Kinships are lotro's version of what in other games may be called guilds or clans, and as with most games, finding the right one is often simply a matter of joining a few until you find one that feels right for you. It's very much like finding the right server for you, but with one huge difference: when you move between servers, you have to either start a new character or pay to move your character to the new server. To change a kinship, all you need to do is leave the current one and join another. Though you might choose to specifically try a kinship on another server, it is rather unusual and usually happens only if you know the other kinship, or if you really need a change of scene.The first step in finding a kinship is understanding how a kinship might find you. There are several channels in lotro in which a kinship can advertise recruiting, and which you can use to get recruited:
- Regional chat channels. Traveling near big cities, you will sometimes see a message in your /regional channel about a certain kinship that is recruiting players. If you like the ad and wants to hear more just send a /tell to the person who wrote the message - they will be more than happy to see that the ad worked, and to give you more information. This works both ways: you can use the same chat channels to publish that you're looking for a kinship, but if you do, get ready to get a lot of /tell and even invite popups.
- Pick-up fellowships/instances. While it's a known fact in many games that random grouping can (and sometimes does) end badly, sometimes it does end well. If the fellowship was good, the company was enjoyable, and the adventure was a success, then players with a kinship might ask you to join them (or you could ask them if you can join - even if they're not officers and can't invite you, they have access to those who can).
- Forums. The official lotro forums feature some dedicated threads for kinship recruiting. Some threads are for specific servers, and some are global recruiting threads for kinships on any server, in case you don't really care which server the kinship is on. As with the chat channels, you can either browse the recruiting threads and see if there is a post that you like and fits what you are looking for, or post what you are looking for and wait for the recruiting kinships will contact you. Since some of the time recruiting posts by kinships get lost in the shuffle, writing your own "looking for kinship" post is sometimes the easier way to go, as it will invite contact from all actively recruiting kinships.
That's it for now. If you wish to learn more about how to play lotro, make sure to purchase the following guide, which comes with free updates as the game evolves.