September 27, 2015 Sunday Meeting
5pm
EDT (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Back to News
Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.
Attending: (4)
AriehnV (presiding), ArPharazonV, PallandoValar, Varda Valar
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership:
Web:
Art from the Bohemian Weasel-(T)
Gaming
Tolkien:
Discussion topic: Who were the elf-lords? There's a comment by
Gandalf that sending even a great elf-lord along on the Fellowship
wouldn't help with force of arms as they need stealth. Yet they send Legolas.
After-meeting:
Gaming news from Arien and Ar-Pharazon, including flashgaming reviews.
Amusing gaming art link.
Super-moon lunar eclipse info and comments by Phar
who was watching it live. (Cloudy with intermittent rain for Varda.)
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Before-meeting
You have just entered room "valarguildmeetingplace."
AriehnV has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
AriehnV: Aiya :-)
VardaValar1 has entered the room.
VardaValar1: brb - got some images up for us.
ArPharazonV: Aiya!
AriehnV: Aiya Varda!
VardaValar1: Aiya Phar and Arien :-)
PallandoValar has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Aiya Pallando!
PallandoValar: Aiya
VardaValar1: Aiya Pallando :-)
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VardaValar1: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
VardaValar1: Membership:
VardaValar1: Our most recent member is from the 20th, Falco-(V)
VardaValar1: May apologies for accidentally listing him on the News as Falco-(T). Corrected now.
VardaValar1: Bilbo-(V)'s birthday was on the 24th, just two days after book Bilbo.
VardaValar1: Sauron-(Valar)'s birthday is today.
VardaValar1: Any other membership news from y'all?
VardaValar1: In other membership news, from Eonwe:
VardaValar1: /quote
VardaValar1: We're 3 days from wrapping up the GSMU, so this is last
call for anyone who has not responded, and I ask those who have to
check their gaming info now. As of September 27th, 2015, everyone who
has responded so far should have their gaming info on the Games Site
(assuming they gave gaming info). If for some reason they do not see
it, or something about it is incorrect, please e-mail me and let me
know.
VardaValar1: /endquote
VardaValar1: So please check to make sure your info is up right.
VardaValar1: He's also fixed up the pages to show the members more easily.
ArPharazonV: Ah. Ehr. I should probably mail him my info then. When was this 3 day warning made? :-)
VardaValar1: He needs the info soon for the report on the State of
Valar Gaming, usually given about the time of the Anniversary at the
start of October.
VardaValar1: Today. :-)
ArPharazonV: Ah, good, still on time.
VardaValar1: He'll still be updating afterwards, but having the report right or at least sort of close would be nice.
VardaValar1: Web:
VardaValar1: Tolkien Site:
VardaValar1: New art is up for the Bohemian Weasel-(T), requiring two new pages since they are new subjects.
VardaValar1: Page "Easterlings" has the new art on it. Don't forget you can click on the pics:
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Easterlings/Easterlings.html
VardaValar1: The next is "Elf-lord"
VardaValar1: [Note: removed at the request of the artist, as it had not been intended to be included with the Tolkien elves.]
VardaValar1: with links to some elf-lords.
VardaValar1: The Easterling is especially good.
ArPharazonV: hmhm, very picture-accurate
ArPharazonV: *movie-accurate
VardaValar1: Aye to that.
VardaValar1: The other is completely original, so kudos for that.
AriehnV: i love them
VardaValar1: yay :-)
AriehnV: really nice both
VardaValar1: Games Site news has been mentioned and we'll go into the gaming part next.
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VardaValar1: Gaming:
VardaValar1: Eonwe mentions on the site about what we just said:
VardaValar1: For the sake of a more evident design, a link has been
added to the Member Games Listing to get the members sorted by Honor.
Previously, this was done by clicking on the "Member Games Listing"
link, but it may not have been terribly evident. Hopefully this makes
navigation to that particular section clearer.
VardaValar1: WoW:
VardaValar1: See the latest hotfixes.
VardaValar1: StarCraft 2:
VardaValar1: More commanders for the Allied Commanders co-op missions have been revealed.
VardaValar1: A new cinematic is now out, made in the style of the Lords
of War ones released for World of Warcraft. Check out Reclamation.
VardaValar1: Heroes of the Storm:
VardaValar1: There's a new patch coming to the PTR. It's been delayed until September 28th, but it's coming.
VardaValar1: LotRO:
VardaValar1: Coming soon: changes to the in-game store.
VardaValar1: The epic of Bingo Boffin continues every Wednesday, and
new barter items come up such as the bunny pet and hatrack house
decoration.
VardaValar1: The server transfers are slowly continuing, but at least they are now from the closing servers.
ArPharazonV: And Bingo was his name-o...
VardaValar1: Right now it's still Elendilmir for the Americas, and Estel for Europe.
VardaValar1: heh
AriehnV: ah yes i have had a look into the first epic battle intro ^^#
VardaValar1: Bingo, wasn't that an early name for Bilbo? I should check.
ArPharazonV: It was, yes.
ArPharazonV: Either that, or his "real" name. I think it was an early version.
VardaValar1: Anyway, Bingo Boffin became an actual book character.
VardaValar1: argh
VardaValar1: Bingo Baggins
ArPharazonV: hehe
VardaValar1: He lived in the Shire, wife was Chica Grubb, son was Falco and the first Chubb-Baggins.
VardaValar1: Chubb? Looks like a typo?
VardaValar1: Seems as if it would be Grubb-Baggins.
ArPharazonV: We've got a Fatty, might as well have a Chubby.
VardaValar1: hehehe
VardaValar1: Anyway, this is the Falco that our new member took the name of. :-)
AriehnV: i see
VardaValar1: Any other general gaming news such as Eve or other to
bring up? Personal will of course be gone into during After-meeting.
VardaValar1: Sauron is still waiting for his motherboard, sorry folks.
AriehnV: Nothing new there :-) bah and poor Sauron
VardaValar1: That's why you haven't been seeing him in-game lately.
ArPharazonV: This weekend is double Bounty reward weekend in D3, if you need some stuff from the caches ;-)
VardaValar1: ahh
AriehnV: interweb has been very instable last week from wednesday to tonight .. hopefully its okay now
AriehnV: for me at least
VardaValar1: Internet's been a bit odd here too, lagging at strange moments all over. Not sure if it's us or not.
VardaValar1: Alll computers in the house at the same time.
VardaValar1: Any other news, suggestions of any kind?
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VardaValar1: Tolkien:
VardaValar1: First up, whose turn is it in the forum rp? :-)
ArPharazonV: *checks*
ArPharazonV: Well. Certainly not me!
VardaValar1: Aye, Phar was the most recent poster!
VardaValar1: Guess I could go again. It's pretty wide open other than Calion. [Note: new postings occurred behind the scenes during the main discussion.]
VardaValar1: We need to all take a look at our rp again and see what we can add.
VardaValar1: For Tolkien chat, a couple of possibilities suggest themselves from the pictures.
VardaValar1: Who were the elf-lords? There's a
comment by Gandalf that sending even a great elf-lord along on the
Fellowship wouldn't help with force of arms as they need stealth.
VardaValar1: Yet they send Legolas.
VardaValar1: He's technically an elf-lord, being a prince of Mirkwood, son of King Thranduil.
ArPharazonV: He's also rather stealthy.
ArPharazonV: Mirkwoodian elf-lords are likely an exception.
VardaValar1: He's not famous in the great battles of history at that
time, however, having been serving in Mirkwood and very probably any
action seen there.
VardaValar1: Heh
VardaValar1: I can see a reason for that. Why would you say that?
ArPharazonV: Well, they're experts in getting around Mirkwood
stealthily and silently, more so than the Noldor who seem to be more
successful in open warfare.
VardaValar1: True. Guerriilla warfare could be much more helpful to the Fellowship.
ArPharazonV: So I imagine they'd be more used to the stealth required than other elf-lords we know of.
ArPharazonV: Yes.
VardaValar1: The only time Legolas has mail is at Helm's Deep, borrowed
for that one battle. Then back to the usual sneaky leather.
VardaValar1: The other image is for an Easterling.
VardaValar1: The Men (humans) that work for Sauron have their reasons not to hang out with Gondorians. Can we think of any?
ArPharazonV: Being stuck in the deserts and wastelands while the Gondorians have so much fertile land? ;-)
VardaValar1: Interesting and quite possible, They may want the fertile land.
VardaValar1: Some believe they've been pushed out or kept out, and some
resent that the Rohirrim have that lovely chunk of grassland.
ArPharazonV: Being riled up by Sauron helps, but I figure many of the
invasions during the third age are just wanting to expand into better
land.
ArPharazonV: Yep, that works. Certainly goes for the wildlings working for Saruman.
VardaValar1: They've been told that the Gondorians will do atrocities to prisoners. No telling how many lies they've been fed.
VardaValar1: Aye. Some like Castamir back in the day thought they had a
genuine claim, and their followers would have felt cheated even after
Castamir was gone.
ArPharazonV: That is true. A lot of bad blood... and some of that blood being Gondorian.
VardaValar1: heh
VardaValar1: They also saw all those riches that they might be able to plunder.
VardaValar1: Being on Sauron's good side could feel like survival for
the Men living in lands under his influence. Who would come to their
aid if they rebelled?
AriehnV: well read "Bonds without hope" ,eh?
AriehnV: i think that shows some of those feelings
AriehnV: *comment to Phara*
AriehnV: you mean they acted out of desperation and swore allegfiance because they saw in him their only hope to survive>
VardaValar1: I mean not swearing allegience could lead to being six feet underground.
ArPharazonV: "Bonds without hope"? Doesn't ring a bell.
ArPharazonV: Am I still here? :-)
VardaValar1: yes :-)
AriehnV: it is a story in my cave Phari
VardaValar1: ahhh
AriehnV: i wrote it a few years ago and it should be somewhere in my memberlsit
ArPharazonV: Ah! I'll try to find it one of these days :-)
VardaValar1: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/fiction/authors/Arien/stories/BondsWithoutHope.htm
VardaValar1: There you go. :-)
AriehnV: and post
VardaValar1: Yay! Just read it
VardaValar1: Is this set before Calion's bit or after?
AriehnV: dpeneds when u two arrive at the office
AriehnV: Calion could be inside
AriehnV: already
AriehnV: as the three arrive
ArPharazonV: I'm not sure. Apparently it's established that Frali was already inside?
VardaValar1: Meren, Calion, and Fainan all arrive together and find Frali is with Elrond. Calion gave a report.
ArPharazonV: Yes.
VardaValar1: His birds had returned with info, feathered scouts for our mission to Angmar.
VardaValar1: So Calion passed it on to Elrond.
VardaValar1: Guess we're a bit crosswise on the timing. In the earlier
post, Frali is already with Elrond, surprising the group. In the later
post, Frali arrives about the same time as the other threed.
AriehnV: i misunderstodo that
ArPharazonV: In which case Calion is apparently already inside.
ArPharazonV: Timetravel!
VardaValar1: wow!
VardaValar1: The reason the rest of the group didn't find Frali was he was already inside. Big surprise!
VardaValar1: Maybe a tweak where Frali is inside and comments after
Calion does, in a space of quiet while Elrond is looking at the new map
positions?
AriehnV: Calion would come with Fainan and Meren than?
VardaValar1: He did, aye. That was already set up.
ArPharazonV: Calion came with Fainan and Meren to Elrond's office, yes.
VardaValar1: The three arrived together not having found Frali because he was already in the office with Elrond.
AriehnV: oki ready#
VardaValar1: yay!
VardaValar1: ok, so it backs up slightly filling in the gap where Frali
would have said something when his buddies came in the door. That works.
VardaValar1: Ok, it's been two hours. Shall we move to After-meeting and let the personal reports start?
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VardaValar1: After-meeting:
AriehnV: thanks Varda :-)
ArPharazonV: Roit then. I'll just give my personal gaming report!
AriehnV: I ve got some personal gaming as well
AriehnV: can i do mine first Phari ? i l be much quicker
ArPharazonV: Go for it!
AriehnV: just a quick one i achiecved "Draenor Pathfinder" in WoW this week!
AriehnV: so i can fly now in Draenor :-D
ArPharazonV: Grats! The sun has finally risen from the ground :-)
AriehnV: I had some much appreciated help from a guildmate with getting the treasures
VardaValar1: Yay!
ArPharazonV: Right! I'll start then!
AriehnV: aye go ahead
ArPharazonV: For flashgames, I'll give you two games this week. One is a fun little platformer but the timing of the jumps can get pretty difficult.
ArPharazonV: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/the_video_game_of_life
ArPharazonV: And for the second game, something completely different!
ArPharazonV: http://www.kongregate.com/games/bontegames/where-is-cat
is a cute, simple hidden object game where you have to find cats and
cat-related objects in each level. Because you go through the level
sets for different items every time, it has a lot more gameplay than I
thought at first.
ArPharazonV: Still not very long, but a fun little timewaster for a few minutes :-)
ArPharazonV: A kids game, really, made by the developer with the help of his kids. But still nice.
ArPharazonV: So enjoy!
ArPharazonV: Right. Blizzard gaming.
AriehnV has left the room.
AriehnV has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Hearthstone:
Season almost over, at the end of the month. If you want the pink card
back, better hurry! Not much news on the card collection front, but the
next level for all my classes is starting to come in sight.
ArPharazonV: Heroes of the Storm:
Account level 40 now, the maximum! Only experience I'll earn now is for
the heroes themselves, but it still looks nice to be level 40 :-)
ArPharazonV: No new heroes bought yet, but am still practicing with Kharazim a bit.
VardaValar1: (posted in forum rp)
ArPharazonV: Diablo 3: Changed
my game to expert difficulty, and made it from level 45 to level 55
with my seasonal wizard. Not much new in spells, but I did get some
useful spell-runes, getting to the point where my arcane power
regenerates so fast that I can channel Disintegrate almost infinitely,
or at least longer than any decent fight should take. Even at expert
difficulty it still completely destroys the enemy, and even certain
bosses died a lot faster than they should, allowing me to gain a few
achievements.
ArPharazonV: I'll up the difficulty to Master when I reach 60 next
week, and I keep wondering when things are going to get really
difficult.. especially because I've gained a few new legendary items
this weekend ;-)
ArPharazonV: And now WoW!
AriehnV has left the room.
AriehnV has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Got my last wild pet from Nagrand, and collected all 7
pets from the Mastering the Menagerie quest at the garrison. Didn't
take me as long as I thought, and am glad to have them :-)
ArPharazonV: I also finished up the brewfest stuff I wanted using 3
characters, and was able to buy the two new toys and the new pet that
came in this year. Stout Alemental looks pretty good, and is quite big
when you give him a magic pet biscuit :-)
ArPharazonV: And with the ultimate battle-stone I earned from this
weekend's quest for defeating 5 players in pet battles, I leveled up
the Elekk Plushie, a pet without offensive abilities but one that's
needed for several achievements. So that's one of the achievements
complete :-)
ArPharazonV: With the pet stuff all done, this week I embarked on my
next project, too. I upgraded the trading post from level 1 to level 3,
enabling the quest to build an auctioneer for my garrison, enabling the
Sha'tari Defense faction, and boosting my reputation gained by 20%.
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: I also replaced my mage tower with the barracks, the last
large building I was still missing, and leveled it to 2, allowing me to
use bodyguards.
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: So now I'm gathering rep with the 5 bodyguards and other
factions, currently Sha'tari Defense, at the same time, by having the
bodyguards help me with killing stuff I need to kill for the other
faction. It's quite efficient, and fun!
ArPharazonV: Already maxed out one of the bodyguards, and started on
the second. Apparently there's an achievement for maxing out all 5!
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: So yes, this week started my big reputation project. And
with the barracks built I'm also getting patrol missions, 50 of which
will unlock the level 3 barracks.. which in turn unlocks 5 new slots
for active followers, with which I can do more missions. Builds up
quite well over time.
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: I haven't farmed reputation with factions in quite some
time, and am enjoying my new project :-) Always good to see that
progress bar crawl forward.
ArPharazonV: And that's my news for this week!
VardaValar1: Yay! That's a lot of news. :-)
ArPharazonV: Is Arien alright? It says she's constantly leaving the room.
VardaValar1: I show that too.
VardaValar1: No reply
ArPharazonV: Weird. Hope her connection's fine!
VardaValar1: Got a reply:
VardaValar1: Arien V: i said internet was quite unstable in recent days
ArPharazonV: Ahh.
VardaValar1: Arien V: it always gets worse the later the evening gets
ArPharazonV: That's weird.
ArPharazonV: Oh, for you Heroes of the Storm and/or Diablo 3 players, here's Rarity (from MLP) as Johanna the Crusader:
ArPharazonV: http://atryl.deviantart.com/art/Rarity-the-Crusader-562417667
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: I'm still impressed by some of the artwork this fandom produces.
ArPharazonV: Especially when it crosses over with other of my interests ;-)
VardaValar1: hah, fun
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: I've invited Arien into the room on her request, not sure if it'll work.
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: Alas, doesn't seem to be working, instead gave her another leaving message.
ArPharazonV: She's going to bed, says Namarie!
VardaValar1: Namarie!
ArPharazonV: I'm getting quite tired of this self-made improv druid
deck in Hearthstone, I can't even win rank 20 fights with it unless I
get lucky...
ArPharazonV: I might grab a cheap deck from the Icy Veins website instead ;-)
VardaValar1: Good luck with whichever you use. :-)
ArPharazonV: Alas, it'll mean I'm conclusively giving up on my own deck-building skills.
VardaValar1: ugh
ArPharazonV: Then again, this was always meant to be a bit of a fun
deck where I just put cards I like. It's not surprising that it
actually does worse than the completely basic decks I looked up ;-)
AriehnV has left the room.
ArPharazonV: Looks like Arien's trying again, but without success.
VardaValar1: At least we can talk in a side window
ArPharazonV: That's good.
AriehnV has left the room.
VardaValar1: Clear sky for you to see the moon?
ArPharazonV: So far, yes!
VardaValar1: Good luck!
ArPharazonV: Oh, if you want details... http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2015-september-28 even gives what it's supposed to be live ;-)
VardaValar1: This will be the first time since 1982 we have had a supermoon eclipse. The next will be in 2033.
VardaValar1: Supermoon: The moon will be at its closest point in its
orbit around the Earth, making it appear 14% larger and 33% brighter
(super moon)
VardaValar1: (from US National Weather Service)
VardaValar1: Thanks Phar :-)
ArPharazonV: Gotta say, the penumbral phase is quite difficult to distinguish. I'll give it another go in 10-15 minutes or so.
ArPharazonV: In other words, after the next Hearthstone match?
VardaValar1: Still kind of light outside. Clouds breaking up a little.
ArPharazonV: Completely dark here. Moon shines like a lightbulb. But not much darkening on the edge yet.
ArPharazonV: Nope, still don't see it. Just like the last penumbral
eclipse I watched, didn't notice a thing. Better wait for the actual
eclipse :-)
ArPharazonV: It's like we've got a different moon here than everyone else... ;-)
VardaValar1: Tilion, behave yourself.
ArPharazonV: hehe
VardaValar1: I'm out. Take care. :-)
VardaValar1 has left the room.
ArPharazonV: namarie1
ArPharazonV: Well. I can kinda see it, but might be wishful thinking.
ArPharazonV: Right! Partial eclipse starting now, and I can already see the edge getting dark. Now we're getting somewhere.
PallandoValar has left the room.
PallandoValar has entered the room.
ArPharazonV: Wew, and that's the full eclipse... looks really nice.
Glad I stayed up for it. Might set my alarm for the maximum to really
get a glimpse of the red.
ArPharazonV: Saving and sending transcript!
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