Guest: The Citadel by Argendauss

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Argendauss' reputation as a captain of Free People precedes him. His is most renowned for his versatility - his fellows can always rely on his blade, shield and morale-boosting speeches. To stand as a citadel against waves of enemies, he is properly equipped by armour made of steel and gold, which even the most precise blows with a spear cannot pierce.

Argendauss said about this outfit: "The inspiration for the outfit was the Shield of Endless Heroics, a drop from the Erulian Campaign of skirmishes. It has this sky blue coloring to it that was a challenge to match, but I found that the Cloak of the Silver Star and Head-Cage played very well with it. The chest piece I've chosen even has very faint lines tinted light-blue running across the center of it, though those lines look more silvery in the screenshots I'm submitting. For the rest of the outfit, I have silver and gold. I had to do gold because Head-cage is gold even when dyed white. The pieces from OD all have this fantastic metallic gold coloring which I was happy to incorporate into the outfit."

Chest: Breastplate of the Rallying Shout, white dye (Moria level 60 captain purple set; shares appearance with T6 crafted Armour of the Galadhrim)
Legs: Lesser Defender of the West Leggings, white dye (Ost Dunhoth warden level 65 set)
Head: Head-cage, white dye (Drop from Grand Stairs, Igash)
Shoulders: Lesser Cry of the West Shoulder Guards, white dye (Ost Dunhoth captain level 65 set)
Hands: Stoutheart's Gauntlets, white dye (Moria level 60 captain purple set; shares appearance with T6 crafted Gauntlets of the Galadhrim)
Feet: Officer's Boots, white dye (T6 crafted; available as T6 crafted heavy armour under different names)
Back: Cloak of the Silver Star, white dye (Store)
Shield: Shield of Endless Heroics (Drop from Erulian Campaign skirmish raid)

Guest: Eodread of Nimrodel

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{[["☆","★"]]}

Eodread, a man of Rohan with Dúnedain blood, has seen many battles and enemy's blade has scratched his breastplate countless times. Recently he helped defending Fornost from the terror of Angmar, protecting it from repetition of destiny which has made this once great city a sorrow place. If only he had been there that time - maybe we would now be attending a ball among the decorated castle walls...

Eodread said about this outfit: "The inspiration was to distinguish my character from other ranger outfits, but still keep a Grey Company look." I think he achieved his goal, what do you think? Let us know in comments! :)

Chest: Lesser Cry of the West Breastplate, black dye (Ost Dunhoth captain level 65 set)
Legs: Lesser Defender of the West Leggings, black dye (Ost Dunhoth warden level 65 set)
Head: Fine Grey Company Hood, default dye (Quest: Volume III, Book 5, Chapter 1: Separate Ways)
Shoulders: Fine Grey Company Wrap, default dye (Quest: Volume III, Book 5, Chapter 1: Separate Ways)
Hands: Secret of the West Gauntlets, black dye (Ost Dunhoth burglar level 65 set)
Feet: Battle-leader's Boots, black dye (Barad Guldur captain level 65 set)
Back: Cloak of the Grey Company, default dye (Quest: Volume III, Book 5, Chapter 1: Separate Ways)

The Messenger

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{[["☆","★"]]}

Being renowned veteran of the War of Wrath against Morgoth, who has seen many battles since he was young at the end of the First Age, Manequithir was considering setting off for his journey to the Grey Havens. He was tired of battling over the centuries and lacked purpose in his life. After one of the battles, he realized it's information what wins the wars, and decided to become a messenger. Riding through Eriador and Rhovannion, he assures that the Free People know about dark forces' movement and cannot be caught unprepared.

Manequithir doesn't need a disguise - his horse, descending from the Mearas, is faster than any evil they've ever met. So the Messenger wears bright gold armour, so that all who see him feel hope when they spot him on the horizon. Just like blossoms of the sakura, he is the sign that not all is lost yet.

Do you like the outfit? Please let me know in the comments! :)

Chest: Breastplate of the West-tower, sienna dye (Skirmish classic barter - Annúminas heavy)
Legs: Leggings of the West-tower, sienna dye (Skirmish classic barter - Annúminas heavy)
Shoulders: War-captain's Shoulders, sienna dye (Skirmish classic barter - Helegrod heavy)
Hands: War-captain's Gloves, sienna dye (Skirmish classic barter - Helegrod heavy)
Feet: Rhydhid-lhopan, umber dye (Drop from Isengard instance cluster)
Back: Torm-clog, gold dye (Drop from Isengard instance cluster; also available as T7 crafted cloak)

Guest: Dwalfor of Snowbourn

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Dwalfor travels a lot more than other dwarves. Since his previous appearance on this blog his adventures have taken him to Dunland, Rohan and Forochel, where he acquired new pieces of armour from the locals as thanks for the aid he has provided for them. And recently a group of adventurers even called for his help to defeat a terrible ancient evil sleeping deep within the land of Angmar: a Balrog of Morgoth. Thanks to his bravery and his deadly skill with an axe, Dwalfor emerged victorious with something to show for it: a pair of beautiful shoulder guards he took from the balrog's hoard.
 

This guest submission is very special for me, because this outfit was originally designed as a wish together by Dwalfor and myself. Only the breastplate, leggings and gauntlets remained until now and obviously, I like this enhanced version so much!

Chest: Chainmail Chestpiece of Fleetness, navy dye (world drop)
Legs: Steel Leggings, navy dye (T3 crafted)
Head: Strong Helmet of Théodred, navy dye (T7 crafted)
Shoulders: Rift-defender's shoulderguards, default dye (Rift level 50 guardian teal set)
Hands: Defender's Gloves, navy dye (T3 crafted)
Feet: Boots of the Charging Stag, navy dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Cloak of the Raven's Claw, default dye (Drop from Sari-Surma)

Bloody knight

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Blood stains all over his armour, walking between his enemies' bodies after he had struck them for the last time... That has been life of this champion for past few days. Now that he had finally proven his honour to the Rohirrim, he can be in peace for a short while and spend it remembering his fellowship's great deeds. Very soon, he will enter the battles once again, stronger than ever before.

This hauberk has been my biggest disappointment out of all Isengard cosmetics. On a human male, it's one of the finest pieces of heavy armour I've seen in LoTRO. Masculine (broadening the shoulders), battle-ready and with distinctive heavy look - all I want from a real knight's armour. Unfortunately, on most other characters it looks stupid. I was very much looking forward to using it on dwarves, but it damages their body shape in similar way as dresses do, which is a great pity. I don't even want to mention that the hauberk is undyable. Until it gets fixed, I couldn't resist enjoying it at least on male warrior :)

Chest: (Vibrant) Armour of Théodred, default dye (T7 crafted)
Head: Polished Helmet of the Dunland Shieldman, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Shoulders: Hardened Steel Dunlending Pauldrons, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Reinforced Leather Dunlending Gauntlets, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Feet: Polished Boots of the Dunland Shieldman, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Wood-wanderer's Cloak, crimson dye (Store)

Inspiration: Templar knight

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

This is a variation of yesterday's outfit, which portrayed game character whose role-playing background is fighter against Templar oppression. I couldn't resist making his counterpart's outfit using the same hauberk when I found this helm - it's truly medieval and beautiful. I think I will have a great problem not to use it in every chain mail outfit I make from now on :)

"We command that all the brothers’ habits should always be of one colour; that is white or black or brown. And we grant to all knight brothers in winter and in summer if possible, white cloaks; and no-one who does not belong to the aforementioned Knights of Christ is allowed to have a white cloak, so that those who have abandoned the life of darkness will recognise each other as being reconciled to their creator by the sign of the white habits: which signifies purity and complete chastity."

Templar History: Garments of the Knights Templar

I also like that Cloak of the Westfold now dyes whiter - which wonderfully suits Templar role-play. The green horse displayed on it also matches undyable sleeves of the hauberk, so instead of red cross we have symbol of green horse as the outfit's theme.

Please let me know what do you think of the outfit in the comments!

Chest: Polished Hauberk of the Dunland Shieldman, white dye (Dunland quest)
Head: Polished Helmet of the Dunland Shieldman, white dye (Dunland quest)
Shoulders: Padded Mantle of the Dunland Soothsayer, white dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Defender's Gloves, white dye (T3 crafted)
Feet: Defender's Boots, white dye (T3 crafted)
Back: Cloak of the Westfold, default dye (Isengard pre-order)

Guest: Argendauss of Brandywine

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Argendauss Donderrion, a man of a group of Dale men who traversed the Misty Mountains to settle in Eriador after Smaug razed Dale and claimed the Lonely Mountain as his lair. The Donderrions integrated with the Dúnedain, and now Argendauss and his clan fight to restore an ancient kingdom that is not theirs by heritage, but by choice.

Chest: Hauberk of the Forgotten Hope, forest green dye (Wardens of Annuminas reputation captain set)
Legs: Ceremonial Leggings of the West Tower, red dye (Annuminas classic skirmish barter)
Head: Circlet of Eorlingas, default dye (Isengard pre-order)
Shoulders: Ceremonial Shoulders of the West Tower, forest green dye (Annuminas classic skirmish barter)
Hands: Steel Gloves, default dye (heavy armoursmith in Bree)
Feet: Nenuial's Boots, forest green dye (Annuminas classic skirmish barter)
Back: Specialist's Cloak, white dye (skirmish jewellery and cloaks barter)

Guest: Gerbag of Whitywindle

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

We have already seen Gerbag's exquisite battle outfit. But even a guardian who is always ready for battle needs a noble, ceremonial outfit which he can use on special occasions, but also join battle wearing it anytime. This royal chain serves its purpose. Not to mention the dwarven ladies who faint on sight of him when he comes home for a visit ;)

Chest: Hauberk Of Mirrormere, indigo dye (store)
Hands: Gauntlets Of Sun-Lands, indigo dye (world drop)
Feet: Gangalengi, washed (drop from Carn Dum)
Back: Cloak of the Steadfast, navy dye (Esteldin reputation barter)

Feminine knightess

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Last week I made my attempt for the female dwarf's outfit, using stereotypical dress. I don't consider it a great success at all and I recommended all female dwarves to stick to their roots and wear men clothes made more feminine by choosing gentler pieces and colours. This is such outfit created for Khamrad to show her feminine side :)

Chest: Westernesse Steel Breastplate of Vigour, rose dye (world drop)
Legs: Enduring Westernesse Steel Leggings of Fate, rose dye (world drop)
Head: Elven Winged Helm, rose dye (outfitter vendor)
Shoulders: Pristine Elven Shoulder Guards, rose dye (T5 crafted)
Hands: Defender's Gloves, rose dye (T3 crafted)
Feet: Boots of the Sun-lands, rose dye (world drop)
Back: Cloak of the Nothern Lights, default dye (store)

Guardian of Beleriand

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{[["☆","★"]]}

Long time has passed since Manequithir fought against Morgoth in the First Battle of Beleriand. As a member of Lúthien's father Thingol's personal guard, he protected his fellow Sindarin warriors against troops of the Dark Lord and contributed to their victory over Orc army in East Beleriand. Despite being long retired to the peaceful glades of Lothlórien, Manequithir has decided to join the Free People's armies again in these dark times to battle against the new Dark Lord. He polished his armour and is ready to do everything for Middle-earth, as he always did over thousands of years.

Chest: Chainmail Chestpiece of Fleetness, gold dye (world drop)
Legs: Leggings of Orod-Na-Thôn, evendim blue dye (world drop)
Head: Helm of Celebrant, gold dye (world drop)
Shoulders: Mirrored Dwarf-make Knight's Shoulder Guards, evendim blue dye (T5 crafted)
Hands: Gauntlets of Heightening, evendim blue dye (world drop)
Feet: Elven Leather Boots of Fleetness, evendim blue dye (world drop)
Back: Ceremonial Wig-feld, evendim blue dye (store)

Guest: Tryadelion of Laurelin

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Famous kingdom of Númenor was once a blossoming island, given to men as a gift from the Valar. First people of Númenor were ruled by Elros the Half-elven, brother of Elrond, who chose to counted among men rather than elves. The downfall of the kingdom more than 3000 years later was survived by a few, but these men including Elendil carried the westernesse pride to further generations. Tryadelion's attire is a remembrance of the great Númenorean kingdom and deeds of its people.

Chest: Forveng Wraith's Plate, gold dye (drop from Barad Gularan; also available as Westernesse Steel Breastplate of Vigour)
Legs: Enduring Westernesse Steel Leggins of Fate, gold dye (world drop; also crafted)
Head: Tarchar, gold dye (Mirkwood barter item)
Shoulders: Westernesse Shoulder Guards, gold dye (world drop; also crafted)
Feet: Westernesse Boots, gold dye (world drop; also T4 crafted as e.g. West-Land Boots of Vibrance)
Back: Sergeant at Arms Cloak of Adlan, default dye (Skirmish barter item)

Crimson Thunder

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{[["☆","★"]]}

So take a step towards the light 

The crimson sky fullfills the night

 The revelation is near

Follow the signs of the Crimson Thunder...

Crimson Thunder lyrics (Hammerfall)

Chest: Breastplate of the North-Drake, red dye (drop from the Rift)
Legs: Sturdy Dwarf-make Defender's Leggings, crimson dye (T3 crafted)
Head: Hardened Elven Officer's Resolute Helm, crimson dye (T4 crafted)
Shoulders: Barrow-warrior's Shoulder Pads, crimson dye (Great Barrow level 25 set)
Hands: Defender's Gloves, crimson dye (T3 crafted)
Feet: Defender's Boots, crimson dye (T3 crafted)
Back: Ceremonial Cloak of Shadow and Flame, crimson dye (Store)

Inspiration: Éowyn, Shield-maiden of the Rohirrim

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

"While the Shield-maidens of Rohan were rarely called to war, they were nevertheless as well-trained and versed in the arts of battle as their male counterparts. This book tells the tale of one such Maiden caught in unexpected battle, who in striving to defend her Lord against a great onslaught, sang out in clearest tones a stirring song of war as she fought. Such was the power of her voice that even the Orcs whom she faced saw her not as a frail woman, but as a great warrior to be feared."

A Shield-maiden's Song, Guardian class quest

For this inspiration I chose the very model for all Guardians in game and one of the most significant Rohirrim warriors, Éowyn, daughter of the House of Eorl. She referred to herself as a Shield-maiden of Rohan, and was even called so by Aragorn in the movie. We also saw her protecting Merry from the Witch King of Angmar, which we all know is a great deed requiring a lot of bravery. This is my tribute to Éowyn's guardian skills.

Chest: Hauberk of the Helmingas, default dye (Isengard pre-order)
Head: Thick Steel Helm, dark green dye (T3 crafted)
Hands: Defender's Gloves, umber dye (T3 crafted)
Feet: Steel Boots, grey dye (T3 crafted)
Back: Plain Cloak, rivendell green dye (Outfitter vendor)

Guest: Dakohro of Eldar

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Dakohro values tradition - a captain, no matter if man or woman, should always be ready to protect allies, and therefore he or she should be equipped accordingly. She prefers good old fashioned ringmail over fancy elven stuff one can now buy on the market. She values the message of her ancestors, who have won many battles in traditional armour ready to face many enemies. Meet her in the battle, and you'll know she's right.

Chest: Westland Armour of Vibrance, black dye (world drop)
Legs: Leggings of Mirath, umber dye (world drop)
Head: Helm of the Brazen Call, sienna dye (Moria barter)
Shoulders: Shoulder of the Brazen Call, sienna dye (Moria barter)
Hands: Hidden Guard Guantlets, gold dye (Quest: Book 9, Chapter 8: Mazog in the Web)
Feet: Steel Boots, umber dye (T3 crafted)
Back: Thaliongol, sienna dye (Mirkwood barter)

Guest: Dakorandir of Eldar

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Like most hailing from Gondor, Dakorandir prefers a chainmail armor, with extra metal protection. The colder climate of the north has influenced his choice of helmet and leg armor though. The fur-lined helmet is more suitable compared to plain steel, and a short chainmail battle kilt would be too cold for long nights and travels. Instead, he had an armorsmith add metal reinforcements to a cloth battle-skirt to go on top of the thigh-length chainmail.

Chest: Elven Steel Breastplate of Vigour, black dye (world drop)
Legs: Stone-reader's Trousers, grey dye (Moria lore-master epic set)
Head: Warg Hide Helm, default dye (Quest: Coat of Shadow)
Shoulders: Thick Dwarf-make Steel Shoulder Guards, washed (T3 crafted)
Hands: Gauntlets of the Dwarrowdelf, default dye (Quest: Vol. II, Book 8, Chapter 4: A Relic in Nalâ-dûm)
Feet: Leather Boots, grey dye (Outfitter vendor)
Back: Twisttongue's Cloak, black dye (Quest: Riddles in the Stone)

Wish: Battle-ready dwarven guardian

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Dedicated reader and guest submitter (1, 2) of this blog contacted me based on this article wishing for a battle-ready outfit for his dwarven guardian Dwalfor. He mentioned Dwalfor could use some woman touch, so I tried to give him some (metaphorically speaking, of course ;).

He had following requirements:

• distinctive dwarven look (no elven pieces etc.)
• battle-ready look, so chainmail/plate stuff over robes and fancy hats
• pieces can come from all sources except BG, OD and Rift raid drops

Dwalfor also sent me a picture of his character at that moment, wearing Lossoth set dyed blue. As he didn't specify preferred colour in his requirements, I chose blue (navy in particular) as the dominant colour for the new outfit, because I knew he liked it on the previous outfit he's been wearing. I sent him the first design to check if I took the right direction:

He liked the chest piece and gloves, but wasn't sure about the rest. He thought the leggings made Dwalfor look fat, wanted to see more cloaks and asked about any helmet resembling Gimli's helm from the LoTR movies (not round on the top):

This was a very interesting challenge for me, as I always struggled with choosing a good helmet :) But I found something I really liked. This was my second design:

Dwalfor was very happy about this version. He liked the leggings, shoulders, cloak and helm and praised avoiding of Wood-Wanderer's Cloak which I also attempted to use (I sent him pictures of a few different pieces tried out and the composition above as my preferred one). The only thing left were the boots - they didn't match the colour of the rest of the outfit really well. So I changed them and sent the final design to Dwalfor:

As he was very satisfied with the result, we met ingame (we both play on EU-Snowbourn server) and I lent him all pieces except for the reputation cloak, to save some time crafting, and a while after he sent me pictures of him proudly posing in the new outfit.

I am very happy he liked my initial idea and he taught me a lot about dwarven outfitting (and I mean it)!

Please let us both know how do you like Dwalfor's final armour composition in the comments :)

Final result:
Chest: Chainmail Chestpiece of Fleetness, navy dye (world drop)
Legs: Steel Leggings, navy dye (T3 crafted)
Head: Gleaming Dwarf Mask, navy dye (world drop)
Shoulders: Mirrored Dwarf-Make Knight's Shoulder Guards, navy dye (T5 crafted)
Hands: Defender's Gloves, navy dye (T3 crafted)
Feet: Defender's Boots, navy dye (T3 crafted)
Back: Warden's Wrap, navy dye (Annuminas reputation barter)

Little defender

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Who's ever said that hobbit guardians are a joke? Try to tell it to this incredible gal! Not many men, dwarves or elves could compete with her stubborn determination to protect her allies. The enemies might not tremble the first time they see her, but once they feel her shield smashing their parts she can crack at, they quickly change the opinion.

Chest: Westernesse Steel Breastplate of Vigour, red dye (world drop)
Legs: (Sturdy) Dwarf-Make Defender's Leggings, red dye (T3 crafted)
Head: Dwarf-make Defender's Helm, red dye (T3 crafted)
Shoulders: Shining Chainmail Shoulder Guards, red dye (world drop)
Hands: Defender's Gloves, red dye (T3 crafted)
Feet: Boots of the Sun-lands, red dye (world drop)
Back: Golden Tree Summer Cloak, red dye (Summer festival)

Gondorian warrior

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Maney has been born and raised in Minas Tirith as one of many children once to become soldiers of proud Gondorian army. His father was a member of Steward Ecthelion's guard until his death. Years after Steward Denethor took over the reign, Maney's family has retreated to far Bree Land in order to raise their children in peace. 
Now, in these dark times, Maney decided to join Free Peoples' forces against the Dark Lord and fight for Gondor, despite his disagreement with Denethor's rule. Men must unite if they are to beat the most feared enemy, once and for all!

Chest: Westernesse Steel Breastplate of Vigour, ered luin blue dye (world drop)
Legs: Leggings of Orod-na-Thôn, ered luin blue dye (world drop)
Head: Helm of Orod-na-Thôn, default dye (undyable; world drop)
Shoulders: Mirrored Dwarf-Make Knight's Shoulder Guards, ered luin blue dye (T5 crafted)
Hands: Elven Steel Gauntlets, ered luin blue dye (Heavy Armoursmith in Rivendell)
Feet: Boots of the Sun-lands, ered luin blue dye (world drop)
Back: Radiant Cloak, navy dye (T5 crafted)

Fiery huntress

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Sidgrid believes in the val en' naur, power of fire. Her arrows always carry seed of flame and cause the most profound wounds to the enemies of the Free People. She draws courage from meditations in Hall of Fire where she asks Aulë for advice and guidance. Her spirit has never been broken and never will be, for she is the daughter of fire, predestined to once face the Dark Lord himself!

Chest: Elven Warrior's Armour, crimson dye (T5 crafted)
Legs: Leggings of Orod-na-Thôn, crimson dye (world drop)
Shoulders: Rock-Climber's Shoulder Guards, crimson dye (T6 crafted)
Hands: Scout's Gloves, crimson dye (T6 crafted)
Feet: Golden Host Boots of the Gloaming, crimson dye (T6 crafted)
Back: Cloak of the Raven, crimson dye (Fall festival)

Guest: Silanish of Snowbourn

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Even though it might look so, Silanish is not a hunter. This champion of Snowbourn believes his strength lies in quick moves as he strikes enemies, who think they surround him - but in fact, he surrounds them! His agile moves are deadly and he doesn't need fiercely looking heavy armour to prove that.

Chest: Sturdy Westernesse Armour, default dye (T4 crafted)
Legs: Hardened Steel Leggings, default dye (T3 crafted) 
Shoulders: Sturdy Westernesse Shoulders, default dye (T4 crafted)
Hands: Sturdy Westernesse Gloves, default dye (T4 crafted)
Feet: Sturdy Westernesse Boots, default dye (T4 crafted)
Back: Cloak of the Golden Wood, default dye (Skirmish vendor)