February 12, 2022
Sunday Meeting
5:00 P.M. Eastern 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, which is Valar time and LotRO /servertime.]
Attending (and typed): (4)
Discord: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:
Gaming:
Lord of the Rings Online,
World of
Warcraft, Overwatch
2, Hearthstone,
Diablo
2: Resurrected, Diablo Immortal
Tolkien:
Topic:
We had two members of the Fellowship that became Mayors of the
Shire. Who were they?
After-meeting:
(non)Flashgaming
Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.
top
Before-meeting
Varda 02/12/2023 4:01 PM
Aiya : )
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:01 PM
Aiya!
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 4:03 PM
Heya.
Varda 02/12/2023 4:03 PM
Aiya to Phar and Eonwe : )
[4:04 PM]
top
Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:04 PM]
Membership:
[4:04 PM]
Good to see you. : )
I understand there are people interested in the Superbowl. May
they have a great time! My own interest, unfortuntely, is nil in
that.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:05 PM
Is that today? I thought it was... like.. Thanksgiving or
something.
Varda 02/12/2023 4:06 PM
https://www.nfl.com/schedules/
NFL.com
NFL.com | Official Site of the National
Football League
The official source for NFL news, video
highlights, fantasy football, game-day coverage, schedules, stats,
scores and more.
Feb 12, 5:30 pm CST, which is 6:30 EST
Valar Time is EST, of course.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:07 PM
Aha
Varda 02/12/2023 4:07 PM
So, an hour and a half from now.
People are making snacks, heading to their favorite viewing spots,
and so on.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:08 PM
well, shows what I know about American football
Varda 02/12/2023 4:08 PM
No worries. This is only of interest to explain where some of our
folk may have disappeared to today. : )
[4:09 PM]
Any other Membership news?
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:09 PM
Fladrif last online 2 days ago!
[4:10 PM]
Arien.. 14 hours
Varda 02/12/2023 4:10 PM
She has been in LotRO lately, so that would not show on Bnet
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:10 PM
later than 14 hours ago?
Varda 02/12/2023 4:10 PM
Yay Discord for our between game spot!
Yes
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:11 PM
alright, fair enough
Varda 02/12/2023 4:11 PM
Crickhollow
I think, or wait
Yes, Crickhollow branch.
[4:12 PM]
Guess I should pull that up after all the times you've helped us
that way. : )
Any other membership news?
[4:13 PM]
Discord does not show LotRO unless it's set each time, far as I
can tell.
Tulkas may have figured out a way though. His shows nicely.
[4:14 PM]
top
Web:
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:14 PM
Ah, there's Arien
Varda 02/12/2023 4:14 PM
yay!
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:14 PM
aiya
Varda 02/12/2023 4:14 PM
On web, I suddenly realized the Membership page was still for 2022
and started working on updating that mess.
[4:14 PM]
Aiya Sunshine!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:15 PM
Aiya
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:15 PM
crickhollow would be me ^^ because i was there until half an hour
ago :_)P
Varda 02/12/2023 4:16 PM
I was there for a bit too, but you were either busy or away. : )
No worries. We get to not expecting anything in the kin chat after
a while!
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:17 PM
well yeah i had an appointment with the bathroom in between :)
Varda 02/12/2023 4:17 PM
Good reason : )
[4:18 PM]
On Web, we have potentially something cool coming for Valentine's
Day.
If anyone wants to use that as a story prompt, or article or
other, feel free!
[4:18 PM]
top
Gaming:
Eonwe has a report for us.
[4:19 PM]
tosses the gavel to Eonwe, watching it giggle
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 4:19 PM
Lord of the Rings
Online:
Update 34.2.1 is out this week. ---
https://www.lotro.com/update-notes/lotro-update-34-2-1-release-notes-en
The Lord of the Rings Online
Update 34.2.1 Release Notes
Here are the release notes for Update 34.2.1,
released on Wednesday, February 8th, 2023.
[4:19 PM]
World of Warcraft:
This week's bonus event: Dragonflight dungeons.
The PvP Brawl: Southshore vs. Tarren Mill is going until Tuesday,
February 14th.
The Love Is In The Air event is going through February 20th.
Check out this week's hotfixes. ---
https://worldofwarcraft.com/en-us/news/23892230/hotfixes-february-10-2023
World of Warcraft
Hotfixes: February 10, 2023 - WoW
Here you will find a list of hotfixes that
address various issues related to World of Warcraft: Dragonflight,
Wrath of the Lich King Classic, Burning Crusade Classic, and WoW
Classic.
[4:20 PM]
Overwatch 2:
Check out the new blog: Director's Take: Keeping True To Our
Heroes is out. ---
https://overwatch.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23906081/
Overwatch
Directors Take: Keeping true to our
heroes:23906081
We have a new update from Aaron Keller
regarding arcade modes, push maps, and bringing IP collaborations
to Overwatch
[4:20 PM]
Hearthstone:
There's some updates coming for Merceneries mode in batch 25.4.
---
https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23892226/mercenaries-gets-a-mythic-update
Mercenaries Gets a Mythic Update
Mercenaries gets new Factions, Dual-Type Mercs,
and a Mythic Boss Rush system as the Mode reaches completion.
[4:20 PM]
The next mini-set, Return to Naxxramas launches February 14th. ---
https://hearthstone.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23913670/the-lich-king-calls-on-you-to-return-to-naxxramas
The Lich King Calls on You to Return to
Naxxramas!
The Battle for Silvermoon reaches its next
phase as The Lich King calls for reinforcements in the March of
the Lich King Mini-Set, Return to Naxxramas!
Diablo 2: Resurrected:
Ladder Season 3 will be starting February 16th. ---
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo2/23899624/diablo-ii-resurrected-ladder-season-three-coming-soon
Diablo II: Resurrected Ladder Season Three
Coming Soon
Eight new Rune Words and updates to Terror
Zones, Sundering Charms, and more are coming with Patch 2.6 and
Ladder Season Three.
[4:20 PM]
Diablo Immortal:
Check out the latest bug fixes. ---
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo-immortal/23826549/diablo-immortal-bug-fixes-and-patch-notes-for-all-platforms
Diablo Immortal Bug Fixes and Patch Notes for
All Platforms
We will continually update this blog with all
bug fixes and patches the team implements for Diablo Immortal on
all platforms.
[4:20 PM]
More server merges are coming February 22nd for servers in East
Asia and Southeast Asia. ---
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo-immortal/23897178/brave-the-perils-of-the-fen-in-diablo-immortal
Brave the Perils of the Fen in Diablo Immortal
Our newest Content Update brings increased
Stash tabs, news of our next Server Merges, a new limited-time
event, and much more.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:20 PM
Ah yes, mini-set for the first time will have golden set available
for gold rather than real money... expensive, but I knew I was
saving up for something
[4:22 PM]
Also of note, that mercenary update will be the last new content
update for mercenary mode. Could say that as a failure of the
mode... for me it's giving the opportunity to actually complete it
one day this way
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 4:22 PM
I would note on the Love is in the Air event for WoW, they
increased the chance of getting the mount from the first run (per
account) of the event dungeon reward per day, so you can still
buzz through a bunch of characters if that's your thing, or just
do the first for the increased chance and move on.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:23 PM
Yup, even though for the first time I have multiple characters of
eligible level... I'm sticking with the main because of that.
Varda 02/12/2023 4:23 PM
Nice
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 4:25 PM
That's it for gaming news from me.
Varda 02/12/2023 4:25 PM
Thank you, Eonwe. : )
[4:26 PM]
LotRO: Ill Omens event ends Feb 27
[4:26 PM]
The Reward Track will be resetting, so might check to see if yours
needs to have items claimed.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:27 PM
welll one thing to add .. just not sure whether its member or
gaming news .. i guess both hehe all going well I am going
to real life guild meeting of my classic guild in Prague in
august :)
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:27 PM
Ooh, nice!
Varda 02/12/2023 4:28 PM
Classic guild? Is that WoW?
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:28 PM
yeah
Varda 02/12/2023 4:28 PM
Sounds great! : )
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:28 PM
sorry i was a bit slow typing
[4:29 PM]
carry on
Varda 02/12/2023 4:29 PM
I was just checking what classic guild meant, no worries. : )
[4:30 PM]
One more thing for LotRO:
Landroval branch:
Aranuir
Arien
Bregalad
Dis
Eonwe
Fangorn
Lenwe
Nar
Varda
Crickhollow branch:
Arien
Eonwe
Fangorn
Varda
Shadowfax branch:
Varda
Treebeard branch:
Varda
[4:31 PM]
Another thing on web. I was trying to remember if we wanted to put
all the membership into one list, marked Active or Inactive, the
way we used to have it.
Gets a bit crazy trying to update it across two tables. : )
Doable though.
[4:34 PM]
Ok, side chat shows separate is best. : )
Starcraft 2 folk have been playing. I only can mention
family that I know of, but others also play.
Eowyn, Fangorn, Faramir
[4:35 PM]
On to
top
Tolkien!
[4:35 PM]
We had two members of the Fellowship
that became Mayors of the Shire. Who were they?
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:36 PM
Let me see... they are obviously hobbits...
[4:37 PM]
But probably not the ones who became heads of their families and
own large territories...
that leaves... hrrm...
F and S something
Ah yes, the one named after my cat, Frodo :)
Varda 02/12/2023 4:37 PM
: )
[4:38 PM]
Frodo was the first Mayor, Sam after him. Aye : )
[4:38 PM]
You need another cat!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:38 PM
hah, yes
Varda 02/12/2023 4:38 PM
So what sort of duties does a Shire Mayor have?
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:39 PM
That's a good question...
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 4:39 PM
Judging food as I recall.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:40 PM
errr administration i guess , in some form , and also
representation at festivels
Varda 02/12/2023 4:40 PM
I found it in the FotR Prologue, and we can guess it
changed at least slightly.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:40 PM
Shire-wide policy perhaps? Responsible for police forces?
Coordinating after bad stuff like plagues, natural disasters and
the occasional white wizard?
Varda 02/12/2023 4:40 PM
hehe
[4:41 PM]
Sounds right!
[4:41 PM]
"The only real official in
the Shire at this date was the Mayor of Michel Delving (or of
the Shire), who was elected every seven years at the Free Fair
on the the White Downs at the Lithe, that is at Midsummer.
As mayor, almost his only duty was to
preside at banquets, given on the Shire-holidays, which occurred
at frequent intervals.
But the offices of Postmaster and
First Shirrif were attached to the mayorality, so that he
managed both the Messenger Service and the Watch.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:41 PM
Ah, the Watch. There we go.
Varda 02/12/2023 4:41 PM
These were the only
Shire-services, and the Messengers were the most numerous, and
much the busier of the two.
By no means all Hobbits were
lettered, but those who were wrote constantly to all their
friends (and a selection of their relations) who lived further
off than an afternoon's walk.
End quote.
[4:42 PM]
The Bounders had had to be increased a lot about the time of the
beginning of the story, but the hobbits, even Bilbo, didn't really
connect that to a larger problem.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:43 PM
as far as I remember the only thing frodo did as mayor was to
reduce the shiriffs and the watch to their correct numbers and
void the new laws sharku s (sarumans ) men had introduced
Varda 02/12/2023 4:44 PM
Frodo had to clean up the mess left behind from Lotho's time in
office, aye.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:44 PM
and release prisoners i think such as Lobelia and Fredegvar
Varda 02/12/2023 4:45 PM
So by the time Sam got the job (7 year job!), it had been tidied
up enough to just do it.
[4:46 PM]
The Shire was fortunate to have those two in that order as Mayors.
[4:47 PM]
Both knew a lot about the outside world, dangers, fairness, what
to consider.
I guess we covered that topic. : )
[4:48 PM]
So here's an amusing comment someone made in World Chat in LotRO.
See how fast you can type the answer on whom he is referring to!
[World] Bearroot: 'Seriously. Lives in dangerous woods, next to
even more dangerous barrows. Wife is a lake spirit. Clearly does
not fear anything.'
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:48 PM
tom bombadil
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:48 PM
Tom!
[4:49 PM]
Sorry, was distracted
Varda 02/12/2023 4:49 PM
Arien wins : )
[4:49 PM]
have a cookie! and a side of bacon!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:49 PM
And also wondering whether Sam's mayorhood increased the amount of
gardens in the Shire.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:49 PM
catches cooie and bacon yummie
Varda 02/12/2023 4:50 PM
Phar, most likely!
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:51 PM
well he planted the mallorn nut and blew the dust over the hills
so he did in any case even if not as a mayor act
Varda 02/12/2023 4:51 PM
He also replaced the lost Party Tree with a mallorn from
Lothlorien. : )
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:51 PM
True
Varda 02/12/2023 4:51 PM
What Arien said.
[4:52 PM]
Aye, and the dust was from a box of soil from Lothlorien. He put
it in a number of places to help the recovery.
and if he paid a bit more attention to his home area, that would
be understandable.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 4:53 PM
Heh, now picturing Sam as Rayman in the first game of the series,
planting the seeds in one level...
[4:53 PM]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOtb5YnYrYk&t=35s
YouTube
Carls493
Rayman 1: Part 3: The Swamps of Forgetfulness
(All Electoon Cages)
[4:53 PM]
Not sure how that came into my head
[4:56 PM]
I'm guessing the ones in the Shire didn't quite grow that fast
though.
Varda 02/12/2023 4:56 PM
Seed planting
[4:56 PM]
the gavel moves slowly, spitting watermelon seeds as it goes
[4:57 PM]
a watermelon plant begins to grow in the ambience of Yavanna
but one of them does not last long, having landed on the
hammerpad just before...
thonk!
top
After-meeting!
[4:57 PM]
Free chat : )
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 4:58 PM
I didn't realize we'd reached the Gallagher Threshold :}
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 4:59 PM
galllagher treshold?
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 5:00 PM
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/GodzillaThreshold
TV Tropes
Godzilla Threshold - TV Tropes
The Godzilla Threshold trope as used in popular
culture. There is wisdom in facing a threat with a proportionate
response. Sure, There Is No Kill like
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:00 PM
what s that? and yeah agree with varda there .. the game scene
certainly was inspired by all the plants and seeds ^^
[5:02 PM]
smaug s death would be one such in tolkien ?
[5:03 PM]
I mean he died but esgaroth was destroyed and many died and killed
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 5:03 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErppAlOIGQE
(some language possible)
YouTube
Gallagher
Gallagher - Sledge-O-Matic (The Maddest)
[5:04 PM]
The biggest part of his Slege-o-matic routine was when he brought
out the watermelon. Couldn't quickly find a clip of that.
Varda 02/12/2023 5:06 PM
His aim tends to be away from himself.
[5:06 PM]
Veterans have plastic!
[5:08 PM]
It's the controller
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:09 PM
aye right ^^
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 5:11 PM
heh, that lightbulb...
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:11 PM
i have something for you from my favorite band at the moment ..
its not tolkien but its afterchat
[5:11 PM]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umXOUGSLXLU
YouTube
dArtagnanVEVO
dArtagnan - C'est la vie (English Version - Official Video)
Varda 02/12/2023 5:12 PM
After chat has it all. : )
[5:12 PM]
but the video is not available in my country.
[5:13 PM]
Even the English version
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:13 PM
ah stupid .. shame
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 5:13 PM
Think I've heard a few songs by them.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:13 PM
[5:13 PM]
what do you think then eonwe?
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 5:14 PM
I don't remember which song it was, but I remember liking the
sound.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:14 PM
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 5:15 PM
Might've even been that one, just not in English.
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:15 PM
very folky rock metal
[5:15 PM]
and brilliant lyrics
[5:15 PM]
aye the english version is fairly new
Eonwλ Valar 02/12/2023 5:16 PM
Before I get off on a music tangent and start listening to it all
again, I need to go.
[5:16 PM]
Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun.
Varda 02/12/2023 5:19 PM
Namarie : )
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:24 PM
Namarie
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 5:24 PM
namarie!
Arien Valar 02/12/2023 5:26 PM
but .. to conclude with tolkien again
[5:26 PM]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulsA_ytf4VY
YouTube
Gobby Metal
FEUERSCHWANZ - Rohirrim - With Lyrics
[5:27 PM]
The fires kindled, the
fires kindled
Ahead on Eorlingas
Grim deeds awake, grim deeds awake
We ride with six thousand men
The white tree on fire
The case is imminent
And the age of the orcs
And therefore ride, Rohirrim
Until the end of this world
A sword day, a blood day
When shield and spear shatter
Yes, therefore ride, Rohirrim
Ride out in the dawn
Before the sun rises
Don't be afraid of death
(Rohirrim)
The servants of the enemy
The servants of the enemy
Sauron has regained his strength
Follow the king's banner
The king's banner
Riders of the Riddermark
The white tree on fire
The case is imminent
And the age of the orcs
And therefore ride, Rohirrim
Until the end of this world
Varda 02/12/2023 5:41 PM
[5:41 PM]
Thank you. : )
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 8:53 PM
Personal gaming report:
[8:54 PM]
For (non)flashgaming, https://www.kongregate.com/games/KekGames/unpuzzle
is the first in a series where you have to dismantle a jigsaw of
sorts, one piece at a time. Further levels give further mechanics,
such as locks, arrows, and rotating pieces.
Kongregate
Unpuzzle
Clear levels piece by piece.
[8:55 PM]
Been a while since any in this series showed up in the weekly
badges, but I still can't help but complete them every time they
do
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 9:01 PM
And the music's nice in all of them as well!
[9:01 PM]
Blizzard gaming:
[9:08 PM]
Hearthstone:
Level 93 on the reward track. Soon!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 9:08 PM
And got the Death Knight class from 22 to 24 along the way.
[9:08 PM]
Collecting gold for an actual reason now, since the golden version
of the next mini-set will be 10k gold, and I have over 9k now
[9:09 PM]
Tavern brawl is murlocs this time, choose a class, get some random
class spells and a whole bunch of random murlocs.
[9:10 PM]
Got my wins with the shaman class, which has some murloc-friendly
buffs, and used the murloc skin for it as well
[9:10 PM]
WoW:
[9:12 PM]
Raiding still going well! Made it to 386 ilevel for my tankgear,
so now settling in our tanking rotation, including having now
tanked the last boss, Razsageth, on normal difficulty, and the
first boss, Eranog, on heroic. They'll slowly ease me in on the
more complex bosses on heroic over the next few weeks.
[9:13 PM]
Current heroic target is Kurog, and we are getting pretty close!
[9:15 PM]
Weekly is mythic dungeons! Did 4 different ones that I'd done on
normal previously, including one earlier this week, so I didn't
have to do dungeons while being lootlocked or dungeons I hadn't
done before.
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 9:16 PM
Quest reward for the weekly was a very nice rare raiddrop ring,
which means I now have both of them, though one of them's normal
and one heroic ilevel. But that's fine! Apparently I need to get a
hat crafted now to make optimal use of those rings because they
proc on fire damage, but will need to complete the main zone
quests first to unlock a reagent for it.
[9:17 PM]
Completed the objectives for the trading post tender, getting my
maximum tender for this month. Won't spend it yet, saving for next
month instead.
Also poked the apothecary bosses a bunch of times to try for the
mount at increased drop chance, but no luck yet
[9:18 PM]
Oh, and completing those trading post objectives also got me a new
free mount, Ash'adar, Harbinger of Dawn!
A cat mount that changes color depending on night or day, but
since I only play in the evenings I've only seen it in night mode
so far.
[9:19 PM]
Spent a bunch of gold this week, about two thirds of what I had
(if not more) to get my 7th tier 3 druid piece from the black
market auction house, the headpiece. Only the gloves remain, but
now I'll know exactly what I can spend on it
[9:20 PM]
Started buying this stuff expansions ago, and it's nice to
make progress.
[9:21 PM]
Finally, questing! Worked on some sidequests in Azure Span to
empty my questlog a bit, including the gnoll dungeon there,
Brackenhide Hollow, on normal... which I got to do on mythic again
a few days later, as mentioned above
[9:22 PM]
Also got a toy from one of the quests, a book called the
Compendium of Love, a music-playing book made for the story of
Malygos and Sindragosa.
[9:23 PM]
And I want to mention another quest as well where you help a young
tuskarr who's lost his mother earlier in the questline, face down
a yeti to gain some confidence, while getting the yeti to play
along
Quite heartwarming!
Ar-Pharazon-V 02/12/2023 9:24 PM
Oh, and after the side quests I started the main quests again,
including gathering some funeral offerings for the late chieftain
while Kalecgos had some soup. I could have watched him eat his
soup all day, it was like one of those animatronic cycles.
[9:26 PM]
But after that, alas, it was time for the funeral, where the
chieftain's boat got eaten by Gral, the shark loa, followed by
Kalecgos taking his leave after having learned a lesson about
family. I'll be visiting him at the Archives next to complete this
story arc.
[9:28 PM]
And that's my report for the week!
Namarie
February 15, 2023
Sandalf13 02/15/2023 9:09 PM
Hallo all! Sorry...I was in New York on a business trip last
weekend...I completely missed the Superbowl, as I was visiting a
friend for whom
[9:12 PM]
I used to babysit when he was a young boy....he is nine years
younger than me, and we have stayed in touch all of these
years. Had a lovely visit, then returned home early Sunday
evening to fly out of La Guardia very early on Monday morning. I
was home in Thornton well before noontime on Monday. Paul and his
wife and I hit up some of the outstanding grape vineyards and
wineries on the North Fork of Long Island...had some real New York
pizza for dinner...a wonderful day. I didn't even get the score of
the game until it was over. I look forward to "seeing" you all
next Sunday. Sei gesund! Wie immer!
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