Player name(s): Oriol369 and Creepyboy666
Player rank: Overseer and Builder+
Private or Public: Private
Location name: Misty Mountains
Lore: “…mountains whose sharp horns seemed to pierce the realm of the stars.…the mountains were the Hithaeglir, the Towers of Mist upon the borders of Eriador; yet they were taller and more terrible in those days, and were reared by Melkor to hinder the riding of Oromë.”
The Misty Mountains are the great mountain range that lies between Eriador in the West and Rhovanion in the East. They stretch from the Northern Wastes to the Gap of Rohan, a distance of roughly 900 miles. The range has been inhabited at various times by orcs, eagles, wargs and most notably dwarves who built the great kingdom of Moria.
Mountains:
Tolkien only names five peaks in the misties, four of which will be part of this project:
- Caradhras (Redhorn, Barazinbar, Caradhras the Cruel)
- Celebdil (Silvertine, Zirakzigil, Celebdil the White)
- Fanuidhol (Cloudyhead, Bundushathûr, Fanuidhol the Grey)
- Methedras (Last Peak)
Caradhras Lore:
“Away in the south Frodo could see the dim shapes of lofty mountains that seemed now to stand across the path that the Company was taking. At the left of this high range rose three peaks; the tallest and nearest stood up like a tooth tipped with snow; its great, bare, northern precipice was still largely in the shadow, but where the sunlight slanted upon it, it glowed red.”
“On the third morning Caradhras rose before them, a mighty peak, tipped with snow like silver, but with sheer naked sides, dull red as if stained with blood.”
Passes:
In The Hobbit Tolkien says there are “many paths that led up into those mountains, and many passes over them.” Only a few of these are named:
- High Pass
- Redhorn Gate
- Gladden Pass
High Pass lore:
“Long days after they had climbed out of the valley and left the Last Homely House miles behind, they were still going up and up and up. It was a hard path and a dangerous path, a crooked way and a lonely and a long. … [Bilbo] shivered. It was getting bitter cold up here, and the wind came shrill among the rocks. Boulders, too, at times came galloping down the mountain-sides, let loose by midday sun upon the snow … The nights were comfortless and chill, and they did not dare to sing or talk too loud, for the echoes were uncanny, and the silence seemed to dislike being broken - except by the noise of water and the wail of wind and the crack of stone…”
““Indeed,” said Glóin, “if it were not for the Beornings, the passage from Dale to Rivendell would long ago have become impossible. They are valiant men and keep open the High Pass and the Ford of Carrock. But their tolls are high” …”
Redhorn Gate lore:
“The Company set out again with good speed at first; but soon their way became steep and difficult. The twisting and climbing road had in many places almost disappeared, and was blocked with many fallen stones. … By midnight they had climbed to the knees of the great mountains. The narrow path now wound under a sheer wall of cliffs to the left, above which the grim flanks of Caradhras towered up invisible in the gloom; on the right was a gulf of darkness where the land fell suddenly into a deep ravine.”
“Laboriously they climbed a sharp slope … They went on. But before long the snow was falling fast …”
“The Company halted suddenly … Stones began to fall from the mountain-side, whistling over their heads, or crashing on the path beside them. Every now and again they heard a dull rumble, as a great boulder rolled down from hidden heights above…”
“[Said Gandalf,] 'It is no good going on. Only a little higher, if I remember rightly, this path leaves the cliff and runs into a wide shallow trough at the bottom of a long hard slope. We should have no shelter there from snow, or stones – or anything else.”
“Northward the [Dimrill] dale ran up into a glen of shadows between … the Mountains of Moria. At the head of the glen a torrent flowed … over an endless ladder of short falls…”
“’Yonder is the Dimrill Stair,’ said Aragorn, pointing to the falls. 'Down the deep-cloven way that climbs beside the torrent we should have come, if fortune had been kinder.’”
Overhead plan:
Green = Passes
Blue = Moria gates
The plan will be to complete the whole of each section starting from 1 in the north. I may decide to go to section 3 after 1 since it is has the most iconic and important locations so it would be nice to have it completed for people to look around etc.
Things that need doing are:
- Glaciers
- Streams
- Passes
- Minor mountain voxeling and adjusting ground materials.
Once I’ve done these 4 things in each section I will inform you on this thread and move onto the next section.
In-game guide: A glacier guide will come once I finalise the concepts and get updated textures.
Reference Imagery:
Passes Imagery: https://imgur.com/a/NYvLc
Glacier Imagery: https://imgur.com/a/0e1es
Mountains/valleys imagery: https://imgur.com/a/Witjo
Please feel free to add photos that you think could help this project to the landscape inspiration thread. From there I can drag them into these reference albums.
(More conceptual imagery will be added in the future)
