Pre release

I just wondered how many of you played this when it was a Beta release? Were you able to continue playing with the characters you created in the Beta?

Depends what you mean Brambles,
If you mean CLosed in vitation only |BETA, then the answer is no, They changed lotro ALOT back then, Old FOrest changed a fair bit and at the end of the Closed BETA they wiped the whole server and started a new.
Open BETA(early access) we pre-ordered the game so it arfrived at our houses before the shops, we got into middle-earth on the first day of release, a week before the shops and yes we have kept those characters,. So basically clsoed BETA, you cannot keep your characters, they wipe the server's data completly, kinships, characters deeds, absol;utely everything so it was starting anew

Arise, arise, Riders of Théoden!
Fell deeds awake, fire and slaughter!
spear shall be shaken, shield be splintered,
a sword-day, a red day, ere the sun rises!

Thanks, thats all I needed to know!