Unfinished Appearances & Outfitting Reflections

Every now and then, I've made an outfit that leaves me with mixed feelings. I've let those sit for a few weeks then revisit them and reassess the work I've done. Sometimes they've made it to this blog. Sometimes they haven't. Sometimes an outfit's sat there indefinitely because something feels off, but has the potential to be finished without any indication as to how. And that would be this outfit. The Watchman of the Northern Lands, which was posted last month, was the redesigned product. I still have this original version saved to an outfit slot, still not quite sure what to do with it, but my hopes of completing it have dwindled. Since Material Middle-earth is a blog for outfit ideas, I've uploaded it should someone want to make something out of it.

Watchman of the Northern Lands

Stationed at the stone fortress of Gondamon, this solitary dwarf patrols the northern region of Ered Luin. He does his best to keep the roads clear of danger. Between the port of Kheledûl to the east and the stronghold of Sarnúr to the west, both controlled by the rogue Dourhand clan, and the encroaching goblins of Rath Teraig to the south, his duties also require constant vigilance. That, however, is not his only task. He also guides adventurers and travelers following the roads between the dwarven settlement of Thorin's Hall and the elven port town of Celondim. Every mile of the route is committed to memory. He's willing to share with them a lifetime of survival skills to ensure their safe passage, should they need to leave the path and venture through the cold wilderness.

Master of Raven-lore & Happy Anniversary

Since days seldom remembered, the Dwarves of Erebor have shared a special friendship with an ancient, wise, and unique breed of ravens. These ravens resided at the aptly named guardhouse of Ravenhill, built upon the Lonely Mountain's southwestern ridge, approximately five hours journey from the Mountain's gate. They also had the ability to speak Westron, the common language of Middle-earth. In chapter fifteen of The Hobbit, it's vaguely inferred by Balin that the dwarves also have the ability to understand raven-speech. However, it's never explicitly stated if they've retained that ability, lost it, or if the dwarves have been away for so long that they're simply out of practice. The only named person to have remained in proximity of Ravenhill was Dís, Thorin's younger sister and Tolkien's only female-identified dwarf, who functioned as caretaker.

Not much is specifically known about the ravens of Ravenhill. During the days of King Thrór, here resided the well-known raven Carc and his unnamed wife, a brief tale recounted by Thorin after Smaug's death. Having been away from The Lonely Mountain for nearly 170 years, he learns that Carc has died and the ravens are now lead by his son, Roäc. Roäc, as his father before him, functioned as a messenger. To Thorin and his company, he delivered glad tidings and portents of death. And at Thorin's behest, he spread word to Dáin II of the Iron Hills. And after that, as far as I've been able to tell, the ravens remain unmentioned in the lore.

Bare-chested Bard

It all started in September of 2016 when Gamutdorok, of Crickhollow's amazing Second Breakfast kinship, started the LOTRO hashtag #NakeDwarfGo on Twitter. (Of course, it's safe. I wouldn't intentionally link questionable content on this family-friendly blog!) What was a completely innocuous joke then has transformed into a cheerful, hilarious, and addictive subculture showcasing any and every dwarf encountered using the Bare-chested cosmetic. It's filled with dwarves parading in hot pants, dwarven bands singing and strumming shirtless, dwarves proudly displaying carefully sculpted beards, dwarves that...well, the list is endless. Frankly, I'm surprised nobody started the racy "Dwarves of Middle-earth" calendar, which would have better funded the expedition into Ered Mithrin! (If anyone asks, you didn't hear that from me!)

I couldn't resist and joined the fun, adding my own to the Twitter collection!

Iron Garrison Miner

It's been a long time since I've entertained role playing on this blog. I used to write stories--short blurbs may be more accurate--for my characters that matched the outfit and images contained within a given entry. It's been years, probably five or six, since I last did that. I almost wrote a brief story, but I decided to let the images themselves tell the tale of an often exhausted dwarven miner, hard at work, deep within the darkness of Moria.

Ward of the Mountains

As this was my second dwarf outfit, I thought I'd just dive in, not put too much thought into what pieces I would use, and follow my fashionable instincts. What resulted was a heavily armored dwarf  that was also armed to the teeth (lots of pointy weapons, too). The outfit itself does feel a bit cumbersome, but it works. The only thing I'm not particularly fond of is the hauberk-style heavy chest piece, the Reinforced Chestplate of the Adventurer. I'm not quite sure if it was that only the top half was plated or how flat and curveless it appears when donned by a stocky dwarf. Then again, I've been getting used to dwarven body structure these past couple months and the U23 skins have made it easier.

Gondomon General

About a week ago, when my work, home, social, and gaming life finally achieved some balance (can't forget the end of the Harvest Festival too, which I'd been grinding like crazy), I took the plunge and purchased the U23 content, Where Dragons Dwell. I've actually enjoyed most of it. And I'm excited that the dwarves have gotten some much needed love for the first time since Mines of Moria. Yes, they've popped up from time to time--the Mirkwood Epics, Thror's Coomb in Enedwaith, and Erebor, most notably--but have had no fully fleshed, substantial, and dedicated content until LOTRO's last update.

And the best thing about it, outside of the new storylines? The impressive and beautiful new dwarven cosmetics, all obtained from questing, the Figments of Splendor vendors, and the instances. Gloredh from Wandering Around Arda graciously uploaded two entries, both of which can be found here and here.

Barad Guldur Armor Sets - New and Old

Courtesy of Bullroarer, I have screenshots of the new level 85 Barad Guldur armor sets available at your local skirmish camp. I found it surprising that the new end-game gear is available without any special prerequisites, such as Dark Emblems from the actual raid. They'll be sitting here alongside the 65 6-piece sets at the Classic skirmish vendor. Make sure to click each picture for an enlarged version.  With the number of pictures here, I didn't want to make this post too long. Two sections here -- the 85 and 65 armor.

Level 85 Sets

(Heavy, Medium, Light from left to right)

The latest BG armor doesn't quite feature new skins. In fact, only the coloration appears to be different. If you notice closely, provided you are already familiar with the 65 BG armor, each set is a mish-mash of the original pieces from its respective classes. A helmet from one set here, leggings from another, and so on. The heavy set is for Champ, Guards, and Cappies. The medium set is for Hunters, Wardens, and Burglars. The light set is for Minstrels, Lore-masters, and Rune-keepers. Each class does have its own statted gear though! As for the dyable portions of this armor, only the silver-grey areas can be recolored.

Each piece costs 1554 Marks and 538 Medallions