Under the Banner

One of the wonderful things about this game is being able to wander through the countryside and discover new places. Even areas that are seemingly far off the beaten path are rich in adventure. As a scholar, I tend to gravitate towards ruins looking for urns to gather materials. I’m continually amazed whenever I find new ruins and explore what’s inside. Many of them are unique in their layout, ranging from small ruins with a few walls and broken columns to the elaborate with multiple levels and sections. While some are devoid of life, many of them aren’t so it’s always best to be on your guard.

Today’s featured location, Ost Alagos, is one of those places. Deep in the Weather Hills, these ruins can be found sitting atop a tall and rather expansive hilltop. It’s rather deceiving at first because it doesn’t look like much from the distance. However the closer you get to the ruins, you can tell that it’s much more than a few broken walls lying atop a hill.

The only way inside of Ost Alagos is to approach from the South.

To get into the main part of Ost Alago, there’s a long causeway that needs to be crossed.

Across the causeway and throughout the inside there are only a few single creature patrols wandering about. If you’re patient, most of these can be avoided. You’ll find White Hand Invaders positioned at either end of the causeway.

Once inside you’ll find a couple of campsites setup throughout the ruins with a few creatures dispersed throughout.

For the scholar, broken urns can be found throughout the ruins.

Did I mention there are White Hand Invaders (elites) that patrol the area? (Yeah, I kicked his butt!)

One of the rewarding aspects of exploring ruins are the great views such as this. You’ll see that even in the obscure areas, there are things to discover amongst the ruins.

Surprisingly, I discovered I wasn’t alone this time. It wasn’t until I felt something step on my toes that I realized there was another burglar stealthing around. Unfortunately he disappeared quickly before I could get a picture. Minutes later I saw a couple orcs chasing something and it turned out they had spotted the other burglar snooping around. When I caught up with him later, he said he narrowly escaped by jumping. I guess when you’re options are being eaten by orcs or risking death by jumping off the cliff, the cliff doesn’t seem so bad.

Well I wanted to get a couple more pictures, but unfortunately while I was standing there, this rude orc came over and started beating me over the head. Sadly to say he wouldn’t leave me alone and I was forced to leave before I could get more pictures.

More pictures of Ost Alagos

Additional references:
Middle-Earth Headquarters / Locations Database: Ost Alagos
LOTRO Lorebook: Landmark:Ost Alagos