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The One Ring Forums: Tolkien Topics: Gaming & Collecting:
LOTRO lore/depiction of regions

ThorinsNemesis
Lorien


Apr 20 2015, 7:39pm

Post #1 of 11 (6041 views)
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LOTRO lore/depiction of regions Can't Post

Since starting to play Lord of the Rings Online some years ago, I liked some regions in the game, for example the North Downs, Evendim and Angmar. But I haven't read the books and don't know if there are descriptions in the books that contradict with their depiction ingame. Can anyone tell me:
1. Does the look of the North Downs and Evendim (their forests, towns, ruins etc.). look the way Tolkien described them (if he did)? Do Fornost and Annuminas's ruins look lore-wise? Is Trestlebridge mentioned in the books? If not, do you find the town's location and depiction acceptable, and possible; was it possible that there could have really been a cleft across the Greenway spanned by a wooden bridge?
2. I heard somewhere that Angmar was described in the books as being cold and icy; though, in Lotro, Angmar is depicted as more Mordor-looking, with dead trees and black rock-ground. Does its depiction contradict lore; or, could it really have looked like in Lotro?
3. Have you seen how Carn Dum looks like in the game Lotr War in the North? If in the Hobbit or Lotr movies Carn Dum was shown, do you think it would look more like in LOTR War in the north or like in Lotro (which game's Carn Dum and Angmar have a more movie-like feeling)? Or, do you think Angmar in the movies may have looked like the rocky cliffs seen near Mount Gundabad in the Hobbit movies?



Eruclauron
Bree


Apr 20 2015, 8:27pm

Post #2 of 11 (6036 views)
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Mae govannen! [In reply to] Can't Post

I'm glad to meet another The Lord of the Rings Online player! Since starting back in summer 2012, it's quickly become my favorite game, and I hope I can answer your questions well! Smile
1. I do believe those places do look similar, if not the same, as they do in the book, however Trestlebridge is not something found in Tolkien's books. I think its location, however, is completely acceptable! It's a game, and it's the sort of game that does need town spread throughout, both for travel, and for safe areas, and so Trestlebridge serves a very important purpose!
2. I have heard the same about Angmar. I think its adaptation shown in the game is good though: it really feels evil and dark, and if it had been icy it may have felt a bit too much like southern Forochel, or the Misty Mountains, which are also cold and snowy environments.
3. I have! Another one of my favorite games, actually! Wink I think were Carn Dûm to be shown in the films, it would have looked more like in War in the North. That game in general has a more movie-esque aesthetic (while The Lord of the Rings Online takes a more book-like approach), so it just seems more fitting to the designs of the films.

Hope that helped! And if you want to know anything else about the lore, this website is an amazing resource: http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Main_Page



ThorinsNemesis
Lorien


Apr 20 2015, 8:47pm

Post #3 of 11 (6032 views)
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Fellow game player [In reply to] Can't Post

Wow, Lotro and War in the North are two of my favorite games, too Smile! By the way, on Lotro, I play on Arkenstone; which server do you play on?
Thanks for your answers, and yeah, I noticed the movies-feeling in War in the North and l know that Lotro is books-only based.
Do you think that, when Angmar was abandoned, it still may have looked like in Lotro?
And, if in the Hobbit the Battle of the Five Armies Extended Edition they include flashback scenes of Angmar, do you think they may make it look more like in Lotro? Or, make it snowy, like Forochel? Or make it look like the surroundings of Mount Gundabad from the same movie?



Eruclauron
Bree


Apr 20 2015, 9:08pm

Post #4 of 11 (6026 views)
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Vilya [In reply to] Can't Post

I play on Vilya, unfortunately. Unsure Maybe. I'm sure there would have been a lot of machines there, like in Isengard and Mordor, so it likely would have been less icy, since fires would be burning everywhere and such. I think if they would show more of Angmar in the films it would look more like the Gundabad area, since that's a little bit of the region that they've already shown in the films.



ThorinsNemesis
Lorien


Apr 20 2015, 9:27pm

Post #5 of 11 (6025 views)
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Trestlebridge [In reply to] Can't Post

Pity we aren't on the same servers Unsure.
Regarding Trestlebridge, I found a thread here: http://www.warcry.com/news/view/68564-Lord-Of-The-Rings-Online-Exploring-Middle-earth-Trestlebridge
It explains the cleft knifed between the North Downs and Southern Angmar; I am confused, ingame it knifes between Bree Land and the North Downs and was located on the Greenway. Is it supposed in lore to be in the northern reaches of the North Downs, not on the Greenway; or just was written during early production of the game?



ThorinsNemesis
Lorien


Apr 21 2015, 11:03am

Post #6 of 11 (6001 views)
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Trestlebridge - even more confused [In reply to] Can't Post

I found this map of Lotro locations: http://map.lotr-online.de/index_tolkien.php
It shows Trestlebridge in the northern reaches of the North Downs rather than in the south; and it says its river flows from the Emyn Uial (Evendim Hills) in the west (while ingame the river that Trestlebridge is situated on branches off the Brandywine river), and this article claims the same: http://www.warcry.com/news/view/68564-Lord-Of-The-Rings-Online-Exploring-Middle-earth-Trestlebridge. Can anyone explain me why is it located in the northernmost part of the North Downs on the map? Is it supposed in lore to be located just south of Angmar, as said in the article? Or, is it just a post-production location and description?



Hobbity Hobbit
Lorien


Apr 21 2015, 11:06pm

Post #7 of 11 (5974 views)
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Hey [In reply to] Can't Post

I play on Evernight and Landroval, did you see the new sneak peak? I'm excited because now that The Hobbit is over, it's something that's Middle-earth that I can look forward to (that and the BOTFA EE, Hobbit Music Book, and Chronicles).

Also Trestlebridge is in the South, I think its a mistake, I don't think there's any lore that says Trestlebridge is there. Actually I think it's being confused with Trestlespan, that's between the Greenway and Trestlebridge.

Also I think the movie Angmar might be a bit closer to the book, because it did look cold there, there was a bit of snow. I don't think Gundabad Fortress is related to Angmar entirely, because Gunabad was built by orcs/dwarves(???) and Angmar was built by men. I looked it up earlier, because I don't think there is too much information in the books. It does say it was important to dwarves, because it was where Durin the Deathless woke, though it also said Gunabad was taken by the orcs in the Second Age. It isn't clear who built it, because it does say it is sacred to the dwarves, but it doesn't say they lived there. It also says that was where the goblins gathered to march to Erebor lore-wise. It also says it was the capital of the orcs of the North. Confused by these orcs and dwarves things, he didn't write much about dwarves' history and language.

"As the snowflakes cover my fallen brothers,
I will say this last goodbye."

(This post was edited by Hobbity Hobbit on Apr 21 2015, 11:07pm)


ThorinsNemesis
Lorien


Apr 22 2015, 4:23am

Post #8 of 11 (5960 views)
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Lands between Eriador and Angmar [In reply to] Can't Post

What is the sneak peak you mean?
Under lore I meant the thread and map I posted links to - according to them Trestlebridge was created for the lands between Eriador and Angmar, north of the North Downs. I wonder why they decided to move it to the Greenway?



Hobbity Hobbit
Lorien


Apr 22 2015, 1:04pm

Post #9 of 11 (5939 views)
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The Sneak Peak is the Update 16 Developer's Video, it's over on the forums. [In reply to] Can't Post

It might of been a mistake on the map I think, since its a LOTRO map, but not made by an official site (Not entirely sure, but I think it isn't because all official forums for all countries are the same site). Is there a posting date, maybe that way you could tell if it they moved it or not. By Eriador, do you mean the Ettenmoors, because Angmar is a part of Eriador.

Oh, I think you can report errors, it says if you hover over comments, the one that has eng next to it. I think that means that they knew there were some errors, and to report them. I think it might of been a mistake instead of a pre-production map?

Just looked at the website. Also I think that might be the game lore, the person who wrote it made a few mistakes. He might of made one on Trestlebridge, not entirely sure. He definitely did make one with Eriador and Angmar, because Angmar is a part of Eriador. All of that map is in a region of Middle-Earth called Eriador, I believe. The bottom might not be part of Eriador though.

"As the snowflakes cover my fallen brothers,
I will say this last goodbye."


ThorinsNemesis
Lorien


Apr 22 2015, 1:57pm

Post #10 of 11 (5934 views)
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Developent map of Lotro - theories [In reply to] Can't Post

So, Lotro was released in 2007,while the date underneath the map is year 2005-2006; so, maybe it got moved to the Greenway? Maybe they moved it because they thought no one would want to live so close to Angmar? What do you think?
Also for reference, the Lotro map I posted a link to is correct - the locations on this map show Bree and its surrounding villages and Weathertop on their right positions. And the ruined watchtower (Falconer's tower ingame) is shown near Fornost.



ThorinsNemesis
Lorien


Apr 25 2015, 7:17am

Post #11 of 11 (5862 views)
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Trestlebridge location? [In reply to] Can't Post

After much thought I came up with a theory concerning Trestlebridge:
Turbine changed the North Downs so Fornost is located in the north rather than in the south. In another thread I saw from 2006 (similar to the Trestlebridge thread I posted a link to, but concerning the ruined watchtower, named Falconer's tower ingame, located in the Fields of Fornost) the ruined watchtower is described as located 'to the north and east of Fornost, where Arvedui fought a losing battle after fleeing from Fornost'. On the map I posted a link to, that watchtower is also located to the northeast of Fornost. So I was thinking, even though they changed the North Downs so much ingame, maybe they kept in mind the North Downs were the hills north of Fornost, not south of it, and so they decided that in Tolkien's middle-earth Trestlebridge and the ruined watchtower would be located north of Fornost (but made them south of it imgame), as the North Downs and the lands north of it are plain and 'uncharted' on Middle-earth's map. And maybe Trestlebridge would then really serve as a strategic point of defence for Arnor. But, because of an unknown reason, maybe they decided to move the ruined watchtower and Trestlebridge south of Fornost (with Trestlebridge being located on the Greenway). Also, it would make sence if, as mentioned in Trestlebridge's thread, during the Witchking's retrrat from Fornost to Carn Dum his forces destroyed the bridge and the town was all but forgotten, thus not being on the map of Middle-earth, and even more sence if it was just south of Angmar as on the map, because the thread describes the cleft of Cirith Nur as a barrier to northerly travel, which wouldn't be logicaly located on a road such as the Greenway.
Keep in mind I know well that nothing concerning Trestlebridge and the ruined watchtower is on Middle-earth's map. This is my theory on why Trestlebridge on the map and thread I posted links to was located in the northernmost part of the North Downs. What do you think of my theory (by the way if anyone has another theory, feel free to post it here) :) ?


 
 

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