Valar Guild

June 21, 2015 Sunday Meeting

5pm EDT (UTC/GMT - 5)

AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace

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Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.

Attending: (4)
    AriehnV, ArPharazonV, Indis-(V)/karakedi25, VardaValar1 (presiding)

Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership:
    Arien (After-meeting)
    Varda (After-meeting)
Web:
    Tolkien Site: new art from the Bohemian Weasel-(T)
    Games Site: news
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Tolkien Moment 1: What is a fell beast?
    Tolkien Moment 2: Sauron's form after the Ring hit the lava.
    Tolkien Moment 3: How Samwise says he's feeling fine.
    Tolkien Moment 4: Legolas telling in the main text about his plans for Ithilien.
After-meeting:
    An unauthorized new Tolkien biography
    Gaming (including flashgaming links, Heroes of the Storm's Abathur the Evolutionist video guide)
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Before-meeting
You have just entered room "valarguildmeetingplace."
VardaValar1 has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
VardaValar1: Aiya Phar :-)
ArPharazonV: Been poking Arien, but no response so far.
VardaValar1: May be away, and thanks. :-)
ArPharazonV: Just hunting some bonfires on an alt for this year's Midsummer festival in WoW myself.
ArPharazonV: New stuff requires 1200 blossom tokens this year, so gotta bring in the alts!
VardaValar1: That's a lot
karakedi25 has entered the room.
VardaValar1: Aiya Indis :-)
ArPharazonV: Yep, two toys and a pet.
karakedi25: Aiya
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
karakedi25: Happy father's day to those for whom it's relevant
VardaValar1: Said hi to Bofur in WoW a bit ago. :-) Thanks for introducing us back in the day, Indsi.
VardaValar1: *Indis
ArPharazonV: Happy father's day!
AriehnV has entered the room.
VardaValar1: Aiya Sunshine :-)
AriehnV: aiya all :-)
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
AriehnV: wet sunshine here ^^
VardaValar1: heh - shining through clouds and rain often here too, making rainbows are you?
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VardaValar1: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
VardaValar1: Membership:
VardaValar1: Happy Father's Day to all the fathers in the guild, and to the fathers of members!
AriehnV: Happy fathers day to all :-)
VardaValar1: and happy memories of fathers as well. :-)
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VardaValar1: Web:
VardaValar1: We have new pictures from the flying fingers of the Bohemian Weasel-(T)
ArPharazonV: There's an imagery.
VardaValar1: Flying paws maybe? :-)
karakedi25: flying paws? That sounds like my alpha cat when there's food around
VardaValar1: or Sauron over here who's shaking my shoulders :-)
VardaValar1: Just for a sec, playful son.
ArPharazonV: Sauron? Surely you mean Tevildo :-)
VardaValar1: He's known by that name as well, aye. :-)
AriehnV: he has grown a good pair of wings in Eve :-)
AriehnV: Hallo Sauron :-)
karakedi25: I've always had a soft spot for Tevildo
VardaValar1: The BW has been adding pictures to a timelined set she's making. Here's some new ones for just outside of Moria, after they slammed their way through any orcs foolish enough to try to block them after Gandalf's death.
VardaValar1: Merry is the strong one here, but you can see how he feels while holding Pippin:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Merry/soni-topps -lotrm2-117d_loss_of_Gandalf.jpg
karakedi25: She should play lotro so she can have the experiences herself
VardaValar1: This one shows Boromir and Gimli at that time:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Boromir/soni-top ps-lotrm2-117e_Boromir_loss_of_Gandalf.jpg
VardaValar1: Good idea, Indis.
VardaValar1: Frodo grieves but has his own inner strength holding him up:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Frodo/soni-topp s-lotrm2-117f_Frodo_loss_of_Gandalf.jpg
ArPharazonV: Useful having a main character who's known for his bright blue eyes. Let a tear fall, release more emotion in the watcher than all the other sobbing characters combined.
VardaValar1: In the next section, they enter Lothlorien but the wardens don't want them there because they are bringing great evil:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Legolas/soni-top ps-lotrm2-117k_Legolas_Lorien.jpg
VardaValar1: Agreed, Phar.
VardaValar1: That shot is Legolas looking back at the carrier of the great evil.
VardaValar1: They could have been shot down by not being allowed through Lothlorien, in a peaceful way.
VardaValar1: But Galadriel is willing to take the danger and fight in that way. They enter Caras Galadhon:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/places/Lorien/soni-topps-lot rm2-118_Caras_Galadhon.jpg
VardaValar1: And that's the ones put up for today. More coming later on. :-)
VardaValar1: Eonwe has been experimenting with behind the scenes php, css and we're working on it, maybe bring you some changes in organization. Not sure you'll even notice. :-)
VardaValar1: He also updated the Gaming Site news for the meeting, doing that time as a way of being with us when he has to work.
VardaValar1: Oh, about the images, the new ones are mainly from the Masterpieces set, being pieced into the timeline. They are tiny and have to fit on cards, so the detail that she still brings is amazing.
ArPharazonV: Participation by proxy.
VardaValar1: Aye. :-)
VardaValar1: Please feel free to send in your own artwork. If it's Tolkienesque, we take stick pics too. :-)
VardaValar1: A reminder of Arathorn's very fun art:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/Arathorn/caveArathorn.htm
VardaValar1: We can also use your poetry, stories, jokes, articles, etc. Don't be shy. :-)
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VardaValar1: On to Gaming:
VardaValar1: World of Warcraft:
ArPharazonV: *ponders about an idea I once had for putting special Silmarillion moments in a colored stickfigure form*
VardaValar1: Eonwe is passing on this warning for folks who haven't been on since Dec 2010, and if for future expansions:
VardaValar1: (go for it, Phar!)
VardaValar1: If you haven't logged in in a while, your character name may be in jeopardy. Name reclamation is coming.
VardaValar1: Patch 6.2: Fury of Hellfire will be released this Tuesday. See the planned Hellfire Citadel raid schedule. Don't miss the blog on the Legendary questline either.
ArPharazonV: Yep. Logged all my off-server alts when I read that. I knew I'd logged the rest for Winter Veil.
VardaValar1: Good plan. I've been logging in today too. That's how I had the luck to spot Bofur. :-)
VardaValar1: Eowyn and Gimli were in Battlenet too.
VardaValar1: I still have a batch to go, being careful and logging into all the Blizzard games, just in case.
VardaValar1: Continuing:
VardaValar1: See previews of the Timewalking dungeons: Mana-Tombs and Black Morass.
VardaValar1: StarCraft2:
VardaValar1: Oh, and in WoW, Midsummer festivities are going. Lots to do. Thanks for the reminder, Phar!
ArPharazonV: Yep!
VardaValar1: StarCraft 2:
VardaValar1: A prologue for Legacy of the Void is coming: Whispers of Oblivion.
ArPharazonV: Few new items this year for midsummer; if you'd already gotten the rest, bringing your collection up to date will require 1200 blossoms for 2 toys and a pet. Good luck collecting! [WoW}
VardaValar1: See the new Legacy of the Void Beta balance update.
VardaValar1: That's a lot of festival time. :-)
VardaValar1: Hearthstone:
VardaValar1: New patch out: Patch 2.7.0.9166.
VardaValar1: Heroes of the Storm:
VardaValar1: See what Blizzard has In Development and be ready for the coming PTR.
VardaValar1: LotRO:
VardaValar1: Since Thursday, the Welcome Back Weekend extra 25% experience has been going. Good time to bring in lower level characters.
VardaValar1: Also, the Spring Festival is going. Check out the new mounts, warhorse caparisons etc.
VardaValar1: Those of us with a lot of high level alts are still scrambling to get geared, running lots of instances.
VardaValar1: Any other general gaming news?
ArPharazonV: Heroes of the Storm:
ArPharazonV: New Diablo map and several heroes have been announced, along with skins for several of the old ones. Looks like a good batch of features to come!
ArPharazonV: But I guess that's all covered in your links :-)
VardaValar1: Good to see so much Dev work going on for our games. We appreciate it, even if we don't understand much of what's involved. We know it's tough!
VardaValar1: Any other comments, suggestions, scouting and general recruiting suggestions?
VardaValar1: things you'd like to see?

VardaValar1: Tolkien:
VardaValar1: I found some Tolkien moments, some of which relate to points we've come up with or asked about previously.
VardaValar1: This one concerns what a fell beast is and looks like, besides being a dramatic Moment:
VardaValar1: Indis, you were trying to type something?
karakedi25: Yes, working hard at getting my 6 level capped characters geared, plus I have 4 more ranging from 88-97, who will have to be geared up when they reach level cap.
VardaValar1: That is a lot of gaming!
karakedi25: It really is. My main is the only one I'd take into t2 instances currently
VardaValar1: Gearing up the mains has been the big concern for a while, just now being able to look around at the neglected alts.
VardaValar1: Good weekend for running the ones under 100 this weekend. I'll try not to take too terribly long on the Moments. :-)

VardaValar1: This is a description of the fell beast and a Moment:

VardaValar1: The great shadow descended like a falling cloud. And behold! it was a winged
VardaValar1: creature: if bird, then greater than all other birds, and it was naked,
VardaValar1: neither quill nor feather did it bear, and its vast pinions were as webs of
VardaValar1: hide between horned fingers; and it stank. A creature of an older world maybe
VardaValar1: it was, whose kind, lingering in forgotten mountains cold beneath the Moon,
VardaValar1: outstayed their day, and in hideous eyrie bred this last untimely brood, apt
VardaValar1: to evil. And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it
VardaValar1: grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly, and he gave it to his
VardaValar1: servant to be his steed. Down, down it came, and then, folding its fingered
ArPharazonV: *looks up the word "pinion"*
VardaValar1: webs, it gave a croaking cry, and settled upon the body of Snowmane, digging
VardaValar1: (feather)
ArPharazonV: "Pinions, the outermost primary flight feathers on a bird's wing"
VardaValar1: in its claws, stooping its long, naked neck.
ArPharazonV: fair enough
VardaValar1: -"The Battle of the Pelennor Fields", RotK
VardaValar1: /endquote

VardaValar1: In other words, more of a skin type creature than feathered, although it flew.
VardaValar1: Escapee from Jurassic World, modified flying dinosaur? :-)
ArPharazonV: It does rather put one in mind of a Pterodactyl.
ArPharazonV: "beyond the measure of all other things that fly"
VardaValar1: that or a Pteranodon, agreed.
ArPharazonV: So they're bigger than eagles.
VardaValar1: Right.
VardaValar1: Sauron probably had eagles in mind for them to have to fight at some point.
ArPharazonV: Clever.
ArPharazonV: Did Morgoth ever have that insight?
ArPharazonV: Maybe when he gave his dragons wings.
VardaValar1: Morgoth had the insight to put Sauron in charge of that sort of thing.
ArPharazonV: Haha, true.
VardaValar1: Ancalagon the Black. Suppose they'd had time to make flocks of those dragons? Had to stop him.
ArPharazonV: Well, Ancalagon wasn't the only one. The dragons of later time had wings, like Smaug.
ArPharazonV: Ancalagon was just the biggest.
VardaValar1: Aye, and the ones he (Smaug) came from over in the northern mountains. He wasn't the only one around, just positioned dangerously.
VardaValar1: Stopping up the pass.
ArPharazonV: Yep. They even used dragons from the northern mountains in Battle for Middle-Earth 2, I think?
VardaValar1: Gandalf had to keep that pass clear for the future.
VardaValar1: Eonwe played that one, but I haven't. It sounds like a reasonable plot.

VardaValar1: In another Tolkien Moment, we have the counterpart to what happened to Saruman after death. This is the one Indis mentioned about Sauron, for contrast.

VardaValar1: "The realm of Sauron is ended!" said Gandalf. "The Ring-bearer has fulfilled
ArPharazonV: Supposedly the Witch-King recruited one in his Angmar-days and used it to terrorize the dwarves in the Blue Mountains ;-)
VardaValar1: his Quest." And as the Captains gazed south to the Land of Mordor, it seemed
VardaValar1: to them that, black against the pall of cloud, there rose a huge shape of
VardaValar1: shadow, impenetrable, lightning-crowned, filling all the sky. Enormous it
VardaValar1: reared above the world, and stretched out towards them a vast threatening
VardaValar1: hand, terrible but impotent: for even as it leaned over them, a great wind
VardaValar1: took it, and it was all blown away, and passed; and then a hush fell.
VardaValar1: -"The Field of Cormallen", RotK
VardaValar1: /endquote

VardaValar1: I would've liked to have seen that in the movie. :-)
ArPharazonV: Not sure it would've fit well with what they put in. The eye imploding, the ground dropping away...
ArPharazonV: Not a good time for a hush to fall.
VardaValar1: I wouldn't have used that Eye thing in the first place, but they were stuck with it by then.
ArPharazonV: Yep.

VardaValar1: Here's a short moment coming up.
VardaValar1: Sam and Frodo have been rescued, been unconscious healing quite a while. Sam wakes up and asks how he's feeling.
VardaValar1: Here's Sam, who thought he was about to die, and his version of saying he's fine:

VardaValar1: "I feel like spring after winter, and sun on the leaves; and like trumpets and
VardaValar1: harps and all the songs I have ever heard!"
VardaValar1: -Sam after the rescue from Mt. Doom. "The Field of Cormallen", RotK
VardaValar1: /endquote

ArPharazonV: Sounds rather unrealistic after you just woke up from a week's sleep.
VardaValar1: Sam wakes up and Gandalf asks how he's feeling. /facepalm
VardaValar1: He's happy to be alive.
VardaValar1: O well. Next time we start to answer that we "feel fine", we can break that line out. :-)
ArPharazonV: Sounds like a plan.
VardaValar1: hehe

VardaValar1: Ok, one more Moment and you folks can have a break. :-)

VardaValar1: "And I," said Legolas, "shall walk in the wood of this fair land, which is
VardaValar1: rest enough. In days to come, if my Elven-lord allows, some of our folk shall
VardaValar1: remove hither; and when we come it shall be blessed, for a while. For a while:
VardaValar1: a month, a life, a hundred years of Men. But Anduin is near, and Anduin leads
VardaValar1: to the Sea."
VardaValar1: -"The Field of Cormallen", RotK
VardaValar1: /endquote

VardaValar1: One hopes he was careful to keep that community away from gulls.
ArPharazonV: Anti-gull measures.
VardaValar1: :-)

VardaValar1: *taps a small hammer on the table we're sitting around*
VardaValar1: *cracks radiate rapidly outward*
VardaValar1: *hurriedly uses wood putty and puts the hammer back in the shelf very carefully*

VardaValar1: After-meeting:
VardaValar1: Free chat time!
VardaValar1: *rescues the coffee-pot*
VardaValar1: Happy to say we have a faster internet service now. Loading times in LotRO are down. :-)
VardaValar1: I'd pop into an instance to see people running along ahead of me. Hoping that's fixed now.
ArPharazonV: Can happen if people don't wait! Someone's connection has to be the slowest. Noticing that in Heroes of the Storm as well.
AriehnV: I ve got some interesting tolkien half news .. Mark Faiths http://www.festivalartandbooks.com/ have got new books out including a new Biography of Papa Tolkien
ArPharazonV: You get a loading bar for yourself, which can take a few minutes, but you don't know when the other 9 players are done loading, so you'll have to wait an unspecified time after your loading bar is done. Unless you're the slowest.
VardaValar1: My elf hunter has fast feet, not usually a real problem. But when my lumbering dwarf guardian goes in, not good to be in back.

AriehnV: J. R. R. Tolkien: Codemaker, Spy-master, Hero ....
VardaValar1: Ok, that's different.
AriehnV: by Elanslea, Alexander Lewis and Elizabeth Currie
AriehnV: Mark Faiths Comment and Introduction
VardaValar1: Hmm, like to see some confirmation on that by his family or folks he served with. May be in the book.
VardaValar1: If it's strictly from analyzing his work, I'd have to be skeptical.
VardaValar1: But no doubt it would be a fun read!
karakedi25: It does look like a fun read.
AriehnV: just thought i d mention it out of interest
VardaValar1: Handsome artwork on that site.
VardaValar1: Thank you. I'd enjoy reading it.
AriehnV: and on the personal level .. I found a job in the south of England close to Bruce's family
ArPharazonV: Congratulations! Moving, then?
karakedi25: http://smile.amazon.com/J-R-R-Tolkien-Codemaker-Spy-master-unauthorised-biography/dp/151183711X/ref=smi_www_rco2_go_smi_g2096965622 ?_encoding=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0
AriehnV: just need to find a house or flat lto move into :-) so yes Phara
karakedi25: They appear to have the entire book on 'look inside'
VardaValar1: Fantastic, Arien, both professionally and personally. :-)
ArPharazonV: So! Personal gaming news time?
VardaValar1: Heh, could be a book like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter.
VardaValar1: Sure, Phar
ArPharazonV: Right.

ArPharazonV: Most of the flashgames I've played were either parts of series that I've mentioned before, and one that's simply depressing... but I do have one smaller platformer game where you have to navigate platforms and obstacles with 2 characters of different colors, and each one can pass through platforms that have the other's color. It's not too difficult, but I thought it was fun.
ArPharazonV: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/tiny_treasure is the one!
ArPharazonV: Last part is timed but that shouldn't matter much unless you go away from your computer, I guess.
ArPharazonV: Hmm what's next.
ArPharazonV: Monk to level 55 in D3 now! But can't be far from the end of the season. I'll have to speed things up, perhaps, if the end is announced.
ArPharazonV: Killing is still going fast, but levelling rather more slowly.
ArPharazonV: Hearthstone: First Tavern Brawl was this week. Not sure if it was the same globally, but in Europe the theme was Nefarian versus Ragnaros, with each player getting cards themed to one of the bosses and having to defeat your opponent who has the other one.
ArPharazonV: First win will get you a free card pack, so I'd advise you to go for it.
ArPharazonV: Got all 9 classes just about equal in experience, just below level 35. Should start hitting that during the week, maybe even all of them!
ArPharazonV: And I drew a new legendary this week, the rogue class legendary, Trade Prince Gallywix.
ArPharazonV: Rather situational but might be fun, and always good for the collection.
ArPharazonV: Also, the crosspromotion reward for 100 Hearthstone wins has finally been implemented, which brings us to...
ArPharazonV: Heroes of the Storm: With the Hearthstone reward enabled, you can now use (or earn first, if you haven't gotten 100 wins yet) a mount in the shape of a Hearthstone cardback for your Heroes of the Storm-characters.
ArPharazonV: Several colors available depending on the level of your hero.
ArPharazonV: I've just slowly been doing my dailies, got a lot of quests for using a warrior hero, so my Muradin has seen a lot of action this week, though I'm not too good at using him.
ArPharazonV: Also studied a bit further on, and practiced with, Abathur the evolution specialist, and he's every bit as fun as I thought he'd be :-) Found a good guide for him on youtube too, not exactly up to date on his abilities, but good for getting some tips on using him effectively.
ArPharazonV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S989x5dMHi0 if you're interested!
ArPharazonV: Kinda long video at nearly half an hour, but fun to watch Abathur played so efficiently that he gets highest scores for everything in the entire team.
karakedi25: Namarie, all
ArPharazonV: Or just fun if you want to watch an entire map of gameplay before you pick up the game
ArPharazonV: Namarie!
karakedi25 has left the room.
ArPharazonV: And now! World of Warcraft
ArPharazonV: Finally a new pet from the old raids for me! A chaos pup from Muru, a boss in the Sunwell raid. Kinda cute, leaving me with only 4 lacking of the new 12 pets.
ArPharazonV: We also got the last pet needed from the second half of the Hyjal-raid, which means we won't have to go back to the rather annoying orc base fights, but are free to stop after we protect the human base.
ArPharazonV: I did a whole bunch of questing this week, clearing up the last few questlines I had in Spires of Arak and Nagrand. I've also got most of the achievements finished that you can only do during specific apexis daily quests, so that clears up some time away.
ArPharazonV: And I finally finished this chapter of the Legendary Ring questline, gaining Garona as a legendary follower.
ArPharazonV: Just in time.. the new chapter starts with the new patch which we get in a few days :-)
ArPharazonV: And I've been going after the new things from the Midsummer festival, getting enough blossom tokens with my highest-level alt to buy the most expensive toy, which leaves my main for getting the other toy and the new pet. Should be doable in a few days, if I can free up the time among our raiding.
ArPharazonV: We will be going for the new raid immediately on thursday, leaving Blackrock Foundry behind for now. Still one Tuesday raid left, but we haven't killed Blackhand yet this week, and probably won't attempt another mythic fight afterwards, so that's where our mythic efforts stop for now. I'm sure we'll get back on off-days later.
ArPharazonV: I don't know if I'll be jumping into the new patch content immediately. Still got a lot of other stuff on my to-do list, and with all that other questing out of the way, I'm finally getting the available time for it. We'll see.
ArPharazonV: Perhaps I'll just focus on the raiding and do the rest of the zone later.
ArPharazonV: And I think that's my gaming news for this week!
VardaValar1: Thank you, Golden One. :-)
AriehnV: thank you :-)

AriehnV: and Namarie .. its getting bed time once i rounded up rp ... that is
AriehnV: so Namarie :-)
ArPharazonV: namarie!
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: saving and sending transcript
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