A minstrel's tale

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Starry, starry night
Paint your palette blue and gray
Look out on a summer's day
With eyes that know the darkness in my soul

Now I understand what you tried to say to me
And how you suffered for your sanity
And how you tried to set them free
They would not listen, they did not know how
Perhaps they'll listen now 

Don McLean - Vincent

It was a chilling, serene autumn night when a bard entered the Prancing Pony. He asked old fella' Barliman for a pint, drank it quickly as always and started playing for his small steady audience. "Strange that we don't even know the guy's name," murmured elderly and slightly drunk lady. Just as herself, the minstrel has been spending time at the Pony since anybody could remember. Old Barliman even claims he knew him as a child, when he was just a little boy accompanying his rich, but ever-drunk father.

Anyway, nobody's ever seemed interested enough in knowing him better, and he returned the favor. Never talking to anyone except for a drunken remark from time to time, he kept coming every evening and played the lute. For an unknown reason, after many years, the elderly lady decided to ask him about his name that particular night - perhaps he seemed a little more sad than usually. His answer was bitter: "It doesn't matter. Not anymore."

Then he walked out of the Pony, saluted goodbye towards his second home (or maybe first) and disappeared. Since then, nobody's ever seen the lonely grumpy minstrel again. People started asking about him, Barliman even offered a free pint for information about the bard's whereabouts, because they all missed the atmosphere his lute created. Who knows, maybe one day our unknown fellow will return - or not?

This outfit originally started as jolly white-and-gold female rune-keeper's one. I'm not exactly sure when it suddenly started to be "a sad unrecognized artist's" outfit - I blame it on Don McLean's song dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh that came to my mind when I started making the night screenshots :) However, I tried to experiment with quite strange white-gold-subtle green combination and finally found a purpose for the mystery cloak I got some time ago. I promise the next outfit and its story will be more optimistic :)

Please let me know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simply rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Radiant Westernesse Armour, white dye (T5 crafted)
Legs: Radiant Westernesse Leggings, white dye (T5 crafted)
Head: Songmaster's Hat, gold dye (Mirkwood minstrel level 65 set)
Shoulders: Songmaster's Shoulders, olive dye (Mirkwood minstrel level 65 set)
Hands: Gauntlets of Fleetness, white dye (world drop)
Feet: Ceremonial Boots of the Seven Stars, gold dye (Skirmish cosmetics barter)
Back: Padded Cloak of Mystery, gold dye (Skirmish cosmetics barter - the back pattern is random reward from Padded Cloak of Mystery Box)

Guest: Sigrum Stonebeard of Elendilmir

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Sig Stonebeard is the ultimate outdoorsman. Hunter of beasts, tracker, survivalist and an expert of sitting at the campfire roasting meats and telling stories. That being said, you can imagine your best chances meeting him would be letting him find you, preferably grilling some recently caught game which you'd be willing to share. Finding him yourself? I doubt it, unless he wishes you to ;)

Sid of WARSTEEDS.com said about his outfit: "I've been working on this outfit for a long time, tweaking, making small changes and it's finally perfect." And I can only agree. This outfit combines look of a woodsman and a classy fighter, looking realistic, practical and still very lore-appropriate. And I can't stop looking at the screenshots, they tell a story by themselves!

Dwarven hunters have been a rare breed until now. However, with The Hobbit premiering at the end of November, I think we will see many more of them. Kíli, Thorin's nephew and the youngest dwarf in the company, has been pictured with a bow, shooting arrows at the enemies with deadly precision.

Hopefully this will also inspire more high quality dwarf hunter's outfits, but Sigrum has raised the bar very high :) Match with both steeds - the warsteed and hunter's class mount is also perfect. Interestingly enough the outfit looks great on both huge war pony and rather slim body build of the standard pony. I personally have found it very hard to achieve good looks matching both types of steeds.

Please let us know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simly rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Reinforced Leather Dunlending Jacket, olive dye (Dunland quest)
Head: Adventurer's Hat, sienna dye (Skirmish cosmetics barter)
Shoulders: Pauldrons of the Wandering Bard, olive dye (Level 58 minstrel Ettenmoors set)
Hands: Warrior's Buckled Gauntlets, olive dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: Hill-Man's Cracked Leather Boots, olive dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Trapper's Backpack, olive dye (Skirmish cosmetics barter)

Warsteed: a light warsteed wearing the "Maurader" set (gear on the warmount is the same quiver from the Steed of the Hunter set)
Mount: Steed of the Hunter (Store)

Back once again...

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Hi guys!

I wonder if and when this line started to be cliché on my blog - but I'm back again! And once again I sincerely apologize for not bringing you a new outfit for almost two months. I will keep my work-busyness stuff to myself this time and instead, I will show off what I have been up to in those rare moments of leisure.

 

I tried out Guild Wars 2 while waiting for Riders of Rohan expansion and got totally hooked into it. I've spent practically every moment I had for myself ingame (which means up to 3-4 hours a week at max, sigh...). I must say it's an amazing game and a piece of art, but totally different from our beloved Lord of the Rings Online.

 

This is what makes me happy as well, because despite being very deeply dragged into another game, LOTRO hasn't lost its charm for me and I'm already looking forward into taking my dear Freyjuska into Rohan, trying out mounted combat and other stuff which has recently come.

Until then I will try to get up to speed with your e-mails and wonderful guest submissions, first of them being published today (and I totally love it!). Thank you for bearing with me :)

Frey

Lazy sunday afternoon

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Heathfells are one of the most beautiful areas in the Middle-earth. Huge fields of lavender and colorful trees - what a grace! It's just a pity that they are infested by evil creatures, including maddened Draig-luth and cunning hounds. Nevertheless, Brewbelly decided to spend her Sunday afternoon there, even if it meant cutting her way through enemies.

It wasn't even so bad in the end. A few archers here, a few silly puppies there, and she was right in the middle of lavender field, enjoying herself. Her only companion was her theorbo and countless songs she played, reminding herself of the good old times when she was still a careless hobbit lass, not knowing anything about servants of Sauron. "What good times that were! But they'll return anyway," she conformed herself and took a nap.

Dunland Caretaker's Cloak is another beautiful mantle I've wanted to include in my outfits for a long time. Its gentle lavender color soothes any kind of outfit, but it's really difficult to match because of pastel blue accents. However, the lovely hobbit outfitter's merchandise, Long Fancy Robe, shares the same shade of blue. Dyed violet, both items matched really nicely except for the robe's salmon pink belt and gold hem. I tried to accent those with the shoulders and the helm.

Please let me know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simply rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Long Fancy Robe, violet dye (Outfitter vendor in Michel Delving)
Head: Ceremonial Helm of the Shield-wall, white dye (Moria warden level 60 set; also available from skirmish barterer or limited sale in the store)
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Sun-lands, violet dye (world drop)
Hands: Traveller's Road-worn Bracers, violet dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: Ceremonial Shoes of the Stone-student, black dye (Moria lore-master level 60 set; also available from skirmish barterer or limited sale in the store)
Back: Dunland Caretaker's Cloak, default dye (Dunland quest)

Guest: Daerundros of Laurelin

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Daerundros said about her outfit: "Gold and white are a color combination that often fits together in harmony, like two sides of the same coin. A mixed blend of items, this outfit is designed to provide comfort while still retaining grace and elegance. After a few months of not coming up with any suitable outfits, I got bored of an old outfit I did for Daerundros and decided to create a new one in more brighter, cheerier colours. I like to think this is the type of outfit one would wear outdoors on a sunny day in Rivendell or Lothlórien. The shoulder pads are perhaps the most attention-attracting element for the outfit, as they are arguably the most striking feature. I intended that from this point on the rest of the outfit would come to the viewer's attention, as one looks down at the chest piece, then the gauntlets, then the leggings, and finally, the boots, all of them heavily accented with stylized elven features. It is heavily inspired by the Golden Mallorn trees of Lothlórien, but also pays tribute to the white city of Gondolin."

Daerundros is a very stylish elven lady, who has submitted some very elegant outfits in the past. Now she's back with very noble attire for her huntress.

Please let us know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simly rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Fine Elven Campaigner's Armour, white dye (T5 crafted)
Legs: Resplendent Steadfast Leggings of Lothlórien, white dye (T6 crafted)
Head: Balladeer's Hat, default dye (Moria minstrel level 60 set)
Shoulders: Songmaster's Shoulders, white dye (Mirkwood minstrel level 65 set)
Hands: Footman's Gloves, gold dye (T6 crafted)
Feet: Songmaster's Shoes, white dye (Mirkwood minstrel level 65 set)
Back: Cloak of the Boar-clan Warrior, white dye (Dunland quest)

Meditation in the dusk

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Ladriell has set off for a difficult quest. Her beloved raven flew out to stretch his wings a little, and didn't come back! It's been a few days already, so young lore-master knew there was something wrong. They were staying in Thorenhad when she let the raven go, so she started searching the surrounding hills.

There were so many fierce beasts that she lost all hopes to ever see her raven again. She stopped counting how many vile hawks has she killed, when she caught a glimpse of white feathers. The raven was watching her, and luring her deeper into the valley! She communicated with him in her mind, but he didn't want to reveal his plan. Only when they reached the most beautiful meadow inside the colorful forest, he told her: "I brought you here to find what I saw - peace in mind. You, my dear master, will be much wiser when you rest a bit and concentrate only on leaves shimmering in the sunset - it will help you become a better lore-master." She listened, and spent long hours alongside her friend, because she realized he was not the lost one - she was.

I wanted to make an outfit featuring Angolgol ever since I've obtained it in Tâl Methedras, but somehow I couldn't find items with the right color scheme. When I got the Robe of the Stone-student, I thought it could match, and I was right! The turquoise and greyish-blue clicked perfectly on both pieces. I didn't want the outfit to be too solemn though, so I decided to bring gold accents to the front with shoulder and head piece.

Please let me know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simply rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Ceremonial Robe of the Stone-student, turquoise dye (Moria lore-master level 60 set; also available from skirmish barterer or limited store sale)
Head: Hat of the Stone-student, turquoise dye (Moria lore-master level 60 set; also available from skirmish barterer or limited store sale)
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Swift Arrow, turquoise dye (Mirkwood hunter level 65 set; also available as drop from level 75 skirmishes)
Hands: Ceremonial Gloves of the Stone-student, turquoise dye (Moria lore-master level 60 set; also available from skirmish barterer or limited store sale)
Feet: Embroidered Shoes of the Dunland Healer, black dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Angolgol, default dye (Dunland quest)

Lone rider

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

A true burglar doesn't show her face. If you've met this one, her identity is probably still hidden from you, unless you belong to a very limited group of people she travels with. We know she is a hobbit (unfortunately the height difference is hard to conceal), but that's where the information ends. Her attire serves as mimicry in the dusty Lone-lands, where she currently wanders.

I bought the Steed of the Burglar for my little burg Grulka, although it definitely doesn't have not one of my favorite mount designs. Despite that, I can't deny that it's interesting and original. I tried to create a matching outfit around the chestpiece, because it has the same pattern as the pony's blanket, but I'm not entirely sure about the result. The whole outfit seems a little messy to me and I liked the version in full Pathfinder's set much better, but not original at all. I'm curious about your opinions on this one :)

Please let me know what do you think about the outfit in comments, or simply rate below the post's title :)

Chest: Jacket of Determination, umber dye (world drop)
Legs: Dwarf-make Outrider's Leggings, olive dye (T3 crafted)
Head: Ceremonial Helm of the Whirlwind, olive dye (Moria level 65 champion purple set; also available from skirmish barterer or from limited sale in the store)
Shoulders: Ceremonial Pathfinder's Shoulders, olive dye (Moria level 65 hunter purple set; also available from skirmish barterer or from limited sale in the store)
Hands: Ceremonial Pathfinder's Gauntlets, olive dye (Moria level 65 hunter purple set; also available from skirmish barterer or from limited sale in the store)
Feet: Ceremonial Pathfinder's Boots, olive dye (Moria level 65 hunter purple set; also available from skirmish barterer or from limited sale in the store)
Back: Cloak of the Algraig, olive dye (Store)

Mount: Steed of the Burglar (Store)

Emotes:
./fidget
./lookaround