Valar Guild

January 8, 2017 Sunday Meeting

5pm EST (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace

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Transcript work by
Ar-Pharazon and Varda.

Attending: (5)
    Arien V/AriehnV, Ar-Pharazon-V/ArPharazonV, FladrifV, Lenwe-V/perseid28, VardaValar1 (presiding)

Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership
Web:
    Tolkien Site:
       Stories: Learning to Smile
       Articles: Timeline: Second Age
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: What was the importance of the Numenorean lady, Silmarien? (Also, article requested.)
    Topic 2: What plants are mentioned in LotR and the Hobbit? What do we know about them and their usage?
After-meeting:
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Personal gaming Ar-Pharazon
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Before-meeting
perseid28 has entered the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V (ArPharazonV) has entered the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
perseid28: Aiya Phar!
fladrifv has been invited.
FladrifV has entered the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
FladrifV: Aiya
perseid28: Aiya!
Varda Valar (VardaValar1) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Fladrif! Aiya :-)
Varda Valar: Aiya Phar and Lenwe :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Varda Valar: Still have about four minutes, no interruption yet.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Just doing some more world quests. Looks like a pretty calm day for them today, not too many new ones.
perseid28: Aiya Varda!
Varda Valar: Hey there :-)
perseid28: Have evening stuff going on again, but I can at least hang around until half past 5 EST
FladrifV: Aiya Varda,
Varda Valar: Aiya Flad :-)
Varda Valar: Sounds good, Lenwe
Varda Valar: Ok, now inviting.
Varda Valar: Arien might need a /poke
Ar-Pharazon-V: Poke executed.
Varda Valar: Thank you :-)
Varda Valar: Erkendan poked.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Arien might be afk though.
Varda Valar: Erkenbrand is in a box run, can't get loose for a while.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Thar she be.
Varda Valar: yay!
Arien V (AriehnV) has entered the room.
Arien V: aiya all together :-)
perseid28: Aiya Arien!
Varda Valar: Aiya Sunshine :-)
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Varda Valar: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Varda Valar: Membership:
Varda Valar: We have a great group here today. Grats to all of you for making it, not an easy thing quite often.
Varda Valar: Hello from Fangorn and Sauron.
Varda Valar: Fangorn's brother was married yesterday. Lovely wedding. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Congratulations!
Arien V: Aiya Fangorn and Sauron and habby congratulations to Fangorns brother !
Ar-Pharazon-V: Tolkienesque speeches held?
Varda Valar: You'd think. :-)
Varda Valar: Mostly laconic types, a great deal said economically. Part of the amusement of Fangorn's being Fangorn.
Varda Valar: He is quite tall, however.
Arien V: :-)
Arien V: tall and bendy eh?
Ar-Pharazon-V: creaking in the wind
Varda Valar: Oddly, the whole lot is musical. Some sang and played guitar for the wedding, worthy of a recording.
Varda Valar: Any other membership comments?
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Varda Valar: Web:
Varda Valar: Tolkien Site:
Varda Valar: Stories:
Varda Valar: Little Jewel-(T) sent in her latest chapter, 8, for Learning to Smile:
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/fiction/authors/LittleJewel/Life8.htm

Varda Valar: I've been working on the Timeline for our Encyclopedia.
Varda Valar: Arveleg started it with the First Age. I added Second Age today. Much much more to do, but we're in progress.
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/events/timeline/Complete_Chronology_of_First_Age.htm
Varda Valar: That's the starting page, heavily researched by Arveleg with some of the links to the rest of the Encyc added by me, needs more of that work.
Varda Valar: I started the Second Age, with the bare bones date in it and got that up before the meeting.
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/events/timeline/Second_Age.htm
Varda Valar: It helps show which articles we most need, also.
Varda Valar: Any interesting links for Tolkien that you folks ran across this week? If you're having trouble finding it right away, we can bring them up in Tokien or After-meeting.
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Varda Valar: Gaming:
Varda Valar: WoW:
Varda Valar: Coming this Tuesday: patch 7.1.5.
Varda Valar: A preview for the Nighthold has also been posted.
Arien V (AriehnV) has left the room.
Varda Valar: (Arien was trying to type and crashed out.)

Varda Valar: Diablo 3:
Varda Valar: Patch 2.4.3 is out. Check out the link for the patch notes or the overview for the basics.
Varda Valar: Season 9 has also begun.
Varda Valar: Also posted in celebration of Diablo's 20th Anniversary: Developer Insights: 20 years of Diablo.

Varda Valar: Heroes of the Storm:
Varda Valar: A new patch came out, and also a balance update.

Ar-Pharazon-V: Also, Diablo's 20th anniversary event in D3 has started.

Varda Valar: Also posted in celebration of Diablo's 20th Anniversary: Developer Insights: 20 years of Diablo.

Ar-Pharazon-V: With Old Tristram and a bunch of achievements and rewards.
Ar-Pharazon-V: *retreats to let Varda continue*
Varda Valar: Thanks, Phar. Good to hear!
Varda Valar: Additional news is very welcome.

Varda Valar: Overwatch:
Varda Valar: The PTR is up.
Varda Valar: New blog posted: Oasis Travel Tips.

Varda Valar: LotRO:
Varda Valar: Out this week: Update 19.2.2.
Varda Valar: Hobnangians is going. [Note: Frostbluff continues to the 16th]
Varda Valar: This week's box run is three-man: The Northcotton Farm.
Varda Valar: Inside North Ithilien's Henneth Annun are daily herbalist quests. In the Camp of the West, Mithrandir offers repeatables. Also, hit an orc or Easterling in the landscape to start a daily quest.
Varda Valar: Any other general news on those games?

Varda Valar: Lenwe had some gaming news.
Varda Valar: Guess he's afk. He said he couldn't stay long but would be back later, probably during After-meeting.
Varda Valar: LenweV
    I played the game Race for the Galaxy with my brother (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/28143/race-galaxy), and found it to be a really fun strategy game. It's unique in that most of the gameplay is done simultaneously with other players (rather than turn-based). It keeps things interesting :-)
Varda Valar: (That was a copy/paste from earlier. Side-windows are great for that!)

Arien V (AriehnV) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Welcome back, Arien.

Varda Valar: Tabletop for Sauron and myself this past week went well, Dresden Files (Fate system) and Pathfinder/Eberron.

Arien V: cheers .. heartfelt suggestion for new patch to Blizz remove that blooming giant in the Witchwood :-P
Varda Valar: hah  :-)
Varda Valar: Good luck!
Arien V: or make him normal or something .. grrr

Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiyata!
Arien V: never mind .. carry on ^^
Varda Valar: Sounds like the fun LotRO has with Roving Threats meant for a high level raid wandering around in lower level areas.
Varda Valar: We are at the end of the business meeting. Does anyone have any additional comments or suggestions for gaming or the Tolkien Site? Suggestions for the Tolkien chat?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yes, the Legion expansion has a lot of Ettins in unexpected places :-)

Arien V: we got figures for Infinity for christmas ^^
Arien V: as membership dot in maybe
Arien V: i went for Panoceania and Bruce for the Highlanders ^^ and he started painting and gluing his figures together
Varda Valar: O cool. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: So... the Scots vs the Hawaiians?
Varda Valar: Saved by water!
Arien V: hehe sort of .. uhhr think werewolf meets highlanders and stealthers meat stabbididu  for the highlanders ^^
Ar-Pharazon-V: Worgen vs Rogues?
Arien V: nope Worgen + Rogues = infinity Highlanders
Arien V: something like that .. for panoceania ..
Ar-Pharazon-V: ahh :-)
Arien V: Gobblinengineers + Hunter (giant) = Panoceania ;0
Arien V: his racial main trait is stealth and my guys hightech guns
Arien V: they dont have much body hitpoints tho ^^
Ar-Pharazon-V: sounds fun
Arien V: yep . and thinking of Tolkient topic .. hmmm
Varda Valar: I have one if you are having trouble. :-)
Arien V: sure go on :-)
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Varda Valar: Tolkien:
Varda Valar: Here's one for the Silmarillion fans.
Varda Valar: What was the importance of the Numenorean lady, Silmarien?
Varda Valar: We really should make an article for her for our Encyclopedia.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah yes. Would've been heir by lineage if females were allowed to take the throne back then.
Varda Valar: Right
Ar-Pharazon-V: Somewhere around generation 4 or 5 I think.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Instead, she started the line of the Andunian nobles, ancestors of Elendil and Aragorn.
Varda Valar: Aye, daughter of the fourth king
Varda Valar: Right!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Which means that by the notion of age rather than sex, Elendil/Aragorn were the true heirs of the Numenorean throne.
Varda Valar: Also due to the other line's being wiped out.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That too :-)
Varda Valar: Aragorn had a clear line right back to the throne, thanks to her.
Ar-Pharazon-V: In some versions the two lines would've almost joined up again at the end, because I believe it was Elendil's uncle who was supposed to marry Tar-Miriel first?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Before some silly cousin of hers stepped in.
Varda Valar: hehe - we know who that was.
Varda Valar: Tar-Palantir's daughter was Miriel, aye.
Varda Valar: Back to Silmarien,
Varda Valar: her father was frustrated that she could not be his heir, so he did some things that would take care of her and had far-reaching consequences.
Varda Valar: That frustration also meant that later on, the law was changed and women could become the ruler.
Varda Valar: So the 10th ruler was Tar-Telperien, first queen.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not much choice when your only kid is a girl.
Varda Valar: Aye. Silmarien was eldest, not the only.
Varda Valar: So her dad made sure Silmarien's son, Valandil, was given a new title, Lord of Andunie. Since it carried royal blood, it was quite high level.
Varda Valar: Aragorn is said to look very much like Valandil. :-)
Varda Valar: Also, the king gave his daughter some of the royal heirlooms. Had he not, they would have all been lost and never come to Aragorn.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, the ring.
Varda Valar: What were some of the heirlooms.
Varda Valar: Right! The Ring of Barahir.
Varda Valar: She probably held Narsil as well.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Wasn't that first forged for Elendil?
Varda Valar: Will have to double-check that one, thanks. {Note: forged in the First Age by Telchar. Elendil was Second Age.]
Varda Valar: She had a filet of mithril that was later apparently used to hold the Elendilmir.
Ar-Pharazon-V: a.. filet?
Varda Valar: Became part of the crown of Arnor.
Varda Valar: A filet can be like a ribbon or a head-covering.
Varda Valar: So, thanks to Silmarien, politics were changed allowing female rulers. The royal bloodline was preserved. Some of the royal heirlooms were preserved.
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Varda Valar: We have another topic, this one from Arien. :-)
Varda Valar:     What plants are mentioned in LotR and the Hobbit? What do we know about them and their usage?
Arien V: well there is of course first of all Athelas
Varda Valar: We know plants were also called the Olvar, and were the special interest of Yavanna.
Varda Valar: Aye, that's a good one.
Arien V: or Kingsfoil ... a healing plant used to restore the mind as well as the body .. was used to drive the Black Breath away that emanated from the Ringwraiths and wounds caused by their weapons
Ar-Pharazon-V: Very useful if you have a Nazgul infestation.
Varda Valar: Finding athelas was a problem. Since it was brought over by the Numenoreans, it was only found growing near their old residences. Some was probably grown in special gardens, maybe as a curiosity.
Varda Valar: We did have that Nazgul infestation sometimes!
Arien V: i think one of the gondorian children mentioned it was also used to keep bad smells away or refreshen the air in a room or was it even the keeper of the Houses of Healing i remember something like that
Ar-Pharazon-V: How did Sam know it?
Varda Valar: True, it refreshed the air.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Or was that movie-only?
Ar-Pharazon-V: I know he's a gardener, but you wouldn't expect it in the Shire, maybe.
Arien V: Athelas was usually found near Numenorian settlements
Varda Valar: The coast of Eriador was a place that the Numenoreans landed and had havens. The King ruled over the area of the Shire.
Varda Valar: The Shire inhabitants were loyal to the King, even after he was gone. One reason the Rangers guarded them.
Arien V: yes i think if Sam discovered maybe Numenorian ruins as a boy he might have discovered the plants as well and asked his dad about it
Ar-Pharazon-V: ah, that could be it
Varda Valar: The King and the Rangers were, of course, Numenoreans.
Arien V: yes so they would have been near ranger camps too
Varda Valar: Aye.
Arien V: and could have been easily discovered by adventerous hobbits if you found them and they were not that few as we know :-)
Varda Valar: Handy to have a chieftain right there as a direct descendent of the kings to use the athelas.
Varda Valar: Tooks and Brandybucks. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Fallohides.
Arien V: that was the river folk, right?
Ar-Pharazon-V: I think those were the Stoors?
Varda Valar: Athelas is also known as kingsfoil by the "rustics"� (so called by the herbmaster of Minas Tirith),
Arien V: ah yes
Varda Valar: Stoors were the river folk.
Arien V: true
Varda Valar: Gollum was in that Stoor line, a reason he was a good waterman.
Arien V: thanks Varda :-) nice reminder .. and what was it something like Asea . Aereinion o.. hang on i ll look it up ^^
Varda Valar: Aye, another name for athelas.
Varda Valar: asëa aranion in the Valinorean
Arien V: asea aranion ^^
Arien V: thats the name
Ar-Pharazon-V: That sounds nice!

Arien V: well let's see then we have a little plant called Aeglos
Varda Valar: It was spear-shaped, so they named it after Gil-galad's famous spear. Not sure of a use.
Arien V: its translated "Snowburn" and grew on the lower slopes of Amon Rudh and in 'Beleriand
Ar-Pharazon-V: So the spear was called Snowburn as well?
Arien V: Snowthorn pardon me
Varda Valar: Snowthorn, is what I just looked up.
Arien V: * a long legged sweet smelling plang creating gloomy "aisles " benath the roof of branches
Arien V: similar to furze , with white flowers though
Varda Valar: Also point-snow or icicle.
Arien V: seems to have been similar to the yellow flowering gorse bushes that grew in Ithilien

Arien V: Next up in the list .. Elanor :-)
Arien V: now what do we know about this one?
Ar-Pharazon-V: A golden flower, as I recall?
Varda Valar: At Frodo's suggestion, Sam named his girl, Elanor.
Arien V: the name means "starsun" in Sindarin , correctly .. yes seems to have been a white flower in winter when it was not in bloom
Arien V: but the warmer climate of lothlorien let it flower all year round
Ar-Pharazon-V: ah, white
Varda Valar: "At the feet of the trees, and all about the green hillsides, the grass was studded with small golden flowers shaped like stars."
Arien V: so the blooming flower is golden Phara :-)
Varda Valar: Niphredil grew alongside it sometimes and was white.
Varda Valar: or at least pale.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aha!
Arien V: it is suggested here that Haldir mentioned it as a winter planned and called it specifically *the yellow elanor"
Arien V: err winter plant pardon me
Arien V: so Elanor and Niphredil go together right
Varda Valar: Elanor may have been brought by the elves of Tol Eressea to Numenor.
Varda Valar: It seems to have been used to decorate ships during Aldarion's wedding.
Varda Valar: They also seem to have used lissuin flowers in that wedding, with the elanor.
Arien V: what flower is that?
Varda Valar: And yes, elanor and niphredel grew alongside each other. Haldir mentions.

Varda Valar: lissuin
Ar-Pharazon-V: yellow and white, sun and moon, very poetic
Varda Valar: Lissuin was another from Tol Eressea. Said to bring heart ease.
Arien V: lissuin .. a white flower brought from Tol Eressea meant to bring heart's ease and was fragrant as well
Varda Valar: Aye, Phar
Arien V: the name translates as "sweet* ^^

Arien V: Then we have another interesting little plant from Rohan mentioned with a rather more sober purpose
Arien V: can you remember?
Varda Valar: only grew on the mounds of the kings?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Simbelmyne?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Probably spelled wrong somewhere.
Varda Valar: That's the spelling, good job.
Arien V: Evermind yes :-)
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/articles/e/evermind.htm
Ar-Pharazon-V: A flower that prospers when it has corpses to feed on. A bit creepy, that.
Arien V: grew on the western side of the mount of the kings
Varda Valar: burial mounds
Varda Valar: also called barrows
Arien V: yes burial mounds indeed
Varda Valar: Picky, just for kings? Maybe it couldn't grow on the soil out past that area.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That could be it. Special soil for the mounds. It was mostly grassland after all.
Varda Valar: Maybe so. Sounds a little less creepy. But we can't rule out the fantastic element in the books. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
Arien V: well .. there is that element
Arien V: some trhings wouldnt exist without the perishing of other creatures
Ar-Pharazon-V: Circle of life.
Arien V: in our modern world just think of coal or oil
Ar-Pharazon-V: *most* things wouldn't exist without the perishing of other creatures
Ar-Pharazon-V: Live things, that is.
Varda Valar: Have a point. Organic mulch is from the death of living things.
Arien V: (( sorry this i have to give you now since i just had to think of the song :-) .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPUy5oW_y10 ))
Varda Valar: Although methane is also made at the edges of tectonic plates. Trivia for the day.
Varda Valar: (gast)
Varda Valar: (gas)
Varda Valar: Thank you
Ar-Pharazon-V: I more had the Lion King version in mind :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: In fact, someone linked me the musical version of the Lion King song yesterday, if you want it?
Arien V: is nice as well :-)
Arien V: go on
Ar-Pharazon-V: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W_Zblr09Y0
Varda Valar: Nice, the lyrics are with it.
Arien V: right .. plants there is only a couple more :-)

Ar-Pharazon-V: Pipeweed?
Arien V: uh that my dear Phara is a real science that could take all night ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Still a plant!
Arien V: at least if we were hobbits :-)
Arien V: yes indeed , itr is a plant :-)
Varda Valar: Quite a production there for a stage, Phar.
Varda Valar: Pipeweed. Really tobacco.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh yes. All the different animals.
Arien V: as far as i understand it phar it is various plants that were cultivated by varous hobbit families in various areas
Ar-Pharazon-V: Presumably related to each other, or even bred from the same original plant.
Varda Valar: Various varieties of tobacco
Arien V: Like Longbottom Leaf or Hornblower .. or Southleaf
Varda Valar: Even the same plant will taste different when grown in different soil. A secret of grape-growers for wine, for instance.
Varda Valar: But they did seem to grow different actual varieties of pipeweed.

Arien V: Right last in the list is Seregon  .. a red flowered plant that gave Amon Rudh its name because it grew on the top and when the plant flowered the whole top was covered in red ..
Arien V: interesting since "ruadh" means "red " in scottish Gaelic
Ar-Pharazon-V: It's also "rood" in Dutch, and I assume it's similar in Scandinavian countries. I can't blame Tolkien for using it :-)
Varda Valar: That's a linguist for you. :-)
Arien V: :-)

Varda Valar: Pipe-weed is in the Appendices. Pardon, was digging around for it.

Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe it's the same across the world. Maybe there's something aggressive about the color that makes every primitive society go "Rrrrrrrrr....d"

Varda Valar: Nicotiana

Varda Valar: Red? Aye, brings the thought of blood.
Arien V: sereg .. the word actuall means blood
Arien V: in Sindarin
Varda Valar: Aye

FladrifV has left the room.
Arien V: did i see an ent sneaking in for a secon :O?
Ar-Pharazon-V: He's been here pretty much since the start.
Arien V: really?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yep!
Varda Valar: Aye, he has been. Just very quiet.
Arien V: didnt notice him before.. was very treeish then

Varda Valar: Arien found a good pdf for Helge Fauskanger of Ardalambion fame.
Arien V: oh and for the true elven linguists i found an interesting link ..
Arien V: http://www.ambar-eldaron.com/eng-quen.pdf
Arien V: that's the one up there
Ar-Pharazon-V: ooh
Varda Valar: One of the very old sites, Ardalambion, like us. Been one of our language links for years, having all of them. This pdf is very handy.

Varda Valar: Fangorn asks if we mentioned taters yet. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, the taters did come with herbs as I recall.
Ar-Pharazon-V: But yes, those are plants too ;-)

Arien V: oohm and for everyones clearance ..
Varda Valar: And then all those spices for food.
Arien V: Ents are NOT plants!!
Arien V:   Ents are not plants, but tree-like intelligences formed by the Valie, Yavanna, to protect and shepherd the plants she had envisioned, especially trees which she knew were in danger of being used for fuel and building.
Arien V: there you go to quote Varda 's article :-)
Varda Valar: hehe

Varda Valar: Oh, we also have an interview transcript with Helge Fauksanger, as made by our own Amaranth. :-)
Arien V: nice one :-)
Arien V: got a link?
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/papers/Amaranth/Helge_Fauskanger_Tolkien-linguist.htm
Varda Valar: That's on our Language page

Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, whether they're plants basically depends on what they were made of.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Plant-cells have a unique structure :-) And there's the bark and branches etc.
Arien V: very good
Varda Valar: hmm, our Links page includes a 2012 link for Fauskanger's English-Sindarin

Arien V: right that concludesour little excursion into the Tolkienesque plant life .. oh for completion i should mention that some kinds of trees are mentioned
Arien V: Rowan Trees
Arien V: the Mallorn Trees of Rohan of course
Ar-Pharazon-V: ..Mallorn trees of Rohan? They should be so lucky.

Varda Valar: Oh - the name for the Quenya list by Fauskanger is the same name used by our own Beren-Valar for his.

Arien V: Birches i think are mentioned as well in the chapter about the Battle of Isengard .. they mentioned an Ent that resembled a birch tree and that his trees were birches indeed that had been destroyed by the orcs
Varda Valar: Quickbeam made up his mind so fast because of the destruction of many of his rowan trees.
Varda Valar: o right. In the ent battle, they mention Beechbone, the one that caught on fire. I loved in the movie where he ducks into the water to put himself out.
Varda Valar: Beechbone and fire are in the book.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Quite bendy, those ents!
Varda Valar: *creak*

Varda Valar: Thank you for all that great input for the Tolkien chat!
Varda Valar: Is there anything else folks would like to mention?
Varda Valar: (Updating our Links page links for language.)

Varda Valar: This was priceless:
Varda Valar: Arien V
    *offers rootshaped and manybranched gavel to Varda"
Varda Valar: *takes the nifty gavel and bangs it on the new hammerpad*
Varda Valar: *thonk*
Varda Valar: *the arms wrap around the table for a moment, then let go. The table is now polished even more.*
Varda Valar: *the hammer returns with a many-branched hop to the conveyor belt shelf*
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Varda Valar: After-meeting!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Entling?
Ar-Pharazon-V: They do exist.
Arien V: *grins* .. you enjoyed that, Varda, didn't you?
Arien V: *climbs up the entling to switch on to stairsleading to bedroom"
Arien V: Namarie for now dear friends :-) i shall read your gaming report in the script :-)
Varda Valar: Namarie!
Arien V: in the transcript even
Varda Valar: Yes. :-)
Arien V: Namarie :-)
Varda Valar: Namarie
Arien V (AriehnV) has left the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie Arien!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Gaming report it is, then!
Varda Valar: Fire away. :-)

Ar-Pharazon-V: For flashgaming, 3 games.
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/from_the_deep is the first one! A rather special little platformer where you walk through a cave system in an island, and every time you grab a yellow item thingy the island grows higher, freeing up more of the cavern.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Starts simple, gets rather tougher with plants shooting stuff at you.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not been able to finish it myself, because it's a bit difficult where I'm at and it also started lagging me down. But maybe you'll have more luck!
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/entforge/bouncy-cannon is the second game, shoot away the red blocks with as few bouncy cannonballs as possible, clearing away enemies but not making the friendly guys fall.
Ar-Pharazon-V: And then there's http://www.kongregate.com/games/EvgenyKarataev/wake-up-the-box the first in a fun series, where you have to place objects to wake up a sleepy cardboard box, usually by making him fall.

Varda Valar: (Telchar, dwarf of Nogrod, forged Narsil in the First Age. Elendil was born in the Second Age and the sword was broken when he used it against Sauron.)

Ar-Pharazon-V: Some weird structures of wooden objects can be necessary :-)

Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Might've gone to the Edain in the First Age, or the Elves kept it until Elendil showed up.

Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard games!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Diablo 3: Started the season and the 20 year anniversary at the same time. There's an anniversary achievement that requires you to start a game with a level 1 character and complete the entire Old Tristram labyrinth solo in that game. Luckily I managed it without disconnecting, and after a few hours and a single labyrinth run I was level 26, had most of the Anniversary achievements including that one, and got a new pet for it too :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'll get the remaining achievements later in the month, but the hard part's over!
Ar-Pharazon-V: If you want a guide on what's available and how to get stuff, I'll give you http://www.icy-veins.com/d3/diablo-anniversary-event-complete-guide which has proven useful for me in how to make sure I didn't miss bosses or secret passages. Also lists all the rewards.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroes of the Storm: Just pushing on with my heroes. Switched my Rexxar build a bit, and got some more practice in, and he's doing rather well now.
Ar-Pharazon-V: This week's brawl is Mage Wars, only different mage-like classes to choose from, with 50% extra mana regeneration and double damage to structures. The brawl can still take a while though, about half an hour for each of my first 2 brawls. Will do the third tomorrow, probably.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Most of them levelled, with 3 or 4 at the edge. Should finish that the next week. More golden cards, and with level 50 coming closer (I think they're 46 or 47 now?) the basic class cards are almost done. So that goal is looming :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: This week's brawl is Diablo based, with the dark lord himself as your opponent. You can simply defeat him normally to get a card back, but if you want some more content, try to clear out all 3 of his random Secrets to enter the secret cow level, complete with bovine minions.
Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
Ar-Pharazon-V: Another pet from Northrend raids, Anub'arak's undead spider pet! Seems to have a unique model, looks really nice.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Legion raiding going fine as well, we cleared the heroic Nightmare easily on thursday and won the heroic Odyn fight in Trials of Valor for the first time today. On the first try as well! But he was a bit nerfed, so that's okay. We wiped a few times on Guarm though, dps requirements are really tight.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Weekly quest was winning 10 arena skirmishes. Having gotten my new model/appearance for 1000 kills with a hidden appearance already, I could just go in catspec instead. Still took a while, but it does seem easier as cat.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Appearances from old instances are going not so well. Got one new item from Temple of Ahn'Qiraj, but heroic Blood Furnace does not want to cooperate. Oh well, I'll get there eventually.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Most of my WoW time otherwise has been doing world quests, I've been doing a lot of them, mostly focusing on pet battles and the pvp arenas for the achievements. But also various other random quests, mostly for Order Resources, of which I now have over 25000. Quite a change from the way I was starved of them before I started doing the world quests.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I've also completed my Druid class campaign, at last!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Unlocking a new line of appearances, the third relic slot for my artifact weapons, and other stuff, it's a pretty useful accomplishment. And for a new appearance in that line, I'm only 1 more rare archeology artifact away, having gotten my 7th earlier this week.
Ar-Pharazon-V: So in 2 weeks I should have my favorite appearance, which I have been waiting for since before Legion came out :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Speaking of, progress for the hidden appearance for catform is happening too, I need 3 random feral screeches gotten in the dreamway from 3 different zones, and have 2 of them now.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Just waiting for the one from Feralas, but you only get once chance a day when you first enter the dreamway. So needs a lot of luck.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hopefully the third won't take too long.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and WoW has diablo anniversary events too, with a cow king area and treasure goblins, but the goblins are rather farmable in the sewers of Dalaran, and so I've gotten the stuff I want in a day or 2.
Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for this week!
Ar-Pharazon-V: I suppose I could add that I'm now at 120 world quests done in hidden form, with 80 to go to unlock yet another hidden appearance. When I get those, I can switch to the rock form I like :-)
Varda Valar: Thanks, Phar
Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's hero nr 6 leveled in Hearthstone, from 45 to 46. Rest will come during the week :-)
Varda Valar: Yay for something to do during the week. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
Ar-Pharazon-V: saving and sending transcript
Varda Valar: Thanks
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