| “ | But go specially to my cousin Dain in the Iron Hills, for he has many people well-armed, and dwells nearest to this place. | ” |
–The Hobbit, The Gathering of The Clouds | ||
The Iron Hills (Emyn Engrin), located in the far east of Rhovanion, are one of the few remaining homes of the Dwarves of Durin's Folk. The name of the region comes from the great concentrations of iron that can be found underground here, for which the Dwarves have long mined. The Iron Hills are a semi-mountainous region covered by thick coniferous forests, in all a rocky but pleasant land.
Originally colonized by Dwarves from Khazad-dûm during the First Age, the Iron Hills steadily grew in significance over the course of the Third Age as the Longbeards first lost Khazad-dûm, then the Grey Mountains, and then Erebor. Dáin Ironfoot, the King of Durin's Folk, was once the Lord of the Iron Hills, but sixty years before the events of the mod he moved to Erebor and reclaimed the Kingdom Under the Mountain, taking a great part of the people of the Iron Hills with him. Dwarves still live in these lands, however, though of late they have had to deal with encroaching war-bands of Gundabad Orcs.
The last leg of the old Dwarf-road through Rhovanion runs through the Iron Hills, linking the West-peak and East-peak waypoints. It is well-maintained and paved with Dwarven brick.
This is a good place for Dwarven-aligned players to settle, as it is home to many Dwarves (including Dwarf miners and smiths), excellent mining opportunities, the rare Dwarfwort plant, and enemies to gain alignment in slaying.
Upon entering the Iron Hills, the player earns the achievement "Durin's Folk".
Variants[]
The entire Iron Hills biome is a Mountains biome with the following variants:
- Standard - Normal Iron Hills mountainous biome.
- Forest - Forests of evergreen trees that grow in these northerly hills.
- Light Forest - Lightly forested version of the Iron Hills.
The altitude differences can be very large over short distances, making the Iron Hills an area that may be difficult to traverse. High peaks with steep slopes and many lakes dominate the rugged landscape.
Structures[]
The Iron Hills are dotted with Dwarven structures, some domestic and others military in nature.
- Dwarven House - Houses of the Dwarves built into the mountainsides of the Iron Hills. They are hard to find during the day, as their Dwarven doors are visually identical to ordinary stone, but at night the ithildin markings on these doors will light up when players approach. Immediately inside is the main upper room of the house, featuring a fireplace, a table laden with food, and a Dwarf couple (sometimes with children). Stairs on either side of the room lead down to a kitchen and a bedroom. The kitchen features two furnaces, a long counter with a cauldron, crafting table, and Dwarven crafting table, two barrels of Dwarven ale or Dwarven tonic, and a chest of food. The bedroom contains two Dwarven beds, a large chest with Dwarven loot, a weapon rack with Dwarven or Dalish equipment, and two item frames, which can contain Dwarven or Dalish armor or equipment.
- Dwarven Smithy - These are the workshops of the dwarves, where Dwarven Smiths forge their weapons and armour. These small, one-room structures each contain two chests with assorted Dwarven loot, three Dwarven forges, three anvils, two vanilla crafting tables, and two unsmelteries. They are the only places where Dwarven Smiths may be found.
- Dwarven Mine - Large and complex mineshafts, accessed by ladder from the surface. Their entrance-shafts contain three Dwarven forges each. The rambling mineshafts contain ores, as well as chests of items and vanilla crafting tables. Dwarves, Dwarf Warriors, and Dwarven Miners can all be found here; these structures are the best places to find the latter.
- Dwarven Tower - Large towers of Dwarven brick. These eight-leveled towers are swarming with Dwarf warriors and Dwarf Axe-thowers, and they can contain barrels of Dwarven ale or tonic, plates loaded with food, double chests of standard Dwarven loot, Dwarven crafting tables, and/or Dwarven forges. The top of each tower features a Table of Command and a Dwarf commander.
Mobs[]
As this is their home, Dwarves are quite common here. But they aren't the only ones who call the Iron Hills home and, at night or in dark places, Gundabad Orcs and Wargs can also spawn. Boars are also especially common here, much more so than anywhere else in Middle-earth.
- Dwarves - Civilians of the Longbeard clan, accustomed to mountains and underground spaces. Dwarf men and women alike are bearded and will attack hostile NPCs and players on sight with dwarven daggers. Dwarf men can be found scattered around, while dwarf women and children can only be found in dwarf houses.
- Dwarven Warriors - The stout and sturdy warriors of the Dwarves, especially common in and around Dwarven Towers. Dwarven Warriors wear Dwarven armour and carry Dwarven weapons, a mix of mattocks, swords, spears, pikes, warhammers, and their iconic battleaxes.
- Dwarf Axe-thrower - Specialized Dwarven Warriors that act as medium-ranged units. They wear Dwarven armour and use Dwarven throwing-axes in combat, which can deal considerable damage.
- Dwarf Commander - These are the leaders of the armies of the Longbeards, found at the tops of Dwarven Towers. They wear gold-trimmed Dwarven armor, minus the helmet, along with reddish-brown cloaks and pauldrons; they always carry Dwarven warhammers. Players with sufficient alignment can hire all of the above from them.
- Dwarf Miners - Dwarves who have taken up work in the Dwarven mines. They carry Dwarf pickaxes, and you can buy ores and materials and sell food and drinks to them.
- Dwarven Smith - The skilled blacksmiths of Durin's Folk, found in Dwarven Smithies. They sell Dwarven armour and equipment and purchase food and raw materials. They can also reforge your gear, and are some of the only blacksmiths in Middle-earth capable of reforging mithril weapons and armour.
- Gundabad Orc - Orcs from across the Misty Mountains allied only to themselves. They use random pieces of armour and equipment from various Orc and neutral sets. Despite the efforts of the dwarves, these orcs still raid the Iron Hills.
- Gundabad Orc Archer - Gundabad Orcs with bows or crossbows.
- Gundabad Warg - Evil giant wolves allied with the Gundabad Orcs. They can be ridden by Gundabad Orcs or archers.
Conquest[]
Iron Hills can be conquered by Durin's Folk, Gundabad, Mordor and Rhúdel. The conquest rate is 1.0.
Mining[]
The Iron Hills are a great region for mining. This biome is one of the richest in terms of mineral wealth in Middle-earth, though not quite on the level of the Red Mountains. Like many hillier regions, the Iron Hills have a slightly higher rate of gemstone generation, and is full of ore as well. Iron is more common here, and can be found at up to Y=96 instead of Y=64, hence the name of the region. Gold and silver are also more plentiful, and generate up to Y=48 instead of Y=32. In addition, this biome is one of only a few biomes where glowstone ore can be found, generating fairly frequently up to Y=48 in small veins.
In the renewed version only, Glowstone can also spawn as Crystals.
Vegetation[]
The arboreal forests in Iron Hills are dominated by evergreen species. The most common is spruce, but fir and pine also flourish. While there is a lower snow line than most realms, it does not affect plant growth. The dominant presence of Wild Boars suggest the mossy soils hide very nourishing secrets from any untrained nose.
There are some flowers in the Iron Hills. The Iron Hills contain dandelions, roses, and blue orchids; flowers that grow in most Dwarvish regions. In addition, the Dwarfwort flower grows only in the Iron Hills, Erebor, and Blue Mountains. Dwarfwort is important for the brewing of Dwarven drinks, such as Dwarven ale and Dwarven tonic, and is less common than other plants. There is average grass and flower growth here, with the exception of the previously mentioned Dwarfwort plant.
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