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News:

Jan. 1, 2023 Sunday

Happy New Year!

Sunday Meeting:

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

Dec. 25, 2022 Sunday

Merry Christmas!

Sunday Meeting:

When: 5 p.m. ET (Eastern 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 typed): (4)
            Discord: Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (After-meeting), Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic from Varda: A snowstorm on Caradhras appeared suspiciously localized and timed.
                Is the mountain alive? Did another power cause it? Did such things happen outside of Caradhras?
        After-meeting:
            Tolkien chat continued.
            (non) Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Dec. 18, 2022 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

When: 5 p.m. ET (Eastern 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 3, Diablo 2: Resurrected, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal
        Tolkien:
            Topic from Varda: The movies tend to mess with memories. This includes the Paths of the Dead section, so let's see who was actually there and what really happened in the book: RotK "The Passing of the Grey Company".
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Dec. 14, 2022 Wednesday

Gaming/ LotRO:
Today's update hotfix release notes for Update 34.1.1.

Dec. 11, 2022 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

When: 5 p.m. ET (Eastern 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Diablo 4, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic from Eonwe: How do the three Elven kingdoms differ in the LotR? Imladris, Lothlorien, and Mirkwood.
        After-meeting:
          (non) Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Dec. 7, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming/LotRO:
        Downtime 9 AM to 1 PM Eastern (/servertime) for Update 34.1.
            Yuletide Festival begins Dec. 8 (Thursday) running until Jan. 3. New steed: Snow-strider. The site has links to other Yuletide Festival guides as well.

Dec. 4, 2022 Sunday

Tolkien Site / Articles:
"The Geology of Middle-earth" by Sandalf13-(T)

Sunday Meeting:

When: 5 p.m. ET (Eastern 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (After-meeting), Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            New: Tolkien Encyclopedia/ Papers, Articles: "The Geology of Middle-earth" by Sandalf13-(T) posted today.
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
                Topic: Tolkien Moment when Sam and Frodo take on the Watchers.
        After-meeting:
                (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Dec. 2, 2022 Friday

Gaming / LotRO:
Update 34.0.2 came out today. Delving chest rewards now available. Here are the Release notes.

Nov. 30, 2022 Wednesday

Gaming/ LotRO:
Update 34.01 Release notes. Sarch Vorn, "The Black Grave" opens Dec 1, tomorrow!

Nov. 27, 2022 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

When: 5 p.m. ET (Eastern 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 typed): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo, Pallando, Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, Starcraft 2
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1 Eonwe's factoid: Elves had a word for "orange". The color and the fruit.
            Topic 2 Varda's Tolkien Moment: Aragorn's judgement after the War of the Ring, and notice JRRT's build-up as it goes
            Topic 3 Sandalf's question: Which one of Feanor's seven sons was the least like Feanor, in other words, which of Feanor's sons was the nicest guy out there?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
                New: nonograms (Japanese puzzles)

Nov. 20, 2022 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

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

Meeting Transcript

Nov. 16, 2022 Wednesday

    LotRO:
        Update 34: Before the Shadow release notes.

Nov. 14, 2022 Monday

    LotRO:
        Delving System: new system described in the Developer Diary by +Orion.
            See also Sept. 21, 2022 "An Introduction to the Delving System" guide.

Nov. 13, 2022 Sunday

Sunday Meeting:

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

Meeting Transcript

Nov. 6, 2022 Sunday
Daylight Savings time ends for Eastern time, which is Valar time, so the meeting today shifts with it.

Sunday Meeting:

When: 5 p.m. ET (Eastern 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Fangorn/Treebeard, Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Eonwe's guild-joining anniversary is today.
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Our common tongue
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews(plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Nov. 5, 2022 Saturday

Daylight Savings Time for Eastern (Valar time) changes to normal time tomorrow. Europe has already changed as of last week.

Nov. 2, 2022 Wednesday

LotRO:
Shadowfax server: players may now level to 115, and now includes Moria, Northern Mirkwood, and more.

Oct. 30, 2022 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 typed): (4)
            Discord: Arien (After-meeting), Ar-Pharazon, Sandalf, Eonwe (presiding)
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "A Shorter Cut" by Eonwe-(Valar) (posted here Oct. 28, 2022, and for the 25th Anniversary of the Valar Guild)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone
        Tolkien:
            RP post.
            Topic: What spooky stories might be told in Middle-earth?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Oct. 28, 2022 Friday

Tolkien Site / Stories:
"A Shorter Cut" by Eonwe-(Valar). Farmer Maggot's Mushroom Menace. Written for Halloween and the 25th Anniversary of the Valar Guild.

Oct. 23, 2022 Sunday

Tolkien Site/ Stories:
"Before the Black Gate" by Sandalf13-(T). The finale of the War of the Ring from Aragorn's view.

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 typed): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Arien's trip to Germany
        Web:
            Tolkien Site / Stories:
                "Before the Black Gate" by Sandalf13-(T) (see above)
        Gaming:
            Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2
        Tolkien:
            Topic: How did the various peoples or particular characters deal with the end of the War of the Ring?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
            Sandalf's move.

Oct. 16, 2022 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 typed): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Sandalf13
        Gaming:
            Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Overwatch2, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien game using words to do with Hobbits.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews(plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Oct. 11, 2022 Tuesday

Gaming / LotRO:
Wednesday Oct 12 brings Update 33.2.2 for extended maintenance plus the update. The release notes will be up on Wednesday. Downtime on Wednesday is expected to be between 5 A.M. and 2 P.M. Eastern (/servertime).

October 9, 2022 Sunday

Final day of the Anniversary chat marathon!

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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Tolkien Site /Articles/ Papers:
                "Denethor as Macbeth: The Tragedy of the Last Ruling Steward of Gondor" by Sandalf13-(T). Posted Oct 3.
        Gaming:
            Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Diablo 2: Resurrected, Eve Online
            The State of Valar Gaming report
        Tolkien:
            Topic: What happened to the Fellowship after the War of the Ring?
            Where to next for the Valar Guild?
                Arien's suggestion:
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

October 4, 2022 Tuesday

Happy 25th Anniversary, Valar Guild!

The Anniversary page includes happenings.

October 3, 2022 Monday

Tolkien Site / Articles (and Papers later on when the series is complete):
"Denethor as Macbeth: The Tragedy of the Last Ruling Steward of Gondor" by Sandalf13-(T).

October 2, 2022 Sunday

    Anniversary incoming at high speed!
    Oct 4 (Tuesday) is the 25th Anniversary of the Valar Guild!
    Theme is "Rings of Power" as in any kind of ring with some sort of power, such as the One Ring, wedding ring, bindstones, mushroom fairy ring, ring of well-wishers at a birthday party, etc.
    Chat marathon begins today in Discord at the meeting. Feel free to say hi, post a Tolkien moment, talk about games. Anyone who posts in Discord meeting_place during October is a participant to be mentioned on the Anniversary page. (You posted in Harbor? Might work, especially if you let Varda know.)
    Oct 4 LotRO ride and fireworks for Valarites and guild-friends and family of guild folk and anybody that just wants to join in the line. First ride is at noon /servertime (which is Eastern) starting at West Bree. Second ride is 5pm starting at Bree. Feel free to send in your best screenshots of the rides to Varda to put on the Anniversary page.
    All during October, feel free to email articles, stories, poetry, and theme-related screenshots to Varda for the Anniversary page. Mention that it's for the Anniversary. Please use your guild name since I may not know you from your email or other names and would like to give proper credit.

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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
            Gimli-(V) came into the Discord voice chat and chatted for a bit.
        Membership news:
            Sandalf's birthday is today!
            Chat marathon begins today.
        Web:
            Tolkien Site/Stories:
                Three new stories by Eonwe-(Valar) (see below)
            Tolkien Site/Art:
                Art by Ar-Pharazon-(V) (see below)
            Games Site Mass Update being coded now. Please email Eonwe or message on Discord.
            Anniversary Page started. Send your additions to Varda to be placed on the page.
        Gaming:
            Eve Online, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone,
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Sauron was not alone in thinking the Valar had abandoned the people of Middle-earth. Was there reason to believe so? Was it true?
        After-meeting:
            Chatting.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
            More chatting (through next meeting)

Tolkien Site / Art:
    "Ring Meets Dragon", or alternatively "A Ring's Last Moments" by Ar-Pharazon-(V).
        Used for the Anniversary page head.

Tolkien Site / Stories:
    Three stories by Eonwe-(Valar):
        "Cormamarth, Cormamaranwe", meaning "Ring of Doom (or Fate), Ring of Destiny". Written for the 25th Anniversary.
        "Aráto", meaning "Champion". In the Narn I Auros series from the point of view of Auros and Farothel's friend/Aldawë's sister Dinmir. Auros is about 25 years old, the equivalent of a 10-year old human.
        "Turnabout Is...". Halloween story. In the Narn I Auros series in autumn a couple of months after "Aráto".

September 25,2022 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 typed): (5)
          Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
          Games Site Mass Update taking info through Friday, before it goes into the State of Valar Gaming report and updating the Games Site.
                Please email Eonwe or message on Discord.
            Anniversary page started for the guild's 25th. Send your additions to Varda to be placed on the page.
            Tolkien Site and Anniversary page story: "We Won!"
        Gaming:
            Games Site Mass Update (GSMU) emails are out. Please send in your gaming info by September 30th to Eonwe-(Valar).
            World of Warcraft, Diablo 2: Resurrected, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online, Eve Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: How secret was Aragorn's identity among the Wise?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

September 23, 2022 Friday

Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
Introducing the new Delving system. Increase or decrease the difficulty with gems. Used in missions for "Before the Shadow". The intent is to add the Delving system to previous content such as instances as well. Higher difficulties give higher rewards.

September 22, 2022 Thursday

    Baggins' Birthday!
        September 22, 2890 Bilbo born in the Shire.
        September 22, 2968 Birth of Frodo.

    Recommendation: gift food and/or drink (or pipeweed, or your choice) to fellow Valarites and innocent passersby, at a location of your choice in your game or by mail or whatever works in your game.

    Gaming /Lord of the Rings Online:
        Baggins' Birthday quest: or FibroJedi's guide
            Auto-bestowed if the character has not yet done the quest.
                It says to speak with Frodo (who is in Rivendell's Last Homely House), who gives the quest. He sends the character to Gaffer Gamgee in Hobbiton in the Shire. The Gaffer sets up multiple quests to collect stories about Bilbo. Once collected, bring the tales to Bilbo and wait for his reactions. And of course, receive your Hobbit birthday present as reward.
                If not completed one year, the quest line can be continued from that point to a later year.

        The inevitable bug report after a big update:

Some items are currently returning an error of "The skill cannot be used" and are not able to be activated.
This bug impacts Hope tokens, removal salves, festival consumables, some mitigation tomes and other items.
This issue will be corrected in our next game update.
Items producing this error will not be consumed.

September 21, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
        The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Wednesday, September 21st from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 33.2.
            New class combos.
            All minstrel class trees are being reset. They will need to re-spend Class points and save preferred specs. (Maybe take a screenshot of how you had your traits before.)
            New cosmetic items ahead of the Harvestmath Festival, which runs from Oct 1 at 10 A.M. through Nov 1.
            Work was done on most classes, especially the minstrel.
            The Reward Track for Legendary Items will be speeded up for most levels. However levels 131-140 remain the same and will be slowed later.
            PvMP changes, lots of them.
            Various German and French translation errors are repaired, including for French maps.
            Known issue: The Epic Prologue - 'Prologue: A Sea Unsettled' is not bestowed to High Elf Burglars after completing the intro.

September 20, 2022 Tuesday

    Gaming / Eve Online:
        News from Pallando-(Valar):
            "My team will be competing in the feeder tournament for Eve Online Alliance Tournament XVIII Saturday, October 1 @ 16:20 UTC/12:20PM EDT and 20:40 UTC/4:40PM EDT. Matches start at 15:00 UTC/11:00AM EDT and will all be streamed on https://twitch.tv/ccp. If we do well, we'll be back the next weekend on the 8th (match times TBD)."

    Tolkien Site / Stories:
        "We Won!" a short story by Varda-(Valar). An orc farmer handles the news of a win by Sauron's side. Written for the 25th Anniversary of the Valar Guild, coming up October 4.

September 18, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
           Games Site Mass Update (GSMU) emails are out. Please send in your gaming info by September 30th to Eonwe-(Valar).
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: How does Sauron attack?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

September 13, 2022 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Event: "The Tale of the Shipwrecked Mariners", now through Sept 19 (which is Talk Like a Pirate Day). Start with Argirion north of the Brandywine Bridge in Breeland.
        Also: coupon code good from today until Sept 22 for a simple rally horn: RALLYTOYOURSIDE

September 11, 2022 Sunday

We remember.

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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Irmo, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            Games Site Mass Update (GSMU) emails are out. Please send in your gaming info by September 30th to Eonwe-(Valar).
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft 2, Eve Online. Not mentioned: a number of members play Minecraft.
        Tolkien:
            Anniversary: Theme suggestions being taken. So far:
                1. Rings: what did JRRT actually say about the fate of the Rings of Power?
                2. Dragonbreath. Use of fire or cold by dragons. (from the Tolkien topic below)
            Topic: How do dragons make fire breath?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

September 4, 2022 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 typed): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Eonwe, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Arien-(Valar)'s dad passed away yesterday.
            Elladan-(V) is getting married soon!
        Web:
            Tolkien Site/ Stories: "Tulca" by Eonwe-(Valar)
        Gaming:
            Games Site Mass Update (GSMU) emails are going out tonight. If you didn't get one, we don't have your correct email. Please contact Eonwe by email, Discord, in-game, or on the Forum, or contact Varda to send it on to Eonwe.
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1: Tolkien Moment: the elves' fight up north while Helm's Deep and many other battles were occurring elsewhere.
            Topic 2: Rings of Power
        After-meeting:
          General chat: more on RoP, strong female characters, jobs and savings.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Rings of Power:
        Amazon site, can watch from here with sub.
        Ratings sites: (ratings keep moving as the show is still new)
            Rotten Tomatoes
                Critic and User scores (Critics 84, Users 39 on Sept 5) (Some reviews) (Includes episode info at the bottom including potential spoilers)
            Metacritic (front page shows critics' score, not users)
                Critic and User scores (Critics 71, Users 1.9 on Sept 5)
                User Score and Rating, also reviews
             IMDB (wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon)
                User Reviews
                User Ratings (6.8 of 10 on Sept 5)

September 2, 2022 Friday

Rings of Power series on Amazon Prime.

September 1, 2022 Thursday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
        Code: TRACKCREATURE   Good from Sept 1-8.
        Late September, pre-purchase should be available for a mini-expansion that is coming out called "Before the Shadow", having to do with Boromir. VIP-only.

August 31, 2022 Wednesday

Tolkien Site / Stories:
"Tulca" by Eonwe-(Valar). A tale of young Auros and friends.

August 28, 2022 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 typed): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Diablo 2: Resurrected, Hearthstone, Starcraft 2, more LotRO, Starcraft 2
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien Moment - the eagles come for Frodo and Sam.
                Question: Were they from Radagast or Manwe?
        After-meeting:
            More Tolkien chat, related to Feanor.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
                Kongregate got a new flashplayer called "Ruffle" that seems more user friendly and might bring back real flashgaming.

August 21, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Pallando (After), Sandalf13 (Before and After), Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Warcraft 3: Reforged, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 3 (more), Eve Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Oath stone
        After-meeting:.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

August 17, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        The Reward Track has now restarted for the next three-month period, including new rewards, for track number three.
        The Virtue cap has increased to 82.
        The Legendary Item levels now go up to 480.

August 14, 2022 Sunday

Tolkien Site / Articles:
"The Last Line in Tolkien" by Sandalf13-(T).

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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
            Seen during the week in Europe: Shelob, Helm
        Web:
            Tolkien Site/ Articles:
                "The Last Line in Tolkien" by Sandalf13-(T) (see Tolkien Site news above the Sunday Meeting)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: How was the problem of Morgoth's harm to Arda begun and how was it handled?
        After-meeting:.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

August 10, 2022 Wednesday

Gaming / LotRO:
Our Anor kin has been disbanded and moved to Crickhollow today, ahead of SSG's closing of the Anor server on August 31. Come on over to either Landroval or Crickhollow with your Anor characters! Many of us have a room problem for characters on Anor, or duplicate character problem, so we have this alternative. To transfer, go the Launcher (not character page) and click the button for Transfer located just below Play. The transfer off is free. Don't forget to type /joinchannel Valar to help find the lost, the ones whose names are taken already and show up as Name-1 (with a free rename). We have an island kin house on Crickhollow set up and started loading it; banker, some deco. some crafting stations. Your help is wanted!

August 7, 2022 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 typed): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Ossë, Treebeard, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Diablo Immortal, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Looking for a suffix to create a diminutive form of a name.
        After-meeting:.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews(plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

July 31, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Ar-Pharazon was having an ear problem causing dizziness and nausea, so he was *egad* late!
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
            For Star Trek fans (gaming or otherwise), namarie Uhura.
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Deaths of great ones (Fingon, Sauron, and Saruman) and the mysterious wind afterwards.
        After-meeting:.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

July 27, 2022 Wednesday

Gaming / LotRO:
Wednesday downtime from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. to bring in Update 3.1.1.

July 24, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda
        Membership news:
            Ioreth-(V) is going into the hospital for yet another cancer removal operation in a couple of days. Please send your best wishes and prayers.
            Dis-(V) is back from the hospital, where she was treated for pneumonia and sepsis.
        Web:
        Gaming:
          World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft 2, Diablo 3, Diablo Immortal
        Tolkien:
            Topic 1: Who's stronger: Gandalf or the Witch-King?
            Topic 2: Riddles are serious. Not even Gollum would be expected to really cheat in a riddle-game. Why would that be?
            Topic 3: Why are Hobbits, that we know are descended from Man, so different from Man? It's been suggested that they were humans that crossed in long-ago times with petty dwarves. The discussion considered that and a variety of other possibilities.
        After-meeting:
            Tolkien chat continues.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

July 19, 2022 Tuesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Wednesday, July 20th from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 33.1: "The Further Adventures of Elladan and Elrohir".

July 17, 2022 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 typed): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Sandalf13
        Gaming:
              World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Do we have any idea what the inhabitants of Middle-earth did to beat the heat?
        After-meeting:
          (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

July 10, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Pallando, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, Starcraft2, Eve Online, Heroes of the Storm, Expeditions: Rome
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Contracts
        After-meeting:
            More gaming news
          RP
          (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

July 4, 2022 Monday

Happy July 4th!

May the Fourth be with you!

July 3, 2022 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 typed): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Gimli, Pallando, Sandalf13, Shelob, Varda
        Gaming:
              World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 2, Overwatch, Hearthstone
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Dangerous. Comments by book-Gandalf.
        After-meeting:
          (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

June 26, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Cenedra/Eowyn, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Overwatch
        Tolkien:
            Topic: "Giving up" the Ring. No one actually hands it to the next bearer. Is that true or false?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

June 23, 2022 Thursday

LotRO Code RALLYHORNTIME for a simple rally horn x1. Code works for the week of June 23-30.

June 22, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Producer +Raninia's letter for future plans for the game. Summary below.
            Fifteenth Anniversary year continues, not all the new stuff coming out is being told to us yet. Refinements come with every patch.
            Late July:
                Update 33.1: Further Adventures continues this time with Elladan and Elrohir.
                Treasure Bugan event returns, since it was popular, with updates.
            August:
                Farmer's Faire with updates.
                Rewards Track for the LI's moves to Season Three, in mid-August.
                                Shadowfax, difficulty slider server with fast progression, around August 31 progresses to Far Anorien and the Wastes, with a level cap increase to 105.
                Anor, the first Legendary server, shuts down. Free transfers to any of the live worlds.
            Surprise coming this summer, not telling yet.
            September:
                Update 33.2: expanding available classes to more races:
                    Dwarfs and Stout-axes will now be able to become Captains and Wardens;
                    Elves and High Elves add Burglars
                    Hobbits add Lore-masters and Champions
                    Humans add Rune-keepers.

June 19, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elrond, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            RP forum story discussion started during Membership news.
            Stories by Eonwe put online Jan 17: "Horseplay", "Apple a Day".
        Gaming:
              World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Warcraft 3: Reforged, Final Fantasy XIV
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Which character in the LoTR develops/grows/matures(?) the most through the course of the story?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

June 17, 20220 Friday

    Tolkien Site: Stories
        Stories by Eonwe-(Valar) early in his Narn I Auros series, before Dagor Coronlos. Emailed June 11, 2022.
            "Horseplay". "Introduces Auros and his cousin Farothel to their soon-to-be friend Aldawë and his sister Dinmir."
            "Apple a Day". Three years after "Horseplay". Written in the 100-word challenge form called a Drabble.

June 15, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Midsummer Festival is here, with Aragorn and Arwen's wedding and celebration, lasting through July 10.
            Guide link to joining into the festival.

June 12, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Ioreth, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Stories sent in by Eonwe, should be coming online during this next week.
        Gaming:
              World of Warcraft, Overwatch 2, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 4
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Historians, especially ones that "wrote" the stories.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
        Links to the place showing why the link is in the chat:
            Today's are related to the Tolkien topic:
            Link: Ghostbusters' librarian
            Link: Sil as a YouTube
            Link: Pengolodh - Parf Edhellen: an elvish dictionary
            Link: JRRT

June 5, 2022 Sunday

Tolkien Site / Articles > Papers:
    Sandalf13-(T)'s essay collection has begun being posted. More will be coming as they are updated to be ready for the site. He would like to hear comments on his work, which can be done by email from his author's site, Discord at Valar Guild meetings, and on our forum in the section under Tolkien/Valar Guild Tolkien Site Discussion
        Foreword
        A Case of Influence: Aragorn as Sherlock Holmes

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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Way-After-meeting), Ioreth, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
          Foreword by Sandalf
            A Case of Influence: Aragorn as Sherlock Holmes essay by Sandalf
        Gaming:
            Valar Guild Games Site link
            World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: In the movies, Pippin and Merry get Treebeard to take them out of Fangorn Forest, but work it so that he goes where he can see the destruction of the rowan forest and see that Saruman did it. This is probably necessary for a visual medium like a movie, but what happened in the book instead?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
        Links to the place showing why the link is in the chat:
            Link: Besom definition, as it was used by JRRT describing Treebeard's beard when angry.

May 29, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Tolkien Moment concerning the creation of Ardas 1 and 2.
            Topic: Timelines for sailing ships.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Also some Blizzard games.
        Links to the place showing why the link is in the chat:
            Link: supposed Neanderthal village
          Link: first link to the stilt village
            Link: second link to the stilt village on Lake Constance

May 27, 2022 Friday

Gaming / LotRO:
Mac OS will no longer be given support. Here's the article with more detail from LotRO.com.

May 25, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 33.0.5: (some highlights below)
            The Buried Treasure event begins today and runs through May 30.
            Bridles! The new bridles are not the old Legendary Items but come with stats already. Barter for them from the Eastemnet Miscellany Quartermasters in various Rohan hubs.
            Problems with the 64 bit game client? "Fixed an issue with the user preferences that was preventing many people from launching the 64-bit game client. The 32-bit and 64-bit game client will now share a single UserPreferences.ini file."
            Fixes for RK and LM classes.

May 22, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
      Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Eve Online
        Tolkien:
            Sandalf's discoveries while hunting down a citation for a Tolkien article.
            Arien found a stack answer link for creation myths that JRRT might have known.
            Topic: Intro attempt
            Topic discussion: What examples can we show where JRRT used myth/folklore references to explain natural phenomena?
      After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
        Links to the place showing why the link is in the chat:
            Links: tracking down citation for a Tolkien article
            Link: stackanswer - are-there-real-world-creation-myths-that-inspired-the-silmarillion
            Link: music: Runrig - Protect And Survive
            Link: music: - Legends Never Die

May 15, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Diablo 3, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Eve Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: In Tolkien's works, what is the difference in approach between Good and Evil in gaining followers? Start with Evil
        After-meeting:
            Continued chat.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
        Links to the place showing why the link is in the chat:
            Link: Einstein and Goldschmidt
            Link: Flight of Dragons: Death of Sir Orrin Neville-Smythe
          Link: Flight of Dragons: Title Song

May 8, 2022 Sunday

Happy Mother'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 typed): (8)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Ioreth, Pallando, Sandalf13, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Warcraft: Arclight Rumble, Lord of the Rings Online, Overwatch, Hearthstone, FFXIV
        Tolkien:
            Topic: How the first chapter of the LotR snowballed from a simple start into what became one of the biggest stories that hit the market. (Discussion never started.)
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon.

May 4, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 33.0.2 "The Yondershire" released today. (This is their name for the North Farthing, including the book places of Nobottle and Long Cleeve.)
        The expansion "Fate of Gundabad" and the Brawler class is now available for LotRO points instead of money, in the LotRO store in-game.

May 1, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Forum: New RP story posts: RP post from Auros mentioned, RP posting and how to come up with names for weapons etc, RP upcoming week's posting.
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Diablo Immortal, Overwatch 2, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Were entwives walking the Shire? How would the Ents find out if so?
            Topic (in After-meeting): problems with the geology of Tolkien's mountain ranges.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon: COLORUID-2. Includes Game of Thrones; Blizzard games Hearthstone and World of Warcraft.
        List of where other links came up (happens a lot). Below are the links to the actual thingies.
          *Link: LotRO soundtrack on LotRO.com for the 15th Anniversary
            *Link: LotRo soundtrack on YouTube for the 15th Anniversary
            *Link: dartboard darts with image of Phar's WoW bear druid on the fletching
            *Link: Space - Female of the Species
          *Link: Clamavi de Profundis - Lament for Boromir
            *Link: Runrig - Book of Golden Stories

April 29, 2022 Friday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            "Helm's Deep arrives on Shadowfax on May 4th"
                "The Legendary World of Shadowfax will reach Helm's Deep with a level cap of 95 on May 4th, 2022."

April 28, 2022 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            "Listen to our new 15th Anniversary Soundtrack on LotRO. com"
            It's also on YouTube with the different tracks available on the side.

April 27, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Endgame raid:
            News from the launcher:
                Tier 5 of The Hiddenhoard of Abnankara will open at 12:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) on Thursday, May 5th.
                        The Leading the Charge end date for all tiers of the raid is now 3:00 AM Eastern on June 16th.

April 26, 2022 Tuesday

Gaming / LotRO:
Update 33.0.1. Downtime should be between 9 am and 1 pm Eastern (/servertime).

April 24, 2022 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 typed): (7)
          Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Celebrian, Elrond, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Overwatch, Final Fantasy XIV, Guild Wars 2, EVE Online, StarCraft 2, Star Trek Online
          Question from Sandalf, non-gamer considering trying it: What is gaming to you?
        Tolkien:
          RP post for our long-running forum story.
            Tolkien Moment: The Land of Gift. A happy, beautiful moment of reward. Part of the loyalty theme in the Lord of the Rings books.
        After-meeting:
            A bit more chat.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games Hearthstone and World of Warcraft.
        List of where other interesting links came up:
            *Kirby's idea of a good morning
            *Bible Gateway (for a comment on the Tolkien topic)

April 21, 2022 Thursday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Worlds are back up!
            https://www.lotro.com/news/lotro-downtime-042022-info

"The game worlds were brought down on Wednesday, April 20th to correct an issue with some Rune-keeper satchels not appearing in inventory. We have rolled back the game worlds to an earlier state from this morning. Please note that your game world progress is back to the state it was as of 7:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) this morning.
"Rune-keeper characters will see their proper items after logging into the game world. We apologize for today's issues. Players who made purchases in the LOTRO Store after 7:00 AM Eastern through the worlds being brought down today will see their purchases automatically refunded over the next 24 hours. If you previously claimed your 15th Anniversary gifts you will receive them again when you next log in."

April 20, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 33: The Yondershire.
            "UPDATE 11:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT): We are currently working to reopen the game worlds, and we expect to be able to reopen the worlds tomorrow morning (Thursday, April 21st Eastern Daylight Time.) We will have more information in about 12 hours.
            "We have brought down the game worlds while we investigate an issue with Runekeeper satchels. We will keep you updated."

April 19, 2022 Tuesday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online (LotRO):
        Wednesday Update 33: The Yondershire comes out.
        The Anniversary Event begins at 10:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT) on April 20th, 2022, and runs until 3:00 AM Eastern on May 11th.

April 17, 2022 Sunday

Happy Easter!

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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Falco, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Ioreth
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Diablo 2, Overwatch, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Tolkien Moment: Gandalf recognizes Aragorn as king in front of the Fellowship.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
        List of where other interesting links came up (happens a lot):
            *Rings poem sung by Blind Guardian
            *Sound of Storm by Blind Guardian
            *Do You Trust Me from the Aladdin movie

April 10, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Next Sunday is Easter, but a meeting will still be held, partly because it's already night for our European members by then.
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Diablo 3, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Forum RP forum story activity
            YouTube Amazon TV series in Middle-earth.
            Book: Tales from the Perilous Realm with a batch of JRRT's short stories.
            Silmarillion discussion group on LotRO Saturdays on Landroval server in the Last Homely House in the Hall of Fire done in-game, going chapter by chapter.
            Topic discussed here today: Contrast between Morgoth and Manwe.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
        List of where other interesting links came up (happens a lot):
            (The Gaming section above always contains gaming links, but will not be re-listed here.)
            *Tolkien Untangled. YouTube concerning the top ten fears about the upcoming Amazon story. (during Tolkien section)
            *Sesame Street's Game of Chairs You Tube. (during Tolkien section)
            *Pong game. (during After-meeting)
            *Sandalf. Photos of: 1 and 2. (during After-meeting. See meeting notes contents to go to them.)
            *Music by Kevin MacLeod

April 6, 2022 Tuesday

Gaming / LotRO:
Wednesday downtime for Update 32.0.7 for the Hiddenhorde additions and changes.

April 3, 2022 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

March 31, 2022 Friday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Downtime today for Update 32.0.6.
            "The Legendary Items Reward Track now has a timer displaying the time remaining to claim earned rewards."
            Fixes for "Fate of Gundabad".
            Legendary servers:
                The Spring Festival's challenge "Bee's Big Business" deed can now be completed as a small or full-sized Fellowship.
                The Spring Festival's challenge "Flower Power" quest can now be completed as a small or full-sized Fellowship.

        Anor Legendary server:
                "The level cap for the server Anor increases to 130 on Wednesday, April 13th, 2022 with the opening of access to Minas Morgul, The War of Three Peaks, and The Blood of Azog."

March 27, 2022 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

March 23, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 32.05 comes out today, requiring downtime from around 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. EDT.
            Fixes for the Hiddenhoard raid (thank you!).
            "Tier 4 of the Hiddenhoard of Abnankï¿½ra will open at Noon Eastern on Thursday, April 7th. Tier 5 will release later in April. The Leading the Charge Deeds for all tiers will remain active until 3:00 AM Eastern on May 19th, 2022."

March 20, 2022 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 typed): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding), Ioreth, Sandalf13, Shelob Varda
            Fladrif sighting
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Overwatch, Hearthstone; Kirby and the Forgotten Land
        Tolkien:
            The first two topics were mentioned or re-mentioned about the same time so the chat goes back and forth between them, then continued into After-meeting.
            Topic: Trotter the Hobbit morphs to Aragorn the Man
            Topic: Flying amongst the Ainur.
            Topic (during After-meeting): Dwarven females and males, children.
        After-meeting:
          (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

        List of where other interesting links came up during the meeting (happens a lot):
            *Kirby and the Forgotten Land
            *Creation story (Eru's creation)
            *Chicken (chicken belongs to Ioreth)
            *Tolkien narrates the Ride of the Rohirrim
            *Ar-Pharazon's female dwarf character

March 18, 2022 Friday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Producer's Letter, from Producer Raninia, with news on plans for Lord of the Rings Online for April and June. Excerpts:
            Update 30 should come out in late April including a new area for Hobbit recluses and troublemakers called the Yondershire. Such folk tend to simply not want to be bullied by Lotho.
            The Anniversary Festival will bring a new instance: A Flurry of Fireworks.
            VIP will be getting updates. Some that can be mentioned now are automatically receiving the entire standard expansions for Mordor, Minas Morgul, and the War of Three Peaks.
            A month ago, Rangers and Ruins came out including the Premium Wallet, Gold Currency Cap, and Virtue, Race, and Class trait slots for free to all players.
            Coming up in addition to this, with Update 33 the High Elf race will be free for all players. Now everyone can play as those who beheld the beauty of Valinor, and play as a Captain, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Lore-master, Minstrel, Rune-keeper, Warden, or Brawler through all of Middle-earth. Also, Rune-keepers, Wardens, and Beornings will now be available for all players to play. With this update, all quests, areas, instances, and expansions released between the original launch of LOTRO back in 2007 and up to ï¿½ and including! - the release of Helmï¿½s Deep will be available for free to everyone. Quest, explore, and craft your way to level 95 to your heartï¿½s content.
            Regular servers (Landroval for us), happening about every patch: improve performance and lag, keep adjusting class balance, continue bug-fixing, further refining the new Legendary Item system, and bring Season 2 of the Legendary Item Reward Track.
            Legendary server:
                Anor April 13: bringing players there to Isildurï¿½s desecrated fortress city of Minas Morgul, and level cap 130.
            Difficulty servers:
                Shadowfax May 4: progress to the fabled stronghold of Rohan, Helmï¿½s Deep, and its level cap of 95, which will now be accessible to any VIP at no added cost.
                Shadowfax June 29: marching forward to the half-ruined lands of Gondor and Old Anorien.
                Treebeard June 29: second jump, this time to Mirkwood.
            And more will be coming out too, but not ready to tell.

March 16, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
        https://www.lotro.com/update-notes/lotro-update-32-0-4-release-notes-en
            Spring Festival begins: March 17th 10 AM EDT through April 5.
            A new embers barter vendor, "Overseer - Hiddenhoard Raid Reward Vendor" can now be found in Zidir-nesad, The Steepset in Mï¿½ttugard.

March 13, 2022 Sunday

Daylight Savings Time hits Valar Time (Eastern), so we just lost one hour of sleep and are trying not to be an hour late to everything. Meeting Time of 5 P.M. is now called 6 P.M. And of course it's out of synch with Europe, sorry! We shall muddle through.

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 typed): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding Tolkien), Pallando, Sandalf13, Shelob, Varda (presiding first part)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Eve Online, Overwatch, Diablo 3, Starcraft 2, Lord of the Rings Online, Minecraft
        Tolkien:
            Topic: The War of Wrath is over, Eonwï¿½ and the Armies of the Valar are victorious, and Maglor and Maedhros are contemplating the fulfillment of their oath.
            Topic (during After-meeting): Last Days of Numenor
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

March 11, 2022 Friday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        LotRO Beacon Issue #39
            Spring Festival will run from March 17 through April 5.
            Code SLICEOFTHEPIE, now through March 17th, for 100% Crafting XP item.

March 9, 2022 Wednesday

    (Yes, sometimes I put stuff up for its day rather than the day of notification. Lucky you!)
    Gaming / LotRO:
        From the launcher:
            "The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Wednesday, March 9th from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) to release Update 32.0.3"
                The title "Leading the Charge" will still be do-able until 3 A.M. EST April 21.

March 7, 2022 Monday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        From the launcher:
            "UPDATE: Log in issues for Evernight, Shadowfax and Sirannon have been resolved.

March 6, 2022 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 typed): (5)
        Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
    Gaming:
        World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Hearthstone
    Tolkien:
        Topic: Ioreth found a group (and invited Varda) that chats about the Silmarillion in LotRO Landroval server on Sundays [Note: correction Saturdays] 8pm EST in Rivendell, the Last Homely House, The Hall of Fire for about an hour and a half. Also setting up Discord. Others can come join in.
        Topic: Do we want to try again to go chapter by chapter (maybe chapter the first half and free-wheeling tangents into other books last half?). If we do, which book should we start with?
            Hobbit 2 votes. LotR suggested.
        Topic: Smith of Wooton Major
    After-meeting:
      (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

March 3, 2022 Thursday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
        News from the launcher:
            "Rohan and Wildermore arrive on Shadowfax!
                "Players on the Legendary Server of Shadowfax can now progress into the realms of Rohan and Wildermore, with a new level cap of 85."

March 2, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
        News from the launcher:
            Maintenance and release of Update 32.0.2

Feb. 27, 2022 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 typed): (5)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon (After-meeting), Eonwe, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Forum: we have a new post for our RP story from Arien.
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic from Eonwe: Nienna and Melkor
            Topic from Sandalf13: Influence ratio of different characters in the books.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon.

Feb. 25, 2022 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue #238.
        Code SUREFOOTED through March 3rd, for Free Fall Injury Immunity x5.
    Fibrojedi's guide. This link goes to a guide to the new Angle of Mitheithel area that is designed for levels 40 through 45, although higher levels can run it too.
        Barter, called "Marks of the Angle", go directly to the Wallet. Quest rewards are Bound to Account so any combat gear may be passed on to alts instead.
        This guide includes the location of the stablemasters that have changed to elk mounts that need rediscovered to use.

    Discord has new Terms of Service including what we may or may not say.

Feb. 24, 2022 Thursday

Gaming / LotRO:
News from the launcher concerning the new raid:

Known Issue: Hiddenhoard of Abnankï¿½ra - Hrï¿½mil Frost-heart:
We are currently working to correct an issue that can cause the Hrï¿½mil Frost-heart encounter to not reset properly if you are defeated after entering the Mind of the Frost-heart. This will be corrected in the near future and we apologize for the inconvenience.

Feb. 23, 2022 Wednesday

Gaming / LotRO:
Downtime for Update 32.0.1 between 9 A.M. and 1 P.M. Eastern.

Feb. 20, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon (After-meeting), Eonwe (presiding), Sandalf13, Shelob, Varda
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: media Tolkien. Amazon tv show German trailer, English trailer. Rohirrim anime write-up on Wikipedia. Rohirrim anime discussion on YouTube by Nerd of the Rings and suggested to us by Shelob. Remarks about movies PJ and Rankin-Bass.
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Feb. 18, 2022 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue #237
        Code RALLYROUND for a simple rally horn, through February 24.

    Saul Zaentz to Sell Movie and Game Rights for Tolkien at auction.

Feb. 16, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        Update 32 "Rangers and Ruins" went live. Release notes here. (some of them are below)
            Raid "The Hiddenhoard of Abnankï¿½ra" opens Feb 24.
                Talk to Prince Durin at Zidir-nesad, the Steepset in Mount Gundabad to begin the quest to discover the Hiddenhoard! It is recommended, but not required that you complete the tale of The Legacy of Durin and the Trials of the Dwarves before entering the Hiddenhoard of Abnankï¿½ra.
                The Leading the Charge Deed is available to earn until 3:00 AM Eastern (-5 GMT) on April 21st, 2022.
            Housing (premium) in Erebor now open. To get it, talk to Gï¿½rthi Lockwarden in the Broker's Office in Bree as well as within Erebor in Tumnu-dï¿½m, The Dwelling-halls.
            Legendary Track: "The Legendary Items Reward Track is now available to all players starting at level 45! This track can be accessed through the Menu (Character → Reward Track). As you play the game and collect Item XP it'll progress the track throughout the season, and if you get all the way to the end there is a repeatable goal for more rewards! We'll refresh the track every season, and the frequency, drop rate, and kind of rewards will change over time. The Legendary Items Reward Track is Account-based, so all of your characters on each world will contribute to the Rewards track, and you can select the rewards on whatever character you prefer."
                 Known issue: "The Legendary Items Reward Track currently uses the wrong icon and does not yet have a hotkey for access. Access is through the Menu, under Character options."
            New area: The Angle of Mitheithel is a new area for levels 40 to 45.
            Crafting: "Players who have achieved the highest reputation with their crafting guild now have access to a recipe that will allow the creation of a Sunstone Shard once every 7 days. See your "Improved Recipes" vendor. Please note: These recipes require Gundabad (T14) Crafting."
            Legendary items may now reach item level 475.
            Traits: "Class, Race, and Virtue trait slots will now automatically unlock when a character hits the required level, regardless of subscription status or purchase. This does not apply to Monster Play characters."
            Stables: "Stablemasters in the Trollshaws, parts of Eregion, Lothlorien, Southern Mirkwood, and Eryn Lasgalen now use the Elk Travel Mode. NOTE: Since we have updated the Trollshaws Stablemaster routes players will need to rediscover them."
            Fate of Gundabad: "Gundabad Quests: The story of Cï¿½r Bronach concludes in Gundabad with 20 additional quests for level 135-136. If you have completed questing in Cï¿½r Bronach, speak to Mï¿½zto at Grï¿½machath to continue."
            "The Gold restriction has been removed from free and premium accounts."
            Wallet: "The benefits of the Premium Wallet Upgrade have now been applied to all accounts." Plus a lot more goes in there.

Feb. 14, 2022 Monday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        The Legendary Item Rewards Track is live. It starts at character level 45.
        Quick tips for the LI track from back in U32 beta #6 version from a player.

Feb. 13, 2022 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 typed): (8)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon (After-meeting), Eonwe, Celebrian, Elrond, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting
            Forum posts.
        Web:
            Story by Eonwe, posted Feb 9 "Dagor Coronlos"
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Did monarchism show in more than one form in Tolkien's works?
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Feb. 11, 2022 Friday

LotRO Beacon Issue #236
Code DINNERISSERVED through February 17, for Regeneration Food x5.

Feb. 9, 2022 Wednesday

Tolkien Site / Stories:
"Dagor Coronlos" Circa Second Age3150, Hrivï¿½, Imladris. By Eonwe-(Valar) as part of his Narn I Auros series, coming before the others with young Auros.

Feb. 6, 2022 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 typed): (9)
          Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon (After-meeting), Celebrian, Elladan (Before-meeting), Eonwe, Fangorn/Treebeard, Sandalf13, Shelob (Before-meeting), Varda (presiding)
        Web:
            Some updates to Membership page
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Heroes of the Storm, Diablo 2, Hearthstone, Lord of the Rings Online, Guild Wars 2 (including server name and contact person)
        Tolkien:
            Sandalf's request for help finding a quote to use in his book that will be on the Valar Guild Tolkien Site. He found it later that night.
            Tolkien word game
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Feb. 4, 2022 Friday

    The LotRO Beacon Issue #235:
        New look for the Beacon.
        Code FASTTROT for +20% mount speed, good through February 10.

Feb. 2, 2022 Wednesday

    Gaming / LotRO:
        News from the launcher:
            "The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Wednesday, February 2nd from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern (-5 GMT) for maintenance and to launch an updated LOTRO.com. We will let you know when the worlds and web site are ready. Thanks!"

Jan. 30, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (presiding last part), Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding first hour)
        Membership news:
            Travel fun
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Lord of the Rings Online, Eve Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Magic in Tolkien's legendarium.
                1. Galadriel didn't like the term "magic". Why?
              2. Are there other effects that we readers might consider "magic" by our own understanding of the term?
                3. Do we see underlying sources of the magical effects used?
        After-meeting:
            More Tolkien chat
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Jan. 28, 2022 Friday

    LotRO Beacon Issue #234:
        Code FIGHTYMCFIGHTSALOT for landscape soldier token through Feb 3.

Jan. 27, 2022 Thursday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
        News from the launcher:
            "The LOTRO game worlds will be unavailable on Thursday, January 27th from 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM Eastern (-5 GMT) for maintenance."

Jan. 26, 2022 Thursday

Discord had an API outage. By 4:35 P.M. EST they had half the users back online and were working to bring in the rest.

Jan. 23, 2022 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 typed): (8)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe (Before and After-meeting), Norvat Gorlimsson (Before-meeting), Pallando (Before-meeting), Sandalf13, Shelob (Before-meeting), Varda (presiding)
        Before-meeting
            Some TV series that are coming up.
        Membership news:
            Snow fun
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: YouTubes
        After-meeting:
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

Jan. 21, 2022 Friday

LotRO Beacon Issue # 233:
Code INARUSH x 5 for run speed boost, through Jan 27.

Jan. 20, 2022 Thursday

    Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
        News from the launcher:
            Update 31.1.3. Downtime required for the upload is from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. EST.

Jan. 16, 2022 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 typed): (7)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Pallando, Sandalf13, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
        Membership news:
            Eilinel's new book: "Freiheit und Leben"
        Tolkien:
            Topic: What exactly is Ungoliant and what does that make Shelob? Annnnnd tangents.
        Gaming informal start
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online; Eve Online, Gloomhaven, Transport Tycoon Deluxe
            Pallando is looking for other Valarites to join him in Gloomhaven for gaming. (see Discord or Membership email)
        After-meeting:
            Aiding computer stuff.
            Tolkien short chats
            TV tropes.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games. Changed to one (non)flash game instead of three for now.

Jan. 14, 2022 Friday

LotRO Beacon Issue # 232.
Code SOLVEDUNI for Universal Solvent.

Jan. 11, 2022 Wednesday

Gaming: Lord of the Rings Online:
Wednesday downtime from 9 A.M. to 1 P.M. EST ( EST is the same as game /servertime.) This is for Update 31.1.2.

Jan. 10, 2022 Monday

LotRO Beacon Issue #231
Code BATTLEREST for Battle Potion of Restoration x5.

Jan. 9, 2022 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 typed): (6)
            Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf13, Shelob, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: Denethor: good guy or villain or something else?
        After-meeting:
            Lots of just chat.
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games. Changed to one (non)flash game instead of three for now.

Jan. 8, 2022 Saturday

    LotRO launcher message:
        [10:04 AM]
        Sat, 08 Jan 2022 15:53:58 +0000
        We are currently working to resolve issues preventing players from logging into the game. We will keep you updated.
    Sat, 08 Jan 2022 15:53:58 +0000
        UPDATE: Log in has been restored. Thank you! If you received an earlier error that your user name or password was incorrect you can likely ignore that message and should be able to log in successfully.

Jan. 7, 2022 Friday

LotRO Beacon Issue # 231.
Code BATTLEREST

Jan. 5, 2022 Wednesday

Gaming / Lord of the Rings Online:
LotRO update for legendary sliding difficulty servers: Shadowfax updated to Isengard with a level cap of 75 and Treebeard updated through the Mines of Moria with a level cap of 60.

Jan. 3, 2022 Monday

Happy Birthday to J.R.R. Tolkien!

January 2, 2022 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 typed): (4)
            Discord: Arien, Eonwe, Falco, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
        Gaming:
            World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online
        Tolkien:
            Topic: What brought a sense of wonder to a member of the Fellowship?
        After-meeting:
            puzzle
            (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

January 1, 2022 Saturday

General News:	Specialty News:
2023 News Archive (later)
2022 News Archive
2021 News Archive	Art News 2005 - 2022
2020 News Archive	Article News 2005 - 2022
2019 News Archive	Humor News
2018 News Archive	Music News 2008 - 2009
2017 News Archive	Poetry News 2004 - 2020
2016 News Archive	Story News 2004 - 2022
2015 News Archive	Anniversary pages (Oct. 4, 1997): 2007 - 2021, 2022
2014 New Archive	Gaming News (has archives)
2013 News Archive	State of Valar Gaming: 2004 - 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
2012 News Archive	Games Site Mass Update (GSMU): 2011 - 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
2011 News Archive
2010 News Archive
2009 News Archive
2008 News Archive
2007 News Archive
2006 News Archive
2005 News Archive
2004 News Archive
2003 News Archive
2002 News Archive
2001 News Archive
2000 News Archive
1999 News Archive
1998 News Archive
1997 has no news archive.