Welcome to LOTRO Epic A Day, where I guide you on an epic journey through Middle-Earth, one day at a time. Each Book of the Epic quest is separated into its own Day, with Side-Days for leveling up to the next book. Gather up your belongings and hit the road, a new Day awaits!
Nan Curunir is a small valley surrounded by the Misty Mountains. At the time we arrive there is little there but rock and smoke outside of the massive Isengard fortress. The Ring of Isengard surrounds the tower of Orthanc that reaches towards the clouds; the tower’s height reflects the rise of Isengard and Saruman’s growing army of Uruk-hai, Orcs, Trolls, and massive siege-engines.
Nan Curunir may not be the best place for Westfold-tier resource gathering due to the high level mobs (Westfold mats can be collected in as many or greater amounts in Dunland and the Gap of Rohan, two lower level areas). However, if you wish you can find birch logs and skarn ore nodes in the vale south of the Ring of Isengard fortress, collect large hides from wargs on the western side of the vale, and find Banded Coffers for scholar items in Blackmarch Fort as well as within Isengard itself.
Nan Curunir Quest Hubs
Questing in Nan Curunir begins by accepting Grimbold’s level 75 Scouting the Way quest (the Rohirrim commander is at Grimbold’s Camp in the Gap of Rohan, which leads you to Dagoras’ Camp. Questing in Nan Curunir earns you rep with Théodred’s Riders.
Dagoras’ Camp (Rec 75): Just two lone men managed to stake a claim in Nan Curunir, establishing a camp from which to observe the movements of the White Hand troops. Far from friendly territory, the only services here are a Stable-master and the assortment of provision goods Dagoras offers (he serves as a vendor as well as quest-giver). Dagoras offers us quests, as does a fallen Rohirrim body nearby (83.3 S, 4.3 W). After finishing several quests for Dagoras and Ondor, Dagoras moves closer to Isengard but you can still encounter him back at his camp.
Individual NPCs
82.7 S, 4.0 W – Ondor: One of Dagoras’ quests takes us to this dwarf, stranded in Nan Curunír near the Fang-riders’ Warren. Ondor offers quests to defeat goblins and wargs.
83.3 S, 4.3 W – Fallen Rohirrim: This Rohirrim has fallen to the orcs, but his presence is a mystery (Grimbold had ordered the Rohirrim not to enter the region). You can accept the Fallen By the Wayside quest to collect the warrior’s equipment, to return his effects to Grimbold’s Camp.
81.9 S, 0.7 E – Quickbeam: At the eastern border of Nan Curunir an Ent stands at the edge of the forest. After completing several quests for Dagoras near the gates of Isengard the Ranger will send us to his friend Quickbeam to help the Ent deal with Orcs ravaging the forest.
Isengard Repeatables
At the end of the Nan Curunir quest chain Quickbeam will reveal a hidden passage (80.5 S, 0.4 W) into Isengard. Dagoras sneaks inside along with us, hiding in the shadows at the edge of the fortress (79.8 S, 1.0 W). He offers repeatable level 75 quests that can be completed daily for IXP, Théodred’s Riders rep, and level experience. If you leave Isengard and return while working on the quests Dagoras will no longer be inside, but will reappear when you have a completed quest to turn in.
A Crack in the Works: Defeat 10 goblin-engineers. The goblins are on the wooden platforms inside a crevasse in the quest area marked on your map (79.2 S, 3.6 W). There are pipes to get up and down between platforms, but the easiest way to reach them is simply dropping down. However, if you are a ranged class you can just barely reach an engineer from the corner of the upper platform at 80.0 S, 3.7 W without needing to drop (and thus avoiding finding the right pipe or jumping into the abyss to escape the crevasse).
Overseers of Isengard: Defeat 4 Orc-overseers. The overseers are on the eastern side of Isengard standing atop platforms while shouting orders at workers. Attacking them at range from on top or below their platform works best so that you can avoid the surrounding enemies, but be wary of their high morale. Probably the best platform is found at 79.8 S, 1.6 W – it is much larger than the others, providing more space to fight.
Evil Workings: Collect 6 evil devices. (79.2 S, 3.6 W), (78.1 S, 1.8 W), (78.2 S, 2.4 W), (77.9 S, 3.4 W), (78.3 S, 3.9 W), (78.7 S, 4.1 W)
Servants of Saruman: Defeat 6 Apprentices of Saruman. These are fairly rare in Isengard, but found throughout the whole area (usually on the outside portion of the ring). If you don’t find them, keep looking and they will respawn eventually!
Nan Curunir Deeds
Nan Curunir Deeds are found in the Dunland section under the Eriador tab.
The following are Nan Curunir-specific deeds, rewards, and requirements (deeds for the greater Dunland area are listed in Side Day: Dunland, including slayer deeds for the 3 regions released in Rise of Isengard).
Exploring Nan Curunir
+1 Empathy, IXP rune, 5 TP
- Gates of Isengard (81.5 S, 2.5 W)
- Pillar of the White Hand (84.9 S, 3.0 W)
- Fang-rider’s Warren (81.6 S, 4.8 W)
- Blackmarch Fort (84.6 S, 1.6 W)
- Quickbeam’s Grove (82.0 S, 0.7 E)
- Dagoras’ Camp (84.8 S, 3.5 W)
Quests in Nan Curunir
+1 Tolerance, IXP rune, 5 TP
Complete 30 quests in Nan Curunir
Note: For Dunland Slayer Deed: Uruk-Hai slayer, all of the Uruks you encounter are located in Nan Curunir.
October 10, 2011 at 3:23 pm
I was actually kind of put down by how few quests there were in Nan Curunir. This being Saruman’s stronghold and what not i was expecting a little more. Now don’t get me wrong i loved the zone, it just seemed to lack the content and story that quests in other hubs had.
October 10, 2011 at 5:57 pm
I suspect some instance-related quests will pop up after the December update.
October 11, 2011 at 10:13 am
I would hope so, and also maybe a skirmish in the tower or around the ring