The History of Rhudaur in LOTRO

One of the reasons Middle Earth feels so very real is because Professor Tolkien created a rich and expansive history that spans eons from the time of creation until the War of the Rings and even after.  One can study the history of Middle Earth like studying the history of a country or region or people in real life.

Turbine could have chosen to take a much easier and simplistic path when designing LOTRO - after all, many (if not the majority of)  players only know Middle Earth through the Lord of the Rings, or have only seen the movies, or may just have decided to check out the game with no prior exposure to Middle Earth.  The history and much of the Lore that isn't directly related to the War of the Ring and the paths of the members of the Fellowship is often lost or overlooked, and the game can technically be played just fine without knowing any of it.

But what a dull and bland place the Middle Earth of LOTRO would have been.  And this blog would probably have had no reason to exist.

Even working within the constraints of the current licensing agreements that exist, and which dictate what Turbine can and cannot incorporate into the game, Turbine has been able to weave much of that expansive history throughout the Middle Earth we all play in.

You have already seen me touch on some of the history of Arnor, one of the realms of the exiled Numenoreans, in my blogs on Ost Barandor as well as Weathertop and the Weather Hills.

Arnor was divided into three separate kingdoms - Arthedain, Cardolan, and Rhudaur - in year 861 of the Third Age when dissent arose among the three sons of King Eärendur.

Rhudaur was the easternmost kingdom and "lay between the Ettenmoors, the Weather Hills, and the Misty Mountains, but included also the Angle between the Hoarwell and the Loudwater."  In LOTRO, this would include the Trollshaws as well as much of the Lone Lands.

Hillmen of Rhudaur

Appendix A tells us that the line of Isildur ended relatively soon in Rhudaur and that the numbers of Dúnedain there were few.  Because of this, power was eventually seized by a leader of Hillmen of Rhudaur, who was secretly allied with the Witch King and Angmar.  In 1409 of the Third Age, the forces of Cardolan and Arthedain were besieged by Angmar and Rhudaur at Weathertop, and Amon Sûl was burned.  The few Dúnedain who had remained in Rhudaur fled or were killed, and the realm came entirely under the sway of Angmar.  Later the Witch King is driven back to the north out of Fornost in 1975, and presumably severed direct ties with Rhudaur.  Rhudaur can also be believed to have suffered many casualties in the Great Plague of 1636, leaving much of the Lone Lands desolate and the Trollshaws abandoned to trolls and any remaining nasties left behind by Angmar, along with a handful of Hillmen.

In LOTRO, the history of Rhudaur can be found throughout the Lone Lands and Trollshaws, even in the Misty Mountains.  You see it in the names of items, such as the Signets of Rhudaur, or in the names of some quests like "Rhudaur's Traitors."  You can even earn a title, "Sage of Rhudaur," from doing a quest in Angmar.

A particularly good example is the area around Agamaur and the Red Swamp , filled to the brim with Hillmen of Rhudaur, some remaining Angmarim, and gaunt-men and wights that were introduced to the area long ago by the Witch King.  This is a great example of how Turbine can pick up threads of Middle Earth lore and create their own tapestries of story within LOTRO.

Here we have a remnant of the legions of Rhudaur who are still very active, faithfully protecting and serving the center of all of the evil in this part of the Lone Lands - the Red Maid.  As it so happens, the Red Maid is Naruhel - in LOTRO, the sister of Goldberry, mate of Tom Bombadil.

Naruhel - The Red Maid

If you travel into Garth Agarwen, you meet the shade of an Arthedain oathbreaker, Dannasen.  He mentions the wars between Rhudaur and Arthedain when Rhudaur had fallen under the sway of the Witch King.  He describes how the Hillmen of Rhudaur "made sacrifices to him and defiled the land until the waters themselves seemed as blood."  (Quest:  Long Overdue Justice)  Dannasen and his fellow shades were warriors of the Arthedain who had been tasked to deal with Rhudaur and particularly to keep the Red Maid from becoming too powerful.  These warriors of Arthedain were cursed by Iarwain Ben-adar (none other than Tom Bombadil) for not doing enough to keep matters under control.  (Quest:  Arthedain's Lost Brethren)  Volume I, Book 2 as well as several quests picked up within Garth Agarwen will permit you to help resolve this pesky remnant of the evil of Rhudaur, and bring redemption to some heroes of Arthedain.


Sources:  Appendix A, The Lord of the Rings

Uncandled Eggs - Mystery Wagon in the Lone Lands

When questing in the Lone Lands near Ost Guruth, you will eventually be sent to clear out some orcs and wargs who have settled in to the ruins of Ost Cyrn, south of Ost Guruth.  Just between the road and Ost Cyrn, you'll find a capsized wagon.  Prior quests out of Iorvinas and Ost Guruth warn us that goblin attacks have been on the rise in the Lone Lands, so this wagon appears to have been one of countless casualties.

However, the appearance of this wagon grabbed my attention.  It looks a little familiar, doesn't it?  And if you move around to look at the back, you find a very round door - much like the wagons you see in Waymeet.

Is it possible a wagon of Hobbits could have been traveling through these lands far from The Shire and Bree-land?  Not inconceivable - trade happened, even in those days of danger.  I'm still very curious about this wagon.  To the best of my knowledge, none of the quests in this area mention it specifically.  If it is just meant to be a wreck by the side of the road, why not a cart?  Why something that matches the Hobbit wagon homes in Waymeet?

At the very least, it piques the imagination.  Anyone have an explanation?

Weathertop

Sometimes the smallest touches can bring that warm fuzzy glow of recognition. 

After Strider and the Hobbits set forth from Bree, and are stuck several days in the Midgewater Marshes, one night in camp they see flashing lights far off in the eastern sky.  Eventually they come to Weathertop and the ruins of the old watchtower of Amon Sûl.  Exactly as in the chapter "A Knife in the Dark" from The Fellowship of the Ring, we see the grass inside the crumbled ring is black and scorched as if set on fire.  In the center is faithfully placed a cairn of stones.  At the foot of the stones (and not on top, as in the book), we find a lighter, flat stone with what appears to be some etchings on it.  Of course it is none other than the G Cirth, or Rune, left by Gandalf, followed by three hashes to suggest he was there on the 3rd of October, as Strider deduces.

If we wander around to the western side of Weathertop, we find the remains of a small camp with a spring nearby and, beyond some fallen rocks, stacks of firewood.  This is none other than a perfect picture of the camp Strider and the Hobbits stumbled upon, which Strider believed was recently visited by Rangers (who left the firewood) as well as Gandalf.

"They had explored the small dell and the surrounding slopes.  Not far away they found a spring of clear water in the hillside, and near it footprints not more than a day or two old.  In the dell itself they found recent traces of a fire, and other signs of a hasty camp.  There were some fallen rocks on the edge of the dell nearest to the hill.  Behind them Sam came upon a small store of firewood neatly stacked."

Weathertop and the Weather Hills were crucial ground in the millenia before the time of the War of the Ring.  It is said that Elendil stood here, watching for the Elven-king Gil-galad to come from the west, in the days of the Last Alliance at the end of the Second Age.  After the Kingdom of Arnor had been split into three separate kingdoms in year 861 of the Third Age, the area was highly desired by all three.  Not only did Weathertop command a wide view of the East Road and the lands around, but the tower of Amon Sûl contained one of the chief Palantir of the north.  Unfortunately, over the centuries Rhudaur was falling under the sway of Angmar, and waged war against Arthedain and Cardolan.  In the year 1409, Amon Sûl was burned and razed by a host from Angmar.

If Rhudaur sounds familiar from things you have seen in the game, there are very good reasons, particularly in this region.  Signets of Rhudaur sound familiar to anyone?  As should a series of quests in a nearby area...but that's a whole separate blog post!

Sources:  The Fellowship of the Ring and Appendix A:  The Lord of the Rings