Cosmetic Challenge - Wilderness Scavenger

Last year, in October I believe, I was challenged by a friend and former LOTRO player to devise an outfit revolving around the Jacket of the Fist-way (or any of its identical cousins) from the Warden class vendor at the Ox-clan Camp in Nan Curunir. Naturally, it had to be one of those pieces that dyed oddly. If you've ever worked with any T1 Tower of Orthanc gear from the Ox-clan Camp, you'll have noticed that all the pieces dye a muted color due to a greyish-blue base. If you didn't know that, now you do! I had become so frustrated with that centerpiece that I put this outfit aside for a while. Unfortunately, I had almost forgotten about this outfit. If it weren't for me recently cataloging creations that I've never used or had no intention of using, I wouldn't have resumed working on this almost a year later. 

Luciana, my dear friend, this is dedicated to you! Hopefully you're still checking out this blog : )

Wanderer of the West - Andalost of Gladden

Being the cosmetic packrat I am, I had to use one of my extra character slots and build a new character. Even though a new character meant more storage, it also meant seven more outfits to create. And so I built one using a few pieces that were collecting dust and created a sensible traveler's outfit for a fresh Lore-master. It's a rather unassuming compilation. Plenty of earthy colors and a minimal amount of designs that prevented it from looking gaudy. I felt like I was blending in with the townsfolk, even though these pieces seemed a fashionable step higher by comparison.

Harvestmath Series - Lady of the Golden Harvest

Golds and light greens are still seen into late Autumn. They're some of the last colors to fade before Winter arrives, a symbol of the remaining warm weather and the last major Harvest--at least where I live. Thanksgiving is coming at the end of November for me, and I wanted to make an outfit capturing all of this. Unfortunately, there are no turkeys in Middle-earth...but I can certainly toss feathers into the air and pretend there are! This will give me a chance to wrap up this year's Harvestmath Series.

Forest-friend - Lanael of Gladden

Green has always been my favorite color for my Rune-keeper, Lanael. Looks like I've discovered another character that heavily associates with a specific color, very much in the way shades of purple agree with my Captain. It's probably the personality I've envisioned for each specific character that leads me to dress them in certain fabrics and styles. That could very well be why I've stopped working on particular outfits. Even though it can look great, I can't envision that particular one wearing it in Middle-earth. But, that's what alts are for! I originally modeled this outfit on my Warden in navy blue.

Harvestmath Series - Harvest Reveller

The theme from the 2012 Harvestmath Festival revolved around beer and pretzels. Other than the pretzel embroidery on the tunics and dresses, there were handheld items that fit in your weapon slots like silver been steins and giant pretzels (which is great for the RP community). I never knew why, so I did a little research using the two images in unison. Initially, all I could find was some obscure reference to board games called "Beer & Pretzels" and "Wiz-war" because the two items were traditionally consumed while playing them and then a Three Stooges 1933 short film called "Beer and Pretzels." Believe me, I sat there for ten minutes scratching my head and making faces at my monitor while thinking there's got to be more to this. It couldn't be more than a random choice, could it?

Helm's Deep Cosmetics Part 2: Crafted Armor

Now that the NDA has been lifted, I can share these crafted armor sets with all of you!

In each set, you'll have views from the front, side and back. At the far right of each set, you'll be able to see what areas change color when dyed. For the sake of viewing ease, I've chosen a bright red. Beneath each picture is the name of the set, what armor class it belongs to, and the level to equip it.

Enjoy!

Westemnet Campaign Armor (crafted light set, level 90)

Harvestmath Series - Stylish Drake-slayer

Combining a love of the lore, my anticipation for the second Hobbit film, and a current obsession with the Harvestmath season cosmetics, I found myself making this outfit. It started with the Gown of Autumn Nights, but it wasn't exactly about the color at first. The pattern on the hem and at the waist of dress is what grabbed my attention in the most unusual way. If you look closely (even at the set matching Cloak of Autumn Nights) this is supposed to be some sort of intertwining leafless tree montage. Instead, I saw a forest burning brightly, and after a chain of freely associative thoughts, I found myself thinking of a dragon's fiery breath.