"In the darkest of times, even the faintest glimmer of hope can make all the difference."
So the Edhelharn tokens tell us. (Edhelharn is Sindarin for "Elfstone.")
Hope really is found throughout Middle Earth, although the times are extremely dark. In LOTRO, Hope is a good thing to have - it increases our morale, boosts the damage we do, makes healing easier. Aside from the normal ways of increasing Hope - Edhelharn tokens, Horn of the Dwarrowdelf, Destiny Points, etc. - many places and NPC's around Middle Earth radiate an aura of Hope.
 |
| Leeowyn is feeling pretty hopeful. |
Places like The Shire (+3) or Rivendell (+5) give a Hope buff just by being within their bounds. A number of individuals radiate Hope as well: Tom Bombadil (+8), Elladan and Elrohir (+4). You can run around and visit all of the main storyline NPC's in Rivendell and see how much each gives: Bilbo (+2), around Sam, Merry, and Pippin you receive +3, Arwen (+4), Legolas and Gimli (+5), Aragorn and Boromir (+8, and I find Boromir's level of Hope very interesting, although remember at what point in the story he is while in Rivendell - the Ring hasn't had a chance to work on him yet), Gandalf and Elrond are both +9. Interestingly when you enter the House of Elrond, your Rivendell Hope aura drops, and you are at 0 until you get near one of the NPC's. Outside the House of Elrond, Glorfindel gives the highest individual Hope buff that I am aware of: +10. Standing near him your total is then +15 since the Hope aura of Rivendell is added to it.
If you have never noticed it before, go stand beside Frodo inside the House of Elrond. You'll see Gandalf's +9 Hope buff, but you will also see an icon for +1 Dread - it is coming off the Ring, of course.
As I was re-reading The Fellowship of the Ring the other day, I came across a simple couple of sentences that jumped out at me, and immediately made me think of all the places and characters who boost Hope. I don't know that this passage specifically played a part in the creation of Hope (and Dread) in Middle Earth, but it most definitely gives some Lore credence to that mechanism in the game:
"Indeed there is a power in Rivendell to withstand the might of Mordor, for a while: and elsewhere other powers still dwell. There is power, too, of another kind in the Shire."
The Hope stat gives us a good way to remember the positive power of those places and characters, and gives us a little extra boost to help see us through the task at hand.
Sources: The Fellowship of the Ring
