Guest inspiration: Strider, by Lauredin of Elendilmir

"Suddenly Frodo noticed that a strange-looking weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall, was also listening intently to the hobbit-talk. He had a tall tankard in front of him, and was smoking a long-stemmed pipe curiously carved. His legs were stretched out before him, showing high boots of supple leather that fitted him well, but had seen much wear and were now caked with mud. A travel-stained cloak of heavy dark-green cloth was drawn close about him, and in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face; but the gleam of his eyes could be seen as he watched the hobbits." 

 J.R.R. Tolkien: The Fellowship Of The Ring - Chapter 9 - At the Sign of The Prancing Pony

I already quoted Strider's description from the book once - when I made a Strider inspired outfit, which I am now almost ashamed to link (well, not only almost). Lauredin did an awesome job - his Strider inspired outfit made me feel like I was there, in the Prancing Pony, being in Frodo's place and watching disguised Aragorn warily. This is in my opinion as close to a ranger as one can get without the upcoming ranger cosmetics. Do you like this outfit too? Let us know in the comments!

 Strider in the Prancing Pony (LoTR: Fellowship of the Ring movie)

Chest: Reinforced Leather Dunlending Jacket, umber dye (Dunland quest)
Shoulders: Padded Mantle of the Dunland Soothsayer, ranger green dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Fingerless Gloves, grey dye (Yule festival)
Feet: Threadbare Shoes of the Dunland Healer, umber dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Plain Hooded Cloak, ranger green dye (Outfitter vendor)

Wish: Courageous and noble warrior

This outfit was wished by Vikuuta, level 38 champion of Firefoot more than two weeks ago. It is an example of outfit which doesn't contain any quest rewards - only not bind-on-acquire items, which can be crafted or purchased at any level and equipped cosmetically via wardrobe. Basically, if you have gold or good friends (or both :)), you can wear it from level 1 (more or less - after you can access the wardrobe) until level 75 and it looks pretty good in most colours.

Vikuuta asked for following criteria to be met by his outfit:

• Armour should show the metal parts, but still show the colour of the armour
• Colour of the armour:  grey (the metal), green and, if possible, some details in gold
• A helmet that doesn't show the face of the warrior
• Some big boots
• Some giant shoulder guards
• Some big gloves, too

I sent Vikuu the first design:

...and I was really surprised by his amazing reaction, he loved the initial design very much and didn't want to change anything! But I myself wasn't still confident that this outfit is something that would really make him stand out in the crowd, as he wanted to.

I played with other cloaks and gauntlets. I didn't want to change the boots, which might not be big and badass looking, but it was my purpose. I wanted to make them "disappear" and kinda compensate for the upper part of the outfit being very broad. This way, the whole body creates a V-shape so typical for well-trained warriors.

I sent Vikuu the variations of gloves and cloaks, as well as colour switch - I tried Ered Luin blue just because of the noble feeling to it. And voila - to me, it clicked absolutely!

Vikuu liked it very much also and agreed blue one is better, because it adds to the 'warrior' feeling. However, he also mentioned beautiful symbolics he wanted to express by colour of his outfit - green being the colour of courage. So in the end, we decided to show you, readers, both variations :)

It might take Vikuuta some time until he gets all the pieces necessary with the help of his friends, so he asked me to publish his outfit with screenshots of my character. I hope we will be able to update this post with Vikuuta's own screenies soon!

Please let us know you opinions on the outfit :) Do you like green or blue version better?

Final result:
Chest: Elven Soldier's Armour, Ered Luin blue/Rivendell green dye (T5 crafted)
Legs: Elven Steel Leggings, Ered Luin blue/forest green dye (Heavy armoursmith vendor in Rivendell)
Head: Strong Westfold War Helmet, Ered Luin blue/forest green dye (T7 crafted)
Shoulders: Dwarf Leather Shoulder Guards, Ered Luin blue/forest green dye (Medium armoursmith vendor in Thorin's Hall - only the one near the throne sells it)
Hands: Resolute (or Sustaining) Gauntlets of the Galladhrim, Ered Luin blue/forest green dye (T6 crafted)
Feet: Defender's Boots, Ered Luin blue/Rivendell green dye (T3 crafted)
Back: Ceremonial Wig-feld, Ered Luin blue/forest green dye (Store)

Guest: Daerundros of Laurelin

The Spirit of Gondolin lives on in the Noldor, particularly Daerundros, who honours her mother, a member of the House of the Swallow, by donning the White Colours of Gondolin in the Wilderness. With her bow and her quiver full of the Silver Arrows of Gondolin, servants of the Enemy and any who dare to contradict this fierce Archer be wary; Her shots almost never miss.

Daerundros said about her outfit: "I wanted to create an outfit that resembles the splendour and glory of Gondolin while still retaining a slightly rusty woodland look. I was really pleased with how it turned out." Are you? Let us know in the comments!

Chest: Footman's Armour, white dye (T6 crafted)
Legs: Footman's Leggings, white dye (T6 crafted)
Head: Circlet of Adamant, default dye (Store)
Shoulders: Quilted Shoulderpads, white dye (Light armoursmith)
Hands: Gloves of the Helmingas, default dye (Isengard pre-oder)
Feet: Vibrant Skirmish Boots, default dye (T7 crafted)
Back: Elven Quiver, white dye (Outfitter vendor in Rivendell)

Guest: Hydarnes of Maiar

A knight in a golden armour is who many little girls dream of. Shiromir managed to impersonate this in this astonishing outfit and described process of its creation: "When my warden reached level 75, I got the Rohirrim Shield and was fascinated by its design. So I decided to build an outfit, which has the same golden color and which was also inspired by the easterling warriors in the Lord of the Rings movies. A proud infantry soldier in glittering gold, marching with his comrades in close formation and fighting the hordes of the enemy."

With help of his kinship, Shiromir managed to gather various Ost Dunhoth armour pieces and put together a great selection of matching items, which is quite a challenge for golden dyed armour. Now he can fearlessly march into any kind of fight, because even a Nazgûl would be mesmerized by the glitter of his battle garb.

Chest: Blade of the West Armour, gold dye (Champion level 65 Ost Dunhoth set)
Legs: Arrow of the West Leggings, gold dye (Hunter level 65 Ost Dunhoth set)
Head: Strong Westfold War Helmet, gold dye (T7 crafted)
Shoulders: Ward of the West Gauntlets, gold dye (Guardian level 65 Ost Dunhoth set)
Hands: Gloves of the Riddle Teller, gold dye (Burglar level 75 Dunland set)
Feet: Boots of Dungon, gold dye (Captain level 65 Ost Dunhoth set)
Shield: Combat Shield of Théodred (T7 crafted)

Brave cub of the East

Phloxie has never cared much about clothes. She is a warden and wardens value utility above everything else - even she as a hobbit prefers protective and flexible attire to fancy mathomy robes. Yet when she saw travelling merchant's goods in Oatbarton, she didn't hesitate for a second and bought this armour. The merchant said he bartered for the leggings and helmet in Celondim harbour (which has been frequently visited by travellers from Rhûn). Phloxie's wary guess is that he'd rather stolen it, but who cares - now, the armour will bear the blood of all who attack Phloxie's friends. She will defend them with her bear strength!

Phloxie is my baby warden, currently leveling in Evendim. Similar to Brewbelly, I've awfully neglected her in terms of outfitting. I have been searching for a nice leathery outfit, which would express the warden character as well as cuteness of a hobbit. I was lucky to get the Survivor's Jacket as nobody needed in it my raid and decided to combine this typical warden piece with more exotic clothes from Dunland.

How do you like this outfit? Please, leave your feedback in comments!

Chest: Survivor's Jacket, rust dye (Drop from Prancing Pony raid level 75; shares appearance with Spear-hurler's Armour - part of Moria warden set)
Legs: Clanweave Leggings, umber dye (Dunland quest)
Head: Helm of the Graduate, rust dye (Drop from School of Tham Mirdain level 75)
Shoulders: Hardened Steel Dunlending Pauldrons, rust dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: (August) Resilient Gauntlets of the Golden Wood, rust dye (T6 crafted)
Feet: Vibrant Westfold War Boots, umber dye (T7 crafted)
Back: Heavy Fur Dunlending Cloak, grey dye (Dunland quest)

Guest: Tomori Greybeard of Riddermark

Tomori Greybeard, a dwarven minstrel of the The Westfold Marshals (kinship on Riddermark server), has always admired the free spirit of mariners. They might be just greedy merchants with no sense of higher good for the Middle-earth, but they get to explore the rivers up to Belegaer (Great Sea) and generally enjoy a lot of adventures. Tomori decided to dress like a corsair himself. It's always good to have such a dangerously looking pirate on your side (as long as you can keep your pocketses safe)! :))

Chest: Ale Association Robe, black dye (Ale Association reputation barter - kindred)
Head: Mariner's Hat and Eyepatch, default dye (Talk Like a Pirate Day reward)
Shoulders: Dwarf Leather Shoulder Guards of Vigour, black dye (world drop)
Hands: Gloves of the Helmingas, default dye (Isengard pre-order)
Feet: Boots of the Eorlingas, default dye (Isengard pre-order)
Back: Cloak of the Ale Association, black dye (Ale Association reputation barter - kindred)
Shield: Dwalin's Shield (Quest: Vol. I, Book 7, Chapter 6: Thrór's Hammer)

New blogs about LOTRO cosmetics - volume 2

It was still hot summer when I presented new LOTRO outfitting blogs - the time has come to bring you more, as a very skilled fashionistas have joined the blogosphere recently!

Savs, a player of Evernight server, started blogging just few days ago and she already has nice bunch of very high quality outfits on her blog! If you are interested in seeing fresh new inspirative ideas for your wardrobe (and you know you are ;), visit LOTRO Savvy Cosmetics blog!

Another new joiner to our community is Nyvaine of My Precious LOTRO Outfitting. She has been posting a lot on official forums and decided to collect her new creations on the blog. So far she concentrated mostly on very efficient, yet beautiful and original winter outfits - those of you who voted "I don't have a winter outfit" in my poll should definitely go and gather some inspiration there! :)

Tip: You can find these links altogether, as well as other LOTRO related links, in right side panel of this blog.

Coming in Update 5: New Shimmering Draigoch cloaks!

Another exciting preview from Bullroarer features shimmering versions of Draigoch cloaks. Don't worry, your old precious cloaks won't become obsolete - you will be able to upgrade them!

Screenshots by Jadzi

From left to right: Shimmering Protector's Cloak, Shimmering Acrobat's Cloak, Shimmering Wizard's Cloak, Shimmering Blademaster's Cloak

Kemendin spied for you on Bullroarer before its closing and obtained following info: "The shimmering cloaks are bartered from the sigil vendor in the same area as the new armour sets - you trade in one of the regular cloaks and some sort of cloak clasp barter item which probably drops from the new raid, and receive the equivalent "shimmering" cloak in return. I believe these cloaks have slightly better stats than the regular Draigoch ones, and as far as I can tell they "technically" can be dyed, but it doesn't actually change the appearance, probably because they actually do shimmer and change colour."

I'm personally so excited to see these cloaks with the actual shimmering effect! Pity we can't see the motion on screenshots, but I can imagine it will be a really nice effect and will definitely distinguish the top raiders (or people with enough gold ;) from the crowd.

My big thanks goes to Jadzi and Kemendin for providing screenshots and information!

Update: I found a valuable forum thread with screenshot including stats of the shimmering cloaks. Enjoy!

New Update 5 armour sets (SPOILER ALERT)

Yesterday you had a sneak peek at Volume III Book 5 epic questline rewards, today you can see preview of new Armies of Isengard armour sets, thanks to Jadzi!

Heavy sets (first three are purple, last three are teal):

Medium sets (first three are purple, last three are teal):

Light sets (first three are purple, last three are teal):

As you can see, sets again don't differ in appearance based on class - heavy classes share armour look and the same applies for medium and light armour wearers. There will be 6 sets for each class (3 purple which will be easier to acquire, 3 teal ones gated by the new raid) and those differ in small design details.

What do you think of these armour designs? Tell us in comments!

LOTRO Fashion on Twitter

I've been completely ignoring Twitter for a long long time. Today, with all the excitement from 100 000 views celebration, I noticed that a lot of traffic to my blog is coming from there. So I decided to make a Twitter account, to have another communication channel with you guys :)

Please let me welcome you at LOTRO Fashion Twitter profile - follow me and be the first to know about recent outfits and cosmetic news! :)

LOTRO Fashion is celebrating 100 000 views!

Dear readers,

today I was lucky to see the 100 000th view in my blog's statistics. I want to thank you all for being such amazing readers, and I want to especially thank:

• LOTRO fashionistas who contributed to 75 amazing guest submissions,
• my dear Loki for being the best critic for those more than 100 outfits I made,
• everyone who made one of almost 500 comments (feedback is very important for me and I appreciate it so much, being positive or negative),
• 20 people who trusted me so much that they asked me to create a personalized outfit for them (half of them are still in progress!),
• fellow LOTRO outfitters and bloggers Hymne, Devonna, Lydia, Miss Rossier, Xhii, Cythrith and others for being a constant source of inspiration and information,
• people such as Goldenstar and Merric and Gunky for promoting my blog

 ...and everyone who made those 8 months of blogging so enjoyable for me! Sending virtual kisses to all of you :)

Frey

Guest: Ithon Dulac of Riddlemark

How long has it been since I had started to travel with these Rangers of the North, which a portion of my own blood has descended from? It has felt like an Age has passed since, yet the reality knows it's been a fleeting moment in history. My once near zealous pride in being a Barding has faded, at the actions of the Dunedain. I once searched to learn from their ancient lore out of curiosity, and now that knowledge has become ingrained as my own. They have honored me, by adopting me as one of their own. In return, I shall honor them by dressing in their manner and bearing their star proudly.

Ithon said about his outfit: Originally, this cosmetic before Update 5 was simply my lore-master's cosmetic he wore into battle. The rewards from Vol III, Book 5, Chapter 1 combined with reading the words there, I took as an inspiration. My old battle cosmetic seemed to blend rather well into making a custom Grey Company's uniform with a decidedly fitting lore-master look. The shoulders and the parts of the armour just under them, give the impression of the raven cloak's wings continuing on past the cloth. The Dunlending's jacket and boots dyed black replaced the Grey Company's cosmetic gear for providing a unique look while helping the impression of the wings for the back. The Grey Company's hood and gloves complete the outfit, giving the impression of the Grey Company's full cloak and wearing the Dunedain stars openly. All of this with the Weathered Raven summoned makes for a fitting Lore-master in my eyes.

...and I can do nothing but agree :)

Note: These screenshots were taken in Bullroarer and everything there is still subject to change. These items should go live with Update 5 this December.

Chest: Dunlending's Hunting Jacket, black dye (Dunland reputation barter)
Head: Fine Grey Company Hood, black dye (Quest: Volume III Book 5 Chapter 1)
Hands: Fine Grey Company Gauntlets, default dye (Quest: Volume III Book 5 Chapter 1)
Shoulders: Shoulder Guards of Determination, burgundy dye (World drop; shares appearance with Elven Soldier's Shoulder Guards - T5 crafted)
Feet: Boar-hide Boots, black dye (Dunland reputation barter)
Back: Cloak of the Raven, grey dye (Fall festival)

Preview of Update 5 ranger cosmetics! (SPOILER ALERT)

Dreams of many have finally come true. We will get true ranger cosmetics in Update 5! They are rewards from Volume III Book 5 epic story quests and have been previewed on forums by Nyrion and Jadzi. Let me show you their screenshot and one absolutely amazing guest submission I received from Ithon Dulac of Riddlemark, who built his amazing outfit on Bullroarer!

By Nyrion:

By Jadzi:

Jadzi also provided additional info: "The ranger cosmetics come from the quests in III.5.1. It's a series of quests where you talk to Grey Company members around the Gravenwood outpost, and it rewards you a choice of pieces from two different sets: a basic ranger uniform, and a Grey Company uniform. There's six pieces: hood, gloves, boots, shoulders, suit, and cloak."

Note: These screenshots were taken in Bullroarer and everything there is still subject to change. These items should go live with Update 5 this December.

Gentle disguise

It's been a long time since Brewbelly left her home in Tuckborough. That's the last time she remembers she could have some undisturbed sleep, dreaming about pleasant things only. After a long long journey towards ever darker places, trying to be courageous while her heart was trembling, she sighted the beauty of the Peaceful Glade. Immediately, it reminded her of her peaceful youth, and after a long time she took a nap under a waterfall, being surrounded only by immerse nature around her. What a lovely day!

Brewbelly, despite being one of two characters I play actively, has been probably the most neglected until now. I don't play much, so I usually do instances with my main hunter and Brewbelly just struggles to get to level cap and stays there after every major update. Today, when Fashion Maven was supposed to be around, I realized I neglected her more than my fashion dolls even in outfitting. So I finally made her an outfit expressing her personality - gentle lady hobbit, yet always up to any mischief without serious consequences :)

How do you like this outfit? Please, leave your feedback in comments!

Chest: Tattered Robe of the Dunland Sage, rose dye (Dunland quest)
Shoulders: Padded Mantle of the Dunland Soothsayer, black dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Traveler's Road-worn Bracers, umber dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Cloak of the Galadhrim, black dye (Quest: Vol. II, Book 7, Chapter 9: The Worries of Lord Celeborn)

Guest: Ellaen of Nimrodel

This outfit was submitted by Kemendin, who put great effort into making a Rohirrim Rider outfit: "I was so excited to see the Rohirrim NPCs all decked out in their Rider finery after being disappointed by the sight of only place-holder NPCs in the beta. My Guardian, Ellaen Fremedon, hails from Rohan and has spent much of her time in Eriador, Moria, and Mirkwood ensuring that those she meets in her travels are able to readily recognize her as a Rider of Rohan - her pride and heritage are what she thrives on. Therefore, upon seeing the epicness of the various Rohirrim encampments, I challenged myself to come up with an outfit that would come close to matching those of the NPCs. It was surprisingly entertaining to stand around in the camps doing various emotes and pretending to be an NPC suddenly come to life!"

I think Kemendin did a great job and got really close to the Rohirrim NPC outfits. Isn't that rascally Eowyn, the most famous guardian in the Red Book, peeking from behing the helm? ;)

Chest:  Nightshade Jacket, Rivendell green dye (Dunland quest)

Head: (Strong) Helmet of Theodred, grey dye (T7 crafted)
Shoulders: Shoulders of the Eorlingas, default dye (Isengard pre-order)
Hands: Gloves of the Eorlingas, default dye (Isengard pre-order)
Feet: Boots of the Helmingas, default dye (Isengard pre-order)
Back: Plain Cloak, Rivendell green dye (Outfitter vendor)

Watch out for change of helm design in Update 5

Most of us love the design of Polished Helm of the Dunland Shieldman (available under different names as quest reward in RoI). Some of the items having this design are most likely going to be "fixed" with Update 5, according to reports from Bullroarer. 

Current look on live:

"Fixed" look on Bullroarer:

According to Linwen on the forums, there is still at least one helm having this design: The Hardened Steel Dunlending Helmet. However, some of the others, including Polished Helm of the Dunland Shieldman changed.

As most of us picked the first helm with this design available and discarded the others, I'm writing this post mainly for people who are still leveling or have alts close to the top levels. If you are interested in the original chainmail knight design above, keep Hardened Steel Dunlending Helmet in your inventory.

Note: All of this is subject to change - it's still possible the Polished helm won't be changed at all. But I wouldn't rely on it.

Update: Hoooray! Avon from Turbine let us know in this post that it's really a bug and our beloved helmet won't be changed. Three times hooray! :)

Explorer of ancient ruins

Khamrad, a scholarly rune-keeper, is one of the few dwarves who are more interested in ancient parchments and relics than axes and blood. Often he sets off from Thorin's Hall before the dawn, just to get to one of his favourite hidden spots soon enough to be undisturbed and watch beautiful sunrise there. He believes that he can project the wisdom he gains from his explorations into the power of his runes, and so far it's proven right. Disguised under the raven mask, he has brought death upon many enemies of the Free People, as well as saved many lives of his fellows. Power is in knowledge, he says, and we can only agree.

For me, this outfit serves multiple purposes. First of all, it's my personal reclamation of Robe of Viisaus after its redesign. Although I liked the original robe much more, I have to admit I've made peace with the new version also, as it makes perfectly intricate rune-keeper's attire. Secondly, I don't think I've ever used the Raven's Mask obtainable in the Fall festival in my outfits. This was my big impediment, because it is probably the most easily available face-covering headgear ingame. And thirdly, I feel I neglected dwarves and rune-keepers badly since release of Isengard, so this is my sorry to all of you, dear dwarven fellows :) Stay tuned for more outfits coming!

Chest: Robe of Viisaus, burgundy dye (Quest: Vol. I, Book 13, Chapter 4: The Hand of Angmar; also available in Store - ceremonial version)
Head: Raven Festival Mask, burgundy dye (Fall festival)
Shoulders: Vibrant Calenard War Pauldrons, burgundy dye (T7 crafted)
Hands: Steadfast Westfold Campaign Gloves, , umber dye (T7 crafted)
Feet: Weathered Leather Scout's Boots, umber dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Cloak of the Algraig, burgundy dye (Store)

Guest: Reylon of Evernight

Whether it's fighting dragons or posing in Rivendell for all the elves to see, Rey can't ever complain that his life is boring. Green and brown ranger clothes were never enough for this elven hunter. Instead he loved bright reds. He would prance around mobs and aggro five to ten mobs at a time, often having to resort to using Desperate flight to get away. Attention seeker to the max, his Camouflage skill is never used and he bursts into fights often with the first shot and overpowered with burn hot. Guess it suits his red flashy armor.

Chest: Scout's Weathered Leather Jacket, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Head: Lesser Arrow of the West Helmet, crimson dye (Hunter Ost Dunhoth epic set)
Shoulders: Scorched Ox-hide Shoulderpads, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Hill-man's Cracked Leather Gauntlets, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: Hill-man's Cracked Leather Boots, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Warden's Pack, crimson dye (Outfitter vendor)

Are you getting ready for the winter?

Our last poll started when Fall festival was in progress, but my question to you was more general: Do you like festival cosmetics? 

According to the results, you guys love them! I hope you will be pleased by upcoming outfits featuring some festival cosmetics, starting with Fall festival today :)

In the place where I live, it's already getting really chilly and I can feel christmasy mood (and frost) knocking on the door. I'm curious how do you reflect the coming winter in your LoTRO outfits - do you have separate outfit for cold weather? Do you slightly change your outfit to better keep warmth? Or do you not care at all? Let me know in the new poll!

Merry bounder

Wasabito, a courageous warden of Michel Delving, is a merry hobbit fellow. However, even though wants to look bright flirting with joyful hobbit lasses, he also needs to be serious on duty, not to be made fun of by some noisy kids! In this armour, he shall never be overlooked. Beware while you travel through the Shire, you never know where you will meet the hand of law!

Yellow dye is one of the most underused ones from my perspective. It makes many cosmetics look rather funny. Luckily, especially hobbits can wear really extravagant outfits and they really shine in them. For this bounder outfit, I decided to go for grey accents to dominant bright yellow hauberk and shoulder pad. I also used lovely Harbringer's Cloak, which I love for very interesting pattern it bears.

Chest: Reinforced Leather Dunlending Jacket, yellow dye (Dunland quest)
Shoulders: Scout's Weathered Leather Shoulder-guards, yellow dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Heavy Plated Dunlending Gauntlets, grey dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: Hill-man's Cracked Leather Boots, grey dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Harbringer's Cloak, grey dye (Mirkwood pre-order bonus)

Guest: Berfandil of Snowbourn

There are situations when even a captain needs to sneak into enemy's stronghold unnoticed. Still, he has to be armoured properly to be able to enter fight as soon as his secret mission is over, to deliver the final blow and open up the battlefield for his fellows. Berfandil decided to share such battle garb with us, just before entering evil Dragon clan village in disguise. 

Chest: Chestplate of the Gallant Commander, default dye (Captain level 75 epic set)
Legs: Leggings of the Impossible Shot, white dye (Hunter level 75 epic set)
Head: Helm of Vigour, gold dye (world drop)
Shoulders: Cry of the West Shoulders, turquoise dye (Captain level 65 epic set)
Hands: Gloves of the Impossible Shot, turquoise dye (Hunter level 75 epic set)
Feet: Cry of the West Boots, turquoise dye (Captain level 65 epic set)

Phoenix

Out of my ashes
will rise a new phoenix.

A soaring being
returning from death
proving once again
that life is eternal.

I live forever
because the spirit
never dies.

Phoenix by Carmen Colombo

For a long time I've been struggling with finding a good outfit for my captain. As I mentioned several times, I love crimson and red colour. I wanted to build a battle-ready outfit with a beautiful, dangerously looking helm. When I first previewed this helm after getting the recipe on my metalsmith, I yiked with joy :) It is just a simple Westfold crafted helm, worth a few bucks for ingots, but has design comparable to raid helmets of champions I've always admired. I don't know why, but it reminds me of bird beak a little - so I imagine this outfit as manifestation of Phoenix within every captain - who is able to rise undefeated out of the most perilous situations. The stag cloak is then my tribute to the ancient Stag-spirit, who represents wise decisions a leader of men must make.

Chest: Herald's Armour, crimson dye (T6 crafted)
Legs: Malledhrim Leggings of Rejuvenation, red dye (T6 crafted)
Head: Strong Westfold War Helmet, crimson dye (T7 crafted)
Shoulders: Dented Pauldrons of the Dunland Clansman, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Rusted Dunland Berserker's Gauntlets, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: (Superior) Sellsword's Boots, crimson dye (T6 crafted)
Back: Threadbare Cloak of the Dunland Healer, crimson dye (Dunland quest)