Nightshade

Many of my readers have noticed over the years how bright, colorful, and cheerful my outfits have been. I've always liked bold and brilliant purples, blues, greens, and reds. In fact, that's become a defining characteristic of Material Middle-earth. Unfortunately, that hasn't sat well with a multitude of readers. I've been getting messages complimenting me on what content is shared, but also requesting more natural and adventure-worthy outfits. I've also gotten a few rude messages that I will not repeat here. One went as far as to say I've made "outfits worthy of a carnival or circus." Of course, there have been other more modest reactions between those examples. And then there's the general pattern of comments on the official LOTRO forums' outfit thread.

I greatly appreciate my followers, both old and new. I always have and I always will. I've taken my incoming messages seriously, even if I've never gotten a response to my reply (and I have my suspicions about that...*coughjunkmailcough*). And I've also taken feedback and other criticisms to heart as well.


I will continue to make bright and decorative outfits, but I've decided to work a little more with darker and earthier, perhaps going as far as saying natural, colors. Even some of my scheduled outfits have been using ordinary weapons. By ordinary, I mean simple. Less embellished. It's been great displaying flashy armaments covered in golden trims and gems, but I've realized there's also something to said regarding the more realistic ones. Especially the types of weapons that appear better suited to combat instead of ceremony. To honor that decision, I've shared this outfit.

This particular appearance is darker than I normally like, but I felt it was a blog-worthy entry. I've seldom used black because it often obscures the finer clothing and armor details, particularly when the dye doesn't get applied to an off-white base. As much as I loved the gloomier atmosphere in these screenshots, I used my editing software to slightly increase both the contrast and brightness to show those details, especially in the chest area beneath the leather straps. Stylistically, I wanted clothing that was form-fitting with maximum flexibility, the produced minimal noise from movement, and designed for both combat and lengthy traveling. And the weapons were chosen not just for appearance, but for heavy use and expectation of both wear and tear.

For a first attempt at a truly serious and more realistic outfit...this didn't come out too bad!

Head: Circlet of Adamant (LOTRO Store, Walnut Brown)
Shoulders: Rider's Shoulder-guards (Grey, reward from the quest Executioner of Isengard)**
Chest: Giard-crus (Black, reward from T1 Dargnákh Unleashed)
Hands: Ceremonial Thrill-seeker's Gloves (Umber, skirmish camp Cosmetics vendor - Rift medium armor)
Feet: Ceremonial Thrill-seeker's Boots (Moria silver, skirmish camp Cosmetics vendor - Rift medium armor)

Main hand/Off-hand: Bronze Sword (T1 Weaponsmith recipe)
Ranged: Hunter's Bow of the Third Age, level 95 (Crafted by the Relic-master NPC with shards)

**Braigranc, which shares this skin, drops from the T2C chest in Dargnákh Unleashed.