." You can read the full blog entry below. [via MMORPG.com]

New Items: Captain's Emblem of the First Age ;  Captain's Sword of the First Age ;  Captain's Spear of the First Age ;  Captain's Mace of the First Age ;  Captain's Axe of the First Age ;  Captain's Great Axe of the First Age ;  Captain's Great Sword of the First Age ;  Captain's Halberd of the First Age ;  Captain's Hammer of the First Age ;  Captain's Great Hammer of the First Age ;  Captain's Great Club of the First Age ;  Captain's Club of the First Age ;  Captain's Daggerof the First Age

New Mobs: Nosseron

Updated Items: Captain's Great Axe of the Third Age ;  Bright Emblem of Nimrodel‏

Updated Mobs: Osgild

New Items: Warden's Sword of the First Age ;  Warden's Spear of the First Age ;  Warden's Mace of the First Age ;  Warden's Axe of the First Age ;  Warden's Dagger of the First Age ;  Warden's Hammer of the First Age ;  Warden's Javelin of the First Age ;  Warden's Club of the First Age ;  Warden's Sword of the First Age ;  Warden's Spear of the First Age ;  Warden's Mace of the First Age ;  Warden's Axe of the First Age ;  Warden's Dagger of the First Age ;  Warden's Hammer of the First Age ;  Warden's Javelin of the First Age ;  Warden's Club of the First Age

Updated Items: Bright Emblem of Nimrodel‏

Updated Mobs: Wulfhild ;  Tinuloth

New Items: Warden's Sword of the Third Age ;  Warden's Mace of the Third Age ;  Warden's Axe of the Third Age ;  Warden's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Warden's Hammer of the Third Age ;  Warden's Club of the Third Age ;  Warden's Sword of the Third Age ;  Warden's Spear of the Third Age ;  Warden's Mace of the Third Age ;  Warden's Axe of the Third Age ;  Warden's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Warden's Hammer of the Third Age ;  Warden's Javelin of the Third Age ;  Warden's Club of the Third Age ;  Warden's Sword of the Third Age ;  Warden's Spear of the Third Age ;  Warden's Mace of the Third Age ;  Warden's Axe of the Third Age ;  Warden's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Warden's Hammer of the Third Age ;  Warden's Javelin of the Third Age ;  Warden's Club of the Third Age ;  Warden's Sword of the Third Age ;  Warden's Spear of the Third Age ;  Warden's Mace of the Third Age ;  Warden's Axe of the Third Age ;  Warden's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Warden's Hammer of the Third Age ;  Warden's Javelin of the Third Age ;  Warden's Club of the Third Age

New Mobs: Tinuloth

Updated Items: Rusted Dwarf Tools ;  Warden's Spear of the Third Age ;  Warden's Javelin of the Third Age ;  Khuzdul Tablets

Updated Mobs: Wulfhild

Turbine just made a couple of interesting announcements regarding the upcoming Siege of Mirkwood expansion. First of all, the second Siege of Mirkwood trailer is now available on YouTube. It features the Lieutenant of Dol Guldur explaining why he's going to lead his armies to war against the elves of Lothlórien: "I was a king once. Now I am Nazgûl!" In case you missed it, you can also watch the first trailer on YouTube.

In addition, Turbine has extended its Siege of Mirkwood pre-launch offers to Nov. 18 to give players more time to get the expansion for free. All you need to do is become a multi-month subscriber or maintain your multi-month subscription plan to get Siege of Mirkwood for free. Since lifetime members can't change their subscription plans, they need to buy the Adventurer's Pack by Nov. 18 to take advantage of the free offer.

New Items: Minstrel's Sword of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Mace of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Club of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Songbook of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Sword of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Mace of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Club of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Songbook of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Sword of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Mace of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Club of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Songbook of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Sword of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Mace of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Dagger of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Club of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Songbook of the Third Age ;  Minstrel's Sword of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Mace of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Dagger of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Club of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Songbook of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Sword of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Mace of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Dagger of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Club of the First Age ;  Minstrel's Songbook of the First Age

New Mobs: Caladnif

Updated Items: Rusted Dwarf Tools ;  Khuzdul Tablets ;  Mark of Victory ;  Bright Emblem of Nimrodel‏

Updated Mobs: Welf

You may remember reading about the new Lord of the Rings Online digital expansion, Siege of Mirkwood, in our recent feature of an in-game tour with Turbine. The upcoming expansion is scheduled for release on December 1, 2009, which serves as a bookend to Volume II: Mines of Moria. Since then, Turbine has released a bit of juicy new media: a couple wallpapers, and better yet, five new screenshots from the Siege of Mirkwood expansion.

To view all five of the new screenshots, check out these direct links:

1. LOTRO: Siege of Mirkwood Screen 1
2. LOTRO: Siege of Mirkwood Screen 2
3. LOTRO: Siege of Mirkwood Screen 3
4. LOTRO: Siege of Mirkwood Screen 4
5. LOTRO: Siege of Mirkwood Screen 5

You can also view these and more Lord of the Rings Online pics in the screenshots section of our LOTRO portal site.