The Cuthstan
We are getting closer and closer to Rohan! So with this 14th episode, I have a look at the new(ish) Great River region, specifically the Cuthstan a great statue erected to remind us of the friendship between Gondor and Rohan
We are getting closer and closer to Rohan! So with this 14th episode, I have a look at the new(ish) Great River region, specifically the Cuthstan a great statue erected to remind us of the friendship between Gondor and Rohan
Happy Tolkien Reading Day!
"When four hobbits and a ranger find their way over the Last Bridge and into the Trollshaws they come upon a strange but familiar sight: three stone trolls." Though these three louts are the icons of the Trollshaws, there is a lot more to it than just Bert, Tom, and William. Merric of A Casual Stroll to Mordor joins me as we sift through the autumn leaves and ford-water to find out more of this zone.
Neek-breek! Breek-neek! It rings in your ears like creeping death. The buzzing, the moisture, the stinging and biting, the ruinous spiders and goblins All in a days work for you adventurers passing by Midgewater Marshes. And on the far side comes sweet relief as we find the Weather Hills and its most famousest peak, Weathertop. Have a look around these parts with me and Chris of MMOReporter.com as we go even further beneath your feet; like three inches worth of marshy water further beneath....
Ah, lovely West Angmar. It's like a nuclear waste land, if Sauron had developed the bomb. And who should join me here in this wretched land? Why, Doc Holliday of course! Have a listen and get a better appreciation for the lands of the Witch-king.
Ah, the tail end of the Yule Festival and all the snowballs and goodies that come with it. In this episode I have a look at Turbine's holiday creation and see how well it fits here in Middle-earth.
Ah, the Bridge. It's the first sight a traveler sees before crossing the Baranduin into the Little Land. This week I have a long, hard look at that Bridge and we see who's made it and why, and why it has everything to do with the Shire. Enjoy!
The West Gate, Durin's Door, the Walls of Moria. For many LotRO players it was a first step into a great beyond, as both the opening to the alien realm of Moria and also as the games first full expansion. This week I have a look at those walls, the story of Bosi and company, and, of course, the Watcher in the Water.
Time to take off to that great, white North (eh?) this week on Beneath Your Feet! I'll be exploring the permafrosted wonderland of Forochel and see what the books have to say and how well LotRO interpreted this frosty zone.
Goldenstar of A Casual Stroll to Mordor joined me this week for a trip to the great lake of Eriador. The ruins of Annuminas, the remnant of Rangers, the sheer beauty of the vista make this an amazingly scenic zone.
I'm often concerned with the number of proper nouns I use in this show; if you've never read the Silmarillion, it can be a problem. Who are the Noldor? The Vanyar? The Edain? Who are the Valar? My hope is that this episode will fill in some of those gaps for those of you less familiar with the deeper histories of Middle-earth
Ah, Bree. That quiet crossroads of a village. This week I took a stroll through Bree, musing on its sturdy history. Not unlike the other episodes so far, it's hard to sift through and figure out which information to pack into the tiny amount of allotted time.
This episode was quite difficult, as it is such a rich zone in locale and history. I didn't want to overload anyone with a huge amount of information and proper nouns, but I didn't want to dilute anything. I wanted to talk about the vistas but not dwell on them. I also wanted to talk mostly about the mountains proper, and not the lowlands included in the same zone in LotRO (Falathlorn and the like); those are for another episode.
Initially I thought that perhaps Hobbiton was too small a space to do a show on but, as you might suspect, so much as a chip opened up a good deal of information to include. It's fun to know that with almost every bit of real estate in Middle-earth there is at least a ladle-full of history, if not a flood. So enjoy the first episode and join me next time for an exploration of Ered Luin , the Blue Mountains