June 15, 2014 Sunday Meeting
5pm
EDT (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Back to News
Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.
Attending: (4)
AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)
side chat not shown with Luthien-(T) who has continued with her art.
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership:
Brony convention
Father's Day
Web:
Games Site
Tolkien Site / Art
Gaming:
D3
EQ2
SWTOR
SCBW
Hearthstone
flashgaming: Elephant Quest
WoW
LotRO (delayed until after Tolkien)
Tolkien:
Chat topic: Beregond was unusual in the Lord of the Rings and in JRRT's books in
general because he was given a good bit of book time even though he
wasn't royalty. Why was that? What did we see of him in the books?
After-meeting:
More chat, web work.
top
Before-meeting
You have just entered room "valarguildmeetingplace."
VardaValar1 has entered the room.
VardaValar1: Aiya! Quick note for when you read this,
ArPharazonV: Aiya! Too late, already reading!
VardaValar1: they're going to work on the internet/phone lines about 1800 feet from our house, lots of underground digging.
VardaValar1: It could be right about meeting time or during or mmmph now. :-)
ArPharazonV: So you might drop out.
VardaValar1: You fast reader you. :-)
VardaValar1: Right, and not sure when. It could be very soon or in an hour or two.
VardaValar1: But it might all turn out...just fine for the meeting.
ArPharazonV: Only time will tell. If you vanish, I'll pass the message.
VardaValar1: Thanks!
VardaValar1: I need to go help load a pick-up truck, should be back soon. Meeting's not for half an hour yet.
VardaValar1: Sort of back. :-)
ArPharazonV: Sort of aiyata!
VardaValar1: Sort of hantal. :-)
VardaValar1: Aiya - seems to be that time of day and the internet is still up!
ArPharazonV: Great!
VardaValar1: Any chance Arien is around you?
ArPharazonV: Just warned her :-)
AriehnV has entered the room.
AriehnV: aiya there
VardaValar1: Aiya Arien :-)
top
VardaValar1: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
VardaValar1: Membership:
VardaValar1: For those of you reading this but are too shy to come on in, lurkers are also welcome. :-)
ArPharazonV: Let's break the fourth wall!
VardaValar1: Our internet lines down the street are being worked on so
this connection may disappear without warning at any time.
VardaValar1: *demolishes fourth wall*
VardaValar1: Any other membership news?
ArPharazonV: I'm pondering a brony convention
that I yesterday discovered is being hosted in February 2015.. first
official Dutch one.. and it's 15 minutes travel from my town ;-) So
maybe I'll give more on that, if it means I'm not here for a few days,
but that'll be some time away!
VardaValar1: Pictures or it didn't happen. :-)
VardaValar1: Oh, you have to go.
VardaValar1: Url available?
ArPharazonV: http://www.hwcon.nl/
ArPharazonV: And yes, no longer shall distance and travel time be an excuse not to go to a convention.
VardaValar1: Thanks! heh, you at least have to see if anyone can figure out some kind of costume.
ArPharazonV: And better yet, no longer shall the fact that it's not
that popular in the Netherlands be a limitation for the lack of
merchandise that I own ;-)
VardaValar1: See also, Amazon.com :-)
VardaValar1: annnd there goes Phar's paycheck.
ArPharazonV: Pretty much!
top
VardaValar1: Web:
VardaValar1: Games Site. That's always a good place to check, see what Eonwe's been putting up.
VardaValar1: I'll get more into that in the Gaming section in a few seconds.
VardaValar1: Tolkien Site:
karakedi25 has entered the room.
karakedi25: aiya
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
VardaValar1: More pics are being loaded up for the Tolkien Site for your enjoyment.
VardaValar1: Aiya Indis :-)
VardaValar1: They aren't up yet, but a new section for Gimli will be
showing for you. I may be working on it while the internet is down in a
bit.
VardaValar1: A batch of others should be coming, but those are the ones that I hope to have up today/tonight.
[Note: during After-meeting, these sections of art from the Bohemian Weasel-(T) went up: Bilbo, Gimli, Smaug]
VardaValar1: Any other web news?
top
VardaValar1: Gaming:
VardaValar1: Eonwe put up the latest Diablo 3 news on the Games Site.
VardaValar1: New patch to keep things busy
VardaValar1: Patch 2.0.6 Here's the url:
VardaValar1: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/blog/14397824/patch-206-now-live-6-10-2014
VardaValar1: Bilbo has been playing EverQuest 2 heavily on both a light and dark character.
VardaValar1: Sauron is in SWToR as we speak.
VardaValar1: Fangorn, Sauron, and I played a good batch of StarCraftBroodWar since we can do it offline.
VardaValar1: Pathfinder had to be cancelled for this weekend and next
weekend so the gang could go to a Bell Ringer concert. Unbelievable
sound, as if they were not separate at all.
VardaValar1: Anyone else have non-WoW, non-LotRO news?
ArPharazonV: Well, more Hearthstone for a start!
VardaValar1: Ah hah! Still at it are you?
ArPharazonV: Making good way on levelling my classes to 21, though it's
already starting to slow down at this level. And I got my first
legendary card from a pack this week!
ArPharazonV: King Mukla is now mine. Not one of the more popular ones, but it's a good one for an aggressive deck.
VardaValar1: Sounds just right for you then.
ArPharazonV: I'm not a very aggressive player, to be honest. I like to
establish board control and get later minions out, *then* focus on
taking down the enemy.
ArPharazonV: So it's doubtful I'll use it much. Though it can have some gimmicky advantages.
VardaValar1: Ah ok.
ArPharazonV: Maybe I'll throw it in a deck or two just to try it ;-)
ArPharazonV: Still, first legendary, a nice milestone!
VardaValar1: Grats!
ArPharazonV: Oh!
ArPharazonV: And there's flashgaming of course.
VardaValar1: Go ahead, Phar. :-)
ArPharazonV: This week I'll link you...
VardaValar1: *drum roll*
karakedi25: afk a couple of minutes
ArPharazonV: http://www.kongregate.com/games/ArmorGames/elephant-quest Elephant Quest,
a nice, cute, humorous platformer, not very difficult not all that
long, but with lots of upgrades, a bunch of sidequests, and lots of
places to explore along the way.
ArPharazonV: *not very difficult and not all that long
ArPharazonV: So have fun! And that's it for me.
VardaValar1: Thank you. :-)
VardaValar1: WoW:
karakedi25 has left the room.
VardaValar1: Personal news copy/pasted from Eonwe's email for you all.
VardaValar1: In personal WoW news, I
got the Grand Black War Mammoth mount this week from the Vault of
Archavon. It's another one of those mounts, like the Ashes of A'lar,
that takes a bit of luck to get (though because each boss in VoA drops
it, you get 4 chances a week).
VardaValar1: Take care :}
ArPharazonV: Grats Eonwe!
VardaValar1: Eonwë
VardaValar1: /endpaste
VardaValar1: Grats Eonwe :-)
VardaValar1: Any other WoW news?
ArPharazonV: Hmm not really. Still doing the same things every week.
ArPharazonV: Progress is slow!
karakedi25 has entered the room.
VardaValar1: As long as it's progressing. : )
VardaValar1: LotRO:
VardaValar1: Welcome back, Indis
karakedi25: ty. My stupid--I got up from the computer and it closed the lid. :-(
VardaValar1: Indis has been playing in the open beta and has seen some of what's possibly coming.
VardaValar1: Happens :-)
VardaValar1: She may be able to tell us about it in a few minutes. :-)
karakedi25: I need a few more minutes, so why not go on to WoW?
VardaValar1: We completed WoW, but thanks. We can come back to LotRO. [Note: LotRO]
VardaValar1: One more order of business:
VardaValar1: Happy Father's Day!!
ArPharazonV: Hazzah!
VardaValar1: Thank you to all you dads out there in the guild and that let our folk hang out with the Valar Guild. : )
AriehnV: happy fathers day on bhalf of wow getting a bit closer on the
epic cloak for Wrathloon .. got about half the valor points together
VardaValar1: Half a cloak! Kind of short there, but we'll give you time to get the other half.
ArPharazonV: If it's the top half, you can already wear it!
AriehnV: got tiers legs from Garrosh yesterday so finally got the timeless 496 replaced ^^
VardaValar1: Tell them it's short for stylish reasons.
AriehnV: hehe
VardaValar1: Any other business? We may be going back to LotRO shortly.
VardaValar1: But until then,
top
VardaValar1: Tolkien:
VardaValar1: Beregond was unusual in the Lord of the
Rings and in JRRT's books in general because he was given a good bit of
book time even though he wasn't royalty.
VardaValar1: Why was that? What did we see of him in the books?
AriehnV: loyal .. dutiful .. courageous . friendly
ArPharazonV: Well, it was a nice look into the lives of the non-nobility of those caught in the war.
ArPharazonV: And it was a way of giving Pippin some comfort and hospitality in a place that seemed otherwise hostile to him.
ArPharazonV: Giving him someone to relate to.
VardaValar1: Almost a touch of the Shire. : )
ArPharazonV: Also a good example of the tough choices that high-ranked
military men might have to make from time to time, even if it's to
disobey their lord.
VardaValar1: To best aid their lord, they may have to disobey. A very tough call.
VardaValar1: He also reminds us of the various reasons why the warriors were fighting.
VardaValar1: He cares about his son, Bergil, who also enters the story
as Pippin's companion in Beregond's stead, and whose fate is influenced
by these events.
VardaValar1: So, he had to be judged in the end, showing the way Aragorn would rule his people. What was the judgment?
karakedi25: He had to uphold the law, but he sweetened it with a really good substitution.
karakedi25: the law required that Beregond leave the Guard, but he was seconded to Faramir, to whom he had shown his dedication
ArPharazonV: "Hoorah, you get to go on this suicide mission with me!"
VardaValar1: He got to go to Ithilien with the one he had risked so much to save. Bergil surely went to Ithilien as well.
karakedi25: if I remember correctly, he went as captain of Faramir's guard
VardaValar1: That's how I remember it too. Perfect posting.
VardaValar1: So we see Aragorn as keeping the law, but using sense to make it come out as it is intended, for the good of all.
ArPharazonV: That's a good king indeed.
VardaValar1: Beregond is also shown as one who is worthy of Pippin's Big Moment vs a gigantic troll.
ArPharazonV: Using the law for the advantage of the kingdom is a
politic quality that sometimes seems all too lacking these days.
ArPharazonV: *political
VardaValar1: Who is Pippin risking it all for? A regular guy, not a royal.
VardaValar1: A good example of leadership for all times, aye. : )
karakedi25: I think it would have been a bad start to make an exception to a hallowed law no matter how good the cause.
VardaValar1: Agreed. And yet he found a way to turn it to the best use of his people.
VardaValar1: and even for their happiness.
karakedi25: and a good outcome for Beregond
VardaValar1: Since Faramir was also kept as the Steward for Aragorn,
most likely Beregond would get to come back at times as well.
ArPharazonV: Can't go around showing people that disobedience to the lord of Gondor will not be punished, after all.
VardaValar1: Aye to that.
VardaValar1: Aragorn and Eomer traveled widely putting down the
fighting going on, handling orc bands still out there, and other things
that would mean Faramir and Beregond would go to Minas Tirith.
VardaValar1: Bergil would be exceptionally well-traveled for a boy of those times, from all that moving back and forth.
VardaValar1: Beregond and Bergi had the friendship of Pippin, who had a
lot of pull with Aragorn. Chances are, Bergil would have an unusually
good education as well.
VardaValar1: So, from Bergil to Beregond, Happy Father's Day!
ArPharazonV: If I recall, Beregond already had a pretty good position prior to Pippin's arrival in Minas Tirith anyway, though.
ArPharazonV: So Bergil would've been getting a decent education anyway.
karakedi25: He was a member of the Tower Guard, but not an officer.
ArPharazonV: Tower Guard would still be a bit of an elite force though.
VardaValar1: The Tower Guard was a special position, but true that he was not an officer.
karakedi25: that's right, and he was very proud of being a member
karakedi25: losing that position had to hurt
VardaValar1: That was why he was working with Pippin in the first place.
VardaValar1: Agreed.
ArPharazonV: And yet, perhaps a bit of a promotion :-)
VardaValar1: He probably expected to be in the Tower Guard the rest of his life, even if that might not be long.
VardaValar1: It was a promotion, right. : )
karakedi25: gains and losses; only he would know how it came out in balance for him
VardaValar1: Yet JRRT likes to infer. Do you folks think from what we know that it was a good change for him?
karakedi25: what I said
ArPharazonV: It would depend on how his life turned out, yes.
karakedi25: over time, it might have been a gain
ArPharazonV: You said that Bergil became more-travelled for his age
than he otherwise would have been; whether that's an advantage or a
disadvantage is up to Bergil ;-)
VardaValar1: I would call it a gain from day one. Interesting that others see it differently. I love these discussions.
ArPharazonV: Well, that's possibly because you have values and
expectations from life that seem to mesh with Beregond's story, while
ours might be different :-)
ArPharazonV: If I had to travel so much as a kid, I wouldn't be happy!
VardaValar1: So we have Beregond used as a character to help with
Pippin's entry into life in Minas Tirith, offerning his son as guide,
using him to show people's feelings towards Faramir, having him hold
off Faramir's death until Gandalf could arrive, and becoming Faramir's
personal guard.
ArPharazonV: Also, since I'm the type to shun organizatorial responsibility, I'd rather be a tower guard than a captain ;-)
VardaValar1: As a kid, I loved to travel, so that is probably part of the difference.
ArPharazonV: There ya go.
VardaValar1: Aye, good old brain stretchers. : )
VardaValar1: Any other comments, suggestions?
VardaValar1: *rummages through hammers on the shelf*
VardaValar1: *swings a wooden hammer*
VardaValar1: *Thwack*
VardaValar1: After-meeting!
VardaValar1: And unthwack.
VardaValar1: Only Valar can unthwack hammers.
VardaValar1: LotRO continued.
VardaValar1: Indis, your floor!
karakedi25: has anything been said about it yet?
karakedi25: lotro that is
VardaValar1: Looking back, we were starting to, then you arrived, then we never really got to talking about it
VardaValar1: so this is the official LotRO section.
karakedi25: the new update is in beta round 1. It starts with Eowyn in Dunharrow...
karakedi25: takes you through the Paths of the Dead, and emerges in western gondor, in the Blackroot Vale.
karakedi25: I've only done a few of the quests, at the top of the Vale,
but I did some exploration around the circuit, and it's beautiful
karakedi25: Dol Amroth is amazing.
VardaValar1: I really want to see Dol Amroth. Plenty of swans? Water?
karakedi25: I'm going to post a url that gives a nice summary of the recent Dev Roundtable, and yes water and swas
ArPharazonV: So you're diving into Gondor proper, then? Other side of the white mountains?
ArPharazonV: Soon you'll run out of content to add ;-)
karakedi25: There are quite a few things that are incomplete (including milestones), but this is only Beta 1.
karakedi25: I think they'll have quite a bit more to go.
VardaValar1: There is a ton of stuff they could do still, if they want
to, even after Mordor. Many places are mentioned without being gone to
by the hobbits.
karakedi25: http://lotroplayers.mymiddleearth.com/2014/06/13/june-12-developer-live-chat-notes/
karakedi25: Lots of info here.
karakedi25: I love the lower altitudes; they are very mediterranean and remind me of coastal California
VardaValar1: There's a lot of good info in that url.
VardaValar1: Looking forward to seeing that, Indis. : )
VardaValar1: Sockets. WoW folk are already familiar with that concept.
VardaValar1: Ohh, Pelargir, Osgiliath
karakedi25: I'm not totally thrilled about sockets, because it will mean more number crunching and min/maxxing
VardaValar1: Aye, it will.
VardaValar1: Minas Tirith. : )
VardaValar1: hmm, the robe reward to me goes better with certain types
of characters, not as a substitue for the dress and the tunic/pants.
karakedi25: I agree
VardaValar1: Say for scholarly types: lore-masters, rune-keepers, minstrels maybe.
karakedi25: I think they'll get enough feedback about that that they may change policy
VardaValar1: I sure hope so.
karakedi25: they're trying to save money
karakedi25: My LM rarely uses a robe; she prefers dresses.
ArPharazonV: Hey, robes might be very fashionable in a certain environment.
VardaValar1: Ok on the saving money.
ArPharazonV: Togas and such.
VardaValar1: True Phar :-)
VardaValar1: They don't have to offer so many dresses and such each
time, the way they have at the festivals. Just offer one set.
karakedi25: robes in lotro are more like elegant bathrobes
VardaValar1: Maybe make crafted clothing recipes?
VardaValar1: They do have problems with dye, but even dying small parts helps. Doesn't have to be the whole piece.
VardaValar1: Or they could also have whole fills without much if any detail for some.
VardaValar1: Even a little dye area helps the outfit parts match.
VardaValar1: Do we have any more news, comments, suggestions?
VardaValar1: *hand slips into the hammer shelf*
VardaValar1: Last chance, maybe.
karakedi25: bang away
VardaValar1: *grabs a heavy metal hammer, drops it carefully so it lands right*
VardaValar1: *splannnng*
VardaValar1: Ahh, that was better.
top
VardaValar1: After-meeting!
VardaValar1: Wow, still haven't crashed out. Going to make a stab at getting some of these images online in the Tolkien Site.
ArPharazonV: Good luck :-)
karakedi25: are you back home yet?
VardaValar1: Yes
VardaValar1: I got home before Fangorn's birthday in May. : )
VardaValar1: His birthday is the 25th
karakedi25: good. I hope it's giving you a chance to catch your breath
VardaValar1: Landed into a huge pile of catch-up, not dissimilar from catsup. Working at it though.
VardaValar1: I hope the Devs are careful not to turn LotRO into a WoW clone.
karakedi25: WoW isn't the only game with sockets
ArPharazonV: Diablo 2 had sockets I believe.
karakedi25: From what I can tell, lotro will keep its character
VardaValar1: Both made by Blizzard
VardaValar1: Good deal. : )
VardaValar1: We used to be a Blizzard guild, pretty much. : )
karakedi25: and the devs are clearly devoted to doing Middle-earth as right as they can within limits of practicality
VardaValar1: Tough job, and good for them! yay!
karakedi25: I think very well of them.
karakedi25: and they certainly work their tushies off
VardaValar1: aye, with too little reward, methinks.
karakedi25: it's my impression that lotro isn't just a ricebowl for them; it's a labor of love
VardaValar1: Agreed. And it shows.
ArPharazonV: Good to know they're fans, then :-)
karakedi25: oh definitely. I've met some of them (at PAX East), and they're fans, no doubt.
VardaValar1: (Another new art section for Smaug :-) )
VardaValar1: That would really help them enjoy and do their job
karakedi25: OK, time for me to log out. Namarie, all.
VardaValar1: Namarie!
karakedi25 has left the room.
ArPharazonV: Namarie!
VardaValar1: Breaking news
AriehnV: hello
ArPharazonV: Yes?
VardaValar1: New Gimli art section up, from the Bohemian Weasel-(T):
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Gimli/Gimli.htm
VardaValar1: You are the first to hear. : )
ArPharazonV: Yay!
AriehnV: oh nice :-D very nice picture
VardaValar1: You should see two pictures?
ArPharazonV: Yep.
VardaValar1: o good. :-)
VardaValar1: Click to enlarge
ArPharazonV: Frodo looks so bored.
VardaValar1: Or like he's distracted since that sorceress happens to be talking to him.
ArPharazonV: Also a possibility!
VardaValar1: One of the fun things about Frodo is that he can sometimes
be ahead of the other characters in knowing or understanding things, so
his reaction can seem odd to the others.
VardaValar1: Frodo's being weird again, look out!
ArPharazonV: I bet they just assume it's the Ring.
VardaValar1: Probably :-)
VardaValar1: Another new art section up, one image in it, from The Bohemian Weasel-(T):
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Smaug/Smaug.htm
ArPharazonV: Wow, it's a pile of gol- okay, it's a big eye, let's get out of here.
VardaValar1: hehehe
AriehnV: Nice one
AriehnV: Namarie for now :-)
VardaValar1: Namarie!
VardaValar1: The sun must set sometime. Think they call it night.
ArPharazonV: namarie!
AriehnV: oh yes .. something like that ^^
AriehnV: Namarie :-)
AriehnV has left the room.
VardaValar1: Not done with this one yet, two more pics and links into the site, but have to stop for now. So here you go:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Bilbo/Bilbo.htm
VardaValar1: Think I'm still here due to rain. :-)
VardaValar1: Going to go feed pie to Fangorn.
ArPharazonV: enjoy!
ArPharazonV: saving and sending transcript
top