September 23, 2018 Sunday Meeting
5pm
EDT
(UTC/GMT - 5)
Discord:
Valar Guild/meeting_place
Back to News
Transcript work by Varda.
Attending (and
spoke): (7)
Discord:
Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Elladan, Elrond, Eonwe, Pallando, Varda
(presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:
Community / Forum:
The riddle game has
started again on the Forum, during today's meeting. News given during After-meeting.
Gaming:
Games Site Mass Update ongoing.
General gaming reports.
Tolkien:
Topic: Bilbo and
Frodo's birthday, moving on to the One Ring and Mt. Doom.
After-meeting:
Shadows of War
review by Pallando
Flashgaming Reviews by
Ar-Pharazon
top
Before-meeting
(times are in Central from Varda's Discord, so add one hour for
Eastern)
VardaYesterday at 4:00 PM
Aiya : )
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:00 PM
Aiya!
VardaYesterday at 4:00 PM
Meeting time, folks.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:01 PM
Arien poked.
VardaYesterday at 4:01 PM
Thanks
ArienVYesterday at 4:01 PM
evening
VardaYesterday at 4:02 PM
Aiya Arien : )
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:02 PM
Aiya!
VardaYesterday at 4:03 PM
top
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
Membership:
Good to see you folks. : )
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Web:
Nothing new on the Tolkien Site.
ArienVYesterday at 4:06 PM
Aiya :smiley:
VardaYesterday at 4:07 PM
For the Games Site, the mass update is ongoing. Please send Eonwe an
email or Discord tell to Eonwe. A cc to Varda is nice too. Thanks to
all who have already done it. : )
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Gaming:
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:07 PM
Aiya
VardaYesterday at 4:07 PM
Feel free to pop in with general updates whilst this is going. : )
Aiya Pallando : )
Good to see the Blue Wizard. : )
World of WarCraft:
Now available, Uldir in LFR Wing 1 and Mythic difficulty. See the
announcements here.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:08 PM
Aiya Pallando!
VardaYesterday at 4:08 PM
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22483122/uldir-mythic-and-raid-finder-wing-1-available
World of Warcraft
Uldir Mythic and Raid Finder Wing 1 Available! -
WoW
Uldir Mythic difficulty and Raid Finder Wing 1:
The Halls of Containment are now available! Read on to learn more.
Brewfest is going now through October 6th.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22483129/bring-out-the-wolpertingers-brewfest-is-here
World of Warcraft
Bring Out the Wolpertingers! Brewfest is Here -
WoW
Do you love eating delicious faire food, drinking
bountiful beverages, and riding rams around barrels of apples?
Brewfest has arrived and you can do all that and more from September
20–October 6.
Other events this past week:
The Harvest Festival runs through September 25th.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22483126/in-remembrance-the-harvest-festival-has-begun
World of Warcraft
In Remembrance: The Harvest Festival Has Begun -
WoW
The yearly Harvest Festival is now underway in
Azeroth. Fallen heroes of the Alliance and Horde are paid homage
during this time of remembrance.
Talk Like a Pirate Day was September 19th.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22514561/celebrate-international-talk-like-a-pirate-day-in-style
World of Warcraft
Celebrate International Talk Like A Pirate Day in
Style! - WoW
Just in time for International Talk Like a Pirate
Day–we’re celebrating all things pirate with an epic new mount!
(This was also going in Lord of the Rings Online, mateys.)
Check out the developer live stream.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:10 PM
Yarr.
VardaYesterday at 4:10 PM
^^
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22483124/watch-the-developer-live-stream-vod
World of Warcraft
Watch the Developer Live Stream VoD - WoW
If you missed the developer live stream, don’t
worry – we have you covered.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:10 PM
That's every day in Eve. :wink:
VardaYesterday at 4:11 PM
haha
And we have Corsairs in LotRO every day. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:11 PM
Talk like a pirate day also came with a new offer, buy 180 days
gametime and get a pirate ship mount :smiley:
VardaYesterday at 4:11 PM
This week's bonus event: Pet Battles.
Check out the hotfixes for this week.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/21973195/hotfixes-september-21-2018
World of Warcraft
Hotfixes: September 21, 2018 - WoW
Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address
various issues related to World of Warcraft:Battle For Azeroth.
Diablo 3:
Season 15 is live.
Aiya Eonwe : )
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 4:12 PM
Heya all.
ArienVYesterday at 4:12 PM
Aiya Eonwe :smiley:
VardaYesterday at 4:12 PM
Heroes of the Storm:
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 4:12 PM
Guess I left the LFT/mythic announcement from last week in this
week's news.
VardaYesterday at 4:12 PM
A patch came out this week.
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 4:12 PM
*LFR
VardaYesterday at 4:12 PM
oopsie
Hearthstone:
Some new blogs:
Hearthstone: In the Works - September 18
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:13 PM
Aiya Eonwe!
ArienVYesterday at 4:13 PM
((did talk like a pirate day on EpicRockRadio chat too .. it spilled
all over :smiley: ))
VardaYesterday at 4:13 PM
https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/22483774/hearthstone-in-the-works-september-18
Hearthstone: In the Works - September 18
Welcome to Hearthstone’s first In the Works
update. Here we’re giving you a brief look at what’s coming in the
next few months for Hearthstone—game updates and events, esports,
and more!
It's evvvverywherrrrre.
Bask in the Days of the Frozen Throne Now
https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/22483775/bask-in-the-days-of-the-frozen-throne-now
Bask in the Days of the Frozen Throne Now
As foretold, I, the Lich King, have brought you
Days of the Frozen Throne!
Developer Insights: Days of the Frozen Throne with the Live Content
Team
https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/blog/22502118/developer-insights-days-of-the-frozen-throne-with-the-live-content-team
Developer Insights: Days of the Frozen Throne
with the Live Conten...
Enjoyed Knights of the Frozen Throne last year?
Then find out how Days of the Frozen Throne came to be!
LotRO news is at:
LotRO Beacon Issue # 78.
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/lotro-beacon-issue-78
The Lord of the Rings Online
The LOTRO Beacon: Issue 78
The biggest event however was yesterday as it is all over Tolkien
fandom:
Sept 22, the birthday of Bilbo and Frodo. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:17 PM
Happy birthday!
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 4:17 PM
Gaming News fixed.
VardaYesterday at 4:17 PM
Thanks Eonwe : )
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthread.php?667103-New-Bilbo-Birthday-quest-at-Strongholds-of-the-North-area
New Bilbo Birthday quest at Strongholds of the
North area
For people with interest in festivals and events,
there are a new quest for Bilbo Birthday event active right now, you
need to speak with an NPC called "Thoughts of Bilbo" in the path
from Loeglond to Laketon, at 13.4N, 29.4W for the quest "A Forgotten
Birthday".
And we had a new quest in LotRO for that event, along with all the
regular ones for it.
It can be done by careful lowbies as well as 115's.
Any other general news for our games? Eve, StarCraft 2, others?
I think they all had some version of Talk Like a Pirate day. : )
The birthday party is ongoing in LotRO for those that were concerned
that they missed it all.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:19 PM
I have a bunch of fleet actionc oming up these next few weeks.
VardaYesterday at 4:20 PM
Fellow guildmates showing up in the kin in LotRO were:
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:20 PM
@Elrond should ping me about one, he might be interestred to pass
intel along. :p
VardaYesterday at 4:20 PM
Arien
Beleg
Bregalad
Dis
Eonwe
Falco
Mirabella
Nar
Nimrodel
Thranduil
Varda
Pardon, go ahead Pallando!
heh
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:20 PM
EVE announced some big changes for the October patch
ECM getting nerfed, turning it from, um.. blind? to taunt?
lurch hictors getting nerfed/removed (I have no way to explain that
easily, it's a very odd specifically-eve mechanics Thing that
they're removing)(edited)
combat ceptors (claw, taranis, crusader, and raptor) are losing
interdiction nullficiation
And the Damavik is losing a low to get a mid so it's a 3-mid boat
and might not be completely useless.
FAX/more general cap balance pass is coming "soon(tm)"
https://www.eveonline.com/article/pf7gpi/october-balance-pass
EVE Online
October Balance Pass | EVE Online
Check out this blog from the EVE Dev Team about
upcoming balanc work, including changes to ECM, nullification and a
little bit of work on the Triglavian ship lineup!
That's it for general Eve stuff. On a more personal note, @Elrond
should really talk to me about the juicy intel I have. :wink:
VardaYesterday at 4:27 PM
Hear that, Elrond? : )
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:28 PM
Next week I ought to have a nice exciting battle report.
That's it for me.
VardaYesterday at 4:28 PM
Thank you, that's a lot of good stuff.
Anyone else?
ElrondYesterday at 4:29 PM
Aiya, and we won the war.
VardaYesterday at 4:29 PM
There's Elrond. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:29 PM
Aiya!
Oh, for WoW
Next major update (I think it's 8.1?) announced. 2 new raids,
storyline advancement, new customizations and the first few heritage
armors for the original races, and a lot of other stuff.
The two new allied races should also be available in the aftermath
of the raid.
Datamining has already begun, there's some interesting stuff
there...
But no spoilers necessary :smiley:
Let me find a link.
For those curious.
https://www.wowhead.com/news=287254
should do it
Wowhead
What's Coming in Tides of Vengeance - New Battle
for Azeroth Conte...
Ion Hazzikostas has announced Tides of Vengeance, the next content
patch for Battle for Azeroth. This Content Patch includes Dwarf and
Blood Elf Heritage Armor, the Darkshore Warfront, the Siege of
Zuldazar raid, the Crucible of Storms raid, many system improvements
and more!
Tides of Vengeance is coming!
And that's it for general news from me
VardaYesterday at 4:36 PM
Thank you Phar and Pallando : )
top
Tolkien!
September 22 was the double birthday of Bilbo and Frodo. : )
Frodo was fairly quiet about anything about himself, one thing
making him a good Ringbearer, so it was easy to overlook his being
part of the big event.
He had a tendency to stay under the radar, such as almost
disappearing to the Shire inhabitants after his stint as Mayor.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:39 PM
old habits die hard?
VardaYesterday at 4:39 PM
But as a youngster, he was right in there with the rest of the crazy
Brandybucks.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:39 PM
or in Bilbo's case, old hobbits die hard...
VardaYesterday at 4:39 PM
Survival habit, maybe?
There's that too : )
Bilbo just took a boat instead. : )
So when Frodo was younger, he ran around with Merry and Pippin,
rather adventurous. Of course Bilbo would find that interesting.
There was a lot about Frodo that went under the radar. Gandalf and
Bilbo considered him one of or the best hobbit - especially for
being the new Ringbearer. Any thoughts on that?
He was a Fallohide type of hobbit, nearest to the likes of the
elves.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:44 PM
'twas an interesting choice, since he ultimately lacked the will to
get rid of the Ring himself; but the quality he showed earlier in
sparing Gollum turned out to be enough compensation for that.
VardaYesterday at 4:45 PM
No Ringbearer was able to just destroy the Ring. Didn't matter who
they picked concerning that. That was one reason they needed a
Fellowship.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:45 PM
Good point.
VardaYesterday at 4:45 PM
The trick was to get the Ring there without being taken over before
Mt. Doom. Boromir would've made it less than five feet, for
instance.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:46 PM
So if all 9 of them had gotten there, would they have been able to
persuade Frodo to drop the Ring?
VardaYesterday at 4:47 PM
Persuasion might have needed to be physical?
Could that group have even made it to Mt. Orodruin?
The hobbits were great with stealth. What would the others have had
to do to pass through Mordor with Frodo?
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:49 PM
larger orc suits :smiley:
VardaYesterday at 4:49 PM
That would be my guess too. : )
They might have been able to help more with food and water?
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:50 PM
But they'd need more food and water, too.
At least Boromir or Aragorn would've been better at carrying Frodo
than Sam.
VardaYesterday at 4:50 PM
True. But they might have been able to collect it better?
And they could have taken turns carrying when needed. Beats trying
to carry that Ring directly.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:51 PM
Yep.
VardaYesterday at 4:51 PM
Even if Bilbo had been in good enough condition, he was too far gone
with the Ring.
But the chain of hobbits saved the world by holding the Ring.
Bilbo had to be there to gift it to Frodo for a non-evil way
of obtaining it. Not murder or theft.
Straight inheritance.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:56 PM
I can't help but wonder if privately Elrond and Gandalf were going
"So once it's at Orodruin, you're just going to Maiar it into the
pit, right Gandalf?".
VardaYesterday at 4:56 PM
May-be. : )
He might have had to push the other members to do it, more like his
Istar job.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:56 PM
Well, Gandalf could scare Bilbo into submission, so why not Frodo
when it came to it? :wink:
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:56 PM
Like, privately, the assumption was that Gandalf and Sauron would
have it out, First-Age style, eventually.
VardaYesterday at 4:57 PM
Gandalf's power and part of his memory were removed so that he
wouldn't toe to toe with Sauron. That was so the Free People had to
step up.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 4:57 PM
I wonder if Gandalf would've had a harder time getting into Mordor
for giving off some Maiar-vibe, even while still in his Grey mode.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:57 PM
Our friend Olorin has already demonstrated by this point that he's
willing to play fast and loose with the restrictions placed on him
by the Valar, right?
Sure, but he also has the ring of ...fire?
VardaYesterday at 4:58 PM
After becoming Gandalf the White, he was given more latitude,
because he was the only one of the Istari still operating.
That is interesting. With the Ring of Fire, he might have been able
to give the party more resistance to the heat. He didn't generally
use it as a weapon. A lot of the use of fire was inspiration.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 4:59 PM
I don't know that it would have been a good idea.
But the entire Fellowship wasn't exactly a good idea, it was just
the only idea.(edited)
VardaYesterday at 4:59 PM
He may have been using it to soak up the fire from the Balrog of
Moria.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:00 PM
Or the least bad idea, at least.
VardaYesterday at 5:00 PM
They also didn't expect the whole Fellowship to go the whole way.
Frodo was the only one that had to.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:01 PM
At least they got that one right.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:01 PM
Maybe even Olorin was expecting to be a distraction (which, he was,
at the Black Gate).
Just might have expected it to happen differently.
VardaYesterday at 5:01 PM
Gandalf was quite relieved that Sam went with Frodo.
Aye.
Aragorn and Boromir were expected to go to Minas Tirith.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:02 PM
...technically that did happen.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:03 PM
Well, one of them did.
VardaYesterday at 5:03 PM
Legolas and Gimli were not expected to pass the mountains. Although
Legolas was considering going to Minas Tirith with Aragorn to Minas
Tirith.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:03 PM
Didn't Boromir make it to Minas Tirith.. yknow, sorta?
ArienVYesterday at 5:04 PM
the horn did
VardaYesterday at 5:04 PM
Well, to Rauros Falls at least. : )
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:04 PM
Oh, right.
Horn, no son.
VardaYesterday at 5:04 PM
In two halves. A clue that all was not well.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:04 PM
Nevermind,t hen.
VardaYesterday at 5:04 PM
I would go with sort of. : )
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:04 PM
Faramir found him, though. But let him sail on, apparently.
But took his horn for proof?
VardaYesterday at 5:05 PM
Faramir had a vision of Boromir.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:06 PM
anyways, Gandalf was sent to combat Sauron, so perhaps he expected
to get to Mordor or so, fight Sauron, distracting him, lose the
fight, but win the war while Frodo takes the ring in.
VardaYesterday at 5:06 PM
Good point. He could have been a fantastic distraction. And great
against Nazgul.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:06 PM
He knew he wouldn't win the fight, but that doesn't matter if the
party achieves the objective. I mean, that's what he and Aragorn
ended up doing anyways, more or less.
VardaYesterday at 5:07 PM
Gandalf did seem to originally intend to go with Frodo.
Just tank the baddies while Frodo and the others run in to dispose
of the Ring. Yank it off Frodo's finger with pliers maybe. : )
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:07 PM
They all knew they'd die if they or Frodo lost, but considered
losing that fight (and that entire army dying) a small cost if it
meant Frodo won.
Gandalf has a very high level taunt. :wink:(edited)
Aragorn too, for that matter, with the Palantir. Infinite range!
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:08 PM
Oh yes, very quick at getting aggro.
VardaYesterday at 5:10 PM
We know Gandalf held off the nazgul from Faramir and his soldiers
coming into Minas Tirith.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:10 PM
That was Gandalf the White though.
Curious how well he would have done as the Grey.
VardaYesterday at 5:10 PM
He had a hard time vs the Balrog, but he did win.
He also said he was already tired at the start of that fight.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:11 PM
Not good to go into combat while already exhausted.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:11 PM
And (depending on which version we're going with) the Balrog would
be stronger than at least any individual Nazgul.
VardaYesterday at 5:12 PM
The Balrogs are Maiar, so yes.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:12 PM
And that was a fairly well-fed one...
VardaYesterday at 5:13 PM
and well-rested. : )
Gandalf could easily handle any single nazgul, Witch-king or no.
He simply held back the Witch-king by his presence at the gate to
Minas Tirith. They didn't have any actual fight as the Rohirrim came
and the Witch-king had to go to his troops. Movie not right on that.
No nazgul could break an Istar's staff.
It took Gandalf as the White, the new head of the order, with orders
from the Valar to fire Saruman, to break Saruman's staff. That was a
very big deal.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:16 PM
Very true.
The combined Nazgul might have been able to at least seriously
injure Gandalf the Grey, though.(edited)
VardaYesterday at 5:17 PM
I would not argue against that.
Especially right at Orodruin.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:17 PM
Exactly.
VardaYesterday at 5:18 PM
Sauron and all nine nazgul right at the seat of power. That's when
Gandalf would have to make use of strategy. Use the cave mouth,
bring it down on top of them when they enter.
ElladanYesterday at 5:18 PM
Hey guys!
Sorry to barge in
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:18 PM
Aiya!
VardaYesterday at 5:19 PM
Elladan! Aiya! Good to see you. : )
We were just discussing if the whole Fellowship made it with Frodo
to Mt. Doom. : )
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:19 PM
It's a curious question though -- do his restrictions (as the Grey,
before becoming the White with more latitude) against direct
interference on a 'magic/power' level (which didn't seem to apply
when fighting the Balrog, because it was a direct agent of Morgoth)
apply to the Nazgul?
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:20 PM
I assume he was allowed some measure of self-defense? :smiley:
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:20 PM
They are (were?) Men, but they Men who are indelibly connected with
Sauron.
VardaYesterday at 5:20 PM
We know Gandalf as the White did indeed send light from his staff
against the flying nazgul to keep them back. They could not attack.
Even as ring-wraiths, they could only partake of part of Sauron's
power. That was one of the things sapping Sauron and Morgoth's power
, the sharing with minions.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:21 PM
As with the One Ring itself.
VardaYesterday at 5:22 PM
and the Rings were kind of like horcruxes. : )
Exactly.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:23 PM
That does lead to a question though -- certainly the Men became
stronger through their Rings, but did Sauron enjoy a similar
increase in power with the Nazgul, if they were working in concert
with him?
He must have, or he wouldn't have made/given them the ring sin the
first place.
VardaYesterday at 5:23 PM
Sauron had a huge amount of power. Even with part of his power
shared, he was stronger than any humanoid on Middle-earth.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:24 PM
So with them all gathered together at Mt Doom, it would have almost
certainly overwhelmed Gandalf the Grey, and probably given the White
a run for his money.
And of course Gandalf would know that.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:24 PM
He must've thought sharing his power was worth it to gain the
control.
VardaYesterday at 5:24 PM
I wonder how much of Morgoth's shared power Sauron retained, and if
he knew how to tap Morgoth's Ring (Arda).
Aye Phar.
And Gandalf know if he could hold out long enough, the Ring's
destruction could save him.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:25 PM
Was it ever explicitly stated that Morgoth shared capital-p Power
with Sauron?
VardaYesterday at 5:25 PM
Not explicitly.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:25 PM
We can infer, of course.
VardaYesterday at 5:25 PM
It's known that he shared power with minions, one of the seductions.
Sauron was his top lieutenant.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:25 PM
True, true.
VardaYesterday at 5:26 PM
JRRT was big on making readers figure out stuff, said so, and that
is one of the attractions for us. : )
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:26 PM
I still think that Gandalf, when leaving Rivendell, did not expect
to win, himself.
Good 'ole noble sacrifice.
VardaYesterday at 5:27 PM
Sauron had to be seduced away from Aule and power would have been a
huge part of that. So he probably did receive something from
Morgoth. A question is if he kept any after Morgoth was pushed
through the Doors of Night. He wasn't killed.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:27 PM
Or.. if not expected, understood it was possible/likely.
VardaYesterday at 5:27 PM
Gandalf was indeed willing to do self-sacrifice, a super-power right
there. He did so to save the Fellowship from the Balrog.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:28 PM
Exactly. Even there he was not assured of winning and he knew it.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:28 PM
He was kinda hoping to win that encounter, though.
VardaYesterday at 5:28 PM
Having the willingness to give every bit of himself made him even
more powerful in a fight. Nothing held back.
Gandalf did win vs the balrog. : )
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:28 PM
Hoping to? sure. Fought to the very end, totally.
But willing to be wrong, if he was.
VardaYesterday at 5:29 PM
Aye. In any case, he wins by holding the Balrog back from the One
Ring.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:30 PM
I think he would have considered that a success if he had lost, but
held the Balrog back from the One Ring (and everything else happened
to work out differently such that the Ring was still destroyed, of
course).
VardaYesterday at 5:30 PM
Agreed
He had a particular goal. Taking the Balrog down was secondary.
So that our European friends don't keel over on us, let's call the
main meeting now. We can keep up the chat if we want to in the
After-meeting. : )
one hammer tosses the other to the hammerpad
thonnnnnk!
the hammerpad returns the hammer with a friendly bounce
top
After-meeting!
Free chat. About Balrogs, wings, and other things.
ElladanYesterday at 5:35 PM
mmmm wings
VardaYesterday at 5:35 PM
Gandalf-fried Balrog Wings.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:35 PM
A bit smokey, but otherwise pretty good.
VardaYesterday at 5:35 PM
^^
ElladanYesterday at 5:36 PM
Might be a bit heavy for me, considering I just ate a couple bean
burritos from the drive thru at the shire
ArienVYesterday at 5:36 PM
sounds tasty to me
VardaYesterday at 5:36 PM
Meats back on the menu, boys.
ArienVYesterday at 5:37 PM
i can offer sun fried honey chicken slices with recommendation from
Yavanne
how does that sound?
VardaYesterday at 5:37 PM
Delicious
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:41 PM
Perosnal gaming news, I finally gave in and picked up Shadows of War, despite
femme-fatal-Shelob.
VardaYesterday at 5:41 PM
hah
was it fun?
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:41 PM
I mean, sure.
I'm on the hardest difficulty though and WOW the captians just
murder me.
Like, one-hit-kills.
VardaYesterday at 5:42 PM
Can't have you bored!
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:42 PM
It's like playing Dark Souls.
2-3 from regular orcs.
I was gonna do my usual of playing tons of sidequests and hunting
for all of the different bits first, but.. man, I think I'm just
gonna have to storymode it for awhile.
Only do sidequests that explicitly give me skills..
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 5:45 PM
Well, if you're on the hardest difficulty, no wonder you might need
to play rather more efficiently than just for completion :wink:
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:48 PM
aaaaand made a new captian
sigh
VardaYesterday at 5:49 PM
I don't know enough about it to understand the sigh.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 5:49 PM
if you die to a regular orc, they get promoted to captian, get some
abilities and so on
VardaYesterday at 5:49 PM
You caused another tough captain to attack, or made one of your own?
hah, you gave an orc a promotion. Wild.
He should give you a few coppers for that next incarnation
Forum:
Hey guys! Eonwe has a wonderful announcement. Take it away, Eonwe!
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 5:51 PM
Thanks :}
Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm afraid I've had to make a change to the
name of one of the boards on the Forum.
VardaYesterday at 5:52 PM
but wait, there's more
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 5:53 PM
After examination, I've found that the "Trivia Questions" board was
entirely inadequate. It contains more than just Trivia questions. It
also includes our Name Games.
So it is now the "Word Games" Board, still under the Tolkien
section, so obviously Tolkien Word Games are what's involved :}
VardaYesterday at 5:53 PM
Yay!
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 5:54 PM
With this change, we now will have a board evident for Trivia, Name
Games, and Riddles! and speaking of riddles....
The Riddle Game - Book I, is now available for the riddlers of the
Valar Guild, no question question-marked costume required :}
VardaYesterday at 5:55 PM
whew Mine's at the cleaners.
Are Valar (and Valie) allowed?
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 5:55 PM
All are allowed. This is for fun.
VardaYesterday at 5:55 PM
Woot!
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 5:56 PM
The guidelines are in the first post, so go over those and we'll see
how it goes and if we need to tweak it come Book II.
First riddle is in the second post. I'm going to try and maintain a
link to the riddles as they're given so that we can jump straight to
riddles without skimming through the guesses.
VardaYesterday at 5:58 PM
Maybe unsticky the old ones?
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 5:58 PM
Yeah, probably ought to unsticky the old trivias.
VardaYesterday at 6:01 PM
Riddle sounds pretty. cudgels gray matter for answer. At what
point can we use books, by the way?
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 6:01 PM
Done.
Hmm.
I'm going to say riddle-poser's discretion for right now for Book I.
My inclination is to believe having book access isn't necessarily
going to immediately make the riddle easier, because you still have
to match the clues.
VardaYesterday at 6:04 PM
Agreed
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 6:05 PM
But I don't want to encourage making the clues so vague or complex
you have to get out the books either. I want people to at least be
starting out with their own knowledge.
VardaYesterday at 6:06 PM
Pretty well need to before we can even start to look it up.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 6:09 PM
Yep, not much specific to look up for that one.
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 6:10 PM
It's not going to look good if I have to close the game after my own
very first riddle, lol :}
VardaYesterday at 6:10 PM
oopsie ; )
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 6:11 PM
I've updated with rule 5 about using the books. Let me know if
that's not clear.
We've just started though, so I'll let the riddle sit and you all
ruminate on it :}
VardaYesterday at 6:12 PM
That looks clear enough.
rum, rum. Where's the rum gone?
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 6:13 PM
For now, I must be off.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 6:13 PM
Namarie!
VardaYesterday at 6:13 PM
Namarie and thanks!!
Eonwe ValarYesterday at 6:13 PM
Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun :}
ArienVYesterday at 6:14 PM
Namarie Eonwe and thanks to you too :smiley:
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Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 6:14 PM
K, personal gaming report!
We start with 3 flashgames.
http://www.freewebarcade.com/game/surf-riders/
is the first, surf along varying levels of water. You have to alter
the height of the water you're on to match the next section so your
little surfer doesn't crash. Collect coins along the way to unlock
other surfers, though they appear to play the same, so it's just
cosmetic. There doesn't seem much of an end to it, just go as far as
you can, and collect coins and surfers.
Hint: When it comes to choosing between adjusting your height to max
the next section and reaching up for coins, ignore the coin :wink:
Other than that there isn't much to it, but it's cute and simple.
http://www.freewebarcade.com/game/words-family/
is the second game! Make sections filled with letters fit into the
space to make words. Simpler than it sounds, fun little puzzle game.
Reminds me a bit of a game I like and have linked before called
musaic box, but with letters instead of bits of music.
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 6:30 PM
https://www.kongregate.com/games/RockLou/the-awakening-rpg
is the third game, typical rpg: Wake up without memories of how you
got there, and go on an adventure :smiley: Story is apparently
unfinished, but still a lot to do before then. Also a lot of
character customization options, and an interesting combat and
stat-upgrade system.
Kongregate
The Awakening RPG
You awake in a forest with no memory, carrying
only a sword. Hintit was not caused by severe drinking the day
before. Create your own character and embark o...
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 6:43 PM
oh good
I made a troll into a captain
VardaYesterday at 6:44 PM
eeek
ArienVYesterday at 6:58 PM
right .. i have to call it dear friends :smiley:
VardaYesterday at 6:58 PM
Good night, Arien : )
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 6:58 PM
Namarie!
ArienVYesterday at 6:58 PM
good night and Namarie all :smiley:
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Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 7:59 PM
Blizzard gaming:
Starcraft II:
Phase 2 of the war chest completely unlocked, now gotta wait a few
weeks for phase 3 :smiley: 's fine, gives me time for other stuff
Diablo 3:
New season started, with the crusader once again rebirthed. The
class set is the most useful one (in my opinion) this season, so
that's good. Level 23 now, with a rift and 5 bounties complete.
Onward to the rest of chapter 1 :smiley:
Hearthstone:
The special brawl event comes with 2 quests, for 300 gold each. Very
useful. In getting those done I mostly used the mage, which has a
clear advantage in her death knight form (in this brawl, all heroes
start with dk form). A bit unfair perhaps, but with so many brawl
victories needed for the quest, I couldn't resist.
As a result, the mage as a class is now quite a bit ahead of the
other classes in xp, nearing the next level already.
Will need to focus more on the other classes for a bit!
Got a new legendary from the classic set, Velen the priest
legendary. Not bad!
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 8:17 PM
Heroes of the Storm:
Level 302 now. Brawl this week is the Blackheart map where you have
to collect 100 coins as a team to one-shot the enemy core. Fighting
tends to heat up near the end as teams try to prevent each other
from making that final coin delivery, while stealing the other's
coins from killing them. Ended up in a random 10x Maiev game, which
was pretty silly, and got Maiev to level 2 for me. I think the other
level I got was from Dehaka, who's slowly climbing in levels as my
newest active hero.
There's also some lore stuff going on, with a new comic and possibly
some quests next week, but it's a bit vague. Turned out there was a
comic I'd missed, too, all the way back in July. Apparently Europe
doesn't get all the news!
And yes, I went through the entire blog from that time, no mention
of a comic.
WoW:
G'huun defeated on normal! Uldir cleared on that difficulty. Bit of
farming of normal bosses, and more progression on heroic difficulty
at this point.
Heroic is still at 2/8, to be continued on tuesday, but we did have
some attempts at the Fetid Devourer. Simple fight, but a bit of a
gearcheck, with a fast enrage and some really heavy hitting
abilities. It's no wonder they had to nerf it several times before
the first guilds killed it on mythic difficulty.
Success in the old raids too! Finally got my Snobold pet from Trial
of the Crusader, so now we're done there, and will only be doing
Dragon Soul for one person's mount until some new pets are released,
probably in Pandaria.
Got about half my conquest cap done for pvp, but leaving it at that.
I'll try to catch up on it for more transmog appearances in the
future, but right now it's not a priority. Besides, there has been
some interest in making a rated battleground premade group with some
members of our raidgroup/guild, to collect one or two mounts, so
there will be plenty of opportunity. I did do the pvp brawl, though,
which was actually rather fun this week, with 2 parties of 3 dps, 1
healer and 1 tank facing each other while trying to defeat each
other's raidboss.
Bit more gearing up, to 351, with only the necklace remaining below
330 for the epic achievement.
Been doing more expeditions, too, completing the achievement for
defeating all horde champions. With some hotfixes to make other
achievements accountbound, they ended up resetting the achievements
to help all npcs and to collect a large amount of total azerite. But
I've been focusing on the npcs with every expedition and making some
decent progress there. Also got another queststarter reward, and my
first transmog reward. Which was a green-quality warlock piece, so
not bound to your class, and easy to underestimate in value.
Apparently all the mog pieces are green quality. Made a note of
having it and sent it to my alt. We'll see what we can collect as we
go...
Oh, and I took up the offer of buying 180 days gametime to get the
Dreadwake mount in-game, a flying pirate ship. Very interesting,
though I can't unsee the lights at the backside forming a face...
Not sure if that's intentional, but once it's there, you'll always
see it.
It's otherwise a fun (and big) mount, though strangely faster on
land than in the water.
The 180 days wasn't much of a problem for me; I always buy in
periods of 90 days anyway, so it's not that drastic, and it's not
like I"m going to stop playing in that time. So now my gametime is
set for over half a year, including the time I still had :smiley:
And finally, a bit more questing. A lot of stuff getting in the way
when it came to questing time, including checking up on a lot of the
datamined stuff posted on the internet for 8.1. But it all looks
quite interesting, so eh.
The questing itself took me one step further into Tiragarde Sound,
clearing the Roughnecks questline, and putting the glacier on the
map. All that's left for questing there is the Wharf, which I hope
to start tomorrow.
Oh, almost forgot, weekly was 5 pvp pet battles... completed another
pet brawler achievement in the process, for 10 pvp victories with a
fully aquatic team.
It was quite a pain, since aquatics are not that powerful in pvp,
but it's done now, and hopefully the next family will be a bit
easier.
And that's my report for the week!
Ar-Pharazon-VYesterday at 8:54 PM
namarie!
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 9:02 PM
unskippable cutscenes are the wooooooorrrrrssssssst
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