Hidden Nuggets we see all the time...

I was just wandering what little, hidden nuggets from the books and lore players have found within the game, like something an NPC says, or a shingle hanging on an unused building. Perhaps someone has spotted something done in the tunnels or mines that caught their eye. Post them here so we can all enjoy them.

As an example, I'll start with a very obvious one that we all see every time we login, but I'll bet, many never caught the tie-in to the books. A few weeks ago, while deep in thought and kinda staring at the screen (scary huh), I read the following words and something clicked. I thought to myself, "Why does that look so familiar?", and then it hit me...

Directly below the login in the Launcher is the message center, where we always see the following :

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Click, friend, and enter.

Jul 03, 2007 15:15 EST
Welcome to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar!

Don't forget to visit the LOTRO forums for the latest news, information, and to chat with other players. For support questions, check out the LOTRO Knowledge Base, including video tutorials! Customer Service is also available in-game and by phone, chat, and email. See you in the game!

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Notice that heading? - Click, friend, and Enter. Simple, but actually taken from a very important part in the Fellowship's Journey - the Elven moon-runes over the door to The Mines of Moria. The phrase was at first misinterpretted by Gandalf, but he eventually hit upon his mistake and they gained access just in the nick of time (the movie erroneously has Frodo catching Gandalf's mistake)... the phrase to open the door was 'say, friend, and enter'.

So has anyone else spotted little golden nuggets like this elsewhere?

I've experienced none myself, however I have heard of some Evendim quests referring directly to Tolkien. This would include a quest where you must find a little toy dog on the beach. I don't remember exactly how it went, but Tolkien (or family) lost a little toy dog in the sand also.

Appreciated if someone could fix what I said, and make it correct. I don't know the exact information, but do know something similar exists :).

I never considered the Click etc to be hidden, it's just obvious marketing. They know their target demographic.

The other day I was running past Bag End and fell off the side of a small "cliff" and into a little pond. I wondered why I had never seen that pond before, and then realized it was the "watering hole" that Sam had talked about himself swimming in with Rose Cotton and her brothers. It was really cute how they added it in. Very obscure, but it was still there.

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Originally Posted by Shianjin

I've experienced none myself, however I have heard of some Evendim quests referring directly to Tolkien. This would include a quest where you must find a little toy dog on the beach. I don't remember exactly how it went, but Tolkien (or family) lost a little toy dog in the sand also.

Appreciated if someone could fix what I said, and make it correct. I don't know the exact information, but do know something similar exists :).

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I've seen a few posts about this but don't remember the particulars.

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Originally Posted by forlorn_hope

I never considered the Click etc to be hidden, it's just obvious marketing. They know their target demographic.

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I didn't really mean that that particular nugget was hidden, it is obviously right there in front of us at each login, yet how many actually caught it or know where it comes from.

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Originally Posted by Chrysoprase

The other day I was running past Bag End and fell off the side of a small "cliff" and into a little pond. I wondered why I had never seen that pond before, and then realized it was the "watering hole" that Sam had talked about himself swimming in with Rose Cotton and her brothers. It was really cute how they added it in. Very obscure, but it was still there.

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THAT's what I'm talking about! :) Thanks Chrysoprase.

Adder I'd be more suprised that people don't know where it comes from. I mean it was even in the movie! Or was it? hmm...

/me watches Fellowship again just to make sure.

There are some characters that show up in the Lone Lands in your 30's, won't mention which one just REALLY made me gush, but when I saw the character I knew immediately who it was and was giddy ( was in closed beta ). It's a pretty obscure character that if you've just read the Hobbit and the Trilogy you may not know who it is or how awesome it was to see them.

There's also three large trolls that are turned to stone around a campfire in the Trollshaws. It's kind of expected I suppose, but it's kinda out of the way from the quest routes and I loved finding it.

Theres a hobbit quest where a hobbit says he sneaked on a cart. This cart holding pipe weed was then taken far away by some brigands to a strange place with a huge tower in it and they talked to an old scary man whom they referred to as sharkey. (The hobbit ended up in Isengard and saw Saruman and shows how some of the shire pipe weed ended up in Isengard)

On the test server Roheryn theres a secret tavern where you could insta lvl your test character. The tavern is called the Eyes and Guard (Isengard) tarvern.

Most enemies North of Breetown serve Angmar while most enemies south of Breetown serve Isengard and in some quests you see some interfaction rivalry.

The statues in Thorins gate during the intro are changed when you enter Thorins gate in the persistent world.

You see Gandalf telling Thorin he'll get a "burglar" for the quest they're on in the dwarf intro.

All of the lands in the game are physically connected to one and other with no load screens between them except for Ered Luin which is isolated.

Ered Luin connects with the Shire.

I stumbled upon Bilbo's three trolls completely by accident as I was running away from actual trolls up in the Trollshaws. It completely made my day- I'll have to go back to the area and see them again.

The fact that there are giants, which are only briefly mentioned in the Hobbit, is completely awesome.

When I first saw Harry Goatleaf, I gushed. Also when I saw Bill Ferny's house, also gushed.

The Forsaken Inn- SO glad they added it in, despite the fact that it is only mentioned once within the whole trilogy. It really shows that they were paying attention to the book.

I also saw the brigands talking about "Sharkey"- completely made my day. Sharkey!

This thread has completely made my day. :D

I remember there being a half-starved pony in Bree. I thought it was Bill Ferny's pony, but I haven't re-read the books since I started playing the game so my memory is a little fuzzy on the details.

There are several NPCs that make reference to the mayor of Michel Delving and his new nickname Flour Dumpling (directly from the books). IIRC the town hole's ceiling collapsed and he got covered in dust and is a bit rotund, hence Flour Dumpling.

The camp where Frodo & Sam run into Gildor Inglorion is just south west of Woodhall.

As a matter of fact, just about all the taverns and other locations in the Shire are right where they are supposed to be from the book. Lots of Shire NPCs (Ted Sandyman, Gaffer Gamgee, Famer Maggot) are straight from the books.

The little camp at the foot of Weathertop where Strider and the Hobbits faced off against the Nazgul is right where it should be, complete with the little woodpile that Strider mentions was left there by his Dunedain kindred.

I could just go on and on...obviously they gave great attention to the books when they crafted the world, and they really nailed it.

Then they drank once round and became mighty merry all of a sudden. But they did not quite lose their wits. "Save us, Galion!" cried some, "you began your feasting early and muddled your wits!"

From The Hobbit, Chapter 9.

As you guys may know, one of the status effects of drinking can be "You've muddled your wits!" or something along those lines.

There's a bonfire on the west side of the Ford of Bruinen. That's the bonfire Glorfindel started in order to scare the Nazgul.

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Originally Posted by Berephon

This thread has completely made my day. :D

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Happy to have put a smile on yer face Berephon. :) It's these little things that make the world of Middle Earth in LOTRO 'feel' right. Thanks.

These are great folks! Keep them coming.

I didn't know about many of these mentioned locations that others are mentioning, either- I really am going to have to take my character out for a world tour today and check out all of these places!

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Originally Posted by Laire

The fact that there are giants, which are only briefly mentioned in the Hobbit, is completely awesome.

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Actually, they're mentioned in the Fellowship as well...when the Fellowship is trying to cross the Misty Mountains before they turn back in favor of Moria, they talk of giants.

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Originally Posted by Bonzoso21

Ered Luin connects with the Shire.

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Actually, no...that's why there is a loading screen when you pass. There's a chunk of land missing which will hopefully be added later.

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Originally Posted by Beowulfe

Actually, they're mentioned in the Fellowship as well...when the Fellowship is trying to cross the Misty Mountains before they turn back in favor of Moria, they talk of giants.

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Truly? It's been a long while since I've read FOTR completely instead of select chapters- I'll keep a look for that passage the next time I read it! *g*

I haven't rolled a Dwarf in a long time (since closed beta) but I recall when you started as Dwarf you were dropped into The game not far from Gandalf and a dwarf (perhaps Gloin?) and the tail of the conversation is gandalf being told he should have chosen a better burglar.

A nice reference to Bilbo's role in the Hobbit, and there are references later when Bilbo is referenced by Dwarves.

And don't forget The Inklings meeting in a back room of the Bird and Baby Tavern, and Ronald Dwale of Dwaling, who can't make it to the meeting.

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Originally Posted by raccoon_king

There's a bonfire on the west side of the Ford of Bruinen. That's the bonfire Glorfindel started in order to scare the Nazgul.

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AH! So that's why that's there! I always thought it was a troll bonfire that was missing its trolls. There are so many tidbits from the books that I've forgotten. I need to reread them one of these days.

* Shire Post Quests--there is a sentence in the beginning of Fellowship of the Rings mentioning that the postman was recruiting extra help for post services.
* Horse Quest--Quest mentions someone having come up from Rohan and that the King there had fallen ill. (Glimpses into Saruman's influence over Theoden)
* Though not positive, I thought I heard one of the White Hand Orcs growl, "Saruman."
* The rows of Hobbit houses on the hill over the Prancing Pony, just like mentioned in the book.
* The flower deed in the Old Forest--that was one of the most touching moments in the game, finding out the fate of the Entwives, with the possiblity that they could return.

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Originally Posted by Bonzoso21

Ered Luin connects with the Shire.

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Actually Ered Luin does not connect to the Shire. There is a missing region between Ered Luin and the Shire, hence the loading screen and the portal.

The Lead Dog is the toy that his son Michael lost while on vacation to the beach.

Michael was very distraught, he would not even put the dog down to dig in the sand, which is probably how it got lost.

JRR wrote a story about the dog and what happened to it to console his son. You can see it here:

http://www.amazon.com/Roverandom-J-R...ion/0007149115

Just slightly north of Bilbo's stone trolls you can find the troll's cave where Bilbo found Sting and Gandalf found Glamdring (Thorin got Orcrist as well). The cave has a large iron door with a huge keyhole in it.

It's not hidden, but I still love the fact that the game calls them "taters".

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Originally Posted by Yula_the_Mighty

Actually Ered Luin does not connect to the Shire. There is a missing region between Ered Luin and the Shire, hence the loading screen and the portal.

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This is true. If you look at the new LoTRO Google Map feature and zoom out, the missing area is obvious: http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Frodo...h_to_Rivendell. It's pretty huge (bigger than The Shire, I'd say).

The quest "Forgotten Company" (to find arrowheads in Fornost) is based on a really brief mention of those events in the intro to Fellowship of the Ring. Well played, Turbine.

and of course Halbarad and the Grey Company at Esteldin...

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Originally Posted by Halbarad

"This is an evil door, and my death lies beyond it. I will dare to pass it nonetheless...".

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Originally Posted by Reyph

All of the lands in the game are physically connected to one and other with no load screens between them except for Ered Luin which is isolated.

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I read in a dev chat that there is some landmass / content that will be added in the future between Ered Luin and the Shire, and that's why there's a "warp" thingie there.

Love this thread. There are a ton of things I've found along the way that pop out of the lore. Thats what makes this game more than just another MMO. Lifetimes of people that have poured themselves into Middle-Earth via the written word to have it take shape with a virtual one now is so much more than merely the sum of its parts.

I know one that stood out to me was while doing quests in Bree-land. I was running west of Bree and came upon a house. As I drew near it was revealed to be Bill Ferny's house. I suddenly had a tremendous anger come over me. I actually for no "in game" reason what so ever stopped in front of his door and stood there yelling insults and expletives at him in the "say" channel. I apoligize to any tender ears that may have been within the sound of my voice but his betrayel still burns so many years later.

Keep up the good work Turbine!

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Originally Posted by KelticSamurai

I know one that stood out to me was while doing quests in Bree-land. I was running west of Bree and came upon a house. As I drew near it was revealed to be Bill Ferny's house. I suddenly had a tremendous anger come over me. I actually for no "in game" reason what so ever stopped in front of his door and stood there yelling insults and expletives at him in the "say" channel. I apoligize to any tender ears that may have been within the sound of my voice but his betrayel still burns so many years later.

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Yeah, if only hobbits got a "Throw an Apple" racial trait.

Not sure if this is ture or not, but I read in a magazine (PC Gamers review of LOTRO, I think) a few months ago that the stars alignment in game is the same as if Tolkien himself were looking at the night sky during the time he was writing LOTR.

The one I saw most recently that gave me a chuckle was Gloin making a mention that he feared his company of dwarves was overstaying their welcome in Imladris, "much like he did at a certain hobbit's home some time ago."

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Originally Posted by Reyph

Most enemies North of Breetown serve Angmar while most enemies south of Breetown serve Isengard and in some quests you see some interfaction rivalry.

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This has been a shining gem for me. It's fantastic story design, IMO, and lends an enormous sense of scale to the conflict. Saruman's ambition is so clearly displayed, and it gives a real sense of immediacy when you learn the brigands in the southern Bree-lands are aligned with Isengard, though even they don't know it yet. And I really appreciate the thinking you have to do about Candaith's and Saeradan's speculation...they seem to have not quite properly guessed the real story, and I do enjoy not being able to take a character's word as canon.

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Originally Posted by Bertkelley7

Not sure if this is ture or not, but I read in a magazine (PC Gamers review of LOTRO, I think) a few months ago that the stars alignment in game is the same as if Tolkien himself were looking at the night sky during the time he was writing LOTR.

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The constellations that Tolkien mentions in LotR do appear in-game and in the alignment he describes. Our skies-guru was awesome!

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Originally Posted by Berephon

The constellations that Tolkien mentions in LotR do appear in-game and in the alignment he describes. Our skies-guru was awesome!

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Wow, that really is awesome ! Great work :)

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Originally Posted by Danegar

*snip*

There's also three large trolls that are turned to stone around a campfire in the Trollshaws. It's kind of expected I suppose, but it's kinda out of the way from the quest routes and I loved finding it.

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My favorite part about those guys is that one of them has a bird's nest behind its ear, which Aragorn mentions as being an odd adornment for a live troll (paraphrased, of course -- at work, no access to books) in FOTR. When I saw it, I went nuts and then had to explain to my fellowship members that I wasn't a psycho, just a Lord of the Rings fangirl :D

Well, not sure that this is "Hidden" exactly, but a hunter kin mate of mine got a pair of medium armour agility+ gloves that were, "Worn by Bard the Bowman as he let loose the arrow that killed Smaug." I thought that was pretty damn cool.

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Originally Posted by Eothain

It's not hidden, but I still love the fact that the game calls them "taters".

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Ha ha, yeah... I often get laughs from this... as in:

--> Player 1 [Trade]: "WTB Taters"
--> Player 2 [Trade]: "What's tater's precious?"
--> Player 3 [Trade]: "Po-ta-toes"

And more laughs from this..

--> Player 4 [Trade]: "Taters are potatoes in this game..."
*Which clearly has no idea that Player 2 is imitating Gollum* =)

Good times.

It's not quite a hidden nugget, but I really appreciate the humour that went into the description of cooked food items. One night, my wife was cooking up some roasted boar and suddenly laughed. I turned to my side and she pointed at the description: "it came from a mighty boar; now it's mighty tasty". Way to go Turbine for keeping it fun and light :).

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Originally Posted by Arcor

Ha ha, yeah... I often get laughs from this... as in:

--> Player 1 [Trade]: "WTB Taters"
--> Player 2 [Trade]: "What's tater's precious?"
--> Player 3 [Trade]: "Po-ta-toes"

Good times.

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Me and my wife say that to each other when we run across taters in the field. Yeah, we're such geeks :)

IIRC the moon shows up in the northern sky, while it should show up in the southern sky (at least in Eriador)

I could be misremembering though.

Brian

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Originally Posted by Alakranus

Just slightly north of Bilbo's stone trolls you can find the troll's cave where Bilbo found Sting and Gandalf found Glamdring (Thorin got Orcrist as well). The cave has a large iron door with a huge keyhole in it.

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hmm where is this exactly I would love to check it out :eek:

I really must take one of my characters on a tour. Some of these I had no idea were there. That night sky just blows my mind! It must have taken a lot of painstaking work to put in there.

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Originally Posted by Adder

So has anyone else spotted little golden nuggets like this elsewhere?

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I found some golden nuggets the other day. They were delicious with BBQ sauce.

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Originally Posted by Desiat0

I found some golden nuggets the other day. They were delicious with BBQ sauce.

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LMAO

This is the kind of stuff that makes my day :)

One of the NPCs in the Crafting Hall at Thorin's Hall tells you that Dwalin wants to build a statue of one of his traveling companions and the companion was not even a Dwarf!

It seems that the NPC is referring to Bilbo's trip with Dwalin (and the rest of the 14) in The Hobbit.

Cool lore-related inside reference.

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Originally Posted by OKANG5

This is true. If you look at the new LoTRO Google Map feature and zoom out, the missing area is obvious: http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Frodo...h_to_Rivendell. It's pretty huge (bigger than The Shire, I'd say).

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The Tower Hills. Where the three white tower still stand to watch over the lands, and to the far west. Legend has it that one of the King's seeing stones was held there, and the stone is one that is unaccounted for.

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Originally Posted by Hamma

hmm where is this exactly I would love to check it out :eek:

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The cave is actually west of Stone Trolls Glade along the path.

One of the first things I looked for in beta was Fatty Bolger's house in Crickhollow. I don't know why, but I just knew that if the door to the house was kicked in, then this game would be great. Sure enough, the house was right where it was supposed to be, and his door was shattered.

Then I ran to Farmer Maggot's to see if his dogs were there. Of course, they were, and named appropriately.

These were just the tip of the iceberg. There have been tons of little touches that have really done a lot to add flavor to LOTRO. The devs have done an awesome job and I can't wait to see the rest of Middle Earth.

The repeated Sharkey references are my favorite.

I don't know that this is mentioned in the books anywhere but I love the giant snowman in Ered Luin. It's very cool. :p

Here's a few nuggets I noticed and said "yay!":

Old Man Willow makes you "tired".

In Book 1, Frodo is mentioned as Mr. Underhill.

You feel dread anytime you're around Frodo in Rivendell since he has the One Ring.

Trolls are found out in the open only at night (they hide in groves/shaded areas during daytime).

You can see flocks of crows/ravens(?) scouting through the skies in the distance at times (High Graphics I think).

The ruins south of Breeland actually does run from the Old Forest to Midgewater Marshes. It was mentioned in passing in one of the books and I happened to be playing around there that day and decided to trace how far the Ruins ran.

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Originally Posted by Resi

One of the first things I looked for in beta was Fatty Bolger's house in Crickhollow. I don't know why, but I just knew that if the door to the house was kicked in, then this game would be great. Sure enough, the house was right where it was supposed to be, and his door was shattered.

Then I ran to Farmer Maggot's to see if his dogs were there. Of course, they were, and named appropriately.

These were just the tip of the iceberg. There have been tons of little touches that have really done a lot to add flavor to LOTRO. The devs have done an awesome job and I can't wait to see the rest of Middle Earth.

The repeated Sharkey references are my favorite.

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The Sharkey references are great I agree, but I also have a much smaller, but more personal 'nugget,' of all places found on the huge ruin of Weathertop. I was standing there outside the stone ring, looking at the awe-inspiring and expansive view, when I looked down at a stone by my feet...

...the stone was inscribed with a rune: "G3". That's right -- this was the clue that Gandalf left for Strider on the mountain of Weathertop, which Aragorn guessed was to mean that Gandalf reached the mountain on the third of October. I remembered the passage instantly -- and it made me feel like I was really there.

In Evendim you get to do a chain of quests by "Hal," who is Sam Gamgee's uncle, I believe. In the books Sam talks about his uncle Hal seeing a dragon, and the other hobbits comment on how they think uncle Hal is full of it. In the game you do quests where Uncle Hal seeing strange things and you seek to help him prove they're true. Once you do your reward is "Sam's kitchen knife," and the description says that Sam gave the knife to Hal without much explanation (apparently when he found out he was going on an adventure). I thought it was so cute I keep it in my bank, hoping to return it to Sam someday.

I was also running some people through an instance once, and a two-handed hammer dropped that nobody wanted. However, there was a description that described that the hammer was "Brought over the Misty Mountains by the ancestors of the Harfoots, used to fight off brigands," and I immediately asked if I could have it :). It's sitting in my bank! I love that hammer.

Not to drop the bomb, but the game is one giant nugget.

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Originally Posted by Gumawerian

The Sharkey references are great I agree, but I also have a much smaller, but more personal 'nugget,' of all places found on the huge ruin of Weathertop. I was standing there outside the stone ring, looking at the awe-inspiring and expansive view, when I looked down at a stone by my feet...

...the stone was inscribed with a rune: "G3". That's right -- this was the clue that Gandalf left for Strider on the mountain of Weathertop, which Aragorn guessed was to mean that Gandalf reached the mountain on the third of October. I remembered the passage instantly -- and it made me feel like I was really there.

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Yar! I ran up there with sole intention of finding the rune, and maybe taking in the view second. :) I had forgotten about that one - thanks for mentioning this one.

Its not exactly a lorenugget... but I found a funny little thing in Evendim

On the small Island when you swim from Tinundir to the lady of the Lake there is right next to a bush a Small sand Castle ^_^

One thing I noticed was that the pyres that get lit in The Two Towers (I think) are there and you can climb up just like Gandalf had Perrin do in the movie. I love that scene in the movie with Aragorn bursting in shouting that the signal fires have been lit.

Here's a quote from the book when Aragorn and the hobbits are about to cross the Last Bridge :

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He held out his hand, and showed a single pale-green jewel. 'I found it in the mud in the middle of the Bridge,' he said. 'It is a beryl, an elf-stone. Whether it was set there, or let fall by chance, I cannot say; but it brings hope to me. I will take it as a sign that we may pass the Bridge; but beyond that I dare not keep to the Road, without some clearer token.'

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And guess what item is used to create hope token? That's right, beryls.

Not sure if this really counts since it's just a description of the landscape, but there's a passage in Fellowship where Frodo looks up at the hill around the Barrow Downs and thinks the stones around the edge look like 'jagged teeth protruding from a great maw' or something to that effect.

The cliff between the Great Forest and the Barrow Downs really does look like that. The stones look like giant, jagged teeth.

In Evendim at the High Kings Crossing the statue holds a broken sword.

There is also a 'white hand print' at the rock where you meet Sheriden's contact at night.

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Originally Posted by Chrysoprase

In Evendim you get to do a chain of quests by "Hal," who is Sam Gamgee's uncle, I believe. In the books Sam talks about his uncle Hal seeing a dragon, and the other hobbits comment on how they think uncle Hal is full of it. In the game you do quests where Uncle Hal seeing strange things and you seek to help him prove they're true. Once you do your reward is "Sam's kitchen knife," and the description says that Sam gave the knife to Hal without much explanation (apparently when he found out he was going on an adventure). I thought it was so cute I keep it in my bank, hoping to return it to Sam someday...

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That's a charming aspiration... I wonder if experienced GMs might ever make a few of the characters approachable, even for a minute, on some rare occasions? It would be a great way to throw a few random variables into the game... and you could give Sam back his knife! Maybe he'll give you something from Frodo's garden in return. :)

There is a quest in Bree where you help a Hobbit fight Blackwolds who stole from him. At the end, the Hobbit shares a roast with all the Blackwolds and one of them says out loud, "He's a capital fellow!"

It parallels Rory Brandybuck, who was given bottles of Ol' Winyards by Bilbo. He votes Bilbo a capital fellow after one or two bottles.

-O

The moment that made my girlfriend squeal with glee, to a degree that my eardrums have yet to recover from, was when she walked into Bag End and looked at the wall next to the door, to see the pegs. The pegs from which the dwarves hung their cloaks in the first chapter of The Hobbit.

I was also goofily excited when I encountered Gaffer Gamgee, not that he's particularly well-hidden.

I normaly don't listen (read) to the NPCs as I pass by them in towns and on the trails and what-not....But the other day I had started a Hobbit alt, and while running past a "hungry hobbit" she "said" that she hadn't eaten since Elevensies. I thought that was pretty cute...I will start "listening" more now.

I haven't read the books in several years, time to pull them out of storage.


Dakota

Man, I gotta read the Hobbit. All this talk makes me feel like I'm missing out on so much. I think I'd like the game even more if I could relate parts of it to the novels.

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Originally Posted by Brugman

Man, I gotta read the Hobbit. All this talk makes me feel like I'm missing out on so much. I think I'd like the game even more if I could relate parts of it to the novels.

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It's crazily, spookily, uncanny.

I love it.

Turbine, good job. I'd buy ya'll a beer, pint, cup-o-rum even since ya'll seem to be into the pirate thing lately.

/cheers!

Yesterday while travelling through the North Downs I ran into one of the beacons between Gondor and Rohan.

But it was unmanned. Guess Gondor is screwed in the comming battle.

Actually, the beacons that a couple of you mention are not the ones between Rohan and Gondor. That region is very far South and not in our playable landscape yet. There is a beacon on top of one of the hills just East of Othrikar in the North Downs, though it certainly isn't part of the Gondor-Rohan system. So while the particulars aren't the same, it's certainly an indirect reference to the Beacons of Gondor.

I recall there being a mission in the North Downs i believe where you have to talk to an NPC named "Curanir" i kinda chuckled and wondered if this was Sauroman in diguise because "Curanir" is what elves call Sauroman in the same way as Gandalf is refered as "Mithrandir"

I noticed something a while back during one of my search-that-unused-corner-of Middle-Earth forays that may be a real hidden nugget. I have yet to figure out who it is supposed to be and I'll keep my guesses to myself for the time being. Perhaps one of you can solve it. I do have a few screenshots but can't get them posted at the moment (I'm not on the computer where they are stored). I'll try my best to get them on here unless someone beats me to it.

When you go through the ruins of the Refuge of Edhelion, you'll find a little-visited valley. The road leads to a locked gate that presumably will eventually open to Northern Ered Luin (Lindon). On the left as you head towards the gate is the door to Skorgim's Tomb.

I looked around this valley for any nodes thinking that I might have found a good spot to gather tier 1 resources (there is none :( ) and slaughtered a few helpless critters for the hides. As I worked my way back to the Refuge, I spotted something on the southern cliff wall that looked out of place. As I got closer, it didn't fade into the rock surface (so it wasn't just the way the textures looked from a distance). There, about half-way up the wall, was the outline of a man's head in profile. It is quite distinct but to see it you must be either north or northeast of it. I couldn't see it from the west as I entered the valley.

Go take a look. Maybe someone will recognize the profile and solve this.

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Originally Posted by JO420

I recall there being a mission in the North Downs i believe where you have to talk to an NPC named "Curanir" i kinda chuckled and wondered if this was Sauroman in diguise because "Curanir" is what elves call Sauroman in the same way as Gandalf is refered as "Mithrandir"

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There's probably no relationship at all. The elves used 'Curunir' for the Istar Saruman. Both names translate roughly as 'man of skill.'

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Originally Posted by Moepy

On the small Island when you swim from Tinundir to the lady of the Lake there is right next to a bush a Small sand Castle.

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I had to go look for it! And I found it. This game rocks.

My apologies if the image size hurts dial-up users!

Screenie here!

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Originally Posted by JO420

I recall there being a mission in the North Downs i believe where you have to talk to an NPC named "Curanir" i kinda chuckled and wondered if this was Sauroman in diguise because "Curanir" is what elves call Sauroman in the same way as Gandalf is refered as "Mithrandir"

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Actually, in doing a little research (doing a complete search of our game database), there is no Curanir, which is not a legitimate Sindarin compound to begin with. There *is* a Corunir in Angmar, which means "Cunning Man" or "Wily Man".

I'll say it again . . . this thread is a real feel-good thread for me, and I'm sure the rest of the team. It shows that our efforts were not wasted. :)

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Originally Posted by Rhorzhan

Here's a quote from the book when Aragorn and the hobbits are about to cross the Last Bridge :


And guess what item is used to create hope token? That's right, beryls.

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Outstanding, Rhorzhan!

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Originally Posted by Berephon

I'll say it again . . . this thread is a real feel-good thread for me, and I'm sure the rest of the team. It shows that our efforts were not wasted. :)

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No, they were most definitely not wasted.

I, for one, truly enjoy the game.

I took my mother (a Tolkein fiend, herself, and the one responsible for introducing me to the books) on a virtual tour a week ago. Showed her Weathertop, the members of the Fellowship, and some other sites. She, too, was most impressed.

/Salute!

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Originally Posted by Berephon

Actually, in doing a little research (doing a complete search of our game database), there is no Curanir, which is not a legitimate Sindarin compound to begin with. There *is* a Corunir in Angmar, which means "Cunning Man" or "Wily Man".

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Encyclopedia of Arda has an entry for Curunir.
http://www.encyclopedia-of-arda.com/c/curunir.html

Is there a material difference between Corunir and Curinir as far as the translation? (I use the Arda reference for convenience, but it isn't primary source, so maybe there is an error with that entry.)

Only reason I recalled this was that I thought "cunning" was applied to Saruman using the more negative connotation (e.g., guile, wily, deceptive) and thought that was a very cool and clever detail.

Tangent question about Enc. of Arda - is it still in the works for integration with the Lorebook (and thus, being accessible from within the game client at some point in the future)?

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Originally Posted by Rhorzhan

Here's a quote from the book when Aragorn and the hobbits are about to cross the Last Bridge :


And guess what item is used to create hope token? That's right, beryls.

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There's also a guardian pocket item called Mellonor's Elf-stone which looks like a polished beryl and improves your fate :) I thought that was fitting

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Originally Posted by Merciful_Death

The Tower Hills. Where the three white tower still stand to watch over the lands, and to the far west. Legend has it that one of the King's seeing stones was held there, and the stone is one that is unaccounted for.

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This is true, but for the sake of lore i had to put in that this particular Palantir is accounted for, at least partially. It is known that the elves have taken it, and are in possession of it during the war of the ring. During this time it is most likely being held in the elven refuge and port, the Grey Havens. This stone was not connected in power to the other seeing stones, and so Sauron could not corrupt its users. It was used only to peer west, towards the undying lands. Apparently it was taken there on the same boat that carried Frodo, Bilbo, and the others at the end of the Return of the King.

I saw a stone pillar floating 300ft in the air above a few pines in the middle of Ered Luin, forgot the town, its popular and dwarves run it, it seems.

Just for kicks i was waiting on a friend, and looking at the landscape and decided to stare at the sun to see if it would blind my character, low and behold a stone pillar floating atop the trees by 2-300ft! I was like *Bug*!

I /bugged it but never returned to see if it had gotten fixed. Anyway, is that part of the lore?

First I am confused to why people would think that if they "saw" a beacon that it was in the Gondor-Rohan chain. That would be pointless to have any beacon in Eriador, that would be like going around your elbow to get to your butt.

Second, if this topic is based on things from the lore and seeing it in the game, then the beacons weren't in the lore. If you remember when Gondor or Rohan needed aid they didn't light beacons and it go across the White Mountains, they sent a rider with a Red Arrow on it. So those are two reasons why beacons wouldn't be in here, one because it wouldn't be logical and two because it doesn't tie in with lore, just the movies.

Edited: added "going" before the word "around"

Actually AUG, the beacons ARE, in fact, in the book. As Gandalf and Pippin are passing through the land of Anorien on their way to Minas Tirith, Pippin spies a fire alight atop the peak of Amon Din. Gandalf spurs Shadowfax forward saying "The beacons of Gondor are alight, calling for aid. War is kindled." (yes, I do have the book open in front of me, heh.) They were simply lit much earlier in the book and the red arrow was used to supplement their call for aid (which Jackson left out of the movie, as the whole "beacon lighting" thing was much more dramatic the way they used it).

You (and the other poster who commented) are of course correct that these could not be those same beacons at all, however.

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Originally Posted by AmbushMartyr

I saw a stone pillar floating 300ft in the air above a few pines in the middle of Ered Luin, forgot the town, its popular and dwarves run it, it seems.

Just for kicks i was waiting on a friend, and looking at the landscape and decided to stare at the sun to see if it would blind my character, low and behold a stone pillar floating atop the trees by 2-300ft! I was like *Bug*!

I /bugged it but never returned to see if it had gotten fixed. Anyway, is that part of the lore?

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I bugged that, too; I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be there. It looks like one of the ordinary stone markers you see down the length of the road.

As to nuggets, I'll say this: I'm very impressed that the ancient Arnorian roads, hobbit-made cobble-ways, Dwarf roads, Elven ways, and Human pavement all look appropriate, and are aged where they should be. Roads are one of a civilizations most telling characteristics, this game nailed it.

I wasnt sure about the stone marker in the air, I dont know lore at all for LOTR (except by the movies) so I thought I would throw that in there cause I thought maybe it had some strange significance to it. Why does everyone find the cool stuff, and I end up finding bugs?

PS Witchdoctor, nice pic but man resizing it woulda faired better here. Gimp,Photoshop,MS Paint would do. Or crop the most important part (the sandcastle) and post. But like i said no offense its just Im scrolling across my screen as if it were super triple X widescreen edition!

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Originally Posted by AmbushMartyr

PS Witchdoctor, nice pic but man resizing it woulda faired better here. Gimp,Photoshop,MS Paint would do. Or crop the most important part (the sandcastle) and post. But like i said no offense its just Im scrolling across my screen as if it were super triple X widescreen edition!

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Sorry!

I'll make it a link, instead.

It's a simple one, but I really like how if your weapon does extra damage to a type of monster, it will glow when those monsters are near you, kind of like Sting glowing around orcs.

Also, here's some links to cool threads from the Postcards from Middle Earth section:

Straight from the Books Part I: The Prancing Pony
http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=66835

Straight from the Books Part II: Weathertop
http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=77907

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Originally Posted by Drolio

It's a simple one, but I really like how if your weapon does extra damage to a type of monster, it will glow when those monsters are near you, kind of like Sting glowing around orcs.

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I've never seen this effect, though I've only had low-level bane weapons... :(

Just get a weapon with 'light' damage. It will glow every few seconds with a light effect running down the weapon, and when you are moving the light effect will trail out behind you! :)

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Originally Posted by CDawg

Just get a weapon with 'light' damage. It will glow every few seconds with a light effect running down the weapon, and when you are moving the light effect will trail out behind you! :)

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That's a different effect. I have two L35 Fire weapons that spark at the tip with regularity. The specific effect I'm looking for is the 'proximity to <creature type>' glow.

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Originally Posted by DBSRick

I haven't rolled a Dwarf in a long time (since closed beta) but I recall when you started as Dwarf you were dropped into The game not far from Gandalf and a dwarf (perhaps Gloin?)

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No, that's not Gloin; Gloin is in front of you and tells you to go find Gimli.

The Dwarf with whom Gandalf is arguing is THORIN OAKENSHIELD. The Dwarf newbie instance begins in TA 2941, just as the Elf instance begins a few centuries earlier, with the fall of Edhelion. The Man and Hobbit instances begin in 3018, as is appropriate for those whose lifespans are shorter.

Back in alpha, I had just made my first Dwarf and I saw those two and stopped short. "That's Thorin Oakenshield! But he's DEAD!"

It was good to see him, briefly.

Note also, how Gloin ages between the time you see him in Thorin's Gate and when you see him again in the Misty Mountains: his beard has grown longer, and whiter.

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Originally Posted by Adder

I noticed something a while back during one of my search-that-unused-corner-of Middle-Earth forays that may be a real hidden nugget. I have yet to figure out who it is supposed to be and I'll keep my guesses to myself for the time being. Perhaps one of you can solve it. I do have a few screenshots but can't get them posted at the moment (I'm not on the computer where they are stored). I'll try my best to get them on here unless someone beats me to it.

When you go through the ruins of the Refuge of Edhelion, you'll find a little-visited valley. The road leads to a locked gate that presumably will eventually open to Northern Ered Luin (Lindon). On the left as you head towards the gate is the door to Skorgim's Tomb.

I looked around this valley for any nodes thinking that I might have found a good spot to gather tier 1 resources (there is none :( ) and slaughtered a few helpless critters for the hides. As I worked my way back to the Refuge, I spotted something on the southern cliff wall that looked out of place. As I got closer, it didn't fade into the rock surface (so it wasn't just the way the textures looked from a distance). There, about half-way up the wall, was the outline of a man's head in profile. It is quite distinct but to see it you must be either north or northeast of it. I couldn't see it from the west as I entered the valley.

Go take a look. Maybe someone will recognize the profile and solve this.

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I went and looked, and I couldn't see a darned thing. Could you, at your leisure, go back there and find it again, and then post the ;loc of where you're standing when you can see it?

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned.. or I missed it...

The quest series starting near Oakbarton (at the Glass Blowers) involving the Inklings..

that one really touched me!

Olyfer - Burglar 'n' Tinkerer Extraordinaire!
Olric - Guardian of Rohan, Defender of Middle Earth
Also found lurking in the Shadows - ShadowHeal / ShadowWeb

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Originally Posted by MMOWarrior

I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned.. or I missed it...

The quest series starting near Oakbarton (at the Glass Blowers) involving the Inklings..

that one really touched me!

Olyfer - Burglar 'n' Tinkerer Extraordinaire!
Olric - Guardian of Rohan, Defender of Middle Earth
Also found lurking in the Shadows - ShadowHeal / ShadowWeb

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It was mentioned, and here it is:

http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=80048&page=6 :D

Although not a nugget from the books but something that made the wife and I both amazed at how much detail went into the game I would like to mention the Dourhands in Kheledeul (excuse my spelling...at work at present)

During the Instance for the Quest "Rescue by Monlight" where you rescue the Elf from the boat, the direct route is across the docks to the boat. However, we decided to swim the channel to the boat. While in the water the Dourhands were heard to yell out something akin to "Beware, they come by water" "Someone is splashing about in the water boys" and so forth.

It truly brought a smile to our faces and a bit more excitement to the Quest.

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Originally Posted by Reyph

You see Gandalf telling Thorin he'll get a "burglar" for the quest they're on in the dwarf intro.

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The problem with this is that by the time Gandalf met Thorin at his hall, he already had a burglar, namely Bilbo. The intro dialog here suggests that Thorin wanted a burglar, when in fact Gandalf had to persuade the dwarves to accept one. It was a nice idea, but they messed it up a bit.

While not lore-related, I like the fact that certain NPCs that you help out with quests will comment to you.

The one that made me take notice first was the poor guard at Trestlebridge who got booted out of the guard because of some orc trickery. Once it all got cleared up and he was let back on the guard, he now thanks me for getting his job back whenever I run past him.

A nice touch I thought, and it assuages the useless feeling you can sometimes experience where you realise that the NPC is forever going to be losing and regaining his job until the end of days - at least for me he's still on the guard, regardless of the fact he's still unemployed to those new to the area.