| “ | We have now come to the River Hoarwell, that the Elves call Mitheithel. It flows down out of the Ettenmoors, the troll-fells north of Rivendell, and joins the Loudwater in the South. | ” |
–Aragorn in The Fellowship of the Ring, Flight to the Ford | ||
The Ettenmoors is a biome in Middle-earth far to the north. It is bordered to the north by a stretch of the Misty Mountains as well as Angmar, to the west by the Lone-lands, to the east by the Misty Mountains, and to the south by the Coldfells. It has a climate and flora much like that of the taiga. The landscape is dominated by rolling hills, scattered boulders and evergreen trees.
This rugged area has two faces, both saddening to any adventurous Hobbit or Elf. The day is ruled by the savage hillmen of the Rhudaur, who seem to be capable of not only surviving in this harsh realm, but also to coexist with the rulers of the night. Animals are less abundant and anything fluffy or cuddly seems to have left the area. The remaining elks and wolves benefit from lack of competition. At night, more sinister creatures rule. As soon as the thin sun sets, orcs, wargs, trolls, and hill-trolls take over.
Troll hoards and ruined towers hold treasure for the adventurous. But beware, as the Ettenmoors is frequently invaded by forces of Angmar, Gundabad and the Rangers of the North.
Upon entering this biome, the player earns the achievement "The Troll-fells".
Variants
The Ettenmoors is defined as a 'mountains' biome variant which includes the following biome variants:
- Standard - Normal mountaineous Ettenmoors biome. This has high elevation differences and results in a 'rolling hill' landsscape. As the climate is cold, snow can be found covering hills and treetops at relatively low altitude.
- Forested mountains - Forest covered mountaneous rolling hills.
- Lightly forested mountains - Lightly forested mountaneous rolling hills.
Structures
The Ettenmoors are a barren land, yet the occurence of non-natural structures is striking. Among many towering remnants of old ruined structures of Arnorian, Angmarian and undefined origin, the following structures can be found:
- Troll hoards - These structures spawn underground as caves with chests on the floor. Trolls do sometimes inhabit them, though, so be careful!
- Ruined Dunedain towers - Ruined and empty towers made out of Arnor bricks. At the top is a chest containing valuables or the remains of the tower's owners.
- Rhudaur Hillman villages - A settlement of the hillmen containing several small and large houses.
- Rhudaur castles - Quite large ruins with some valuable loot.
Mobs
Not very many mobs spawn during the day, but the following spawn during the night:
- Gundabad orcs - Orcs from Mount Gundabad in the Misty Mountains allied only to themselves.
- Gundabad orc archers - Gundabad orcs with bows and arrows.
- Gundabad wargs - Wargs allied with Gundabad.
- Gundabad uruks - Uruks from Gundabad who pack more of a punch than Gundabad orcs.
- Gundabad uruk archers - Gundabad uruks with bows and arrows.
- Angmar orcs - Orcs allied with Angmar.
- Angmar orc archers - Angmar orcs with bows and arrows.
- Angmar orc bombardiers - Angmar orcs with orc bombs.
- Angmar wargs - Wargs allied with Angmar.
- Warg riders - Orcs (both Gundabad and Angmar) mounted on wargs.
- Warg archer riders - Orcs archers (both Gundabad and Angmar) mounted on wargs.
- Trolls - Massive, strong, and unintelligent creatures that wield clubs and turn to stone in the sunlight.
- Hill-trolls - Larger, stronger and less intelligent versions of trolls that can pick up stones and throw it at players.
- Rhudaur hillmen - Fierce men of the north allied with Angmar. They only spawn inside their houses.
- Rhudaur hillman chieftains - Leaders of the Rhudaur hillmen. You can hire hillmen troops from them. They only spawn in their houses.
Vegetation
A lone trio of Wolves wanders among a field of boulders.
The Ettenmoors have a taiga-like, boreal, coniferous vegetation, which is covered with snow at higher altitudes. Because of the cold climate, vegetation, like in most frigid areas, is fairly limited to a select few, hardy species, including spruce, fir and pine trees dominate the landscape, regardless of elevation. Very rarely, the player may be able to find athelas, a hint at the occupation of Rhudaur. Flowers are more rare in this harsh climate than in most, but grass growth is generally average.
Trivia
As of Public Beta 28 the terrain generation of this biome creates a more rugged terrain. This biome is generated using the same routine as the Emyn Winion, but in a little less extreme manner.
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The One Wiki to Rule Them All 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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