September 20, 2009 Transcript of the Meeting of the Valar Guild

You have just entered room "valarguildmeetingplace."

ArPharazonV: Aiya

VardaValar1 has entered the room.
VardaValar1: Aiya Pallando and Ar-Pharazon. :-)
VardaValar1: I'm in LotRO at the moment with Indis and Gorlim.

ArPharazonV: Aiya

ArPharazonV: just logging out of wow, did a Direbrew run after the raid
VardaValar1: :-)

ArPharazonV: Brewfest is interesting, but I need about 5 days to get my protodrake so I'm becoming a bit hyper in the run to it
VardaValar1: Understood

ArPharazonV: person in my raidcomm already got hers yesterday, she happened to have the brewfest set still in her bank, and it's a beauty indeed, with 310% flying speed

ArPharazonV: so can't wait ;-)
VardaValar1: o nice :-)

ArPharazonV: personally I need 200 tokens or so still before I have my set
VardaValar1: Keep you busy. : )

karakedi25 has entered the room.

ArPharazonV: hehe
karakedi25: Aiya!
karakedi25: And afk a couple of mins :-)

ArPharazonV: not really, can only get so many tokens a day so I'm done in half an hour and then I have to wait again
VardaValar1: Aiya Indis : )

ArPharazonV: but it does prove to be a hectic few weeks since I also want to finish the Tournament-mount-grind in that time as well as get all the Thanksgiving achievements l(

ArPharazonV: *;-)
VardaValar1: So, rl is out the window?

ArPharazonV: well, I've still got college, and an exam coming up...

ArPharazonV: but suffice it to say I'll need to not waste any time and plan carefully :-)
VardaValar1: Good for your planning abilities. : )

fladrifv has entered the room.
VardaValar1: Welcome to the circle, Ent Fladrif. : )
fladrifv: Aiya
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VardaValar1: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
VardaValar1: Membership News:
karakedi25: back
VardaValar1: Lothiriel-(V) has recovered well from back surgery, and has been enjoying summer with family. She'll be away for a time visiting people we know as guild-friends in LotRO.
VardaValar1: Welcome back!
VardaValar1: Any news you four would like to share?
karakedi25: thank you
VardaValar1: Fangorn's home for a few days. : )
karakedi25: me?
VardaValar1: You are one of us, aye.
karakedi25: well, in RL, I'm in training to be an ombudsman for residential long-term care... [Note: Indis-(V) ]
karakedi25: and I will have a site visit tomorrow to see what it's like.
VardaValar1: Impressive.
karakedi25: apparently the volunteer ombudsman program is part of the oversight arrangements
VardaValar1: What is an ombudsman?
karakedi25: In this case, an advocate for the residents but emphasis on negotiating rather than brute force.

ArPharazonV: not exactly sure, but I think it's the same word in Dutch...
VardaValar1: So, you don't slug the nurses? : )
karakedi25: Though in the event of resistance from residence administration, we have the power of the (unresolved) report :-)
karakedi25: no, though I might snail them :p
VardaValar1: hehe

ArPharazonV: "advocate, but emphasis on...." are you implying that most normal advocates resort to brute force? :-)
VardaValar1: Must be tough to figure out when its the residents or the people working there at fault.
karakedi25: complaints are posted on a public website
VardaValar1: Just kidding Indis. : )
karakedi25: that's why part of my job will be to verify
VardaValar1: So you might be helping people on both sides that way. Nice.
karakedi25: exactly
VardaValar1: Does this mean we'll be seeing a lot less of you in LotRO?
karakedi25: nope
karakedi25: I will do one half-day each week
karakedi25: (so don't get your hopes up :p )
VardaValar1: I got to really liking seeing you around so much. Nice to know where you went. : )
karakedi25: why thank you!
karakedi25: I only went to another character, and it's in the kinship!
VardaValar1: I mean when you start working. : )
karakedi25: I'm already away all day Tuesday for consulting work, and Friday afternoons for the hotline. This will only be one more half day.
VardaValar1: ah, I see.

ArPharazonV: ooh, hotline

ArPharazonV: doing nothing while waiting for the phone to ring?
karakedi25: hardly
karakedi25: among other things, I read the stories on the Tokien site or other projects :-)
karakedi25: and documenting the calls
VardaValar1: Thanks, Indis. Good to know.
VardaValar1: Anyone else have any news?
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VardaValar1: Web News:
VardaValar1: More stories are coming in.
VardaValar1: The Tolkien-only members have been contacted for anniversary stuff and some have already emailed back saying they'll send something.
VardaValar1: Give Indis something to read. ;-)
karakedi25: Indis might even write something ;-)
VardaValar1: Cool!
VardaValar1: Maybe we can convince Fladrif to make a bit of abstract art for Middle-earth? : )

ArPharazonV: still working on mine, but it seems to be on the backburner due to my other projects, I'll finish it way in time for the anniversary though.... how hard can a double drabble be? ;-)
VardaValar1: Very. ;-)

ArPharazonV: eh, we'll see, I've got good hopes
fladrifv: working on it varda
VardaValar1: Yay!
VardaValar1: We just had International Talk Like a Pirate Day. : )
VardaValar1: Yarhh.
fladrifv: arr

ArPharazonV: yarrr
fladrifv: celebrated in SL btw
VardaValar1: Excellent. : )

ArPharazonV: yo ho ho and a bottle of miruvor
VardaValar1: hehe Phar

ArPharazonV: celebrated in WoW too
VardaValar1: Corsairs of Umbar away!

ArPharazonV: yarr, to find the booty of Minas Tirith... wait, what's that on the shoreline.... ghosts???
VardaValar1: We also have a special questing in LotRO for it. Eyepatches are only one of the goodies.
VardaValar1: hehe

ArPharazonV: out of curiosity, what's the role of miruvor in lotro?
karakedi25: haven't seen any references to it that I can remember
VardaValar1: We have various drinks for the Inn League. : )
VardaValar1: Questing.

ArPharazonV: doesn't play a part as mana potion or something? :-)
VardaValar1: Nope, would spark ire.
karakedi25: bad enough that they have lembas
VardaValar1: Lembas should only be given out by the ruling lady elf. But we can cook them.

ArPharazonV: I know the Fellowship third-person game by black...something used miruvor as mana-refreshment when playing Gandalf, wondered if it was in lotro too
VardaValar1: (We have been giving them out without permission.)

ArPharazonV: black label?

ArPharazonV: pff, you're a lady elf, aren't you? ;-)
VardaValar1: Since we are inching towards Gaming,
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VardaValar1: Gaming!
VardaValar1: Yes, as Fainan and several others.
karakedi25: Only Galadriel@
karakedi25: !
VardaValar1: But it has to be a Lady, not a mere lady. : )
karakedi25: but my ordinary elf cook can make it--very lore-breaking
VardaValar1: As Varda, I have an excuse.

ArPharazonV: Pah. Semantics!
karakedi25: I suppose as Indis I'd know how too...

ArPharazonV: if lembas were around in Valinor

ArPharazonV: at that time, at least
karakedi25: Where do you suppose Galadriel learned about it?
VardaValar1: Valinor, probably.

ArPharazonV: Dunno. Could be the Silvans in Middle-Earth for all we know. Might be an invention of her own people, too.
VardaValar1: Maybe Varda gives cooking classes.

ArPharazonV: was there any mention of it in the Silm?

ArPharazonV: (or its related works)
karakedi25: almost certainly, but I'd need to look it up
VardaValar1: Something to look into, even a short article.
VardaValar1: Thanks for the idea. : )
karakedi25: maybe I will for the anniversary ;-)
VardaValar1: : )
VardaValar1: For Gaming, what games have we played this week that weren't LotRO or WoW?

ArPharazonV: Broken Sword
VardaValar1: How was it?

AriehnV has entered the room.

ArPharazonV: old adventure game in the style of Monkey Island, managed to find and install it on my pc this week after a long time searching, a bit of a graphics problem but nothing a 256 compatibility didn't fix
VardaValar1: Aiya Arien. : )

ArPharazonV: nice game, not too long, but still entertaining for a few days, with good graphics, gameplay and decent story
AriehnV: aiya all :-)
fladrifv: Aiya Arien
VardaValar1: Thanks for that high-speed review, Phar. : )

ArPharazonV: almost finished with it, only a few more scenes to go, but quite good so far
karakedi25: aiya Arien

ArPharazonV: whether the ending is satisfactory, I might find out next week :-)
VardaValar1: Fladrif was in Second Life, and I dropped in for a bit now and then, forget which day.
VardaValar1: You can let us know!
AriehnV: which game is that Phara?

ArPharazonV: Broken Sword

ArPharazonV: 1
fladrifv: we had a great 19 sept

ArPharazonV: might get the other installments too, but undecided
AriehnV: ok thanks i missed the start of your review

ArPharazonV: yeah,I just mentioned the name :-)
AriehnV: go on Fladrif :-)
fladrifv: *walks on stage and waits patiently :-)*

ArPharazonV: *jumps off stage with an agile move* all yours!
fladrifv: Hooom boo..... the pirate day was as in style with a dance
fladrifv: and some quizes
fladrifv: there are actual linden dollars given at quizes so people tend to be quite focussed on it
fladrifv: nex tto this I have been playing wallece and grommits part 2
fladrifv: got it for free due to talk like a pirate day and owning monkey island :-)
AriehnV: :-)
fladrifv: wich was free downloadable yesterday
fladrifv: one day too early for this meeting
fladrifv: *jumps less agile off the *stage

ArPharazonV: *picks up ent from the floor*
VardaValar1: Fangorn and I played StarCraft/BroodWar on LAN, as he newly installed it today.
VardaValar1: Any other games?
karakedi25: how did you like it?
VardaValar1: I have always liked it. : )
VardaValar1: I prefer Zerg. What races did you folks prefer?
fladrifv: protos :-)
AriehnV: havent played it in a while have to admit tho i do own it

ArPharazonV: Zerg, really, and I'm gonna try playing most with them as well in Starcraft 2
AriehnV: shall have a go at again next week i think :-)

ArPharazonV: the entire concept intrigues me
VardaValar1: Protoss seems to be the strongest.
fladrifv: but slow and expensive but like the energy idea and warping

ArPharazonV: there's so many hidden gems in the Zerg, they seem quite strong when played well, and of course the entire style of the Zerg is nice
VardaValar1: Seeing Eowyn-(V) run a zergling rush is always a hoot. She's lethal!

ArPharazonV: face me and I'll cover the entire map in creep!
VardaValar1: heheh
VardaValar1: Fangorn did that, so did Sauron. I don't have the patience, tend to go for the kill.

ArPharazonV: I've yet to master the art of the Nydus canal, maybe Starcraft II will give me another chance at that.
VardaValar1: That's especially good if your ally is a Zerg too.

ArPharazonV: indeed
VardaValar1: On to WoW?

ArPharazonV: if you're lucky, an enemy, can place one during a prolonged assault and hit it in the back with reinforcements direct from base
VardaValar1: Argent Dawn seems to have been busy, at least on Phar's side.
AriehnV: oh he and my drood Arienn had a bit of a run too :-)
AriehnV: err Finduilaswen

ArPharazonV: ah yes! a few groupquests in Zul'drak and Dragonblight
VardaValar1: Fun! : )
AriehnV: yep we got Rageclaws flipper, the big worm and bird in emerald dragonshrine

ArPharazonV: the real busybusy only started last night, really, Varda, so this week I still had time for other things :-)
VardaValar1: Yay
AriehnV: annd thanks to that i got my wee drood to a respectable level at 78
AriehnV: and mad questing got me back to being my own fligh :-D

ArPharazonV: other than that, my raidcomm's doing well, a first poke at 10-man trial to the grand crusader, and finished Yogg-saron on 10-man and General Vezax on 25-man, we're aiming to start hardmodes on 10-man next reset

ArPharazonV: oh, and I got my 95th mount, the turbostrider ;-)
VardaValar1: Way to go!

ArPharazonV: *trial of

ArPharazonV: oh, and a friend of mine had seals to spare, so gave me as gift 4 Argent Tournament pets I was still missing, which put me over the 75-threshold and rewarded me with a little fawn :-)

ArPharazonV: so in all, been a nice week!
VardaValar1: Congrats, Phar. : )

ArPharazonV: anything else from Arien? I'm done :-)
AriehnV: nice nice , and i just come back from a wee run on Alliance auchindoun where Helm with his big hunter helped us through both rampart instances , fun runs :-) thus endeth my report aye i agree with Phara
AriehnV: thats why i was late
VardaValar1: Helm? Good to hear he's still active. : )
AriehnV: oh aye ganking as usual , grin
AriehnV: getting battle ground gear
AriehnV: enjoying wintergrasp
AriehnV: feeding raptor

ArPharazonV: pvp-career, eh? does he arena too?
AriehnV: i think we might try once i get my death knight up
AriehnV: we will see

ArPharazonV: neat
AriehnV: you know me multi factionning , multi levelling and multi servering ^^
AriehnV: thats it from me :-)
VardaValar1: Pallando, would you like to tell about Eve Online?
pallandovalar: Sure ting.
pallandovalar: Eve-O alliance tournament just finished up, for when Menel reads this if he doesn't know before then, Pandemic Legion won.
pallandovalar: All the matches are on youtube if you're interested in some eve videos to see at least somewhat what the action is like in eve.
pallandovalar: (well, matches from yesterday and the last weeks. finals will be up tomorrow)
VardaValar1: Where do we look to see the YouTubes?

VardaValar1 has left the room.
pallandovalar: My main's alliance got shut down in the first qualifying round. Came back for a good win in second round but it wasn't enough to make it to the finals.

VardaValar1 has entered the room.
karakedi25: Aiyata
pallandovalar: Pallando's still kickin it trying to get talking to the locals. Apparently picked a bad area to mission in, but we'll see.
VardaValar1: Pardon, hit the wrong button.
pallandovalar: youtubes are..
pallandovalar: http://www.youtube.com/user/CCPGAMES
pallandovalar: the latest trailer up is pretty awesome. "butterfly effect"
pallandovalar: it has as the main character one of the best ships in the game, the wolf (in my top 3)
pallandovalar: still have too much money, and plenty of time
VardaValar1: :-)
pallandovalar: I just lost 2b in 2 days, so tossing a few tens to a new player won't hurt too much.
VardaValar1: Do you and Menel ever cross space to get together?
pallandovalar: On my main, I'd be shooting him. ;-)
pallandovalar: I've actually shot his alliance up a bit recently. ;-)
VardaValar1: heh
VardaValar1: We need to move to Tolkien before we lose Phar.
VardaValar1: Tolkien:

ArPharazonV: hmm
karakedi25: nothing more to say about lotro?
VardaValar1: LotRO? We quested, crafted, grouped, and generally played hard. : )
karakedi25: lots of anticipation for the update/expansion later this year
VardaValar1: Aye, Mirkwood expansion coming.
karakedi25: new gimmicks for battles
VardaValar1: Lorien will be attacking Dol Guldur.
karakedi25: some added conveniences like not having to carry horses around in inventory :-)
VardaValar1: That was barely mentioned in the books, as it was far from the paths of the Hobbits, the battle.

ArPharazonV: I believe Battle for Middle-Earth 2 was based on those battles
karakedi25: that's right, so it gives the devs a bit of creative license
VardaValar1: Gandalf mentioned it and the battle near the Lonely Mountain as essential.

ArPharazonV: if any of you play/have played both games, let me know what the similarities are :-)
VardaValar1: They allowed Gondor to have a Queen, for one thing. : )
karakedi25: I expect we'll get into those too before we move south
VardaValar1: Eonwe has played both. I have not.
AriehnV: i levelled my runekeeper to 18 and ran with some people i met the great barrows tuesday night :-)
AriehnV: on the burglar of course
karakedi25: nice!
VardaValar1: Arien, congrats! : )
AriehnV: :-) thanks :-)

ArPharazonV: grats
karakedi25: fwiw, I have a new character, a hunter now level 21
VardaValar1: Indis is leveling fast on that hunter. : )
VardaValar1: Crafting too.
karakedi25: fun to play, though I think my heart is still with the LM
VardaValar1: Lore-master
VardaValar1: That is a fine class, very fun.
VardaValar1: Orome-Valar just came online in LotRO.
karakedi25: the more acceptable (from a lore point of view) of the two 'magic' classes
VardaValar1: People get very upset by the Rune-keeper, although words are supposed to have power, as are runes.
karakedi25: it's pretty marginal
karakedi25: (from a lore point of view)

ArPharazonV: Loremaster... I wonder if it has any similarity to the Diablo III... scribe, I think, which was shown on april 1st :-)
VardaValar1: A bit
VardaValar1: The rune-keeper is a lot of fun, anyway.
VardaValar1: If we get picky, there is no class that is exactly right with the lore.
karakedi25: lore-master is a pet class
VardaValar1: Light-oil on a hunter's arrows?
karakedi25: true, but at least most of the others are less 'magic'
VardaValar1: Orome-Valar says hi to everyone in AIM. : )
VardaValar1: I hear people say there is no magic in the fantasy world of Middle-earth, in the books. Comments?
karakedi25: that's not true, but it's limited

ArPharazonV: Interesting. Most magic does seem to have a more common explanation by the Elves, but magic seems to be present
karakedi25: there's sorcery (usually evil) and the ARt of the elves

ArPharazonV: is their magic in the Elvish rope, or is it just crafty.. craft?

ArPharazonV: what about the 3 rings?
VardaValar1: Galadriel became upset because she thought humans were saying her magic and Sauron's were the same thing.

ArPharazonV: the fact that the One Ring makes you invisible seems to be some sort of magic
VardaValar1: How indeed does Elvish rope glow and come unknotted at need?
karakedi25: certainly not composed of what we think of as natural processes, but of course...

ArPharazonV: Minas Morgul was the tower of Sorcery
VardaValar1: How does the light of Earendil enter water in a glass and be used as a weapon of light?

ArPharazonV: so was Sorcery really practiced by its newer inhabitants?
karakedi25: wasn't it Arthur C Clarke who said that very advanced technology looks like magic to those who don't have it?

ArPharazonV: indeed, Indis
VardaValar1: Gandalf mentions "hedge wizards".

ArPharazonV: well, not sure if he said it
VardaValar1: We agree with whomever said it. : )

ArPharazonV: indeed

ArPharazonV: Gandalf's fireworks, is there magic in them?

ArPharazonV: the firework turning into a dragon?
VardaValar1: Orome-Valar mentions Gandalfs words of power? naur an edraith ammen

ArPharazonV: his multi-colored smokerings? :-)
VardaValar1: [Kinship] Naugorome: Luthiens song that cast Melkor into sleep? [Note: quoted relays from folks in LotRO start with [Kinship] then show the person's screen name, Naugorome being a dwarf character run by Orome-(Valar).]
VardaValar1: Trees that move and talk and carry grudges?
karakedi25: and what she did with her hair
VardaValar1: [Kinship] Naugorome: the disguises, werewolf and bat that Beren and luthien assumed?

ArPharazonV: oh, indeed

ArPharazonV: most of these things seem to go back to the Ainur
karakedi25: whether it's magic or not, it's certainly not something we can account for with our knowledge of natural science

ArPharazonV: or one with Ainur-blood, anyway

ArPharazonV: it is known that the Ainur had strange powers, whether we should call them magic is another question
VardaValar1: Creating the world with music?
VardaValar1: Bombadil singing an attacking tree to sleep?
VardaValar1: Elves talking to trees and waking them?
VardaValar1: [Kinship] Naugorome: the hidden dwarven doors that opened only to a secret word, or at a special time
VardaValar1: The battle over the door between the balrog and Gandalf?
VardaValar1: Athelas has its best effect only in the hands of the High King.
VardaValar1: [Kinship] Naugorome: the palantiri

ArPharazonV: the light of the Silmaril
VardaValar1: Orome-Valar is on a roll. : )
VardaValar1: [Kinship] Naugorome: the ability of the elven rings to maintain things unstained
VardaValar1: Containing the light of the trees in the Silmarils?

ArPharazonV: -rils, yes
VardaValar1: [Kinship] Naugorome: the ability of the one ring to make you invisibile
karakedi25: seems hard to imagine fantasy without something akin to magic
VardaValar1: If this was just a book about possible pre-history, it would not be a fantasy, just a mainstream book.
VardaValar1: It is a mythology, complete with strange things.
karakedi25: quite so
VardaValar1: Did anyone else wish to make more comments or start another subject?

ArPharazonV: I think I'll be off
VardaValar1: *bangs gavel*
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VardaValar1: After-meeting!
VardaValar1: Namarie, Phar : )
karakedi25: how about the roleplay? Where does it stand?

ArPharazonV: saving and sending transcript
VardaValar1: It stands at people are leaving and we don't have Eonwe tonight. : )
VardaValar1: We had a discussion on it last meeting though.
(Varda crashes)

AriehnV (5:33:36 PM): wooopsi [Note: times in Central Standard Daylight Savings Time. Add one hour for Eastern]

VardaValar1 (5:33:42 PM): Pardon the crash

karakedi25 (5:33:47 PM): wrong button again?

VardaValar1 (5:33:51 PM): We are pretty well done, I think?

karakedi25 (5:33:57 PM): looks that way

karakedi25 (5:34:02 PM): a quicker meeting than some

AriehnV (5:34:05 PM): did Phara pull you out, Varda?

VardaValar1 (5:34:08 PM): lol

AriehnV (5:34:18 PM): he pushed you ;-)