Guest: Grimthold of Estel

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Let me introduce Grimthold, a great champion and fierce defender of Bree. Wherever battle calls he will be there. No matter the cost he will stand and fight to protect what he cherishes. He is a champion, a deadly machine, a well trained warrior that fights against Sauron's hordes with merciless ferocity. Always in the front row of the melee he is the first to jump in and slice everything around. He lives by the sword and surely will die by it. His motto is: "Kill them before they kill you!"

Grimthold said about his outfit: "I wanted my champion to have a real plate armor, something totally crazy with a lot a metal plate. I found some nice stuff for the shoulders, the helmet, the gauntlets and the boots (that I LOVE!!) but couldn't find anything for the chest and leggings... so I decided to go with the Ost Dunnoth pieces for chest, legs and boots that went not bad all together. The first version of my "battle ready" champion was with no cloak and the helmet. He now wears a cloak and withdraws his helm when he is not in the middle of a battle. This way he has a more civil outfit that doesn't scare children:) Later I decided to keep the cloak always on. So here is the final version of my super heavy champ, at least the most heavy I could have made him. I switch helm/no helm whenever I feel the need for role-playing purposes or just because I prefer a look over another."

I saw this outfit on forums a few days before Grimthold sent it to me and it stunned me. Such a perfect heavy warrior's gear! The combination of silver and gold is amazingly well balanced and Grimthold definitely knows how to make astonishing screenshots :) I hope you'll enjoy this outfit as much as I did!

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

Chest: Lesser Blade of the West Breastplate, gold dye (Ost Dunnoth champion level 65 set)
Legs: Lesser Blade of the West leggings, gold dye (Ost Dunnoth champion level 65 set)
Helm: Gongarab, white dye (The Tower of Orthanc, T1 Saruman chest drop)
Shoulders: Hyrde-Axle, default dye (Dunland quest)
Hands: Ceremonial Dragon-scale Gloves, white dye (Skirmish barter)
Feet: Lesser Boots of Dundirith, white dye (Ost Dunnoth guardian level 65 set)
Back: Cloak of the Westfold, default dye (RoI pre-order)

Mount: White-clad Horse of the Gap (RoI pre-order)

Summerstorm

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Brewbelly, the Peacekeeper of Maur Tulhau, has been raised in Gloomglens, but soon after the Rangers visited her village, she joined them. She is a talented minstrel and sings of the legends of Enedwaith, where paths of men, southerners and hobbits cross. She has been very helpful during negotiations between the Rangers and Enedwaith clan leaders, as she quickly understood both cultures well.

No matter how serious job Brewbelly has, she is still a hobbit in the first place and she knows how to enjoy her life. Since joining the Grey Company, she gets to travel a lot and she loves it. Even in the heaviest summer rains (which become blizzards in northern lands), she is happy to see new places. Her joy of life is contagious and that's why her fellowship, in which she's by far the tiniest member, adores her.

This post is made in a rush - as you can see, I didn't even wait for good weather in Middle-earth, although the post was intended to bear summer atmosphere. The thing is that I couldn't resist making  a quick outfit around the new summer festival hat, after I've seen it in Hymne's preview, before I go for a business trip. This isn't my last outfit featuring this hat, because it's just gorgeous, so I hope you like this quickie at least a bit :)

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

Chest: Reveller's Gilded Party Dress, forest green dye (Store)
Head: Summerdays Hat, default dye (Summer festival)
Back: Cloak of the Peace-keeper, default dye (Collector's edition reward)

Emotes:
./spin (Store)
./wave
./lookaround

Fire storm

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

The fire controls him. He controls the fire. And sometimes he loses control entirely and that's when the lightening comes. Freygald has been known amongst his kin as a little unstable dwarf, not really the one you would like to make mad. When he's angry, he doesn't stop until there's nothing else than burning ground. Lucky for his fellows, things that make him angry the most are enemies and lack of beer.

Those who haven't denied a good pint to Freygald have known him as the most devoted friend, willing the sacrifice everything for success of the mission. Despite his fiery nature, he is very wise and knows a lot about rune magic. He taught many rune-keepers now considered masters of their art, and none of them knows how old Freygald is. Even for a dwarf, he's seen a lot of years pass by and that might also be the reason for his occasional madness. After all, the whole world is mad, so its his only weapon.

When character slots were on sale last week, I didn't hesitate and bought another two (so I have 14 characters at the moment). I realized the only reason I made so few dwarven rune-keeper outfits was that my only dwarf was a champ, and I had no chance to have the beautiful RK skills on dwarf's screenshots. This is now a matter of the past - let me introduce my new character, Freygald :)

I've had this robe for a while now without making an outfit proudly presenting it. I hope I have achieved that now. I haven't used any shoulder piece, because the shoulders of this robe are very elaborate and it would be a pity to cover them. I'm not happy about the satchel though, but what can I do for level 7 rune-keeper :)

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

Chest: Robe of the Learned, red dye (Helegrod rune-keeper set, skirmish barterer)
Head: Hat of the Learned Master, red dye (Ettenmoors Lore-master trader; shares similar appearance with Stone-reader's Hat)
Hands: Ceremonial Gloves of the North Star, red dye (Skirmish cosmetics vendor - Rift heavy)
Feet: Reinforced Leather Dunlending Boots, crimson dye (Dunland quest)
Back: Preserver's Cloak, crimson dye (Dunland quest)

Guest: Aisana of Elendilmir

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Aisana is an elven hunter, who is devoted strongly to the forces of light. As a young child, she had a dream of majestic deer who revealed a prophecy of her life - to kill the servants of evil in order to protect the pure. Since then, she's spent a lot of time protecting those in need, but the place she often returns to is her beautiful home, Lothlórien. There she sometimes spends a little time dressing up - she's seen a lot of darkness, but deep in her heart she is still a little girl who wants to be charming.

I love this guest submission really much. Even though the screenshots quality is not very good, I see an amazingly well matched outfit, which is battle ready yet still elegant. Unfortunately Aisana has a really old computer, but she managed to capture the atmosphere of Lothlórien perfectly and used daylight to the screenshots' advantage.

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

Chest: Town-saver's Jacket, Ered Luin blue dye (Warden Rift level 50 set; ceremonial version available from skirmish barterer)
Legs: Elven Warrior's Leggings, Ered Luin blue dye (T5 crafted)
Head: Threadbare Hat of the Dunland Healer, Ered Luin blue dye (Dunland quest)
Shoulders: Town-saver's Shoulders, gold dye (Warden Rift level 50 set; ceremonial version available from skirmish barterer)
Hands: Irman's Gloves, black dye (Barad Gúlaran - Udúnion drop; shares appearance with world drop Gauntlets of the Sun-lands)
Feet: Enduring Boots of Fleetness, rose dye (world drop; many other boots share the appearance)
Back: Fine Quiver, Ered Luin blue dye (Anniversary gift-box)

Ceremonial Moria armour in store - worth buying?

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{[["☆","★"]]}

Until August 30th, you have perfect chance to improve your wardrobe by some of the most appealing cosmetic items without effort put into group action. It is really easy to get Medallions of Moria nowadays, but if you're just a solo player or miss too many levels to be able to go to Moria, I really recommend checking out the store offer.

I'd like to give you another piece of advice too: sets of the Written Word/Poet's Heart, Shield-wall/Quiet Step and Whirlwind/Iron Arm share exactly the same looks with crafted Lothlórien sets:

• Ceremonial Robe (Leggings, Shoulders, Gloves, Shoes) of the Written Word/Poet's Heart = Robe (Leggings, Shoulders, Gloves, Shoes) of Lothlórien
• Ceremonial Jacket (Leggings, Shoulders, Gauntlets, Boots) of the Shield-wall/Quiet Step = Coat (Leggings, Shoulders, Gauntlets, Boots) of the Golden Wood
• Ceremonial Breastplate (Leggings, Shoulders, Gauntlets, Boots) of the Whirlwind/Iron Arm = Hauberk (Leggings, Shoulders, Gauntlets, Boots) of the Galadhrim

It might still be worth buying these items - depends on your real money vs. ingame money/level ratio :) Crafting each of the abovementioned items costs around 600 silver + 1 week cooldown and they are usually not sold on auction hall nowadays. You have to do your own math if it's worth 295 Turbine Points.

However, the head pieces of these sets are exclusive to Moria armour/ceremonial store items - Lothlórien crafted head pieces look differently (and less attractive). So it's definitely worth buying:

• Ceremonial Helm of the Shield-wall
• Ceremonial Helm of the Brazen Call
• Ceremonial Helm of the Whirlwind
• ...and the other three ceremonial Moria helms - they are all beautiful and unique!

For inspiration, check out some of outfits published on my blog which feature Moria items being on sale in store:

Sir Kay, Knight of the Round Table
Heritage of Cardolan
Hard work pays off
Into the fire
Inspiration: Rían of Bëor and Simbelmynë
Guest: Keeper of the Forgotten Fortress by Thoargile
Revel among Arnorian ruins
Guest inspiration: Haldir by Thoargile
Captain of the Greenway Garrison

Ghost rider

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

He rides the plains of Eriador, always accompanied by gruesome shriek, and yet he is not a Nazgûl. People say he sold his soul to the power of evil to acquire superhuman strength and fear resistance, but the wise know different. Maney was once an ordinary warrior, champion of his unit, but he felt so powerless. When he was seventeen years old and saw his dear brother and fellow die at the hands of remorseless barrow-wight, he has made his decision.

Maney started training really hard, spending every waken hour practicing his skills with a sword, endurance and courage. He sought challenges and was always there where people needed a savior, especially against undead servants of the worst evil. Soon, however, people started to fear him for his unnatural skill and introversion, caused by deep grief. They started calling him a Ghost rider, and he gratefully assumed this role. And so he rides and rides, knowing only in his heart who is on the side of good or evil.

I love dark outfits. Sometimes I miss the "evil" part of gaming in LOTRO (don't get me wrong, I don't torture young players in other MMOs ;)) and so I try to simulate this side in Middle-earth too. That's why my personal favorite in Yule Outfit Contest 2011 was Kemendin with his Herne the Hunter. Coincidentally, my today's outfit is also a dark-themed rider, inspired by Marvel's Ghost Rider series. It might resemble the Loki inspired outfit we created more than a year ago together with my fiancé, because the goat mask is very unique :), but the theme is different.

On Saturday night I spent a few hours leveling my champion from level 11 to 18, just to get Cleave. This skill looks so amazing on screenshots that I knew my ghost rider should be able to perform it. Then I spent an hour trying to retouch the mobs' names out of screenshots (you can see the very unprofessional result on the first and third screenshot - I just hope not at the first sight :)). However, I hope I have managed to capture the atmosphere I wanted for this outfit.

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

Chest: Dwarf Steel Breastplate of Might, black dye (world drop; same skin is available from heavy armoursmith in Thorin's Hall)
Legs: Tattered Leggings of the Dunland Sage, black dye (Dunland quest)
Head: Visage of the Goat, black dye (Store)
Shoulders: Noriel's Folly, black dye (Great River quest)
Hands: Snow-dusted Travelling Gloves, black dye (Yule festival)
Feet: Boots of the Great Bow, black dye (Moria level 60 hunter teal set)
Back: Flames of the Deep, black dye (Skirmish trader - cosmetic items)

Mount: Steed of Night (Store)

Emotes:
./mountrearup (Store)
./lookaround
./smoke
Cleave (Champion level 18 skill)

Equestrian Fashion Contest for August

Rate:

{[["☆","★"]]}

Kiralynn of the Windy Acres Ranch is once again organizing a contest to satisfy our hunger for beautiful mounted outfits :) In contrast to previous very successful Galloping Gala Fashion Contest, this month's one is not taking place ingame, so everyone from each server can freely participate. All you have to do is follow the contest's rules and send Kiralynn your equestrian outfits. Winner will not only gain prestige, but also a 100 Turbine Points code!

For inspiration, you might want to check out some of mount-matching outfits published on LOTRO Fashion. And I am myself very curious about the outfits you will submit in Windy Acres Ranch contest! :)