LOTRO – Settling up in Snowbourn

Last I wrote about LOTRO we had left Walstow in somewhat better state than we found it, and were being sent back to Snowbourn. Snowbourn remains much the same, a town under threat with less than ideal leadership. Fastred means well, but he has a tendency to charge out the door before putting his boots on. He comes across as really quite young – which is what he is so this is actually a very effective representation of his character.

Initially upon our return the spy plot that simmered under the surface when last we were here takes centre ground, amid a minor witch-hunt. Eventually however the real spy oversteps his mark, and is apprehended. There is a certain amount of satisfaction in that – but there is no time to celebrate because almost immediately we are sent flying back to Walstow which has again come under attack.

This is an instance – we do not actually have to gallop across the Sutcrofts (pity), but to be honest I think it is one of the weaker instances in Eastemnet. It feels like a distraction … which in fact is more or less what it is, because immediately after we help save Walstow we go immediately back to Snowburn which itself is now attacked. This leads through to the major instance ending the questline, and this one was a very great deal of fun. My one complaint, as I have felt at several steps in the Eastemnet instances, is that this should have been a skirmish. In particular this was tailor-made for Dol-Gulder style skirmish (in particular I am thinking Assault on the Ringwraith’s Lair). The final fight was – for me – quite challenging and resulted in me only having 200 health at one point. Ultimately though we prevailed, the general of the enemy was slain, and the forces of Sauron were pushed back … for the time being.

That essentially wrapped up the end of the ordinary questline in Sutcrofts, as far as I can tell. I did the last few quests in Snowbourn in a single evening’s play session – and not a massively long one either, so this was really just the conclusion of the story arc that has been running ever since we entered The Wold. However, I say conclusion but matters are left very unfinished. The battle was won, but Rohan is still over-run with invaders. Fastred has triumped, and by the end of the battle we are told he has grown more into his manhood, but he remains young and his people remain beset. We have not thrown the Orcs back across the Anduin, we have merely given them a blood nose. Many dangers lie to the east … and also behind us. Something is rotten in Rohan.

For my own part I am going to hold off moving onto Wildemore until I have completed rebuilding Hytbold. My work there has slowed of late, but I now only appear to have the Sutcrofts Quarter to complete, and I have done a fair bit of that, and hope to get more done soon.

LOTRO: Work at Walstow

It has been quite some time since I have progressed much further along the solo questline in Rohan. I left off having been directed to Walstow, the final town of Sutcrofts, and of Eastemnet. Then I started to do Hytbold quests, and generally I have found after doing those (and often also killing a few warbands) I have not had time and/or inclination to continue with the Walstow quests. I did a few a couple of weeks ago, and tonight I finally managed to get my head down and get them completed.

Walstow is surrounded, and poorly defended. There are two large orc camps nearby (three if one counts the one in the pass to the East Wall). The situation looks pretty dire, and addressing this situation is what the first set of quests is all about. To begin with there are a couple of quests just in and about Walstow itself – strengthening the defences and gathering supplies. Next it is time to start to take the fight to the enemy, which involves a raid on the two orc-camps. Some of the quests one picks up in Walstow itself, and some whilst “on the job” – and in short order I ran smack into a minor failure of game design which I will get to in a moment. Also there is a business with tracking down a missing Rohirrim, which is interesting as the poor man clearly has had an encounter with a Nazgul or something similar in the recent past. Even so this portion is mostly about killing orcs, and that is something our characters are very accomplished at doing. The pressure on Walstow is relieved, at least for the time being.

That being the case, we are now asked to do a few more tasks. One of these brings out, I think, another minor failure of game design. The rest though follows the theme of the town trying to establish a little more permanency to their situation. Nothing over the top however – it feels much like a small sortie to establish intent. The folks at Walstow are in a bad way, but they are not defeatist. These tasks complete we take our leave of the town to return to Snowbourn to see what Fastred might want us to do next.

It is interesting to compare Walstow with Ethengels, as there are similarities to the two of them. Both towns are led by women Thanes in mourning for the slain. Both seek to persevere against the enemies that beset them, and both are filled with hardy folk. In Ethengels however there was a greater sense of threat as the role of the Reeve of Norcrofts is considerably in doubt. With Walstow and Fastred there is no real doubt which side Fastred is on – his hatred of orcs burns so brightly. Ultimately I think it is probably because the internal story of Walstow is just not as compelling. I must admit I left feeling rather dis-satisfied. Part of that might be to do, of course, with the two game design faults I mentioned earlier.

I should stress these are not bugs. The first is very minor – there is a quest to retrieve a valuable item from just outside Hytbold. When you get there a message pops up saying something like “You retrieve the trinket from near the ruins of a once-prosperous town”. The problem is, by now Hytbold is well on the way to being rebuilt. While not entirely restored as yet, no longer does it lie in ruins. It shows one is “meant” to get to Walstow before the Hytbold quests – but given one can start Hytbold at Level 84 and, so long one is not rushing content, this will likely occur long before Walstow. For me it happened before I even arrived in Sutcrofts.

The second is more annoying. In the raid on the orc camps you can complete all the quests in the northern camp. However, there is one quest one needs that fires when you are in the southern camp, but there is nothing really to point you to it. I had to look it up online. My wife, when she went through the questline, had to do the same. Landscape quests are brilliant ideas, but if you need to kill particular people I think they need to be carefully used. Here I think it was ill-used.

So I leave Walstow feeling something of the wearied adventurer. Fastred will no doubt want more blood – that is his thing. I can only hope Snowbourn has some other charms.

LOTRO: Helping Hytbold

The story of Hytbold is simple enough – it is a town ravaged by the war in Rohan which Eomer asks us to help rebuild. Rebuilding a town takes a lot of work – and LOTRO certainly manages to make it feel like it! Gameplay wise this is meant to be the solo-endgame content of the Riders of Rohan expansion – a nice time-consuming project which gives one a real sense of achievement.

Game mechanics-wise each day you can do give quests which fall under the heading of “Aiding the Eastemnet”. In each of Harwick, Cliving, Eaworth, and Snowbourn there are three quest-givers which give out four quests between them. They each have a selection of different quests which they cycle through. Each quests give reputation of the faction to that area of Rohan, and also 5 tokens of Hytbold. Back in Hytbold itself there are a number of people who have quests to rebuild this or that area of the town, and each of those quests costs a number of Hytbold tokens. Some quests are reputation locked to being Ally or Kindred with the four factions of the Eastemnent.

Given one is limited to 5 quests a day, or to 25 tokens a day, that means a lot of grinding. Actually though it is not quite that bad, so long as one does not regard the quests as an obligation. I have been dawdling along with the quests. Hytbold is far from rebuilt, but two or three times a week I usually go through them. It provides a very nice bite-sized chunk of playtime with a definite goal.

Nevertheless when one is playing a bit more casually, as I am, there is no doubt this is going to take some time. It makes me feel that, after the next expansion, Hytbold is something that is likely to be missed for most characters and will become another piece of endgame littering the landscape after a rise in levelcap.

LOTRO: Stalling in Snowbourn

We arrive in Snowbourn among the refugees from Garsfeld. We are also due to meet up again with Éomer. In both instances we end up needing to see the Reeve of Sutcrofts, Fastred. The initial impression we have of Fastred is not overly positive – he is described as “brutal” very early on. This is actually a somewhat unfair description, but he is a violent man, consumed with the desire for vengeance for the recent death of his father. He acts on this desire by spending alot of his time riding out and killing orcs … and here is the thing – while it may not be precisely the wisest thing to do, it is really incredibly hypocritical of my character to complain to anyone on Middle-Earth that they are spending too much time killing orcs. Well, my character is not Reeve of Sutcrofts true enough, and perhaps Fastred should pay more attention to his people. Éomer wishes his agreement to have them evacuated to a safer place – the choice of Garsfeld in effect. Fastred refuses, mostly out of stubbornness – but while he may refuse for the wrong reasons I think refusing is still the better option. One cannot run forever.

There are several series of quests around Snowbourn. Some of these focus on helping the refugees from Garsfeld. Others concern the presence of a possible traitor. Finally more centre around Fastred himself and his need for vengeance. Despite the other goings on Fastred really dominates the entire show, even in the epic book. Young, brash, heroic, stubborn, and violent – there is a lot to this youthful lord. He may only be pixels, but they are pixels filled with the energy of righteous fury.

I also think the questlines in Snowbourn have suffered because of Hytbold. I put off starting Hytbold until after I completed the epic book, but now I think I would have preferred until after the ordinary questline itself was complete. Rather than spending my time focused in one area I am now dividing my time between the Hytbold activities and the questlines.

What is also lacking from Snowbourn is a sense of conclusion. Book IX of the epic questline wraps up in a nicely dramatic fashion, but the quests in Snowbourn themselves have not. This may be because there is a going to be another series of quests in Snowbourn – but the time being the questlines are pointing me to the last town in East Rohan – Walstow.

LOTRO: Garsfeld under pressure

Garsfeld is the home of the Rohirrim we rescued in Fangorn Forest. He begged us to be of aid to its inhabitants, and in the epic storyline Éomer asked us to meet him in Snowbourne – and Garsfeld happens to be on the way. We approach Garsfeld from the north, green grass with wildflowers on either side. Through the gates it appears to be a slightly rambly place, and full of soldiers. Well, the Rohirrim told us it was approached by a host of orcs so that makes sense. Curious the Mead Hall is the first, I think, without a great fire in the middle. Even Langhold’s tiny hall somehow felt more opulent.

The luscious northern approach was an illusion. Garsfeld is under tight siege, the elderly Thane still brave, but indecisive. His son is more active in Garsfeld’s defence, but limited in what he can do. Nevertheless he sends us on a mission to the crofts. We find these blackened ruins. In time we also get a mission to thin the half-orc numbers in their camp – which we do – but that is all. Unlike, for example, at Faldham where an attack on an orc camp was done with an aim of disrupting the enemy forces by removing leadership and vital supplies, all we do here is kill some half-orc and burn some banners – the latter a task I always figure more likely to enrage than to disorganise.

Even after our successful raid of the half-orc encampment the Thane still dithers. He asks us to consult with his son and two of his lifelong companions. One companion can only see defeat against the vast numbers of the orc, whilst the other does not care to count. He is sure their duty is simple: slaughter every last invader. I must admit, I find his directness refreshing compared next to his thane. The son offers more practical advice – given how bad things have gotten it would be best to evacuate the civilian folk and then defend Garsfeld with the fighting men. The Thane agrees with his son’s recommendations, and says he will stay with the defenders whilst his son will lead their people to Snowbourne.

First though we have a last set of tasks, to see if there are any survivors from the croft at greatest distance to Garsfeld. The place is over-run with orcs, with many slaughtered. One man alone appears to be a survivor, tied up. We free him and quickly set about revenging the fallen farm folk. That done, it is time to return to Garsfeld to assist in the evacuation. All the time I can not help but to think of Langhold. The situations are not entirely the same, but there are similarities. An inactive Thane, a vast opposing force, and a decision to evacuate. This time though we are not staying behind.

As it happens the evacuees are attacked along the route, but the orcish raiders are fought off with help from yours truly, and we arrive at Snowbourne. Garsfeld is left behind to its fate.

I have to say, for the first time in the expansion I feel a little underwhelmed. There is no “great moment” to the Garsfeld quests. No named enemy to slay – even in the final instance. Perhaps the quest line will lead us back there at some point, but right now the entire storyline feels quite weak. Given the high quality of the other quest hubs, this is truly disappointing.

I am now in Snowbourne, ready for what is presumably the final portion of the single-player storyline. Hytbold still awaits me too, and the rest of the Book IX, so there is still plenty to do.

LOTRO – Loyal to a fault in Eaworth

We head to Eaworth – the chief settlement of the Entwash Vale – expecting trouble. Horn, one of our companions, is son to Reeve Ingbert. They did not part on friendly terms. We arrive in Eaworth to find it has seen better times – the fields outside its walls are blackened and burned and some houses within its pallisade have also been destroyed.

Eaworth is paralysed. Apparently King Theoden has decreed that the Riders should not go on the offensive against the orcs troubling their lands, and Reeve Ingbert through his loyalty to the King is obeying these orders. His other son, Ingmar, furiously disagrees with him. His daughter, Ingyth, was betrothed to Theodren whom fell on the Isen. Now Horn comes back, unlooked for, with a Dundlending woman and an elf – and me – and well, it is not the happiest of meetings. Looking on is Goda, matriarch, supporting the will of Theoden. A family drama worthy of any soap opera – and with the effect it leaves the folk of Eaworth leaderless.

Well, fortunately for the folk of Eaworth we have become very skilled at providing a bit of leadership. Undoubtedly my favourite of the Eaworth quests was helping a young girl stop a fight between two of her friends – a questline that ultimately has us slaying a load of drakes. Indeed there are two questlines – of which this is one – that lead into dungeons. Now, I have a slight bone to pick with the quest design because in both quests I stumbled into the dungeons before completing (what seemed to me) like a fairly arbitrary step of the questlines. This included (as I recall) a quest starting from a looted item. That does not so bad, but in these days where I tend to let loot build up “remotely” I did not trigger the quest until I had already been through the dungeon once. I will chalk this one up to “unintended consequences” of a new game mechanic, but it is not something I wish to see again in areas other than East Rohan. Annoying though this was, the dungeons were actually pretty good fun with neat little exploration deeds. Also I must praise the inclusion of open tapping which meant several times wholly ad hoc groups formed in particular places (no formal fellowships) with folks afterwards heartily cheering each other. Good to see. Barriers to grouping should be lowered – and open tapping is a great way to have done so.

At some point enough deeds have been done in Eaworth that Reeve Ingbert is forced to start taking us seriously. On the one hand this is good – on the other it involves counselling him between remaining loyal to Theoden’s order or taking a more active approach to the orcs. The way the story is written one’s choice is only a matter of roleplaying – though I do not know what consequences it may have down the road. In the event I advised him not to sit back and let the orcs run rampant, and that is first loyalty was to his people. This is the approach that Ingmar was arguing for all along, but impatient and brash he starts an attach on the orcish camp before all is prepared.

The ensuing battle is actually a lot of fun consisting of mounted and dismounted portions. The conclusion is that Ingmar is wounded, we are triumphant, but that a traitor is uncovered. This is sore news for the Reeve, but he is a man who has finally shown some back-bone and who is determined to stand up for his people. He is, dare I say it, a very good man. It is just a shame that his loyalty is misplaced.

Meanwhile in the epic questline Book 8 has reached its conclusion and Book 9 begins with a meeting with Eomer. He advises us to go north, to the site of his slaughter of some orcs. Meanwhile Reeve Ingbert too asks us to go north to find out what has happened to Thornhope, the other main settlement of the Vale. Aid was requested, and has not arrived.

What I particularly liked about my time in Eaworth was the reasoning given by the traitor. Theoden was a dotard, so at Grima Wormtongue’s urging submitting to Saruman seemed safer as Saruman offered to restore order. It is a seductive reasoning, and a good interpretation I feel to what Grima must have been doing to Rohan as the King became more debilitated.

We leave Eaworth in better state than we found it – but nevertheless it is still a troubled place. At least it has so far survived.

 

LOTRO: The Stalwart Youth of Faldham

In the southern portion of Norcrofts lies the settlement of Faldham. So far it has been untouched by war, but the young thane knows it is only a matter of time until the war comes to him. He is Elfmar, son of Elfhelm (whom we met on the Isen). Here we are presented with an image of a son of a great man, trying to act in a way that would make his father proud – and that gains him the respect of the veterans under his command. These veterans have refused to follow Reeve Athelward’s orders to gather in Cliving – and Elfmar understands that  Athelward only thinks of Cliving and not the rest of the realm.

The first thing we do is spar with some of Elfmar’s men. This is a rather fun little instance where some of the opponents give in very easily, and others not so easily at all. We also spar with Elfmar himself. Youthful he may be, but there is no doubt he takes his role as a military warlord seriously. In the next series of quests it becomes plain he takes his role as protector of his people very seriously too, as we help the folk of Faldham prepare themselves for the coming battle. Some of these tasks are fairly mundane – helping people board up their houses for example. Others are far more military, such as a pre-emptive strike against an orc-ish encampment and thereby hoping to disrupt the attack.

Overall there is a “calm before the storm” feel to Faldham, but not an ignorance. The people are serious minded going about their business as the children, more innocent of the world, run and play. The storm does eventually break however in an instance where we start off following Elfmar – and then others – in defending Faldham from assault. In what I felt was a rather nice touch, one of the Rohirrim warriors at some point says how useful it was to have disrupted the orc-ish encampment. This is a little thing, but it always heartening to see the developers try to give quests a sense of significance.

Faldham is defended, and both the epic storyline and ordinary quests now set us of to see the Reeve of Entwash Vale. Faldham has been far the most “hopeful” of all the settlements we have visited in eastern Rohan, with a capable and even optimistic Thane. We leave Faldham and Norcrofts behind on a high.

LOTRO: Confused about the cautious coward of Cliving

When I entered the town of Cliving for the first time my entire expectation of Reeve Athelwald would be to find a craven wastrel of a man, someone like Sithric at Stangard who was obviously working counter to the interests of his people and the wider Realm. I leave Cliving confused. Athelwald may over-cautious, even cowards, when one looks at things strategically. There is no doubt however that he is personally very brave. Moreover he is courteous and caring, and exhibits concern for his people. And yet, something nags.

The conclusion of my business with Athelward’s hunter did not aid my already negative impression of Athelward. After a bit of this and that he eventually revealed he was on a mission to track down some orcs that had attacked Cliving, and peremptorily informed us to go and do his job. Well, I have no objections to getting rid of some orcs, so off I went to stop them bothering the folk of Rohan. Only the orc commander, while we were fighting, kept shouting about why he had been ordered not to attack Cliving and was the attack on Cliving the reason he was being hunted. One cannot trust orcs and yet … ordered not to attack Cliving.

So, onto Cliving it was. Amongst other things one meets a guard there who gives you the reward for killing the orcs – and it appears the guards don’t like the hunstman either. It was the first note that rang odd – it sounded just like a conversation I could have at Ethengels. Still, the “ordinary men” might be true Rohirrim and the rot still be at the top.

Athelwald, when I met him, was courteous. He gave a pretty speech about being sorry for Thane Mildreth’s loss, is quite open about us meeting her daughter, and even asks us to speak to his guard-captain to see if there is anything we can do to help. Mildreth’s daughter is a little sad with her griefs, but reports to us she is well and feels safe, and that Athelwald has been an upstanding gentleman. One suspicion at least laid to rest.

There are then a series of differing quests in and around Cliving. Within the walls there is an assassination attempt being investigated – which leads into a murder investigation. It ends up with three possible suspects, and one has to make a decision as to which is most likely to have committed it. The person is then held for further questioning – an interesting choice since there is no way of knowing the “right” one. There is also a little love story that provides an amusing diversion. Without the walls the Reeve wants us to help evacuate some crofters to within the walls of Cliving.

We also meeting with a captain who chaffs at his orders not to ride forth against the orcs – his orders are to guard the western entrance to the town. All but one of his men wish to make the ride, and we go along. It is a rather good little instance, but at the conclusion the captain is summoned to the Reeve. The Reeve asks our opinion, and he decides to promote the man who did not take part in the ride to the post of Captain, and to make the former captain his own personal bodyguard – hardly a demotion. Indeed, one can argue it puts him into a position of influence. Yet … he also takes someone who rode out against the orcs from the field.

The Reeve however then does something utterly unexpected – he asks us to join him on an outing against the orcs. Me and him. Quite a few orcs get slain in the process, and it is clear that Athelwald is both a capable warrior and no base coward. Afterwards he offers for all of us to stay in Cliving – though we refuse.

Curiously he then asks us to help train his daughter as a Shield-Maiden. This opens a short series of quests where we take an impetuous young woman and start to make her realise the difference between saga and reality – and one leaves her with a sense she will be a credit to her people and country. Finally Athelwald makes an offer of marriage to Thane Mildreth – which she rejects – and there are quests from both sending us onto Faldham, the last town of Norcrofts.

So I leave Cliving, not sure what to make of the Reeve. He is certainly not in open league with the enemy, nor was there any obvious evidence of the influence of Grima Wormtongue. It is quite possible that he is just excessively cautious, seeing his primary duty to defend the folk of Cliving and making the rest of Norcrofts and unhappy (but in his view necessary) sacrifice. He would not be the first military commander who was never convinced he had enough strength. Cliving is certainly enviably located for defence on a steep hill with several layers of fortification. It is a large town – the largest so far we have encountered in Rohan, and it is bustling with activity. It appears prosperous, and even peaceful.

Certainly the evidence against the Reeve is hardly conclusive. The screeching of an orc before its death is hardly reliable – and besides it might be a good military choice not to force a timid, cautious Reeve from his roost by attacking him directly. His decision to concentrate all forces in Cliving might even make a certain degree of sense if he believes there to be a large enemy host about – the separate forces of Norcrofts might be insignificant separated but make a host of its own together. Alternatively perhaps he is just over-cautious and over-timid, if not actually cowardly.

Yet … something does not quite feel right. In Cliving we met with four Rohirrim – members of Eomer’s company that we first actually met all the way in Rushgore back in the Great River region. When Athelward hears who they are from he plans to hold a great feast – but the Riders choose to slink away feeling uneasy about the entire situation. Like them, I am happy to leave Cliving behind me. It is filled with good people, but I feel my character will be glancing backward now and then to see if he is followed.

LOTRO: The widow of Ethengels

From The Wold the epic quest line leads us into Norcrofts, loosely following a party of Uruks. So it is we come to the town of Ethengels. Ethengels has suffered its fair share of recent tragedy. The thane was killed in battle with Orcs, and his heir also killed. The new thane, Mildreth, widow and bereaved mother, is doing her best to rally her people and guide them through these difficult times with no support from other lords, in particular from the Reeve of Norcrofts – “that coward Athelward” is how she refers to him. In such a situation, a hero from The Wold probably looks like a minor miracle.

In truth though there is only so much one can do to aid the folks of Ethengels – helping thin the numbers of orcs in its environs, gathering healing herbs, rescuing supplies are all useful, but hardly ground-breaking. More poignantly we recover the sword, shield, and helmet of the slain Thane on battlefield to the north. Whilst spending time in the tavern we learn that the Reeve of Norcrofts had challenged Mildreth’s son to a duel, with the son slain. Before this tale is complete however some orcs start an attack on Ethengels.

Once more than following instance felt it should be more like a skirmish, an offensive skirmish like “Thievery and Mischief”. There were a number of would-be control points where we fight alongside our trio of companions from Lothlorien. Alas for missed opportunities. The end result of the fight is two-fold however. The epic quest-line takes us towards the town of Cliving and the Reeve, whom we learn has made Mildreth’s daughter his ward. The regular quest-line – which I followed initially – has us helping a family of refugees leave Ethengels.

This last is another touching little quest as we  help the family say their goodbyes to the folks they leaving behind, and we then escort them to a merchant’s encampment. Once there the merchants have a bit of work for us to do, which includes leading an attack on a camp of orcs to the south of Ethengels. We move onward to try to help some of the farmers left vulnerable by the Reeve’s lack of action (no one so far has spoken well of him). Mostly we are too late, only finding one survivor and his son. It appears some orcs have taken over an old Gondorian tower, so we slay the local orc chief. It feels too little too late. These people have a Reeve who is meant to be their protector.

After doing what we can to aid the farmer we go back to the Trader’s encampment, and they direct us to a man from Cliving who, it transpires, is the Reeve’s huntsman. This arrogant ponce is the first person to speak at all positively of Reeve Athelward. To put it politely, I am not convinced.

That is where I currently am in LOTRO – I hope to progress further this weekend. I generally follow the ordinary quests of an area, and do the epic quests along the way as I encounter them. Doing so has allowed a most wonderfully negative image of this Reeve build up. It is as good a characterisation of a npc in a game as think I have ever seen. I have yet to set eyes on this guy, or set foot in his city, and already I hate his guts.

Ethengels also offers us yet another viewpoint on war – just as Langhold, Harwick, and Floodwend have all displayed. Ethengels shows us grief and resiliency, and a determination to carry one even though one is not quite sure how. In the Ethengels quests I was reminded of England in June 1940. There is a spirit of hope and gritty determination, but no knowledge of how actually to triumph – just the solid and stubborn desire not to give in. I am suspecting that Cliving will show us a darker side of war, and it will be to Cliving that I shall soon be going.  Looking over my shoulder however one cannot help but think of Mildreth. She has buried her husband and her son, and wears her mourning black, and she fears for her daughter. However, even in the pit of her despair she struggles on, leading her people and even sending what aid she can to The Wold. The folk of Ethengels have taken their cue from her, and are stalwart in their defence of their homes. It is an image that, for all its sorrow, is not without hope.

 

LOTRO: Growing up and letting go in Floodwend

Tomorrow my daughter is five months old, and utterly dependent on her mummy and daddy (ie, me!). At some point that will change. At some point all parents have to allow their children to live their own lives. It is perhaps the defining part of parenthood – to see whether this life one has cherished and cared for is able to soar. One has to give them the freedom to realise their dreams, but this also means the freedom to fail.

I am not looking forward to it.

We arrive in Floodwend having assisted the small outpost of Twickenburg by investigating a mound containing a tomb with some restless dead. From there we are directed to Floodwend where the young Thane’s mother is holding tightly onto her son, Radwig. His father has recently been killed in another early blow of the invasion of Rohan. Floodwend, like the rest of The Wold, is beset. Her son is young, fired up with youthful dreams, eager to be a good leader for his people. In the culture he belongs to “good leader” means “military warrior”. Of course, riding out to war is hardly the safest of activities, or the most certain. Caution is a disputed military virtue. Too excessive and you end up like McClellan – too excessive and you become a reckless idiot. Of course, the definition of what is reckless or overly timid changes depend on the situation – and therein is the trick. Being a young man, eager to avenge your father’s death and to play hero is perhaps not the best frame of mind. Of course, recently widowed and being fearful for your son’s life is also not perhaps the best frame of mind.

At first, Radwig’s mother definitely has the upper hand in their relationship – and the general approval of the majority of the people of Floodwend. The lordling however sends us out to cause some trouble for the minions of Sauron. This seems to inspire Radwig, who tries to make a sortie himself. I say tries because his mother cleverly makes sure some of the guards keep him out of trouble. His basic idea is sound though – try a pre-emptive attack to disrupt the preparations of the forces gathering against Floodwend. On our return to the town, his mother has some sharp words for us, and then dispatches us to the outpost of North-tor, hoping to try and reclaim some of her influence over her son.

From North-tor we learn the situation is more serious than just an assault of Easterlings and orcs, as the quests eventually uncover that the Nazgul which attacked Langhold is leading the assault on Floodwend. Fortune – or perhaps more accurately foolhardiness (in other words, the quest objective) leads us to drive the Nazgul off with fire. The attack still falls on Floodwend, but weakened due to our attacks on the enemy forces. Waiting in the Mead-Hall before the attack Radwig dismisses his guards to help defend the rest of the town, over his mother’s protests (and attempted counter-orders) to stand with us facing any attackers than break into the hall. There are several waves of these. Radwig is no slouch when it comes to combat – and as a Hunter I found him quite effective at keeping the baddies at an initial distance allowing me not to be entirely swampped all the time. After the fight Radwig receives the grateful thanks of his people, and has earned the admiration of his mother whom has started to see the man he is becoming.

The story in Floodwend is of an heir becoming a thane, of an inexperienced youth filled with childish thoughts starting to grow into the grizzled warrior lord (if he is fortunate to to live so long). It is also the story of a parent learning to let her son go. Along with Langhold and Harwick, Floodwend offers us a triptych of war.

Alongside the quests that centre on Floodwend we also pick up again with the epic storyline, which culminates in a “race” to the first town in the Norcrofts region of Eastern Rohan. The entire series of quests in and around Floodwend flow very nicely from one to the other. Indeed, the whole questline in The Wold generally flows very smoothly with relatively few awkward edges. The one element that was a slight let-down was the final assault on Floodwend. It felt like that was begging to be turned into a defensive skirmish with three or four phases, culminating in the final battle at the mead-hall.

I have now completed, to the best of my knowledge, the regular quests in The Wold, and onto Norcrofts it is.