Built around Drop's ENTR mechanical keyboard, the Dwarven version of Lord of the Rings echoes like a drum with every key press, speaking deeply to me. A drum of the abyss. But the most pertinent question for my fellow Tolkien enthusiasts is this: despite the impeccable artwork encrusted on it, underneath its Dwarf-esque exterior is essentially a fairly basic keyboard.

Wrapped in shades of rock and stone, Drop's Lord of the Rings Dwarvish ENTR keyboard is part of the company's ongoing series. There are currently three other keyboards in the LOTR series, including this Dwarvish keyboard, as well as a Black Speech keyboard and a keyboard for the airy elves who live in Rivendell.

Like the other keycap sets, this keyboard comes with the included Durin's Forge set of warm accent keycaps. Each keycap is lovingly decorated with thematic iconography by Oshetart or spread with Khuzdul phrases such as "The Axes of the Dwarves," a spacebar dwarven battle cry. The Axes of the Dwarves.

Each letter key suggests one or two legends corresponding to dwarves, but the accuracy of the board's Cirth legend has been questioned. Every book I have and every image I have found online says that the runes correlate with a different letter or number than the keyboard indicates.

From what I understand, it is not an easy task to translate a script like the Dwarven runes into a one-to-one alphabet with our own. In any case, it is nice to look down at the keyboard and be greeted by familiar, if possibly inaccurate, runes. It may not be the best buy for those who actually want to practice Dwarvish, but I'm willing to overlook it given that it's one of the best-decorated boards I've had in my hands.

Replacing the keycaps with the included keycap puller was easy, and while it seemed rude to abandon the great Smaug in favor of the lidless Sauron eye, it seems I was faced with a choice as difficult as the Drop's design room.

As with gaming paraphernalia associated with cult franchises, it's hard to appease the inner geek without charging a premium price. Drop's decision to raise the price $100 from the standard ENTR of $99 for the Lord of the Rings artwork is a bit on the cheeky side. I'm already upset about that price increase, but I've decided to get my act together and see the board for what it is: a board with a lot of artwork, but not a lot of artwork.

I must admit that the lack of shine-through on the keycaps and the limited white LEDs are a bit disappointing. In other words, Sauron's eyes cannot be wrapped in the orange RGB lighting that they should be. Still, in the words of Gimli, son of Gloin, "When the road grows dark, he who bids farewell is unfaithful." So, let's give it our all.

Interestingly, what I found with the shape of the keycaps is that I hit fewer than two keys at a time. The shape of each keycap is such that it wraps around your finger and your finger slides down the middle with each key press. Combined with the soft, tactile switches, this makes for a truly satisfying typing experience, like pressing a key in an elastic fluid that envelops your fingertips and pushes back moderately. It's certainly not for everyone, but the Holy Panda X switches have it.

The biggest problem here is that the LOTR version is limited to the Holy Panda X only, whereas the regular ENTR offers a choice between the Halo True and Gateron Yellow switches; the LOTR version is limited to the Holy Panda X only; the LOTR version is limited to the Halo True and Gateron Yellow switches, whereas the regular ENTR is limited to the Halo True and Gateron Yellow switches.

Also, it is not a hot-swappable board, so the keycaps cannot be replaced later.

One of my main issues with Drop gear is that it is a bit difficult to get outside the US without a fee. However, Corsair's recent acquisition of Drop should make it a bit easier to get Drop's designs around the world.

Still, the fact remains that you can get the best 60% keyboard on the market - the Mountain Everest 60 - for less than the original MSRP of $140. This makes even Drop's standard ENTR board at $99 less attractive, let alone this high $199 price.

Sure, it has a few more keys than Everest, but it loses the hot-swappable keyswitches, the cine-through keycaps, and the ability to attach matching numeric keypads to either end of the board.

For the same $200 as this board, you can get the Logitech Wireless G715. This is also a TKL, but adds inline media controls, keycap shine-through, and a choice of switches. Or a full-size gaming keyboard like the Wooting Two HE - our favorite gaming keyboard right now, the Wooting has adjustable analog switches and a built-in numeric keypad, and a pretty but boring board like the LOTR ENTR It's really hard to make a recommendation.

In the end, it comes down to weighing the kind of benefit one would get from the above against the gorgeous artistry of a "Lord of the Rings" theme. Of course, like any Tolkien fan, I am tempted by the precious (pardon the pun) LOTR ENTR design. And if you like nice switches, beautiful artwork, and keycaps that fit your fingers, great. But the LOTR ENTR board is more about style than substance.

For those who prioritize functionality and customization, you can probably get something better elsewhere.