| “ | The Rohirrim have good bowmen after their fashion [...] | ” |
–Helm's Deep, The Two Towers | ||
| “ | [...] he himself passed over with the main strength of his cavalry: eight companies and a company of archers, [...] | ” |
–The Battles of the Fords of Isen, Unfinished Tales | ||
Rohirrim Bowmen (known as Rohirrim Archers in versions prior to Public Beta 30) are a type of Rohirrim that use bows and arrows instead of a melee weapon. They, along with the archers of the Easterlings are the only mannish archers capable of riding horses.
Spawning[]
Rohirrim Bowmen spawn throughout the lands of Rohan day and night. They can only spawn on a grass block, and as a result, they will never be found underground. They will most often spawn on a horse of Rohan, unless they're defending a Rohan Fortress or Rohan Watchtower. They are slightly rarer than normal Rohirrim, but their killer ranged attack more than makes up for that.
Mounted variant of Rohirrim Archer
Behaviour[]
They have an attack range of 24 blocks (unless they are not on horseback, in which case it is 16 blocks) and unlike regular Rohirrim, they will get within 5-10 blocks of their target, stop approaching, and start shooting arrows at their foe.
These units are among the most dangerous units an evil player can possibly face; they cannot be outsprinted, a Warg cannot outrun them, and their pathing distance is greater than that of most NPCs. To top it all off, they have a deadly ranged attack, and can shoot while charging down their foe. Chasing them to try and hit them with a melee weapon is also ineffective – because of their AI and the speed of the unit, the Rohirrim will be able to stay far enough away from a player to avoid being hit by their melee attacks, all the while shooting at them. It is suggested that evil players stay far away from any player who has hired these units.
They are targeted by all evil mobs. When they are not fighting, they will roam the world freely. Just like normal Rohirrim, they will kill any player who targets a horse of Rohan.
In the renewed version, these archers can switch to a Rohirric dagger at close range.
Drops[]
Evil players may kill Rohirrim to acquire bones. The horse-lords may also rarely drop their equipped armour or weapons. Killing these men in their towers isn't very hard to do. Just take some matches to it!
| Drop | Rarity | Quantity | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bone | Common | 0-1 | 
|
| Arrows | Rare | 2 | 
|
| Rohirric Bow | Rare | 1 | 
|
| Rohirric Helmet | Rare | 1 | 
|
| Rohirric Chestplate | Rare | 1 | 
|
| RohirricLeggings | Rare | 1 | 
|
| Rohirric Boots | Rare | 1 | 
|
Combat Strategies[]
Killing unmounted Rohirrim Bowmen is fairly straightforward, but if you are forced to fight mounted Rohirrim Bowmen while you are unmounted, you must use a ranged weapon or a spear to take them down; they are fast enough to keep you from hitting them.
If you are mounted, you can try to charge at them with a melee attack, but it's very hard to do a clean kill; no matter how fast you are, it's almost certain you'll be shot at least once. And do not get surrounded, or else the Rohirrim will start to play ping-pong with you.
Galvorn Armour is also useful because of its ability nullify damage from ranged attacks.
Hiring[]
Rohirrim Bowmen can be hired from a Rohirrim Marshal, provided your alignment with Rohan is at least +200 and you have enough silver coins (50). A mounted Rohirrim Bowman (among the strongest units a good player can hire) costs 70 silver coins and requires a Rohan alignment of +300.
Advantages[]
- Powerful ranged attack
- A very fast unit when mounted, able to outpace almost any unit
- Not overly expensive, cash or alignment-wise
- Long sight range
Disadvantages[]
- Moderate armour (unless provided)
- May not melee attack (unless provided)
- Non-mounted varient is not particularily fast
Speechbank[]
Friendly
- Welcome, Person. What brings you to the land of Rohan?
- What business do you have in the Riddermark, Person?
- Welcome to Rohan, Person.
- Don't forget to feed the horses!
- The world of Men has fallen from its former glory.
- I hope to see the world of Men restored, as it was in the days of old.
- These lands are troubled, Person. Orcs often break through our borders.
- Ever we must rid our lands of the Orc filth that plagues us, Person.
- Welcome to Rohan. From which land do you hail?
- Hail, Person! We are the riders of Rohan.
- These are the lands of our fathers, and our fathers' fathers. It is our duty to guard them.
- The horses of Rohan are the finest in all Middle-earth.
- Beware the Uruk-hai. They come here often in raiding parties, leaving only destruction in their wake.
- New life grows ever where the forefathers of Rohan sleep.
- The wolf that one hears is worse than the Orc that one fears.
- Welcome to the land of Rohan, Person!
- I hope you're not forgetting to feed those horses.
- In these grim times our lands are often besieged by the servants of evil.
- The Hand and Eye of the Dark Lord ever afflict us in these fell times.
- Greetings, Person! What tidings do you bring to the Riddermark?
- I wonder how those Dunlendings can be as foolish as they are unsightly... oh, were you talking to me, Person?
- Have you heard the songs of Helm Hammerhand? They say he slew Dunlendings even to his last day on earth.
- Have you heard the songs of Helm Hammerhand? They say he was found dead in the snow, with the blood of Dunlendings still frozen on his hands.
- The Dunlending wildmen name us Strawheads. Well, Person, I would rather have straw for hair than live every day among dirt and pig-filth.
- There are many great horses in these lands, Person, and all are fit for battle.
- A strong horse needs good hay, Person. So don't forget to feed them!
- Are you in league with the Sorceress of the Golden Wood? Webs of deceit were ever woven in Dwimordene.
- Seldom do we have travellers in this land. What is your purpose here?
- The days are dark in Stoningland.
- They say the Southron hosts are increasing beyond the Southstream.
- Before long, I fear, we shall need to ride out and defeat the cruel Men of Sutherstreams once more.
- We have an old quarrel with the Corsairs of Sutherland.
Hostile
- We Rohirrim shall not suffer your presence in these lands, Person!
- I shall not suffer your presence here!
- You are not welcome in the Mark, Person!
- You should have fled these lands long ago!
- Tremble where you stand, Person!
- It was foolish indeed of you to venture into our lands!
- Your doom shall come swiftly, Person!
- No pity for the foes of Rohan!
- I will not allow you to stain the land of Rohan with your devilry!
- You shall meet your doom swiftly, servant of Isengard!
- Begone from our lands, or face the sharp points of our spears!
- Leave or face your doom!
- You will pay for your crimes, Person!
- The treachery of Isengard is unwelcome here.
Hired
- For Rohan! For our people!
- Let this be the hour when we draw swords together!
- Let us fight together for the Riddermark, Person!
- For the Riddermark!
- Our enemies shall be brought to ruin!
- We shall earn much glory on the field of battle together, Person.
- The foes of Rohan shall tremble where they stand!
- We ride out together. For glory. For Rohan!
- The foes of Rohan shall tremble beneath our feet!
- No Orc or wild Man shall pillage the land of Rohan under our watch!
- Let us hunt some Orc!
- For the King of Rohan! For Edoras!
- Let us ride together and clear the land of Rohan of all ill-doers!
Avenging Horse Death
- We do not suffer the life of those who put horses to death!
- Your actions have earned you a fearsome foe, Person!
- Do not think you can treat the steeds of Rohan with such cruelty!
- What devilry comes hence? A murderer of horses? Let us put them to death!
- No friend of Rohan would commit such a crime!
- Truly you are a foe of the Rohirrim, Person!
- Flee these lands, Person, enemy of the horses of Rohan!
- Do not think such wickedness can pass unnoticed here, Person!
- You slew a horse of Rohan? Your life shall be forfeit!
- How dare you commit such a terrible crime!
- What madness drove you to commit this devilry?
- I will not allow you to hurt the fine steeds of this land!
- You truly are a servant of evil!
- You shall meet your end for that crime!
Lore[]
In the books, Rohan was the only good faction known to use archers that shot from horseback, through other factions would have used riding horses to get archers to the battlefield faster, and some evil factions, such as the Easterlings, also used mounted archers, and the archers of the Haradrim were known to shoot from the back of a Mumakil.
The Rohirrim always used shortbows, likely because a larger bow would've been obtrusive when riding, and, as a result, their bows had a much shorter range than those used by their allies, namely Gondor. The combat strategy of the Rohirrim bowmen was usually to charge towards their foes in formation, then let loose a volley of arrows at relatively close range, as opposed to sniping from afar.
Trivia[]
- These mounted bowmen were unique to Rohan from Beta 28 to Beta 30, with the introduction of Easterling archers. Gondor used to have mounted archers, but they were removed in Beta 28.
Gallery[]
 The Horse-Lords of Rohan 
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Banner Bearer •
Bowman •
Farmhand •
Shieldmaiden •
Warrior
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