April 9, 2017 Sunday Meeting
5pm
EST (UTC/GMT - 5)
AIM: Valar Guild Meetingplace
Back to News
Transcript work by Ar-Pharazon and Varda.
Attending (and at least
said something making them visible): (6)
Arien-(Valar)/Arien V/AriehnV,
ArPharazonV, Elladan, Eonwe Valar, Lenwe (-V), Varda Valar (presiding)
lurking: Gwaihir
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership
Web:
Gaming:
General gaming report by Eonwe and several members.
Tolkien:
Topic: Terraforming in Tolkien
RP forum story discussion
After-meeting:
Flashgaming Reviews by
Ar-Pharazon
Personal gaming by Ar-Pharazon and Arien
top
Before-meeting
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya
Ar-Pharazon-V: Transcript starts here.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Unless I crash or something ;-)
Arien V: aiya all :)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Varda Valar: Present. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Past!
Varda Valar: Future!
Arien V: Future Imperfect!
Varda Valar: Tense
Varda Valar: Heading into LotRO. Last day of the Spring Festival
Varda Valar: horse or crystal...
Varda Valar: Already got one crystal. *jumps on the horse*
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroic Gul'dan defeated!
Varda Valar: Grats!
Arien V: Grats :D
Ar-Pharazon-V: Thanks :-)
Varda Valar: Suggestions now being taken for a Tolkien topic for today.
:-)
Varda Valar: Happy Palm Sunday :-)
Arien V: Happy Palm sunday
Arien V: :)
Ar-Pharazon-V: That's something to do with Easter, right?
Ar-Pharazon-V: But happy holiday, then :-)
Varda Valar: Kind of. That's the day Jesus rode into Jerusulem on a
donkey. People put palm fronds on the road for him, like a red carpet
for a celebrity.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aha.
Ar-Pharazon-V: A legend in his own time.
Varda Valar: The higher ups feared him.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Guy was trouble.
Varda Valar: He was messing with their power base, far as they were
concerned.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yep. Trouble :-)
Varda Valar: You bet :-)
Varda Valar: It's coming up to our time of day. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: According to my clock, it's already come!
Varda Valar: yay!
VardaValar1: Aiya Elladan :-)
Elladan: Aiya
Eonwe Valar: Heya all.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya
VardaValar1: Aiya Eonwe :-)
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VardaValar1: Elen
sila lumenn' omentielvo!
VardaValar1: Membership:
VardaValar1: Right now in the room we have Eonwe, Arien, Ar-Pharazon,
Gwaihir, Lenwe, and Elladan. :-)
VardaValar1: Mentioning this because it no longer shows on the
transcript unless someone at least says hi.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Fladrif was spotted!
VardaValar1: Yay!
VardaValar1: Lenwe is traveling today.
VardaValar1: Some of our number are celebrating Palm Sunday, away for
that.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Faced him in Hearthstone yesterday, he had a quest to
fight a friend to get each player 80 gold :-)
VardaValar1: Hello from Fangorn, Sauron, and Bilbo from this side of
the screen.
Arien V: AIYA Elladan :)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hi!
Elladan: Aiya
Arien V: and glad to hear Fladrif is well and aiya to the gang :)#
VardaValar1: Hi to Fladrif :-)
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VardaValar1: Web:
VardaValar1: Nothing new to report this week.
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VardaValar1: Gaming:
VardaValar1: Not sure if Eonwe is able to do the Gaming report?
Eonwe Valar: Sure.
VardaValar1: ahh there he is. Go ahead. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Tough to tell now, isn't it? :-)
Eonwe Valar: World of Warcraft:
VardaValar1: Always needed to do a windows check, but you spoke
earlier. Can't see typing notice either
Eonwe Valar: See what's going on This month in WoW.
Eonwe Valar: A new blog is out: Unlocking Flying in Legion.
Eonwe Valar: Check out the latest hotfixes.
Eonwe Valar: Diablo 3:
Eonwe Valar: Coming soon: the Necromancer beta test!
Eonwe Valar: Heroes of the Storm:
Eonwe Valar: A new patch is out this week, bringing a new hero: Cassia.
Eonwe Valar: There's also been an update about veteran loot chests being awarded with
Heroes 2.0. Heroes 2.0 will be going live April 25th.
Eonwe Valar: Hearthstone:
Eonwe Valar: The expansion, Journey to Un'goro, is out.
Eonwe Valar: Overwatch:
Ar-Pharazon-V: Loot chest thing is good; I was considering not leveling
any heroes anymore until 2.0 comes out, but veteran chests are so much
better, it's worth it ;-)
Eonwe Valar: A new digital comic is out: "Uprising".
Arien V: i know its a bit late .. well a week to be exact but i found
this . Eonwe finish please f:)
Eonwe Valar: WoW Lothar: Saw Bofur and Nob were on
this week, though we didn't cross paths.
VardaValar1: Have to drop them a mail? :-)
Eonwe Valar: Thus comcludes the gaming news I'm privy to.
Eonwe Valar: *concludes
VardaValar1: Thank you, Eonwe.
Arien V: https://us.battle.net/forums/en/wow/topic/20753925964
Arien V: I am not sure if you posted the link last week but i missed
them someho :D
Arien V: its the april fools WoW patchnotes
Eonwe Valar: No, I didn't. I couldn't find them either. Thanks for
sharing.
VardaValar1: 21.2 players required, hehe
Eonwe Valar: Some of the references are amusing.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I always love the WoW april 1 patchnotes, they're so
silly and yet manage to encapsulate everything the community's always
talking about.
Arien V: well they had a link which said "definitely dont read this" ..
so of course i did ^^
VardaValar1: Natch :-)
VardaValar1: Thanks. This is amusing.
VardaValar1: LotRO:
VardaValar1: Spring Festival ends today. Grab your spring leaves,
crystal, horses, essence reclamation scroll, etc while you can.
VardaValar1: Hobnangians is going, continuing until the 10th.
VardaValar1: Grab the 3-man box run of this last week for Sword Halls
of Dol Guldur before the change tomorrow.
VardaValar1: LotRO kinmates showing up in kin this last week:
VardaValar1:
Celebrian
Dis
Elladan
Eonwe
Erkenbrand
Fangorn
Lenwe
Nar
Nimrodel
Varda
VardaValar1: Any other news, business, general gaming, folks sighted?
Arien V: I spotted Hlem last week in WoW
yes
VardaValar1: Oh good. :-) Aiya to Helm.
VardaValar1: He's welcome to toss something our way for the Tolkkien
Site if he likes, too. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, I'd like to mention that for Hearthstone, Un'goro expansion comes
with a new hero, Maiev Shadowsong.
VardaValar1: Thanks
Ar-Pharazon-V: An alternative for the rogue class, all you need to do
to earn her is win 10 matches in Standard mode, ranked or casual.
Should be easy!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Currently halfway already, and hardly trying ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Flad got her on the first day, too.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Other than that, go ahead!
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VardaValar1: Tolkien:
VardaValar1: Terraforming in Tolkien's
works. :-)
VardaValar1: That's a new-fangled term for such a thing. Can we think
of any examples?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Morgoth was good at that, Thangorodrim and the like. But
the other Valar also had quite a history with it.
Eonwe Valar: The actual arrival of the Valar to Arda would count, as
they started to arrange things.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Continents, seas, pillars of ice.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Mountains and islands.
Eonwe Valar: I suppose unintentionally, any subsequent cataclysm.
VardaValar1: Taking the blueprint provided by Eru's vision to try to
build Arda (Earth) from the very beginning.
Eonwe Valar: And the end of the Second Age of the Sun, where Eru
changed the shape of Arda.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I suspect Aule's former apprentice did some stuff as
well later on. The mountains of Mordor hardly look natural.
VardaValar1: The hope is that with all this learning, the new Arda to
be built in the future will be done right, full of joy.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Can we consider chopping a great big dwarven city out of
living rock a form of terraforming?
VardaValar1: Aye to all you said. The Valar would create something and
Morgoth would try to change or even reverse it. A mountain to a sea and
vice versa.
Eonwe Valar: I'm not sure I would, unless we're going to throw in
mining.
VardaValar1: Morgoth threw his power into the earth making it like a
giant version of Sauron's Ring. That could be affecting all later work
on the planet?
Ar-Pharazon-V: well, where do you draw the line? Dwarrowdelf was more
of a construction project than an extraction project.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Even if it was constructed by removal of the unwanted
bits.
Arien V: hmmm sounds a bit of familliar concept .. destroying what the
Valar build to re-build it in the image he considered more perfect
Eonwe Valar: It's been a while, but terraforming typically involves
instilling some sort of plant/animal life as well, so if we're going to
include the carving out of mountains, should we not include the Elven
realms in their attempt to recreate a little piece of Aman?
VardaValar1: Normally the line would be the creation of what was meant
to be nature.
Arien V: kind of counter-terraforming ^^
Ar-Pharazon-V: But then much of what Morgoth did wasn't terraforming
either :-)
VardaValar1: Lothlorien being an attempt to copy where Galadriel was
from
VardaValar1: Adding stars to the sky, other lighting effects.
VardaValar1: Trees, Lamps.
VardaValar1: Effects that happened when the lights were made, broken,
changed out to another type.
VardaValar1: How about when the Valar more or less left Middle-earth
while they worked on Valinor? Morgoth was still there.
VardaValar1: Sinking Beleriand.
VardaValar1: Dragging an island around to use like a boat. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
Ar-Pharazon-V: must've left quite a trail on the seafloor.
VardaValar1: Changing from a flat to a round earth.
Eonwe Valar: Beleriand's destruction at least wasn't the intended
effect, but certainly an expected result of the struggle, the reason
the Valar held off for so long in the first place. Could it count
despite being unintentional?
VardaValar1: Choosing the life to put on the planet, and changes it
went through.
VardaValar1: Unintended effects. :-)
VardaValar1: Aye, the Valar held off from fighting Morgoth when they
thought the new races were being formed in some unknown area that they
might accidentally destroy.
VardaValar1: Putting up barriers by Valinor.
Ar-Pharazon-V: ...Surely they didn't have much faith in the omniscience
of Eru if they thought he'd put his Children in the middle of a
cataclysm.
VardaValar1: Raising up a mountain range in Valinor but leaving a low
place for light to reach out to the shore for the Teleri.
VardaValar1: They trusted Eru so Manwe turned it over to him, right.
Eru knew where the Children were.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hard to imagine the Valar fighting Morgoth right where
the Children are about to wake up, only to immediately be crushed by a
mountain when they do. Even the Allfather would be a bit miffed about
that.
VardaValar1: Aye
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VardaValar1: Another topic, since those speaking are all in the rp and we're the
remains of the group.
VardaValar1: Do we have Eonwe, Arien, and Phar still present?
Arien V: i listen and do not no enough :O#
Elladan: I'm here, just had to cook, and now eating
Eonwe Valar: I'm still here.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aye
VardaValar1: yay cooking and eating. :-)
Elladan: every meeting time lol
Elladan: made a pan-seared chicken breast sandwich on grilled sourdough
bread, lettuce and mayo. :) Simple but so good
VardaValar1: Seems as if we have a problem getting going with the next
part of the story, mainly because we don't have a clear goal.
VardaValar1: Sounds delicious. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: When in doubt, timeskip?
VardaValar1: What is the sorceror trying to do, that we know of, tthat
we are trying to stop? How are we trying to stop the evil from
happening?
VardaValar1: One: what is the apparent goal of the evil sorceror that
we want to stop?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm.
VardaValar1: Why would our group members care? Mirkwoodites among us
care that Mirkwood was attacked. But we have one from Rivendell and one
from Erebor. Why are they concerned?
Eonwe Valar: That we as writers know of I assume? That would be to
unite the two pieces of the artifact he's looking to reforge.
VardaValar1: Ok.
Ar-Pharazon-V: He has one, we have another, right?
VardaValar1: Do we have the only other version? He doesn't seem to be
trying to get it from us, and it didn't seem uncommon (to us) among the
attackers.
Eonwe Valar: That we as characters know of? He's doing the
always-dangerous *something*, hehe.
VardaValar1: heh
VardaValar1: Our characters know that Mirkwood was attacked, apparently
testing a new artifact. We may have a piece of one being experimented
with?
VardaValar1: If this was just a test, the new weapon could be used
against others, including Rivendell and Erebor.
Eonwe Valar: We have the orc-sword, which Auros was studying, being the
only guy in Rivendell with free time on his hands considering what else
is going on during the time we're there.
VardaValar1: Aye. It's been studied all it can be by lore-masters and
is now being studied by a great weaponsmith.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Sorcerer did taunt us about chasing him up north, and
Calion has an obvious personal reason to go after him.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm sure sorc wouldn't mind if we brought half of that
experimental weapon with us, even if others are in the make.
VardaValar1: Aye. We know some sort of possession is going on.
VardaValar1: Maybe we're being lured in?
VardaValar1: He didn't know we had the artifact when he took over
Calaron.
Ar-Pharazon-V: "It's a trap!"
VardaValar1: hehe
Eonwe Valar: Even if the villian knew we had the orc-sword at our last
meeting, there's no way he could expect we would actually bring that
sword to him.
VardaValar1: Maybe Mirkwoodites, not being around a Ring, make a good
possible host for Houseless Ones that the sorceror is collecting?
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm sure he's busy making replacements already. For the
sword-piece, at least. Staff-piece would be more valuable.
VardaValar1: Letting him sit around working on his stuff seems like a
bad idea. :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yep, that's why we're on a mission to stop him working
on said stuff.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That's true for Fainan and Calion, at least.
VardaValar1: That we're being held back until the Ring-bearer leaves
suggest we have a side job as potential decoys.
Ar-Pharazon-V: two birds, one stone
VardaValar1: Keep the sorceror busy.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Though why the Ringbearer would take the Ring to Angmar,
nobody knows.
VardaValar1: so he doesn't join in the hunt for the Ring righ away.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, that too.
VardaValar1: Why, he couldn't be! It must be going to a person of
power. Heir of Isildur, o my! More likely a Steward.
Ar-Pharazon-V: (Also, after watching the last season of How I Met Your
Mother, I keep getting the urge to say "ringbear" instead of
"ringbearer", so if that typo occurs you know why).
VardaValar1: Our party needs a clear goal so we can actually get on
with the story.
Arien V: ((more like in the cave in Highmountain box labelled
*definitely not a trap*))
VardaValar1: ah hah! :-)
VardaValar1: heh, nope, not a trap.
Arien V: found that one already :)?
VardaValar1: Go kill the sorceror in his lair seems like a poor plan.
Maybe kill him before he gets there? Too late. Kill him after he comes
out of the fortress to attack our people?
Ar-Pharazon-V: So. Chase sorcerer north, stop him doing his stuff, take
and/or dismantle the staff (possibly the main component of the weapon),
hopefully stop him permanently.
VardaValar1: Do something to his home base artifact that powers the
mobile part?
VardaValar1: Does he have apprentices to take up his work if he falls?
Ar-Pharazon-V: We have no idea where to intercept him, since he went
northwest from Mirkwood. Maybe we hope to scout him as we go.
Eonwe Valar: The part I can't figure out is why on earth we would take
the sword to Angmar. There's no logical reason to me, so of course my
natural response is, "We shouldn't."
Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe we're hoping said apprentices can't do anything
without the staffpiece.
Arien V: well we need to find the other half of the artefact to destry
it dont we?
VardaValar1: Unless it's needed to destroy the base object.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe we're hoping to use the completed weapon against
him?
VardaValar1: Reverse the polarity.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah yes :-)
VardaValar1: Elrond would be against that, like using the Ring?
VardaValar1: but use it to poison the well, so to speak?
Ar-Pharazon-V: So why would we bring it with us? We could also just go
there and find out they've already made 40 more.
Eonwe Valar: If we're working off the idea that a being pulled a Sauron
on this item, to whatever degree it was capable of doing so, I think
that yes, Elrond would be against that.
VardaValar1: It can only be made out of this particular treated piece
of meteoric iron....
Ar-Pharazon-V: Or maybe we hope to use it to track the sorcerer to
intercept him, since it might point us to the other piece.
VardaValar1: A tracking device for the main object?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yes.
VardaValar1: Then we overload the main object by adding the forty
spares...
Ar-Pharazon-V: Next question being, of course, how can a sword function
as a tracker?
Arien V: wasnt it used as communication device of sorts>?#
VardaValar1: Not really a sword, but a magical device
Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe Auros looks up at it and finds out it's turned on
the table a bit, pointing northeast, without his own intervention.. and
he gets an idea!
Eonwe Valar: Using very vague words here, if the part that we have
"harmonizes" with the part he has, how would he not also know we are
coming when we have it?
VardaValar1: Because he has forty spares? ;-)
Eonwe Valar: hehehe
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yes, but we don't know that ;-)
VardaValar1: Good point. All of a sudden it gets fits of working, or
lag stutter.
VardaValar1: We don't know its affecting his doo-hickey, but it's why
he has a zillion baddies waiting to kill us and take it.
VardaValar1: and knows right where we are.
VardaValar1: Ok, lead-line it, so to speak?
Ar-Pharazon-V: We could analyze it and find out that it's receiving a
signal, but not emitting one...
Ar-Pharazon-V: or is that a bit too Sci-fi? :-)
VardaValar1: Find out it can be jammed. Use our device to jam.
VardaValar1: We use our own terms, then alter them to fit Middle-earth.
Ar-Pharazon-V: sounds good!
VardaValar1: Like that magic rock that bursts into flame, explodes.
Black powder.
Eonwe Valar: If we can figure out some precedence that fits Tolkien's
world, sure. I don't just want to plaster the words "Elven magic" on a
solution and call it a day, hehe.
VardaValar1: Love in the movie where Saruman backs Grima's torch away
from trying to look at the black powder.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Let's ask Gandalf and then say a wizard did it.
VardaValar1: Right. We use what helps us think, then say it right.
Elladan: Gotta run, guys. Work awaits. :) See you soon! Namarie!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
VardaValar1: Namarie!
Eonwe Valar: Take care Elladan :}
Arien V: see you :)
VardaValar1: *we munch Elladan's extra sandwiches*
Elladan: haha! Cya!
Ar-Pharazon-V: So we carry it in a lead container or whatever, and
occasionally whip it out to see where we have to go, and hope sorcerer
doesn't notice.
VardaValar1: Just at that moment, the crebain flock turns and heads our
way. The lid comes back down and the crebain break up, confused. hmmm
VardaValar1: If this is the only piece and so important, seems as if it
would have been better guarded.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Which is why we can assume it's not, but don't know for
sure :-)
VardaValar1: It may have been one of several pieces being tested by
expendables in case it blew up.
Arien V: maybe somebody lost it?
VardaValar1: We kind of killed them. *cough*
Eonwe Valar: Well, if the Ring were so important, it seems it would
have been better guarded :}
Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe the orc we killed was part of the group that
tested out the weapon, and it was split up and taken among separate
paths to make sure the enemy couldn't get their hands on the whole
thing at once.
VardaValar1: Hidden under a goblin kingdom under the bottom of the
mountain, held by a hidden cannibal.
Ar-Pharazon-V: With the decoy orc taking the sword, because there's so
many more of them.
VardaValar1: Good thought, Phar.
Eonwe Valar: Maybe the orc didn't know what it had yet. Maybe the
villian was on his way to collect that piece. But then, I'm sure we
discussed that section of the story and I just don't remember :}
VardaValar1: Several tests were going on. At least one on Thranduil's
magic gate, trying to bypass it.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Or maybe 3 dozen orcs were outfitted with the swords, so
at least one of them would be able to complete the weapon at the
testsite if the others were discovered.
Eonwe Valar: *don't remember what exactly we determined happened there.
VardaValar1: The orcs were probably supposed to turn their items over
to Calaron at some point and we broke up the party.
VardaValar1: Our characters didn't know exactly what was going on.
Ar-Pharazon-V: All the more reason why they would have a tracking
device in them. We can assume the orc would've known how to use it in
case he got lost.
VardaValar1: GPS locator jammed by Elrond's Ring currently
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yep.
VardaValar1: They were supposed to bring the experimental items with
them, under supervision of their group leaders.
VardaValar1: Maybe we got a "defective" one they didn't care much about.
VardaValar1: So they didn't work hard to relocate it when we were
traveling.
VardaValar1: Auros fixes it and it suddenly starts working.
Arien V: interesting thought
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, there was some dust obscuring this rune...
VardaValar1: *just move this loose rivet here*
VardaValar1: *someone's big ol' axe marred this rune*
VardaValar1: It looked like another rune to the lore-masters, but if
you fix this injury to the weapon, its another entirely.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That works :-)
VardaValar1: *it's
Arien V: yup :)
VardaValar1: We haven't left yet because we don't know what to do about
the sorceror except hunt and kill him if we can.
VardaValar1: We need more intel, and that provided by Auros will be our
trigger.
Arien V: werent we waiting until we were ready to just do that?
VardaValar1: Meanwhile we wave goodbye to the Fellowship.
VardaValar1: Aye
VardaValar1: Going blind into Angmar's ruins and going pew pew until
something happens?
Ar-Pharazon-V: So Auros' discovery gives us a means to hunt, and when
we find him we can kill him and destroy the staffpiece and continue to
investigate to find the sword-making industry which is suddenly
crippled because without the staff they're just nicely decorated pieces
of sharp metal.
Ar-Pharazon-V: At least, that's the plan...
VardaValar1: not bad
VardaValar1: and we learn they aren't swords but staves disguised.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I do still have a few elements lined up :-) Most of it
already chasing the sorcerer from the east side...
VardaValar1: That's the Mirkwood side instead of the intended Rivendell
side?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yep.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm sure they'll arrive just in the nick of time.
VardaValar1: Four footed, winged? Bays at the moon?
VardaValar1: Most likely.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Winged?
VardaValar1: or we find and rescue them.
VardaValar1: Had bird scouts. Might help lead a pack.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I was mostly going by scent and trail, but sure, they
can have some birds with em to scout ahead.
VardaValar1: Head that-away
Arien V: if they would have been intercepted
Arien V: we could get them out
VardaValar1: Lot of mountain over there between us. They might have to
navigate through something fun like Gundabad.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, not much that can stand in the pack's way at this
point unless they gather up specifically.
VardaValar1: It's one reason we're coming at the sorceror from the less
mountain-protected side.
VardaValar1: Maybe they'll think the pack is part of the wolves of Dol
Guldur?
Arien V: mmh interesting place in .. War in the North I had to figfht
through there ^^
Arien V: Gundabad
VardaValar1: or some they turned with that stuff that was taking them
over?
Eonwe Valar: The point of making the sword connected to the staff was
to unite two loose threads that both had some importance in the story
beyond what a normal weapon would have. If these swords are being
mass-produced, that negates any reason or any sense in a connection to
the staff, and then leaves me wondering why it would have such a
profound impact on a Dwarf, of all people, who are usually more
resilient to the kind of influence it seems to have had on Frali.
VardaValar1: I never did understand why a dwarf would be the most
affected.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Sure, at first glance they look like a party from Dol
Guldur, until you notice the trail of orc corpses and ravaged campsites
they leave in their wake. But by the time you suspect something,
they're already on you...
Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, Eonwe, the way I see it...
VardaValar1: We need a reason for it to afffect a dwarf so much. And
aye - not mass-produced.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Staff is the main weapon, but it does not have all the
components, maybe because it's bad to have it sitting in one place, or
maybe because it takes something out of the weapon to use, and you want
the staff not to expend itself on its first try.
VardaValar1: Several experimental attempts, this being one of two or
three.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Which is why there are the swords - the keys to the
staff's lock.
VardaValar1: Like loading it with a bullet.
VardaValar1: Keys, ahh.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Easy to spread around, easy to hide as swords, and you
only need one for a weaponized use, though it'll probably break the
sword in the process.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yeah, bullets works as well as a metaphor.
VardaValar1: Maybe the different keys give different effects to the
staff.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Also possible.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Judging by the state of the sword, it is possibly
already used, which is why it's not functional right now.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Which is what Eonwe's about to change.
Ar-Pharazon-V: *Auros
Ar-Pharazon-V: Or maybe it's not used yet, but faulty, or indeed just a
loose rivet or messed up rune.
VardaValar1: Discharged. Maybe damaged.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Right.
Arien V: so it would not have the desired effect
Eonwe Valar: Except if you put the wrong key in a lock, it doesn't
turn, and we'd then have to assume that the villian has the knowledge
and power requisite to recreate a working key.\
Arien V: an effect that wasnt wanted ortargeted the wrong race
Ar-Pharazon-V: It would take a lot of work to recreate the staff, if it
can even be done in reasonable time (maybe that needs the meteor
fragment!) but the swords can be mass-produced as ammo.
VardaValar1: Aye, part of the damage. Would be useful for the sorceror
to know that unintended effect.
Ar-Pharazon-V: That could work.
Ar-Pharazon-V: But if it didn't, it would explain why the sorcerer is
not so intent on retrieving the faulty piece.
VardaValar1: I don't actually think there were many swords, just a few
to test effects on a live target.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Perhaps. Perhaps not. Maybe there were a few, and now
they know it works kinda, they'll make more or improve on them.
Ar-Pharazon-V: So we have a piece that doesn't work right, maybe
because it was made wrong as an experimental piece, maybe because it
was used in the initial testing. Maybe sorcerer's after it, maybe he
isn't, as he knows more are in the make.
VardaValar1: But limited number due to limited staves.
VardaValar1: The sorceror isn't going to want every goblin in the
mountains to be using them. He'll want to hang onto his power.
Eonwe Valar: So why would the sword then have the effect it has/had on
Frali? Doesn't sound like it takes much to create. If it can be
mass-produced, either they've got a Yogg-Saron in their basement
siphoning off its power, or it's just not that much to begin with.
VardaValar1: Have to be just a few, maybe operating for one staff. This
one appears not to have worked right in the experiment, was about to be
junked anyway.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Mass-production is a relative term. It might mean there
are 20, it might mean there are 500. But there is some spellwork going
on with each one of them.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Yeah, could be a few.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Maybe affecting dwarves is one of the faulty
side-effects.
Eonwe Valar: Mass-production implies it could be created frequently and
efficiently.
VardaValar1: It didn't work on the elves. It's junk.
VardaValar1: Wrong frequency. Fix it and now Frali is stuck with
carrying it as the only one not affected.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Auros, what did you do? ;-)
Eonwe Valar: hehe
VardaValar1: hehe
Ar-Pharazon-V: And suddenly the sword becomes our own version of the
Ring and we have to carry it to Angmar to destroy it before it enslaves
the whole of Rivendell.
Ar-Pharazon-V: And Frali becomes our version of the Ringbear...er.
Arien V: lool
VardaValar1: Maybe it makes a sound that is like fingernails scraping
on a chalkboard so elves can't think properly and have trouble fighting.
VardaValar1: Never expected to take over. That was the stuff they used
that worked on animals in Mirkwood but not on elves.
Arien V: urgs yeah they have sensitive ears
Eonwe Valar: Random semi-related thought:
Arien V: oh i knew this sword was trouble when i introduced it as
element .. lets get rid of it :/
Ar-Pharazon-V: that's the plan, Arien ;-)
VardaValar1: Yep always the dwarf haviing to carry the equipment.
:-)
Eonwe Valar: We seem to go with the idea that it was the sorcerer
taunting us when saying "meet me in Angmar." What if it was Calaron?
Now our characters need not know that specifically, but it seems like a
it could be "A Trap!" Or an unintended slip due to wrestling for
control of Calaron's body.
VardaValar1: Could be Calaron, good one.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Speaking as, I'm not keen on still having him struggle
actively and noticeably, but an occasional appearance may not hurt.
Eonwe Valar: It's not something that ultimately affects the direction
of the story as a whole, just a musing.
Ar-Pharazon-V: It would explain why the sorcerer would give away his
destination.
Eonwe Valar: Aye.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Especially since he apparently does not need the sword.
Eonwe Valar: Even if he did. We have no reason to believe he knew we
had it, unless I've forgotten something.
VardaValar1: Gives Calaron a major part in the story besides being a
mule.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Is a mule not usually the one carrying, rather than the
one being carried? ;-)
VardaValar1: He may have just wanted rescue.
Eonwe Valar: Ever seen Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood? Think the
second Greed.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I've not.
Eonwe Valar: Ok, ignore the reference then, hehe.
Eonwe Valar: Good anime though.
Eonwe Valar: Anyway, my time has long since expired, so I need to get
going.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
Eonwe Valar: Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun :}
Ar-Pharazon-V: So how do we go forward? Auros fixes the sword?
VardaValar1: Namarie!
Arien V: Namarie :)
VardaValar1: We wave goodbye to the Fellowship. That brings Auros back
into the timeline.
Ar-Pharazon-V: So, like I said at the start...
Ar-Pharazon-V: timeskip!
Arien V: okay ^^
VardaValar1: He makes his discovery that lets us have direction.
VardaValar1: Aye. :-)
Arien V: I remember it was a cold winter morning ^^
VardaValar1: The Fellowship left in autumn
Arien V: oh yes that
VardaValar1: So it could be pretty cool, and the leaves could be
beautiful outside Rivendell, but falling.
Arien V: the weather wasnt very nice ooh it was frodo having his
nightmare having to go back to Bilbo in the middle of winter and having
to tell him they failed
VardaValar1: Then we move into barren rocky land and mountains as
things get worse.
Ar-Pharazon-V: It was a long and dark december, from the rooftops I
remember, there was snow, white snow...
Ar-Pharazon-V: *sings Coldplay song*
VardaValar1: :-)
VardaValar1: *picks up a normal looking hammer*
VardaValar1: *tonk*
VardaValar1: *puts the hammer back, confused*
VardaValar1: *the hammer giggles and moves away on the conveyor belt*
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VardaValar1: After-meeting!
Arien V: there is a legion assault on in Valshara atm btw Phari#
Arien V: 5 hours to go
VardaValar1: Would you two like to head in for that? Give the report
later?
Ar-Pharazon-V: Good thing I cleared my world quests there then earlier.
I'm not participating in legion assaults at the moment, I try to ignore
as much of broken shore as I can for now.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I really don't want to get dragged into that while I
still have earlier content to wrestle through.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I've fallen so much behind, I've contemplated abandoning
most of the expansion and just doing my own thing for a bit until the
next one, maybe just a bit of raiding. But I do still love the
rep-stuff, world quests, and I was liking Suramar stuff for a bit while
I had the time...
Ar-Pharazon-V: It's all a bit depressing, really.
Arien V: :/
Arien V: not fair
VardaValar1: Namarie for now. Will scroll back. Good luck
Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm not a fan of the bullet train speed in this
expansion :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, personal gaming report!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Flashgaming:
3 games today!
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/rocky10529/magnetized
is a puzzle game where you use magnets to alter the path of a particle
to guide it through mazes to the exit. Needs some planning, timing and
subtlety, but is very addictive :-)
Arien V: :)#
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/soda_dungeon
is the second game, a sort of RPG game where you work at a bar and hire
adventurers to go into the dungeon on your behalf instead.
Ar-Pharazon-V: http://www.kongregate.com/games/rudy_sudarto/epic-war-4
is the third, a strategy game where you customize and upgrade your army
surrounding a hero, and keep pushing them into the level, advancing or
retreating as needed to overcome enemy armies and castles.
Ar-Pharazon-V: As you can tell from the name, part of a series, but
this installment popped up for me for a badge this week.
Arien V: nice one
Ar-Pharazon-V: I've played various games in the series over the years,
and this one's looking particularly good, with a more interesting
upgrade system.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard games!
Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone:
Ehrr, let me check if I actually completed the brawl this week...
Ar-Pharazon-V: I did not. Yikes. I'll get on that as I slowly continue
my report.
Arien V: oki
Ar-Pharazon-V: Looks like a masked ball - every minion that dies spawns
a random one that's worth 2 less mana. Interesting.
Arien V: sounds good to me
Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, other than that, halfway to Maiev, with 5 games
won in standard.
Ar-Pharazon-V: There, brawl won, found a quick and cheap
shaman/bloodlust deck online which did the trick ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Right. Last wing of Karazhan finished this week, and 6
of the 9 class challenges.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I also found out that I forgot to allocate gold to the
purchasing of Gadgetzan packs, had completely forgotten about that most
recent expansion... so I'll probably buy about 3000 gold worth of
those, and put the rest into Un'goro.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Otherwise, just putting some more xp in my heroes ;-)
Arien V: good one :)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Heroes of the Storm:
Not much to say. Decided to keep leveling them after the loot chest
announcement, and some of them are about to get a few more levels
indeed... this week's brawl was the same as last week's, so I didn't
need to do it again.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Minor mention for Starcraft II: Came across a youtube
video showing a mod for realistic behaviors and scaling, demonstrated
by a Zerg versus Zerg match. It's looking quite funny, and the
flightpatterns of flying units are just beautiful :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rexY-I8Mnk if you want
it!
Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
Ar-Pharazon-V: Did not get a chance to work on empowering my artifacts
in 7.2 content. I know I have to, just to be stronger in raids, but had
a bit less time, and only just managed to get my 7 Timewalks in for the
weekly quest.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Did a bunch more World Quests, and got my first paragon
pack from the Nightfallen today, which you get for every 10000 rep
after exalted. No mount though, but the AP and currencies are good :-)
Arien V: grats :)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Bit more work on Family Familiar, finishing off a couple
more pet masters with every family. End feels in sight, but it's really
relying on getting those rarer masters showing up.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Demon invasions, while happening rarely, do make it more
difficult to plan ahead to get the World Quests I need. But I guess
I'll just have to live with that.
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not much else to say this week, didn't get any new
pets...
Ar-Pharazon-V: Elisande was killed on heroic in my absence, but I was
around for our first heroic Gul'dan kill tonight. So there's the "ahead
of the curve" achievement which wouldn't have been available in one or
two weeks when Tomb of Sargeras opens up. So just in time!
Ar-Pharazon-V: No new loot, though.
Ar-Pharazon-V: And finally, for appearances, I got... 2 new items from
heroic Sethekk. Nothing else, still need one before I can move on to
the next instance.
Ar-Pharazon-V: I also tried to work on the 10 arena skirmish wins which
was the second weekly quest (seems a bit of a bug, perhaps, since it's
also next week's weekly) but after getting over a dozen losses and 1
win because the enemy team didn't show up, I gave up on it. Arena is
just not my thing, and I have no idea if I'll return to it for future
weekly quests, even though the honor's good.
Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for this week!
Arien V: thanks Phari :)
Arien V: quite a lot there
Arien V: Namarie for now .. bedtime for me :)
Ar-Pharazon-V: namarie!
Lenwe (-V): Aiya folks :)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
Lenwe (-V): I figured I'd pop in before signing in to LotRO
Ar-Pharazon-V: Not many people left. I think Varda's here, but also in
LotRO.
Lenwe (-V): Ok. Interesting discussion tonight!
Ar-Pharazon-V: How to form terra :-)
Lenwe (-V): Aye, very interesting
Lenwe (-V): The third (I think) installment of the Hobbit movie was
playing in the hotel this evening...the part where Galadriel seems to
be dying and manages to use the last of her strength telling Sauron off
Lenwe (-V): Reading the discussion is a nice change from that, hehe
Ar-Pharazon-V: Sounds like the third, but it's the only one of the 3 I
haven't seen yet :-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: I've got the extended dvd but so many movies recorded I
just haven't gotten around to it.
Lenwe (-V): They are actually not bad movies in their own right, just
nothing like the book they're named after
Lenwe (-V): I believe I got the extended version of the first, still
need to get the other two
Ar-Pharazon-V: The acceptable term is "inspired by" ;-)
Ar-Pharazon-V: Alright, saving and sending transcript.
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