2020 News Archive

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Dec. 27, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (8)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Ciaran (Before), Elrond (Before), Eonwe, Frodo/Twisted Elm, Irmo, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Overwatch,  Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Celebrations in Tolkien's world.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


Dec. 25, 2020 Friday

Merry Christmas!


Dec. 20, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (9)
            Discord: Arien  Valar, Ar-Pharazon-V, Eonwë Valar, Falco, Ioreth, Irmo, Miriel/Maha, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Falco's SpaceX news
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft,  Lord of the Rings Online, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo 4, Diablo Immortal, more LotRO
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien Moment from Varda. As Ar-pharazon puts it: If you're gonna die, make it count.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


Dec. 18, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 186.
   

Dec. 17, 2020 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 28.2.1 patch notes. Game is online again. Gondor comes to the Legendary servers.


Dec. 13, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (8)
            Discord: Anarion, Arien  Valar, Ar-Pharazon-V, Celebrian, Elrond, Eonwë Valar, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft,  Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: The nature of Huorns.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

Dec. 10, 2020 Thursday

Happy Hanukkah!


Dec. 9, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 28.2 release notes.
       
   

Dec. 6, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
        Web:
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft,  Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online; Starcraft 2 during After-meeting
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1: Link to the project to save Tolkien's house and convert it into a literary center.
            Topic 2 from Irmo: the different treatments of Elrond and Faramir between the books and movies.
            Topic 3 from Irmo: the relationship between Boromir and Faramir.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


Dec. 4, 2020 Friday

    LotRO announcement by Cordovan for Legendary server including level 100 on Dec 16. Other info on dates including Yuletide Festival on Dec 10. Raiding goes up to Tier 5 for the high level new ones.

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 184
 

Dec. 1, 2020 Tuesday

    LotRO is one of the properties owned by Daybreak. EG7 just bought Daybreak and a lot that we didn't know before has come out.
    Some links concerning the sale:
        LotRO.com from Severlin: the buy.
        Massively Overpowered: The buy Dec 1. Things learned thanks to EG7 Dec 2.
        MMORPG: more details on things learned Dec 2, updated Dec 6.

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Nov. 29, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (10)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Celebrian, Elrond, Eonwe, Falco, Ioreth, Irmo, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Grats to Shelob on the high grades!
        Gaming:
            General reports:  World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, Lord of the Rings Online, Hammerting
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1 from Varda: changes during separation may slow recognition: Sam and Frodo return from Mt. Doom and see Strider in a Tolkien Moment quote.
            Topic 2 from Shelob: choosing mortality. The afterlife.
        After-meeting:
            WoW afterlife. Choices of how to proceed through the game life.
            Book of Lost Tales 1
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

Nov. 22, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
            Shelob (Before)
        Gaming:
            General reports:  World of Warcraft,  Overwatch, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, StarCraft II
        Tolkien:
            Tolkien game
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


Nov. 16, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwë (Before-meeting), Irmo, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Story by Arien (see Nov 10 news for when it was put online).
                "Turning Tides" by Arien-(Valar). A Corsair captain takes his boat where he must.
        Gaming:
            General reports:  World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1: comments on Arien's new story
            Topic 2 started by Varda: disguises of Saruman, and tangents.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


Nov. 12, 2020 Thursday

     Gaming / LotRO:
        "The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Thursday, November 12th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-5 GMT) to release Update 28.1.2".
        Temporary instance closure for 6-person Tier 1 Shakalush, The Stair Battle, due to a bug. Players can enter the Tier 1 instance, but the quest will not bestow inside.


Nov. 10, 2020 Tuesday

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "Turning Tides" by Arien-(Valar). A Corsair captain takes his boat where he must.


Nov. 8, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwë, Ioreth, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports:  World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Eve Online, more LotRO
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1 from Varda: Tolkien Moment and discussion about Sam vs the Watchers.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


Nov. 1, 2020 Sunday

    Valar Time, hooked to Eastern Time, is no longer in Daylight Savings.

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwë, Irmo, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports:  Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Cookie Clicker, Zork; WoW more, LotRO more
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1 from Varda: Tolkien Moment and discussion about the Entwives and hope.
            Topic 2 from Eonwe: How did the Dwarves come to Bilbo's door?
        After-meeting:
            WoW chat
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
                In 2020, Windows will forcibly remove flash. However, a number of these sorts of game are moving to a form of HTML.
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Oct. 25, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo, Pallando, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports:  World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic from Varda: Some people (outside kin) say Beorn was the only one that could change into bear-form during the time of the Hobbit book. What does our group think?
            Topic tangent: listing the five armies of the Battle of Five Armies.
        After-meeting:
            More Tolkien chat
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

Oct. 20, 2020 Tuesday

 Gaming / LotRO:
    Downtime 8:00 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 28: War of Three Peaks. Here are the release notes.


Oct. 18, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
  Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo, Pallando, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
    Web News:
        Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "A Vignette on the Vingilot" by Elwing-(V). Short story in which which a sailor overhears Earendil talking to Elwing. Written for the 23rd Anniversary.
    Gaming:
        General reports: Eve Online,  World of Warcraft, more Eve Online, StarCraft 2,  Overwatch, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
    Tolkien:
        Topic from Shelob: Shelob
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


Oct. 15, 2020 Thursday

    LotRO:
        "The LOTRO game worlds will be brought down for a restart at 9:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) on Thursday, October 15th. The downtime is expected to last for about an hour."
        "Durin's Day
has returned. Available now through Oct. 20."

    Eve Online:
        Oct. 15 patch notes for version 18.10.


Oct. 14, 2020 Wednesday

    LotRO:
        "The LOTRO game worlds will undergo a restart on most Wednesdays starting at 8:00 AM Eastern to promote the health of the game environment. This downtime usually lasts for approximately one hour. "


Oct. 11, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
  Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (7)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo, Shelob, Varda
    Web:
        Screenies from the in-game anniversary events are on the anniversary page.
    Gaming:
        General reportsWorld of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Lord of the Rings Online
    Tolkien:
        RP forum story has a new post this last week.
        Topic: from Shelob-(V): The Doom of the Valar upon the Noldor, how it came about and how it shaped their perception as well as the perception of others on them in Middle Earth?
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

Oct. 7, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher: "The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Wednesday, October 7th starting at 9:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) for our regular weekly maintenance. The downtime is expected to last for around one hour."
 

Oct. 6, 2020 Tuesday

    Anniversary page:
        All screenshots that were sent by email are now in: pics from Arien, Eonwe, Fangorn, and Varda.


Oct. 4, 2020 Sunday

Happy 23rd Anniversary to the Valar Guild!

Thank you, everyone, for keeping the guild going for so long. May we have many more years enjoying all the new games and improving our Tolkien and Gaming sites. : )

Lord of the Rings Online Landroval branch:
    The fireworks ride begab at noon /servertime, which is noon Eastern.

Any game today any time, even solo:
    We take your anniversary screenies, especially looking for fireworks and boat themes. We can take them through October.

Tolkien Site:
    Please send in your anniversary contributions to be included on the Anniversary website as well as the Tolkien Site. We prefer them available today but will take anniversary goodies through October.
    The theme ("more actual guidelines, really") is boats and ships in Tolkien's world.
    New today: given in the meeting summary below and on the Anniversary site.
Games Site:
    Please send in your current games that you play and where, to Eonwe by email or Discord.
    Game reviews are welcome.
Chat Marathon:
    The chat marathon continued through today's meeting from last meeting, in Valar Guild > meeting-place. Drop in and say hi!
Forum:
    Thanks to Irmo for starting this thread!

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon-V, Eonwe, Fangorn/Treebeard (Before-meeting), Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo, Pallando-Valar, Varda (presiding)
    Before-meeting:
        LotRO anniversary ride and fireworks etc.
    Web:
        Anniversary Website updated with new stuff including for today. Screenies to be posted.
        Forum thread to say what you like about the anniversary.
        Games Site updated.
        Tolkien Site:
            Art:
                New cave for Irmo-(Valar)
                    New art screenshot: "carrock" ship. He took around 8 months to craft this in Black Desert Online.
            Stories:
                New stories by Eonwe-(Valar):
                    "Black Sails"
                    "Losgar"
            Poetry:
                    New poem by Varda-(Valar) (still in rough state but up anyway)
                        "Ships that Sail"
    Gaming:
        General reports on: Eve Online, World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Diablo 4, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft 2
    Tolkien:
        Topic from Irmo: Why were the ships able to sail to Valinor on the straight path? Was it the ship, the maker, both, or something else? Who were some of the passengers that we know of? Why could Legolas make and sail such a ship?
    After-meeting:
        Lots of chat
        Tolkien quotes adding to the topic above.
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


Oct. 3, 2020 Saturday

    Tolkien Site / Art:
        New cave for Ar-Pharazon-(V):
            New art: "Alcarondas, Castle of the Sea"


Oct. 2, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 178 is online.

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Sept. 30, 2020 Wednesday

    LotRO down for maintenance today starting at 8 A.M. lasting for about one hour.

    World of Warcraft
guild achievements updated. Blizzard was a bit slow, but we're glad they're up. Congrats Valarites!


Sept. 29, 2020 Tuesday

    LotRO payment changes:
        https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?683619-Payment-Processing-Notice-of-Change

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 177 is up.


Sept. 27, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

*The Chat Marathon begins at today's meeting and runs until next meeting, as part of our traditional Anniversary celebration.
*The theme for the anniversary is "boats, ships". Time to be finishing up our art, articles, poems, stories, humor, or music to present at the Anniversary meeting. We do continue taking them for the anniversary through October.
*GSMU. Don't forget to send Eonwe your info for the Games Site Mass Update, needed in the next three days so he can present his State of Valar Gaming report for the Anniversary meeting, and because all current Games Site player info will be wiped out to put in the current info.
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Ioreth, Irmo, Pallando, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
    Membership news
    Web:
        The Games Site Mass Update and Anniversary page need your help.
    Gaming:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft 2
    Tolkien:
        Topic: On the boat theme, who was called a sea-king? Or more than one?
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
        and a taste of the marathon chat.


Sept. 25, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 177 is available.

   War of Three Peaks info from the Bullroarer test server: Preview 1, Preview 2. Preview 1 seems to be overwritten by 2, but still listed as 1.
            New area: Elderslade.
            New raid: Bloody Threshold

    Elderslade: Missions
        "You have received a summons from Agátur the Boastful to join him at the fortress of Skarháld in Ered Mithrin.
        The Longbeard Dwarves have called for all their friends and allies to proceed to Skarháld as soon as they are able. The time to retake Gundabad is at hand."
        Short, solo or duo scaleable instances
        Accessed through the Introductory Remote Bestowed quest or travel straight to Annâk-khurfu from several Stable-masters in major hubs
        (For Bullroarer test server): Durin, the Dwarf in the basement of the Eyes & Guard Tavern, will also take you straight to Annâk-khurfu

    War of the Three Peaks
        Prince Durin, son of King Thorin Stonehelm, leads his armies to reclaim Gundabad, the Mountain-home of his people!
        As the Longbeards, Zhélruka, and Stout-axes assemble to lay siege to the great fortress, Orcs led by Gorgar the Ruthless, son of Bolg and brother of Mazog, meet them in battle -- the War of Three Peaks begins!
   
    Shakalush, the Stair Battle
        "It is on the stairs of Bagûd-mekhem, the Gate of Winds, that a decisive battle of the War of Three Peaks is to be fought.
        There, caught between those loyal to Gorgar the Ruthless and Hrímil Frost-heart, the Gabil'akkâ hope to deal a devastating blow to both of these forces in a single stroke."
        Multi-tiered 6-man instance
        (Bullroarer only): Discovery Deeds can be found through Javatar in the Eyes & Guard Tavern
        Duo Mode is now properly bestowing

    Amdân Dammul, the Bloody Threshold
        "The final battle of the War of Three Peaks has begun. Prince Durin Stonehelmson of the Longbeards leads the Gabil'akkâ, a great host of united dwarves, to the very gates of Mount Gundabad.
        But Gorgar the Ruthless, son of Bolg, has one last surprise in store for those who would seek to usurp him...."
        Multi-tiered, 12-man Raid
        (Bullroarer only): Discovery Deeds can be found through Javatar in the Eyes & Guard Tavern


Sept. 22, 2020 Tuesday

Happy Baggins' Birthday!


For the Birthday, on the Lord of the Rings Online branches,
the items in the kin house are about to be given away to recent players. You might want to jump to the kin house of your favorite server (Landroval, Ithil, and Anor) to make your preferred choice. This should also give the kins the gift of more room in the house. /cheer


Sept. 20, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Before and After-meeting), Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo, Pallando (After-meeting), Shelob, Varda (presiding)
    Gaming:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Overwatch, Eve Online, Lord of the Rings Online.
    Tolkien:
        Forum *RP story
        Topic: Interactions between the Valar.
    After-meeting:
        Get-together for LotRO: Osgiliath questing.
        Questions about LotRO on dual monitors; info on LotRO subs and expansions.
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
        Quote about Ungoliant from the Silmarillion.
       

Sept. 19, 2020 Saturday

    International Talk Like a Pirate Day. Yes, it infiltrates our game worlds, maties.


Sept. 18, 2020 Friday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        LotRO Beacon Issue # 176 is out.
            On the Bullroarer test server, they will soon be testing Update 28 "The War of Three Peaks".


Sept. 14, 2020 Monday

    Gaming / Eve Online:
        GM Week: Sept 14 - 19 is GM week with lots of interaction between game masters and players. List of events included in the article with their specific times.


Sept. 13, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon-V, Eonwë, Falco, Irmo, Pallando, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
    Membership news:
        GSMU (Games Site Mass Update) emails went out. A copy is available at the bottom of the News page.
    Web:
        23rd Anniversary Page: new screenie under Theme. The anniversary pages may be found at the bottom of the News page.
        Games Site Mass Update email copy (available at the bottom of the News page and on the 23rd Anniversary page).
    Gaming:
        Tolkien topic 1 (instant tangent when we started on LotRO news): ancient spiders
    Gaming (reboot):
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Lord of the Rings Online, Hearthstone, Eve Online
    Tolkien:
        Topic 1: During Gaming section: Spiders: including Ungoliant, Shelob, Mirkwood spiders, Angband spiders.
        Topic 2: Topic for next time mentioned and became a topic this time: Epic events in Tolkien's works.
    After-meeting:
        Chat continued (we were on a roll today)
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

September 11, 2020 Friday 9/11

    Official video of "The Last Goodbye" performed by Billy Boyd aka "Pippin". Handy skip ad button on it.


Sept. 8, 2020 Tuesday

    GSMU: Games Site Mass Update
        Eonwe has emailed the update and news letter to all for whom we have current emails. Here is a copy.
        Members may also reach Eonwe to help with the Games Site update in Discord or the forum. The letter tells which information is most needed.


Sept. 6, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

Meeting Transcript:
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (7)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon-V, Eonwë, Ioreth (After-meeting), Pallando (After-meeting), Shelob (After-meeting), Varda (presiding)
        LotRO: Lenwë
    (The Contents with detailed links are at the top of the Meeting Transcript.)
    Gaming:
        General reports:
         GSMU emails going out this week. (After-meeting)
    Tolkien:
        Topic 1: Making things that are Tolkienesque, including tapestries.
        Topic 2: Since we got onto the topic of boats and water, who are Ulmo, Ossë, and Uinen? And what is her hair?
        Adding folktale elements to stories.
        Forum RP discussion and posting.
    After-meeting:
        Fuel for Aulë.
        *RP post with Arien's Frali. (broken across other chat)
        *RP storage problem if bareback for the characters. Discussion. Aid from Ioreth.
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
        WoW box-gaming report by Ioreth
        Pannier to aid our storage problem in the RP. More on riding bareback.

Sept. 3, 2020 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:

        News from the launcher:
            The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Thursday, September 3rd from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 27.3.2. This is to help Steam users.


Sept. 1, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming/LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            "The LOTRO game worlds will undergo their weekly restart on Tuesday, September 1st starting at 8:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT). Note that this maintenance will also bring our free questing period to an end."

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Aug. 30, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Anarion, Arien/Urwendi, Ar-Pharazon/Tar-Calion, Eonwe/Fionwë, Eowyn/Cenedra, Menelvagor/Shelob, Pallando-Valar, Varda (presiding)
        (We kept jumping names at one point but the program decided to retrofit so all the names showed as whatever we were after the meeting was over and a copy being made.)
    Membership news:
        Menelvagor changed name to Shelob, still Maia Honor.
    Web:
        Anniversary page, for our 23rd guild anniversary.
        GSMU (Games Site Mass Update) planned to be done for the Anniversary of Oct 4.
    Gaming:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, Eve
     Tolkien:
        Topic: Why did the Elves leave Middle-earth?
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

Aug. 23, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
Attending (and spoke): (6)
    Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Before-meeting), Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo,  Varda (presiding)
Gaming:
    General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, ...
 Tolkien:
    Topic 1: Why did Sauron try and convince Pharazon to attack Valinor knowing that was pointless, instead of turning his attention on Middle Earth?
    Topic 2: How did Numenor beat Sauron wearing and using the one ring?
Gaming, the Reboot:
    General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone
After-meeting:
    PTR for WoW by Ioreth
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

Aug. 19, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Wednesday, August 19th from 6:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 27.3 and perform some maintenance work.
            Farmer's Faire will now include the Summer (Lithe) festival.
            Legendary Worlds: Epic Battles are back.


Aug. 16, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (6)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
    Membership news:
        23rd Anniversary of the Valar Guild coming in October. During this meeting, we picked the theme of "boats".
    Gaming:
        General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft 2, World of Warcraft
        Request by Arien for aid in LotRO for Minas Tirith Besieged, due to vertigo problems.
        Pallando reports on Eve: 1st mention; Report.
     Tolkien:
        Forum * RP: brief comments and plans.
        Topic: What were the Silmarils? Why were they important?
    After-meeting:
        Music to go with our tale of the Silmarils. Night by Blind Guardian.
        Music for dwarves that mine. "Diggy Diggy Hole" with animation and lyrics.
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
        Another YouTube but with dwarf fighters.


Aug. 13, 2020 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Buried Treasure Event starts today and runs through August 16th.


Aug. 12, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LoTRO:
      News from the launcher:
        All worlds: The LOTRO game worlds will be brought down on Wednesday, August 12th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 27.2.1
        Legendary worlds:
            "Epic Battles are currently unavailable on Anor and Ithil while we fix a bug. We will be working to correct this in the near future. In the meantime our new Storied Tales are available to progress through Helm"s Deep on the Legendary Worlds."


Aug. 9, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (6+1)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Falco, Irmo, Varda
        Eve report handed in earlier by Pallando who could not be present.
    Gaming:
        General reports: WoW, LotRO, SC2, Diablo Immortal, Hearthstone. Eve.
     Tolkien:
        Topic: forum role-play group story round of postings.
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


Aug. 3, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Tuesday, August 4th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 27.2including the below:
            Legendary worlds (Anor, Ithil) will have Helm's Deep and West Rohan.
            Rohan housing arrives on the main servers (Landroval et aliud).
            Character Race Change: (LotRO store only.) Use this item to add a race change credit for use on any of your characters on this world. Logout to the character selection screen to begin your transformation. Please be aware you may only select from races available to your character class.
            Midsummer Festival continues but with fixes.
            Fixes for all classes, for pvmp, quests, adventure areas, Remmorchant.


Aug. 2, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (7)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Ioreth, Irmo, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
    Gaming:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, StarCraft 2, Game of Thrones (get your dragon now)
     Tolkien:
        Topic: Discussion: What brought the various members of the Fellowship to the Council of Elrond? (Includes quotes; video.)
    After-meeting:
         More chat on the topic.
        World of Warcraft chat.
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
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July 26, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (6)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo, Pallando (After-meeting), Varda (presiding)
    Gaming:
        General reports: LotRO, WoW, SC2, Hearthstone, Overwatch, (Eve in After-meeting)
    Tolkien:
        Topic: Tolkien Moment with Sam in the Green Dragon.
    After-meeting:
         A bit more chat on the Tolkien subject.
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
        Eve Online by Pallando

July 19, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (5)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Before-meeting), Falco, Varda (presiding)
    Membership news:
    Web
    Gaming:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
     Tolkien:
        Topic: Tolkien Moment telling of the Arda after this one.
    After-meeting:
        More chat on the Tolkien topic.
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon. Badges still coming in.

July 18, 2020 Saturday

    Tolkien Site / Art:

        "It must stop". Painting by the Bohemian Weasel-(T), under her section for Fangorn. It is now fully linked into the Encyclopedia.


July 12, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (6)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo, Pallando (After-meeting), Varda (presiding)
    Membership News
    Web News:
        Tolkien Site / Art:
            Treebeard "It must stop" by the Bohemian Weasel-(T) (preview, not yet linked into the main site, but online)
    Gaming News:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 3, Eve (during After-meeting)
    Tolkien:
        Link
        Topic: Thranduil had been to Mordor. When? Did it affect his world-view?
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
        Eve Online news by Pallando

July 8, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:         Downtime 8 A.M. to noon EDT for Update 27.1. Hotfixes plus new thingys below:
            VIPs can speak to Wenda Cranesbill in Bree or in any of the housing neighborhoods near their Task boards to accept a daily quest that awards:
                * A 48 hour Town Services item.
                * A 48 hour Subscriber's Jug that grants accelerated Crafting times and item wear prevention buffs
            Feredis, the Midsummer rewards barter vendor, now offers a Great Wedding Themes music box for your house or kin house.


July 5, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (4)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)   
    Membership News
    Web News:
        "The Fall of Sauron" by Dunadan went up Thursday.
    Gaming News:
        General gaming: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 2, Overwatch, World of Warcraft (continued), Kongregate.
            Kongregate was bought out and is changing; report by Ar-Pharazon
    Tolkien:
        Topic: barrel riders
    More gaming:
        World of Warcraft, Small World of Warcraft boardgaming
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


July 4, 2020 Saturday

Happy Independence Day, U.S.A!




July 2, 2020
Thursday

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "The Fall of Sauron" by Dunadan. The announcement of Sauron's defeat by Huan and Luthien. Gothmog, Langon, Morgoth, Thuringwethil. 1 chapter

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Downtime 8 A.M. to noon EDT for Update 27.0.1 hotfixes.

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June 30, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Downtime from 8 A.M. to noon EDT today for Update 27: The Great Wedding. Hotfixes included.


June 28, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (6)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Falco, Irmo, Varda (presiding)   
    Membership news:
        Falco performed at a museum.
        Irmo was quoted in an article that hit the national news.
        Dis
    Gaming:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 3, Heroes of the Storm, more Lord of the Rings Online and a request, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone
    Tolkien:
        Tolkien Moment: When Merry started the scouring of the Shire.
    After-meeting:
        Arien brought a new burglar into our LotRO kin branch on the Ithil legendary server. Things we can do thanks to meetings!
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


June 26, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 166.
    Spring Festival encore continues through June 29.


June 22, 2020 Monday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Tomorrow the game worlds will be brought down for maintenance between 8 A.M. EDT and noon.


June 21, 2020 Sunday

Happy Father's Day!

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (5)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
    Membership news:
        Father's Day
    Web:
        Tolkien Site / Stories:
            One story put up today:
                "The Bat-Fell of Thuringwethil" by Dunadan
    Gaming:
        General reports: Lord of the Rings Online (including a report on the Tournament of the Twins), World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone. More WoW chat.
    Tolkien:
        Topic 1: Ian Holm
        Topic 2: Thuringwethil
        Topic 3: Fathers in Tolkien's works.
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.

June 19, 2020 Friday

    Namarie, Ian Holm. We loved your acting of Bilbo in the Lord of the Rings movies, among your other fine work.

    Gaming / LotRO:
    The Spring Festival has returned and runs through June 29.
    All quests and raids are free through August 31st.
    LotRO Beacon Issue # 165.


June 16, 2020 Tuesday
    Gaming / LotRO:
        Wednesday 8:00 A.M. to noon downtime for The Tournament of the Twins in Update 26.2.2.
        "Our newest Tournament World called the Tournament of the Twins has arrived! The sons of Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, have begun a discussion with perhaps too much boldness, and are arguing about which of them would make the greatest leader and support the greatest heroes. Once you have reached level 10, you may take up the banner of either Elladan or Elrohir and venture forth to earn honour completing Deeds and challenging heroes that align with your rival. Brave players can earn rewards for completing Deeds, and those characters will appear in a special Leaderboard. Will you rush to honour your patron by completing Deeds, or will you spend your time challenging rivals?"
        Where: Bombadil (temporary server). When: June 17 through July 14. For how to proceed, check out the release notes above.


June 14, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

    When: 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    Where: The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".

Meeting Transcript
Summary of the meeting:
    Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Celebrian, Elrond, Eonwe, Irmo (Irm), Pallando, Varda (presiding)
    Before-meeting
        WoW
        *ping*
    Membership news:
        Fladrif, Helm, Imrahil sightings in WoW.
        Chat about WoW turtles.
    Web:
        Two stories this past week:
            "Just a Dare" by Arien-(Valar)
            "The Black Council" by Dunadan
    Gaming:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft Classic. (Eve in After-meeting)
    Tolkien:
        Tolkien Moment: Sam throws an apple.
    After-meeting:
        Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
        Eve Online by Pallando

June 13, 2020 Saturday

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "The Black Council" by Dunadan. A tug of power. Gothmog, Sauron, Thuringwethil. 1 chapter


June 10, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Downtime today from 8 A.M. to noon CDT for Update 26.2.1 hotfixes.


June 9, 2020 Tuesday

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "Just a Dare" by Arien-(Valar). Merry and Pippin take a dare. 1 chapter.
            This is also a first attempt by Varda at using a new html editor (free), called Visual Studio Code. Thank you to Eonwe for suggesting this editor and for advice on properly formatting html for current times, as well as a css.


June 7, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo (Irm), Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting:
            Learning how to "ping" all of us at once to be a meeting alarm clock.
        Web News:
            Coding and upcoming stories.
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Heroes of the Storm, Eve Online (see after-meeting for more!), WoW continued.
        Tolkien:
            *RP discussion 1
            Tolkien Moment (plus discussion): the first time the Three Hunters see Shadowfax.
        After-meeting:
            EVE Online with details and comments
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
            *RP discussion continued.

June 5, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 163.


June 2, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Downtime Wednesday (tomorrow) for Update 26.2, between 8 A.M. and noon EDT.

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May 31, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
      Attending (and spoke): (8)
        Discord: Aranuir (Aarfon), Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Celebrian, Eonwe, Irmo (Irm), Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Overwatch, more LotRO, EVE, more EVE.
        Tolkien:
            Fun Tolkien-related YouTubes and help with the Silmarillion for those having trouble reading it.
        After-meeting:
            Much chat. : )
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


May 29, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 162.


May 28, 2020

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Announcements with lots of goodies.


May 26, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online (LotR):
        Wednesday downtime for Update 26.1.1. Here are the Release Notes for the repairs being made.


May 25, 2020 Monday

    Memorial Day


May 24, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Falco, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports:  World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft II, Warcraft III: Reforged, Diablo III. More WoW, LotRO, and SC. Tabletop.
        Tolkien:
            RP
            Topic: Some say writers that went through the wars find it therapeutic to write, to help them past the experiences. Did this seem at least partly true for JRRT as well?
        After-meeting:
            More chat on the Tolkien topic.
            More chat on the *RP.
            Gaming chat mixed in.
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


May 22, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 161


May 17, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elrond, Eonwe, Ioreth, Irmo/Irm, Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting:
            RP group story discussion. Link to a map of Middle-earth.
        Website News:
            Two stories by Eonwe-(Valar) online May 12: "Narn I Auros" series.
        Gaming general news:
            General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Diablo III, Hearthstone.
        Tolkien:
            Link for comparative sizes of cities in Middle-earth, found by Ioreth-(V).
            Tolkien Moment: comparison/contrast of Aule and Melkor. Plus discussion
            *RP group story on the forum discussion.
        After-meeting:
            More group story discussion (hardly noticing that we shifted to After-meeting).
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
            Blizzard games; Total Annihilation by Ar-Pharazon.
            On writing stories.


May 15, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 160.


May 13, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 26.1 release notes. This includes the buffs made to all hunters.


May 12, 2020 Tuesday

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "Narn I Auros" series by Eonwe-(Valar).

    Gaming / Hearthstone:
        Report from Ar-Pharazon-(V):
Quick note for Hearthstone players: Nemsy Necrofizzle, the warlock hero who is generally only available through fireside gatherings only, is now available for free in a time when the gatherings are unadvised because of corona.
But only from may 12 to 19, so if you want the hero, get to the ingame shop right away!
Feel free to drop it on the news as well.
(cute gnomess!)


May 10, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo/Irm, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Heroes of the Storm
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1: The Hobbit read by Andy Serkis
            Topic 2: Tolkien Moment--The Valar: "Yet some things there are that they cannot see"
        After-meeting:
            More Tolkien chat
            Forum story that we call the *RP story.
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
            More *RP
 

May 8, 2020 Friday

    The Hobbitathon:
        Thank you to Arien and Elrond for the news that Andy Serkis (aka Gollum) read the entire Hobbit aloud and live (including any stumbles of whatever type) for charity.
        The announcement, provided to us by Arien.
        The reading, provided by Elrond. It is private, requiring a sign-in.

    Gaming / LotRO:
    LotRO Beacon Issue # 159.
    Upcoming change to hunters, transcript of +Cordovan's YouTube. Update 26.1 aimed for next week without going through a Bullroarer test first.


May 4, 2020 Monday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Tomorrow (Tuesday) downtime 8 A.M. to noon EDT for Update 26.0.2.


May 3, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Irmo/Irm, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
        Web News:
            Tolkien Site / Stories: (2 posted here today)
                "Keep the Home Fires Burning" by Shirebound. "It�s time at last for Glo�n to leave Rivendell and return home." 1 chapter.
                "The Breaking Point" by Shirebound. "Ten days out from Rivendell, Frodo has finally had enough of the bickering between Legolas and Gimli." The first fanfiction ever written by Shirebound. 3 chapters
                Another posted April 28 by new author: Dunadan. "Servant of Darkness"
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: A wizard is never late.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


May 1, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 158
        LotRO is extending open questing for free to play gamers through May and giving VIPs free gifts.
   Update 26.0.1

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April 28, 2020 Tuesday

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "Servant of Darkness" by Dunadan. Welcome to Dunadan,  our new author, and his first story! "From the very beginning she had followed Melkor..."  1 chapter.


April 26, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (8)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elrond, Eonwe, Fangorn/Treebeard,  Ioreth (After-meeting), Irmo/Irm, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Articles:
                New article: "Gundabad" by Irmo-(Valar). (Online yesterday.)
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: The beginning of the Dwarves
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


April 25, 2020 Saturday

    Tolkien Site / Articles:
        "Gundabad" by Irmo-(Valar)

April 24, 2020 Friday

 
   LotRO Beacon Issue # 157


April 22, 2020 Wednesday

    LotRO / Gaming:
        News from the launcher:
            The LOTRO game worlds will be brought down on Thursday, April 23rd from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 26.
                "This update debuts our new, free story line "The Legacy of Durin and the Trials of the Dwarves" in addition to offering a new Quest Pack called "Mists of Wilderland". The Quest Pack is free to VIPs and will be available in the LOTRO Store in the future. Note that this quest pack is currently free to all players as part of our initiative to make all quests, raids, and instances free through April 30th, so this quest pack is not currently available in the LOTRO Store. "
            "A correction has been made to the game's physics engine to improve game performance."
            Lots more fixes and updates to classes and items.


April 19, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Lenwe, Varda (presiding)
        Web News:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "A Matter of Time" by Shirebound, posted here today. "Why did Elrond choose Legolas and Gimli to accompany Frodo and Sam on their journey south? And what influenced his decision to let Pippin go with them? Merry gets a surprising answer."
                    Aragorn, Arwen, Elrond, Faramir, Frodo, Gandalf, Legolas, Merry, Pippin, Sam.
                    4 chapters
        Gaming:
            General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1: As the Valar Guild, sometimes we needed reminded of who the Valar were.
            Topic 2: Gandalf could have flown to Mordor on an eagle and dropped it from the air directly into Mount Doom from the air but for some reasons this did not happen the easy way
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
            Blizzard gaming, plus Total Annihilation, WoW discussion.


April 17, 2020 Friday

        LotRO Beacon Issue # 156 is online.


April 16, 2020 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Downtime 8 A.M to noon to put in Update 25.4.5. Release notes. Changes in Festival bartering.


April 13, 2020 Monday

    Discord
is having a glitch due to a recent update. They rolled back the update and people can get on it again.


April 12, 2020 Sunday
Happy Easter!
Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (8)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Before and After-meeting), Falco, Ioreth, Irmo (Irm), Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Web News:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "The Middle of Middle-earth" by Shirebound. "There are a few important details missing from Elrond's map." Elrond, Merry, Pippin. 1 chapter.
        Gaming:
            General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, Overwatch, and Eve Online (special report from Pallando)
        Tolkien:
            Topic: The idea of the Return of the King seems quite fitting today. We had more than one king returning or trying to return. Who were they? Side tangent of renaming the book title for some of them.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
                Blizzard gaming, plus Total Annihilation, Game of Thrones, and more WoW.


April 10, 2010

    LotRO Beacon Issue # 155


April 7, 2020

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Producer's Letter, with things to come!



April 5, 2010
Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".m
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Arwen (After-meeting), Eonwe (Before-meeting), Falco, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "The Lord of Gifts" by Shirebound. "Aragorn encounters Frodo in Elrond's library, and is surprised to learn what the hobbit is researching." 1 chapter. Posted here today.
        Gaming:
            General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Starcraft 2, Hearthstone
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Where did those rings come from for the Dwarves and the Nine? (plus a Tolkien Moment concerning the subject).
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.


April 3, 2020 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue #154.


April 1, 2020

    You'd never believe it anyway.

top

March 31, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            The LOTRO game worlds will be brought down on Wednesday, April 1st from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 25.4.4.
                Remmorchant raid improvements.


March 29, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Arwen, Gorlim, Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting:
            Chat including the game "Satisfactory"
        Meeting begins
        Membership news:
            We are together on Daylight Savings Times across the continents.
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                New story posted today: "Holding Back the Flood" by Shirebound. (Note: posted after-After-meeting) 19 chapters.
                    "Frodo is safe in Rivendell, or is he? When one of the Nazg�l makes a last attempt to reach him, Sam, Legolas, and Gimli are also caught in his snare... and Elrond�s powers are tested to the limit."
                    "Book-verse AU, h/c, and plenty of hobbityness (of course). The canon timeline has been altered to allow Aragorn to play a major role."
        Gaming:
            General reports: Satisfactory, World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Overwatch, Lord of the Rings Online, StarCraft 2
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Did Sauron hold the rings of the nine ringwraiths or did they?
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Kana Warrior that helps the player learn Japanese.


March 27, 2020 Friday

Gaming / LotRO:
    LotRO Beacon #153
    Spring Festival runs through April 13th
    Reminder of the extras being done to help people stuck at home for LotRO:
    * All instances, and skirmishes, including those in expansion packs, are open to everyone through April 30.
    * The Curator will be returning starting March 26 through April 30. (Bree's Boar Fountain is one of the locations.)
    * There will be a 10% virtue XP boost starting on March 26 through April 6.
    * The Baggins' Birthday event will be available March 26 through April 6. (Usually up for such a limited time in September that many characters miss out.)


March 22, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting : 5 p.m. EDT (Eastern Time, now in Daylight Savings time.) (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (10)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Arwen, Elrond, Eonwe, Lenwe, Miriel (Maha), Nar, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting:
            Draigoch run for LotRO Friday 9pm EDT (/servertime).
        Membership news:
            Next week, our Daylight Savings Times across the continents should align.
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "And the Halfling Forth Shall Stand" by Shirebound. Posted to our site today. "In Rivendell, Frodo thinks about who might have volunteered to be the Ring-bearer had he died of his wound." Frodo. 1 chapter.
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, StarCraft 2, Diablo 3, Hearthstone, Overwatch, (more Hearthstone), Heroes of the Storm, Conan Exiles
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien Moment:  it's easy to be misled into thinking Frodo was no fighter, until one reads such items as this one.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


March 18, 2020 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
       
The LOTRO game worlds will be brought down on Thursday, March 19th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 25.4.3. Here are the Release Notes. News on the raid, Remmorchant, the Net of Darkness, which will go up to Tier 3 on this update.


March 16, 2020 Monday

    Gaming / LotRO:
       
The LOTRO game worlds will be brought down on Tuesday, March 17th from 8:00 AM - 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 25.4.2.
        Spring Festival is March 19.
        The raid, Remmorchant, the Net of Darkness, will become available at Tier 3 beginning on Thursday March 19th at the standard reset time (3 am server time).


March 15, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time, now in Daylight Savings time. (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Falco, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Web news:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                Posted here today: "A Blessed Journey" by Shirebound.  "A small but significant moment during the Fellowship's final day in Rivendell." Aragorn, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Sam. 1 chapter
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of WarCraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Eve Online, Lord of the Rings Online, StarCraft II, Hearthstone
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien Moment: the ents are avenged upon the orcs.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

March 10, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            "The Rohan quests The Reeve of the Norcrofts and Wary Riders have been temporarily closed due to a bug preventing completion. We will correct this issue in the near future."
 

March 13, 2020 Friday

    Gaming / LoTRO:
        The LotR Beacon issue #152 is up.
            The Ill Omens Skirmish Event continues through March 18th.

March 12, 2020 Thursday

    Gaming / EVE Online:
        Pallando-(Valar) wrote up an article telling the recent history of the wars in space, in which he was involved.


March 9, 2020 Monday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 25.4.1 bug fix release notes.


March 8, 2020 Sunday
    Daylight Savings time
starts for Eastern time, which is Valar time. It's the old time plus one hour, so things happen earlier than before.

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time, now in Daylight Savings time. (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript:
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting
            World of Warcraft
        Membership news:
            Daylight Savings Time begins today for Eastern time, which is Valar time.
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "A Sense of Wonder" by Shirebound, posted on our story site today. "While in Rivendell, the discovery of one of Aragorn�s childhood toys gives Pippin an idea." Aragorn, Frodo, Pippin. 1 chapter.
        Gaming:
            General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Overwatch. More LotRO. StarCraft 2.
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien Moment and discussion of it, about the changing relationship of the smiths of Eregion with Sauron.
                Tangent: Forum group story. Tangents from that relating a particular character from our group story to some in other games and stories, rapidly going from serious discussion to, well, not.
        After-meeting:
            More fun chat.
            WoW: Blackrock Depths.
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
                Pixoji
                Hook
                Duck, think outside the flock


March 6, 2020 Friday

    Sunday is the start of Daylight Savings Time in the USA.


March 3, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Downtime tomorrow between 8 A.M. and noon Eastern for Update 25.4, which includes a new raid.


March 1, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Arwen, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting:
            Chat. WoW Classic servers we're on:
                Kurrinaxx horde side
                Hydraxian Waterlords, in Europe. Alliance and Horde.
                Windseeker
                Westfall
                Bloodsail Buccaneers
        Membership news:
            New member Imrahil-(V) scouted and tested by Arien-(Valar) Feb. 26, 2020.
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "In the Mind's Eye" by Shirebound, posted here today. "The Morgul knife blade used at Weathertop to wound Frodo was enspelled by the Nazg�l, as was the hilt that Aragorn carried with him to Rivendell. At the Ford of Bruinen, the wraith-sorcerer has one chance to activate the spell woven into the hilt, and influence its bearer." Aragorn, Arwen, Elrond, Frodo, Gandalf, Glorfindel, Merry, Pippin, Sam. 12 chapters.
            Mini-Tolkien chat about the morgul dagger.
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, World of Warcraft Classic, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Diablo 4, more WoW, Lord of the Rings Online, tabletop, Cookie Clicker.
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Magic weapons. The enemy had them and the free people had them. Not common but could be a real problem. Which ones can we come up with? Any book is fair game.
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
top

Feb. 26, 2020 Wednesday

    Welcome to the Valar Guild, Imrahil-(V)!
Arien-(Valar) tested and scouted. He's read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, preferring the Lord of the Rings as meant for an older audience. He seemed to enjoy the poetry section of the Tolkien Site. In gaming, he plays Word of Warcraft classic on the European server Hydraxian Waterlords and is a member of Arien's guild there called "The Conspiracy".


Feb. 23, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (co-chair), Varda (co-chair)
        Gaming:
            General reports: Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Starcraft II,
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Could the One Ring have been carried on a horse or by Bill the Pony, such as in the saddlebags? Or perhaps some other animal such as a dog or goat?
        After-meeting:
           Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


Feb. 16, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Fingolfin
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, StarCraft
        Tolkien:
            Trivia game:
                1. Frodo , Sam, Merry , Pippin and Aragorn  had a major assault by  .. what , where and how was the response?
                2. Where are the 8(!) known palantiri at the time of the start of the War of the Ring?
                3. Who was Mayor of Michel Delving before Sam?
                3. bonus question: After Will Whitfoot, and Before Will Whitfoot, who was acting Mayor of Michel Delving?
        After-meeting:
           Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon

Feb. 9, 2020 Sunday

    Actor Orson Bean, who voiced Bilbo and later Frodo in the animated Hobbit and Lord of the Rings has died at the age of 91, hit by a car. Thank you for your wonderful performances.

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Varda
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone
        Tolkien:
            Link sent by Arwen-(V): "Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold"
            Orson Bean, in memorium. ABC news report, link from Eonwe.
            Topic 1: comments on the animated movies.
            Topic 2: A question raised by the animated movies: why the Elves sail West, and what it takes to be permitted as a mortal to sail West
        After-meeting:
           Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


Feb. 4, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Tomorrow is Update 25.3.2. Downtime to put it in is expected to be 8 A.M. to noon. Changes made to a number of raids.


Feb. 2, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Fladrif, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Art by Deepgroover-(T), posted yesterday: "Thorin".
            Story by Shirebound, posted yesterday: "The Magic of a Wizard's Song".
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft,
        Tolkien:
            Link of YouTube music sent by Meriadoc-(V): "Luthien's Lament"
            Topic: What interactions can we think of between Valar and people of Middle-earth?
        After-meeting:
           Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


Feb. 1, 2020 Saturday

    Tolkien Site / Art:
        Cave of DeepGroover-(T):
            "Thorin". Model put together, added to, and painted.

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "The Magic of a Wizard's Song" by Shirebound. After the Council of Elrond, Sam has only one question. Bilbo, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, Sam. 1 chapter

top

Jan. 28, 2020 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 25.3.1 tomorrow, for hotfixes and new lootbox items, so the LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable from 8:00 AM - 2:00 PM Eastern (-5 GMT) on Wednesday, January 29th.


Jan. 26, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke) (9):
            Discord: Anarion, Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Celebrian, Elrond, Eonwe, Fladrif, Pallando, Varda (presiding)       
        Web:
            Tolkien Site: story by Shirebound yesterday "Where Many Paths and Errands Meet".
        Gaming:
            EVE Online: major report by Pallando
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Lord of the Rings Online.
                Starcraft 2. More on Heroes of the Storm. Dirt Rally 2, Chess
        Tolkien:
            Link
            Topic: LotR: a goal-directed pursuit that led to altered characters, situations, and relationships.       
        After-meeting:
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon


Jan. 25, 2020 Saturday

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "Where Many Paths and Errands Meet" by Shirebound.  "After the Council of Elrond, Legolas introduces himself to Bilbo... with surprising results." "This story is book verse � At the end of the Council of Elrond, only Frodo and Sam were definitely traveling South with the Ring. No one else had yet volunteered." 1 chapter.


Jan. 21, 2020 Tuesday

     Gaming / LotRO:
        Tomorrow, Wednesday Jan 22, will see the release of Update 25.3 including three new instances in the Minas Morgul expansion. Servers will be down for this from 8:00 A.M. to noon Eastern time.


Jan. 19, 2020 Sunday
 
    For Christopher Tolkien:
        Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online
            On the Ithil server, Dis (as Trinka) and Varda (as Fainan) attended the memorial service at the Party Tree held by the kinship "Grumpy Old Gits". For me, the two golden eagle kites represented father and son.
                Screenshot 1
                Screenshot 2

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (6)
            Discord: Anarion, Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elrond, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Story by Shirebound: "Spellbound" posted Jan 18.
        Gaming:
            General reports: World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Warcraft 3: Reforged, LotRO (more)
        Tolkien:
            Christopher Tolkien has left Arda.
        After-meeting:
            More chat.
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon 


Jan. 18, 2020 Saturday

    For Christopher Tolkien:
        On Jan. 16, the LotRO Devs met up at the Party Tree in his honor.
        All this weekend, the Winterstock bands are playing music in his honor (Landroval server).
            Screenshot: Winterstock band playing in his honor and a crowd (this is nearly continuous). The dragon flies low as if it were a spirit. (Firework provided by Fainan for the Valar Guild.)

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "Spellbound" by Shirebound.  "What are the Barrow-wights? Why did the wight tell Frodo that they were �waiting� for him? What did it plan for the hobbits, and why? How were the hobbits lured up to the Great Barrow? What explains why Frodo was treated differently than the other hobbits, awakened sooner, and found the strength to resist the call of the Ring in such a desperate situation? This story is my own look at the events on the Barrow-downs from the FOTR chapter �The Fog on the Barrow-downs�."
6 chapters. Hole-filler style, not AU.


Jan. 16, 2020 Thursday

    Namarie, Christopher Tolkien.
Nov. 21, 1924 - Jan. 15, 2020.


Jan. 12, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (8)
            Discord: Arien,  Arwen, Celebrian, Elrond, Eonwe, Falco, Ioreth, Varda (presiding)
        Membership News:
            Hobbit birthday gift link to the guild from Meriadoc-V.
        Web:
            Games Site:
                New section: World of WarCraft Basics as of the Shadowlands Expansion (So Far) .
                    Besides that handy link, this can also be found by going to the Games Site > Game Info > World of Warcraft > World of Warcraft Basics. Thank you, Eonwe!
            General News page:
                Question to the membership:
                    Would you personally prefer that the general News page to show the whole year, instead of the current attempt to move previous months into the archive listed at the bottom? Or no opinion?
                    Please type your vote: whole thing; short; no opinion. This vote can be given at the meeting, in our Discord, by email, or in-game in LotRO.
    Gaming News:
        General reports: World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, EVE Online
    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "Humble Gifts" by Shirebound. "The way to a man�s � or elf�s -- stomach is through a hobbit�s kitchen." 1 chapter. Posted here today.
    Votes so far:
        News page:
            No opinion as either way is fine: 1
            Whole thing: 1
        LotRO kin chest requests:
            Crafting materials: 2


Jan. 10, 2020 Friday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Issue 143 of the LotRO Beacon is now online.
        Coupon code: SLAYFAST. Free in-game at the LotRO store now through January 16. This is a Slayer Deed Accelerator (60 minutes).
        Winterstock VII begins Jan. 17 and goes through Monday Jan. 20 on the Landroval server.
            It's a fan-event gathering of bands playing music of all types, similar to Weatherstock. This one (as usual for Winterstock) is held on the frozen pond near the lower entrance to Silver Deep Mine in Thorin's Gate, in Ered Luin, starting at 1:00 P.M. Eastern with the band Gallic Villagers.


Jan. 9, 2020 Thursday

    Birthday present:
link from Meriadoc-(V) for his real life hobbit birthday: YouTube of "The Song of Beren and Luthien" performed by Clamavi de Profundis.

    Gaming / LotRO (Lord of the Rings Online):
        8:00 A.M. - 12:00 P.M. (noon) Eastern (and Valar) downtime for the Update 25.2 fixes. Here are the Release Notes.


Jan. 5, 2020 Sunday

Sunday Meeting: 5 p.m.  Eastern Time (LotRO /servertime 5:00 p.m.)
    The meeting is in the Discord Valar Guild channel under text channel "meeting_place".
Meeting Transcript
    Summary of the meeting:
        Attending (and spoke): (7)
            Discord: Arien,  Eonwe, Falco, Fingolfin, Ioreth, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
       
Membership:
           
Fingolfin-(V) made it to the Discord meeting for the first time and said his few words of introduction, as well as joining in the chat.
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                Story posted today: "Master of Bag End" by Shirebound".  "After Bilbo vanishes from the Birthday Party, and Gandalf leaves, Frodo tries to comprehend how his life has so suddenly changed. Over one memorable year, Merry, Pippin, and Sam help Frodo adjust to his role as Master of Bag End. 8 chapters.
        Gaming:
            General reports: Diablo 3 and its mini-game, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien has a lot of contrasting ideas throughout his books. Can we come up with any contrast examples? Any of his books are fair game.
        After-meeting:
            More chat.
            Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon (things to do while stuck in hole in the ground in Valinor)


Jan. 3, 2020 Friday

A toast to The Professor!

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, a gift given to the world on January 3, 1892.


Jan. 1, 2020 Wednesday

Happy New Year!
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