Hidden Nuggets we see all the time...

[auximenes]

This is the Pillar of the White Hand, on the road to Isengard. More than likely this is the same hand that has been taken from the statue.

Neat. Thanks for sharing.

[Oren]

Those elements are derived from Welsh mythology, not English. There is very little surviving mythology that is truly English. Tolkien felt that was due primarily to the Norman Conquest of 1066.

Being pedantic here, but it is British history - ie of the Britons. The Britons were the people who inhabited the land before the romans invaded. The Romans left and the Saxons (Angles - Aenglish - English) arrived and spread not so much by military conquest but by settlement and interbreeding with the Britons. The original Britons were left in Cornwall and Wales and relatively untouched by the Saxons - although the word Wales is anglo-saxon for foreigner, or in some cases slave (namely the saxons would nip over to the valleys when they needed a few slaves)

The tales of mythology across the land were thereafter a hybrid of the Saxon myth and the original British beliefs (which indeed which were in themselves an early form of the germanic myths and therefore related as the original inhabitants shared similar descendants to the Saxons having come from Europe in the first instance. The Ice cap did not retreat until 8000BC, and the land bridge disappeared and seperated Britain from Europe in 6500BC.) Throw in a significant period under Danelaw where similarly related Gods and mythology (land bridge etc again) were introduced and you end up with a pot pourri of the same Gods and myths, but 3 different interpretations (just like Judaism, Christiantity and Islam). This was all before the Normans arrived in 1066.

What the Normans brought with them wasnt something new, but it continued a period of Christianisation that had started around 800-900AD, but in a very militant manner - effectively for the next 700 years - remembering the old gods or ways would invariably end up with the person who 'remembered' being burnt at the stake in the village square or other such unpleasantness - needless to say that this radical Christianity caused people to not remember the old ways, or at least keep quiet about them!

The end effect is the same though, by the time Tolkein came along, there was no ancient myths for the British in general knowledge (but the German and Scandinavian ones would be a pretty good place to start) so he set out to create one. There is no reason why they havent been passed from father to son, or more likely from mother to daughter (all current evidence suggesting that original druidic type religion was akin to some forms of Hinduism in celebration of nature and every rock, tree and river was indeed a god of some form or another, undepinned by Devi or a mother goddess - and therefore most likely matriachal). But with this passing of the myths would be the highest caveats for security and secrecy.

In actual fact I dont think there is anything that would be a truly British myth, as EVERYONE in the land is an immigrant in the past 10000 years, and they would have brought their myths with them and then they would be locally adapted.

[joeltwiggins]

So, something I just noticed while questing in the Brown Lands. We come across some Blue Caste Sorcerers, and one of the quest texts makes reference to something that caught my attention.


From the quest Burning the Eye:

"The Khundolar have the gall to fly the banners of the Dark Lord at Lashkarg. I have heard that they serve Mordor in direct disregard for the mandates of their master, a man who calls himself Yirokhsar the Blue, a sorcerer of no small power, they say."


If I am not mistaken, this is referencing one of the Blue Wizards that came over from Valinor with Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast. Together, with another Blue Wizard, they journeyed to the East, but never returned to the west-lands.



From the Unfinished Tales chapter on The Istari:

"Of the Blue little was known in the West, and they had no names saveIthryn Luin "the Blue Wizards;" for they passed into the east with Curunír, but they never returned, and whether they remained in the East, pursuing their the purposes for which they were sent; or perished; or as some hold were ensnared by Sauron and became his servants, is not now known. But none of these chances were impossible to be; for, strange indeed though this may seem, the Istari, being clad in bodies of Middle-Earth, might even as Men and Elvess fall away from their purposes, and do evil, forgetting the good in the search for power to effect it."


And then a footnote to this reads as:

"In a letter written in 1958 my father said that he knew nothing about 'the other two,' since they were not concerned in the history of the North-west of Middle-earth. 'I think,' he wrote, 'they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Númenórean range: missionaries to enemy-occupied lands, as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.'"



So, my purpose in writing this is to offer up this as a possible lore-nugget, but perhaps get a confirmation from one of the Blues that this is indeed a glimpse into one of the Blue Wizards, and we may potentially see more in the future?

[DuroNL]

So, something I just noticed while questing in the Brown Lands. We come across some Blue Caste Sorcerers, and one of the quest texts makes reference to something that caught my attention.


From the quest Burning the Eye:

"The Khundolar have the gall to fly the banners of the Dark Lord at Lashkarg. I have heard that they serve Mordor in direct disregard for the mandates of their master, a man who calls himself Yirokhsar the Blue, a sorcerer of no small power, they say."


If I am not mistaken, this is referencing one of the Blue Wizards that came over from Valinor with Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast. Together, with another Blue Wizard, they journeyed to the East, but never returned to the west-lands.



From the Unfinished Tales chapter on The Istari:

"Of the Blue little was known in the West, and they had no names saveIthryn Luin "the Blue Wizards;" for they passed into the east with Curunír, but they never returned, and whether they remained in the East, pursuing their the purposes for which they were sent; or perished; or as some hold were ensnared by Sauron and became his servants, is not now known. But none of these chances were impossible to be; for, strange indeed though this may seem, the Istari, being clad in bodies of Middle-Earth, might even as Men and Elvess fall away from their purposes, and do evil, forgetting the good in the search for power to effect it."


And then a footnote to this reads as:

"In a letter written in 1958 my father said that he knew nothing about 'the other two,' since they were not concerned in the history of the North-west of Middle-earth. 'I think,' he wrote, 'they went as emissaries to distant regions, East and South, far out of Númenórean range: missionaries to enemy-occupied lands, as it were. What success they had I do not know; but I fear that they failed, as Saruman did, though doubtless in different ways; and I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and 'magic' traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.'"



So, my purpose in writing this is to offer up this as a possible lore-nugget, but perhaps get a confirmation from one of the Blues that this is indeed a glimpse into one of the Blue Wizards, and we may potentially see more in the future?

I thought the exact same thing when i first countered a Blue sorcerer...

Since they are refered to as the Easterlings in the Brown Lands, i inmediatly thought of Alantar and Pallando the blue wizzards...

I hope to see more of this.... for me... Lotr-nugget...

[Zetsubousensei]

Also fitting is that the blue sorcerers appear to be divided into two distinct sects. This also implies that in Turbine's lore, the two Wizards did not go their separate ways in the distant East but rather worked together.

[joeltwiggins]

Interesting catch, Zetsub! I am surprised at myself for not catching that either!

So, can a Blue Name please tease us that there will be more with the Blue Wizards to come. This has always been something that fascinated me, and would be very cool to explore in-game!

[Beleg]

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Fifth_Anniversary_Cloak

This cloak was a quest reward for the 5th Anniversary festival. It appears to say "LEBEN".


In 'Tolkien - Artist and Illustrator' [5] a Noldorin sentence is found on Thrór's Map which agrees well with numerals as found in the Etymologies. The sentence reads lheben teil brann i annon ar neledh neledhi gar godrebh, apparently the (free) translation of 'five feet high the door and three may walk abreast'.


So, these symbols are probably meant to be the elvish word for "five".


Source for numeric info: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~trenk/elvish/numerals.html


BTW, I'm very interested in any other in-game images with runes or tengwar. And I'd love some help translating them. See http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Category:Translations for the ones I've found so far.

[Berephon]

Also fitting is that the blue sorcerers appear to be divided into two distinct sects. This also implies that in Turbine's lore, the two Wizards did not go their separate ways in the distant East but rather worked together.

Actually, the two sects in the Brown Lands serve the same master, just two different aspects of a similar thing: Spirit and Mind.

As to who that master is, we cannot say!

[Berephon]

So, these symbols are probably meant to be the elvish word for "five".

Ding! Correct!

[Adder]

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Fifth_Anniversary_Cloak

This cloak was a quest reward for the 5th Anniversary festival. It appears to say "LEBEN".


In 'Tolkien - Artist and Illustrator' [5] a Noldorin sentence is found on Thrór's Map which agrees well with numerals as found in the Etymologies. The sentence reads lheben teil brann i annon ar neledh neledhi gar godrebh, apparently the (free) translation of 'five feet high the door and three may walk abreast'.


So, these symbols are probably meant to be the elvish word for "five".


Source for numeric info: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~trenk/elvish/numerals.html


BTW, I'm very interested in any other in-game images with runes or tengwar. And I'd love some help translating them. See http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Category:Translations for the ones I've found so far.

Nice find there Beleg! I was curious as to what they meant.

[Macfeast]

A rather clever one, I thought. Just recently, the community team held one of their LOTRO-trivia questions on Twitter, with the question "What Rohirrim character from the books do players interact with in the Epic Story of the Great River region?"

The answer? Horn. I struggled to recall any mention of him, and was almost prepared to call shenanigans, but then I found him. This is from The Return of the King, The Battle of the Pelennor Fields:

We heard of the horns in the hills ringing,
the swords shining in the South-kingdom.
Steeds went striding to the Stoningland
as wind in the morning. War was kindled.
There Théoden fell, Thengling mighty,
to his golden halls and green pastures
in the Northern fields never returning,
high lord of the host. Harding and Guthláf
Dunhere and Deorwine, doughty Grimbold,
Herefara and Herubrand, Horn and Fastred,
fought and fell there in a far country:

That's right, the character Horn is straight from the books. This means that we also know his fate; He will go on to ride with the Rohirrim to the Pelennor Fields, where he will meet his end.

[Rhino-Man]

Lotro has placed a new Easter Egg with Update 7 in Bree.... "Ghost Bear." Referencing an old glitch apparently from Beta (see post below). When doing the new level 14 quest chain with the turtle soup, make sure to read all the NPCs "Comments" and one will mention how you can't scare him with tails of Ghost Bear.

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Ghost_bear

[gildhur]

Baruk Khazâd! Khazâd ai-mênu!

Indeed, you are correct.

I'm sure it's been mentioned in this thread year ago, but those two exclamations are also used by Dwarf Guardians and Champions for their vocal Challenge skills.

Actually, the two sects in the Brown Lands serve the same master, just two different aspects of a similar thing: Spirit and Mind.

As to who that master is, we cannot say!

...yet. Look forward to hearing more about him. A Maiar version of Mordrambor for future Epics?

[Moejo]

Here's one you may or may not have noticed, the hobbit women npc's that say "halloo theya"(hello there)sound a LOT like Katharine Hepburn. Is it a soundbite from her or a very good impersonation? We'll probably never know.

[Kneecracker]

106 pages, 1590 posts (including this one).

Wow. Seriously, wow. Very entertaining. It actually made me go out and look at the easter eggs mentioned (snowman, small sandcastle, etc). And then made me re-visit regions and do quests I had not noticed- Ronald Dwale being one (love the pipe).

I haven't noticed anything else beyond what is mentioned here. If I see something, I will be sure to post it. Fine work to everyone who caught these in the game, and even finer work (and kudos) to Turbine and the devs for adding to the content.

Sharing a funny experience: When FotR first came to theatres, I was very excited and since I had no one to go to the movie with, I went alone. (yeah, sad, I know, but I digress...) During the scene after Rivendell that showed the entire Fellowship cresting a small rise, in slow-motion, one by one, a group sitting right in front me said aloud "Wow, they just need a Cleric and they got a full raid group". Being an avid EQ player at the time, I just about fell out of my chair.

Great times, and keep up the great work folks!

[Eadreid]

Ding! Correct!

Details like that must go un-noticed to 90%+ of the players playing this game (myself included until i read it here). It must, as a developer, really make you proud and pleased with the effort put in when someone does notice and brings it to other peoples attention.

Well done for keeping the attention to detail

[Berephon]

Details like that must go un-noticed to 90%+ of the players playing this game (myself included until i read it here). It must, as a developer, really make you proud and pleased with the effort put in when someone does notice and brings it to other peoples attention.

Well done for keeping the attention to detail

It does indeed (though the percentage of folks who don't notice is actually quite a bit lower than you might think...we attracted a large population of Tolkien-geeks who had never touched an MMO before fairly early. )

[Geindir]

I don't know if it's been mentioned before or not, but I'm busy reading LOTR again right now so....
The elf involved with the level 45-50 minstrel class quest (Lindir) is mentioned in the Fellowship of the ring.
"Bilbo got up and bowed. 'I am flattered, Lindir,' he said. 'but it would be too tiring to repeat it all.'"
The Fellowship of the Ring, book 2, chapter 1: many meetings (just after Bilbo's song)

[Lindaelle]

The statue in Celondim and the bigger one in Last Homely House, surrounded by purple fire or lights. It makes me wonder whether they are just decorations, or actually some kind of elven altars. For Elbereth, perhaps?

[Geindir]

Just ran through Lothlorien with my minstrel and noticed something I missed with my LM. If you follow the river by the South shore, you find a rope that has been tied around a tree and cut.... If I'm not mistaken this is where the Fellowship crossed? If somebody in blue could confirm this please...

[Geindir]

The statue in Celondim and the bigger one in Last Homely House, surrounded by purple fire or lights. It makes me wonder whether they are just decorations, or actually some kind of elven altars. For Elbereth, perhaps?

I believe they are statues of Celembrimbor (not 100% sure though)

[Elenluin-Menelloth]

Just ran through Lothlorien with my minstrel and noticed something I missed with my LM. If you follow the river by the South shore, you find a rope that has been tied around a tree and cut.... If I'm not mistaken this is where the Fellowship crossed? If somebody in blue could confirm this please...

When at length all the Company was gathered on the east bank of the Silverlode, the Elves untied the ropes and coiled them. Rúmil, who had remained on the other side, drew back the last one, slung it over his shoulder, and with a wave of his hand went away, back to Nimrodel to keep watch.

Edit: I'm just saying that it's not the same rope, could probably be the same place.

The statue in Celondim and the bigger one in Last Homely House, surrounded by purple fire or lights. It makes me wonder whether they are just decorations, or actually some kind of elven altars. For Elbereth, perhaps?

Found this...

The original art had gold hair, does that mean something?

I think Berephon might post an answer sometime though .

[Nymphonic]

http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Fifth_Anniversary_Cloak

This cloak was a quest reward for the 5th Anniversary festival. It appears to say "LEBEN".


In 'Tolkien - Artist and Illustrator' [5] a Noldorin sentence is found on Thrór's Map which agrees well with numerals as found in the Etymologies. The sentence reads lheben teil brann i annon ar neledh neledhi gar godrebh, apparently the (free) translation of 'five feet high the door and three may walk abreast'.


So, these symbols are probably meant to be the elvish word for "five".


Source for numeric info: http://www.phy.duke.edu/~trenk/elvish/numerals.html


BTW, I'm very interested in any other in-game images with runes or tengwar. And I'd love some help translating them. See http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Category:Translations for the ones I've found so far.

Ok. This is awesome beyond words.

[Odobenus]

I don't know if this common knowledge, but I just recently noticed that the marks that show up when you engage mob and when stealth is detected are tengwar's exclamation and question marks respectively.

[auximenes]

I don't know if this common knowledge, but I just recently noticed that the marks that show up when you engage mob and when stealth is detected are tengwar's exclamation and question marks respectively.

I don't think that's common knowledge, and I know I was quite pleased when I discovered their meanings. On a related note, the text inside the red targeting circle translates into something like 'the one that is chosen'. Thumbs-up to the Devs, especially Berephon, for the constant dose of these hidden nuggets.