Whimsical Autumn

I apologize for the unexpectedly lengthy absence. Unfortunately, there's only so much I can control between two jobs. I'm often exhausted when I get home. I seldom have the time or energy for gaming, let alone LOTRO. Despite that, my desire to continue making new outfits is still going strong. I'm on vacation in the upcoming weeks and I plan to upload as much as I can for scheduled content.

If you've been lucky and are on the LOTRO Official Discord server, you may have noticed I'm periodically dropping screenshots of new outfits either in progress or completed.

Echoes of Eventide

Eventide, a poetic word to describe the time of day between late afternoon and evening. In this case, specifically, sunset.

With the exception of the cloak and circlet, this is the first time I've used many of these pieces. I had purchased the Ultimate Edition of Before the Shadow before I left LOTRO in early 2022. Two cosmetic sets came with the top tier package, the Valiant Armour of the Dúnedain and the Armour of Flowing Silver. I didn't have the chance to experiment with those sets back then, nor was I able to explore the alternative leveling path through Cardolan and Swanfleet. I've been prioritizing this blog and uploading new outfits over experiencing the new story, but I hope to create a new character and adventure through the new intro zones.

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)

The Gloaming

Oh, the memories working with these base colors! The last time I worked with black and orange, I was creating my Thrang-themed series and it's a difficult color scheme to coordinate effectively. Recall my "Silver Dawn" outfit from two weeks ago? The one featured this week is the near opposite, the dusk to that dawn theme. It took close to a week to complete this, even if it's a bit over the top.

The biggest obstacle was finding gear that was orange with areas that could be dyed black or black gear with areas that could be dyed orange. That brought to mind the Reforged Rift gear from the Summer Festival and the Ceremonial Gloom-bane set from the Cosmetics vendor at the skirmish camp. The former wasn't an option, as I missed the festival and had none of those skins. The Gloom-bane set worked somewhat, but it was too plain looking. If I'd wanted a simple black and orange outfit, they'd have worked...but I wanted to add another splash of color. That left me with very little outside the various crafted or bartered gear from the Mordor expansion. I found the "Pathfinder's Artifice" recipes, the ones that cost 75 silver signets to acquire and require a Fragment of the Gorgoroth Dungeons to craft, ideal. By default, they come with deep purple undyeable areas and look great when dyed black or orange. I was lucky to still have those fragments in storage. Whereas the "Silver Dawn" outfit had a lot of lightly colored, soft, and rounded pieces, this outfit, in the end, embraced a dark, harsh, and jagged look.

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."
 

Legion of Thrang - Draig-lûth Forgemaster

This will be most likely my final Thrang-themed outfit. Like I described in my previous entry, the limited pool of cosmetics that work with these glowing and sparking weapons made outfitting truly a struggle. This particular look of a Draig-lûth (Dragon-clan) Forgemaster took almost a week. I'm highly satisfied with how far I've been able to explore using these weapon skins. In fact, I wasn't expecting to make more than one, but I think we all know how I get when new shinies are dangled in my face! Of all the Thrang outfits, I'd declare this one to be my favorite...although I've swapped out the two-handed axe for the two-handed sword at this point. As fun as it was the use the axe, it didn't glow as much as the sword! (That and my Champ's LIs are swords!)

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!

Legion of Thrang - Master of Shadow and Flame

You may have guessed it, based upon the title, that this outfit was inspired by Thrang, one of the major bosses from the Rift of Nûrz Ghâshu. That particular fight was isolated from the level 50 raid, made scalable, and was introduced as a temporary stand-alone instance for the duration of the Summer Festival this year. From the rewards, either by lucky drop or by spending ten vault tokens, you could collect your own two-handed Thrang's Sword, which features a tip that glows red-hot as if it were pulled from a forge. Whenever you land a blow with it, it sparks wildly, casting embers into the air. Also, the sword leaves behind a small stream of embers so long as it's visibly equipped.

Although this outfit doesn't feature the two-handed sword, it does showcase the one-handed version and Thrang's Bow, which can be acquired from the Armory of Thrang box at any time. This box is found, rarely, in Gorgoroth Lootboxes or at the Keeper of Mysteries vendor in Mordor for 900 Ashes of Enchantment. Eleven other selectable weapons can also be found in that box.

Martial Weapons Master

Orange. When have I ever made an orange outfit? I've only done it once for a seasonal harvest outfit. Otherwise, it's been a color I've avoided. But why did I decide to use it again? I've been obsessed with the Winged Blade, is one of the few purely cosmetic greatswords found in LOTRO. I've had trouble incorporating into an already existing outfit. Nothing seemed to work. Instead, I used my High Elf Captain--as I've been doing lately--to make an outfit that revolved around the sword, using the colors and designs in the hilt, pommel, and guard as a base.

Graceful Blade

Outfitting the graceful Gwaimallin, my High Elf, has been quite a challenge. Almost all of her outfits have taken a different approach. Versus piecing together clothing from various sources and the then selecting the appropriate weapon, I've been selecting the weapon first and trying to base the outfit around it. It hasn't been as successful as I hoped. Versus creating a matching style, I've found myself simply using the colors found in that weapon and hoped a random clothing combination would work.

I was surprised how wonderful this outfit looked, drawing upon a unique blend of LOTRO's more recent cosmetics. At least I felt it was befitting of a High Elf. It looked light and graceful. Ceremonial yet practical. But at the same time, I couldn't tell if it was a perfect fit for her, the weapon, or both. In a way, the weapon-centric outfitting method became the inspiration for my Cosmetic Weapons Project.

That being said, I do apologize for the lack of actual outfit posts. I decided to make my project a priority, given the size and scope of it. Once the first wave ends, which will be in a few weeks with two-handed axes, outfits will once again have the spotlight. In the meantime, I hope everybody that's been reading the content here, at Material Middle-earth, has also been enjoying the massive library of weapon skins. It's been my goal to complete it by the end of the calendar year, providing those playing LOTRO with an even greater ability to enhance their character's appearance.

Shoulder: Shoulders of the Westfold (Default, Rise of Isengard legendary pre-order package)
Chest: Robe of Anorien Mercy (Turquoise, reward from 4.4.7 - A Long Siege)
Hands: Dextrous Gages of the Last Alliance (Rust, High-enchanter ash barter in Mordor)
Feet: Lithe Boots of the Last Alliance (Rust, High-enchanter ash barter in Mordor)

Weapon: Hill-defender (Rare drop from Azgoth in Carn Dûm)

Autumn Attire

It's certainly been some time since my last entry. I've been playing LOTRO quite a bit lately, taking time to work on my characters' gear and catching up on both the new zones and completing the epic story. I found myself falling farther and farther behind my friends and kinmates the more time I spent getting cosmetically creative. Believe it or not, most of my characters have been muddling through with the old statted level 95 gear since Western Gondor was released. I found myself unable to do group content at 105. I obstinately resisted the essence gear from its initial release until Update 19, which was a major mistake. I've come to realize that the essence grind is real. Same goes for stocking scrolls of empowerment. It's a much larger commitment than any level cap gear grind I've ever put myself through and the amount of time I've had to dedicate has been astonishing.

Now that I feel comfortable where I am in terms of character progression, I thought I should post a little something. In fact, since it's been so long, I have THREE autumn-themed outfits to present. Hopefully, I'll be back with more before the winter holiday season!

And I have a ton of outfits on my Beorning to post too! But that's if I ever find time to get out of Moria and get her to level 65. I have specific places in mind for screenshots...and I won't settle for anything less!

In the meantime, here are three autumn-inspired creations!

Head: Ceremonial Circlet of the Graven Word (Bullroarer's green, cosmetic skirmish camp vendor -- Light Rift set)
Shoulders: Ceremonial Shoulders of the Seven Stars (Sunset orange, cosmetic skirmish camp vendor -- Light Annuminas set)
Back: Pack of the Yield (Sunset orange, Farmer's Faire barter reward)
Chest: Tunic and Trousers of the New Bloom (Sunset orange, Spring Festival barter reward)
Hands: Pelennor Bracers of Wrath (Sunset orange, Vol 4 Epic quest reward)**
Feet: Ceremonial Nenuial's Boots (Walnut brown, cosmetic skirmish camp vendor -- Medium Annuminas set)

**Shares skin with any of the medium gloves from the Eastemnet Armor Quartermatser found in Rohan

Revisiting the Early Days of MME

As promised in late November, I've gone back in time to 2012, taken old outfits from this blog, and reposted them here in bigger, brighter pictures with much improved graphical quality. It was difficult to choose from over fifty outfits, but I narrowed that list down to eight. With each picture, I've included the name of the outfit (most sound soooo corny!) and a link back to the original post for the dyes and skins. I almost changed some of the pieces, but decided to leave them as is.

Normally I post new outfits on Saturday, but I thought this would be a refreshing change of pace.

You might be wondering what was my reasoning for doing this? Here's my first reason. I never had the followers in 2012 that I have nowadays. When Material Middle-earth was in its infancy, I was lucky to get a hundred views a month. Nowadays, it nets at least several thousand. By not establishing myself on Facebook until late 2013 and Twitter in 2014, many LOTRO players didn't have the chance to see my early work as it was posted. I am hoping, today, that you'll join me on a sentimental journey and see where it all began. And for the second reason, this week's entry allowed me to exhaust whatever marks, medallions, and dyes remained simply by recreating these.

Also, don't forget that next Saturday I'll be posting my farewell entry with a new outfit! Before then, I'll be honoring one last outfit concept from a follower. If all goes well, that ensemble will appear here on Wednesday morning.

The War-forged Defender

Harvestmath Series - Soothsayer

I have to start this post by saying that in no way, shape, or form, has the art department at Turbine come close to the level of design and form-fitting gear that Rise of Isengard provided to the community. No bodies were distorted while wearing that expansion exclusive gear. No arms or legs clipped through clothing while moving. Shoulders did not float above the model. There were three distinct sets for each armor class obtained as quest rewards. Never has an expansion made a character's appearance so individualized within its own content. When I ran my alts through Dunland and Isengard, I made sure to collect whatever I hadn't on previous runs. Did you know that Massive Black was the company to create a majority of the RoI expansion concept art?

Force of Nature - Faewynn of Gladden

When it comes to the elements, only one class in LOTRO comes to mind--the Lore-master. There is no better class when it comes to controlling the raw power of nature. They have an unrivaled command over fire, water, earth, air...and I was hoping to create an outfit representing that. It might not be the most original compilation, as the Ceremonial Robe of the Seven Stars is often dyed white, but it's one of the few appealing colors. That insanely saturated electric green isn't easy to color coordinate, as it often drowns out everything else. The trick is to use earthen tones, turquoise, or match it with equally saturated pieces.

Although it somewhat removes the creative aspects of outfitting, you can find various pieces featuring the same green across the other ceremonial Annuminas and Helegrod sets. Sometimes when you dye gear from Ost Dunhoth yellow, you'll create a similar color. Thought I'd offer a few alternatives if you're brave enough to use this robe!

Dusk Walker - Morghann of Gladden

Material Middle-earth is back in business with a complete overhaul of the layout and graphics in addition to an updated contact page, tagging system, and screenshot guide. Please feel free to browse around, adjust to the new layout, and offer suggestions.

Definitely taking a walk on the wild side with this outfit, that's for sure! I try not to use more than 3 different colors in an outfit because it can be artistically disastrous. However, there are several distinct colors in this ensemble and it works wonderfully! I honestly had no concept for this outfit today. It haphazardly fell together while I was both mixing and matching between light and medium armor and assigning random colors to each piece. The T5 crafted medium chest and leggings, both from the Elven Campaigner's set, were the building blocks to this outfit. I'd have to say those two pieces are arguably the most appealing and coordinated pieces of all the crafting professions in LOTRO. Elegant designs, a pleasing mishmash of colors, and dyeable areas that don't overwhelm either piece. Safe to say, this was one of my more unique creations.

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.

Harvestmath Series - Lord of the Autumn Nights

Until this year, I never had any particular use or interest in the Autumn Nights gear. No matter what I used or what I combined with anything out of the set, I simply could not get those pieces to jive. I was determined this year, and there was a single piece that made such an outfit possible--the crafted light armor Wildermore shoulders. I snagged that guild recipe recently and have been combining it with as many other cosmetics as possible! And I never realized the array of Autumn colors in the leaf pattern of the cloak until I dyed it black.

Autumn Series - Spirit of Lasse-lanta

Autumn Series - Earthen Elegance