The River Hobbits of LOTRO

Place of Origin

Unlike other races, these halflings only have one place of origin: Misthallow.

This places is secluded, but in the same way that the Shire Hobbits dug homes into hillsides, the River Hobbits dig into the sides of the mountains. According to the character creator they are

…known mainly in old tales and songs.

And we’ll see that this is a lore-based description too.

Other Names

An alternative name for them is, apparently, River-folk. This explained why it took me some time to find a non-LOTRO reference for “River Hobbit”! I was doubly annoyed at myself because the River Hobbit cosmetics from bundles use the term River-folk.

When Angmar’s threat was becoming greater, many Hobbits – including Stoors began to migrate towards Eriador. However, some of them remained in Rhovanion, and would become known as “River-folk” or River-Halflings.

A Love of Water

Now, the Hobbits we know the most about came from other families/clans, like the Harfoots, who did not like water. However, the Stoors used boats and weren’t averse to swimming^(Ref). They were also fisher-folk^(Ref). And it is from this group that Sméogol, also known as Gollum, descended.

Shoes!

The Stoors are known to wear shoes or boots when wading or in muddy conditions. For your own creations, make your own mind up, but if you wanted a lore reason to justify donning the latest fashionable boots, you have one neatly gift-wrapped here!

This race is not a ‘reskinned Hobbit’. It’s actually a downsized Race of Man. They used to have the human emotes as well, but that was silently changed to Hobbit ones. I preferred the human ones for my River Hobbit, so I was a bit sad when that happened.

By that I mean the “Race of Man”. Tolkien Gateway quotes the Prologue to The Lord of the Rings here.

What this does mean is that, for LOTRO’s creation of River Hobbits to be criticised for being like “small humans” makes no sense! It is, in fact, written-by-Tolkien lore that they are supposed to be that way.

River-Halflings

If you’re still struggling to reconcile the River Hobbit with “tiny humans”, then instead see them as “River Halflings”. A Halfling is:

…often depicted as similar to humans except about half as tall, and are not quite as stocky as the similarly sized dwarves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halfling

Further Reading

I highly recommend using Tolkien Gateway’s article above. All references are backed up and are taken from The Lord of the Rings or Unfinished Tales. There is one from The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. So you can’t go far wrong.

Although Update 37 is called the “Humble Homes of the Holbytlan“, that name was not reserved solely for this group of Halflings.

Holbytla (where Holbytlan is plural) is actually a word from Rohan culture and literally means “hole builders”, with the race itself being something of a myth or legend^(Ref).

Another translation yields “hole-dweller”. In either case, the Common Speech/Westron is rendered “Hobbit”.

Any Class (That Make Sense)

You can be any LOTRO combat class you want to be, except a Beorning. There’s no such thing as a skin-changing Hobbit, unless those Rohan bedtime stories got really weird, really quickly.

All Skin/Hair/Eye Colours

Be Creative!

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There’s no restrictions on the appearance of your halfling it seems. Given how far they travelled and that the Hobbits went in various directions in their wanderings, you can feel pretty free here.

I made a dirty-tanned, blond young woman and an old, very dark-skinned, white-haired male.

Height Slider

I’ve always felt that height ranges were missing in LOTRO. While dwarves and hobbits were obviously shorter, for other races the only difference was that males were generally taller than females.

With these halflings, however, height ranges exist! And I realised that the tallest setting for a female one meant they were almost as tall as my female Race of Man. There goes the “half a height” thing!

Shortest

Tallest

Oh, I Wish I was a Holbytlan With Flowers In My Hair.

One aspect are new hairstyles – many of which feature leaves or small flowers. This is something I hoped LOTRO would do even before River Hobbits were announced.

Bregoleth in Before the Shadow has leaves woven into her hair, and some LOTRO mounts have flowers in their manes (e.g. Steed of Entwining Blossoms, Shire Holly Steed).

So I’m glad to see some options coming to playable characters too.

It’s the flowers and leaves that mean some of these hairstyle shots are taken from the side, rather than the front. You’ll see the back and sides of their head more than their face when playing, after all!

Male/Female Hairstyles

I do sometimes wonder why these are still split. Whether there’s some historical reasons for female Hobbits never having short hair, or male ones never having side pig-tails, or something else, I don’t know.

But I have popped them here so you can browse them all. Many would work with either male or female, to be honest!

Before the Shadow

This option will only be available to you if you have, in fact, purchased the Before the Shadow expansion. How frustratingly logical!

With this option, you’ll get the introduction all characters of any race have starting before the attack on Mossward.

Shadows of Angmar

If you select this option – or have no choice but to choose it – then you will be transported to the unique starter for River Hobbits.

This takes place in Lyndelby where you are telling everyone you intend to leave for your adventures now.

Are You Leaving? See You Later!

As you port in, you have made the decision to leave the village for good. Dun-dun-duuuuuun. Not that some believe the “she’s leaving the village” line:

Anyway, apparently, people knew the day would come but some wished it wouldn’t.

You have to tell Grandmother Maddy about your plans. Apparently, she’s “kind of a big deal” about these parts.

From Frogs to Goblins. Frog-Goblins?

But you can’t just leave, you have to say goodbye to your friends and neighbours first. Otherwise “it wouldn’t be proper”, so says Grandmother Maddy. Fair enough.

As you’re saying your farewells, one local wants you to say goodbye to his pet frog. Only said frog is nowhere to be found. Eventually you hear him up a small hillock facing off some goblins who quite fancy making your valley their home.

Their marketing manager thinks “Goblin Valley” sounds great. “Goblin Town” was taken, after all.

Equipped With Naff Weapon by Eagle

Just as the goblins prepare to attack to clear out the locals, they’re all knocked out by a giant Eagle. Turns out this Eagle is well known to the locals.

But the Eagle noticed you saying goodbye to folks, warns you about the big world and bids you take a pretty shoddy weapon out of the goblins’ sack to prepare you for your big adventure. If you expected a better weapon, it was a goblin’s sack, so that’s why.

Lastly, Grandmother Maddy gives you a speech about “don’t look back” (or words to that effect) but sternly instructs you to use your freedom to make yourself useful to people you come across. Promising not to be a totally useless wreck, you set off.

Some weeks later you arrive in Mossward and the start of the Epic Questline in LOTRO.

Even if you only bought the race on its own and not one of the packs with cosmetics in, you can still get two River Hobbit outfits. This comes in the form of quest rewards.

Whichever introduction you choose, you end up in Mossward. That’s a good thing as the quest we want is there!

Find Fridolin

Look for Fridolin Took who has A Hobbit’s Home from Home.

Claim Your Cosmetics

You will need to take the taxi to Michel Delving in the Shire to speak with Wil Whitfoot. That costs 5 × Silver.

Use your milestone skill to return to Mossward.

While many weapon auras sparkle, shine or crackle, the Weapon Aura of the River-folk is so lush, it’s dripping!

I don’t mean that in the currently-used form to mean great, awesome, amazing etc. It literally drips. I had forgotten that I had already made a mini-video of this, so that’s to the right, or below.

How to Get this Weapon Aura

It comes with the Greater Bundle and the Superior Bundle

Hardy Holbytlan

Effect: Increased Morale

Seclusion Breeds Suspicion

Effect: Decreased Will

Slippery Like a Fish

Effect: Improved Agility

Swimmer

Effect: +1% Frost Mitigation

Daggers

Effect: You may use daggers regardless of the class you choose.

Virtuous River Hobbit

Spear and Dagger-damage Bonus

Return to Lyndelby

Elusive Catch

Hobbit Silence

There are two stages in how the River Hobbit introduction hooks into the Epic storyline. And it will partly depend on what content you have access to.

Lyndelby to Mossward

Having been told to “go make yourself useful”, sometime after leaving home you encounter the town of Mossward. Outside, Meneldir is fighting off Orcs who have sought to burn the town down. While the flames are raging, you defeat an Orc or two and then chat with Meneldir.

Once that is done, you arrive in Mossward after the fires have been put out.

Where to Next?

The answer to this is dependent on whether or not you have Before the Shadow.

Yes, I Do

Then you have a choice.

1. Play Before the Shadow
   You can choose to play through Before the Shadow, including the Epic (and side quests if you wish). When the Epic ends in Cardolan, you rejoin the original Epic in the Lone-lands, via a “vector” quest.
2. Play from the Shire
   Pick up the quest from the Hobbit in Mossward (you get an outfit from it, so do it!), then get the Mossward stablemaster to Michel Delving.

Even if you choose Before the Shadow, there is no reason you cannot also go back to the Shire and complete the Epic there. Why not start the Bingo Boffin story (The Call to Adventure) at the same time?

No, I Don’t

If you have not unlocked Before the Shadow, then River Hobbits still have access to Swanfleet quests, but not the whole BtS Epic questline, nor Cardolan. So, you can do some of your initial levelling from Mossward and around Swanfleet if you want to.

Either way, to join the Epic a nearby Hobbit has a quest you can pick up. This will lead you to Michel Delving (take the Mossward Stablemaster) where the original Hobbit-started Epic story begins in the Shire.

Base Bundle

Price: 1,595 LOTRO Points

Bundle Includes

• Account-wide River Hobbit unlock
• 1 × Character Slot
• Title: River-rafter

Greater Bundle

Price: 2,995 LOTRO Points

Bundle Includes

• Account-wide River Hobbit unlock
• 1 × Character Slot
• Title: River-rafter
• Title: River-dancer
• × 2,500 Virtue XP
• Weapon Aura of the River-folk
• Small selection of River Hobbit-themed housing decorations.

Superior Bundle

Price: 8,995 LOTRO Points

Bundle Includes

• Account-wide River Hobbit unlock
• 1 × Character Slot
• × 100 Mithril Coins
• Title: River-rafter
• Title: River-dancer
• Title: River-lord *
• Title: River-lady *
• × 20,000 Virtue XP
• 2 × River-folk Cosmetics Outfits
• Weapon Aura of the River-folk
• Butterfly Cosmetic Pet
• River-folk Frame
• Larger selection of River Hobbit-themed housing decorations.

* both titles are delivered to all characters.

River-folk Frame

I have slightly upscaled this to try and show it more clearly. Apologies for the fuzziness.

Butterflies (Pet)

I already have one premium property and that’s Rohan Housing, so it’s taking me a while to get around to also doing up my Lyndelby one. Once I think I’ve made my Smial homely enough, I’ll post an update.

Getting Started

I didn’t want to use this guide to go into depth on housing. However, to visit homesteads (Smials) in Lyndelby and to purchase them, find your local Housing Broker.

Wondering whether to purchase using Writs, Mithril Coins or a combination of the two? You may find my Which is Cheaper notes on my Rohan housing post helpful.

When you unlock River Hobbits with either the Greater or Superior bundle, you receive decorations inspired by this race.

And, if you don’t know by now, housing decorations is one thing I do not do here at FJ HQ.

Instead, head over to Déco du Milieu’s dedicated page to see what they look like.

It was MassivelyOP’s article on spicing up LOTRO alts that triggered the thought.

So here’s what I decided, based on their prompts.

Minstrel (Epic Only)

I haven’t played a Minstrel in years, so I’m relearning it.

I’ve also set the landscape difficulty to 2. I know, not exactly challenging, but I’d rather go steadily.

She is only doing side-quests to catch up her level to that of the Epic. That way, I won’t get bogged down by the mountain of content.

Farmer/Cook

I created this one based on MassivelyOP’s “living in the world” suggestion.

I’ve never done farming/cooking beyond the early basics, so this is a new challenge for me.

There won’t be any questing, unless I feel like doing LOTRO festivals with him.