Simple Fashion - Dresses, Part 3

Honestly, I'm surprised that I never posted another installment for dresses before leaving in 2021, especially under the Simple Fashion tag. For those of you new to Material Middle-earth, my Simple Fashion category is designed for mostly minimalist outfits using as few cosmetics as possible. Most will use two or three pieces and, on the rare occasion, four. In addition to dresses, I've tackled hauberks, tunics, and robes. To find all of those easily, either click the Simple Fashion tag at the bottom of this entry or follow this convenient link here, covering everything created under this umbrella category over the years.

Without further ado, here are three dresses.

 

Head: Circlet of Fresh-picked Flowers (Turquoise, Farmers Faire barter reward)

Shoulders: Ascot Scarf  (White, Farmers Faire barter reward)

Chest: Picnic Dress (Turquoise, Summer Festival barter reward)

Verdant

 

It's been a cold, bitter winter this year and I've been yearning for warmer weather. And every year, the season has felt like it's getting progressively longer. Even the trees felt like they've taken forever to bloom. To scratch that itch, I decided to make something green, something floral. In the end, this outfit, at it's core, became a delightful and eclectic mishmash of Spring Festival and Midsummer Festival pieces. 

Springtime Symphony

Another year has come and go in LOTRO. Not only does the Spring Festival herald the return of warm weather and fragrant flowers, it also heralds the coming of both LOTRO's fourteenth and Material Middle-earth's ninth anniversaries. It's hard to believe both this game and blog has been running for that long. Time is incredibly short this month, and odds are I won't have my usual anniversary post. In lieu of that, I've put together three outfits, each of which use at least one bartered piece obtained from the Spring Festival. Some of the pieces seen here, like the Naruhel cosmetics, are new while others, like the Simbelmynë cosmetics, are nearly a decade old.

This first outfit used the newest addition to the Spring Festival vendors. Not only does it use the aforementioned Naruhel cosmetics, specifically the vines covering the arms and shoulders, it also uses a dress worn by Goldberry and the various River-maidens encountered throughout the story. Though not the most original skins in the game, in a sense because they're pre-existing assets, it's amazing that we've been seeing NPC clothing converted into player clothing (my fingers are crossed for Glathlírel's armor)! I hope the trend continues. Anyway, between the dress and vines, it was possible to create a nature-centric outfit combining the essences of earth and water. And the Groom's Myrtle Circlet was thrown in for good measure.

Head: Groom's Myrtle Circlet (Autumn leaf, Midsummer Festival barter reward)

Shoulders: Naruhel's Shawl (Default, Spring Festival Festivity Token barter reward)

Back: Cloak of the Autumn Traveler (Rohan green, Fall Festival barter reward)

Chest: Short-sleeved Dress of the Spring Maid (Rohan green, Spring Festival barter reward)

Hands: Vines of Naruhel (Default, Spring Festival Festivity Token barter reward)

Silvered Feather

 

After nearly eleven years of playing LOTRO, there are still many cosmetics I haven't collected. Most of them, unfortunately, are from raids like Throne of Dread Terror, Amdan Dammul, and Remmorchant or faction rewards that require high reputation. And then there are some that I've had my eye on for years, like the Faramir-themed sets. Back in January, I collected my final Morgul Crest from a Roving Threat in the North Downs, later spending all twenty on the Robe of Faramir's Faithful. Thanks to the wonderful Gracelenrose and Narufind of Gladden and their weekly RT and Scourge runs, collecting this robe was possible. I wish these crests had a better drop rate from RTs. because those Faramir sets are gorgeous! The only other way to earn these crests is by trading Ithil-coins earned from Throne of Dread Terror, which is rarely run nowadays.

(Just a quick and shameless plug: if you are on Gladden, Grace and Nar scout a scheduled set of RTs or Scourges every Tuesday and publicly share the coords on the RT Discord server. Every Saturday night at 7 PM EST is the live RT/Scourge group, which is pre-scouted. These are scheduled in advance and will either fall into one of three categories: Eriador, Gondor and The Wastes, or Scourges and the Nine. If you'd like in on these groups, watch for advertisements or PM Gracelenrose for the server info.)

Frozen Elegance

 

Once again, the art department at Standing Stone Games delivered an impressive and equally beautiful collection of new Yule Festival cosmetics with a wintry gala theme. They've definitely captured the essence of winter in a elegant, yet cozy way. Gloredh, thankfully, over at Wandering Around Arda has provided the community with wonderful screenshots of the new items. The Yule Festival runs through January 5th, 2021 and there is plenty of time for earning the require barter tokens. 

The Gala-worthy Dress, featured here, was the most breathtaking piece. Not only does it have a gorgeous snowflake pattern and copper-toned holly leaves, it dyes brightly and is a sight to behold in any color! The other item that caught my attention was the Cloak of Flurries. It doesn't dye, but the delicate curtain of iridescent snowflakes more than compensates for that shortcoming. There aren't many iridescent skins in the game, most of them gated behind raids like Orthanc, Draigoch, and Anvil and the ever elusive Curator NPC, so don't miss this chance for a shiny reward!

Autumn Leaf Fashion

I need to put it out there that if I missed LOTRO's Fall Festival--my favorite one by the way--I might have quit LOTRO permanently. As most of my readers and Twitter followers know, this has been a rough year investing in LOTRO. It's been one thing after another, all in rapid succession. A pandemic that forced me into 60+ hour work weeks from April to September. (I had one afternoon of playtime this past July, and that was it.) I came back to an unstable game, due to a combination of issues with SSG's service provider and their server infrastructure. Once the connection issues stabilized early October, my PC monitor died. I replaced it, only to have my PC's motherboard and processor kick the proverbial bucket nearly a week later. I had no choice but to rebuild my PC, which took approximately three weeks. 

Although these circumstances have been out of my control, I feel terrible leaving this blog all but abandoned this year. To make up for lost time, I'll be sharing three new outfits, each featuring a new cosmetic from the 2020 Fall Festival. Golden leaf motifs and tattered, perhaps more accurate to say leafy, fabric are the core components of this year's theme. Between the Leaf-turner cosmetics, which are somewhat reminiscent of pre-Isengard elven design, the spookier looking Autumn Sage ones, I'd say SSG has captured the festival's essence. I haven't been this impressed with the seasonal fall designs since 2018!

Head: Woodland Crown (Default, Yule Festival token barter reward)
Shoulders: Fur Mantle (Orange, Yule Festival token barter reward)
Chest: Vestments of the Autumn Sage (White, Fall Festival token barter reward)
Feet: Embroidered Shoes of the Dunland Healer (Rust, reward from Missing Persons)**

Weapon: Smooth Holly Staff (From the T6 Woodworker Holly Staff recipe)

Middle-earth Midsummer

Greetings! Between a lack of time, a serious burn out, and adjusting to a global pandemic, I've fallen behind in all of my MMOs, missing updates and events. I don't know when I'll be ready to return to online gaming, but I did have a chance to explore LOTRO's Midsummer Festival, which coincides with Aragorn and Arwen's wedding, for a single day. Between a generous Twitter follower and kinnies who sent me gift boxes and a brief time spent collecting tokens around Minas Tirith, I acquired the latest cosmetics.

Sadly, I don't and probably won't have the time for tinkering with the Groom's Tunic and the Bridal Veil. However, I did have the chance to make three new appearances with the festival's new dresses. Inspiration struck hard and fast, taking no more than an hour to build, dye, and take quick pictures. I loved how billowy these dresses were, especially on a human female!

I'm not sure when I'll have the opportunity to post new content again, but I hope you enjoy this latest entry!

Head: Circlet of Osgiliath's Fury (White, Osgiliath Dome Armour box from T2 Dome of Stars)**
Shoulders: Embroidered Mantle of the Pathfinder's Artifice (Ered luin blue, T11 Tailor recipe bartered from the Gorgoroth reputation vendor)
Chest: Arwen's Dinner Dress (Sea blue, Midsummer Festival token barter reward)

**This circlet skin can be obtained by any light armor class. Dome must be run on T2 at a minimum of level 50 and any boss can drop this box.

The Galadhrim Defender & Happy Anniversary

Happy 8th Anniversary to Material Middle-earth!

Every year I've reached this anniversary milestone, which officially falls on April 21st, I can't help but think "Has another year come and gone so quickly?" Having been blogging for LOTRO these past eight years, I'm surprised I haven't run out of content to publish between reviving old cosmetics and exploring the newest ones. I'm always finding rewarding things to do. Just in the past year, I've helped judge several cosmetic contests across several servers, I've even hosted my own with the help of Gladden's Rangers of the West, and I've also expanded the Cosmetic Weapons section to include a vast selection of shields. There have been other projects and events, too many to name in fact, but they've left me satisfied without feeling burned out, as they normally do. I've even rediscovered my love for raiding, which I haven't actively done since Riders of Rohan was the current expansion!

Penchant for Plum

I loved Minas Morgul. Definitely one of my favorite expansions to have graced LOTRO these past twelve years. Between Mordor Besieged and the Morgul Vale, the story was amazing and the landscape design phenomenal. However, the Vale itself was one of the darkest regions added to the game. My Rune-keeper, known for wearing dark or earthen-toned clothing, was blending into the landscape. It was difficult to play while traveling through light underbrush or while moving against the ethereal glow of the citadel's high stone walls. Sometimes, I didn't know where I was unless I was flinging lightning in some unsuspecting warg's face or roasting spiders in the web-covered Taurlingol. To fix the problem, I took some unusual measures and dived into my dwindling supply of shire plum, which I'll have to replenish next Spring.

Sword and Sorcery

I hope everybody's been enjoying LOTRO's Fall Festival this year. I've been a bit of a busybody myself between daily attempts at getting the Painted Skeleton Steed from the Haunted Burrow's not-so-secret chest, touching up future outfits, and preparing for tomorrow's server fashion show on Gladden, Frights of Fancy. In a way, I was glad the past week has been like this. It's given me time to focus on everything LOTRO and clearing my "Countdown to Minas Morgul" checklist. I can't wait to see what gear skins we're getting! I've imagined there will be plenty of spooky-looking ones! And speaking of something spooky...

An Autumn Fashion Show

Autumn is my favorite time of year. On one hand, there's the cool crisp air, freshly picked apples, and the symphony of colors as the leaves fall from the trees. All images of peace and relaxation. On the other hand, there's the tricking and treating, conjuring spooky images and atmospheres, and wearing costumes ranging from the lighthearted and adorable to the gloomy and ghastly. And then there's my favorite event--LOTRO's Fall Festival and all of the wonderful rewards that come with it. Each of the outfits below features a barter reward from the festival.

As some of you may know from Twitter or the Issue #132 of the Beacon, Rangers of the West, is hosting the server-wide fashion contest, Frights of Fancy, on Sunday, October 27th. Both Makaia of Style of Middle-earth and myself will be presiding as judges. There are two main categories--"Scariest Outfit" and "Autumn-themed Outfit." We also had a third theme planned, the "Look-a-Like," but after much debate, it was dropped from the program. This part would have had players dressing up like major characters from the lore, specifically from the time period between The Hobbit and Return of the King. Seeing as Gladden's not the busiest server, we didn't want to risk having too few people for too many categories. (This could be brought back if we have enough interest on the forums! *cough cough*)

Even though I can't enter the contest, I plan on dressing the part on my Minstrel and changing outfits with each theme. The first outfit, featuring an elegant red dress, falls into the Autumn one. The second outfit, featuring a black dress embroidered with barren branches, fits in the Scariest one. (This is a modified version of an old outfit.)  And the third outfit? This is my interpretation of Eowyn, for the scrapped Look-a-Like, before she secretly joins the ranks of the Gondor-bound Rohirrim.

Enjoy the festivities! I hope to see many fellow Gladdenites at next weekend's fashion show!

Head: Circlet of Fresh-picked Flowers (Sunset Orange, Farmers Faire barter reward)
Shoulders: Songmaster's Shoulders (Orange, bartered from the Minstrel class trainer in Ost Galadh)**
Back: Cloak of the Autumn Sun (White, Fall Festival barter reward)
Chest: Long-sleeved Summer Dress (Red, Summer Festival barter reward)***

**Shares same skin as the Shoulder of the Lady's Grace, bartered from the Minstrel class trainer in Lothlórien for an elf-stone from Dâr Narbugud.
***Sunset Orange is a wonderful alternative to red. The dress looks slightly, but noticeably brighter.

Dreadweaver's Bane - A LOTRO Fan Fiction

Greetings, readers of Material Middle-earth! I wanted to try something different today. Rather than talk about the outfit itself, I've decided to share a story inspired by both my appearance and the location. One Mirkwood quest in particular, A Dangerous Lair, was a major influence in this literary experiment. And I also pulled some tidbits from others for atmosphere. It may not exactly be LOTR-appropriate, but it feels right for LOTRO.

I'm about ten years out of practice with story writing and I know it's not perfect, but I hope it's enjoyable!

     Lanael looked above her, rubbing her eyes, and fixed her gaze upon the ceiling. She heard the skittering and scratching as something moved across the roof. There were moments when she was unable to pinpoint the exact source, the sounds nearly drowning out the crackling coming from the hearth. At least one foul creature had climbed upon the Haunted Inn's roof and for what purpose, she had no idea.
     "The woods are rife with poisonous spiders," spoke the tall, grey-clad Malledhrim Sentry pacing around the Haunted Inn's common room. "At night, they are especially active, lurking in the darkness of the trees. Sometimes, they crawl along the rooftop, hoping to catch the guards unaware. They are a threat, truly, to our efforts here."
     "So that's what that is. Have you located their nest?" she asked boldly, before yawning. The wooden chair she'd tried sleeping in hadn't been very comfortable. It was unbalanced and wobbled every time she'd shift positions.
     "The Dreadweaver's Lair is to the southwest, a short distance past the road leading to Ost Galadh."
     "Why haven't you destroyed the nest?" Lanael crankily pressed, irritated by the lack of sleep. "Surely, the small host you've gathered here can remove that threat."
     The sentry stopped pacing, growing quiet. He looked around, noticing a party of adventurers conversing over a small meal in the adjacent room. He slowly approached the inquisitive elf, the tension rising in his lowered voice, his fist clenched. "We are not as well off as it seems. Our numbers have grown smaller. Elves and orcs alike have been taken by the spiders plaguing us from the south. Scouts that have been sent north to Dannenglor haven't returned. Shades and other foul beings attack from Audaghaim, across the eastern bridge. There is no one to spare to destroy the nest."
     Lanael paused, finding it difficult to speak. The sting of his words had caught her off guard. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize..." she whispered as she looked down, unable to look in his eyes.
     He guided her to a wooden bench across from the roaring hearth and sat down beside her. "My apologizes. It wasn't my intent to speak so harshly. You didn't know. You were never meant to come here. One of our scouts saw you bound for Ost Galadh as the sun was setting and guided you here for your own safety. The woods are especially dangerous after dusk, as you have just learned."
     As they sat there silently and stared at the slowly diminishing flames, the scratching sounds overhead faded. The crackling of the fire and soft, indistinguishable voices from the adjoining room filled the inn once more. Slowly realizing the relative silence, they sighed collectively.
    "If you'll excuse me, I must check on my injured companions in the cellar. Another was poisoned by a spider the night before last," said the sentry as he rose from the bench. He began to walk away, stopped mid stride, and he turned around briefly. "And, if I may be so bold, I'd suggest getting some rest, now that the inn is quiet once more. You'll need to be alert when you travel in the morning. Sleep well."
 

Ancient Master

My absolute favorite staff has always been the Staff of Storied Past. Although recently introduced through the LOTRO Store, this staff has been in the game's coding for years. Originally, it was called the Lore-master's Staff of the First Age (level 58). In my decade of playing LOTRO, I've never seen this staff drop. Nor have I seen any other First Age weaponry from level 53-58 drop. It's still a mystery, but I've never known the reason why these beautiful weapons weren't introduced into the loot pools. Luckily, the developers at SSG introduced some of those skins to the LOTRO Store as limited time items, appearing for approximately one week every couple of months. I purchased this staff on its initial release day.

Finally, I had the chance to make an outfit revolving around it. It was an interesting approach too!

Tempered and Sagacious

Material Middle-earth returns this week with another PvMP-centric appearance. Unlike December's Garrison Commander outfit, this one can be acquired, in full, without entering the Moors, but requires mithril coins to purchase. Normally, I don't post outfits that rely so heavily on real money (or ungodly luck from Hobbit Presents), but this something I love sporting on my Lore-master. And it feeds my shameless and often unsatiated love for the color purple.

Winter's Plumage

This year's Yule Festival has been eagerly anticipated and welcomed with equal joy. Of all LOTRO's festivals, this is my absolute favorite. There's a large variety in the cosmetics offered (robes, cloaks, tunics, and dresses) through quests and vendors, as well as a multitude of titles, steeds, and a beautifully designed Yule portrait frame. Of course, I can't neglect mentioning the gorgeous belegaer blue dye! If you haven't seen the latest rewards, other than the robe pictured in this blog entry, I'd suggest checking out Wandering Around Arda's preview. If you're like me and have had little time to spare for LOTRO this holiday season, this link may help you make some time.

Of Stars and Signs

Don't worry. Unlike my last outfit post, which somewhat introduces this outfit, I'm not going to drop another massive wall of text. Last thing I need, or anyone else for that matter, is to become a broken record and recount the lengthy and painstaking origin of this outfit. (If you missed it, you can find that tale here.) Needless to say, I was excited to add half the pieces here to my collection once I finally got my hands on them! Next on my list is the Faramir's Faithful set, but that requires one hundred and twenty Morgul Crests to collect. In my two years of killing warbands, I only have nine or ten of them! (Maybe I can start convincing kinnies to do T2C Osgiliath or Pelennor?)

I'm starting to get off topic, so it's back to the outfit at hand!

Legion of Thrang - Gúlaran Fell-summoner

I've loved how the rewards from the Armory of Thrang boxes have forced me to get creative with my latest outfits. They've been a welcome addition to my repertoire of cosmetics, considering how much my creativity has lessened in recent months. I doubt I'll make something for each of the selectable weapons, as they've been a tad expensive. I've only collected four of them--out of a possible thirteen--and that alone set me back a whopping 3600 Ashes of Enchantment. I picked the short sword, staff, bow, and the two-handed axe. At this point, three of them have been featured. The axe will soon make an appearance, I promise.

Back to the outfit at hand, before I find myself getting distracted again!

His & Hers - An Ornate Yuletide

It's hard to believe another year has come and gone in LOTRO. And it's even more difficult to believe that I actually have a chance to upload some Yule outfits, let alone have a PC to upload them with (last year, I didn't have a working one)! I'll be keeping this post rather brief. As I'm finalizing this entry, and scheduling to auto-post while I'm working Saturday morning, I have a batch of mini oreo cheesecakes chilling in the fridge. Soon they'll be done, and then it's back to the kitchen for more baking! This will be my only chance to squeeze in some LOTRO time until after Christmas.

Indomitable Spirit

This year's 10th Anniversary Festival and subsequent Scavenger Hunt has produced some amazing rewards this year. My biggest concern this year was the distinct lack of quests that reward Anniversary tokens, especially if you didn't devote approximately ten hours to spamming the intermediate option for the Thorin's Hall Beer Brawl. And the lack of the Inn League and Ale Association token vendors made everything feel ten time more expensive than it needed to be. The anniversary festival had some amazing rewards, but, if you're like me, you don't have a ton of time to grind for rewards. Of everything offered, I set my sights upon the Unflagging Dragon cosmetic set, which is the focus of this outfit.

Shimmering Song

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to join a T2 Tower of Orthanc raid as a healer. It was with an experienced group that knew most of the challenges inside and out. Wing by wing, we defeated each of the bosses and climbed our way to Saruman. For the first time since Rise of Isengard, I was able to complete this raid on T2. Also, for the first time, I saw a broken cloak clasp drop...and I was lucky to win the roll. Having been a serious raider back at level 75, I had a full collection of Draigoch cloaks tucked away. Not knowing if or when I'd see another cloak, I chose to upgrade my favorite Wyrmscale Blademaster's Cloak to the Shimmering Blademaster's cloak.