Lynx
There are more threats in the cliffs and crags of the North Downs than Orcs and evil Men. Many creatures that walk on four legs, both natural and evil, stalk prey in the hills and fields of the North Downs.
In the crags of Nan Amlug, lynx dwell in great numbers. While these mountain cats are mere beasts, with no care for the wars of Men and Orcs, they can still be extremely dangerous. They are able to move about nearly unseen, silently creeping towards their prey, springing upon the unwary with vicious precision. The miners of Othrikar, the dwarf-mines of Nan Amlug, must keep a constant vigil as they journey to and from their tunnels.
At the northern end of the Greenway, beyond the lonely town of Trestlebridge, and in southern reaches of Annundir, packs of wolves roam in search of easy prey. Unlike lynx, wolves are not mere beasts. They are highly intelligent and cunning, but worse yet, they are servants of the Enemy, corrupt and evil. From these hounds of evil were bred the fiercest of their kind, the Wargs. It is said that there was a time as well when fell-spirits were cast into wolves, creating a breed of Werewolves.
Of all the four-legged creatures which stalk the western North Downs, the Barghests of the Fields of Fornost are the worst. Evil hounds akin to the Werewolves, they are terrible creatures possessed of a fell-spirit. They are rarely seen anywhere but ancient fields of battle and burial grounds, haunting the grassy knolls where the dead lay.
The lynx and Barghests are new to The Lord of the Rings Online: Shadows of Angmar, drawn from appropriate real-world and folklore sources. Wolves are seen with great frequency in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, always as creatures of evil, as they were portrayed in the folklore and literature of Professor Tolkien’s own day. In LOTRO, players shall encounter these and other such creatures throughout Eriador.