March 30, 2014 Sunday Meeting
5pm
EDT (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Back to News
Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.
Attending: (5)
AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, Nar-(V)/mcioutpost,
VardaValar1 (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership:
Web:
Gaming:
Hearthstone
flashgaming: Wooden Path
Tera Rising
Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
LotRO
WoW
Tolkien:
rp postings start the chat and
break in here and there during the main chat.
Tolkien's Beowulf
Chat topic: Things that
happened to JRRT in real life having to do with family sometimes bled
over into his writing (and the reverse). Can you think of some of
these? (The chat breaks up and starts again.)
After-meeting:
Tolkien chat continues. RP posting.
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Before-meeting
You have just entered room
"valarguildmeetingplace."
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
VardaValar1: Aiya Golden One :-)
VardaValar1: It's that time. Are you still in a raid or other?
ArPharazonV: I'm here. DST synched up this weekend.
ArPharazonV: Just playing a flashgame I'll link later in the meeting :-)
VardaValar1: Sounds good :-)
VardaValar1: Looks like Arien is coming in
AriehnV has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
AriehnV: aiya there :-)
VardaValar1: Aiya!
VardaValar1: Gilraen is baking at the moment, must smell great over
there.
VardaValar1: Hello from Elwing who is in LotRO
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VardaValar1: Elen
sila lumenn' omentielvo!
AriehnV: oh great can imagine
VardaValar1: Membership:
VardaValar1: ^^
VardaValar1: I'm still in Arizona. Faramir is on the mend, so I may be
free sometime in May.
VardaValar1: Looking forward to heading home just before Fangorn's
birthday. :-)
VardaValar1: Any other membership news?
ArPharazonV: We're in DST now!
ArPharazonV: Timelines synched up again.
VardaValar1: Huzzah!
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VardaValar1: Web:
VardaValar1: Nothing new on my end.
VardaValar1: Be sure your character has an article on our Tolkien
Site so we know how to rp with him/her, similar to the bio used in
other rp groups.
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VardaValar1: Gaming:
VardaValar1: Non-WoW, non-LotR gaming. Phar, you had some news?
ArPharazonV: Oh, yes.
ArPharazonV: Well, to start with, I played more Hearthstone, ranked play! Made my
druid hero a custom deck, and though it might not be working much yet,
it gets a win from time to time, which is technically all I'll need to
get more cards :-) If you participate in a monthly season and reach
rank 20, you'll get a unique card back and I aim to collect all :-)
ArPharazonV: There are 25 ranks, and once you climb up there you can't
actually fall lower than 20 again, so all it takes to reach it and stay
there is a few wins, no matter the losses in between.
ArPharazonV: Also, did some flashgaming; this weekend I've been
throwing myself at a sort of sliding puzzle game where you have to move
bridge-pieces around to get a single bridge from one side to the other
side of the river.
ArPharazonV: It's not too hard *yet* but it gets progressively more
complicated, and in the end you might find yourself, like I have, not
being able to close your eyes without seeing bridge pieces moving in
your head ;-)
VardaValar1: hehe
ArPharazonV: So if you're tolerant of a little insanity, give http://www.kongregate.com/games/Remivision/wooden-path
a try!
VardaValar1: Thanks :-)
ArPharazonV: I might have linked it before since it's been in my gaming
backlog for a while, but I doubt it.
VardaValar1: Good to re-link
ArPharazonV: Myeah, that's pretty much it.
VardaValar1: Thank you, Phar. :-)
AriehnV: i ve tried out a game called Tera Rising
VardaValar1: Ahh, how was it?
AriehnV: but i didnt like it to be honest graphic and that was nice but
first big minus its over 15 hours download
AriehnV: second big minus there are two many interfaces which are
terribly small to read
AriehnV: third was the controls .. it gives high agility in combat i
have to give them that
AriehnV: but it makes your wrist highly vulnerable
AriehnV: its keyboard and mouse combined so you have to be good at
coordinating left and right hands which i am not ^^
ArPharazonV: Oh, one more non-wow bit when Arien's done.
VardaValar1: ok
AriehnV: its a free game MMoRPG so feel free to try it yourself .. am
best get the downloader wich is from en masse. com
AriehnV: else you end up probably with downloading corrupt data at some
point and have to start all over again . which happenened to me hehe
karakedi25 has entered the room.
karakedi25: aiya
AriehnV: that was my impressions anyway others might have more luck and
probably not the problems with reading and aiya Indis :-)
ArPharazonV: Aiya
VardaValar1: Aiya Indis :-)
AriehnV: thats it from me L))
VardaValar1: Thank you, Arien. Phar, go ahead.
ArPharazonV: Diablo
3: Reaper of Souls released this week.
ArPharazonV: Got my Collector's Edition, with extra goodies, and a
good-looking artbook, though some of the monsters in it are rather
freaky :-)
VardaValar1: Isn't that a good thing? :-)
ArPharazonV: Let's just say.. nightmare fuel. Spikes, fangs, tentacles
everywhere, and many appear to not have eyes.
ArPharazonV: Good thing if you're into that sort of thing :-)
ArPharazonV: Also came with a new pet for WoW, new portraits for
Starcraft II, and some neato items in Diablo 3!
VardaValar1: Cthulo fans take note.
AriehnV: lots and lots of demons i hear .. Anya said too many of them
hehee
ArPharazonV: I have yet to actually play the game though, but I'm sure
that'll come :-)
VardaValar1: Cthulu if I could type.
AriehnV: i liked the changes in the patch before the release
AriehnV: but i havent downloaded the Reaper yet althou i did manage to
kill Diablo ^^ at leatst on normal
ArPharazonV: Malthael next, when you download it?
VardaValar1: Back to our roots. :-)
ArPharazonV: Well, that's it for me, for non-WoW! Again!
VardaValar1: Thank you
LotRO:
VardaValar1: Indis had some WoW news from the Bullroarer test server.
karakedi25: um not WoW
karakedi25: don't play Wow !
VardaValar1: LotRO /desktop
AriehnV: LotrO i guess :-D
karakedi25: hehe
VardaValar1: Jumping LotRO ahead so we can have Indis' report.
karakedi25: mostly they're tinkering a lot with mitigations and
resistances, reducing power of some stats and upgrading some virtues.
Very complicated, and I'm not following it particularly. It's in the
name of balance and making the game a bit harder, as there have been a
lot of complaints that it's too easy since Helm's Deep.
karakedi25: No information yet on the new class.
karakedi25: the changes in inventory and mail will be nice for quality
of life...
VardaValar1: So we'd better hurry to do the easy stuff now. ;-)
VardaValar1: With a new class, balance changes will be necessary.
karakedi25: First Age legendary items will be available but as always
difficult to acquire the necessary symbols
karakedi25: reports from the test server so far are that the changes
aren't making things all that difficlut
karakedi25: Lots of the usual moaning from pvp players, to which I pay
little attention
VardaValar1: Game wasn't ever intended to be majorly catering to PvMP.
karakedi25: that's right. It's always been intended as a PVE game, but
those who love pvp moan anyway
VardaValar1: It is pretty neat to try playing the monster classes. :-)
karakedi25: I have a spider
VardaValar1: Love the spider emotes - and good for going after prey.
karakedi25: mine gets killed pretty fast
karakedi25: anyway, I can't think of much more...oh wait, we get to do
session play as ents :-)
karakedi25: and we'll see flooded Isengard
VardaValar1: We need to tell Fladrif!
karakedi25: there will be a small new area, a part of Fangorn that
they're calling the Entwood. It will have its own reputation *sigh*
karakedi25: and some other grindy things
VardaValar1: Things we'll do to get to play an ent.
ArPharazonV: Wooh, reputation! Gotta love reputation-grinding. In WoW
anyway.
karakedi25: ent-play is part of the book quest line. It will be the
last book of volume III. I think they're planning to start vol. IV in a
future update this year.
karakedi25: that's about all I can think of
VardaValar1: Thank you, Indis. :-)
karakedi25: you're welcome
karakedi25: afk
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VardaValar1: WoW:
VardaValar1: Any WoW news you would like to share? Seen any of our
European WoW folks?
ArPharazonV: Saw Arien online for a bit!
ArPharazonV: In my guild.
ArPharazonV: Didn't talk much though :-)
ArPharazonV: As for events and progress... I'm nearly done with
archeology now for pandaria, finished everything related to mogu and
pandaren, and hopefully won't be long for the last bits of mantid. Once
you only have mantid archeology left, you can buy items that allow you
to get only mantid digsites for 24 hours.
ArPharazonV: And they're pretty cheap, so I hope it'll speed things
along!
VardaValar1: Sounds useful if you can stay on. Does it let you break it
up so you can eat and sleep?
ArPharazonV: Nah, it's an item with a duration/lifespan.
ArPharazonV: They just disappear after 24 hours.
ArPharazonV: But as I said, it's pretty cheap, only requires 2 solved
artifacts to buy, and I'm getting plenty of those.
ArPharazonV: I think that in the last 2 days (and maybe 4 hours of
archeology in total) I've gotten enough of those to last me a month.
ArPharazonV: When it comes to raiding we've been trying the heroic mode
for Sha of Pride, which is pretty difficult, but also rather fun. As a
tank, the normal version is kind of boring, but we get to run around
more now :-)
ArPharazonV: And that's pretty much it! Next week, more digging up of
mantid fragments!
VardaValar1: Good luck with all of that! :-)
ArPharazonV: Thanks!
VardaValar1: Any further comment, suggestion, news, etc?
VardaValar1 has left the room.
VardaValar1 has entered the room.
VardaValar1: ooops
ArPharazonV: Welcome back! You didn't miss anything.
VardaValar1: Sure glad Phar makes a transcript!
VardaValar1: Thank you.
ArPharazonV: Oh, to clarify, you can of course get the mantid item even
if you haven't finished the other races
ArPharazonV: but I didn't think it was practical to do so ;-)
VardaValar1: First, any suggestions for a topic or rp comment.
VardaValar1: Good tips, thanks.
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VardaValar1: Tolkien:
VardaValar1: Any rp suggestions? Do you want Fainan
to go directly in to bother Elrond next? Anything you want to do first,
or would you like to join her?
ArPharazonV: I think I was still supposed to meet Frali, but haven't
gotten around to it yet.
karakedi25: Meren would like to join her.
AriehnV: i can move Frali to a party and that mug wine and you can move
to the next day to the meeting with Elrond
AriehnV: its no problem
VardaValar1: That could work. Not sure how Meren and Fainan are going
to get together.
AriehnV: or mug ale rather the elves have secretly stored somewhere %%
ArPharazonV: Yeah, Calion's supposed to meet Frali and the dwarves as
they come up.
ArPharazonV: I'll try to do it this week then, if I remember to!
VardaValar1: Very good. So you two might like to work up a post
together now?
karakedi25: Presumably someone knows where to find her (either library
or among the Rivendell loremasters)
ArPharazonV: We can just make short dialogue posts. I'm not good at
that but I can always try to learn!
VardaValar1: Fainan was planning on just getting into trouble by
herself. She needs to bump into Meren unintentionally, I guess.
ArPharazonV: At minimum I can just say hi and move along?
ArPharazonV: It's just as a sequel to the last few posts and
establishing where everyone is.
VardaValar1: One hopes Frali and the dwarves can draw you out a bit.
ArPharazonV: it could happen!
AriehnV: would he react to their asking after hwo he liked it in
Rivendell?
ArPharazonV: Sure, that could work.
AriehnV: okay .. you just have to say hi first and we could get a short
dialogue .. nothing too much might just one or two polite exchanges and
then head towards their quarters
AriehnV: and Fainan can decide whether she wants the rest of the party
wirh her when she is meeting Elrond
AriehnV: the thing is that we need to get this "short respite" to an
end :-)
ArPharazonV: That's true. It's awkward to wait so long for what is
basically filler :-)
VardaValar1: Agreed. This is really dragging along.
VardaValar1: It is a chance to get to chat with each other in a
peaceful environment, our last one, most likely.
AriehnV: aye
ArPharazonV: So not filler per se. But still, if we can't think of
anything to say... well, I usually can't.
VardaValar1: That's why we need several of us, to prompt.
VardaValar1: Fainan is worried about the new threat to Mirkwood, makes
it hard for her to enjoy sitting around Rivendell.
VardaValar1: Does Calion consider her a worrywart or is he worred too?
ArPharazonV: Calion's trying to enjoy himself, take his mind off
things, I think. But he can see where Fainan's coming from, and likes
at the least to be kept up to date.
ArPharazonV: I guess he's worried, but trying not to be?
VardaValar1: So really Fainan's the only one chomping at the bit to go.
ArPharazonV: Calion wouldn't like to stay for a week more. But while
he's there, and there's still resources to be tapped..
ArPharazonV: Anyway, yeah. He doesn't want to go out when he's less
prepared than he can be, I suppose.
VardaValar1: That's Fainan's problem - can't see what more she can do
to get ready in Riv. What else does Calion need? Maybe she could help
him.
ArPharazonV: Personally, Calion's got pretty much all the information
he needs, and has been processing it a bit. What he wants, is a bit
more scouting information, but of course the more delay there is, the
less relevant that information will be.
ArPharazonV: Part of it will be that he recognizes that others in the
party have things they want/need, and is willing to wait for it.
VardaValar1: Calion has some patience, older than Fainan.
VardaValar1: Ok, do we want to shift to a Tolkien chat? Or are you two
posting? :-)
ArPharazonV: I'm working on a Wooden Path level right now, though I'm
thinking about a post too :-) Tolkien's welcome!
AriehnV: Frali is young and impatient, and a bit of a hothead too ..
and he is an outsider in the company of elves so he d sure want
something happening soon ^^#
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VardaValar1: And yet Frali found other dwarves in Rivendell.
VardaValar1: Aiya Nar! Speaking of Dwarves. :-)
AriehnV: hello there Nar :-D
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
VardaValar1: We were about to shift to a Tolkien chat topic
VardaValar1: If you have a Tolkien-related question, this is the
perfect time to ask.
mcioutpost: I did, but now I don't remember.
VardaValar1: Maybe it will come back to you. :-)
VardaValar1: We've been talking about family in
Tolkien's works.
VardaValar1: Last time it was the very general topic of the groups of
children of Eru.
mcioutpost: Did you talk about Tolkien's Beowulf
finally being published?
VardaValar1: Wasn't that a while back?
VardaValar1: Feel free to tell about it.
mcioutpost: My wife is the expert, but the publication was just
announced. Apparantly, Christopher is editing. There was a legitimate
Beowulf scholar doing it but he was yanked.
ArPharazonV: Copyright issues?
ArPharazonV: Wanting to keep things under his own control?
mcioutpost: I bet the second. The publication is scheduled for May.
Mirebelle has been waiting for years.
mcioutpost: That's all I know. I'll try to get more details for next
week.
mcioutpost: done
VardaValar1: Thanks, very interesting. We'll keep an eye out.
[Note: JRRT taught about the Beowulf
poem in his classes.]
[Note: Tolkien's Beowulf is
available at Amazon.com. There was a Tolkien Beowulf publshed
around thirty years ago but went out of print; it lost copyright after
25 years. Some articles from The
Guardian, PBS,
IGN]
VardaValar1: The meeting has been running two hours. Anyone want to
continue trying the family topic or just break now?
ArPharazonV: I'm willing to continue if you have an angle, though I'm
also writing a post :-)
VardaValar1: Things that happened to JRRT in real life sometimes bled
over into his writing. Can you think of some of these?
AriehnV: there was somewhere a miller in a village where he lived that
he didnt like but his name was not Ted Sandyman ^^
VardaValar1: JRRT's wife danced for him in the woods and he was
enthralled. Happened twice in the books. :-)
VardaValar1: Can you think of where those two places were?
ArPharazonV: Luthien is the first to come to mind, as Beren came across
her dancing.
VardaValar1: Aye
ArPharazonV: The other one... possibly Melian?
VardaValar1: And true about the miller
VardaValar1: Did she dance? She did meet Thingol in the woods, but I
think it was more like a trance looking into each other's eyes
ArPharazonV: Could be.
AriehnV: Arwen dancing in Lothlorien and Aragorn saw her?
ArPharazonV: I thought Aragorn met Arwen in Rivendell, but I could
easily be wrong.
AriehnV: he thought he was lost in a dream and called her Tinuviel
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AriehnV: hmmm i cant really remember where but i thought something like
that ..maybe she was dancing in rivendell
VardaValar1: Arwen in Lorien dancing, right.
VardaValar1: Galadriel set that up, had Aragorn all dressed up so he
looked like a young elf lord.
AriehnV: oh scheming mothers ^^
ArPharazonV: Post made.
AriehnV: or grandmothiers in this case
ArPharazonV: What is it with mothers and grandmothers that they try to
pair up their children? :-)
VardaValar1: *cough*
VardaValar1: Desire for more children. :-)
VardaValar1: Another cross-over can be seen on the headstones for JRRT
and his wife.
VardaValar1: (now peeking at your post)
ArPharazonV: I must apologize, Arien; I stole the opening question you
suggested earlier, and reversed it ;-)
VardaValar1: Must've been a good idea then. :-)
VardaValar1: We don't seem to have the Most recent ten posts now?
VardaValar1: o there :-)
ArPharazonV: "Recent Posts" is still at the bottom.
VardaValar1: ok, makes a nice transition from your previous post.
VardaValar1: Beren and Luthien were on JRRT's and his wife's
headstones, as his love story.
ArPharazonV: I interpreted Frali's post as a bit of a timelapse from
our previous conversation to the dwarves finishing their training, so I
filled it in a bit, and things just fell into place.
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ArPharazonV: Ah, but Varda, is that his life bleeding into his writing,
or his writing bleeding into his (after)life?
VardaValar1: goes both ways :-)
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VardaValar1: Nar fell out of the chat, and we can't seem to get him
back in.
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VardaValar1: We see little of the ladies, the mothers, in the books.
VardaValar1: For JRRT, his work and his family life were mostly
separate.
ArPharazonV: Adventuring was a man's job?
mcioutpost has left the room.
VardaValar1: Pretty much, yes.
VardaValar1: But he must have been aware that the ladies wanted to
adventure but couldn't much, considering his strong tale of Eowyn.
ArPharazonV: That is true.
VardaValar1: I thought that showed a lot of sympathy for the problem.
ArPharazonV: He seems to have been enforcing and criticizing the gender
stereotype at the same time.
VardaValar1: Or more like he was recognizing that it existed and showed
that it was there.
ArPharazonV: That's probably more accurate, yes.
VardaValar1: Same as he did with the Gimli and Legolas story arc.
VardaValar1: What else do we notice about family that recurs?
mcioutpost has left the room.
VardaValar1: The ladies are considered beautiful and wonderful in most
cases, on a pedestal.
VardaValar1: But sometimes we see others, like Ioreth.
VardaValar1: She seems quite real, as if modeled on someone.
ArPharazonV: Could be. A healer figure, a wise-woman... mothering,
perhaps?
VardaValar1: JRRT seemed to put his mother and wife on a pedestal.
VardaValar1: Possibly.
VardaValar1: Gang, I'm going to let Phar get some rest, after 1 am and
it's gone quiet.
VardaValar1: *raises hammer*
ArPharazonV: Allrighty.
VardaValar1: *thummmp*
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VardaValar1: After-meeting
AriehnV: Aragorns mother seems to have been quite a spirited woman in
her own way .. she made sure her son got raised in safety and could
enjoy as much of his childhood as possible
AriehnV: just as an afterthought ^^
VardaValar1: Good remark
VardaValar1: Thought you were gone. :-)
VardaValar1: 'That is more like JRRT's mother, trying to raise him
right.
AriehnV: oh was afking but been looking into the aim now and akgain
AriehnV: what was her name again?
ArPharazonV: Looks like her name is.. Mabel?
VardaValar1: aye
VardaValar1: Wife Edith
AriehnV: no i mean err Aragorns mother ^^
VardaValar1: Gilraen
AriehnV: Ah Gilraen .. is it after her our Gilraen named herself?
VardaValar1: Aye :-)
AriehnV: :-)
ArPharazonV: That would be her.
VardaValar1: Mabel and Gilraen have some similarities, aye
AriehnV: right me be heading to bed for now .. i ll keep my eyes peeled
for an rp post next week :-)
VardaValar1: Quite a compliment
AriehnV: indeed
VardaValar1: Namarie Sunshine :-)
AriehnV: Namarie :-)
VardaValar1: Phar has one up
ArPharazonV: Namarie!
ArPharazonV: And yep, my post is made, waiting for your reply :-)
AriehnV: oh i ll have a quick look then
AriehnV: all right
ArPharazonV: Doesn't have to be today!
VardaValar1: Just when you thought it was safe to go...
ArPharazonV: hah
VardaValar1: oh, the Pathfinder game at home moved to Saturday, so I
can stay longer even at home.
AriehnV: hehe nice one Varda and nice post Phara :-)
ArPharazonV: Oh, great, so no more running from one place to the other
:-)
VardaValar1: Still in Arizona until probably mid-May
AriehnV: Namarie for now then .. well we ll survive it :-)
ArPharazonV: Namarie!
AriehnV: you shine for us wherever you are :-D
karakedi25: namarie!
AriehnV has left the room.
karakedi25 has left the room.
VardaValar1: Namarie Indis and Arien!
VardaValar1: That was sweet, Arien. :-)
ArPharazonV: saving and sending transcript
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