Chapter 11: Othrongroth

Epic - Book I: Stirrings in the Dark

NOTE: Tom wanders, and may be found inside his house, standing outside it, or wandering around outside.

Tom will take you to The Great Barrows, though he urges you to take friends along.

NOTE: I recommend a full group of level appropriate (16-early 20s) players for this quest, including a healer. Your mileage may vary. I have tried it with half a group, and it was a dismal failure. I came back with friends, and here is our final, successful group makeup: Level 24 Minstrel, level 21 and 24 Champions, level 19 Hunter and a level 20 Guardian. It was much easier with the two high levels along. Thank you, Wilma and Cashel!

STEPS:

1) Speak to Tom Bombadil. When you have your group assembled and are ready to begin, select "Travel Now". After you zone, you will be in: INSTANCE: Othrongroth.



2) Go to the entrance of the Great Barrow, Othrongroth. Follow the path toward a large stone structure. You will not have to go far.

3) Follow the Witch-king. You'll be attacked by two elite dwarves: Dourhand Rebel (level 15, 1573 morale) and a Dourhand Firebrand (level 15, 1589 morale). After killing them, continue up the hill and head into the zone.

4) Your objective will remain the same (follow the Witch-king) for some time in this zone. Your fellowship (and you must bring a fellowship) will encounter many waves of mobs, usually with 1-2 Elites, and some regular enemies to boot. It seems all of the Dourhand Rebels and Dourhand Firebrands are Elite mobs, level 15-16. After a couple of groups like this, you will start seeing Ancient Chests in the alcoves off the main halls. These are marked on the map throughout the zone. As you proceed, you'll get attacked by a swarm of rats. You'll fight through two more groups of evil dwarves and then find yourself at a Skull Door. Go through that.

Next Elite that comes your way will be a Dourhand Captain, level 16 Elite with 1732 morale. After he is injured to a certain point, he will back away, and begin his brief soliloquy:

"I. . .I can't be defeated!
Stay back!
Skorgrim promised. . . he said we couldn't be defeated. . .
What. . .what was that noise?
Augh!"

The noise the Captain was referring to was a number of the wights coming out of the walls! Okay, maybe they come up from the ground, but it's something like that. There are plenty of wights to battle, including some level 17 Elite ones (Deadly Barrow-Wights). Further on you will encounter a level 16 Elite Deadly Tomb-Wight, and its friend the Creeping Arm. You'll soon see the Witch-king beckoning to Skorgrim onward in a roundish room. As you move to follow them through the door they fled into, you are attacked by wights. Two waves of wights will come, and the second wave will arrive before you are finished killing the first. Be vigilant! As ever, there will be several Elite mobs to conquer.

Next on the menu is a Watcher-wight, a level 16 Elite with 1,732 morale. He will call for help, and some regular, miniony-type mobs will arrive. Then you'll have one more Elite (Deadly Tomb-wight) + some regular mobs fight before encountering the Witch-king again. You'll be at the top of the stairs, and will watch a short cinematic sequence (all the action is happening at the bottom of the stairs, so head down quickly) before more madness breaks out:

The Witch-king says:

"My champion has not yet finished her task. We must counter the loss of Amdir. The Ring moves east, to Imladris, no doubt. Ivar, we shall have need of your ward in the east. Skorgrim, your dwarves should focus their efforts in the north and east. Our plans in the south are reaching fruition. Fools! I shall suffer your presence no longer! You have hounded my steps for too long! And now the Dead shall take you."

With that, several more Elite and regular mobs will come forth in an attempt to pummel you into the ground and force you to fight your way to this point all over again.

5) Pursue the Witch-king. Assuming you have lived through that last battle, your quest will update to "pursue". Press forward, and you will soon encounter Sambrog, the Wight-Lord himself, a level 18 Elite with 2,029 morale.

6) Speak to the Wight-lord. He wants you to, really he does. Proof is in what he tells you:

"Greetings fool. If thou seek an audience, thou may approach."

Then he tells you of his (rather his master's) wicked plans:

"My Master seeks a great Power for the Dark Lord, but the Dark Lord has more designs than this. The Pale Dwarf shall go to the north and gather an army in the name of Angmar and the Witch-king!

The gaunt one, a great power himself and to whom I owe this form, goes to the east. There, in Agamaur, he shall awaken a Power that lies sleeping in the waters. With her under his command, the skies will turn to blood and all shall despair!"

Talk to Sambrog and select "Continue Quest" once you are ready for the final big fight.

7) Defeat the Wight-lord. Along with Sambrog, four level 16-17 wights will spawn. At a certain point in the quite difficult battle, you will no longer be able to harm Sambrog (though you have "broken the defenses of Sambrog!) a "Distant Voice" will happily chirp:

"Hey do! Merry do! What be you a-thinking? Dead men should not be waking!"

Yes, it is the eternally gleeful Tom Bombadil, come to help at the nick of time, or something.

8) Talk to Tom Bombadil. He wonders if it was worth your trouble, and what you learned. Follow Tom to the end of the dungeon and the exit door. You will appear back in his house.

9) After you speak with them and select "Finish Now", you get your coin reward, XP, either Toranc, Froth-Fotar, Golfadanir, Gollos, or Defender of Cardolan, and you will automatically be given the next quest, Chapter 12: The Black Rider's Designs.




Special thanks go out to Wren for providing this quest writeup!
Wren has entered 612 LOTRO quests.