“ | The Snowmen of Forochel are a strange, unfriendly people, remnant of the Forodwaith, Men of far-off days, accustomed to the bitter colds of the realm of Morgoth. Indeed those colds linger still in that region, though they lie hardly more than a hundred leagues north of the Shire. | ” |
–Appendix A, The Lord of the Rings |
Forodwaith is a (seemingly) endless ice desert that forms the north end of the known world of Middle-earth. No plants grow here, nor do any mobs spawn aside from the occasional Snow-troll. There is little reason to live here, other than to escape all the other people of Middle-earth. It is one of the few places that never gets invaded, nor do thieves ever visit here. But be warned: remember to bring fur armour, or you'll undoubtedly freeze to death! Upon entering this biome, you will receive the achievement "Everlasting Chill".
If you are looking for great danger, yet great reward, travel the land to seek out The Pits for a special adventure. But be warned, no one has ever returned from the Pits alive...
Other than the Pits, which always spawn in the same place, there are no other spawning structures.
Waypoints[]
There are two fixed waypoints in this region: Cape of Forochel and South Forochel. These mark the area around the Icebay of Forochel, where the free people of the Lossoth are said to dwell.
Entering the Northlands will unlock the waypoints in Forodwaith. As such, Withered Heath is part of the FORODWAITH waypoint group.
Sub-biomes[]
Coastline[]
The coastline of Forodwaith is rocky and jagged, geographically comparable to the coasts of Lindon and Far Harad. The sea along the shores is chilled and mostly frozen all over. The more south one travels, the less the sea surface is covered in ice though, and south of Cape Forochel, the ice coverage is quite limited, allowing for seafaring and fishing in the area.
Mountains[]
This is another main biome of Forodwaith, featuring iced-over mountains. Most likely remnants of the Iron Mountains.
Glacier[]
This is a sub-biome of the Mountains and generated randomly in the Mountains. The glaciers are elevated icy plains. Solid rock can only be found several blocks below the surface.
Biome variants[]
There are no variants on the standard biome other than the sub-biomes described above. Noteworthy though, are the fields of ice stalactites that randomly generate in the area.
Frost[]
When staying in Forodwaith, the player can get the frost effect, which blends the screen in white for a short time and deals one damage (a half heart) to the player every 20 seconds. This will only occur when you are standing out in the open near no light sources. You should better to avoid water too, or you risk to die of hypotermia really quick (and we mean it!).
There are several ways to help prevent this damage, however: staying near a light source (torch, furnace, etc.), getting underground, wearing armour made of leather, or, even better, Fur Armour, will help minimize the damage caused by the cold.
Structures[]
You won't find any inhabited structures in this realm. Yet, there are ruins scattered about in this desolate land. Incidentally, one may stumble upon ruined houses or stone ruins, witnessing the stories of people who once travelled here or may have even attempted to establish more permanent settlements.
The Pits of Utumno[]
In a suspicious looking valley in the Forodwaith, there is a tall structure made of bricks long frozen from the eternal cold of the land. Inside there is a pit that one can jump into. The Pits lead down, down, down into the deeps of the world, deeper than the deepest mines of the Dwarves, into the dimension of Utumno. But do not come unprepared, for there is only one way out.
Mobs[]
No creature is hardy enough to survive the brutal cold of the High North. However, on very rare occasions, Snow-trolls can be found, at night or in caves with enough headroom.
In Renewed, polar bears spawn in Forodwaith, though at a much lower rate than in snowy vanilla biomes.
Conquest[]
Forodwaith is an empty and boring place and no faction is interested to conquer this land... maybe except Angmar. What interest Angmar would have to conquer a frozen wasteland? Only Mevans knows.
Vegetation[]
The only vegetation hardy enough to thrive in the harsh climate of this land is the Weirwood Tree. These are a rare and of unknown origin. Rumour has it there is more to these trees than meets the eye.
Trivia[]
The anglo-saxon is-rune ᛁ (= letter I) means "ice". Tolkien used those ᚱᚢᚾᛖᛋ for some texts in the initial drafts of "The Lord of the Rings", later on, he replaced them by cirth runes.
“ | ᛁ Ice is very cold and immeasurably slippery; it glistens as clear as glass and most like to gems; it is a floor wrought by the frost, fair to look upon. |
” |
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