The Fashion Maven is a Game Master (GM) that will randomly award titles to players based on their fashion sense (or lack of it).
Today Sapience announced:
The Maven has caught wind of all the exciting new fashions in Middle-earth and has returned to award titles to the most, and least, fashionable adventurers. The Maven will be randomly awarding her special titles all weekend long across all worlds. Are you lucky enough to earn the title, “The Fashionable” or will you earn the Maven’s disapproval and be labeled “The Unfashionable”?
Now I’ve never been one to receive a fashion maven title so I can only relay what I’ve learned from others. The deal is you will be spotted by a GM and your outfit will either please or revolt them.
An email is sent to the lucky person who caught the GM’s eye and attached will be a “Fashion Maven’s Scroll” which is a quest that will grant your title. I’m uncertain if the quest is only for “The Fashionable” title or both.
Not sure if this is included since Sapience post doesn’t specifically state it, but there is also a title of “The Eye-sore” that was associated with GM’s acting as Fashion Mavens and came with a cloth sack you can wear on your head called the “Hat of Shame”. Because it isn’t specifically mentioned, I wouldn’t count on getting it. However, if this is what you’re going for it can’t hurt to try!
If you’re looking to spruce up and draw the attention of the Fashion Maven, historically your best chances were to be hanging about Bree. I don’t know if that is still true since there are so many hubs now where folks gather, the most recent being Galtrev.
For some assistance perfecting your look, why not visit some of LOTRO’s premiere cosmetic blogs for outfit inspiration!
- Cosmetic LOTRO – Has been on a roll cranking out great isengard themed goodies
- LOTRO Fashion – I adore her inspiration posts and lots of guest submissions
- LOTRO Musings – look for the outfit ideas section for great finds
- LOTRO Stylist – no longer posting but still great ideas to be found
November 18, 2011 at 3:22 pm
Hmmmm… what should I wear? My lovely dyed and well studied outfit or the gross combination I have as the equipment outfit? Hard decision!
November 18, 2011 at 3:41 pm
I think I’ll put on a daring color like rose or purple to attract the eye of the Maven!
November 18, 2011 at 4:31 pm
YELLOW! Finally that bilious color has a purpose!
November 18, 2011 at 5:51 pm
So, basically, if you wander by the GM, you’ll get one title or the other? You dont need to stand out particularly ugly/fashionable?
November 18, 2011 at 11:38 pm
This is not an auto granted title. The GM (as in a human) is selectively picking people to give the title to.
November 19, 2011 at 1:09 am
I know it’s manually done. My question is, doth the Maven make a physical appearance and judge all who happen by? Or doth the Maven simply choose the best and worst of those whom they happen to see and move on..
November 18, 2011 at 6:34 pm
So, is there any good place to be?
I figured Bree (Prancing Pony), near the Vault in Michel Delving, On the stair in Thorin’s Gate, or in the Main Hall in Thorin’s Hall will all be populated.
Maybe the 21st hall, Rivendell, or Galtrev.
People don’t hang out that much in Celondim.
November 18, 2011 at 11:39 pm
Not sure if there’s a particularly good place. I’ve heard of people getting it at the boar fountain but it’s a heavily trafficked area and it was also years ago
November 18, 2011 at 6:36 pm
Does anyone that’s received one of the titles have any advice? I’ve envied these titles for years. Should I be looking for an obvious GM-PC or NPC, or should I just hang around town and hope?
November 18, 2011 at 7:19 pm
Surely beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’m thinking bunny head, spring dress and the purple cloak of ugliness from volume 1 would be a good launch point without much dying required. Dwarves feel free to nick that idea if you provide screenies!
If the maven is on a crusade against crimes of fashion they should start by looking at quest rewards or armour in general prior to RoI, bunny ears on hunter/leather helms just wasnt doing them any favours. Unless they’ve decided to only choose costume over armour.
My guess if they’re a GM would be that they’d have borrowed the ring of power and are wandering about invisible to all. I suspect if they appeared a crowd would gather and they’d not get much done. Which also makes lagtrev an unlikely location to be spotted.
November 18, 2011 at 8:33 pm
It’s been three hours since I started hanging around Bree (Laurelin) on one very well-dressed character. I even turned on OOC and GLOBALLFF to watch for any mention of Fashion Maven sightings.
So far, no sign of a GM, or word from anyone having luck. I’m feeling somewhat foolish and disappointed.
I should at least qualify for these titles: “the Gullible”, “Wishful Thinker”, “Easily Manipulated”, and “Village Idiot”. *^_^*
I wish they’d narrow it down somewhat. Since I’m on a formerly-EU server, I can’t even guess when in the 24-hour day the Maven might log in.
November 19, 2011 at 8:48 am
I feel the same. I’m wondering if Maven will appear during European rush hours, or keep a US schedule. I’ve been around Bree (Snowbourn server) since 9am EU time, its 3pm and not a sign anywhere. No one in /glff has seen her. I’m hoping maybe around 8 or 9pm something will happen. But I have to get my groceries too, and cook and eat and… have a life sort of. I wish there were some other way to get this title.
November 18, 2011 at 10:09 pm
Times revolve around the more US friendly side of the clock for a lot of things so probably around midnight. Good excuse to listen live to cstm podcast while to wait.
November 19, 2011 at 10:01 pm
Well, Friday saw no sign of the Fashion Maven on Laurelin, and I’ve spent another 13 hours now in Bree for Saturday. I’ve seen a lot of other people waiting around too. Keeping OOC and GLOBALLFF on to coordinate with other people and to make sure I don’t miss out on any sighting has been painful.
There’s no sign on the main forums yet either that the Maven has appeared on any server.
My best advice to anyone thinking of looking for the Fashion Maven is: don’t! Find a way to not care about this. It will save you time and frustration.
I love the concept though. To be able to participate (even if it’s only for a minute) in a fashion competition sounds like a fantastic departure from the regular game grind. There just has to be a better way to run this thing.
November 20, 2011 at 10:50 pm
Just got the Unfashionable in 21st Hall…sigh. And here I thought I was looking all cool and tough in my black Isengard prison outfit!
November 21, 2011 at 8:14 pm
Aww that’s a shame. I think the prison outfit looks pretty good in black. Maybe it’s because it’s rather shabby looking?
November 21, 2011 at 8:17 am
We got hide nor hair of Fashion Maven on Windfola all weekend, as far as I know. Being of lower level I spent my entire time in Bree but no one in glff had any clue.
November 21, 2011 at 10:03 am
I received Unfashionable on Saturday in the crafting hall of Galtrev. This was on Landroval.
No accounting for taste, I guess. My 1970′s pirate captain is a sight to behold I tell you!
November 24, 2011 at 7:49 am
is this gonna be in Every server or just some titles in ramdom servers?
November 21, 2011 at 5:21 am
Seconded. Any fellow EU players who got the title, when did you get it ?
November 21, 2011 at 4:44 pm
Thirded. If they do something for ‘all weekend long’ or ‘all of sunday’ etc – they really need to also quote times for starts and ends and the timezone they work in.
It’s all very well saying it’s ‘all weekend long’, but if they work on Eastern then that means it starts five hours later and runs to somewhere around five am for us UK people.
We need a frame of reference.
I’m also inclined to think that the GM who does the fashion will wander around as invisible. They do that a lot.