Sunday, June 2, 2024
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Eonwe's review for Mists of Pandaria.
Attending (6): Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Leod, Sandalf, Varda (presiding)
[5:51 AM]Eönwë Valar: I was going to do this at the meeting, but I'm not likely to make it, so here it is beforehand —
[5:51 AM]Eönwë Valar: So after 2 weeks of MoP: Remix, here's my assessment so far:
[5:52 AM]Eönwë Valar: It's like the MMO equivalent of New Game Plus. It's all the best parts of Mists of Pandaria available to you early.
[5:53 AM]Eönwë Valar: I enjoy that play time translates directly to forward motion: Any fight has a chance to make you more powerful (incrementally), and every fight has a chance to move your goals forward (by awarding currency that can be used either to upgrade gear or buy the goodies that are the point of the event.)
[5:56 AM]Eönwë Valar: I think the gear stat design is interesting: same ilvl green -> blue -> purple = stamina plus 1 secondary stat -> primary stat plus stamina plus 1 secondary stat -> primary stat plus stamina plus 2 secondary stats (or double up on one evidently).
[5:59 AM]Eönwë Valar: I've found 3 purples so far, and each time it was more of an "Ooh, neat" than an "it's about time" because it doesn't make or break what one can accomplish. So, I enjoyed finding one more that in retail, even when the third waa nothing but Leech, heh.
[6:00 AM]Eönwë Valar: It's probably unreasonable to expect to be able to solo heroic raids solely on the power of the cloak, or if it's possible you'll probably need 200k in all stats on the cloak. I didn't want to wait that long to try, heh.
[6:02 AM]Eönwë Valar: Gear caps out at 346 on its own, has to be upgraded with bronze to get more powerful.
[6:03 AM]Eönwë Valar: Overall, I'm having more fun in MoP Remix than I have in Live for a while.
[6:03 AM]Eönwë Valar: I'd almost like to see a WotLK Remix but I'm adraid it'd drop when I don't have time for it, heh.
[6:04 AM]Eönwë Valar: There's my two cents, and if you want to see the exploits of my Paladin in MoP Remix check out the Harbor channel.
[3:24 PM]Varda: Thanks, Eonwe. : )
[3:24 PM]Varda: To the gang, Eonwe and I could have internet issues (and he has work issues too!). It's not your perfume or cologne.
[3:56 PM]Varda: 5 minutes : ) looks around, yep, right channel this time
[3:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: waves
[4:00 PM]Varda: wave
[4:00 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Aiya! Valar Guild meeting-time. Come on over to meeting_place and say hi!
[4:00 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:00 PM]Varda: Membership:
[4:01 PM]Varda: Hi to Ar-Pharazon : )
[4:01 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya
[4:01 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Arien poked.
[4:01 PM]Varda: We're back from Comicpalooza where we were last meeting. Happy to see it went well here, and the transcript proves it. Link to transcripts are on our News page.
[4:02 PM]Varda: Thank you for carrying on with the carrying on.
[4:02 PM]Varda: And with the pokage. : )
[4:02 PM]Varda: Any moving boxes toppling out of the closet? : )
[4:03 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I should be beyond that now
[4:03 PM]Varda: O good!
[4:03 PM]Varda: On to
[4:03 PM]Varda: Web:
[4:04 PM]Varda: Does the News and Transcript count? Why no, it doesn't. ; )
[4:04 PM]Varda: Some background link repairs, hopefully the A's all work, heh.
[4:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Why not? I'd mean you'd have something to report each week
[4:04 PM]Varda: Fudging. : )
[4:04 PM]Varda: I used to go outside the guild to collect stuff a lot, had lots to report then. : )
[4:05 PM]Varda: On to
[4:05 PM]Varda: Gaming!
[4:05 PM]Varda: Feel free to comment on general news as we go along.
[4:05 PM]Arien Valar: aiya folks sorry discord had a hanger on first start
[4:05 PM]Varda: Aiya Sunshine ☼
[4:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiy!
[4:05 PM]Léod: Greets and Meets!
[4:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: a!
[4:05 PM]Varda: Discord was discordant!
[4:06 PM]Varda: Aiya Leod : )
[4:06 PM]Arien Valar: aiya Leod
[4:06 PM]Léod: Aiya!
[4:06 PM]Varda: pulls out of LotRO since a boar wants to gore me. Most unmannerly. Now bacon.
[4:07 PM]Varda: Leod-king : )
[4:07 PM]Léod:
[4:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya Leod!
[4:08 PM]Varda: Lots of high-faluting people here. A King of Rohan, a King of Numenor, and a Maia steersman/lady of the Sun!
[4:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: She leaves out herself, queen of the gods...
[4:08 PM]Léod: Ah-Mazing!
[4:08 PM]Varda: Please do feel free to comment during the Gaming section, with goodies you know about.
[4:08 PM]Varda: Closer to angels, heh.
[4:09 PM]Varda: Eru can claim that high title!
[4:09 PM]Léod: Aiya Ar-Pharazon-V
[4:09 PM]Varda: Eonwe is working but left us his report, because he's great that way. : ) Note: also see before the meeting.
[4:09 PM]Varda: World of Warcraft:
[4:10 PM]Varda: This week's bonus events: World Quests.
[4:10 PM]Varda: This week's PvP Brawl: Comp Stomp.
[4:10 PM]Varda: The Darkmoon Faire is going this week.
[4:10 PM]Varda: The War Within Beta starts June 5th.
[4:10 PM]Varda: The War Within Beta Test Begins June 5
[4:10 PM]Varda: Nice picture
[4:11 PM]Varda: Cataclysm Classic PvP Season 9 is live.
[4:11 PM]Varda: Cataclysm Classic PvP Season 9 Now Live
[4:11 PM]Varda: Cataclysm Classic Raids are live.
[4:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Can you name all those npcs, Varda?
[4:12 PM]Varda: Maybe not, been a while. Would you care to do it for us?
[4:12 PM]Varda: Cataclysm Classic Raid Dungeons Now Live
[4:12 PM]Varda: See what's available in June's Trading Post.
[4:13 PM]Varda: Check out This Week in WoW.
[4:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: On the foreground, from left to right, we've got 4 iconic characters with important roles in this expansion: Jaina Proudmoore, Anduin Wrynn, Alleria Windrunner and Thrall. One of them might look older than you're used to, and some of them have other haircuts!
[4:13 PM]Varda: Hey, thanks! Good to know. 4:13 PM]Varda: Check out this week's hotfixes.
[4:14 PM]Varda: I think all of us here have played WoW?
[4:14 PM]Varda: at some time, at least.
[4:14 PM]Varda: raises hand
[4:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: On the background we have big bad Xal'atath, AKA the harbinger, who was introduced in the Legion expansion as a legendary dagger, and since then was freed from the dagger and doing some stuff in the shadows, before making her presence known as the Harbinger late in Dragonflight.
[4:14 PM]Léod: I have, for sure.
[4:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm in there right now
[4:15 PM]Varda: Arien is in WoW Classic atm if Discord is reading aright.
[4:15 PM]Varda: I gamed in WoW a lot until after pandas, then it wasn't much longer.
[4:15 PM]Varda: Main was a dark elf priest named Varda. : )
[4:16 PM]Varda: Anybody played Hearthstone?
[4:16 PM]Léod: Barely.
[4:16 PM]Varda: heh : ) So the news might be of interest.
[4:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Eh, night elf I assume you mean... there's 2 types of dark elves now
[4:16 PM]Varda: argh, night elf, thanks.
[4:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I play Hearthstone, getting some quests done and completing reward tracks.
[4:17 PM]Varda: In the Hearthstone news:
[4:17 PM]Varda: Twist has returned with the new season that started yesterday.
[4:17 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I thought "void elves? Nah, those came in way after pandas..."
[4:17 PM]Varda: Explore New Heroes in Twist
[4:17 PM]Varda: Diablo IV
[4:18 PM]Varda: Anyone still playing Diablo of some flavor? We started in Diablo 1 and I played a batch of versions of it for a number of years. 4:18 PM]Varda: To celebrate the anniversary of Diablo 4, March of the Goblins will be coming later this month.
[4:18 PM]Varda: Celebrate the Diablo Anniversary with March of the Goblins
[4:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still playing D4 now and then, will head back into the new season after some WoW objectives are gotten.
[4:18 PM]Varda: Cool : )
[4:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In fact, since I'm almost done with Jade Forest in remix, I'll probably head in there for a seasonal quest or two soon
[4:19 PM]Varda: ah hah!
[4:19 PM]Varda: Diablo Immortal:
[4:19 PM]Varda: As with Diablo 4, March of the Goblins will be coming later this month to celebrate Diablo Immortal's Anniversary. No marching goblins will be in D2 or D3.
[4:19 PM]Varda: Celebrate the Diablo IV and Diablo Immortal Anniversaries with March of the Goblins.
[4:20 PM]Varda: We started out playing WoW mainly while waiting for LotRO to come out. It was called Middle-earth Online back then. But people were so used to WoW by LotRO time that a batch of folks just stayed there or played both, and added more games.
[4:21 PM]Varda: Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:21 PM]Varda: Update 40.0.1 is out. (but you knew that)
[4:22 PM]Varda: release notes.
[4:22 PM]Arien Valar: oh i still play sort of both
[4:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: "To kick off celebrations for Diablo IV, claim a free cosmetic gift from the Shop from June 6-June 12. Fear not, for you will have until June 20 to claim all of these gifts." Wouldn't that be June 6 - June 20, then?
[4:22 PM]Varda: We also had a sneak peek from the Devs on the new hobby coming out for LotRO:
[4:22 PM]Varda: Birding
[4:22 PM]Varda: Much speculation over how that will work.
[4:23 PM]Varda: But it seems certain that spotting a bird (probably have to do something to spot it) will put it in the Collections.
[4:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: probably something like YouTube: Family Guy: The Bird's The Word
[4:23 PM]Varda: Heh
[4:24 PM]Varda: I expect Titles of some sort are very likely.
[4:24 PM]Varda: Trophies? Maybe bird houses or birds flying at your house or kin house.
[4:24 PM]Léod: I kind of like idea of that hobby.
[4:25 PM]Varda: I doubt cooking will be involved: chickens, turkeys, or whatever. Birders tend to be upset when a bird they are studying is shot in front of them.
[4:25 PM]Varda: It does sound interesting. : )
[4:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ok, when you said "birds flying at your house" I had an image in my head of them attacking your house.
[4:25 PM]Varda: I will continue to hold out hope for glassblowing.
[4:25 PM]Varda: Hah! Or a bit of falconry... not likely.
[4:26 PM]Varda: shutters the stained glass windows
[4:26 PM]Varda: Since I was unavailable to make last week's one week report,
[4:26 PM]Varda: LotRO players in our kin branches this past two weeks (14 days):
Landroval branch (8)
Crickhollow branch: (4)
Treebeard branch: (1)
[4:27 PM]Varda: Looky! We have Leod and Arien on the list. : )
[4:27 PM]Léod: For Treebeard?
[4:27 PM]Varda: Any other gaming general news? Requests for stuff in the kin house? Invitations needed? Suggestions? Remarks?
[4:28 PM]Varda: Treebeard had only my little ol' self show up in kin.
[4:28 PM]Varda: Does someone need an invite to Treebeard?
[4:28 PM]Léod: I've been playing every week in Lotro, but I haven't made meetings in a few weeks, for which I apologize.
[4:28 PM]Léod: No, I misunderstood.
[4:29 PM]Varda: Hey, I missed the last one. Off at Comicpalooza with Elwing, Fangorn, and Sauron. A mini-meeting?
[4:29 PM]Varda: We're glad you're here today, Leod-king : )
[4:30 PM]Varda: Any other comments, requests, news? Also break in as needed during the next section! (formality not needed in a small group!)
[4:30 PM]Varda: On to
[4:30 PM]Varda: Tolkien!
[4:30 PM]Varda: If you have a topic, question, comment, now is a good time. : )
[4:32 PM]Varda: Here's an observation, feel free to add:
[4:32 PM]Varda: A great deal of the war story is not seen much or at least personally by the hobbits.
[4:32 PM]Léod: Well, this isn't a specifically Tolkien book comment, but I read recently that some people are pushing for Jack Black to be cast as Bombadil in a Tolkien movie or series.
[4:32 PM]Varda: It has to be added in in dribbles outside the main story. Tricky to keep that interesting
[4:32 PM]Varda: heh
[4:33 PM]Varda: I heard a rumor that Tom Bombadil will be in Rings of Power. Don't know who is playing him.
[4:33 PM]Varda: But hasn't he already been in RoP as another character? So that should let him out of Tom.
[4:34 PM]Léod: That lore-disaster of a show will probably have him be an immortal farmer with a shotgun, and his wife an elf who likes to swim.
[4:34 PM]Léod: LOL
[4:34 PM]Varda: Ah, here it is.
[4:34 PM]Varda: tom-bombadil-rings-of-power-season-2-announcement
[4:34 PM]Léod: I don't think he's been in RoP... as who?
[4:34 PM]Varda: Tom is to be played by Rory Kinnear.
[4:35 PM]Léod: Boo, and he looks like a wizard. That won't be confusing at all. /s
[4:36 PM]Varda: My mistake. I was thinking of the Mandolorian, as he looks a lot like someone from RoP there:
[4:36 PM]Varda: Jack Black and Lizzo in The Mandalorian (2019)
[4:37 PM]Léod: He looks splendid!
[4:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Crossover opportunity!
[4:37 PM]Léod: Yep!
[4:37 PM]Varda: Maybe he will luck out and be Tom in something that actually likes Tolkien's work. : )
[4:38 PM]Léod: That would be great!
[4:38 PM]Varda: Give him a beard and robe, he'll be fine. : )
[4:39 PM]Varda: Anyway, the little bit I had for you guys to play with:
[4:39 PM]Varda: A great deal of the war story is not seen much or at least personally by the hobbits.
[4:39 PM]Varda: One suggestion of this:
[4:39 PM]Varda: "Minas Tirith", RotK
[4:39 PM]Varda: Beregond tells Pippin:
[4:40 PM]Varda:
"This is no longer a bickering at the fords, raiding from Ithilien and from Anorien, ambushing and pillaging.
This is a great war long-planned, and we are but one piece in it, whatever pride may say.
Things move in the far East beyond the Inland Sea, it is reported; and north in Mirkwood and beyond; and south in Harad.
And now all realms shall be put to the test, to stand or fall--under the Shadow.
[4:40 PM]Varda: End quote.
[4:40 PM]Léod: What a great quote!
[4:40 PM]Varda: JRRT puts in little bits like this all over to let us know how things are going elsewhere.
[4:41 PM]Varda: We hear rather than see how the elves joined up to clear out Dol Guldur, of the fires in Mirkwood. Huge battle that could have been a movie but is just a few paragraphs in LotR.
[4:42 PM]Varda: Sooo much in the LotR alone!
[4:42 PM]Varda: A bit like the masses of history zipping by in the Silmarillion. : ) Don't blink!
[4:43 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya All! Just got in from some heavy gardening work...got all the tools etc. in before the afternoon rains arrive. Sorry I am late!
[4:43 PM]Léod: Aiya Sandalf!
[4:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: That's pretty much the structure of all his Middle-Earth works, isn't it? Large histories with mentions of battles contrasted with smaller pieces from individuals' point of view.
[4:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:43 PM]Varda: Welcome back from the Shire, Sandalf. : )
[4:44 PM]Sandalf13: Yes...those Hobbits do like to chat up a storm, don't they?
[4:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the Silmarillion as well; stories of marches and battles, but also personal ones like of Beren and Luthien.
[4:45 PM]Léod: More proof of the hobbits ignorance of the outside world is when they get back to the Shire and no one knows why they act so differently than when they left. They have had their own problems, yes, but they are very insular.
[4:45 PM]Varda: Extremely personal and up close such as singing in the bathtub, mixed with huge battles.
[4:46 PM]Sandalf13: One can only imagine what a mind-bending experience it must have been for the Hobbits...Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin...to actually leave the Shire and experience the "real" world. Not in their genetic or emotional makeup!
[4:46 PM]Varda: Leod, true, even in the book version where Sharkey's Ruffians have taken over the Shire. The truly amazing things the Four have done outside pale to their fellow hobbits next to bringing freedom back to the Shire.
[4:47 PM]Varda: I should not have left out Bilbo, but he didn't come back to the Shire with the other combatants.
[4:47 PM]Léod: The insanity of what they have all experienced have made them completely immune to any fear the ruffians would have affected them with in the past.
[4:48 PM]Varda: The magic of Perspective. : )
[4:48 PM]Léod: Yes indeed.
[4:48 PM]Varda: And yet, who took out the infamous Grima Wormtongue?
[4:49 PM]Sandalf13: There are so many backstories within the LoTR and Silmarillion that Tolkien hints at but never fills in the details.
[4:49 PM]Varda: JRRT intentionally told us to fill in his mythology.
[4:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, that's what mythology is for, isn't it?
[4:50 PM]Léod: Well, hobbit archers, but I don't remember if it said which one.
[4:50 PM]Varda: Right. Four unnamed hobbit archers!
[4:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I don't think it did. Some locals. 3 or 4, yes.
[4:50 PM]Léod:
[4:50 PM]Sandalf13: What about the two Elves that Tuor meets before the Gate of the Noldor? What exactly were they doing, and why were they there? Only hinted at in the text...would love to see that fleshed out. What did Hurin and Huor do in Gondolin while they were there as very young men?
[4:51 PM]Varda: And wouldn't it be interesting to discover that Dior's young twin sons actually survived? The bodies were never found.
[4:51 PM]Sandalf13: Indeed.
[4:51 PM]Varda: Did they get picked up by Oropher on the way out of Doriath? : )
[4:51 PM]Varda: Or at least one of them?
[4:51 PM]Varda: So much to play with.
[4:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The greatest stories are the ones never told.
[4:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Because they can be anything.
[4:52 PM]Sandalf13: Here's your chance, Ar!!!
[4:52 PM]Varda: Go go fan fiction that actually loves JRRT!
[4:52 PM]Arien Valar: They maybe were suckled by a female wolf and founded a town .. ooops sorry wrong mythos
[4:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There really is so much potential. You could build an entire series on the history of Gondolin or Nargothrond.
[4:53 PM]Varda: But is it? : ) This is the mythology of our world, early on. Romulus and Remus? Maybe?
[4:53 PM]Sandalf13: But it would fit in, wouldn't it? If many Elves can talk to animals, might not have Elured and Elurin talked some friendly wolf (or cow, or goat) into providing some free milk?
[4:53 PM]Varda: We will never be out of business. ; )
[4:53 PM]Léod: twins must really run in that family.
[4:53 PM]Varda: Maybe twins help make up for the few times most elves had children.
[4:54 PM]Varda: Feanor's mob was unusual.
[4:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm. Look at Elrond... a twin, with twin uncles and twin sons.
[4:54 PM]Léod: mob... I can see that as an appropriate reference.
[4:54 PM]Varda: hehe
[4:54 PM]Arien Valar: who knows .. i hear that some people appologize to the beast they have slaughtered for providing their meal it must come from somewhere
[4:54 PM]Sandalf13: I agree...exactly what I was thinking...and a dnagerous mob, at that.
[4:54 PM]Sandalf13: Native American mythos, among others, I am sure.
[4:55 PM]Varda: Aye, Arien. Not uncommon for hunting tribes, such as American Indians, or even now, more of a thanks than an apology, since they intend to do it again.
[4:55 PM]Varda: Regular hunters even that I know of today, not even Indian, are known to do that. A thank you.
[4:56 PM]Arien Valar:
[4:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I can imagine the spirit of the animal looking down and going "Yeah, no problem, not like I had a choice. grumble"
[4:56 PM]Varda: Any other quick examples of short histories?
[4:56 PM]Varda: And oops, I wasn't quick enough that time.
[4:56 PM]Sandalf13: Yet they fulfilled one of their purposes, in the great scheme of things
[4:57 PM]Léod: If I may give a simple speculation.
[4:58 PM]Varda: Fire : )
[4:58 PM]Léod: How weird would it be to look up into the night sky and see your father's boat up there every night, just out of reach?
[4:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Reminds me of Comic: Tax Deductions
[4:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: (don't browse more of the comic, it's nsfw)
[4:58 PM]Léod: Elrond's is just so strange.
[4:58 PM]Léod: I meant to say Elrond's life.
[4:58 PM]Varda: You mean like this? :
[4:58 PM]Varda: "Staying Sharp": How does Elrond stay sharp with so many leaning on him?
[4:59 PM]Sandalf13: I think it would be a wonderful thing to see one's father "honored" in such a fashion...not weird at all.maybe humbling for the watcher?
[4:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Ah, linking just the image should be safe.
[5:00 PM]Sandalf13: A really wonderful short anecdote, Varda! Excellent!
[5:00 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, that is a good one!
[5:01 PM]Léod: Wow, that is really beautiful.
[5:02 PM]Varda: Thank you.
[5:04 PM]Varda: We have reached the hour.
[5:04 PM]Léod: I have to go. Thank you for the meeting!
[5:04 PM]Varda: gavels hop off a pile of books
[5:04 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie, Leod!
[5:04 PM]Varda: the books slide onto the hammerpad
[5:04 PM]Varda: thonkity thonk thonk
[5:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
[5:05 PM]Varda: the hammerpad is now reading
[5:05 PM]Varda: After-meeting!
[5:05 PM]Varda: Namarie, Leod!
[5:05 PM]Sandalf13: And what is the hammerpad reading, may I ask?
[5:05 PM]Arien Valar: I love that story glimpse of Elrond shows him so human in a way eh? very close
[5:05 PM]Varda: Sandalf, whatever landed!
[5:06 PM]Varda: Fast reader.
[5:06 PM]Arien Valar: Namarie
[5:06 PM]Varda: Elves have feelings too. : )
[5:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Trying to come up with a good pun answer to that...
[5:06 PM]Varda: Free chat about anything. Even the Tolkien subject(s)!
[5:07 PM]Sandalf13: In reply to Arien's comment, here are a couple of pictures of Elrond with Estel, that I have found on the internet. I like the one on the right better, because it is not modeled on Hugo Weaving, as is the first one...but they are both good. Imagine having Elrond for a father!
[5:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I do recognize Hugo Weaving in that first one, but it's just enough to maybe see him as more generic if you haven't seen him in the role. A nice subtlety.
[5:09 PM]Arien Valar: aye they are both nicei think
[5:09 PM]Arien Valar: but i think .. bed is calling me for the night
[5:10 PM]Arien Valar: its been a long day
[5:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie
[5:10 PM]Varda: Here is one from our site:
[5:10 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie, Arien! Have a good week and sei gesund!
[5:10 PM]Varda: "Hope"
[5:10 PM]Varda: This is by Cassia-(T)
[5:10 PM]Varda: Namarie, Arien. : )
[5:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Slightly more obvious
[5:10 PM]Arien Valar: Namarie all
[5:10 PM]Sandalf13: You beat me to it...Cassia and Siobhan have a neat series of stories.
[5:11 PM]Varda: They are on our site.
[5:11 PM]Sandalf13: Are they still active?
[5:11 PM]Varda: Cassia and Siobhan's Stories with Summaries: Aragorn and Legolas friendship fan fiction stories by Cassia and Siobhan
[5:11 PM]Varda: They stopped making the stories a long time ago.
[5:11 PM]Varda: They lost their website.
[5:11 PM]Varda: Our site preserved them.
[5:11 PM]Sandalf13: Sounds familiar, heh?
[5:12 PM]Varda: Yes.
[5:12 PM]Varda: Many ways.
[5:12 PM]Varda: Our own Amillo-(Valar) lost his website, with a very popular Tolkien Encyclopedia of his own.
[5:13 PM]Varda: Offered our space, but he said no.
[5:13 PM]Varda: Retired.
[5:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Alas.
[5:14 PM]Varda: Annals of Arda
[5:14 PM]Varda: He changed his name to Elatan in our guild.
[5:15 PM]Varda: We have and have had many very talented members. I'm proud of all of you. : )
[5:15 PM]Varda: I will keep your contributions alive as long as I'm able, and made provisions for after that too.
[5:16 PM]Varda: So, no excuses! hehehehe
[5:16 PM]Varda: We still have a good bit of his work on our site.
[5:17 PM]Varda: Elatan, Articles written by Elatan-(Valar)
[5:17 PM]Varda: Elatan-(Valar), Poetry
[5:18 PM]Varda: annnd I see more links needing repair. /headdesk
[5:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It never stops.
[5:18 PM]Varda: Good. May you all keep doing cool stuff!
[5:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The links, I mean
[5:18 PM]Varda: Elatan-(T)'s Cave: Tolkien-inspired art in numerous media.
[5:19 PM]Varda: There's a warning on Elatan's cave for US types. : )
[5:20 PM]Varda: but boy that Starmap! Includes the stars and constellations as named by JRRT
[5:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hmm, looking at it myself
[5:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Also never realized Ursa Major looks more like a badger than a bear.
[5:21 PM]Sandalf13: A few days ago I was chatting with Varda about the view from my window...here are a couple. Unfortunately, my cell phone cameria is not good enough to bring the mountains closer in...sorry. You can make out the Indian Peaks (Arapaho, Navajo, Pecos...in the distance...all are about 13,800 feet tall...not quite fourteeners!)
[5:22 PM]Varda: Have to love having your window view. : )
[5:24 PM]Sandalf13: Just to the right of the middle telphone pole, you can see Longs Peak...and that is a fourteener. To the right of the closest telephone pole is the good old Mummy Range, also called, by Native Americans, the Sleeping Maiden.
[5:25 PM]Sandalf13: Actually, Longs Peak is between the closest telephone and the first big bush on the right...sorry.
[5:29 PM]Varda: Thanks, Sandalf
[5:55 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie for now...til later!
[6:10 PM]Varda: Namarie
[6:56 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya all, just temporary stopin.
[6:57 PM]Eönwë Valar: Fun fact: fly high enough with dragonriding, then dive towards the Isle of Giants and when you get dismounted your momentum will take you to where oondasta spawns.
[7:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I do have a tinker gem that makes me immune to fall damage, so that sounds like something I should remember
[7:57 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya Ar! Har har har...I'm back.
[7:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[8:00 PM]Sandalf13:
[8:01 PM]Sandalf13: That may be you, in another gaming life.
[8:03 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Heh.
[8:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Personal gaming report:
[8:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, here's Cubito Mayhem
[8:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: An arcade/arena game where you play a cube, having to defend yourself from spawning enemies for as long as possible. Dodge and block and shoot as they get tougher and tougher. But as you kill stuff, your weapons will upgrade, and with every upgrade your health replenishes as well. So that helps a bit
[8:20 PM]Sandalf13: pew pew pew? paw paw paw? What in the world!
[8:21 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, the pew pew pew is accurate enough at least... maybe the paw paw paw refers to batting away the bullets that come to you?
[8:21 PM]Sandalf13: Well then, phew!
[8:22 PM]Sandalf13: Are you familiar with the English interjective "phew?"
[8:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The expression of relief?
[8:23 PM]Sandalf13: Yessir! I should have known that you would know...your English is better than that of many native speakers! Good on you!
[8:23 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Anyway, testing it out, from level 3 onward your weapon also has something orbitting around you so that helps in swatting (or pawing?) certain projectiles away from you.
[8:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[8:26 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 107 on the reward track, so the final major reward has been gotten, and it's just gold from here on until the next expansion
[8:27 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For level 100 I chose Tirisfal Jaina, the mage skin, based on her performance in the siege of the Undercity. Tirisfal Jaina - Hearthstone Cards
[8:28 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Kinda reminds me of fire versions I've seen of Elsa from Frozen
[8:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Almost done with the quest event, with the main questline done, and the choice between some daily quests or simply getting xp from matches. With 8 days left to go, and only 90 xp remaining until the final reward, I figure I might as well play normally to get that last experience.
[8:31 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The final quest gave me some trouble, actually, being to play a deck with no duplicates, but the first few attempts didn't count for some reason. I got it on the second day, anyway, though what I did differently I don't know.
[8:33 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The brawl this week is Mimiron's Faceoff. Both players are using Mimiron's Aerial Command Unit, that summons a powerful quad-strike robot whenever you have 3 mechas on the board at the start of your turn. And since each player's deck is filled with cheap mechas, it can be kinda random which one gets there first. But that usually gives an advantage that's very hard to overcome and quickly ramps up, so matches never take long.
[8:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It might need a few tries, but not painfully long.
[8:35 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: Still working towards the next collection level, as I haven't leveled many minis this week.
[8:36 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the dungeon, got level 19 done with Tirion, so almost done there. For the horde week after that, I'm struggling a bit with Cairne at level 18 so far. We'll see if I get anything there this week.
[8:37 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the heroic sigil campaign, I've completed Ghoulia and Mor'ladim on all families, getting up to 87 sigils now.
[8:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The new siege and raid require 90 sigils, so I'm a couple of weeks off, but the newly active people in our guild have been testing it after rushing to 90. From what I'm told, it can be pretty annoying, with a lot of leader planning required
[8:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I also did some more pvp, with the level caps removed there's a bit more level variation, and so far I've been facing enemies one or two levels above mine, mostly. But still a couple of wins, so that must be lucky
[8:41 PM]Sandalf13: I hope you keep gaining sigils.
[8:41 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: No new quality upgrades though, as no direct upgrade offers have been showing in the grid, so I'm just saving up a bit more gold. And the missing Sapper talent hasn't shown up yet either, though some of the talents I don't want for him have.
[8:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm sure it'll come soon!
[8:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[8:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: More raiding! We got heroic Amirdrassil cleared this week, though I missed one of the bosses myself. Next week we aim to complete Vault of the Incarnates, and then it's just figuring out which specific bosses are being missed so we can get everyone the heroic achievement.
[8:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Gotten a few more upgrades myself, including some crafted bracers and a trinket purchased for bullions, giving me a minimum ilevel of 502 and average of 511. Some more item upgrades are possible, but I don't think I have to worry about being undergeared for this season.
[8:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: While I'm mostly letting the pvp brawl go as I focus on the more time-limited events, this week's Comp Stomp is always fun and easy to get the weekly done with, and I got a new epic pvp leatherworking pattern out of it as well, the Infurious Footwraps of Indemnity.
[8:47 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Other than that, more alting!
[8:50 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Calkin the horde main continued in Nazmir, trying to find more loa allies. Unfortunately he was too late to save the turtle loa Torga, but we did stop the blood trolls from exploiting its corpse, and gained new allies in the Tortollans. After that, getting to level 32 along the way, he intercepted another blood troll force before they could do the same to Krag'wa, the loa of frogs, and will now be performing some tasks for Krag'wa to get that one on our side.
[8:50 PM]Sandalf13: This is exciting...I can almost feel the tension...
[8:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the pandaria remix, Calvirona the worgen druid reached 30 today, getting her flightform as well! Worgen flightform is a black raven, very spooky
[8:53 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: She's stopped the Jade Witch, freeing the young pandaren from being statues, and took down a mogu cult that was summoning spirits to power creatures of stone, with the help of a 10000 year old spiritsage's ghost.
[8:55 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: After that she helped out at the jade quarry, unveiled an ancient fresco, did some quests at the Temple of the Jade Dragon (lots of jade this week!) and helped the alliance and Jinyu army to prepare for a confrontation with the horde.
[8:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Unfortunately that confrontation gave rise to the Sha of Doubt, one of several large manifestations of negative energy which now has to be stopped, sparking the main threat of the expansion.
[8:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: She's now dealing with some of the aftermath of that, aiding wounded allies and taking care of the Sha of Doubt's lesser minions and remains. And soon the questline in the Jade Forest zone will be over, as she moves to the Valley of the Four Winds instead. But once she feels ready to tackle group instances, I'm sure that Sha of Doubt will soon fall
[8:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It also turns out that the threads of power come in thrice the quanity after hitting level 30, so her progress should go even smoother from here!
[8:59 PM]Sandalf13: "The Sha of Doubt" has such a ring to it...
[8:59 PM]Sandalf13: Almost sounds like the Sidh of Irish legend...
[9:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: There are seven major Sha showing up in this expansion, as I recall, manifestations of negative emotions (personally I consider doubt a rather practical, neutral emotion), with Doubt being the first. They are residual influences from a fallen Old God, Y'shaarj, and we'll be facing all of them as the expansion goes along, as well as other nasty stuff Y'shaarj left behind.
[9:04 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But that's my report for the week!
[9:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Oh, and if you like, YouTube cinematic - Mists of Pandaria: The Battle of Serpent's Heart is the cutscene that plays around the unveiling of the fresco and the rise of the Sha. Quite impressive!
[9:13 PM]Sandalf13: OOoppps..just got back from finishing a temporary project. Thank you once again for your lively report! Hope you have a good week ahead! Namarie and sei gesund~!
[9:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie
Thus ends this week's meeting. Come back and see us next week!
