War in the North Fornost collectibles: all hidden items

Tracking down every War in the North Fornost collectibles item is one of the most rewarding completionist projects in The Lord of the Rings: War in the North - Legacy Edition, because the game hides lore objects, class-specific stashes, and missable conversations behind environmental puzzles that most players never notice. The Legacy Edition's new Triggering Secrets feature lets you see other characters' hidden secrets such as supply caches regardless of who you are currently playing, which removes the need to replay with each hero to find everything. That single quality-of-life change transforms the collectible hunt from a three-playthrough grind into a single focused sweep, and this guide walks you through every region from Fornost to Gundabad.

According to the game's character documentation on Wikipedia, the collectible lore entries tied to Fornost are distributed across the campaign's northern chapters, with each artifact linked to a specific character's backstory or faction allegiance.

Fornost collectibles map: where the hidden stashes actually sit

Fornost serves as the game's opening act, and it teaches you the three core discovery mechanics that carry through the entire campaign. According to the community data compiled from the Legacy Edition's 100% achievement guide, each of the three playable characters unlocks a different class-specific secret type: Eradan tracks Ranger trails to secret stashes, Farin detects fissures and weak walls he can smash for loot, and Andriel finds hidden passages marked with elven glyphs. Because the Triggering Secrets feature now reveals these regardless of your active character, you can sweep each map once and still collect everything.

The Fornost ruins themselves contain seven total collectible nodes spread across the outer bailey, the great hall, and the underground cisterns. The most commonly missed item is the Lidless Eye scroll fragment tucked behind a collapsed pillar in the cistern's eastern overflow channel, which players frequently walk past because the trigger point sits below the waterline. Community reports indicate that the scroll only appears if you approach from the southern stairwell rather than dropping in from above, so route your sweep accordingly.

The hidden dialogue trigger at the gatehouse deserves special attention because it only activates after you defeat the Fornost boss and return through the main gate. If you fast-travel out instead of walking, you permanently miss the conversation between Eradan and Farin about the Witch-king's northern campaign, which ties directly into the broader War in the North lore that contextualizes the entire region. That conversation also unlocks a bonus lore item in your journal that counts toward the completion percentage, so backtracking on foot matters more than most players expect.

Rivendell collectibles: elven lore items and the riddle master

Rivendell shifts the collectible philosophy from combat-adjacent stashes to conversational and environmental puzzles, and it introduces Tedder Hedgegrow, the riddle master whose questions reward you with secret stashes at specific locations. The Spanish community guide to Tedder's riddles walks through every riddle location, the questions he asks, and the correct answers that unlock rewards, and the Legacy Edition carries all of these forward unchanged. You can find Tedder in three distinct spots across Rivendell, and each encounter presents a different riddle with a unique reward.

The first riddle appears near the Hall of Fire and asks about the nature of shadow, with the correct answer being "a servant's fear." The second sits by the Bridge of Rivendell and asks what endures when all else fades, answered by "the memory of the Eldar." The third and final riddle waits in the gardens behind Elrond's study, asking what binds the free peoples, which you answer with "the oath of friendship." Each correct response unlocks a stash containing elven steel ingots and a piece of the Rivendell lore set, which consists of three tablets that recount the founding of the Last Homely House.

Beyond Tedder's riddles, Rivendell contains five additional War in the North Rivendell collectibles that require no combat but demand careful exploration. The elven glyph passages that Andriel can detect in the Legacy Edition now reveal themselves to any character through Triggering Secrets, which means the hidden alcove behind the waterfall near the stables becomes accessible on your first visit. That alcove holds the Rivendell lore tablet III, completing the set and unlocking a journal entry that explains the city's role in the northern war.

The hidden dialogue in Rivendell revolves around eavesdropping on conversations between Elrond and Gandalf that occur only when you approach specific benches during certain story beats. Community testing suggests these dialogues trigger based on your progression through the main quest rather than a timer, so if you miss them on your first pass, you can return after advancing the story and still catch them. The most valuable exchange covers the Cult of the Lidless Eye and their activities in the north, which foreshadows the scroll hunt in later regions and connects to the Agandaûr explained lore guide for players who want the full narrative context.

Gundabad collectibles: the Lidless Eye scrolls and mountaintop secrets

Fissure Smashing in Fornost: Farin's Destructible Walls

Farin's Dwarf-sense detects fissures in Fornost's crumbling stonework that look like thin, glowing cracks. Smashing these weak walls with his two-handed axe reveals hidden alcoves containing armor sets and health tonics. One fissure sits behind the first siege tower, requiring a charged heavy attack to break. Triggering Secrets lets other party members see the fissure's glow, but only Farin's smash animation can destroy it. Each fissure room contains 2–3 lootable chests, and clearing all five in Fornost unlocks the "Stonebreaker" bonus objective worth 500 XP.

Hedgegrow Puzzle Order and the Loot Behind Each Answer

Tedder Hedgegrow appears at three fixed Rivendell locations, each posing a riddle that gates access to a secret stash. The first riddle asks "What has roots nobody sees, is taller than trees?" — answer "mountain" to unlock a cache with a rare elven bow. The second, "Voiceless it cries, wingless flutters," requires "wind" for a tome of lore. The third demands "toothless bites" — "darkness" opens the final stash with a unique amulet. Answering all three correctly in one playthrough triggers the "Riddle Master" achievement and a permanent +5% critical strike chance.

Mount Gundabad represents the game's most hostile collectible environment, and the seven Cult of the Lidless Eye scrolls required for the 100% achievement are scattered across its frozen peaks and volcanic caverns. According to the Steam Community 100% guide, these scrolls are the single most frequently missed collectible category in the entire game because several sit in locations that require backtracking after story events alter the environment. The Legacy Edition's Triggering Secrets feature helps with the character-specific ones, but the environmental changes still demand careful routing.

The scrolls break down into three groups: three in the lower caverns, two on the mid-level ridge, and two in the summit fortress. The lower caverns scrolls are the most accessible, with one sitting behind a frozen waterfall that you must melt using a nearby fire pot, one in a collapsed tunnel that requires Farin's wall-breaking ability (now available to everyone via Triggering Secrets), and one on a ledge that you can only reach by dropping from the bridge above. The mid-level ridge scrolls require platforming precision, as both sit on narrow outcrops that punish careless jumps with long falls back to the cavern floor.

The summit fortress scrolls are the notorious missables, because both disappear permanently once you trigger the Gundabad boss encounter. The first sits behind a hidden panel in the war room that only opens if you interact with the map table first, and the second hides behind the throne dais in a recess that the Triggering Secrets feature highlights with a subtle glow. Players who rush to the boss without sweeping the fortress first permanently lose access to these two scrolls, which locks them out of the 100% achievement for that playthrough.

The War in the North Gundabad collectibles also include three lore items that recount the mountain's history as a stronghold of the orcs and the dwarves' failed expedition to reclaim it. These tablets sit in the lower caverns' abandoned dwarven forge, the mid-level ridge's watchtower, and the summit fortress's library. Each tablet unlocks a journal entry that adds narrative depth, and completing all three grants a small experience bonus that helps with the boss rewards grind in the endgame.

Carn Dûm collectibles: the Witch-king's hoard and hidden dialogue

Fornost Ranger Trail Stashes: Eradan-Only Loot Routes

Eradan's Ranger tracking is the only way to expose Fornost's buried supply caches, which appear as glowing trail markers only he can follow. The stashes sit off the main courtyard path, typically behind collapsed pillars near the eastern rampart. In the Legacy Edition's Triggering Secrets mode, these caches become visible to Farin and Andriel without switching characters, but only Eradan can physically open them. Each stash yields 200–300 silver plus a random tier-2 weapon upgrade component, making a full sweep worth roughly 1,500 silver per run.

Rivendell Elven Glyph Passages: Andriel's Secret Doors

Andriel's elf-sight reveals hidden passages marked with faint elven glyphs that appear as shimmering blue runes on Rivendell's cliff faces. These passages lead to secluded chambers containing lore tablets and unique elven gear. The most valuable glyph passage sits behind the Last Homely House's eastern waterfall, requiring Andriel to interact with the glyph to open a concealed door. Triggering Secrets mode displays the glyph to all players, but only Andriel's magic can activate the mechanism. Collecting all six glyph-marked passages rewards the "Keeper of Rivendell" title and a +10% healing efficacy bonus.

Carn Dûm serves as the final major region before the endgame, and its collectibles lean heavily into the War in the North Carn Dûm collectibles that tie directly into the Witch-king's personal history. The region contains nine total collectible nodes, the highest density in the game, and they split between lore items, supply caches, and hidden dialogue triggers. The Legacy Edition's Triggering Secrets feature proves most valuable here because several stashes require specific character abilities that you might not have prioritized in your build.

The lore items in Carn Dûm tell the story of Angmar's fall and the Witch-king's escape, and they sit in locations that mirror the narrative beats. The first rests in the throne room's side chamber, the second in the torture chambers beneath the main hall, and the third in the observatory tower that overlooks the frozen wastes. Each tablet connects to the broader War in the North Fornost lore that explains how Angmar's power persisted after the original defeat, giving completionists a richer understanding of the northern theater.

The hidden dialogue in Carn Dûm revolves around the party's reactions to the Witch-king's stronghold, and these conversations only trigger when you approach specific environmental points of interest. The most substantial exchange occurs in the torture chambers, where Eradan confronts the evidence of the Witch-king's cruelty and the party debates whether the northern war can truly end with his defeat. Community reports indicate that this dialogue adds meaningful character development that the main story glosses over, making it worth the detour for narrative-focused players.

The easter egg in the prison cells deserves special mention because it references a moment from the original War in the North release that veteran players will recognize immediately. Interacting with a specific wall section triggers a brief visual effect and a journal entry that nods to a deleted scene from the 2011 original, and the Legacy Edition's remastered visuals make the reference clearer than ever. This is one of the War in the North easter eggs that community members frequently share screenshots of, and it's easy to miss because nothing in the environment suggests the interaction point exists.

War in the North easter eggs and hidden dialogue you should not skip

Beyond the structured collectible categories, the Legacy Edition includes a handful of War in the North easter eggs and War in the North hidden dialogue moments that reward thorough exploration with humor and narrative depth. These aren't tracked by the achievement system, but they add texture to the world and give completionists additional reasons to sweep every corner of each map. The Triggering Secrets feature doesn't highlight these, so you need to know where to look or rely on community documentation.

The most famous easter egg involves a reference to the Fellowship's journey that appears in Rivendell's library, where a book on the shelf contains a passage that mirrors the opening of The Fellowship of the Ring. Another easter egg in Fornost's chapel features a carved inscription that translates to a joke about dwarven ale, which community members have confirmed is a nod to a developer's inside joke from the original development cycle. These small touches reward players who read the environment rather than rushing between combat encounters.

The hidden dialogue moments across the campaign include party banter that only triggers when you idle near specific environmental features. The most substantial of these occurs in Gundabad's summit fortress, where the party discusses the strategic implications of the Witch-king's northern alliance while standing on the observation platform. Another notable exchange happens in Carn Dûm's observatory, where Andriel reflects on the elven kingdoms' decision to withdraw from the north, adding a layer of melancholy to the region's grim atmosphere.

The War in the North lore items that you collect through these easter eggs and hidden dialogues don't count toward the formal completion percentage, but they do populate your journal with additional context that enriches subsequent playthroughs. For players working through the full collectibles guide that covers every region, these untracked moments represent the difference between a checklist completion and a genuinely thorough exploration of Middle-earth's northern front.

According to the character data on the War in the North Wikipedia page, the Fornost collectibles are tied to the game's three playable heroes—Eradan, Andriel, and Farin—whose individual skill trees and lore entries are documented there.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most commonly missed War in the North Fornost collectibles item?

The Lidless Eye scroll fragment in the cistern's eastern overflow channel is the most frequently missed Fornost item because the trigger point sits below the waterline and only appears when you approach from the southern stairwell. Most players drop in from above and never activate the spawn, so route your sweep through the southern entrance first.

Does the Triggering Secrets feature reveal every collectible automatically?

No, Triggering Secrets only reveals character-specific stashes that previously required Eradan, Farin, or Andriel to access. It does not highlight environmental puzzles, riddle rewards, or hidden dialogue triggers, so you still need to explore thoroughly and solve Tedder Hedgegrow's riddles manually to collect everything.

Can I miss Gundabad collectibles permanently?

Yes, the two summit fortress scrolls disappear permanently if you trigger the Gundabad boss fight before collecting them. The war room scroll requires interacting with the map table first, and the throne room scroll sits behind the dais, so sweep the fortress completely before engaging the boss to avoid locking yourself out of the 100% achievement.

How many total collectible nodes exist across all regions?

The Legacy Edition contains 28 tracked collectible nodes across Fornost, Rivendell, Gundabad, and Carn Dûm, plus additional untracked easter eggs and hidden dialogue moments. The seven Cult of the Lidless Eye scrolls in Gundabad are the most critical for achievement completion, while the lore items across all regions provide narrative depth.

Are the riddle answers the same in the Legacy Edition?

Yes, Tedder Hedgegrow's riddles and answers are unchanged in the Legacy Edition. The Spanish community guide confirms all three riddle locations and correct responses remain identical, unlocking the same elven steel ingots and Rivendell lore tablets. Use your original answers—no re-solving needed for the 100% achievement.