Rohirric Defender

Wasn’t really expecting to make this outfit, but it kind of just fell together so I took some quick screenshots. Making a matching warsteed set was actually a bit harder given the lack of options when it comes to plated armor for horses, especially since I also wanted the look to have a strictly Rohirric feel.

Most of the armor pieces come from Rohan sets, including the armors available from Skirmish camps and the crafted T9 medium Westemnet armor. The shoulders, legs, and cloak are from other sets, but I picked them to match the dark green undyable parts of the Westemnet armor.

At first I really wanted to use one of the Rohan warsteed sets, but I quickly realized I needed something with either plate metal and/or chainmail to match the outfit. That’s also when I realized that plated armor options for warsteeds are kind of limited in game, and moreover, they often don’t dye very well. The set of the Great Alliance is a rare outlier, so I ended up going with that for the caparison, but not the headpiece, as I thought it was too bird-like.

Outfit:
Head: Hardened Helm of the Rider (rohan green)
Shoulders: Engraved Plated Harness (Rivendell Green)
Back: Swift Wool Cloak of the Dwarf-Holds (rivendell green)
Chest: Westemnet Combat Assault Armor (white)
Hands: Rohirric Guardsman's Heavy Gauntlets (rohan green)
Legs: Greaves of the Great Alliance (rivendell green)
Feet: Steel Greaves of the Rider (rohan green)
Sword: Boschi's Fall

Warsteed:
Head: Head-Piece of the Dead City (rivendell green)
Body: Caparison of the Great Alliance (rivendell green)
Legs: Reclaimed Mountain Leg-Guards (default)
Saddle: Saddle of the Dead City
Gear: Citadel Accessory

Rohirric Ruffian

Here’s another sort of Viking-inspired outfit, this time with a distinctly Rohirric twist. The helm and gloves are both from Rohirrim cosmetic sets. It also gave me a chance to try out the Snowbeast warsteed set, which I’d gotten for myself last Christmas but haven’t really used. The outfit is very much supposed to feel like a scrapped together set.

Try me, outlaw! My baby bear will mess you up!

Ironically (or perhaps unironically if the outfit is supposed to be scrapped together??) it’s actually my high elf modeling this outfit. I think my thought process was supposed to be somewhat along the lines of, “what if my elf huntress went to Rohan and decided to immerse herself in the culture?” I’m not sure the finished product reflects that so much…by the time I finished it I actually had this narrative of a daughter of one of the horse lords who wanted to take up her father’s sword after he died, but had to scrap together her own armor and weapons to do so.

Something slew this orc…we should investigate!

I actually really had fun with this outfit. I don’t know why…It’s just fun. And less “put together” than what I normally strive for.

I like that you can just see my bear cup poking out between my legs. Like it’s ready to attack, but not ready enough to go out in front lol

Outfit:
Head: Helm of the Hornburg Defender
Shoulders: Embroidered Mantle of Bard’s Will (black)
Back: Cloak of the Skin-Changers (black)
Chest: Jacket of the Sunset hills (default)
Legs: none -- for some reason if you wear pants with this tunic, it will change the color of the tunic t the color of the pants. I'm not lying. I don't know why. 
Hands: Gloves of the Isengard Dispeller
Feet: Lithe Boots of Thranduil’s Power (black)
Bow: Arinora’s Bow
Dagger: Bronze Dagger
Sword: Potent Dextrous sword of Finesse

Warsteed:
Complete Snow Beast set (dyed black)

I think going forward I want to make more of these “pieced together” looks. They’re really fun 🙂 It’s like organized chaos. My favorite kind of chaos (and organization, if I’m being honest).

Music in the Mountains

So I did this outfit in two colors – one in steel blue to match the original color of the cloak, and the other in dark red. Funny enough, the red outfit formed first, and adding the cloak was a last minute decision. Once I decided to add it though, I decided I also had to do another color scheme that matched the cloak’s original version. I honestly don’t know which I prefer. I love them both.

I really like the way the white/silver of the shoulders matches the white designs on the arms of the tunic. It goes well with the snowflake design on the cloak.

Additionally, I decided to pick the medium Nadhin gauntlets and boots, since they have a sort of quilt-like texture that matches the tunic. It’s kind of amazing that they’re from different sets, actually (Although I guess both armor sets that they come from are from Gondor?)

So yeah, that’s it! I just really like this outfit 🙂

Red Outfit:
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Precise Bowmaster (default)
Chest: Lesser-Coat of the Fury Wielder (crimson)
Hands: Medium Nadhin Gauntlets (burgundy)
Back: Wintertide Cloak (crimson)
Feet: Medium Nadhin Boots (burgundy)

Blue Outfit:
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Precise Bowmaster (steel blue)
Chest: Lesser-Coat of the Fury Wielder (steel blue)
Hands: Medium Nadhin Gauntlets (steel blue)
Back: Wintertide Cloak (default)
Feet: Medium Nadhin Boots (steel blue)

Happy Holidays!

Winter Huntress

Ahh…it’s been a while since I last posted. But with Yule Festival underway, I got to revisit a bunch of old outfits I’d been working on. So I figured I’d post some of the winter-themed ones (Also I tend to reserve outfit slots for unfinished/unposted outfits, and I was beginning to run out of new slots for new outfits…).

So this is just another sort of rugged look for my hunter. I wanted one that was more brown and neutral, with a “fur and leather” look to it.

Also I finally got the spotted warsteed skin to drop from warbands in East Rohan! I think this time it dropped off of the Warg Pack south of Harding – but in the past there doesn’t seem to be any pattern to which war band drops it most frequently. So sorry to anyone who was looking for advice

Also, I don’t know if this is happening to anyone else, but I’ve been noticing some shadow issues with the warsteed armor. There are rectangular patches where the in-game lighting isn’t reflected/absorbed properly, so they appear either super light, or – in the case of the warsteed of the hunter – just show up as black patches. You can see this on the front legs in the picture below:

Anyways. I did send a bug report in, but it’s probably not high on the priority list of things that need to be addressed lol.

Outfit:
Shoulders: Embroidered Mantle of Bard’s Will (black)
Back: Quiver of the Waking Wood
Hands: Gauntlets of the Hidden Blade (black)
Chest: Lesser Claw of the West Breastplate (umber)
Legs: Huneric Hundred-Slayer’s Garb (umber)
Feet: Lithe Boots of Thrandruil’s Power (walnut brown)

Horse:
Body: Hunter’s Caparison (default)
Legs: Hunter’s Leggings (default)
Head: Head-piece of Lamedon
Saddle: Shimmering Breeze Saddle

Robin Hood

I’ve decided it’s time I get around to more of the outfits I tend to use as default looks for my characters. So here’s one I use for my hunter, which may or may not be but definitely IS heavily inspired by the tale of Robin Hood lol 🙂

So this outfit ended up being REALLY hard to take pictures of because it blended in way too well with the surroundings. Which I guess is the point? But I knew from the get go that I wanted to take the pictures in North Mirkwood/Dalelands…and it just…it worked too well lol.

The warsteed was really fun though. After recently opening some lootboxes I’ve gotten a lot of new cosmetics, including the warsteed set of the wild hills. I really like how it looks on my hunter’s steed.

Um…so…yeah. Not much to say! Not a particularly interesting outfit, just fun and ranger-y!

Outfit:
Head: Worn Ranger’s Hood (Grey)
Shoulders: Potent Skirmish Pauldrons of the Mark (Olive)
Back: Fancy Quiver (Sienna)
Body: Potent Battle Armour of the Mark (Olive)
Hands: Enduring Gauntlets of the Traveler (Black)
Feet: Reworked Boots (Grey)
Bow: Polished Lebethron Bow of Precision

Warsteed:
Head: Head-piece of the Northern Herald (olive)
Body: Caparison of the Wild Hills (default)
Saddle: Saddle of the Wild Hills
Gear: Hunter’s Gear

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)

Victor of the Tourney

In case you were wondering, yes, that is the Hobnanigans field. Do I play Hobnanigans? No. Will I play Hobnanigans? Honestly, probably not. Maybe. Who knows. But, will I occasionally go to the horse fields to grab some awesome screenshots of me riding around on my horsey? Yes. Yes I will.

So basically, I don’t know exactly what I was doing, but apparently at one time I made a Power Point presentation of warsteed outfits I like. And before you ask, yes, I use Power Point. Because I’m a grown-ass woman. Who has never owned a Mac.

Anyways, so I saw a warsteed outfit I really loved, and set about making an outfit to match it. Then of course, along the way, I made another warsteed outfit, and then had to make another outfit to match that. That’s what this is.

Basically, it’s a very classical knight, festival look. It’s almost too flashy for battle in my opinion, but I feel like it would make a great tournament outfit, where the purpose is to show off.

Then I found this cape, which had a similar design on it as the caparison of the Captain, so all that was left was to assemble a flashy, plate-metal look and I was ready to go.

Truthfully I think the outfit would make a stronger impression if I chose to use red or blue as the base color – not black. Unfortunately, I really wanted to pair the halter of the citadel guard with the captain’s caparison, and the only way to make those match was to use yellow and black. Oh well.

Besides, I still think it looks cool, and I like the combination of polished steel armor with the glossy black finish on the chest-piece.

I’m actually very proud of how this turned out. It’s definitely not my Champion’s normal style, but it was very fun.

I also decided not to put a helmet in the outfit, for two reasons: 1) I really am just not a fan of helmets. Or at least I like to think my champ isn’t. Which is an insanely stupid choice if you’re constantly fighting, but movie heroes do it all the time so we can see their gorgeous hair fly around in the wind. And 2) the Captain’s gear that I used on the warsteed actually has a helmet tied onto it, so I figured it would be a little weird for my champ to be carrying around an extra helmet. You only really need one, right?

Maybe I love warsteeds a little too much. Maybe. But also, maybe not?

I’ll fight you on this.

Outfit:
Shoulders: Lesser Enduring Shoulder Guards of Evasion (gold)
Hands: Lesser Valorous Gauntlets of Finesse (gold)
Chest: Westemnet Battle Armour of Srength (black)
Feet: Lesser Valorous Boots of Fate (gold)
Back: Potent Valorous Cloak of Prowess (black)

Warsteed:
Head: Halter of the Citadel Guard (yellow)
Caparison: Captain's Caparison (black)
Saddle: Captain's Saddle
Legs: Dol Baran Leggings (gold - although in retrospect yellow would have been better...)
Gear: Captain's Gear
Mane/tail: black
Body: solid black

Horses for life!

HORSES FOR EVER!!!

Warden of the Norcrofts

So, I got back into LOTRO recently after a bit of a break. And what do I see the first time I log in? There’s a huge special on war steed cosmetics. So what do I do? I blow ALLLL my saved up LPs on them. Cause you know, that’s what you do. Anyways, as a result, I’m now fully in the war steed craze, which means it’s time to take my toons back to Rohan!

Basically, after I got my warden a war-steed, I stopped playing him for a bit outside of festivals. So now I’m officially going through the East Rohan circuit to get all the base game horse cosmetics.

I also stumbled across another randomized horse in the Norcrofts that I decided I liked, so I decided to give my warden a second steed. So, allow me to introduce Chili: my warden’s lighter horse for travel and for hunting.

It’s been really fun to get back into playing a warden – I personally find the gambit system really fun, and it’s just a nice blend of play styles in my opinion.

Also, as a reminder, here’s my warden’s main steed Ronan: the heavy war-horse always ready for battle:

Interesting side note I actually purposely decided not to give Ronan a bridle in this post to distinguish him from a regular steed. See normally you use a bridle and a bit to guide a horse – you pull the reins one way and the horse steers to the left and vice versa.

In battle, however, a knight wouldn’t always (and in fact often didn’t) have free hands to hold the reins given that they also had to hold their weapons. So, they would wear spurs on their boots, and war-steeds were specially trained to respond to these.

War-horses were also often unguelded stallions, because having a fiery, violent temper was an important asset to have in battle. These horses would also be trained to bite and kick on command. They were not merely methods of transportation, they were weapons in their own right.

Outfit:
Shoulders: Medium Nadhin Shoulders (burgundy)
Chest: Robe of Anorien Mercy (burgundy)
Hands: Leather Gauntlets of the Leaping Stag (burgundy)
Back: Warden's Pack (burgundy)
Feet: Reworked Boots (grey)
Shield: Shield of the Strong

Chili:
Head: Head-Piece of the Northern Herald (crimson)
Body: Light Caparison of the Norcrofts (crimson)
Saddle: Saddle of the Great Alliance
Main/Tail: sorrel
Coat: Red Roan Overo

Ronan:
Body: Medium Banded Leather Caparison (crimson)
Legs: Medium Banded Leather Leggings (crimson)
Saddle: Plain Black Saddle
Main/Tail: Red Roan
Coat: Dappled Flaxen Chesnut

Rider of Rohan

So I don’t think I’ve ever really featured a post that’s just about my main hunter, so here goes:

He’s from Rohan and got the characteristic light blonde hair. I like to think of him as not just a hunter, but also as one of those archers included in the battle line-up. Historically speaking men who fought with bows and clubs and spears and stuff (who couldn’t afford swords and heavier armor) tended to be those of lower rank, so that has inspired this guy’s look. He’s a seasoned warrior, well-skilled despite never having received formal training, and definitely not of the wealth status necessary to be a full on knight. Of course here I am mixing together LOTR with plain old medieval history, but it’s my character so who really cares?

He wears nice enough clothes, but they’re definitely more worn and rugged. You’d be hard pressed to find him in full-on plate metal or bright colors – he simply can’t afford that. I like to think he hunts as a way to make money and trade for some of the more expensive leather pieces he wears as pauldrons and arm-guards.

Basically, I don’t have a full-on backstory for him, though I do have plenty of ideas about his motivations and circumstances.

Accompanying him is his trusty steed Nino, who I devotedly named after a palamino paint foal I met when I was younger. He’s swift, agile, and loyal, plus his coat matches the hair of his rider.

Together they roam the plains of West Rohan, still trying to find the last piece of the war steed armor set that drops from war bands there…one day…one day…

OUTFIT:
Shoulders: Ceremonial Pauldrons of the Mark (umber)
Chest: Jacket of the Watchtower (walnut brown)
Hands: Leather Gauntlets of the Leaping Stag (grey)
Feet: Reworked Boots (grey)
Back: Fancy Quiver (sienna)

WARSTEED:
Head: Head-Piece of the Northern Herald (rust)
Body: Harness of the Harbinger (rust)
Gear: Hunter’s Gear
Saddle: Hunter’s Saddle
Maine and tail: Blond
Coat: Tan Tobiano