The Honor Guard

Okay, this is purely fanciful.

I like armour to look fairly realistic and ready for battle.  I don’t usually go for the armour sets in which it looks like your toon would impale her ear if she tilted her head sideways, or like your warrior Elf would have to watch out to not trip over his own boot-spikes.  I like realism.

But then I found a fantastic deal on a stack of rose dye on the Auction House and started fiddling, and…well.  Call this ceremonial armour in the truest sense, perhaps.  Call this the honor guard of a place or person of great importance to the Elves of Celondim, more like a living banner than a warrior about to cross swords with Orc or goblin.

The outfit is a very simple one: the Sellsword’s crafted armour set (which appears under other names as well), as well as the Symbelmynë circlet and cloak. The armour is all dyed rose; the Symbelmynë items are dyed gold for contrast. I’m especially pleased how adding gold dye to the circlet gives it such a different look.

Dress It Up: Summer Travelling Cloak

Here are the basic “Dress It Up” rules:  Dress it up however you like, on either gender, any race, in any fashion, and leave a comment with a link to your outfit, whether it’s on your own blog or in one of the many photo hosting sites.

I’m a slaaaacker.  I was all driving down the coast seeing the ocean today, and not posting.  So have a better-late-than-never Dress It Up in commemoration of stunning blue skies and choppy water.  The Summer Travelling Cloak is a sort of preview for life After the Farmers Faire:  that is, it’s a barter option for the Summer Festival happening next month.  It’s a gorgeous cloak.  Most dyes work wonderfully with it.  I’ve chosen Evendim blue in honor of sea and sky, but it looks fantastic as well with burgundy or crimson or one of the other blues.

What would you (or have you) done with this cloak?

Here’s a closer-up view of the tree motif.

Friday Poll: Farmers Fluff

So!  Have you tried the new Farmers Faire yet?  What’s your take on it?  Me, I like the mushroom hunt a lot, and I’m enjoying the fun of casual fishing.  I am not going anywhere NEAR Bywater except to barter for pretty things, given that the chatspam of all the NPCs is absolutely maddening.

I really like the cosmetics, though!  So here, let’s do a poll about those!

Multiple choices are allowed!  As for me, I want all the “Farmer’s Fancy” stuff, and everything you can hold in your hand.  The Gardener’s and animal masks are less appealing.  Though…the duck is fairly awesome.

Tell me other things in comments!

Seen on the Streets: Farmers Faire

New festival, yay!  There are some terrific new cosmetic items in the Farmers Faire, which bloggers more diligent and awesome than li’l ol’ me will totally catalog.  What struck me, when I showed up in Bywater to start scolding and drinking and plying Mayor Whitfoot with condiments, was that everyone seemed to be wearing their festival best.  So have a few screenshots of Landroval players looking great.

Hilrond of The Crimson Order

The character is also a fisherman by trade, so this is just flat-out awesome.

Circlets go Round and Round

…okay, the title’s a stretch.

But anyway, I’ve received requests for more close-up catalogs of cosmetic items, and I decided today’s victim would be Circlets.  It’s a non-comprehensive list, sadly — I’m missing the Ceremonial Circlet of Graven Word and the Ceremonial Hat of the Elder Days.  Anything else?  Feel free to let me know or link a screenshot of the above in comments.

Click on thumbnails to see a larger view of each circlet.  Which is your favorite?

The Simbelmynë Circlet is a barter reward (new in 2012) from the Spring Festival.

The Circlet of the Eorlingas was a pre-order item from the Rise of Isengard expansion.

The Fine Elven Circlet is an occasional drop from Gift Boxes.

The Circlet of Fresh-picked Flowers is new in the Farmers Faire.

The Circlet of the Helmingas was a pre-order item from the Rise of Isengard expansion.

The Circlet of Adamant is available in the LOTRO Store.

The Circlet of Men is offered as an occasional reward from festival Gift Boxes.

The Ceremonial Circlet of the Seven Stars is available at the Skirmish camp cosmetics vendor.

The Turquoise Summer Circlet is a reward from the Summer Festival.

The Circlet of the Westfold was a pre-order item from the Rise of Isengard expansion.

The White Rose Circlet is another Spring Festival barter item.

The Winged Circlet (you could put your eye out!) is available at Skirmish camp cosmetic vendors.

In mid-August, the lovely Ivy of The Ivy and I will be doing another series of outfits based on a common theme:  this time, we’ll be creating outfits based on titles both of us have chosen.  I’m looking forward to it!

Blogging the Process: A New Outfit for a Huntress

Apologies for no Seen on the Streets yesterday!  Life here in sunny California seems to be getting more complicated by the day, but I still have gorgeous weather and avocados and orange trees, so I’m clinging to those in the midst of chaos.  *cling!*

So instead of a Dress it Up, which is my normal Sunday thang, I thought I’d offer an original outfit instead, one that I’ll be using in-game instead of just showing off and then tossing back in the virtual wardrobe.  Silevren, a woman of the Dúnedain, used to dress like this:

The Hooded Cloak of the Dove really made this outfit.

Friday Poll: Apparel Dummies

This is a short and sweet one.  I’m undecided on whether or not I’ll ever use apparel dummies:  I think the concept is interesting, I wish the separates sold as separates, since some pieces are rare and some not-so-much, and I find it odd to see sparkly scarecrows in some of the more remote corners of the world.  That said, I’m not offended when reminders of the store pop up in-game, either as objects like the apparel dummies or reminders in the UI.  If those very few small reminders get the game all the way to Gondor (and beyond?), I’m okay with that.

If you’re unsure what I’m talking about, the awesome Hymne of Cosmetic Lotro has a great post here.

To sum up my feelings about the apparel dummies:  I think the era of huge, subscription-based MMOs (excepting WoW) is pretty much fading.  Free-to-play isn’t going anywhere, and while I hope games keep their advertising subtle, I think the apparel dummies are kind of nifty when they’re placed next to vendors in market centers.

House and Home: Just for the Pretty

So usually I have no problem coming up with little narratives for my posts.  This time, I struggled.  Not because I don’t like the topic or the screenshots.  Instead, I just found myself saying, “Oh, I like that!” and “Ooh pretty!”  So in the end, I decided (as I do with my real-life home) that “pretty” is just fine as a reason to be.

There’s no reason why your in-game house shouldn’t delight your eye!  I spend a lot of time roleplaying in various homestead sites.  NB:  Turbine, I’ll do a lot more rp in busier town areas and meet more people when simple emotes like “Laenlis’s character leans against the stone wall as she listens to the band” aren’t broadcasted over an area three zip codes in diameter.

I use my houses as another facet of character, whether it’s to show a certain nationality, a level of riches, an occupation (big-game hunter?  scholar?), or just someone really obsessed with dark wall colors (*cough*).

I love the contrast between the purple wall and the rich cherry wainscoting. I tried to echo that same effect by using the Small High Seas Rug on the floor.

The Elder Dwarf

This old Dwarf is bold.  He stands proudly in front of snow and stone alike in his blood-red helm and armour to match.  Does a goblin seek to aim its spear?  Let it!  The Elder has no patience with foes who hide.

I used this helm as an example in my Friday Poll about HATS, and it hasn’t been far from my outfitting mind since.  Dwarves can handle a whole lotta helm.  They’re broad, brawny, noble sorts, and if any of the races in our beloved Tolkien mythos can handle helms and pauldrons with spikes sticking every which way, it’s Dwarves.

In real life, I am a cat lover. I always feel bad bashing lynxes in game.

Seen on the Streets: Botild of Rohan

Today’s Seen on the Streets is a good friend of mine, Celeveren.  I previously featured her Haradrim character Aminah, and today I’d like to show off another of her characters’ outfits.  The player is a person who likes to rp against-the-grain sort of characters, whether younger, older, marginalized, or from cultures not often explored by other roleplayers.

Botild is an older woman, a shieldmaiden who now serves as a caretaker and healer of horses in the Eastemnet hall to which she is bound.  She has never followed a traditional path, and her garments reflect both her practical job and her past as an armed defender.  Botild is not one for gowns.

She’s just a little hoarse. (OMG I crack myself up.)