Thread: The Argonath?

Hey guys,

Don't know if this has been discussed in other threads or not (didn't think to search before I posted this), but from what I remember reading, we're supposed to get the eastern half of Rohan later this year, as well as the west bank of the Great River, from Lothlorien to Rohan.

So...does this mean that the Argonath will make their appearance? I've been waiting a long time for that. I have expectations of them being quite huge, even larger than the King's Statue in Evendim, and being carved out of the rock, rather than made of bricks (as the King's Statue seems to be).




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I'm really really hoping to see this, too!! Haven't anything about it yet, so I guess we'll just need to be really patient.

But personally I don't think they'll be bigger than the Evendim King's statue, because Orthanc is smaller as I expected it to be, too.

1:28 mins have given me the urge to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy again

ok does the book go into much detail about the eastern side of the river? all i remember is that orcs petrol the eastern shore. now if thats all it says could that be turned into a pvp area? my guess is no but i am really getting tired of being in the moors all the time.

Originally Posted by Floin

1:28 mins have given me the urge to read the Lord of the Rings trilogy again

Me too. If only to cleanse the palate of Elijah and Viggo.

The scenery and sets in the film are spot-on. But Emo-Aragorn and Stare-into-the-camera-for-fifteen-minutes-at-a-time-Frodo drive me to distraction.

Originally Posted by Hurin

Me too. If only to cleanse the palate of Elijah and Viggo.

The scenery and sets in the film are spot-on. But Emo-Aragorn and Stare-into-the-camera-for-fifteen-minutes-at-a-time-Frodo drive me to distraction.

Isn't that rather hyperbolic? Having self-doubt hardly makes one an emo.

OT: Likewise, I'd love to see them, even if only from a distance.

Originally Posted by Rippentuck

So...does this mean that the Argonath will make their appearance? I've been waiting a long time for that. I have expectations of them being quite huge, even larger than the King's Statue in Evendim, and being carved out of the rock, rather than made of bricks (as the King's Statue seems to be).

The important thing for me at least is that those two statues need to be a good deal more convincing than that awful-looking thing in Evendim. That doesn't look like something that could be made, and the texture they used on it makes it look fake as hell.

And geez, no, whatever else the statues at the Argonath certainly shouldn't be bigger than that!

In the trilogy(BTW, Viggo gave one of the greatest acting preformances I can remeber seeing. If you see him in RL, you'll know just how much he had to change to play his role convincingly.), Jackson made those statues freaking huge.

As with Orthanc, people will have certian expectations purely because of the movies. I have a feeling Turbine will disregard those and go with the more accurate book depections. IE they won't be THAT large. King's Statue size seems about right.

According to Turbine's press release for "The Riders of Rohan", we will have access to Amon Hen, which is the hill where the Fellowship broke. This hill is located at the southern edge of the large lake Nen Hithoel. The northern edge of that lake is where the Argonath was erected. So, it seems plausible that we will be able to see the Argonath, if only from a distance. It would seem strange to leave out such an iconic bit of architecture.

I have a lithograph of the movie argonath on my bedroom wall.

It still looks awesome after all this time.

Considering we're getting a region called 'Amon Hen', I'd say it would be safe to assume it would cover the area around Nen Hithoel. We should be getting the Argonath.

Originally Posted by Radhruin_EU

The important thing for me at least is that those two statues need to be a good deal more convincing than that awful-looking thing in Evendim. That doesn't look like something that could be made, and the texture they used on it makes it look fake as hell.

And geez, no, whatever else the statues at the Argonath certainly shouldn't be bigger than that!

Hmm... I think the size should be impressive non-the-less. The Argonath is an idolic place (well it became important due to the movies.) I would be dissapointed to see it shrunk to the size of the statues in Evendium, even though those are more realistic in terms of height.

Still, if the Numenorians can build Minas Tirith they can build anything they like!

I'd say this gives us a glimpse of what Argonath will look like - i.e. about the same style as the statues at Harndirion.

And no those are not the actual Argonath.

Originally Posted by Nyrion

Isn't that rather hyperbolic? Having self-doubt hardly makes one an emo.

No, and indeed Aragorn expresses self-doubt in the books. But of course, I wasn't referring to self-doubt at all.

Whereas Aragorn in the book has been preparing his whole life for the conflict to come (serving in the armies of Rohan and Gondor, and traveling far into the East and South to learn the arts of the Enemy) and indeed is itching to do battle with the enemy and attempt to restore his Kingdom(s), the Aragorn of the movies explicitly states that he does not truly want any part of the coming conflict and would stay in Imladris and wed Arwen if it were allowed.

Whereas Elrond specifies that Aragorn must be the king of a reunited Arnor and Gondor before he can mary Arwen in both the book and the movie, in the former, it was to merely to honour Arwen, since Aragorn required no further motivation. In the latter, it (and the pointless addition of --somehow-- Arwen dying unless Aragorn defeats Sauron) is used as blackmail to motivate an otherwise reluctant Aragorn.

So is it hyperbolic to call him emo? No. No it is not. And I merely present one example (out of many) above. Egregious as that one is.

But, hey, if you want to watch the movie together and we'll catalog how many times Peter Jackson introduces doubt, reluctance, overall emo-ness, or other such things where no such traits are present in the book, I'm game!

Actually, I'm not. I tried watching the Blu-Rays when the extended editions were released. I didn't make it out of the Shire. Just started reading the book again.

--H

P.S. Peter Jackson did very much the same thing to Theoden.

Originally Posted by Hurin

Me too. If only to cleanse the palate of Elijah and Viggo.

The scenery and sets in the film are spot-on. But Emo-Aragorn and Stare-into-the-camera-for-fifteen-minutes-at-a-time-Frodo drive me to distraction.

I really didn't like the way Aragorn was portrayed in the movies, so directionless and moping. Aragorn from the books seemed much more in charge of himself and knew where he was going.

I was really bummed to find out that we didn't see the Argonath. IMHO that is a pretty famous icon.

(Hey guys, let's not turn this into yet another "I hate Peter Jackson" thread, k?)

I actually had forgotten that the Argonath were a bit further south than I was thinking when I originally asked the question. For some reason I was imagining them as being at the northern borders of Rohan, and hence within the area said to be coming in 2012. Memory sometimes fails me when I'm not checking my facts first, lol. But yeah, if we're gonna get Amon Hen, I don't see a better time to behold Turbine's version of the Argonath.

Second thoughts: after looking at depictions of the Argonath, reading descriptions and considering the narrowness of the River where they stood, maybe the size of the King's Statue in Evendim would be about right. But I do hope they look more chiseled and less blocky than the King's Statue does.


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Originally Posted by Rippentuck

Second thoughts: after looking at depictions of the Argonath, reading descriptions and considering the narrowness of the River where they stood, maybe the size of the King's Statue in Evendim would be about right. But I do hope they look more chiseled and less blocky than the King's Statue does.


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I agree completely. The movies did well depicting the Argonath. Although the movie makes the look of the King in Evendim rather poor. I hope they revamp it too, and smooth it up just like the Argonath. I mean it is supposed to depict Numenor architecture at it's height.

I think the size of the statue in Evendim is totally fine.

The difference, however, should be, that the Argonath should be carved out of the stone (at least the foundations), not made out of blocks. The movies captured that brilliantly (you can even see the remains of the quarrel on the Eastern statue).

They should also show the right people... I think in the movies PJ tried to capture Elendil and Isildur, because they were known to the audience from the prologue, while in the books it is supposed to be Isildur and Anarion, the two brothers. Both holding axes, and not one of them a sword.

However, they were NOT built at the height of Numenorean power or culture, as some here have indicated. In fact, they were built long after the Last Alliance (around 1340 of the Third Age).


I really hope we will get them... and that the region "Amon Hen" will in fact be "Nen Hithoel" with the entire lake.

re the above comments about the egregious changes to characters in the movies, it was probably more Walsh and Boyens rather than Jackson.

Well, at least the three together.

But I still think "egregious" is the wrong word... they simply made changes so the characters became good characters for the screen, which might not always be the same as that in a book. Especially in Aragorn's case I think it was good to trasfer his development in the movie's story. But I guess we really should not start the tidious book/movie discussion here.

I certainly hope that we see the Argonath! I have been slightly obsessed with it ever since it was on the cover of my edition of LOTR that I read as a kid (I tried to find a link for the image, but all I could find was pictures of Orlando Bloom). I just think the idea of these big stone statues motioning HALT! astride the river is incredibly cool.. Tolkien was very canny in how he used elements like the Argonath to give a sense of the immense history of his world.

Originally Posted by donxavier

I really didn't like the way Aragorn was portrayed in the movies, so directionless and moping. Aragorn from the books seemed much more in charge of himself and knew where he was going.

Which made him kind of a wooden character. Aragorn is still pretty much the leader he is in the books, but doubts his ability to rule a kingdom. How is self doubt mopy? If so then we all are. Plus atleast there is some sort of development to the character. In the books (great as they are) Aragorn is the same from point A to B.

Just occurred to me the other day: if we're going to see Nen Hithoel, then in addition to the Argonath we should see Tol Brandir and the Falls of Rauros.







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Rippentuck, as long as you're showing Ted Nasmith's depiction of Tol Brandir and Rauros you might as well have shown his depiction of the Argonath. (The link is to the image at Nasmith's website. His works are copyrighted.)

Originally Posted by oldbadgerbrock

Rippentuck, as long as you're showing Ted Nasmith's depiction of Tol Brandir and Rauros you might as well have shown his depiction of the Argonath. (The link is to the image at Nasmith's website. His works are copyrighted.)

I prefer the movie version (and having a nice video) of the Argonath, to Nasmith's version. I absolutely love his landscapes though.


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Originally Posted by Rippentuck

Just occurred to me the other day: if we're going to see Nen Hithoel, then in addition to the Argonath we should see Tol Brandir and the Falls of Rauros.

/images

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About that: expect invisible wall right at the top of the falls

Originally Posted by Reniannen

About that: expect invisible wall right at the top of the falls

I'm sure there will be but just imagine the view!

Either an invisible wall or insta death just behind the fall like at the eastern slopes of Dol Guldur.

But yes, the view should be spectacular (and worth risking death for it!

Granted the only natural waterfall I've been to is this might beast:

but I don't think there's much of a view to enjoy looking down the waterfall compared to looking at one from a distance.

It's going to be interesting how they handle the view... since especially the view from Amon Hen is supposed to be amazing, at least when you look South.

so when this piece comes to lotro do we get our own boats? so we can free roam the river, and do some fishing? xD

Originally Posted by Chewie-nl

so when this piece comes to lotro do we get our own boats? so we can free roam the river, and do some fishing? xD

I don't think that will happen anytime in the near future, if at all, at least in the sense that we all would like. You might check out the last link in my sig, it discusses ways to use the rivers in the game.


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Please make something epic with that like the video at LotR its so AWESOME!!!!!

I, too, am keen to see the Argonath.

I think "The Devs" intend to always include the really iconic locations in the game where possible. Therefore, I am fairly confident we will get to see that sight........and Rauros! "Mighty Rauros Falls!"