SIDE QUEST ROUTE
Short answer: the checked IGN quest index contains 13 named side quests. Use this page to see who starts each quest, which area or item matters, and when to return; use the walkthrough for main chapter objectives.
How to use this side quest guide
Treat War in the North side quests as a return route rather than a second main walkthrough. Read the trigger and prerequisite first, then keep the table open while you move through Bree, Rivendell, Sarn Ford, Fornost, the Barrow Downs, Nordinbad, Mirkwood, and Gundabad. The wording below distinguishes a confirmed page detail from a practical ordering suggestion. If your release presents a dialogue or reward differently, the game and the linked source are the final check.
What the 13-quest count means
The count is the set of named side quest pages recovered from the checked IGN War in the North wiki index on 2026-09-24: A Gem No Mine Can Yield, Athelas, Elf-stones, Forewarned is Forearmed, Gorin's Gratitude, Miruvor, Otto's Arsenal, Rowlie's Gift, The Captive, The Poet, The Seer's Words, Truesilver, and Work of Westernesse. The count is useful for planning, but it is not a promise that every platform menu uses the same label or that an unlisted community note is a separate quest.
Order the chain before chasing rewards
Several entries form a readable dependency chain. The Poet leads into Miruvor, and the checked Truesilver note expects both earlier quests to be complete before the mithril objective. The Seer's Words also asks you to carry an unreadable tome from Fornost until the Barrow of Amon Gorthad is complete and then show it to Elrond. These are sequence signals, not a reason to restart a run: mark a missing prerequisite and return when the next hub is available.
Use locations as memory anchors
Bree entries are easy to revisit because the Prancing Pony, the market street, and the nearby smith give you recognizable landmarks. Rivendell is the hub for Bilbo, Angmir, Arwen, and Elrond, while Sarn Ford provides the Athelas start. Fornost and the Barrow Downs are the high-risk search area for the tome and urn-related notes. Nordinbad and the later forest or mountain chapters contain the remaining item and reward checks. A location anchor is more reliable than a vague chapter number when you return after a long break.
Separate facts from route advice
The linked IGN pages provide the trigger, action, or reward language used in the table. The recommended order is editorial guidance built around those details and the game's hub flow; it is not an official quest log. Community pages can be incomplete or change, so this guide does not turn a search phrase into a claim about a hidden quest, a universal drop rate, or an official item comparison. Record a screenshot or exact dialogue if your copy disagrees.
Plan a co-op sweep
Before leaving a hub, ask one player to read the trigger, one to track the item or area, and one to keep the group together. This matters for Athelas, the black pearl search, and Truesilver because the party can otherwise advance while a player is still checking the room edge. Side quests are optional, so a missed conversation is usually a return-trip problem rather than a reason to abandon the campaign. The co-op guide and party planner can handle roles; this page handles the quest route.
Common mix-ups to avoid
The Seer's Words is a tome-and-Elrond sequence, while Work of Westernesse is tied to a Barrow of Amon Gorthad search. A Gem No Mine Can Yield is the blacksmith request for a black pearl, while Otto's Arsenal is the later selling interaction after Forewarned is Forearmed. Truesilver points to mithril behind a false wall that only the Dwarf can see in the checked note. Keeping these nouns separate prevents an otherwise correct answer from sending a player to the wrong hub.
What this page does not promise
This is an independent fan guide. It does not host a game download, mod, save, ROM, crack, or direct file mirror, and the Steam images are labeled as official product media rather than quest screenshots. Store status, platform compatibility, regional catalog rules, and community discoveries can change. Use the official Steam page for current product context and the linked wiki pages for the detailed quest text, then use your own game state as the final authority.
Answer the immediate question first
The War in the North side quests page is arranged for a player who has a decision in front of them, not for someone collecting trivia. Read the opening answer, identify the condition that could change it, and then use the linked route that handles the next action. This order keeps a quick lookup useful while still making the evidence and limits visible. It also prevents a historical platform fact, a community observation, and an editorial recommendation from being mistaken for the same kind of claim.
Turn the note into a session plan
Before a chapter begins, choose one small outcome from the War in the North side quests page. A group might assign a role, check one route, confirm one platform detail, or mark one objective. Write the decision in plain language so every player can react to the same plan. If the room changes, keep the decision reversible: pause, regroup, and change the next step instead of treating an early guess as a permanent build or promise.
Separate facts from useful interpretation
Some details on War in the North side quests come from official store or platform material, while others are practical reading of the game's co-op rhythm. The page keeps those categories distinct because they age differently. Official metadata is the right place to confirm product status; a role suggestion is a starting point that should be tested in your own party. When the source does not answer a question, the copy says so rather than filling the gap with a confident invention.
Use comparisons with a clear purpose
A comparison is valuable only when it changes what a player does next. On War in the North side quests, compare options by the problem they solve: space, recovery, interruption, exploration time, or technical risk. A larger number or a familiar label is not automatically better. Note the platform, difficulty, party size, and current objective before deciding. That context explains why two players can make different choices and both be following a sensible plan.
Recover from an imperfect run
A first attempt does not need to be perfect to be useful. If the War in the North side quests page points to a missed objective or an unclear platform detail, record it as provisional and continue with the safe part of the route. Co-op groups lose time when they restart from a vague memory. A short note, a screenshot from the game, or the exact store wording gives the next run something concrete to verify.
Know when the guide stops
This companion does not replace the game, host unauthorized files, or promise that an older release is available in every region. The War in the North side quests page stops at the point where a reader needs the official store, platform holder, or their own in-game record. That boundary is deliberate: it keeps the guide useful without pretending to control pricing, catalog changes, account state, controller drivers, or community discoveries that the site cannot independently guarantee.
Check the version-sensitive details
Older releases can differ because of region, hardware, storefront rules, patches, input devices, and the condition of a second-hand copy. When War in the North side quests depends on one of those variables, confirm it immediately before spending money or changing a working setup. Treat a community note as a lead, not as an official statistic. The source ledger records the first-party material used here so a later update can replace a stale assumption instead of silently carrying it forward.
Continue through the related routes
The most useful path is usually short: open War in the North side quests, take one action, then move to the Party Planner, Classes, Co-op Guide, or the relevant checklist. Those pages are linked so a reader can keep the same language and locale while moving from discovery to execution. When the goal is completion, pair the Walkthrough with Collectibles and Achievements. When the goal is a stable first session, start with one class per role and use the PC Fixes page only for reversible checks.
Side quests: Bree and the early western road → Later forest and mountain objectives
Bree and the early western road: Side quests
Bree and the early western road
| Quest | Start | Key condition | Route note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forewarned is Forearmed | Grof by the market cart in Bree | Keep choosing the top dialogue option to convince him to sell weapons. | This is the useful lead-in for Otto's later buying interaction. |
| Rowlie's Gift | Elmund Brushwood at the smithy near the fire in Bree | Ask him to repair the locket and pay the small silver fee. | Use the Prancing Pony as the landmark before crossing the street. |
| Otto's Arsenal | Otto after Forewarned is Forearmed | Return with unwanted weapons if you want the selling interaction. | The checked note warns that Otto pays far less than Adalgar, so this is a quest interaction rather than a profit route. |
Rivendell and Sarn Ford
| Quest | Start | Key condition | Route note |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Poet | Bilbo Baggins in Rivendell | Talk about his poem for Aragorn. | This conversation is the cleanest starting point for the later Miruvor chain. |
| Elf-stones | Angmir, the blacksmith in Rivendell | Ask what he is making and collect the gems he needs. | Keep the blacksmith name distinct from the Bree smiths. |
| Miruvor | Lady Arwen after The Poet | Collect the ingredients in The Coldfalls; turn it in after clearing the area and reaching The High Moors. | Do not treat the ingredient pickup as the final hand-in. |
| Athelas | Silanna at the ranger camp in Sarn Ford | Find the Athelas plant for the wounded ranger suffering from the Black Breath. | The camp and the main tent are the reliable memory anchors. |
Fornost and the Barrow Downs
| Quest | Start | Key condition | Route note |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Seer's Words | Loot the unreadable tome inside the ruins of Fornost | Complete the Barrow of Amon Gorthad, then show the tome to Elrond in Rivendell. | The quest is a carry-and-return sequence, not a normal one-room hand-in. |
| Work of Westernesse | Search the long skeleton hall in the Barrow of Amon Gorthad | Check the urns beyond the side steps on the right side of the hall. | The Barrow Downs side quest wording is easy to confuse with the tome quest. |
| The Captive | Take the secret path in the Woodland Marshes | Fight through the ambush and speak with the captured elf Glorhirin. | Look for the hidden route before assuming the captive is on the main path. |
Nordinbad and the blacksmith chain
| Quest | Start | Key condition | Route note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gorin's Gratitude | Automatic after reaching Nordinbad; speak with Galar | Choose the dialogue option that says Gorin sent you. | The reward is a choice of good armor after Gorin's rescue. |
| A Gem No Mine Can Yield | The blacksmith in Nordinbad | Ask about his joys and bring back a black pearl found somewhere in Mirkwood. | The checked note describes the pearl location as random within Mirkwood sections. |
Later forest and mountain objectives
| Quest | Start | Key condition | Route note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Truesilver | Arwen in Rivendell after The Poet and Miruvor | Find the mithril sample in Gundabad behind a false wall visible only to the Dwarf. | Bring the right character and keep the earlier quest chain marked before leaving Rivendell. |
The safest side quest order
1. Pick up hub dialogue before departing
At Bree and Rivendell, speak with the named NPCs before pushing the next chapter. Record the quest name and the item or conversation it asks for.
2. Mark prerequisites separately
Write The Poet → Miruvor → Truesilver and Fornost tome → Barrow of Amon Gorthad → Elrond as separate checks. This prevents a return trip from looking like a missing quest.
3. Search the edge after combat
For Barrow urns, secret marsh paths, Mirkwood items, and the Gundabad false wall, sweep the safe edge after the encounter instead of splitting the party during combat.
4. Hand in from the next hub
Return to the named NPC when the condition is complete, then compare the reward or dialogue with the source note. Keep a screenshot if your version uses a different label.
Side quest FAQ
How many War in the North side quests are listed here?
Thirteen named entries are included, based on the checked IGN quest index and the individual pages captured on 2026-09-24. The count is a planning aid, not a claim that every release labels every optional objective identically.
Where do I find the black pearl in War in the North?
The A Gem No Mine Can Yield note starts at the Nordinbad blacksmith and asks for a black pearl found somewhere in Mirkwood. The checked wording describes the section as random, so this page does not invent one fixed chest or coordinate.
What is the order for The Seer's Words?
Loot the unreadable tome in Fornost, complete the Barrow of Amon Gorthad, then return to Rivendell and show the tome to Elrond. Treat it as a carry-and-return objective and keep it separate from Work of Westernesse.
How do I start Truesilver?
Speak with Arwen in Rivendell after The Poet and Miruvor are complete. The checked note places the mithril behind a false wall in Gundabad that only the Dwarf can see.
Is Otto's Arsenal a good way to make money?
The checked note says Otto buys unwanted weapons at about 10% of what Adalgar can offer. Use the entry to understand the interaction after Forewarned is Forearmed, not as a profit recommendation.
Should I use this page instead of the walkthrough?
Use both for different jobs. The walkthrough tracks main chapter objectives; this page tracks optional conversations, item requests, prerequisites, and return trips. The two pages link to each other so you can keep the current language and route.
Sources and scope
Quest triggers and reward notes are based on the checked IGN wiki pages listed below. Steam is linked only for official product context and the local gameplay media; those images are not presented as exact side-quest locations. Community text can change, so verify a disputed detail in your own copy.
- IGN War in the North quest indexIndex used to count and identify the 13 named quest pages.
- IGN side quest: The Seer's WordsFornost tome, Barrow of Amon Gorthad, and Elrond sequence.
- IGN side quest: TruesilverArwen prerequisites and Gundabad false-wall note.
- Official Steam store pageFirst-party product context and media source.