Dorthonion Scout

Meet my Beorning. This is the only character I've been playing since January, when I cut LOTRO down to a minimum. I hadn't bothered with making outfits until I felt I had distanced myself from this blog. For months, I was content to simply play and enjoy adventuring in Middle-earth without attachments or distractions. When I made it to the North Trollshaws (the much needed revamp was amazing, by the way), I felt the need to make an outfit. The abundance of evergreen trees reminded me of Dorthonion, the pine-covered highlands north of Beleriand. I've always imagined it to be similar to the other great forests of Middle-earth before Morgoth corrupted it. Thus, greens and browns became my central colors.

Being away from Material Middle-earth has been somewhat of a blessing. It's given me a chance to clear my mind of often used cosmetic combinations and allow me to appreciate some of the skins I've constantly overlooked. For the first time, the T7 Tailor robe/hauberk, the Dunlending Skirmish Armour, makes its appearance. Even the Traveller's Hood, an old cosmetic which I recently discovered, gets some use. From what I've read and what friends have told me, this hood was introduced to the LOTRO Store either in 2010 or 2011, long before my days of blogging for this MMO. By the time I started in 2012, most cosmetically-minded players and bloggers had used and abused this headpiece to such an extent that it was virtually phased out of use. Not that I'm trying to bring it back or anything...it's just one of those unexpected pieces that worked well in this outfit. It makes for an unusual compilation, at least for me. I'm sure this outfit would still do well without it. I'm still on the fence about it since it looks like it was shoehorned in.

Hoods are something rarely used by me. In fact, only one outfit of the 150+ found here has a hood in it. I don't particularly like the way they pool around the neck. I'm not a fan of having my character's faces covered. I love looking at their faces. I love looking at a head full of hair, even if it's from behind. Going hoodless has really become a part of my style. I might give them a chance in the future, but it has to be the perfect combination of skins.

In other news, I've learned that one of my favorite sites, the Sindarin Name Frame of elffetish.com, has vanished from the internet. This was my go-to place for amazingly accurate Sindarin and Quenya names for my LOTRO outfits, characters, and legendary items. This generator was coded to understand and use the appropriate syntax, conjugation, gender-specific forms of words (like warrior (f) vs. warrior (m)), and the conditional changes in syllabic endings (like when a "n" becomes a "l" in this case: idhren- + -lach = idrellach). If you've never seen or used it, here is an earlier cached version. Even though it doesn't work, this shows what that generator was like.

Head: Traveller's Hood (Rivendell green, LOTRO Store)**
Shoulders: Combat Pauldrons of Éomer (Umber, T8 Tailor recipe, guilded or bartered)
Chest: Strong Dunlending Skirmish Armour (Rivendell green, T7 Tailor recipe)
Hands: Heavy Plated Dunlending Gauntlets (Walnut brown, Dunland quest reward)
Feet: Scout's Weathered Leather Boots (Walnut brown, Dunland quest reward)***

**I did find this hood on the AH, so there are non-store versions floating around.
***This skin is also available at Lalia's Market at the time of posting.