September 5, 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): (6)
Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe
(presiding), Gorlim (Sept 9), Irmo, Shelob
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Gorlim
is out of the hospital.
Web:
Story from Sandalf13-(T), readable but still
undergoing formatting.
Games Site Mass Update emails came out Sept 11 (Yep, I'm
late getting this transcript up so you get updates! Please respond
by Sept 30.)
Gaming:
General news:
report from Eonwe:
World of Warcraft, Hearthstone
Tolkien:
Topic
from Eonwe: Hastilude. What it is and how it may have been used in
Tolkien's world. Also, this word is going to be our Anniverary
theme, so check it out!
After-meeting:
Arien found a fix for the recent buggy game crash in
LotRO.
(non)Flashgaming
Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Game of Thrones and
Blizzard games.
top
Before-meeting
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Just for the record, my WoW in-game calendar claims next week is
Cooking Impossible for next week's PvP Brawl.
[7:21 AM]
Then week after is Temple of Hotmogu, After that Southshore vs
Tarren Mill, and after that Classic Ashran. We'll see how well those
predictions hold.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Yep, that looks right.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Heya all.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Aiya!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Sending the meeting warning out, we begin shortly.
[4:01 PM]
@Bounder The Meeting begins!
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Arien says she'll be a bit wizardly
Irmo — 09/05/2021
Heya heya heya!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Thanks.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Aiya!
[4:02 PM]
*wizardy
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
OK, here we go!
[4:04 PM]
Elen Sila Lumenn Omentielvo!
[4:04 PM]
Membership:
[4:04 PM]
Varda and Fangorn are out of town.
Irmo — 09/05/2021
(I was here, and proud to be, but now I must sleep. Be well friends)
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Sweet dreams!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Sleep well Irmo :}
[4:05 PM]
Any other memberhip news?
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Arien and Fladrif spotted
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
The sun and a tree?
[4:07 PM]
:}
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
can be hard to spot the sun, depending on weather
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Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Web:
[4:08 PM]
New Story up. Reporting from Varda on the News
Page:
[4:09 PM]
"Das Buch" by Sandalf13-(T). (In English).
Sam, after Rosie's death, discovers true treasure in Bag End. Four
chapters.
Sequel to "Chance Meeting at Rivendell" by Aunt Dora Baggins-(T)
with permission.
Sandalf brought her and our group together, as one might expect of a
wizard. --- http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/fiction/authors/Sandalf13/stories/DasBuch01.htm
Das Buch, chapter 1
Story: sequel to "Chance Meeting at Rivendell".
Sam, after Rosie's death, cleans up
Bag End and discovers a true treaure
[4:09 PM]
Some formatting adjustments ongoing, but it's up.
[4:10 PM]
GSMU emails are unfortunately not sent
out. They will go out this week, and then I will accept replies
through e-mail, the forum, or Discord.
[4:11 PM]
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Gaming:
World of Warcraft:
This week's Bonus Event: Wrath of the Lich-King Timewalking.
The PvP Brawl: Warsong Scramble runs through Tuesday, September 7th.
[4:12 PM]
The Darkmoon Faire begins today and runs through Saturday, September
11th.
The next content update for Burning Crusade Classic will be coming
September 15th.
Check out this week's hotfixes. --- https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23691036/hotfixes-september-2-2021
World of Warcraft
Hotfixes: September 2, 2021 - WoW
Here you will find a list of hotfixes that
address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Shadowlands,
Burning Crusade Classic, and WoW Classic.
[4:12 PM]
Hearthstone:
[4:13 PM]
Coming October 12th is the newest game mode: Mercenaries. --- https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/news/23699737/prepare-for-mercenaries-coming-october-12
Prepare for Mercenaries—Coming October 12!
Come learn all about Hearthstone’s newest game
mode!
[4:13 PM]
Check out the 21.2 patch notes. --- https://playhearthstone.com/en-us/news/23712592/21-2-patch-notes
21.2 Patch Notes
Patch 21.2 introduces the first
Battlegrounds-specific keyword, replaces 37 minions with new ones,
and adds two new Heroes!
[4:13 PM]
Any other gaming news I've missed?
[4:17 PM]
Ok, on to...
[4:17 PM]
Tolkien:
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
(I'll just say that that Mercenaries mode looks amazing... also, I
should really pre-order D2res before it's too late)
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Tolkien:
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Anyone here and ready/able to engage in a tolkien chat, say Rana.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Rana
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
OK, guess it's just us.
[4:20 PM]
I won't make this too complicated, but you may
or may not appreciate this.
[4:21 PM]
In relation to our discussion last week, and looking for a way not
to say "training grounds" for the umpteenth time while writing that
Auros was going to exactly that, I was prompted to take a look at
this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hastilude
Hastilude
Hastilude is a generic term used in the Middle
Ages to refer to many kinds of martial games.
The word comes from the Latin hastiludium,
literally "lance game".
By the 14th century, the term usually excluded
tournaments and was used to describe the other games collectively;
this seems to have coincided with the increasing preference for
rituali...
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Heh, I watched the movie A Knight's Tale a few weeks ago,
which actually is a lighthearted view on those tournaments
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Aye, I've seen the movie :}
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
a sun is never too late .. nor is she early .. she comes esactly
when she means to!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
I can see these kinds of things going on in the Noldorin kingdoms of
the First and Second ages, and found the description of Pas d'armes
particularly entertaining imagining such.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Yay Arien!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Heya Arien :}
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
Aiya all
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
I kinda imagine Monty Python's black knight at that
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
hehe
[4:27 PM]
There's also that :}
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
Rana
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
The floor is open to comments on the link I provided, in relation to
Tolkien's peoples, who might have similar events.
[4:31 PM]
I imagine the Dunedain kingdoms would have something like it,
whether or not it was learned from the Noldor.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
I can see the Rohirrim trying out some of those cavalry things for
sport, and training their horses.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Aye.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Hopefully not trampling too many farms in the process!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
hehe
[4:32 PM]
Seems there were plenty of wide open spaces in Rohan.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
i think we know it under the name tjousting
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
On the more humorous side re: Pas d'armes, I imagine one could make
a small fortune in ladies' glvoes and scarves, if no knights dared
to accept your challenge.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
"Okay, we need to cross that one bridge again today, which scarf do
you like the least?"
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
If she's staying nearby and has to cross it alot, I hope she brought
a lot of scarves.
[4:37 PM]
Bah, sorry, afk for a moment.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
Evening
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
I'll just say that I've been looking into that Hearthstone
mercenaries mode, and I really like it. It's a bit of a
base-developer and WoW mission table at once, like the covenant
sanctum or any number of browser mmos out there.
[4:43 PM]
Aiya!
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
Who or what is Pas d Armes? and Aiya Shelob
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Develop, upgrade, collect, and a lot of bad luck protection and
guaranteed drops, separate from the main game.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
ah nice
Shelob — 09/05/2021
pas d'armes sounds like 'without' or 'no weapons"
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
where were we ah ya riding and lance games that being a tournament
[4:45 PM]
without being a tournament
[4:46 PM]
Phari said that the Rohirim probably had something like it to train
their horses and riding skills and use weapons on horseback
[4:47 PM]
Anything else of a similar sort that we can think of :)?
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
I can't see hobbits doing it, unless it's with riding dogs
[4:47 PM]
Goblin stuff was probably less... chivalric.
[4:47 PM]
Or ponies of course.
[4:47 PM]
Pony jousting sounds good.
[4:48 PM]
Not sure where I got the dogs from.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
hehe yes why not
Shelob — 09/05/2021
It's possible the wainriders had some sort of circus maximus.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
you were still at Monthy Pythons in thought i guess i could
imagine they would do something of the sort
[4:49 PM]
and good thinking there Shelob
Shelob — 09/05/2021
I see Hobbits doing a "hit the pie" contest on ponies. And no one's
complaining when the pie hits them.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
aye or *vcatch the sausage " on pony back
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Catch the pie?
Shelob — 09/05/2021
The Southrons also had cavalry I think.
@Ar-Pharazon-V
Catch the pie?
Shelob — 09/05/2021
and eat it.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
The Southrons also had cavalry I think.
@Ar-Pharazon-V
Catch the pie?
Shelob — 09/05/2021
and eat it.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
you know like sitting on a pony under a string of sausages and
trying to pull the sausage down from the string or eat it sure
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Back.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Aiyata!
Shelob — 09/05/2021
Welcome back.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Thanks
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
Aiyata
@Arien Valar
you know like sitting on a pony under a string of sausages and
trying to pull the sausage down from the string or eat it sure
Shelob — 09/05/2021
Reminds me of a thing called 'koekhappen' we have here. but without
ponies.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Hah, was thinking the same thing, Shel!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
pas d'armes -- short version from the link I gave: A knight or group
of knights set up next to a major path, ie., bridge or gate, then
announce any other knights who want to go through there have to
fight.
[4:53 PM]
Ladies who want through leave a scarf or glove.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
We're thinking about yummy ways in which Hobbits hone both their
riding and eating skill.
[4:53 PM]
Highwaymen is what they are.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Knights can then win back the item to return to the lady in
question.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Riding lances on ponies, trying to aim at donuts on strings.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
If the knight refuses to fight, he leaves his spurs as a sign of
humiliation.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
ah i see thanks Eonwe
[4:54 PM]
more like fishing rods with Hobbits Phari
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Anything long and pointy should work!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Sounds like a clever scheme to meet women to me, hehe. Would never
work today, but for the time. Imagine:
1.) Friends set up at the bridge
2.) Woman you want to meet rides through, leaves a scarf.
3.) You claim the scarf without a fight
4.) You return the "rescued" scarf to the woman, then regale her
with stories of your bravery hopefully truer than the one about
winning her scarf back, heh.(edited)
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
The original wingman.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
Knaves!
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
eyes spidersilk scarf
Shelob — 09/05/2021
I'm sure some peasant will have witnessed the non-event.
[4:57 PM]
Down Pharz!
[4:57 PM]
If you want one, ask for it. Just like everyone else does.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Not sure about a scarf, but got some body armor?
Shelob — 09/05/2021
Bring a snack. (Or not)
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Supposed to be better than kevlar.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
Not enough. I have this belly to armour up. Turned out it's a bit
wonky.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Any other Tolkien comments before I let you all go about your
business?
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
I'm now wondering how orcs would go about meeting orc women.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
Breeding Pits.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Harrassing them on bridges seems quite orcish, really.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
I don't imagine wooing and courtship is a particular concern of
orcs. Although, I also imagine orc women, wherever they are, are as
vicious as the men.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Orc women harrassing men on bridges works too.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
I suppose they are off somewhere hunting Entwives for sport or
something.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Praying Mantises. That's all I'm gonna say.
Shelob — 09/05/2021
I really ought to procreate some more.... More Shelobses is more
better I say.
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Mitosis is underrated.
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
And with that,..
[5:05 PM]
Raises gavel into the air
Bang
Shelob — 09/05/2021
I said Shelobses, not Sheldonses.
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Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Aftermeeting:
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
btw on game newsy note .. i overcame some technical
difficulties which some of you might have met or not
[5:15 PM]
i had some start up problems . that is game client started all right
until log in screen to servers and when i pressed the play button
nothing happened
at least with the 64 bit version of the game
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Can't say I ran into that.
Arien Valar — 09/05/2021
i was searching around a bit on the forum and it happened to a few
although it seemed more of a mac problem
[5:17 PM]
but windows users had it as well but anyhow it worked with
downloading all version of c++ orr cc ++ or what the thing is called
[5:17 PM]
all other proposed solutions were way too technical for me
[5:17 PM]
and have nicer graphics over all too
[5:18 PM]
but yes Namarie from me as well
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Namarie!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Sleep well
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Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Personal gaming report:
3 old flashgames this week, no new
badges, but they're fun!
[6:27 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/TenebrousP/accelerator
is the first game! A 3d game where you're zooming through a tunnel
system filled with obstacles, static or moving. Your speed will grow
as you go, and every 100 speed reached gives that as a starting
option. How fast can you get?
Kongregate
Accelerator
How fast can you go? See if you can find a place
amongst the fastest players and stay alive for the longest time!
[6:27 PM]
Higher difficulties will also give splits in the tunnel and sharper
curves.
[6:27 PM]
Oh, and you aim with the mouse
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
https://www.kongregate.com/games/baba_s/economical
for the second game! A platformer wherein you collect coins, buy
items to place to beat the level, get to the chest. But the more
money you get, the better! Try to complete the max coin objective
for each level
Kongregate
Economical
2D puzzle action game where saving coin is
important!
Aiming for a goal using items.
Make a way with blocks.
Break a block with a hammer.
etc...
Item is use...
[6:36 PM]
https://www.kongregate.com/games/bontegames/black
for the last game! A bontegames puzzle game, one of many In
this one you have to make the screen black in 25 levels, featuring
different mechanics you need to figure out!
Kongregate
black
Black, another puzzle game for you!
Can you make the screen black in all 25 levels? Each level has its
own logic.
You can also get the FREE mobile version wi...
[6:37 PM]
Honestly, for casual puzzle games there's no game like a bontegame
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
For the Game of Thrones game I've been playing, I'd like to
say, after two and a half years playing I've gotten Tyrion to gold
quality, giving me the biggest single upgrade in research speed
still available to me.
[7:08 PM]
As a milestone it's pretty big, because it's at this point I feel
more comfortable in fast-completing all the research I do from here
on with the free hasten time I've saved up, which is over 1300
days As long as I get my free guild-related 30% boost per
research, I should be able to go a loooong way, maybe even enough to
beat the final story quest, before I run out of gold or time.
[7:08 PM]
And in the meantime I'm gonna make lots of progress!
[7:08 PM]
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Blizzard gaming:
Hearthstone:
Been looking through those Mercenaries Modes blogs, as well as the
support article about mercenary packs in the mode. I feel like I
know all there is to know about the mode right now, and quite
looking forward to it. The hybrid gameplay - cards don't even come
into it anymore, to be honest - with collectable and upgradable
mercenaries to beat all the bounty zones, it's basically a WoW
covenant version of the game. Bring it on!
[7:13 PM]
On the reward track, I've made it to 64! Also the demon hunter got a
level, to 41.
[7:14 PM]
The brawl - now found under the Modes button - is one with deck
recipes for all the classes based on the new expansion. There's
actually some fun stuff in there, and I've had good fights with
shaman and mage after getting to know their styles
[7:14 PM]
And almost got enough gold for the next hero skin... almost...
[7:16 PM]
WoW:
[7:17 PM]
Another Sylvanas kill, normal seems quite on farm now. Got The Nine
on heroic, too, so making progress there.
[7:19 PM]
Got a headpiece from the vault and shoulders from the Tarragrue, so
I've got access to all 3 setbonuses now Using frost right now
for most dps, blood for tanking and unholy for dpsing in raid,
though I've not yet had a chance to try that. And after upgrading
some of the shards/gems to level 3, I do feel quite a bit more
powerful now
[7:20 PM]
Even in the timewalks for this week the gems work (though the
bonuses don't), making it somewhat easier and faster to get through!
[7:21 PM]
And that power showed... as I easily 4-starred layer 11 of Torghast,
unlocking the final difficulty, layer 12.
[7:22 PM]
But after trying that a few times, on the annoying Mor'tregar
levels, even, and dying a bunch of times on the first floor, I
decided that was no way to continue. I'll clear them on level 12
eventually but for now I'm focusing on getting tower knowledge to
increase my Torghast bonuses.
[7:23 PM]
So I dropped back to layer 10, got an easy 4-star, and got enough
knowledge to reduce the damage done by elite mobs by 10%! That
should ease things up a bit.
[7:24 PM]
So yeah, my goal there now is to progress through the Box of Many
Things and make my Torghast journeys easier. I think I'll use layer
11 for the easier types and 10 for the harder.
[7:25 PM]
The achievements for layer 12 require a flawless (5star) run,
anyway, so there's no way I'm getting anywhere near that right now.
All I lose by dropping down 1 or 2 levels is a few cinders, but I
still get plenty.
[7:26 PM]
Got to renown 60, unlocking the ability to upgrade my pvp trinkets,
as well as getting a new transmog set for free! Pretty nice, with
night fae antlers.
[7:27 PM]
I also spent some anima on the pack-cloak appearance I mentioned
last week, next up will be some weapon appearances.
[7:28 PM]
And that's my report for the week!
Ar-Pharazon-V — 09/05/2021
Namarie!
Eonwë Valar — 09/05/2021
Sleep well Phar.
September 8, 2021
Eonwë Valar — 09/08/2021
Because we sometimes discuss it - Re: Plants in Middle-Earth:
Snap-dragons, sunflowers, nasturtians named in "A Long-Expected
Party".
Eonwë Valar — 09/08/2021
Lol, and the Hobbits have a dance called the "Springle-ring".
September 9, 2021
Gorlim — 09/09/2021
heya guys. sorry i have been offline so long .. i was in the
hospital starting mid March and was in rehab for 4 weeks in April
/May and then was in outpatient rehab until late Augest.
[4:22 PM]
It wasnt COVID, I had a major bleed in the kidneys. We drove over to
the hospital and my wife went in to get me a wheelchair, and came
back and found I had passed out on the concrete in front of the
Memorial Hermann hospital. Major concussion from the fall too ..
(sigh) I was in surgery for a bunch of hours and then was incoherent
for 7 days while i was in the ICU.
[4:23 PM]
Rehab wasnt too bad but they had me on the heart care diet and
EVERYTHING tasted terrible. Three and half weeks of white bread
about put me back in the hospital.
[4:24 PM]
Anyhow I should be back on more or less.. Ive pretty much stopped
doing WoW as everyone I knew is gone or objecting to Blizzards
policies. Its terrible when you find you have fallen back on mobile
games and Pokemon Go.
September 10, 2021
Eonwë Valar — Yesterday at 12:54 AM
Sorry to hear all that Gorlim. I hope things are looking up from
there.
2
September 11, 2021
Eonwë Valar — Today at 7:19 AM
OK Ladies and Gents. GSMU mail has been
sent out, so it's now open season to reply or to send me whispers
with your gaming info. Please include your guild name If your screen
name is different from the account name so I don't wonder who you
are :}
[7:20 AM]
Please respond by September 30th. I forgot to include that in the
e-mail but please do.
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