Valar Guild

August 21, 2016 Sunday Meeting

5pm EST (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace

Back to News
Transcript work by
Ar-Pharazon and Varda.

Attending: (4)
    Arien-(Valar)/Arien V, Ar-Pharazon-(V)/arpharazonv, Elladan V/scott92027, VardaValar1 (presiding)

Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership:
Web:
Gaming
Tolkien:
    Topic: Was Smaug the last of the dragons?
    Forum rp story: potential storyline for a third installment.
After-meeting:
    Personal gaming
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon
    Pictures added to the Tolkien Site
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Before-meeting
Ar-Pharazon-V (ArPharazonV) has entered the room.
Arien V (AriehnV) has entered the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Arien V: Aiya Phari :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Looks like Varda's here after all!
Varda Valar (VardaValar1) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Aiya Phar and Arien :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Arien V: oh she is :-D wow you made it :-)
Varda Valar: Just rolled in and got the computer set up, even past rain and blinking traffic signals and an accident on the freeway. hah
Varda Valar: If you've started, please go ahead. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not your accident I hope?
Varda Valar: Not this time. :-)
Arien V: no we hav ent started yet ^ was just hearing i wa s possibly hosting so i was looking to see what news are up
Varda Valar: You very possible were, and feel free if you'd like some practice!
Arien V: uhm unless you are very tired if you dont mind i am not robbing your post :-)
Varda Valar: Would not consider it robbing. :-)
Varda Valar: But you probably have your rp group going at the same time. I'm grabbing some pics to show you, will work on that later.
Varda Valar: See anyone else to poke for an invite? Checking now.
Ar-Pharazon-V: A few afk people, but that's it.
Varda Valar: Pardon, comp is running slow, trying to slam everything up at once.
Varda Valar: ok, invites sent, checking LotRO
Varda Valar: Fangorn and Sauron say hi from this side of the screen :-)
Varda Valar: I'll put up the rest of the pics later. You can enjoy them then. :-)
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Varda Valar: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
Varda Valar: Membership:
Arien V (AriehnV) has left the room.
Varda Valar: Thank you both for coming to meetings as regulars. It is not an easy thing to do and much appreciated.
Arien V (AriehnV) has entered the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiyata!
Varda Valar: Welcome back, Arien. :-)
Arien V: were we all gone?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Just you.
Varda Valar: Raining here, hoping the electricity stays on.
Varda Valar: Just you, to me.
Varda Valar: One of those weird glitch things?
Arien V: interesting didnt notice , not even notice that i was connected at two locations ^^
Arien V: sounds like it
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Varda Valar: Web:
Varda Valar: We do have some pics for you, probably to be inserted in this section later for the News, and maybe in the After-meeting for folks still here.  :-)
Varda Valar: Here's a quick one :-)
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/Elwing/gnome_family.jpg
Ar-Pharazon-V: Always such nice hats, but they look so impractical.
Varda Valar: :-)
Arien V: oh thats cute :-)
Varda Valar: Be interesting to look into the reason for the tall hats. See why some used them.
Varda Valar: That is from Elwing. She finished up the gnomes and base.
Varda Valar: DeepGroover is telling her to enter it in the contests, that it would be fun for the visitors and stands a chance of winning a prize.
Varda Valar: Since he's also a judge, he should know.  :-)
Arien V: are they not kind of restricted in judging works from parners or family?#
Ar-Pharazon-V: Probably not the same contest, then :-)
Varda Valar: He would not be judging hers.
Varda Valar: He's giving advice that she should enter though.
Varda Valar: He won't be judging for a while anyway, mostly working on models for entry so he can't judge those. :-)
Arien V: nice one :-) cool
Ar-Pharazon-V: Strange world if you could judge your own products.
Varda Valar: Logging out of LotRO, made the list, no one else online at the moment in kin.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Looks like Fladrif's was online 2 days ago most recently, so still active!
Varda Valar: Yay!
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Varda Valar: Gaming:

Varda Valar: LotRO:
Varda Valar: We are still working with the Alliance to increase the events and types of things we can do.
Varda Valar: They are listed on our News page, and I try to put them on the kin message of the day,
Varda Valar: but being away makes it tough to do the updated info properly.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, speaking of the news page, last I checked, last week's transcript links to the week before.
Varda Valar: Maybe Arien or Gorlim or other officers could help on the kin message for that day, from the News?
Varda Valar: Thank you, Phar. Not sure how that is happening. I'll investigate and fix.
Varda Valar: Have an idea though. *fiddle fiddle*
Varda Valar: You're right. Still that way.
Varda Valar: Ugh, messier than I thought
Varda Valar: That's going to take a bit to repair, will have to wait a little bit.
Varda Valar: Thanks, sure needed to know.
Arien V: there was n event up in the guild house with ale and cakes i think but it didnt mention a start time
Arien V: oh actually itr does at 1 pm servertime
Arien V: thats western isnt it?
Varda Valar: *whew* something went right
Varda Valar: Eastern Time Zone, same as Valar time
Arien V: Story-tell Cafe, sunday 1pm servertime at our kinhouse (8 long street, Haynwater, Bree-land), lead by Aneluki. If you like Ales and Tales, that's pretty much the same thing: a small RP event where people can play music, tell stories, interact with others. A nice occasion to meet some new friends and strengthen the free people!
Varda Valar: In LotRO, type /servertime
Varda Valar: That tells you the time right then, and you can add or subtract to figure.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That sounds an awful lot like math.
Varda Valar: Kiddie math. :-)
Arien V: that was like kind of six of my time i think
Varda Valar: Guess we could work out something in non-Euclidean, but not necessary.
Varda Valar: Making a stab at putting the events on the right day on the News, even though too early to put up the News. Kind of like a calendar.
Arien V: There was also a raid with the alliance yesterdaiy at 3.30 pm srver time
Varda Valar: Considered putting it on the forum calendar. Think anyone would check? It could work.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Future news!
Varda Valar: Back to the future!
Varda Valar: RT refers to Roving Threat. in case anyone doesn't know the acronym. I can add in the meanings for the News page, but we might want it short on the kin message of the day.
Varda Valar: We can do our own events also, and let the Alliance know ahead of time.
Varda Valar: Think it would be worth putting on our Forum calendar?
Varda Valar: Might be easier to see on the News.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Worth a try, but don't rely on it.
Varda Valar: Aye. Trying several locations, that one actually seemed least likely but most obvious as a calendar thingy.
Varda Valar: Got the list for LotRO Valarites showing up in the kin this last week. :-)
Varda Valar:
Arien
Beleg
Bregalad/Quickbeam
Dis
Elwing
Eonwe
Fangorn
Gorlim
Lenwe
Marigold
Morwe
Nar
Nimrodel
Varda
Varda Valar: Arien is at the top of the list. :-)
Varda Valar: Notably, Beleg showed up. Been a long time, so that was lovely to see.
Arien V: yeah got the Guardian up to 81 ^^
Varda Valar: Woot!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yay!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Is that good? ;-)
Arien V: just .. ooh 30 levels more :-D
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hah.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, to compare, I got my rogue in WoW to 61 out of 100 (soon to be 110) so I can't mock you for it ;-)
Varda Valar: It's good, yes. Any gaming is good.
Arien V: nice to have Beleg back in LotrO .. glad to see him alive :-)
Varda Valar: And we have characters scattered in levels all over.
Varda Valar: Aye to that! Was wondering.
Varda Valar: Eonwe has gaming news for us.

Varda Valar: WoW:
Varda Valar: This is from his email about the group in our Lothar branch:
Varda Valar: "WoW Lothar: Crossed paths with Arien this week :} Also saw Elwing had been on.
Varda Valar: "Personal WoW news for those interested: I managed to get the pocket fel spreader from a Dread Infiltrator just tonight."
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yay!
Arien V: And I saw Eonwe and Elwing in turn indeed, chatted with both and grats for that to Eonwe :-)
Arien V: i gave in to my curiosity and got the normal Legion verson and did a Demonhunter called Raugarien
Scott Lombardi (scott92027) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: How was that Demon Hunter?
Varda Valar: Aiya Elladan :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Arien V: Aiya Elladan :-)
Scott Lombardi: aiya
Scott Lombardi: making dinner, as usual
Arien V: i was quite impressed by the demon hunter and by the intro zone for them
Scott Lombardi: beer battered fish sammiches
Varda Valar: You're quite the cook, Elladan. :-)
Varda Valar: It does start at level one, right?
Scott Lombardi: brb checking on the fish
Arien V: nope starts at levl 98
Varda Valar: Sounds yummy
Arien V: .. but i ll give no spoilers :-)
Varda Valar: Bleah. We already had a high starter.
Varda Valar: Ok, thanks. Good to know.
Varda Valar: Death Knights already started at a high level.
Ar-Pharazon-V: 55 to 80, compared to 98 to 110.. hmm...
Arien V: i know .. but it was blizz decisions .. probably saves you doing all those low level
Ar-Pharazon-V: I think Demon Hunter is a bit more extreme.
Varda Valar: True
Varda Valar: Ok, well LotRO has a barterable couple of symbols that can be used to jump levels, so it's happening there too.
Arien V: didnt know that one .^
Arien V: where can you get those?
Varda Valar: LotRO store, Auction House, ask to buy in /World.
Varda Valar: But it's better to work up a character to learn it. If a person already worked up one or two of that type, he probably is fine picking up the barter item.
Varda Valar: We are seeing people who have no deeds done and don't know the class trying to game in groups and having no idea what they are doing. Don't need that happening.
Varda Valar: Back to WoW  :-)
Varda Valar: A new part of the Pre-event is open this week, and Invasions have ramped up in frequency and number. See the updated blog.
Varda Valar: Several new previews are out this week:
Varda Valar: Legion Zone Preview: Highmountain
Varda Valar: Legion Dungeon Previews: Halls of Valor and Maw of Souls
Varda Valar: Legion Zone Preview: Val'Sharah
Varda Valar: Legion Preview: Class Halls
Varda Valar: Legion Dungeon Preview: Black Rook Hold and Darkheart Thicket
Varda Valar: Check out the recent hotfixes.
Varda Valar: That should keep people busy watching for a bit. :-)

Varda Valar: StarCraft 2:
Varda Valar: Some changes are coming to multiplayer. If you're interested in what, check out the blog: Legacy of the Void - Multiplayer Design Changes.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Some good stuff in there! The Stormheim dungeons really interest me, with the norse mythology.
Varda Valar: A new co-op commander is also coming: Alarak! Check out the preview on Youtube.
Varda Valar: We Tolkien types do seem to enjoy Norse mythology. :-)

Varda Valar: Heroes of the Storm:
Varda Valar: A new event was announced at Gamescom: Machines of War. New heroes, new skins, new mounts, and new battlegrounds are coming.

Varda Valar: Overwatch:
Varda Valar: The PTR is up.

Varda Valar: And that's our news from the Valar Guiod Games Site. :-)
Varda Valar: *Guild
Ar-Pharazon-V: (For Heroes of the Storm: That new skin for Rexxar really interests me! I love that mechanically armored Misha)
Varda Valar: :-)
Varda Valar: Any other comments on membership, business, gaming? Suggestions?
Varda Valar: And thanks for letting me know about the bad links! That's a big help.
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Varda Valar: Tolkien:
Varda Valar: Fangorn-(Valar) suggested asking if Smaug was the last of the dragons. Any comments?
Ar-Pharazon-V: They're not supposed to be, I think. He was just one of the meanest still remaining in the North.
Ar-Pharazon-V: *he's not supposed to be
Scott Lombardi: Sorry guys trying to get my phone to charge.
Varda Valar: Greatest of his time, aye.
Varda Valar: Good luck with the phone.
Varda Valar: and he flew in from the mountains to the north, where other dragons lived. He remained about 200 years at Erebor.
Varda Valar: No other dragons challenged him for that hoard, and no other dared try to take it after he was destroyed.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Perhaps more greedy than most, willing to follow the dwarves south after they were chased away. Or did I read that part elsewhere..
Varda Valar: The cold drakes seem to have only been in the Ered Mithrin.
Varda Valar: Oh, Smaug was greedy, aye. :-)
Varda Valar: Ered Mithrin, aka Grey Mountains
Ar-Pharazon-V: The other dragons might have been content to stay where they were, never learning about Smaug's defeat.
Varda Valar: Since the old dwarf cities used to be in the Grey Mountains, maybe the drakes went after leftover gold.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Right. And only Smaug chased em south.
Varda Valar: They should have heard such major news, it seems. But I wonder who would have told them. How did they hear any news, such as that there were riches in Erebor?
Ar-Pharazon-V: They probably figured, where those dwarfs went, there was gold.
Varda Valar: Sauron may have purposely made sure Smaug and others knew, to help close off that pass.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That's also a possibility.
Varda Valar: Dwarves used to have rings that helped make gold. Silly dragons melted some of those rings, sort of like killing the goose that laid golden eggs.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Possibly, wearing one would be a bit of a stretch (pun not intended) for even the size-changing rings to manage.
Varda Valar: They needed to run the gold makers to new locations instead of killing them and melting the rings.
Varda Valar: Maybe they were aware that Sauron was taking the rings from the dwarves? Uncertain.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Better take while the taking's good.

Ar-Pharazon-V: I once entertained the idea of a third chapter of our forum rp wherein we venture north to melt that lesser ring we'll be finding, which does require there being at least one dragon still remaining ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Of course at this rate that'll be 30 years from now!
Varda Valar: heh
Varda Valar: We do need to get this group on the road!
Varda Valar: There should be dragons up north. That could be an idea we can work with.
Varda Valar: I think we have a problem with being uncertain of just what our party is trying to do.
Varda Valar: And we need to get the group out the door. It's been a long rest. Maybe handwave some time.
Scott Lombardi: well, still fighting off this cellulitis. Going to bed. Night all. Namarie
Varda Valar: Are we mainly waiting now on a post from Auros?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
Varda Valar: Namarie, Elladan. Feel better!
Scott Lombardi: thanks
Scott Lombardi (scott92027) has left the room.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I suppose Auros might make a comment about Meren as well.
Varda Valar: Kind of tough doing the story all separated, but we can manage. We're all internet literate. :-)
Varda Valar: *puts a fresh hammerpad newly made by Aule on the table.*
Varda Valar: *gingerly picks up a hammer from the conveyor belt*
Varda Valar: *foooooom!*
Varda Valar: *fog rolls out from the landing area, rising above us, then sprinkles down in sparkles disappearing as they touch anything*
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Varda Valar: After-meeting!
Varda Valar: Phar is in a Hearthstone match, will be reporting in a bit.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Need one more for the quest!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Trying to get my gaming done a bit earlier today because I need to get up earlier :-)
Varda Valar: We had a StarCraft/BroodWar this week with Fangorn, Sauron, Varda, and a friend.
Varda Valar: Aye, good plan
Varda Valar: Feel free to abbreviate your gaming report if needed, as well. Do want to get that flashgaming in at least, if possible, though.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh, sure.
Arien V: uhm yeah small personal Wo W report from tonight
Varda Valar: Cool
Arien V: I managed to buy the Felbat Pup from the invasions and i got the lil bad wolf and the imp[ from Karazanhn yesterday so i got another pet for achievement with 250 unique pets :L)
Arien V: :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Grats!
Arien V: thank you :-D
Varda Valar: Yay!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Nah, lost, will have to try again after the report.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Gaming report!
Varda Valar: Thank you

Ar-Pharazon-V: 3 flashgames for this week, with ample choice this time around :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/mini_machines is the first game, a racing/upgrade game where you race around with tiny cars on tabletops.
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/esthetix/quest-for-pancake is the second game, a point and click game from a series/publisher I'd mentioned a few times before. This time it's about fixing a pancake machine and finding milk, and I'm pretty sure it's rather shorter than most in the series. Still, a few minutes of fun.
Varda Valar: :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/LevelUpLabs/defenders-quest-prelude is the third game, a tower defense type game with a fun story. It's basically a demo/prelude game, but the gameplay's pretty good and it's quite long for a demo.

Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming time!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroes of the Storm: Came across someone from my WoW guild who I played a few games with, though it's difficult to actually work together in a map because you're often needed in different places.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Gained a level: Lunara is now level 9!
Ar-Pharazon-V: New portrait unlocked for that :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Diablo 3: Max level now on the seasonal character. Wished I could finish season journey chapter 2 today but it'll have to wait until somewhere next week.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Once I have that, I get the first few pieces of my preferred set, and things should start rolling.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: All 9 classes are *almost* at the next level now, and depending on quests might all get there in the next week.
Ar-Pharazon-V: This week's tavern brawl was another team brawl, where you and the opponent are forced to play as the priest or the new shaman character, and buff each other to take down undead Nefarian in the middle. Was kind of tough, but I did manage it on the first go with the right (pre-set) units :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
Ar-Pharazon-V: Units = minions, sorry.
Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
Varda Valar: (called away for supper) (pics later of Saruman, Curufin)
Ar-Pharazon-V: More invasions, invasions, invasions!
Ar-Pharazon-V: I managed to unlock all the different weapon appearances on various characters, as well as the armor pieces of each type, which means I didn't have to buy those with shards either. I also got the 6-location achievement for my highest alt.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I bought 2 more felbat pups as well, so I have the maximum of 3 of the same pet in my pet journal, and am now working on getting to the cap of 2000 nethershards on one character, just for fun and to see how quickly it goes :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: It is going quickly indeed, and I estimate only needing 8 more invasions to finish it, hopefully tuesday at the latest.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Official raiding has ended now, as expected. We got a few more bosskills in, and an unofficial raid earlier tonight which got a few more people their Archimonde mounts while it's still possible.
Ar-Pharazon-V: The pre-quest completed up to Karazhan so far, and I think the last bit will be there on tuesday or wednesday as well.
Ar-Pharazon-V: The bits so far get you the unique reward of gloves which can do extra damage against demons, and which are pretty useful in the invasions!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Instance-farming for old appearances continues. Scarlet Halls and Scarlet Monastery complete, now working on Maraudon. Maraudon's quite big with a lot of bosses and a lot of appearances I was/am missing, but the worst will be an epic dagger with a 4% drop chance from the final boss. That thing alone might keep me busy for weeks, though it will be less of a priority when the expansion launches.
Ar-Pharazon-V: As for the Warcraft books, I've now bought the ebook for Warcraft: Paragons as well, containing all the short stories published up to a certain point, and an otherwise unpublished as well.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Managed to convert it to pdf so I can print it, too.
Ar-Pharazon-V: So far my main priority has been to read the Illidan novel, but I think I've already gone through enough of it to figure out a neat background story for my own Demon Hunter, which should be fun :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: After that, it's War of the Ancients time, the first book of which I've already printed out in booklet form.
Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my news for this week!
Varda Valar (VardaValar1) has left the room.
Arien V: very good :-)
Arien V: quite a lot
Arien V: and time for me to go to bed .. was an early start today
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie! If Varda comes back before I go to bed, I hope her pictures still make the transcript, but otherwise.. saved so far.
Arien V: all right :-)
Arien V: Namarie :-)
Arien V (AriehnV) has left the room.
Varda Valar (VardaValar1) has entered the room.
Varda Valar: Thank you, Phar :-)
Varda Valar: DeepGroover did some new photos of Elwing-(V)'s "Saruman":
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/Elwing/WizardDG1.jpg
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/Elwing/WizardDG2.jpg
Varda Valar: The Bohemian Weasel-(T) made a painting of Curufin the Crafty:
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Curufin/Curufin.jpg
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiyata!
Varda Valar: Did I fall out? Battery dropped to 16% before coming back, oopsie.
Varda Valar: Hantal, Pharazon :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: You did, yes. Arien left in the meantime. You can read that in the transcript :-)
Varda Valar: Thank you
Varda Valar: Belated namarie, Arien :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Nice pictures, I always wonder where the distinct features of the elves come from :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: That's part of the style, though!
Varda Valar: The Bohemian Weasel is still working on Eol. Here's the latest cropped detail:
Varda Valar: http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/art/gallery/BohemianWeasel/characters/Eol/Eol_detail.jpg
Varda Valar: Getting to watch it in progress.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Good time to save and send transcript.
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