Singer of the Sutcrofts

Isenbran, friend to and song-singer of the Rohirrim, travels the land of the Horse-lords in search of battle, but more importantly, in search of heroes of whom he writes epics and lays about. Armed with a hammer and shield of Rohan, along his trusty theorbo, he roams the vast green lands.

My apologies, I didn't initially want to post a Rohan-themed outfit next, but I thought that my Hobbit deserved some attention. The base of this outfit was the breastplate (yes, this is the heavy-armoured Hobbit minstrel I mentioned in my previous post) that I got a long time ago when Isenbran just reached level 75, I believe, from one of the quests I completed in my desperate rush to get my first war-steed. Also, notice how I've been using alliteration in titles so far; have a guess/personal bet how long I can keep this up!

At the time I was creating this outfit, I particularly enjoyed putting light armour on heavy-armoured classes, and vice versa. I wondered what it would look like having a fully armoured minstrel charge into the middle of the battlefield, especially during epic battles at Helm's Deep, since minstrels are such hard hitters anyway. I was satisfied with how it looked - it was different - and decided to keep the breastplate on.

The Map-maker's Travel Pack was intended for another minstrel character I made to play with a friend, but since she stopped playing I had stopped playing that minstrel as well, so I thought maybe Isenbran could use that back piece in an outfit. I was surfing through my wardrobe when I accidentally clicked on it, then suddenly I saw a battle-ready minstrel. All I needed was a helm, and thankfully I had one in the wardrobe at the time as well that fit the Rohirric theme of the breastplate. With that, my outfit was completed. I keep hands and feet exposed as to not forget his roots as a humble hobbit, but just look at how well he fits in among the big folk of Rohan!

Head: Enduring Great River Helmet of Agility (olive);

Chest: Utred's Decorated Breastplate (red);

Back: Map-maker's Travel Pack (dark green).

Roving Rohirrim

Eadyth has always dreamed of leaving her father's farm and exploring the lands of Rohan. Finally given her own horse, she takes only her trusty bow, a quiver of arrows, and her father's old helm with her on her much unexpected journey.

When the Surcoat of Nárië was released, I just had to get my hands on it. Not necessarily for outfitting at that time, but just because it looked cool and I was sure to be able to use it some time in the future. A few months passed and I had finally got into Rohan. Wandering around the beautiful greenery throughout the lands, I was still wearing the same old grey-ish lightweight outfit I used throughout the Great River. I looked through my vault and here sat a chest piece with the perfect colours when dyed crimson.

The helm, of course, was one of the many quest rewards you get in Rohan, designed specifically for the region. To be quite honest, I don't particularly love the look of some of those pieces, but I still manage to find good uses for them, such as the heavy armour chest piece on my Hobbit minstrel (yes, you read that right). Nonetheless, I think the helm compliments the outfit beautifully, not only cosmetic-wise, but to tell a story: Eadyth's story.

Green, particularly olive in LOTRO, has always been the colour that comes to mind when thinking of Rohan, but I always wanted to challenge that, just as Turbine has done; you see Rohirrim wearing all sorts of colours: blue, white, orange, red, yellow. I wanted to create an outfit that said "Rohan" without having green as the base colour. I think the subtle hints such as the horse-designed bow and the Rohirric helm helped me achieve that, and now I firmly and honestly believe that somehow we can all make those other work well in a Rohan-themed outfit.

Head: Cysthelm (red);

Shoulders: Potent Skirmish Shoulders of the Mark (sienna);

Chest: Surcoat of Nárië (crimson);

Back: Sturdy Quiver (olive);

Hands: Padded Gloves of Kingstead (olive);

Feet: Arrow of the West Boots (umber);

Bow: Legendary Hunter's Bow of the Third Age.