Strayed Captain

So, there was this con and also I had to prepare for an exam, so much for the delay. In unrelated news I dinged 75 the day before yesterday just as I entered the Ring of Isengard (for the last time probably).

Anyway I promised a post so here goes, the first area is short in terms of content so I’ve decided to put it together with the next one.

Tâl Methedras

This area is situated below Misty Mountains far to the east of Galtrev (you’ll be crossing some higher level territory on your way there), it’s also the only area the name of which is Sindarin and save for the Rangers one of the very few things that have a Sindarin name in the entire region (the next one is Dol Baran in the Gap and I can’t remember anything else), the name means Foot of the Last peak since it stands on the slopes of the same mountain that is towering above Isengard – Methedras, the last peak of the Misty Mountains. The area is quite small, instanced (in the sense of the Mirkwood landing area) and devoted entirely to the progression of the Epic book. It consists mostly of the village of Tûr Morva -partially built on some old Gondorian ruins, a small lake and a farther shore thereof.

Tûr Morva (Marsh tower) is home to the Hebog-lûth, the Falcon clan and the Rangers are hoping this clan will make good allies. We and the Grey Company do however need to prove ourselves before the Dunlendings. At every corner of the village you’ll see a Ranger helping or at least talking to the Dunlendings – Halbarad is carrying buckets of water, Braigiar is cutting down wood, Golodir is tending to an orchard and Radanir is working with the oxen (and their manure), he is not pleased. You’ll also see Elrond’s sons but they are just standing around. There are tasks for us as well – gather some wood, fight some Dunlendings (to test their prowess and to teach them how we roll in the North), treat some skins, etc. There is one nice quest that is different for every race – if you’re a Hobbit, a Dwarf or an Elf you will speak with some Dunlendings who more or less want to learn about you. If you’re a Man you will bring news of Anirin to his mother and wife who were worried about him (Anirin is the Dunlending you’ve rescued from Lhaid Ogo in the previous book, he came from this very village). As a reward you’ll get a book which is a clickable item that gives a buff: mine is called “For Honour, Duty and Love” and gives +20 Will and +2% incoming healing (it basically offsets racial passive traits and enhances other stuff). The buff lasts fro an hour and the item has twelve-hour cooldown.

Some of the quests send you across the lake and this is where all the animals are hiding, you’ll see oxen and toads (both passive) and also a new type of mob – avanc, a big lizard based on some Welsh legends and looking nothing like the reptiles we’ve seen so far. They can stun, bruise (+50% incoming damage for a few seconds) and “embed a tooth” into you (DoT). They also have some impressive jaws and this is why you’re catching them, apparently the jaws make for good traps. The toads I mentioned earlier produce some strong venom and you are asked to gather some of it. When you return to the NPC he immediately licks it to test it: “That’s what we needed … oh boy, I’m feeling weak … go … find a healer”. If it were a Hobbit I would understand but he’s a Dunlending and he should know better not lick things, well, at least we know the venom will work. Once you make traps from the avanc-jaws you are sent back to set them up – something has been creeping around the shore. I was expecting that I’ll stick around to catch whatever was there but not this time, you set the traps and return to the NPC without any follow up quest to be given (though there will be a follow-up later). You’ll also get a stack of five avanc-jaw traps that are usable by any class (I still got mine).

After helping the village here and there you’ll check on a prisoner – an emissary from Isengard – you don’t get much from him except that you should not trust the clan. Then you’re sent back into Dunland to check on other clans and come back later with the news. Onward to Starkmoor.

Starkmoor

This area lies a little southwest from Dunland and as far as animals go there is nothing new in here (oxen, wolves and wargs), it is a land of herders and traders. If you’re returning from Tûr Morva you’ll make a stop in Galtrev and you’ll be asked to find Wadu’s ghost near Galtrev – it’s Nona of course, she’ll tell you to meet her in Starkmoor later. On your way to Starkmoor you’ll discover a wrecked cart and its owner, Andras. Your first quests are to recover what has been dragged away by the Draig-lûth. Their camp is right below the tall Gondorian tower that you can see from almost everywhere (and that you cannot climb). After that you are to check on Andras’ little son, Mabon, near his homestead. At the homestead you will also find Nona, who has you checking on the homestead itself before traveling further south and leaving you behind to once again “help as much you can”. Andras wanted to sell some goods in an auction to pay his debts but what you recovered is not enough so he sent you to fetch other stuff, you’ll go to get some carrots, hides and so on. This a similar chain to the one in Annúminas – you are given a ledger with the things that needed to be gathered, you read it and are given a quest, once you complete the objectives the quest finishes and you need to read the ledger again to get the next quest, no need to run to any NPC. After the goods are gathered (and the homestead defended from Dunlendings – thanks to the intervention of some members of the Boar clan) you will travel south to the trading post of Avardin where Andras should be waiting.

Avardin (I wasn’t able to find a suitable translation) is a rather large village with an open-air auction hall in the middle. Andras wants to attend the auction and sell his goods but he needs other people to attend too but no one seems to be willing. Turns out the people in Avardin have lost many of their goods as well (and/or have “sold” those to the war effort) and you need to go and get what you can. One merchant misses tags from his cattle that’s been dragged away by wargs (apparently in Dunland you can only own as many sheep as you have tags for), another wants to “avenge” his cattle (by slaying those wargs), another wants to make a necklace from the warg leader’s tooth and the last wants some stones to build walls around grazing grounds or something. After you help them you can attend the auction, and this is where it got interesting – Saruman showed up – and I have to say the Wizard has an interesting approach to auctions: “I bid four!”, “The White Hand bids five!”, “I bid six”, “The White Hand bids five!”, “I bid eight” … “Sold to the fine Wizard for five”. Andras of course objects to this treatment and later to the entirety of Saruman’s business in Dunland. He is invited to go to Isengard to see for himself how Saruman makes Dunland prosper and he is not seen since. Now that he’s gone and the auction didn’t go as planned Mabon inherited his father’s debt. But even the corrupt auctioneer is not happy, he sends you to go after the caravan that is carrying Saruman’s goods and retrieve some of it. After you do that he’ll send you to cause some damage in the south so that the warriors would need to buy new weapons and armour from the auctioneer. This is the first time you’ll get a glimpse on Wulf’s Cleft, a huge Dunlending encampment where warriors from Dunland have been gathered as they prepare for the war with Rohan. However you won’t go inside (snd what you’ll see is just an animation). After you return to Avardin you’ll find the auctioneer lying dead on his spot with a banner of the White hand above him (thanks, phasing to phasing technology), I guess Saruman found out. Also Mabon is missing and you’re sent to the area of Dunbog to find him (because apparently there is a monster living in the swamp that catches little children). In the middle of it all there is also an interesting quest where you need to gather some horses that have scattered after a recent storm. You’ll actually find horses standing around the area and you’ll need to mount them and ride them to Avardin (now I wonder if you can actually ride them away).

The last interesting thing is a large circular structure west of Avardin called the Culling Pit. In here a full fellowship is tasked to battle to the death with four different and increasingly difficult opponents – first is a bunch of Dunlendings, then three drakes (Ice, Fire, Acid), then a Giant (with a complimentary polar bear) and finally three Shak-hai, Saruman’s elite force (he’ll show up again for this occassion). I did those quests a little later when I was at level 71, our tank was level 75 and it kinda felt boring, we had one or two deaths (LM being one-shotted) but otherwise the tank had no problem and it was just about killing the enemies, I did get a nice piece of jewelry though.

Overall the area isn’t bad but quest-wise it’s kinda short because you aren’t running all over the place like you do in Pren Gwyth but the story of Dunland is getting more interesting. Next stop: Dunbog.

Tags: dunland, region overview

This entry was posted on Friday, November 11th, 2011 at 16:26 and is filed under Rise of Isengard. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.