Valar Guild

January 27, 2019 Sunday Meeting

5:00 P.M. Eastern time (-5 GMT)
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place

Back to News
Transcript work by
Varda.

Attending (and spoke): (3)
    Discord: Arien,  Ar-Pharazon, Varda (presiding)

Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news
Web
Gaming:
    General report
Tolkien:
    Links from Arien, Elladan, and Pallando
    Topic: Retrofitting the Hobbit
    Dates and ages commented on affect our forum rp storyline.
After-meeting:
    Topic continued a bit longer.
    Flashgaming Reviews by Ar-Pharazon.
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Before-meeting
(times are in Central from Varda's Discord, so add one hour for Eastern. Example: 4pm Central in the transcript is 5pm Eastern)

ElladanLast Friday at 6:55 PM
Aiya, clan!
Just wanted to share this. I have a friend that lives in New Zealand. And she told me about one more reason to visit.
https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/
    Experience the magic of Hobbiton™
    In the heart of New Zealand, you can step into the lush pastures of the Shire™, as featured in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.
Pallando-ValarYesterday at 12:36 PM
Related: I plan on going to the Tolkien exhibit on the 16th.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 3:42 PM
Afk a bit, should be back slightly after raid start.
VardaToday at 4:00 PM
Aiya : )
Elladan, thanks
Sounds great, Pallando :smiley:
poke Time for the meeting, folks. : )
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Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!

Membership news:
We have lots of people showing up on Discord, wonderful to see.
Here's hoping you can use our Discord to find fellow players in all your games, ones you can like and trust as already vetted.
Don't forget to click the shield on the left side of Discord to enter the Valar server and see your buddies on the right hand side.
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Web:
Thank you to Eonwe for keeping up the Games Site!
Feel free to email him reviews of your games to help advertise them to the group (or warn them away from the blecchy ones).
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Gaming:

World of Warcraft:
Tides of Vengeance Part 2 is now live.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22864559/tides-of-vengeance-part-2-now-live
    World of Warcraft
    Tides of Vengeance Part 2 Now Live! - WoW
    The Tides of Vengeance Part 2 content update is now live. Find out what to expect when the new season begins.

See the update notes here:
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22824892/tides-of-vengeance-update-notes
    World of Warcraft
    Tides of Vengeance Update Notes - WoW
    The war raging across Azeroth between Alliance and Horde has intensified. As the Alliance lays plans to retake Darkshore and regain a foothold in Kalimdor, both factions have redoubled their attacks across the zones of Kul Tiras and Zandalar.
Now going:

ArienVToday at 4:08 PM
evening :smiley:
VardaToday at 4:08 PM
Aiya Sunshine! : )

https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22864561/battle-of-dazar-alor-normal-and-heroic-raid-dungeon-now-open
    World of Warcraft
    Battle of Dazar’alor Normal and Heroic Raid Dungeon Now Open - WoW
    The Alliance sends forth an invasion force to strike at the heart of Zandalari empire—while the defenders of the Horde rallies to their new allies’ defense—in an epic new raid, Battle of Dazar’alor.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22864557/battle-for-azeroth-pvp-season-2-has-begun
    World of Warcraft
    Battle for Azeroth PvP Season 2 Has Begun - WoW
    Learn more about the PvP changes in the latest Tides of Vengeance content update and prepare to leap into Battle for Azeroth PvP Season 2.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22864562/mythic-keystone-dungeon-season-2-has-begun
    World of Warcraft
    Mythic Keystone Dungeon Season 2 Has Begun! - WoW
    Get ready for new rewards and a new challenge in the form of this season’s Mythic Keystone dungeon affix: Reaping.
Also check out the recent hotfixes.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22824893/hotfixes-january-23-2019
    World of Warcraft
    Hotfixes: January 23, 2019 - WoW
​    Here you'll find a list of hotfixes that address various issues related to World of Warcraft:Battle For Azeroth.
Check out the recent VoD.
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/22864560/watch-the-live-q-a-vod-with-ion-hazzikostas-here
    World of Warcraft
    Watch the Live Q&A VoD with Ion Hazzikostas Here! - WoW
    Miss the latest Q&A with Game Director Ion Hazzikostas? Watch the VoD now to catch up on the latest.
Any other WoW news?
Seen anyone we might know? : )

StarCraft 2:
Patch 4.8.2 is out.
https://starcraft2.com/en-us/news/22871519
    StarCraft II
    StarCraft II Official Game Site
    Wage war across the galaxy with three unique and powerful races. StarCraft II is a real-time strategy game from Blizzard Entertainment for the PC and Mac.

Fangorn, Eowyn, Faramir, and our grandson have been gaming SC2 together. Ar-Pharazon plays but not in the same location.

Diablo 3:
Season 16: The Season of Grandeur, is going.
https://us.diablo3.com/en/blog/22820656/season-16-the-season-of-grandeur-is-now-live-1-18-2019
    Diablo III
    Season 16: The Season of Grandeur is Now Live
    Season 16 begins January 18 and accompanies our latest Diablo III patch. Read on to learn more about upcoming class set tweaks, quality of life changes, and a brand-new Seasonal buff that’s sure to make Season 16 grand!

Heroes of the Storm:
A balance patch came out.
https://heroesofthestorm.com/en-us/blog/22863339/heroes-of-the-storm-balance-patch-notes-january-23-2019-2019-1-23/
    Heroes of the Storm
    Legendary heroes and villains from Warcraft, StarCraft and Diablo are summoned to the Nexus. Choose your hero and prepare to fight in Heroes of the Storm!

Lord of the Rings Online:
Regular server restarts should be happening for about an hour in the morning every Tuesday.
LotRO kinmates seen this past week:
Landroval:

Arien
Bregalad
Dis
Eonwe
Fangorn
Lenwe
Mirabella
Nar
Varda

Anor:

Arien
Dis
Varda

Ithil:

Dis
Falco
Fangorn
Varda
A whole lot of activity is going on in the Ithil server. Someone or two or even three on most of the day, even though it's a secondary server.
We still have a nice crew showing up on Landroval, but it's tougher there to be on at the same time for some reason. Personal schedules.
Some more news for WoW:
from earlier in the week
This  past week's Bonus Event: Mists of Pandaria Timewalking.
The PvP Brawl: Cooking Impossible begins Jan 22nd and runs through January 29th.
This one's over but nice to know about:
The Call of the Scarab Micro-Holiday begins today and runs through Wednesday, January 23rd.
Reasons to check the Games Site news. :  )

ArienVToday at 4:22 PM
isnt it Lunar festival as well?
VardaToday at 4:22 PM
Cool
You would know since you're in WoW at the moment.
ArienVToday at 4:23 PM
i just remembered .. cause one of our rp characters mentioned it they are Tauren  and going there for two weeks for the festival#
VardaToday at 4:23 PM
Sounds fun. Used to enjoy my Tauren gal. : )
(she could be said to be on the cow level)
ArienVToday at 4:24 PM
Until 12th of February when Love is in the Air starts
VardaToday at 4:24 PM
Ahh, nice Valentine's festival.
ArienVToday at 4:24 PM
11th Feb 10 am it ends to be exact
VardaToday at 4:25 PM
Thanks. That helps.
Any further news? Suggestions? Comments? Jokes?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:27 PM
Did I say raid start? I meant meeting start.. and things ran a bit late :wink:
Lunar Festival's started? I will need to check it out.
Oh! Lunar Festival starts tomorrow. Nothing lost then.
ArienVToday at 4:29 PM
uh i unlocked the Maghyar orcs as allied race ^^
VardaToday at 4:29 PM
Thanks for clearing that up
ArienVToday at 4:29 PM
which means exalted with the Honorbound ~
VardaToday at 4:29 PM
Is that good, Arien?  : )
ArienVToday at 4:30 PM
The Honourbound is the Horde Overfaction that is Sylvanas and co :smiley:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:30 PM
Pretty good :smile: Still working on the war campaign to get the Dark Iron myself.
mag'har is the horde equivalent
ArienVToday at 4:30 PM
and Exalted reputation you can ten thousand extra for a special achievement and rewards but i havent made it there yet ^^
and the scenario to unlock the Maghyar as playable race is awesome ~
I won#t spoil it for anyone who wants to do it unless you want to know :smiley:  then i can tell it in pms .. but highly recommendable

VardaToday at 4:33 PM
Also in LotRO as news from this past week, we had a player event called Winterstock. It had musical bands on a schedule for the weekend, along with dancing on the ice link by the Silverdeep Mine near Thorin's Gate.
It's one of those Landroval events:
winterstock.guildlaunch.com/index.php?gid=498594  [Note: paste it in and it works, has a lock]
ArienVToday at 4:33 PM
ah i heard about that Winterstock :smiley:
VardaToday at 4:33 PM
Fainan dropped by for the last band.
(my main on Landroval)
http://valarguild.org/varda/guild/NewsArchives/extras/2019/WinterstockScreenie26.jpg
Actually playing and dancing on the ice lake. It sometimes makes crunchy noises underfoot.
No one fell in though.

On to
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Tolkien!
We were given a couple of nifty links to look at.

Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:35 PM
Had better luck than our cat, then... who came home soaking wet 1-2 weeks ago.
VardaToday at 4:35 PM
yikes!

Pallando gave us a link to a first image coming out for a new movie about JRRT himself. : )
https://i.redd.it/mchpnjsp2uc21.jpg
https://old.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/ak555y/first_image_of_nicholas_hoult_in_biopic_tolkien/
    reddit
    First Image of Nicholas Hoult in Biopic 'Tolkien' - Will Explore t...
    Posted in r/movies by u/BunyipPouch • 47,383 points and 1,110 comments

Also,
ElladanLast Friday at 6:55 PM
Aiya, clan!
Just wanted to share this. I have a friend that lives in New Zealand. And she told me about one more reason to visit.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:37 PM
Finding Middle-Earth?
VardaToday at 4:37 PM
https://www.hobbitontours.com/en/
    Experience the magic of Hobbiton™
    In the heart of New Zealand, you can step into the lush pastures of the Shire™, as featured in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies.

Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:38 PM
Not quite the same ring to it as Finding Neverland...
Finding Valinor, now that could work.
ArienVToday at 4:41 PM
hmm looks intriguing
its just .. urr not really around the corner
VardaToday at 4:43 PM
Nice to know they're working on such a movie. : )
Did any of you have a Tolkien question or Moment or other?
(such as those links)

ArienVToday at 4:44 PM
uh another related question ..
i saw that a mini TV series about The silmarillion has been made?
VardaToday at 4:45 PM
Where did you see that?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:45 PM
That... is something I want to see.
ArienVToday at 4:45 PM
https://www.imdb.com/find?ref_=nv_sr_fn&q=The+Silmarillion&s=all
    IMDb
i wondered if you know something about that ?
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6798496/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
    IMDb
    LolLOTR: the Silmarillion (TV Mini-Series 2017– )
    With Rocco Ambrosio, Sarah Ambrosio, Brian Archer, Tom Assam-Miller.
VardaToday at 4:47 PM
18 minute comedy?
Some other links there too. Have to give them a look later. : )
ArienVToday at 4:47 PM
yeah the second one is the direct link sorry my mistake
the cast is listed a bit further down the page
VardaToday at 4:48 PM
Did you watch it yet?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 4:50 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4zeOwTP6nY for a youtube link, not that impressive :wink:
    YouTube
    James Pinedo
    lolLOTR: The Silmarillion - Season One
VardaToday at 4:50 PM
Looks like quick humor things.
Maybe not so quick there. : )
ArienVToday at 4:55 PM
i didnt  , no .. hehe , okay just stumbled across it while looking up something else
VardaToday at 4:55 PM
Looks like they had fun with it.
ok - I need to stop watching the Bike Riders, heh.
Orome and the black rider.

Topic I had for you tonight, in short, would be
Retrofitting the Hobbit.
ArienVToday at 4:57 PM
ah well okay then forget it i had hped its  something decent yeah , sorry for that :smiley:
VardaToday at 4:57 PM
We know JRRT retrofitted some of his work.
Oh, I plan to watch later, Arien. Just taking a bit longer than I can spare during the meeting, heh. : )
Looks like some light moments to enjoy.
Ok, JRRT is known to have gone back and redone some of his work.
For instance, the "correct" version of Bilbo's story in the Hobbit.
and changing Glorfindel of Rivendell from a Sinda to a Noldo who came back from being killed by the balrog that he killed, since two elves like that couldn't have the same name.
When JRRT wrote the Hobbit, he had no idea of the future existence of the Lord of the Rings.
He was expected to write a sequel to the Hobbit about hobbits.
But he was drawn back to his old notes from his older world, not a children's book.
So he had a completely different work, which we all enjoyed. : )
But if he had had the chance to fully retrofit the Hobbit knowing of his later works, would anything have been changed or added?
Maybe expanded?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:02 PM
Well, possibly some more Necromancer stuff.
Not to the extent of PJ's trilogy perhaps, but something in that direction.
VardaToday at 5:04 PM
Would we have seen more of other characters? Seven year old Aragorn at Rivendell? Gimli with Gloin? Legolas as a captain?
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:05 PM
Gimli probably not. I get the feeling he was elsewhere during the story, back in the Blue Mountains probably. Aragorn might be an interesting cameo. Legolas certainly an option.
How old was Gimli, anyway?
VardaToday at 5:08 PM
He would have been a fairly young dwarf. I figured it out once, but don't remember.
We know he came with Gloin to the Council of Elrond, so he did travel with him at least later on. Gloin didn't ignore him.
ArienVToday at 5:09 PM
i d have loved to see something more of Aragorns early child hood :smiley: I know there were some of those lovely stories from our Tolkien only members . but they have been taken down as far as i know .. Tolkien has something in an appendix . he must have been around eighteen when he started to discover who he was and began to "work* as ranger
VardaToday at 5:10 PM
Elrond told him who he really was.
March 1, 2931 Aragorn II born
Our Aragorn
2941 Thorin and Gandalf visit Bilbo
So Aragorn was ten at that time.
2951 Elrond reveals to Aragorn who he is.
So he was about 20
And Arwen meets him then in the woods
Aragorn then goes into the Wild.
Got that from the timeline in the back of RotK.
2956 Aragorn meets Gandalf and their friendship begins. (side trivia)
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:16 PM
Friendship is Wizardry.
VardaToday at 5:16 PM
:smiley:
ArienVToday at 5:16 PM
well Frali is about 61 .. or 62 .. and i think Gim,li  is 20 or 30 years later
and well "Friendship is magic" . hehe we know that we have a fictional ic story which some of our rp characters love ~
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:17 PM
Gimli's in his 30s?
VardaToday at 5:18 PM
In our Stories site, this series has a lot of young Aragorn:
http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/fiction/authorsT/JayofLasgalen/JayofLasgalen.htm
    Jay of Lasgalen, Story Author
    Tolkien fan fiction stories by Jay of Lasgalen
ArienVToday at 5:20 PM
aye ah cool they are still their
VardaToday at 5:21 PM
2890 Bilbo born
I only take down stories if the author asks me to do so. : )
ArienVToday at 5:23 PM
mmh :smiley:
VardaToday at 5:25 PM
Gimli 2789
2779Smaug  descends on Erebor
2941 Bilbo takes down Smaug.
Gimli at that time would be 162
He could even have been with the party, along with Gloin, if we retrofit. : )
ArienVToday at 5:28 PM
3018 the company leaves rivendell
VardaToday at 5:29 PM
So Gimli would be 229
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:29 PM
Hmm, fair enough. If it was retrofitted, rather than just occasional cameos added, Gimli could be in the party... but they'd have one too many for the magic number.
VardaToday at 5:29 PM
They might have left someone else out.
But aye, he could have had a cameo at least.
ArienVToday at 5:30 PM
oh thats Shire reckoning
3018 shire reckoning
guess you are right Varda :smiley:
VardaToday at 5:31 PM
Go ahead and take a look at the timeline and use your calculator. I have been known to be wrong. cough
ArienVToday at 5:32 PM
well if that is right . Gimli would have been born just as the war between orcs and Dwarves began
VardaToday at 5:33 PM
3018, October 25 Council of Elrond

Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:34 PM
Yeah, I was thinking about that... that means it's about november in our RP, right?
Does that mean we're heading up the frozen north in wintertime?
VardaToday at 5:34 PM
Dec 25, 3018 the Company of the Ring leaves Rivendell
so yep. Dumb us. : )
Need to put something on our horseshoes so they don't slip!
Where I live, November is a fairly pleasant autumn time.
But there? eep
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:37 PM
Yep.

VardaToday at 5:43 PM
We're well past the hour nearly to the next
a hammer bounces like a pogo stick towards the hammerpad
whomp!
the dizzy hammerpad pushes the hammer back upright, sort of
the hammer bounces erratically back to the shelf
After-meeting!
ArienVToday at 5:46 PM
boing boing boing

VardaToday at 5:47 PM
: )
http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/articles/g/Gimli/GimlisLine.htm

    Gimli's Ancestors
    Line of Gimli's ancestors. from Return of the King, Appendix A
ArienVToday at 5:49 PM
229 .  hang on then Frali is a bit older .. i think he d have been in his twenties in my short story . and that is about fifty years later or so .. which makes him 75 ^^^ so still young for a dwarf
well cousin is a fairly wide family relation ship i guess and since we are talking about elder sister second husband daughter son  it might well be hehe :smiley:
VardaToday at 5:51 PM
So many types of cousin you can work with, too. First, second, etc
ArienVToday at 5:51 PM
indeed

Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:55 PM
Well, let's start the gaming report then!
ArienVToday at 5:55 PM
i ll say Namarie here then .. it is getting bed time for me :smiley:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:55 PM
Namarie :smiley:
ArienVToday at 5:56 PM
Namarie and see you around :smiley:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 5:57 PM

3 flashgames! All from the onemorelevel site this time around.
http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/extermination is the first one! A pixelated shooter, with simplistic levels where you have to defeat the other characters with careful aim and timing around corners etc. Simpler than it sounds :wink:
    Extermination - OneMoreLevel.com
Get currency, buy upgrades: weapons, or helmet/armor so you can take more hits. Make your way through all 15 levels, and then try out some custom-made ones.
Tis silly, but also fun!
AI's not that bright, so shouldn't take too long, either.
I didn't even have half the upgrades when I finished it.

http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/crazy_machines now this one is a bit harder... you're basically a flying device with a wheel swinging around it, swing it around with the mouse to defeat incoming enemies. Get money, upgrade both parts, and be able to defeat stronger enemies :wink:
Crazy Machines - OneMoreLevel.com

http://www.onemorelevel.com/game/shrinking_planet is the third game! Drive across a shrinking planet, dodge projectiles, see how small the planet you can get before you die.
    Shrinking Planet - OneMoreLevel.com
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Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:28 PM
Blizzard gaming:
Diablo 3:
Necromancer level 25 now, I think over halfway through act 2. Not going as fast as I'd like, but still good hope that I'll get through it and the season chapters before the season's over :smiley: The achievements for total kills with certain methods are progressing nicely, so I should have a good shot at getting the wings before this is over.
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:40 PM
Starcraft II:
Continuing the war chest. First 3 tiers complete, about 5 matches to go to complete the entire phase 2. Then to wait a bit longer for 3 :wink:
Heroes of the Storm:
328 now, so one level gained. Kerrigan got another level! I also made it around the game board once again, getting a rare toy chest and an acknowledgement of my dedication. Don't think I'll have time for a third round, but might as well get a few more stickers for random normal toy chests along the way.
Brawl this week was another single-laner, where I got to play Li-Ming twice with great success, and Sylvanas, with whom I'm finally starting to get used to the changes, with a shadow dagger build. This was a bit of a trial by fire, but it went well enough :smiley: All 3 matches won. Not bad!
VardaToday at 6:45 PM
Grats : )
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:46 PM
Hearthstone:
Yet another Legendary! This time the hunter champion, Zul'jin, of Warcraft 2 and WoW fame. Always nice to have such a famous npc in the collection.
This one plays as an alternate hero for the hunter, with a slight hero power upgrade and an interesting battlecry.
Two classes have leveled to 57 now, the shaman and warlock. A couple more golden basic cards gotten that way, but none that I use regularly.
Still, with 60 maximum, the end is getting closer...
Brawl was "Shiftcon West", with decks full of shapeshifters and shifting scrolls. Luck required :wink:
WoW:
The new season is here!
New raid is pretty fun, with a lot more things happening between fights than in Uldir. Siege weapons, leader dialogue, several cutscenes, all in a very beautiful golden troll capital.
The fights are pretty fun as well so far, we've beaten 5 out of 9 fights on normal, including a giant treasure elemental / golem that mostly consists of a split-raid phase with 2 minibosses at the sides of the room.
Also some jadefire duo with fun minigames for the tanks, and a giant ape.
Next up will be the Rastakhan fight, with Bwonsamdi supporting him. Will no doubt be very eerie.
Got some loot along the way, including a new chestpiece, with the new azerite ring included. So yay! Let more come my way the next few weeks :smiley:
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 6:54 PM
Few more expeditions done, with a bunch of dubloons and 3 more transmog pieces gotten, including a blue dagger. Also a duplicate pet, which is a shame.
Weekly quest is timewalks, first of the new season, with gear that scales a bit higher now than previous timewalks. Even got some new boots there.
Lessee what else... almost done with Tortollan rep, the next emissary in 2 days should get me to exalted. Then I can start tracking paragon rep in my reputation bar.
Oh, and I poked the war campaign a bit, finally, but was tired with a bit of trouble reading questlog/dialogue, so only got 2 quests into Vol'dun before I figured I'd leave it for now.
Other than that, world quests! Got a new paragon reward from the 7th Legion, the rallying war banner, a toy which I haven't actually tried yet, I assume it puts down a banner. Also got a new mount from the Arathi world quests, my first warfront rare drop in several cycles. Witherbark Direwing, which is a giant bat :smiley:
And more pet battle WQs as well! They were a bit generous with pet charms this week, so that's nice :smiley: Achievements are slowly continuing, with several more tamers defeated with all 10 families now, and the critter achievement at 100%.
And I think that's my report for the week! I did look into the Lunar Festival a bit after it was mentioned tonight, and found out there are 7 new toys: 2 complete dragon costumes in new colors, and a new hearthstone. The dragon costumes cost 120 coins of ancestry total, and not a clue yet where the hearthstone comes from. Since you can only get 84 per character per year, I plan on sending in a couple of alts as well.

And yep, that's it. Now, time to do another Starcraft II match :wink:
VardaToday at 7:04 PM
Thanks, Phar. Good luck!
Ar-Pharazon-VToday at 7:04 PM
Thanks!
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