Draugar

Lore

Draugar (singular Draug) are the Barrow-wights of Rohan, a type of foul undead creature. Like other wights, they are corpses of the dead animated by dark spirits. The spirits that possess the draugar, however, are of a particularly powerful sort. Draugar give off a deadly aura which can drive nearby animals mad or slay them outright. Some, known as Wódfen Bile-draug, give off poisonous fumes which are harmful to travelling adventurers. Draugar are also able to increase their size during battle, swelling to twice their original height. When these monsters are defeated, their swollen bodies expand like a balloon and explode in a burst of green slime.

Draugar are found in the catacombs of Wódscrafen and Dwolung Hole in the Wold and in Byrgenstow in Entwash Vale. A gateway to the shadow world can be found deep in the Byrgenstow tunnels, presumably the source of the fell spirits that have stirred the bones of the dead.

Background

Draugar (singular Draugr) are undead creatures of Norse mythology. They do not appear (by that name) in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien. However, they provided the inspiration for Tolkien's barrow-wights, who exhibit many of the same abilities and penchant for haunting tombs. Authors have occasionally used "Barrow-wight" as a translation of Haugbui, an alternate name for the Draugar. As Rohan is based on the Anglo-Saxon culture, the developers of The Lord of the Rings Online chose to use the original Norse/Anglo-Saxon version of these creatures.