Raven Master

So, I had no intention of making this outfit. Basically, I saw the Raven Mask while randomly browsing the Auction House out of boredom, and uh…approximately 30 seconds after seeing it, I knew exactly what I wanted to do for an outfit.

Honestly, I’m a little surprised I never made this outfit before. It would not be shocking either to find out if someone else has done this exact combination cause it just makes so much sense. Also, I apologize if the pictures are a little weird – my in game personal lantern has completely stopped working, and I wanted to take these pictures at night, so I’ve had to do some brightness correction after the fact

Also, turns out Raven LM pets are not super great to take pictures with. Considering they like to stand INSIDE OF YOU.

Exhibit A. What are you doing sweetie? WHAT are you doing??

That being said, I remember when I first started playing my LM and I got my first Raven pet, I was ecstatic. I didn’t have any cosmetic pets yet, so LM pets were all I knew about, and I LOVE birds. My Frost Raven went with me EVERYWHERE.

Also funny anecdote – I spent about 30 minutes going through all my toons trying to figure out who had the Cloak of the Raven – because I know I’ve had multiple copies of it over the years. Couldn’t find it anywhere, so apparently I’ve deleted them all or sold them, but after all that time looking, turns out I DID have it saved in my wardrobe. So…that was a lot of wasted time.

I also did not realize that summoning your Raven LM pet causes blue/purple mist and feathers to materialize everywhere. It might be because I haven’t used my Raven for a while, like since before I got a computer that could run the game at high res.

Outfit:
Head: Raven Festival Mask (white)
Shoulders: Light Nadhin Shoulders (black)
Back: Cloak of the Raven (grey)
Chest: Light Nadhin Robe (black)
Gloves: Light Nadhin Gauntlets (black)
Feet: Medium Nadhin Boots (default) – don’t really matter as you can’t really see them
Staff: Lainis

The Nights Watch

This is another outfit I’ve had in the works for a while, heavily influenced by Jon Snow from Game of Thrones (Look, I’m not a huge fan, but even I know the last season SUCKED).

Anyways, with Yule Fest in full swing, we have a new cosmetic pet! The white wolf dog. So I figured the time to post this outfit was right considering I now had both Ser You-Know-Nothing and his companion Ghost.

I actually came up with this outfit a couple years ago, and it’s basically been my Champ’s staple winter-wear.

I went with the medium Nadhin jacket, which in my opinion just looks like a padded winter gambeson (if you don’t know what that word means, look it up and you’ll see where I’m coming from – I promise you it’s safe for work – it’s just a medieval garment of clothing).

I also went with a heavy fur mantle because A) it looked cool and felt right, and B) Jon wears a lot of dark fur around his shoulders.

Exhibit A.

I also gave him the cloak of the Raven – I debated using Cloak of the woodsmen or cloak of the autumn wanderer since it looked closer to fur, but ultimately I decided this cloak was a nice nod to the fact that members of the Night’s Watch are often referred to as “crows.” And I know what you’re thinking: But ravens aren’t crows, to which I respond: close enough!

It’s been a favorite outfit of mine for a while, and it was also fun to play around with giving my warsteed a cold-weather, but also functional look.

Admittedly this isn’t really inspired by anything from the books or show, just from my love of horses and my own creative spirit 🙂

Outfit:
Shoulders: Fur Mantle (black)
Chest: Medium Nadhin Jacket (grey)
Hands: Medium Nadhin Gauntlets (black)
Feet: Threadbare Boots of the Dunland Healer (grey)
Back: Cloak of the Raven (grey)

Warsteed: 
Head: Guardian's Halter (white)
Caparison: Caparison of the Yield (black)
Saddle: Light Saddle of the Sutcrofts
Legs: Hunter's Leggings (black)
Mane/tail/body: solid white

So?

How’d I do?

The Wandering Warrior

So I kind of can’t believe I’ve never posted this outfit considering it’s my champs main look. All the cosmetics are available at or before you get to Galtrev, so that means its been his go-to look for a while now.

It’s really a quite simple outfit, which is part of the reason I love it. The wearer is ready for battle considering their covered in leather and chain-mail, but this is clearly an outfit that’s designed to move. Durable, but functional.

It’s always appealed to me because it seems like no matter what you end up getting yourself into, this kind of armor will make you prepared for almost anything. And considering my champ is my main, and he’s the one through whom I struggled to understand how to actually play this game, he’s been through a lot.

With him as always is his trusty steed. I do occasionally have him ride a black stallion, but his white stallion is his go to comrade.

I outfitted the horse similar to his master – in chain-mail and black leather. Together they’ve been through a lot. They’re not as shiny as they once were. But they fearlessly will adventure into even the most remote areas of Middle Earth.

I decided to take my screenshots in the Lone Lands. It just seems like the place where the really hardened people go. Or the really crazy ones…I can never really tell.

Also did anyone besides me never notice that there’s an actual hole in the ceiling in the forsaken inn? No? Just me? Okay…

Outfit:
 Shoulders: lesser secret of the West shoulder guards
 Chest: Scout’s weathered leather jacket (black)
 Hands: Leather gauntlets of the leaping stag (black)
 Feet: reworked boots (Grey)

Warsteed:
 Head: Halter of winter herald (black)
 body: dagorlad caparison (white)
 saddle: osgiliath saddle
 leggings: dagorlad leggings (white)

Sunshine and Daisies

So it’s been raining all day today. Literally all day. I’ve been out and about since 8:30 am and it has yet to stop raining.

Anyways, so I’m sitting here on my computer lamenting how much I miss the sin when I stumble upon these old screenshots I took of my RK but never posted. Which is a bit odd considering this is pretty much her staple outfit. So I figured now was an appropriate time to pull out the dusty box of memories and post some old pics 🙂

The thing I really love about this outfit is how well the horse matches the rider – I specifically picked a coat pattern that would match the colors on my RK’s jacket, and it’s just such a fun, happy look.

In other words, it’s just what I needed today 🙂

Also I just want to mention how much I love the details on this jacket.

Outfit:
Chest: Tunic and Trousers of New Bloom (white)
Hands: Lesser Secret of the West Gauntlets (white)
Feet: Lesser Boots of the Dunlammad (sienna)

Warsteed:
Caparison: Caparison of Thorin's Hall (yellow)
Mane/Tail: Steel Grey
Coat: Charcoal Tobiano

Viking Warioress

This is an outfit I made a while ago based around the vales gear. I don’t have much to say about it and I don’t feel like writing a lot, but basically it’s centered around chainmail, a worn aesthetic, and somehow a viking feel?

I also took these screenshots before I used my aria on my high elf hunter, so these pictures are set in ered luin (a lower level region).

OUTFIT:
Head: Ceremonial Nenuial's Helm (burgundy)
Shoulders: Ceremonial Shoulders of the Stone Servant (burgundy)
Chest: Lesser Cry of the West Breastplate (dark clay)
Hands: The Bowmaster's Gloves (crimson)
Legs: Swift Leggings of the Vale (default/dark clay)
Feet: Wildermore Boots of Combat (default/burgundy)
Back: Cloak of the Skin-Changers (grey)

Here’s the outfit without the helmet:

Black Rider

It’s been a while since I last posted! Mostly it’s cause of school – freshman year is a bit of a transition and I’m still getting used to the swing of things, but I figured college stress can take sit shotgun for a while because LOTRO has a new update!

So I’ll admit, when I first heard the update was going to involve going back in time, I had my doubts. And when I was almost immediately transferred back to Mordor – a region I absolutely despised first time around I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I’d been sent back there again.

That being said, I’m loving it so far. I just finished the region of Mordor besieged, and while I was initially skeptical of the direction they were taking the story (not to mention pretty bummed to be back in literal Hell again – and yes I use the word literal not figurative), by the time the quests in the region were wrapping up I was fully engrossed. It’s cool. That’s all imma say about it.

That’s not to say everything was smooth sailing. With the addition of 10 new levels, people are now running Rako 6 man. I was not prepared for this. So, when I signed up for a Rako group, the leaders were well…um…less than pleased with my performance. In all fairness I did have my champ in the wrong trait line – I concede that – but we were super close to beating him and we definitely could have if one of us had decided to heal instead of all out dps. But um…the leaders didn’t like that I wasn’t providing “adequate” dps, so they booted me. And I do mean just me – I checked social panel and everyone else was still in a fellowship. Not that I’m bitter or anything. It’s fine. We’re fine. It’s. All. Good.

Seriously though, it’s important to remember that people online can be jerks, and you just can’t let that ruin your experience. I’m fine with the fact that I’m not super skilled at raids – that’s not what I enjoy most about the game anyways. Would I have appreciated it if they’d kindly let me know I wasn’t pulling my weight or that I needed to make adjustments? Sure. But I’m not gonna let someone who for all I know could be sitting at a computer screen on the other side of the globe ruin my day, or worse, ruin the experience of something I love.

People will be people. The best you can do is accept that you can’t control how other people will act, and also maybe accept that sometimes you’re just not doing as well as you think you are. At the end of the day, the group leader was kind of a jerk. But also at the end of the day I’m not that great a raid-follower either 🙂

Should have known this would happen. It’s a new region – he’s gotta sniff all the smells.

Why do I get the feeling you’re not listening to me?

Outfit:
Head:Worn ranger's hood (black)
Back: Cloak of the Citadel Guard
Shoulders: Medium Nadhin Shoulders (grey)
Chest: Jacket of the Causeway (default)
Hands: The Bowmaster's Gloves (default)
Feet: Strong Leather Boots of the Silent Watcher (black)

COSMETIC PET: Harnessed Shepherd Dog

WARSTEED:
Head: Head-Piece of the Northern Herald (black)
Body: Harness of the Harbinger (default)
Saddle: Marauder's Saddle
Feet: Leggings of the Gloaming Autumn
Tail: Tail of the Gloaming Autumn (black)

Wrath of Nature

Okay, so I have been wanting to use this chest piece for a VERY long time. It’s called the Ancient Inlaid Breastplate, and it’s a heavy armor piece available from questing in the Great River. It’s a beautiful plated robe, with amazing detail and a distinct elvish vibe. The only problem? I couldn’t for the life of me find a shoulder piece to go with it.

That is, I should say, until a couple days ago, when I finally got my hands on the Isengard Minstrel raid shoulders. Well, to be fair, it’s really a cosmetic version acquired as part of the Grammarian set (an outfit purchasable via mithril coins in game and originally created by the Starry Mantle https://starrymantle.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/grammarian-of-gondor/).

I’m not generally a fan of using LPs or Mithril coins to buy items that you can earn in game, but I will admit that the thought of leveling my minstrel up to level 80 was kind of a daunting thought, and I had some extra LPs so I went ahead and bought the set.

I was really uncertain when assembling this outfit, but I have to say it’s probably become one of my favorites? I’m not exactly sure, there’s just something so elegant about it. Also, for any of you Witcher fans (if you get a chance you should seriously read the books by the way – they’re even better than the games which, to be fair, I’ve never actually played but they seem really cool in their own right) this ensemble gives me some serious Yennefer of Vangerberg vibes, which I am totally here for.

Just look at all the leaf details on this thing.

I didn’t do Great River quests my first time through the game on my champ, so the first time I saw this hauberk/robe I thought it was just a reskinned version of the light Nadhin robe. Eventually of course I realized that this one must have been introduced to the game first since Dol Amroth is a higher level region, but that didn’t stop me from trying to make a black swan outfit out of it.

I was actually already working on an outfit for that purpose when I finally realized that this item was decorated in leaves not feathers, so I switched directions. I’m still trying to put together a black swan ensemble, but I’ve picked a more appropriate chest-piece.

I’m honestly not a huge fan of this caparison, but the look DEMANDED a war steed.

For this one I decided on elvish forest warrior (whatever the heck that means) so I traveled to Mirkwood and went with a distinctly more nature-y theme. The shoulders can’t be dyed though (although with the Grammarian version you can change the color of the embroidery, just not the black background) so I decided to go with black as my dye of choice for the other items.

Since I was going for a clear battle-ready theme I felt I had to include a warsteed. I’m still on the fence about whether I like the combination of the horse and rider, but I figured no combination was worse. I really didn’t have a lot of options that would compliment the outfit, at least not on my LM. I’ve acquired a bunch of different war steed sets for my champion, but that’s because he’s my main and I’ve been playing him for years. Unfortunately war-steed armors from the LOTRO store are SUPER expensive, so I won’t go buying them for all my toons, and I felt this outfit HAD to be modeled by my LM.

I still think they pair pretty well. If you tilt your head and squint the dragon wings on the caparison even kind of look like leaves.

Outfit:
Head: Rune-Maker's Hat (default)
Shoulders: Grmmarian's Shoulder Pads (white) (or default version for Minstrel ROI raid set)
Chest: Ancient Inlaid Breastplate (black)
Hands: Shield-Master's Gauntlets (black)
Feet: Boots of the Cudor (default)
Back: Legolas' Cloak (black)
Staff: Reshaped LM staff of the 1st age

Warsteed: 
Body: Caparison of the Reminiscing Dragon (black)
Head: Head-Piece of the Northern Herald (white)
Saddle: Basic Black Saddle

The Wanderer

So recently I’ve been doing dailies in the Limlight Gorge for rep (I REALLY want that Easterling Tunic!!) and in doing so have discovered that the area really is quite beautiful. I didn’t do the Great River quests my first run through, though I have on several toons since then, and never once have I ventured into this fellowship-oriented area until now.

This also means I finally got to discover The Roots of Fangorn instance – which was a long time coming. The rewards from it aren’t particularly interesting, but at least its another accomplishment under the belt!

I also used this as an opportunity to create another mount/rider matching outfit thingamajig. And I’m ALL about the horses. I know there are a bunch of haters of mounted combat out there – and I’ll admit that it’s not the most elegant system ever invented – but I love being able to customize my mount and feel like I have an actual companion in game as opposed to the regular horses.

OUTFIT:
Shoulders: Lesser Secret of the West Shoulder Guards (default)
Chest: Jacket of the Osgiliath Huntsman (grey)
Hands: Leather Gauntlets of the Leaping Stag (grey)
Feet: Reworked Boots (default)

WARSTEED:
Head: Guardian's Halter (white)
Body: Burglar's Caparison (white)
Saddle: Plain Black Saddle
Legs: Dol Baran Leggings (default)
Gear: Hunter's Gear