LOTRO Game Diary 3 - Ered Luin And Crafting Pains

It's 2 years after the events at Thorin's Gate and I'm now in Ered Luin, a tranquil(by the looks of it) Elven area. Starting out at the refuge of Celondim, I make my way to Cardavor whose looking for his son, Avorthal. He has gone missing and he wants me to trace his last known position.

After doing a bunch of quests for Athal here, we finally find out that Avorthal nowhere to be found nearby. By the looks of it, it seems he has been kidnapped. But by whom? Dun-dun dun... So there were a bunch of goblins near his belongings so the father came to the conclusion that his soon has perished to the goblins. For the next quest, he asks me to go kill a bunch of goblins to avenge the death of his son. Jumping to conclusions there aren't you?!

Which I promptly went on the way to do. Unfortunately, the was a slight, ermm, miscalculation as I fell to the goblins. I had to reconsider whether I was strong enough to go through that quest area(which was teeming with strong goblins). I found out that LOTRO isn't very punishing with deaths as you can revive yourself at the same location (for a limited number of times a day) or spawn back further back in a populated town. I didn't notice any penalty to Halinthir other than receiving a dread status effect that lasts for 10 minutes. No idea what that does but I guess it's not advisable to get into combat.

So instead, I found this elf named Laegon who needed some crafting help. He needed 4 rowan bowstaffs and I being the helpful idiot, gladly obliged having no clue what the heck a rowan bowstaff was or how you make them in the first place. Thankfully there were a bunch of craft trainers nearby and I got trained in the arts of being a forester. You know with Halinthir being an elf with a bow and all that. Got some basic crafting equipment and was on my way chopping wood.

The crafting is a royal pain in the ass. You need to chop wood with your axe, then you'll need to purchase wax from the supplier(which I couldn't find in Celondim), make planks of the wood, then use crafting tools to make parts of weapons or whole weapons. I'm pretty much screwed at Celondim as I can't fulfill Leogans request. I might as well become a farmer(you can be into farming in LOTRO), but even thats bloody complicated with picking the correct seeds, pail of waters, farming tools etc. How can any of this be compelling? Sorry, but Halinthir rather kicks evil butt than to waste ideal time in trivial pursuits such as these.

After kicking some goblin butt, Halinthir finds out that Avorthal was in fact kidnapped by dwarves. Boy those dwarves never give up don't they. Halinthir is tasked with informing Laenin the Glade Watcher at Celondim, and then to travel to Duilond to meet Dorungor Whitethorn. It's quite some distance away. Time for some horse riding...

The first person I spot at Duilond is a suplier. Perhaps I can craft those Rowan bowstaffs for Laegon that lazy craftsman. Anyway, I'm not going to bother updating this game diary with that stupid crafting quest. Next time, Halinthir the Defender of Ered Dulin gets serious and delivers the grim news to Dorungor.


LOTRO Game Diary
Part 1
Part 2
Part 4