For those who have lots of patience, quick reflexes, and perhaps a friend or two to help them along, the Cloak of the Cluck is a pretty interesting little item to get in lotro as a cosmetic piece (it does have some stats, but they are low and rather useless). Also, this post is going to be
extremely long, prepare for a wall of text or two.
After doing some pre-requisite quests, which introduce you to the plight of the chickens at Sandson's farm in the Shire, just north of Michel Delving, you are able to start the series of session plays known as "Flying the Coop." These place you in the body of a brown rooster, level 1, with only about 32 morale. Yup. You better watch your step, because it's a big world out there, with lots of things that would
love to have chicken for dinner.
You start in the Shire, at Sandson's Farm, where you first must go to some of the different animals scattered across the Shire and ask them for help in defending your coop from the invading wolves. Old Sally, near Tuckborough; a Fox near Woodhall; and Farmer Maggot's three dogs, Wolf, Fang, and Grip all refuse to help you, so you are then sent back to Sandson's farm in dismay. This quest is not too difficult and can be completed solo if you watch out for the brigands and wolves scattered about. Most of the enemies in the Shire will at least warn you before they attack, so this is probably one of the easiest of the sessions to complete.
After you finish Flying the Coop, you are presented with a series of regional session plays that can be completed in any order. All of these start at Sandson's Farm, and some of them can take over an hour and a half, so be prepared for a long run of bobbing and weaving, especially if you don't have anyone to help escort you (in our Kinship runs, I will usually run as an escort on my 65 hunter and turn anything that gets too close to the flock of chickens into a pincushion). I will present my takes on the different regional session plays in the order I have done them, though keep in mind that once you complete the basic Shire Flying the Coop, the regional ones can be completed in any order.
For the Ered Luin version, you must run from Sandson's Farm up to Thrasi's Lodge to speak with the injured Lynx mother. This one is not too difficult, especially if you keep to the road. It's simply a bit long, and for the most part, empty. There aren't many enemies at all to worry about between the Shire gate and Duillond. The most difficult sections are in crossing the Rushock Bog, but most of the creatures there can be pretty passive, just hope your escort, if you have one, doesn't have the Shire bounty open or you don't run into the troll that sometimes wanders around the bog at night. Another area that might give you trouble is just before Thrasi's Lodge, as Dourhands and crebain like to hide in the trees. After speaking with the Lynx mother, you are sent back to the Shire.
For the Bree session, you must speak with several creatures scattered across the entirety of Bree-land. This, to me, is one of the hardest ones to complete, as there are many places where a careless step could get you killed and you will have to start all over. For this one you must speak to the cow on the roof in Buckland, Wink the Cat in Bree (in the cat lady's house on the Scholar's Stair), a Horse at Hengstacer Farm, a Squirrel up on an island in Nen Harn, and Sniken the Neekerbreeker in the Midgewater Marshes. I have not yet found a route that doesn't require much doubling-back or too much dodging. There is a pesky wall of cliffs between the Marshes and the fields by Nen Harn, I have found a path through them once, but have had trouble finding it again and usually end up looping around through Archet and coming down through Combe and then cutting diagonally across the marsh. There is a path for sure on the far right through the Weather Hills, but unless you feel like messing with the chance of stealthed wolves and a camp of level 55 half-orcs, I suggest you avoid that route. One thing I will mention is that those attempting these quests should pay attention to the quest dialogues of the different animals if they can, as some of them are quite humorous. My favorite is definitely the squirrel up on the island, he's psychotic.
For the Lonelands you have the relatively simple task of running to Ost Guruth and speaking with Radagast the Brown, seeking his help. As long as you stick to the road and have a bit of good luck, this one is also easily soloable. Sometimes, especially closer to Ost Guruth, you will run into lynxes, wargs, spiders or half-orc archers close to the road, these can take a bit of effort and adrenaline to avoid, especially the archers. Your evasive skills (ie ALL your skills) can be very useful here, and play dead if you have to. Once you speak to Radagast you are again transported back to the farm.Apparently no one has the time to help a poor chicken out and you are refused again.
For the North Downs you also have a single creature to talk to: the Aurochs Yearling south of Gatson's Farm. For those without an escort, this one can be a bit of trouble, but if you have an escort or two, feel free to cut across country and head in an almost straight line towards the yearling. However, take care when crossing the river that flows down the center of the North Downs - there are high cliffs on the right bank that can make crossing difficult if you don't hit it at just the right spot. When I ran it I thought I could just cross the river at any point, but picked a bad place and spent several minutes swimming up the river looking for an accessible exit point. After speaking to the Aurochs Yearling, who of course also cannot help you, you are transported back to the Shire.
For the Evendim session, this is perhaps the easiest, but also the most boring of the sessions you can play. For the most trouble free route, something easily soloable, simply run along the roadways through the Shire till you get to Brockenborings, then head east and jump into the Brandywine. Then swim up the Brandywine, avoiding getting too close to the banks on either side (especially up near the big curve to the left near the brigand's camp. There are archers that can peg you if you are too close to the right side. If you have an escort, as in the above screenshot, then feel free to run along the left bank, with your guardian angel pegging away at any nearby nasties. Then continue up the river and across the Evendim lake until you get to the Eavespires, where you must speak with the Ent Longbough. Keep in mind that if you jump in the water while pressing w (or whatever your movement is set to) you will swim faster than simply moving forward. Don't ask me why, I don't know and it makes no sense. After successfully completing this session you are, naturally, transported back to the Shire.
The final session to be completed is a trek to Rivendell. This one is without a doubt the longest and the most difficult. It can be soloed up until you reach the Bruinen Forges, but after that I have not yet found a way to reach Rivendell without some sort of help (or a great deal of luck and skill). The bears and lynx, the lurkers, badgers, boars and sickle-flies are a bit too scary for me, so I called in some help from a Rune-keeper friend of mine for the last bit, but if you are confident in your Fowl Fleetness and Bobbing and Weaving, then by all means attempt it. Just remember, if you die, you have to start back at the Shire and run all that way again.
For all that effort, you are rewarded with the Cloak of the Cluck, a fantastic looking cloak that shows off your patience and mad skills to the rest of the lotro community.
As an escort for chicken runs, I have to say the hardest part is seeing the chickens if they happen to get in tall grass or too far away. They are kind of tiny. Also, I developed a funny paranoia and kept looking behind me and doing a headcount to make sure I still had all my chickens and hadn't lost any.
