October 31, 2021
Sunday Meeting
5:00 P.M. Eastern Daylight Savings
Time
Discord: Valar
Guild/meeting_place
Back to News
Transcript work by Varda.
[times are Central Time from Varda's Discord. Add one hour for
Eastern.]
Attending (and typed): (4)
Discord: Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe,
Eowyn/Cenedra, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Halloween today!
Yesterday was the wedding anniversary of Eowyn
and Faramir.
Web:
Tolkien Site/Stories: "Morchaint"
by Eonwe, for Halloween.
Anniversary page (continues taking
your contributions to the Tolkien Site as Anniversary-marked
through the end of October.)
Tolkien:
Topic
from Norvat Gorlimsson: I know that Galadriel has one of the three
elven rings of power. But why is she considered in such high
esteem and considered to hold so much power compared to others
within Tolkien's works?
Gaming:
World of
Warcraft, Hearthstone,
Lord
of the Rings Online
After-meeting:
(non)Flashgaming
Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
top
Before-meeting
@Bounder Happy Halloween! Time for a quick meeting
with buddies to talk gaming and Tolkien!
[4:02 PM]
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:02 PM
Heya.
Varda — Today at 4:02 PM
Membership:
[4:02 PM]
Aiya Eonwe : )
It's Halloween!
All sorts of events going on in games and in real life!
cenedra — Today at 4:03 PM
Heya! <— Eowyn
Varda — Today at 4:03 PM
Aiya Eowyn!
Neato! Your pic shows up surprisingly well in that teeny icon. : )
[4:04 PM]
Clicking on it does a nice enlarge.
Eowyn and Faramir just had their Wedding Anniversary yesterday!
Congrats!
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:04 PM
Congratulations :}
cenedra — Today at 4:05 PM
Thanks!
[4:05 PM]
11 yrs
Varda — Today at 4:06 PM
That's amazing. Hard to believe it's been that long.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:06 PM
Indeed.
Varda — Today at 4:06 PM
But you two have been doing fabulously well, taking care of each
other and doing cool stuff. : )
[4:07 PM]
But then yesterday starts feeling like a long time ago and
30 years ago like last week. ; )
[4:07 PM]
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Web:
[4:07 PM]
Great news from the Story page!
[4:07 PM]
Eonwe has given us a scary story for Halloween, not to be shown
until today!
[4:08 PM]
Set very long ago...
[4:09 PM]
and I'm in the wrong channel...
[4:09 PM]
./facepalm
[4:09 PM]
ok, moving to meeting_place, embarrassed.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:09 PM
"Harboring" a grudge against the Meetingplace? ;}
Varda — Today at 4:09 PM
Just been in a hurry and may-be?
[4:12 PM]
Ok, moved over to meeting_place directly under harbor, so sorry
for the confusion. returns
[Now in meeting_place]
Varda — Today at 4:09 PM
Aiya!
[4:10 PM]
Now holding the meeting in (I hope) the correct channel.
[4:10 PM]
Eonwe's scary Halloween story, intended to be shown today on
Halloween!
[4:10 PM]
http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/fiction/authors/Eonwe/stories/Morchaint.htm
Morchaint by Eonwë-(Valar)
A couple lost in the fog, a horseman rides.
[4:10 PM]
(Did anyone else make it through the fog over here too?
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:10 PM
Wrong meeting channel = trick, new story = treat? ;}
Varda — Today at 4:11 PM
That's it! Must have been on purpose. Yep yep yep
[4:11 PM]
Anyway, Eonwe, did you want to make a comment or two?
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:13 PM
I suppose there's not too much to say other than I hope you all
enjoy the story. The time the story's set in will hopefully be
familiar to most, and certainly any who's read their Silmarillion.
And Happy Halloween :}
Varda — Today at 4:15 PM
Thank you for the fun story. : )
[4:16 PM]
Eonwe has another story for us as well, sent for the Anniversary.
[My apologies at not having it up yet, but watch for it!
And hello to Norvat!
aka Jverne
[4:17 PM]
He gave us a Tolkien question that we hope to be presenting
shortly while he's working on his paper for grad school with a
deadline as scary as Halloween. : )
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Gaming!
[4:18 PM]
Eonwe, would you like to take this finely crafted gavel for
Gaming?
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:18 PM
Sure
Varda — Today at 4:18 PM
toss
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:19 PM
Under the light of a full gavel, transforms into a
were-chairman
Varda — Today at 4:20 PM
Egad!
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:20 PM
World of Warcraft:
[4:20 PM]
The Darkmoon Faire begins today and runs through Saturday,
November 6th.
[4:21 PM]
This week's Bonus Event: Arena Skirmishes.
The PvP Brawl: Gravity Lapse runs through Tuesday, November 2nd.
[4:22 PM]
Next Week's Bonus Event is World Quests.
Next week's PvP Brawl should be Comp Stomp if it sticks to what it
said when I took those notes. (edited)
Varda — Today at 4:23 PM
places gum under the notes
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:23 PM
Day of the Dead begins tomorrow and runs through Wednesday,
November 3rd.
[4:23 PM]
Several blogs are out or updated:
[4:24 PM]
[UPDATED OCTOBER 28] 9.1.5 Content Update Notes --- https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23731242/updated-october-28-915-content-update-notes
World of Warcraft
[UPDATED OCTOBER 28] 9.1.5 Content Update Notes
- WoW
The 9.1.5 content update arrives to World of
Warcraft on November 2!
[4:24 PM]
WoW Classic Season of Mastery Name Reservations and Release Date
--- https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23738002/wow-classic-season-of-mastery-name-reservations-and-release-date
World of Warcraft
WoW Classic Season of Mastery Name Reservations
and Release Date - WoW
Take your first step toward preparing for WoW
Classic Season of Mastery by reserving your name before the game
goes live in North America on November 16 at 3pm PST!
[4:24 PM]
Shadowlands: An Inside Look at the Character Creation UI Redesign
--- https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23737992/shadowlands-an-inside-look-at-the-character-creation-ui-redesign
World of Warcraft
Shadowlands: An Inside Look at the Character
Creation UI Redesign -...
The release of Shadowlands provided a new
opportunity to streamline and redesign the character creation
process. Go behind-the-scenes with Senior UI Designer Jeff Liu to
learn more about the thought processes behind it.
[4:24 PM]
9.1.5 Character Customizations: New and Improved You --- https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23737989/915-character-customizations-new-and-improved-you
World of Warcraft
9.1.5 Character Customizations: New and
Improved You - WoW
With the release of the 9.1.5 content update,
players will have access to new character customizations for
select races allowing you to create a new version of your hero to
take on the dangers of Azeroth.
[4:25 PM]
Hearthstone:
[4:25 PM]
Patch 21.6 is out. --- https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/news/23739023/21-6-patch-notes
21.6 Patch Notes
Patch 21.6 brings updates to all game modes,
including special events, new Mercenaries, and the United in
Stormwind Mini-Set!
[4:28 PM]
Thus ends my gaming news, and I return the gavel to Varda.
As he turns over the gavel, Eonwë returns to a normal leader of
the armies of the Valar and greatest in might of arms in Arda
Varda — Today at 4:28 PM
and our Lost Vala, Fionwe
[4:28 PM]
Thank you for the gavel, still in good or better condition!
Lord of the Rings
Online:
[4:29 PM]
We had a hotfix Wednesday:
https://www.lotro.com/en/content/update-3032-release-notes
The Lord of the Rings Online
Update 30.3.2 Release Notes
Also,
[4:30 PM]
the Harvestmath Festival with the Haunted House and costumes and
tricks and treat-door-rugs continues through this weekend.
going through Nov 2.
[4:31 PM]
The Curator is also available through Nov 2. An easy find spot is
by the boar fountain in Bree.
[4:31 PM]
https://www.lotro.com/en/game/articles/lotro-beacon-issue-224
The Lord of the Rings Online
The LOTRO Beacon: Issue 224
[4:32 PM]
I hope to have the list of players in the kin branches this
past week later. Sorry that it's not collected yet. Haven't even
been on the computer until just now for the meeting but it will
happen!
Any other gaming news, suggestions, requests, comments?
Varda — Today at 4:33 PM
Welcome to Norvat when he is able to hang out in the channel with
us instead of having to work away at stuff!
[4:33 PM]
On to
top
Tolkien!
[4:34 PM]
Having mentioned Norvat Gorlimsson, here's his topic
for us:
[4:34 PM]
I know that Galadriel has one of the three elven rings of power.
But why is she considered in such high esteem and considered to
hold so much power compared to others within Tolkien's works?
[4:35 PM]
Fire when ready!
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:35 PM
She's one of the oldest Elves still in Middle-Earth for one, lived
in/was born in Aman.
Varda — Today at 4:36 PM
Aye. The last remaining leader of the Noldorin elves by the time
of the War of the Ring. Not allowed at that time to return to
Aman, until she passes Frodo's test.
[4:38 PM]
While living in Doriath, she learned a lot from the Maia Melian,
one source of her amazing wisdom.
[4:39 PM]
She also had the good sense to marry Celeborn. Although we don't
get to hear a lot about him, he was one of the greatest war
leaders. I don't know if that was mostly advisory so we don't hear
that much about him?
[4:40 PM]
Galadriel and Celeborn with magic and their army finally took down
Dol Guldur, while Thranduil's army fought as well.
[4:42 PM]
Galadriel, through her Ring and her previous acquaintance with
Sauron, knew much of his mind, aiding in the defense of Lorien.
Her own mind was closed to his, since she knew where he was coming
from.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:43 PM
Don't remember the part about Celeborn being "one of the greatest
war leaders". Not saying it's not true, just struggling to recall
the reference.
Varda — Today at 4:43 PM
She gave useful gifts to the Fellowship, aiding the most important
of the fight against Sauron.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:43 PM
And don't let the elves hear you call it "magic" :}
Varda — Today at 4:44 PM
I'll have to dig that out. Could be a messed up memory but he was
a great warrior, enough to impress Galadriel.
[4:44 PM]
heh, aye. Galadriel would want to turn me into a frog for that.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:44 PM
Galadriel was apparently the last person in Middle-Earth that
still had the special crop from which lembas was made.
Varda — Today at 4:45 PM
Apparently Faramir called her the Mistress of Magic. Don't let her
know.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:45 PM
hehe
Varda — Today at 4:46 PM
She refused to be called a Queen, although she really was, and had
folks call her Lady instead.
[4:47 PM]
Now I really want to dig and find out what Celeborn's attraction
was for Galadriel.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:47 PM
Rulership of the Noldor was, in the Third Age, between her and
Elrond, so certainly either one could've claimed it if they had a
mind to.
Varda — Today at 4:47 PM
He was Sindarin, not Noldorin.
[4:48 PM]
Guess it's a good thing we didn't have to see a fight between
Elrond and Galadriel!
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:48 PM
Hehe.
Varda — Today at 4:48 PM
Elrond married Galadriel's daughter, Celebrian.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:49 PM
More than just a political alliance, I'm sure :}
Varda — Today at 4:49 PM
Another thing unusual about Galadriel was her looks, such as being
very tall with incredibly beautiful hair.
[4:49 PM]
This was due to her ancestry.
The hair was a mix of silver and gold making it unusual.
[4:50 PM]
Ok, I'm going to let folks add to or comment on where my hurried
remarks are inaccurate. I have to get ready to leave. : )
[4:51 PM]
shiny silver and gold gavels run up to the hammerpad
cenedra — Today at 4:51 PM
And what was her ancestry
Varda — Today at 4:51 PM
they pull out polish rags and goo
the hammerpad is now shiny!
Rub Rub
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After-meeting!
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:51 PM
Noldorin/Telerin/Vanyarin
cenedra — Today at 4:51 PM
Thanks
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:53 PM
Her father Finarfin was Noldorin/Vanyarin, being the son of Finwë
of the Noldor and Indis of the Vanyar. He then married Earwen, the
daughter of Olwë king of the Teleri.
[4:55 PM]
So she has the lineage of all three royal houses of the
Calaquendi.
cenedra — Today at 4:55 PM
Namarie!
Eonwë Valar — Today at 4:55 PM
Her brothers do too, of course, but we're not told how beautiful
their hair is :}
[4:55 PM]
Take care :}
cenedra — Today at 4:55 PM
:)
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:38 PM
Aiya, catching up I'm actually earlier than the last 2
weeks, but we lost DST early, so I imagine I'm still over an hour
and a half late.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 5:39 PM
A whole 8 minutes over an hour and a half. How dare you :}
[5:39 PM]
And heya :}
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:41 PM
And yet, for me it should be only about 40 minutes
Eonwë Valar — Today at 5:41 PM
:}
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:45 PM
Not sure if I have anything to add for Galadriel. Seems mostly
covered.
[5:45 PM]
Not sure if she wasn't allowed to return until passing the test,
or if she didn't allow herself to return.
[5:47 PM]
Kinda like she needed to get it out of her system. Get the chance
to be powerful in order to find out she didn't want to be.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 5:48 PM
Part of it as I recall is that she did refuse returning to Aman
out of pride.
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:49 PM
Proud, but not to the point of blindness, at least
Eonwë Valar — Today at 5:50 PM
And aye, basically she had everything she had wanted, but knew she
would soon lose it whether Sauron won or lost. The Ring gave her
the opportunity to keep it "forever", and she realized what the
Ring would do to her and through her. Gandalf knew the way to
corrupt him was through pity.
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:51 PM
And through refusing, she accepted what was to come and was ready
to leave.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 5:51 PM
The desire to do good would turn into deciding they know better
than others how they should live their lives, and so restrict
their freedoms, deny the Free Will of others, all in the name of
the "greater good".
[5:54 PM]
They would become tyrants, just like Sauron, who would brook no
dissension from his Will.
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:54 PM
Tch. Politicians, eh?
Eonwë Valar — Today at 5:58 PM
A Monty Python line comes to mind, about wielding supreme
executive authority, but I shan't repeat it here :}
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 5:59 PM
Well I didn't vote for Galadriel.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 6:01 PM
Funny enough, the Elves did seem to choose their leaders. If they
didn't like where one was going, they broke off, formed a new
group and followed one they did.
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:01 PM
That works, to a degree.
[6:01 PM]
Until you run out of land.
Eonwë Valar — Today at 6:03 PM
Aye, and at that point you start looking for forms of government
that back off and let you live your life, hehehe. Take the Hobbits
once they settle in the Shire :} The choose a mayor, who's mostly
ceremonial, they acknowledge (in theory) some king way far away
who doesn't bother their everyday affairs, and mostly keep to
themselves.
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:04 PM
Yeah, hobbits seem to have less of a tendency to exploit
lawlessness than humans
Eonwë Valar — Today at 6:06 PM
Then in comes Sharkey and his men, and Sharkey's got a rule for
everything, and a supposed reason to ration everything, and he and
his men are well fed while the average Hobbit is lucky if they can
scrape by on a meager ration for a day.
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:07 PM
Ask not what you can do for your country...
Eonwë Valar — Today at 6:07 PM
But what your country can do for Sharkey?
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:08 PM
Ask not what you can do for Sharkey, but what Sharkey can do for
you. That's supposed to be what government is like!
[6:08 PM]
And Sharkey's like "Yeah, as if!"
Eonwë Valar — Today at 6:09 PM
"Ask not what you can do for Sharkey. Sharkey will tell you what
you can do for Sharkey. And you can start by rubbing Sharkey's
feet and feeding Sharkey grapes."
[6:11 PM]
"All for your own good, of course. As in, if you know what's good
for you you'll do as Sharkey says, or you'll be thrown in the
Lockholes."
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 6:11 PM
Better than "off with their heads" at least
[6:12 PM]
Then again, when Wormtongue's hungry...
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Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:17 PM
Personal gaming report!
[8:18 PM]
For (non)flashgaming, one
new badge this week (though I'd gotten the easier badge in that
game earlier) and two old ones.
[8:21 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/Carsonal/apocashop
is the first one! A short medieval time management game where you
have a stand where people can buy stuff from you. They'll start at
a low offer, up to you to take it or hope they'll give a higher
one when they refuse. Try not to be bankrupt by the end of the
day. You can stock up on items at the start of the day, but
there's also a magical anvil that will produce items you're short
on at a slightly higher price. Also a storyline where you have to
supply heroes that follow certain descriptions, witness a
rebellion, and ultimately prove yourself to the king.
Kongregate
Apocashop
Make a profit and save your village. Inspired
by quotPapers, Pleasequot and quotLemonade Standquot.
Have you ever wondered why shopkeepers in RPG
worlds will never give y...
[8:22 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/taccommandeur/hat-wizard-christmas
for the second game. A puzzle platformer where you toss your
magical hat and can then switch places with the enemy or statue it
lands on.
Kongregate
Hat Wizard Christmas
Santa put Faust#39s goons on the naughty list,
but then they stole all the presents from his storage. Now you
have to use your hat to get back the presents and s...
[8:24 PM]
As a christmas version of the original, your job this time is to
find all the presents rather than the exit in each level
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:37 PM
https://www.kongregate.com/games/KaMiZoTo_Creator/there-is-no-game
for the last one! A point and click puzzle game... or is it? Game
claims there is no game, so prove it wrong
Kongregate
There is no game
*NEWS : If you liked this non-game, go check
out the steam page of quotThere is no game : wrong dimensionquot.
(coming soon this summer)
You can support us and add...
Ar-Pharazon-V — Today at 8:49 PM
Blizzard gaming:
[8:50 PM]
Hearthstone:
118 on the reward track, getting some more gold. Miniset's
arriving in a few days, for which I'm less than 500 gold short, so
it's not too bad.
[8:52 PM]
Brawl is another Halloween brawl, the Haunted Caroussel, that
starts with a bunch of dreadsteeds (the minion that spawns itself
on deathrattle) and every turn all minions rotate around. So play
carefully and try not to give your opponent your own best minions
[8:54 PM]
As part of the event I also nabbed a free Battleground hero
portrait for Guff. And for an achievement of getting so many total
reward track levels, I got the choice between tier 2 hero skins,
and chose the demon hunter one, Felravager Illidan.
[8:58 PM]
In Mercenaries, I completed the barrens dailies, unlocking the
Fighting Pit for if I want to do pvp mercenary fights.
[9:00 PM]
Questing and receiving packs along the way, I've also unlocked 3
new mercenaries, Guff (quite a coincidence!), King Mukla and a
demon hunter called Kurtrus Ashfallen. As well as an alternative
portrait for Tyrande, displaying her as the Night Warrior.
[9:01 PM]
In the meantime, doing tasks and dailies and leveling my mercs.
Some tasks up require their specific merc at level 30 now, so
that's my current goal. So far my highest mercs are level 28.
[9:02 PM]
Oh, and after Barrens, it's into Felwood, where I've completed a
bounty as well. Pushing onward!
[9:02 PM]
WoW:
[9:04 PM]
Still not much raiding. Things are really slowing down, and we've
had to dial back the amount of raid-days until things pick up.
[9:04 PM]
Weekly is arena skirmishes, which is going well, almost up to the
next honor level
[9:06 PM]
Renown to 75 as expected. Just one level this week as I've still
got 5 Korthia chapters open. Starting in the next patch coming up,
you no longer need the campaign for it, but I'd like to. So I'm
thinking of quitting the weekly quests and worldbosses you can get
em from, for now. Should free up even more time, even if it's a
bit less anima.
[9:07 PM]
Torghast going better and better, I was 1 knowledge short of the
250-knowledge empowered aoe, but bought some other useful things
instead. Maybe next week I'll run out of other things to buy
eventually anyway.
[9:08 PM]
Poked the Hallow's End quest in Val'sharah a bunch of times, as
well, trying to get my last missing witch's hat. Didn't get any,
even with the help of my paladin alt who I realized at the last
moment, is the right level for it. I'm not totally lost with her
rotations after some time not playing her, so that bodes well when
I start leveling her again
[9:09 PM]
And I do think that's my report for the week!
[9:10 PM]
Namarie!
Varda — Today at 10:18 PM
Namarie Phar
Belated Lord of the Rings Online kin branch player report for the
past week:
Landroval server branch:
Eonwe
Fangorn
Nar
Varda
Anor server branch:
Eonwe
Fangorn
Varda
Shadowfax server branch:
Varda
Treebeard server branch:
Varda
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