| “ | The land before them sloped away southwards, but it was wild and pathless; bushes and stunted trees grew in dense patches with wide barren spaces in between... It was a cheerless land, and their journey was slow and gloomy. | ” |
–The Fellowship of the Ring, Flight to the Ford | ||
The Lone-lands is a dry, grassy, and at times rugged biome that covers the expanse between the Bree-Land and the Misty Mountains, and between the Ettenmoors in the north and Swanfleet and Eregion in the south. There are few permanent inhabitants of this land. It was once under the dominion of the northern Kingdom of Arnor, many ages ago. Ruined towers and roads, charred houses and other ancient stone structures broken down beyond recognition dot the landscape, most of which are remnants of this old kingdom. Abandoned fortresses built by the evil kingdoms of Rhudaur and Angmar can also be seen. The land is often broken up by groups of hills and the occasional lake and river.
These lands are occasionally patrolled by the Rangers of the North, but their presence and control is dwindling. Here and there Rhudaur Hillmen, evil men aligned with the forces of Angmar, who mostly abide in their hamlets or solitary homesteads, can be found as well. At night, the land is infested with Orcs and Wargs of Gundabad, making it a dangerous place to travel in the dark hours, if you are not positively aligned with Gundabad. Also be aware that these lands are known to witness frequent invasions of Gundabad, Rhudaur Hillmen and Dúnedain of the North, and forces of Angmar and Imladris will occasionally drop by for a visit as well. Ranger Captains and Gundabad Orc Chieftains can be found in their respective camps in this biome on occasion.
Stone boulders, along with a few oak, spruce, aspen and beech trees, dot the rugged landscape. Some areas are still thickly covered in forest. There can also be found the occasional ruined Dúnedain tower, and some may contain a few things of value. The wildlife is sparse, partially because of the limited fertility of the lands and partially because of the dominant presence of Wargs, who rule the night. Also beware of bandits, as they are common in these lonely lands, and would love to rob you.
The Lone-lands are actually part of Eriador in the books (in fact, 'Eriador' is just the Sindarin translation of 'Lone-land'), though the western parts of this wide country are more well-watered and treated as a separate biome in the mod. Upon entering the Lone-lands you gain the achievement: "A Lonely Land".
Sub-Biomes[]
Weather Hills[]
The Weather Hills are located north and east of the Midgewater marshes. This is the only sub-biome of the Lone-lands. The Weather Hills features more mountainous terrain and greater general coverage with trees. There are also forested and lightly forested variants within this sub-biome. Packs of wolves have managed to survive in these hills, despite the ever increasing competition with the Wargs lurking in the nightly shadows.
Variants[]
The Lone-lands are home to the following biome variants:
- Standard - Normal Lone-lands biome.
- Dense oak forest - Dense forests with many large oak trees. Also huge oaks, measuring 3 m in diameter and reaching up to 30 m, are common here. Patches of podzol cover the forest floor.
- Dead oak forest - Lands covered in forests whose glory is passing away. The forest density is comparable to the light forest variant, but there are many stems of dead, leafless trees. This variant is very helpful for acquiring large quantities of wood, as the dead trees provide a lot of easy accessible lumber.
- Oak shrublands - Forest covered lands with a lower tree density than regular forests, but with a very thick undergrowth of shrubs.
- Mountain - Mountainous rolling hills.
- Forested mountains - Forest covered mountainous rolling hills.
- Lightly forested mountains - Lightly forested mountainous rolling hills.
- Scrubland - Scrublands are typically areas with very poor, sandy and/or rocky soil. This results in very little tree growth and the vegetation is dominated by low growing scrubs (stunted trees / shrubs) and bushes.
- Scrubland hills - The scrubland hills are a hilly type of scrubland.
- Wasteland - Wasteland is a very barren biome and can vast stretches of the terrain consist of barren rock. The soil is generally very poor and vegetation is sparse. The landscape can both consist of flat plains and rolling hills.
- Aspen forest - A forest dominated with aspen trees.
- Birch forest - A forest dominated with birch trees.
- Beech forest - A forest dominated with beech trees.
- Maple forest - A forest dominated with maple trees.
- Larch forest - A forest dominated with larch trees.
- Pine forest - A forest dominated with pine trees.
Structures[]
Along with the ruins of various unrecognizable structures made in normal stone brick and Arnor brick, the Lone-lands contain the following structures:
- Rhudaur Hillman villages - A group of houses made of spruce wood that are home of the Hillmen of Rhudaur and their chieftain.
- Rhudaur castles - Quite large ruins with some valuable loot.
- Ruined Dúnedain towers - Ruined towers of the lost realm of Arnor made of Arnor brick. At the top is a stone chest containing a few valuables.
- Gundabad Orc camp - Camps for the Gundabad Orcs. They contain some loot and a chieftain.
- Ranger camp - Camps owned by the Rangers of the North. They contain some loot and (most importantly for good players) a captain.
- Ranger watchtower - A watchtower used by the Rangers of the North in order to defend the Lone-lands. They contain multiple stories with a Ranger crafting table and a chest at the top. It can be a good place to stay the night, because two Rangers always spawn in these towers.
- Ruined houses - Houses that were once owned by the men of Arnor but have fallen into ruin. They contain a furnace and a chest, possibly holding some souvenirs. Normal, burnt and rotten variants of these structures are found here.
Fixed Structures[]
Weathertop[]
Weathertop is a high hill located just to the north of the Weathertop fast travel point, and is the highest point of the Weather Hills. According to Karen Wynn Forstad, it rose 1,000 feet above the relatively level lands around it, and there were ruins atop it. It was on this mountain that Frodo was stabbed by a Morgul blade, wielded by the Witch-King of Angmar.
Weathertop as seen in Public Beta 25.
Location[]
The hill itself is situated to the north of the Weathertop fast travel point, which is at x=24128 z=-832. The summit is located at approx. x=24124 y=155 z=-963.
History[]
Also known as Amon Sûl, the hill was the location of a watchtower of Arnor, which overlooked the Great East Road as it crossed the Lone Lands. The tower was occupied by Dúnedain soldiers until TA 1409, when it was destroyed by the forces of the Witch-King of Angmar.
Mobs[]
Besides horses and generally common animals, these mobs spawn in the Lone-lands.
- Gundabad Orc - Orcs from Mount Gundabad in the Misty Mountains, the leaderless tribes of the North.
- Gundabad Orc Archer - Gundabad Orcs with bows and arrows.
- Gundabad Orc Chieftain - NPCs from which the forces of Gundabad can be bought.
- Gundabad Wargs - Large, evil wolves which can be ridden as a mount if you have +50 or higher with Gundabad. Gundabad Orcs and Orc Archers can ride them.
- Ranger of the North - Rangers that protect Eriador and the surrounding lands. Rangers can carry bows, iron daggers, and at need can vanish from sight.
- Ranger of the North Captain - NPCs from which Rangers of the North can be hired.
- Rhudaur Hillman - Fierce men of the north allied with Angmar. They only spawn inside their houses.
- Rhudaur Hillman Chieftain - Leaders of the Rhudaur Hillmen. You can hire hillmen troops from them. They only spawn in their houses.
Vegetation[]
The Lone-lands are covered in dry, scrubby yellow-green grass and the woods here are dominated by oak, spruce and beech trees. Trees are more common in the Weather Hills sub-biome, but this sub-biome is less common than the rolling plains.
Small patches of Athelas can also rarely be found, and the grass and flower growth is average.
Gallery[]
Base building[]
The Lone-lands are among the more challenging biomes to survive in, as regardless of alignment, you will be under constant attack. In general, players aligned with the Dúnedain of the North will want to avoid going out at night, while those aligned with Angmar or Gundabad will have a better chance of survival at night. This is by no means a sure-fire way to stay safe, however, as the Dúnedain of the North, Gundabad, and Angmar frequently invade these lands, and bandits are always common. Finally, wood is not all that common. If you do decide to live here, however, be sure to protect any settlement or camp you build using plenty of banners, and build appropriate base defences.
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The One Wiki to Rule Them All has an article on:
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The Tolkien Gateway has an article on:
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 The Raiders of Angmar 
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Orc (Archer, Banner Bearer, Bombardier) •
Troll (Chieftain, Hill) •
Warg (Bombardier)
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 The Hordes of Gundabad 
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Orc (Archer, Banner Bearer) •
Uruk (Archer) •
Warg
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Angle •
Bree-land •
Chetwood •
Downs •
Lone-lands •
Midgewater •
Minhiriath •
Trollshaws
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