Yes there is a montly fee to play, but I think you're looking at the registration for this site though. This is just a forum of compiled information for the game itself.
If you do choose to play the actual LOTR games you have 2 options. You can download the free trial from http://www.lotro.com/trial and sign up and start playing once its downloaded, or pick a copy of the game up from your local Best Buy, Gamestop, or whatever store. (You'll need an account key in the future anyway).
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Things I sometimes play...
"What do you want to be when you grow up?"
"I want to be a unicorn!"
"Awww, why's that?"........
"So I can stab people with my face."