Blue Mountains (Biome)

The once-great Blue Mountains (Ered Luin) are a mountain range far in the west, near the High Elven realm of Lindon. Besides the Iron Hills, it is one of the few remaining lands where dwarves live freely. Sarlluin, the populous sarluin stone found exclusively in the Blue Mountains has a blue shine. As with many other mountain regions, the Blue Mountains are covered in snow. The snow starts at around layer 100 while the thick snow (snow blocks) starts around layer 110. Under layer 100 there is only the Sarlluin ground while under level 90 grass can come through the sarlluin, creating small valleys in which trees and other plants can grow.

Along with the Iron Hills, this biome is one of the few biomes to contain Glowstone Ore.

The Blue Mountains are home to the Firebeard and Broadbeam dwarf tribes. Of old they built the great cities of Nogrod and Belegost. As such there are many structures of the Dwarves here. Belegost was known as the "Great Fortress" while Nogrod was famous for their great forges and smithies who first created chain mail.

Blue Mountains Foothills
The Blue Mountains Foothills are one of the sub-biomes of the Blue Mountains. They are the foothills that surround the Blue Mountains biome. It is still a hilly region, but these hills can't be compared with the mountains themselves. Snow cannot be found in the foothills, but patches of Sarlluin spawn underground and occasional on the surface. Sometimes, Blue Dwarven houses spawn in this region. The Blue Mountains Foothills also contains a forest biome variant.

Blue Mountains Light Forest
The Blue Mountains Light Forest has all of the features of the standard Blue Mountains biome. However, it contains more trees that are almost evenly spread apart. The trees in this biome are not very dense, so it is much easier to travel through than a normal forest.

Structures
Three Dwarven structures spawn in the Blue Mountains.


 * Blue Mountains Stronghold- These strongholds are shown in the picture above. They are the Blue Mountains version of the Dwarven Tower. They contain a Blue Dwarf Commander at the top.


 * Blue Mountains House- A Blue Mountains version of the normal Dwarf Houses. The only difference between the two are that the Blue Mountains version contains Sarlluin stone.


 * Dwarven Mine- A large and winding mineshaft containing Dwarf Miners. These mines expose ores and contain chests which hold smelted ingots and ores.

Mobs
The Blue Mountains are home to the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains. No Orcs spawn here as the land is under their vigilant guard.


 * Blue Mountains Dwarves- Dwarves that make their home in the the Blue Mountains. They can be married or single, adult or child, male or female.


 * Blue Mountains Dwarf Warrior- These Dwarves are warriors that fight with swords, axes, hammers, or other weapons.


 * Blue Mountains Dwarf axe-thrower- Dwarves equipped with throwing axes to use as ranged weapons.


 * Blue Mountains Dwarf Commander- NPCs who will sell you the forces of the Blue Mountains.


 * Blue Mountains Miner- Miners in Dwarven Mines that will sell you ores and buy food and ale.

Mining
The Blue Mountains contain all the normal ores, but at and underneath the surface, miners will find Sarlluin stone, which can be made into pillars, bricks, pressure plates, and more. It is also required to make the Blue Mountains crafting table. Glowstone Ore can also be found here. Like the Iron Hills, mining is better here than in other biomes (such as the ore dry Shire), as ores are more abundant.

Vegetation
The upper levels of the Blue Mountains are covered in snow and so no plants can grow there, although there are some valleys under the snow and sarlluin layers where some trees grow. Only vanilla tree types can be found here. Some vanilla flowers also grow here, while blue orchids seem to dominate.

The foothills have similar vegetation, with the exception that the trees can grow in larger groups, as they are not limited by the valley size.

Achievements
There are many achievements that you can get in the Blue Mountains.
 * Blue Dwarven Friend: Reach +10 alignment with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains
 * Blue Dwarven Champion: Reach +100 alignment with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains
 * Blue Dwarven Lord: Reach +1000 alignment with the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains
 * Firebeards and Broadbeams: Enter the Blue Mountains
 * Blue Blessings: Perform a Blue Mountains dwarf marriage
 * Blue Dwarf Slayer: Kill a Blue Mountains Dwarf
 * Blue Dwarven Crafter: Craft an item on the Blue Mountains Crafting Table
 * Blue Mountains Smith: Smelt an ingot of Blue Dwarf Steel in the Dwarven Forge
 * Blue Riches: Trade with a Blue Mountains Miner
 * The Mountains' Might: Hire a unit from a Blue Mountains Commander
 * Warrior of Ered Luin: Equip a full suit of Blue Dwarven armor
 * Wealth from Abroad: Trade with a merchant of the Blue Mountains
 * Welcoming Halls: Complete a Blue Mountains Mini-Quest