If you have spent any amount time around Thorin’s Gate in Erin Luid, especially down by the Stable Master, you have no doubt noticed a nearby doorway. If, like me, you enjoy exploring the world of Tolkien, you have wandered over to the door, your mind already busily imagining what sort of mysteries could lie behind it. Could it be a vault full of forgotten dwarven treasures? Another underground tavern? Or even the hall where all the female dwarfs have been hiding all these years?
Instead, upon trying to open the door you receive an error message informing you that the door is locked. No quest, level or reputation requirements can help you. The door is locked, and nothing you can do will help you pass through it.
If this has happened to you, then you too have stumbled upon the mystery of the Silver Deep Guard House.
Located at 15.1S, 103.6W in Thorin’s Gate(1), the locked door is thankfully not a developer error, and sadly, not a secret SoonTM to be added expanded Dwarf area. Rather, it is a leftover from an early version of the Dwarf starting quests.
Prior to the November 2010 revamp of the Dwarf starter area, the Guard House was part of the ‘Guards of the Silver Deep’ quest in the Epic Intro. A ill dwarf could be found in the Guard House, who was cured by recovering mushrooms from the Rockbelly Pit, a part of Thorin’s Gate which remains part of the Epic Intro.(2)(3)(4) The Guard House contains two rooms, both with fireplaces and assorted furniture, connected by hallways in the distinct Dwarven housing style. After finishing the Dwarf/Elf intro and being teleported to the main word, there is no way to regain access to the Guard House.
Since the Guard House was closed, players have requested that it be opened up again, as a possible new area for Dwarf-based role-players to use.(5)
Do you remember exploring the Guard House when it was part of the Epic? Do you have any suggestions for what Turbine could do with it if they opened it back up again?