Valar Guild

February 19, 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): (5)

    Discord: 
A
rien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
Before-meeting
Meeting begins
Membership news:
Web:

    Tolkien Site/Stories:
        "It Takes Two..." by Eonwe-(Valar)
Gaming:
     World of Warcraft, Diablo 3, Diablo 4, Diablo Immortal, Lord of the Rings Online
Tolkien:
    Topic: Can any of you think of an item or two in Helm's Deep different between the book and movie?
After-meeting:
    (non)Flashgaming Reviews (plus) by Ar-Pharazon. Includes Blizzard games.

 
top

Before-meeting

Varda — Yesterday at 4:00 PM
Aiya : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:00 PM
Aiya!

Varda — Yesterday at 4:00 PM
The Phar is here!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:00 PM
It is I!

Varda — Yesterday at 4:00 PM
Fangorn and Eowyn are destroying things in Starcraft. : )
[4:01 PM]

top

Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:01 PM
Always fun

Varda — Yesterday at 4:01 PM

top

Membership:

[4:01 PM]
Aye to that. : )
What are we? Gamers? : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:01 PM
You'd almost think so!

Varda — Yesterday at 4:03 PM
Just checking my email. Had a question in there about membership. Will have to take a look at it.
[4:06 PM]
It was short but interesting.
Part was:
I came across your website and I really like the content, very old school.
Are you guys still active?
[4:07 PM]
end quote
Why would anyone think we were not still active? heh

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:07 PM
Because we're old school

Varda — Yesterday at 4:07 PM
That's it!
[4:08 PM]
The content is old school but he likes it. Maybe referring to it not being a wiki like all the others? : )

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:08 PM
Heya.

Varda — Yesterday at 4:08 PM
We considered it, by the way.
Eonwe! Aiya!

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:08 PM
Speaking of old school...
[4:09 PM]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pu57M7cjSD4
    YouTube
    Illumination
    Super Mario Bros. Plumbing Commercial

Varda — Yesterday at 4:10 PM
Cute. Just seems as if that is a bit of a grab at the game for sales of something entirely different. But cute.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:10 PM
Heh, reminds me of the live action show.

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:11 PM
Aye, the song is from the Super Mario Bros Super show.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:11 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkWYP95WbbY actually, is that where they got the version of the song from?
    YouTube
    cheesymovienight
    Super Mario Brothers Super Show Intro

[4:12 PM]
Right

Varda — Yesterday at 4:12 PM
We skipped the wiki system so an author retained control over content and was credited/blamed. Others could write rebuttals of their own, same way, or add to the info with their own. Like telling more about the sword used by a character.

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 4:12 PM
Hallo All!

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:13 PM
There's also a rumour voice of the woman in that commercial is the Princess Peach from the Super Show. I can hear the resemblance and would love it if it were true
[4:13 PM]
Anyway, sorry to interject but I found that commercial a nice nostalgia nod, so there you go :}

Varda — Yesterday at 4:14 PM
Neato. Just watched.
They are fairly short, no worries.

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:14 PM
Aiya all

Varda — Yesterday at 4:14 PM
Aiya Sunshine!
[4:14 PM]
And in membership news, today is
Eowyn-(V)'s birthday!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:14 PM
Aiya!
And congratulations to Eowyn

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:15 PM
Happy Birthday , Eowyn

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 4:15 PM
Happy Birthday, Eowyn!

Varda — Yesterday at 4:15 PM
And aiya to Sandalf : )

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:15 PM
Heya Sandalf and Arien. Happy Brithday Eowyn :}

Varda — Yesterday at 4:16 PM

top

Web News:

[4:17 PM]
We have a Valentine's Day-inspired story up. Thank you, Eonwe!
"It Takes Two..."
http://valarguild.org/varda/Tolkien/encyc/fiction/authors/Eonwe/stories/ItTakesTwo.htm
[4:17 PM]
Ta-daaa!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:18 PM
Aiya Sandalf!

Varda — Yesterday at 4:18 PM
Same Auros character as in our Forum story and on the website series by Eonwe.
[4:19 PM]

top

Gaming News:

[4:19 PM]
This is general news to help all of us that play these games, or even nostalgia if we used to play them.
[4:20 PM]
the gavel pogo-hops to Eonwe

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:21 PM

World of Warcraft:
This week's bonus event: Burning Crusade Timewalking.

The PvP Brawl: Classic Ashran is going until Tuesday, February 21st.

Check out this week's hotfixes. ---
https://worldofwarcraft.blizzard.com/en-us/news/23892230/hotfixes-february-17-2023
    World of Warcraft
    Hotfixes: February 17, 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.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:21 PM
(now looking at a princess peach/toadstool compilation from the super show, and can't get over how much her face looks like Lois Griffin)

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:22 PM
haha ammusing story
i like it

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:22 PM
Love is in the Air event ends tomorrow so get your last runs of the year in for the mount. (The increased drop rate has done nothing for me, but then I didn't run it more than a couple of times either so that doesn't help, heh.)
[4:22 PM]
Glad you liked it, Arien :}

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:23 PM
Didn't do anything for me either, but I did do it every day (on 1 character), so it's still not very high

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 4:23 PM
Also make sure you're finishing up your trading post stuff soon if you're bothering with that. New trading post stuff at the beginning of the month.

Diablo 3:
There is a Season 28 Preview posted. Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary begins February 24th. ---
https://us.diablo3.blizzard.com/en-us/blog/23897180/season-28-rites-of-sanctuary-preview-2-17-2023
    Diablo III
    Season 28 Rites of Sanctuary Preview
    Season 28 Rites of Sanctuary goes live on February 24 at 5 p.m. PST/CET/KST. Unlock formidable powers in the Altar of Rites as you complete the Seasonal Journey.

[4:24 PM]

Diablo 4:
There's going to be an open beta in March. See how to be involved. ---
https://news.blizzard.com/en-us/diablo4/23916442/your-guide-to-the-diablo-iv-open-beta
    Your Guide to the Diablo IV Open Beta
    The Open Beta draws near! Pre-purchase Diablo IV and receive Early Access. Read on for more details.

[4:24 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.

[4:25 PM]
And that's it for gaming news from me.

Varda — Yesterday at 4:25 PM
Thank you, Eonwe.

Lord of the Rings Online players in kin this past week:
Landroval branch:
Bregalad
Dis
Eonwe
Fangorn
Nar
Varda

Crickhollow branch:
Arien
Eonwe
Fangorn
Varda

Shadowfax branch:
Varda

Treebeard branch:
Varda
[4:26 PM]
The Ill Omens skirmish event continues. Fangorn and I have been hitting it nearly every day. I hit it often on two characters.
Great way to help complete the skirmish deeds too.

Any other gaming news, or membership news?

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 4:29 PM
Got my guestroom finally set up. I am ready for a visit from any of you, whenever you make it to Denver...a totally wonderful place to visit. You can see the mountains from my 2nd floor windows, looking west, and to the east, the Great Plains, all the way to Lincoln. The queen bed was installed on Friday, and I am getting my own waterbed set up today. Moving in is very time-consuming, but fun. You are all welcome to visit!

Varda — Yesterday at 4:31 PM
Sounds like an incredible view!
and a fine house. : )
Here's hoping you'll have a really comfy sleep tonight on that!

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 4:32 PM
I have not slept on my waterbed since 2009, when it was last set up. Should be a rocking good time.

Varda — Yesterday at 4:32 PM
Hope it has baffles. : )
and a heater.
[4:33 PM]
On to

top

Tolkien!

[4:34 PM]
I started looking into Helm's Deep in the books. It is so different from the movies all the way through and yet follows along together, that the comments would be like a book in itself.
So I don't actually have a proper setup tonight for the chat.
[4:35 PM]

Can any of you think of an item or two in Helm's Deep different between the book and movie?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:35 PM
Haldir
[4:36 PM]
Brought back for a second movie only to be killed off.

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 4:36 PM
The view from my window, looking west. I wish I had a zoom lense on my cell [phone camera, but I don't...if you blow up the picture you can see the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area in the background.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/98425690877104128/1076995770177298493/20230219_153319.jpg

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:37 PM
Henneth Annun :)

Varda — Yesterday at 4:37 PM
: )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:37 PM
In fact, I recall... Erkenbrand being replaced by Eomer and Eomer by Haldir, when it came to Helm's Deep?

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:38 PM
the tossing of the dwarf

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:38 PM
hah, yes

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:39 PM
Tolkien would have mentioned that
ammusing as it was

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:39 PM
Tolkien didn't want to encourage dwarf tossing

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 4:39 PM
Actually, I thlought that the scene in which Jackson showed 12-15 year old boys being "drafter" actually filled in a gap in the book...All that Theoden says is that "every lad strong enough to bear arms..." or something like that. I think that in this case, Jackson's portrayal was quite good
[4:40 PM]
drafted....not drafter!

Varda — Yesterday at 4:40 PM
There is mention of too old and too young, such as the grandson.

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 4:40 PM
There was a funny fan take on the movie in which Gimli says"I was tossed once by Aragorn...it was wonderful."

Varda — Yesterday at 4:41 PM
heh

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:41 PM
given that in most books even though not in Tolkien , that sword training , usually starts at the age of eight
insert, it is mentioned that , dry
[4:42 PM]
so maybe it is roughly accurate

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:53 PM
Was there a lone orc with a torch in the book?

Varda — Yesterday at 4:54 PM
It's not actually shown.

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 4:55 PM
in the book is mentioned that the army of Saruman carried lots of Torches
so . pars pro toto eh?

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:55 PM
Then they should probably have sent 3 at a time or so.

Varda — Yesterday at 4:56 PM
"Even as they spoke there came a blare of trumpets. Then there was a crash and a flash of flame and smoke. The waters of the Deeping Stream poured out hissing and foaming: they were choked no longer, a gaping hole was blasted in the wall. A host of dark shapes poured in."
[4:56 PM]
Yes, lots of torches. The archers that fled into Helm's Deep had taught the orcs the danger of carrying them in the dark and making themselves visible. : )

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 4:57 PM
A host of dark shapes. Well, at least those were bright enough not to carry any, then
...pun not intended

Varda — Yesterday at 4:58 PM
There's another spot of blasting
heh Phar
[4:59 PM]
o, and to continue the above:
[5:00 PM]
"'Devilry of Saruman!" cried Aragorn. "They have crept in the culvert again while we talked, and they have lit the fire of Orthanc beneath our feet..."
[5:01 PM]
The next blast is when Aragorn is looking over the wall, to see the dawn coming. He has a back and forth talk with orcs below.
[5:02 PM]
A lot there, so I won't type it all. The relevant part about the blast. Just as he leaps down.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:02 PM
"I say, wouldn't you like to take a break for a moment? Don't worry, we totally don't have reinforcements coming at dawn."

Varda — Yesterday at 5:03 PM
"There was a roar and a blast of fire. The archway of the gate above which he had stood a moment before crumbled and crashed in smoke and dust. The barricade was scattered as if by a thunderbolt."
[5:04 PM]
In answer to Phar, the orcs of Saruman were bragging that they were not stopped by the light of the sun, so dawn would bring no hope.
[5:05 PM]
I don't want to take over the chat. : )
[5:06 PM]
It's interesting to read the books again about Helm's Deep. A lot going on! That JRRT was in military engagement himself adds to the interest.
[5:07 PM]
The hour has slipped up on us as if it were Gollum. I thought we had more time. : )
a gavel wiggled sideways right up to the hammerpad and leaped up!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:07 PM
Sneak!

Varda — Yesterday at 5:08 PM
the hammerpad rolled to one side and got hit like a Tiddlywink, right into the air (edited)
the gavel caught it on the way down
Thwok!

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 5:08 PM
:

top

Varda — Yesterday at 5:08 PM

After-meeting!

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 5:08 PM
artistic gavel

Varda — Yesterday at 5:09 PM
A gamer gavel!
Not sure how many of you ever played Tiddlywinks as children, but the gavel is!

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 5:09 PM

[5:10 PM]
dont know what that corresponds to in german i fear so i might have
i might not

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:11 PM
It sounds vaguely familiar, I've probably seen it somewhere.

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 5:15 PM
I am off to the store to get some last minute things for setting up the waterbed...I prefer to end the day at least getting a few things accomplished. Hope all of you have a wonderful week ahead, and I will check back later to read Ar's report. Sei gesund and Namarie!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:15 PM
Don't forget the water!
[5:16 PM]
and namarie

Eonwλ Valar — Yesterday at 5:16 PM
I must be off. Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun.

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 5:16 PM
Namarie

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:16 PM
Namarie to you too

Varda — Yesterday at 5:16 PM
Namarie
[5:18 PM]
Just going to mention that in LotRO Landroval server, Tinwetari my minstrel hit level cap of 140, my third.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:18 PM
Grats!

Varda — Yesterday at 5:18 PM
Going to see to supper now. Cheers

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:18 PM
enjoy

Arien  Valar — Yesterday at 5:19 PM
enjoy

top

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 5:55 PM
Personal gaming report:

For (non)flashgaming, this was an interesting week when it came to Kongregate daily badges.
[5:56 PM]
For the first week that I recall, the entire week consisted of bigger site-owned games with idle components or otherwise supposed to be played long term.
[5:57 PM]
Including 3 games over 5 days with badges that had only been recently implemented, so I had some work to do to earn them
Of those 3, the most unique one, the one I shall link here... is
https://www.kongregate.com/games/SadPandaStudios/crush-crush
    Kongregate
    Crush Crush
    Hey hot stuff! Are you looking for a fun and flirty game to kill some time and make you laugh out loud? That’s a crazy coincidence, because it’s been looking f...

[6:00 PM]
An idle game version of an anime dating sim, the idea is to use hobbies to gain stats, use those stats to get jobs to earn money, and ultimately unlock a whole bunch of anime-styled girls to fall in love with you.
It's a rather silly thing, but enjoyable even in an ironic way, if that's your thing

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 6:02 PM
There's also achievements to get to unlock more time slots for your jobs/hobbies, soft resets to make everything faster/more productive, and even a currency to get which can also be added to with real money... which I wouldn't recommend unless you really love the game
[6:05 PM]
Oh, and it fits this past week's holiday of course!
Does Valentine's count as a holiday? Eh, maybe.

Blizzard gaming:
[6:08 PM]
Hearthstone:
Level 99 on the reward track now! One more to go for the next class skin.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 6:09 PM
Along the way, just got enough gold to buy the golden version of the mini-set released this week, Return to Naxxramas. Not only does it come with golden animated versions of all 72 new cards, but also with a diamond version of Thaddius.
[6:10 PM]
So it's nice to look at
[6:15 PM]
Other than the mini-set, this week's patch also came with the last mercenaries content patch as mentioned last week. I haven't played it yet, but did take a look at the mercenaries that came with it, and they look nice. Including Arfus, the cute undead dog, and Bigglesworth, Kel'thuzad's cat

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 6:17 PM
Also, Death Knight class to 25 now!
[6:18 PM]
Brawl is When Clones Attack. Choose a class, get random deck, each minion you play gets a 1/1 stat clone added on the board as well. Had the most success with death knight and shaman/murloc, as mobs can have a lot of synergy with each other even at low stats with those classes.
[6:22 PM]
WoW:
[6:24 PM]
In raiding, learned to tank a few more heroic bosses  We also got Dathea down on heroic, which makes it 6 out of 8. Just the hardest 2 to go!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 6:25 PM
Weekly quest is timewalks, which I did over the last 5 days, but the reward was a sidegrade, a cloak which had different secondary stats from my other one and seems to be better in feral spec. It does look good though, like it's made out of autumn leaves
[6:26 PM]
3 new pets! Bought the Valentine-themed Ultimate Cuddly Pack from the store, though I already had 18 of the 21 pets, making it a 95% discount for me
[6:29 PM]
A parrot named Cap'n Crackers, a big-eyed small yeti pet called Whomper, and possibly the cutest, a little jumpy alpaca pet called Dottie.
[6:32 PM]
And finally, questing! Visited Kalecgos and Sindragosa at the Azure Archives, completing another story arc, and helped him try to summon the Blue Dragonflight using a low-powered Oathstone, but then Razsageth and the primalists attacked, so I joined them in the fight around the northeast of the zone, where I'm now helping a small Kirin Tor camp defend themselves.

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 6:33 PM
At the Oathstone business I also got my third dragonriding mount, the Highland Drake, together with a new dragonriding ability. It doesn't seem too good, though, since it takes a lot of vigor which is probably better spent on forward rushes over a longer flight.
But it might help with short bursts, we'll see
[6:34 PM]
And did some questing with the mage in Bastion as well, completing a few Wanted quests from Hero's Rest, as well as visiting the site of and experiencing a battle between the Kyrian and the Void.
[6:35 PM]
But next week it'll be back to the druid to work on the last main questline of the Azure Span!
And that's my report for the week

Sandalf13 — Yesterday at 7:49 PM
Thanks for a great report, Ar! Always a pleasure to catch up on your doings. I suppose you are safely in bed, or at least I hope you are. Just got back from the store, got a lot done today. And tomorrow is a Federal holiday! Another day to catch up on things!

Ar-Pharazon-V — Yesterday at 8:04 PM
Nope, was watching some tv  But I'll be logging soon. Namarie, and enjoy the holiday!

Varda — Yesterday at 8:30 PM
Saint Valentine's Day

Had a thought on Balrogs. : )
Wings? Perhaps a memory of wings from long ago, expressed in their shadow.

[8:32 PM]
Aye, tomorrow is Presidents' Day in the U.S.

top