Sunday, October 13, 2024
5:00pm Eastern Time
Discord: Valar Guild/meeting_place
Attending: Arien, Ar-Pharazon, Eonwe, Pallando, Sandalf13, Varda (presiding)
Topic: How did Grima Wormtongue gain so much influence in Rohan?
[October 8, 2024
[7:31 PM]Varda: We have a forum thread where you can post about the anniversary whenever you're signed in there:
[7:31 PM]Varda: Forum thread link
Congratulations to everyone for helping this group survive and prosper for a full 27 years! Feel free to send in items for your Anniversary page through the end of
[7:31 PM]Varda: This link is also on the Anniversary page for your convenience.
[8:14 PM]Varda: The News now has the link and summary for the meeting online.
[8:14 PM]Varda: News
[October 13, 2024
[3:59 PM]Varda: Aiya
[3:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya!
[4:00 PM]Varda: @Bounder @Guild-friend Valar Guild meeting time! Feel free to say hi in meeting_place
[4:00 PM]Varda: Elen sila lumenn' omentielvo!
[4:00 PM]Varda: Membership:
[4:00 PM]Eönwë Valar: Heya.
[4:00 PM]Pallando-Valar: aiya
[4:00 PM]Varda: Aiya Phar, Eonwe, and Pallando!
[4:00 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya all :
[4:00 PM]Arien Valar:
[4:00 PM]Varda: and Arien : )
[4:01 PM]Varda: So good to see you all. : )
[4:01 PM]Arien Valar: It is good to be back on Skye
[4:02 PM]Varda: Sounds fitting. An island in the Skye for the Sunshine.
[4:02 PM]Arien Valar: sun
[4:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya Arien!
[4:02 PM]Varda: Driver of the sun, aye.
[4:03 PM]Arien Valar: i forgot the number ^^
[4:03 PM]Arien Valar: Aiya Phari
[4:03 PM]Varda: ☼
[4:03 PM]Varda: Alt 15
[4:03 PM]Varda: I looked it up right quick, heh.
[4:04 PM]Arien Valar: ☼
[4:04 PM]Varda: Ta-daaa!
[4:04 PM]Arien Valar:
[4:05 PM]Varda: Anyway, welcome back!
[4:05 PM]Varda: Web:
[4:05 PM]Varda: Tolkien Site / Stories: Oct 7
[4:05 PM]Varda: "In Your Dreams". New short stand-alone short story by Eonwe-Valar. "Love, Light, Hope... Sleep." Written for the 27th Anniversary of the Valar Guild.
[4:06 PM]Varda: Gaming:
[4:06 PM]Varda: Eonwe, would you like this shiny gavel? : )
[4:07 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sure. Was just finishing up preparing Gaming News.
[4:07 PM]Eönwë Valar: Pallando can go ahead and have the floor first.
[4:08 PM]Varda: It's a shiny floor, all ready for Pallando!
[4:08 PM]Varda: so much shine with the ☼ back!
[4:08 PM]Arien Valar: :)
[4:09 PM]Pallando-Valar: Eve's announced the next expansion, Revenant
[4:10 PM]Pallando-Valar: The biggest thing is a new line of ships with a new DoT weapon type (which has never been done before in Eve).
[4:10 PM]Pallando-Valar: These will be the missing Caldari/Minmatar pirate faction, so it also breaks with tradition in that way.
[4:10 PM]Pallando-Valar: They also announced a new Vanguard event for 28 Nov - 9 Dec
[4:12 PM]Pallando-Valar: Finally, we're a week away from AT XX, which starts October 19th. Only 2 weekends this year, but the broadcast has moved back to Iceland. The finals will be October 27th.
[4:14 PM]Pallando-Valar: Oh two final things: goons are moving out of delve, and CSM election season is upon us.
[4:14 PM]Pallando-Valar: that's it
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: Thanks Pallando.
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: I've considered trying Eve every now and then, but then I remember I only have one brain, 2 arms, and 24 hours in a day, and the balancing act I already perform is precarious enough, heh.
[4:15 PM]Pallando-Valar: Goons prove you don't need any of that to play.
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: It does sound interesting though.
[4:15 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hehe.
[4:16 PM]Pallando-Valar: As ever, if anyone is interested, hit me up, I'm happy to help out newbies.
[4:16 PM]Varda: Thank you. : )
[4:17 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya Aii! Just walked in from my usual Sunday hike...a beautiful Fall day...more later
[4:18 PM]Varda: Aiya Sandalf : )
[4:18 PM]Eönwë Valar: In Cross-topic news, the GSMU data is posted, and the State of Valar Gaming for 2024 is technically up. I say "technically" because there's some hiccups in the Games Site's updating code that I've been trying to review and correct
[4:19 PM]Eönwë Valar: That also means the Sortable Member Table is partly functional. It's going to take more digging into the code than I have time for right now, but I hope to get to it tonight.
[4:19 PM]Varda: You have been very busy. Thank you!
[4:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya Sandalf!
[4:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: slow response, apparently this particular Delve has waves of enemies, so can't just kill something and wait
[4:20 PM]Varda: Eonwe is currently in Gaming news. : ) 4:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: On with Gaming proper:
[4:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: World of Warcraft:
[4:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: The 20th Anniversary Celebration begins October 22nd
[4:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: It's going to have a few different currencies, and how to collect them, and how to get discounts, so check that announcement too.
[4:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Rage of the Firelands Update for WoW Classic comes out October 29th, and the Firelands Raid comes November 7th. Rage and raid
[4:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: The Joyous Journeys 50% exp buff is active for Cataclysm Classic. --- The Joyous Journeys 50% exp buff is active for Cataclysm Classic.
[4:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: This week's Bonus Events: Wrath of the Lich King Timewalking and Pet Battles. This week's PvP Brawl: Classic Ashran.
[4:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out This Week in WoW for anything not mentioned above.
[4:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: Check out this week's hotfixes.
[4:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: Hearthstone: Patch 30.6 is out.
With it came a few trinkets.
[4:24 PM]Eönwë Valar: Coming November 5th: the next expansion, The Great Dark Beyond
[4:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo 4: The expansion is out. See the Patch Notes.
[4:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Diablo Immortal: Hallow's Wake is going through November 6th.
[@Eönwë Valar
[Hearthstone: Patch 30.6 is out. With it came a few trinkets.
[4:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: YouTube - Sethekk Halls' Talon King Ikiss dialog
[4:25 PM]Eönwë Valar: Overwatch 2: See what to expect from Season 13: Spellbinder
[4:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lord of the Rings Online:
[4:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: Update 41.3.1 is out.
[4:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: And that's it from me.
[4:28 PM]Varda: Thank you, Eonwe : )
[4:29 PM]Varda: About that update: These are repairs on some of the nice things that were given with the pre-purchase packages, tested on us early folk and should be good to go for all who buy after.
[4:29 PM]Varda: Free +20% Mount Speed (6 hours) Coupon Code: JAUNTYTROT. Now through October 17
[4:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Welcome to the beta
[4:29 PM]Varda: : )
[4:30 PM]Varda: Since I was absent last week, the kin in LotRO report is for two weeks:
Landroval branch
Crickhollow branch:
Treebeard branch:
Angmar branch:
Mordor branch:
[4:30 PM]Varda: So all can get credit. : )
[4:30 PM]Varda: Starcraft 2:
The usual suspects: Eowyn, Fangorn, Floppa, and Faramir. : )
[4:30 PM]Varda: Tabletop gaming: Sauron ran Warhammer 40k Rogue Trader yesterday for Varda and two Tolkien-onlies: RobRoy'sGirl and DocMortrand.
[4:31 PM]Varda: Any other gaming news that we missed? Or requests you'd like to make?
[4:31 PM]Varda: Tolkien:
[4:32 PM]Varda: Here's one for you:
[4:32 PM]Varda: How did Grima Wormtongue gain so much influence in Rohan?
[4:32 PM]Eönwë Valar: Bootlicking? rimshot
[4:32 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Charisma!
[4:33 PM]Eönwë Valar: He probably was a useful person to know at one point.
[4:33 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: One of those Grand Vizier types who is somehow less suspicious than he looks.
[4:33 PM]Varda: One thing to remember is that the place was a monarchy.
[4:33 PM]Varda: Aye. Birth, money are highly probable.
[4:33 PM]Sandalf13: Grima was a good geopolitician...a la the unfortunate German geopoliticians of the 1910s through the 1930s...you can guess the rest.
[4:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Depending on how long ago he was taken by Saruman, he would also have shared in some of Saruman's power of speech.
[4:34 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: But he must have been persuasive on his own as well.
[4:34 PM]Varda: Sounds major, Phar
[4:36 PM]Eönwë Valar: Gandalf supposes he did serve Theoden faithfully at one point. Giving him the most possible benefit of the doubt, he probably thought stronger ties to Saruman would serve Rohan well, tried to broker than himself, and thus was became ensnared by a more powerful orator.
[4:38 PM]Varda: Aye, Grima was most likely already a good advisor at court. And Saruman came to Rohan apparently as the head of the Wise and the Istari. Grima would want to go talk with him. Saruman started off good.
[4:38 PM]Varda: Sort of good at least. : )
[4:38 PM]Varda: But he despaired like Denethor from looking into Sauron's info on the palantir.
[4:38 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: On the side of good anyway.
[4:39 PM]Arien Valar: He wanted to be emperor instead of the emporor .. oh wait thats ' something else no ? scratches head
[4:39 PM]Varda: Saruman no longer had all the memory and power that he had in Valinor, but Sauron had all his own memories.
[4:39 PM]Sandalf13: You all have just given me a fantastic theme to develop in my book...it is so good, it warrants a chapter of its own...Grima Wormtongue: Middle-earth's Master Geopolitician. I believe that Tolkien had a very good handle on the German geopoliticians and rumor-mongers of the 1930s, and included some their "type" in good old Grima.
[4:40 PM]Varda: Glad we could help your inspiration. : )
[4:41 PM]Arien Valar: But yeah he was also after Eowyn and wanted to expand his power from there .. just get Eomund of the way , Theoden is an idiot anyway and well small step seemingly
[4:41 PM]Varda: Saruman, like Morgoth and Sauron, probably did as our Phar suggested and shared some of the power of his Voice with his minion, Grima, along with the persuasion of the prize Grima believed out of his reach.
[@Arien Valar
[He wanted to be emperor instead of the emporor .. oh wait thats ' something else no ? scratches head
[4:41 PM]Eönwë Valar: This and the "Grand Vizier" comment by Phar makes me think of YouTube - Arabian Nights
[4:41 PM]Varda: heh
[4:42 PM]Arien Valar: :)
[4:43 PM]Varda: Good comment, Arien. Another attraction of Eowyn would be her position.
[4:44 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Would've expected the link to be YouTube - Iznogud (Iznogoud) - Intro instead but that works too!
[4:45 PM]Arien Valar: Else , yes i d imagine, he 'd use his seemingly harmless looks to make his opponents underestimate him or the influence he had over Theoden or rather Saruman through him
[4:45 PM]Arien Valar: I wonder whether he dabbled in magic and Saruman used that tendncy
[4:45 PM]Varda: Might be interesting to see what the book says about his actual appearance. Too easy to just imagine the movie version.
[4:46 PM]Varda: Maybe he wanted to use magic, couldn't, and Saruman gave him that Voice with just the power he needed? Speculation, interesting though.
[4:47 PM]Arien Valar: aye for sure
[4:47 PM]Varda: Grima well knew about Saruman and Gandalf.
[4:47 PM]Arien Valar: so he was learned and well educated
[4:47 PM]Varda: Most likely.
[4:48 PM]Sandalf13: As Saruman's trusted agent (at least one of them, and the only such mentioned in the LoTR, although I am sure that Saruman also had other agents among, for example, the Dunlendings) I have no doubt that he was aware of Saruman's antipathy towards Gandalf and the other members of the White Council.
[4:48 PM]Varda: He would have quickly caught on to Saruman's attituce towards Gandalf, seems like.
[4:49 PM]Varda: Saruman knew Gandalf had Valar favor.
[4:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Saruman might also have warned him against Gandalf.
[4:49 PM]Arien Valar: well aye we know of the crebain and the half orcs or quarer orcs in Bree or some humans there
[4:50 PM]Arien Valar: See Harry at the westgate, the owner of Bill the pony and the unnamed southron in the prancing pony
[4:50 PM]Sandalf13: I wonder....now that we are talking about it....I wonder if Saruman even had agents in the Shire PRIOR to the departure of Frodo....it seems very much that Ted Sandyman could have filled such a role...pure conjecture, of course.
[4:50 PM]Varda: Saruman did become Sharkey, leader of the Ruffians in the Shire.
[4:51 PM]Sandalf13: No doubt. So much good stuff to think about that Tolkien never went into in the LoTR!
[4:51 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Interesting. He must have found out about the pipeweed earlier, so why not?
[4:51 PM]Varda: JRRT had to keep to the storyline and hobbits as much as possible, or never be able to publish.
[4:51 PM]Arien Valar: Sandiman maybe? speculation gu leor
[4:52 PM]Varda: Gandalf kept hanging around the Shire, which would bring Saruman's attention that way at least somewhat.
[4:53 PM]Varda: Sandyman would have been ripe for the power that joining up with the ruffians could bring.
[4:53 PM]Sandalf13: It is a good thing that the secret of the One Ring (its ability to make oneself disappear) was not more commonly known among the Hobbits...only Frodo and Merry actually saw Bilbo use the Ring, I am not sure if Sam ever did or did not see it...that way, Saruman's agents in the Shire would have had no knowledge of this interesting fact...
[4:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: If the Hobbit conspiracy had had any agent of Saruman in it, things would've gone bad years earlier
[4:54 PM]Varda: Sam was major in the hobbit Conspiracy.
[4:54 PM]Sandalf13: So Saruman (fortunately) had no knowledge of some strange artifact in The Shire that could make someone disappear.
[4:54 PM]Varda: They would have kept quiet, aye.
[4:55 PM]Sandalf13: Yes...Sam was... but that was after the conspiracy was "formed." Merry wrote that he once did see Bilbo use the Ring, and Frodo knew about it, but I do not think that there is any mention in the text that Sam or Pippin ever saw Bilbo use the Ring.
[4:55 PM]Varda: I would need to re-read, but I think they shared info just between the three of them.
[4:55 PM]Arien Valar: maybe he kept wondering why the enemy turned his attention there, but i wander was why that was prior making a ring of his own
[4:56 PM]Arien Valar: wonder ... i guess autocorrect ...
[@Sandalf13
[As Saruman's trusted agent (at least one of them, and the only such mentioned in the LoTR, although I am sure that Saruman also had other agents among, for example, the Dunlendings) I have no doubt that he was aware of Saruman's antipathy towards Gandalf and the other members of the White Council.
[4:56 PM]Eönwë Valar: Isengard bids five. (LotRO players should get it)
[4:56 PM]Sandalf13: So: Varda's statement about the Conspiracy begs the question: Did Merry tell Sam, Pippin, and Fredegar about the Ring and his observation of Bilbo using it?
[4:57 PM]Varda: Maybe not Freddie...
[4:57 PM]Sandalf13: I suspect that ALL the members of the Conspiracy knew about the Ring...
[4:57 PM]Varda: Now we have to go re-read. : )
[4:57 PM]Eönwë Valar: They discussed it when they revealed their conspiracy to Frodo at least.
[4:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: It would seem odd for the member of the conspiracy, if their goal is to find out as much as possible about what's going on, to keep secrets on the matter from each other.
[4:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: *members
[4:58 PM]Sandalf13: It really was a really small group, so the sharing of knowledge between the members of the Conspiracy was really kind of limited to them...
[4:58 PM]Eönwë Valar: So Fredegar aka "Fatty" Bolger had to have been in the know.
[4:58 PM]Arien Valar: well i think so , Fredegar was there when Merry told Frodo about the Conspiracy , wasn 't he? so he would have heard that Merry actually saw Bilbo using the ring
[4:59 PM]Eönwë Valar: He knew his part was to keep up the appearance that Frodo was in Crickhollow.
[5:00 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Poor Fatty. Those Black Riders showing up on his door...
[5:00 PM]Sandalf13: An underpraised act of true valor by yet another lowly Hobbit.
[5:00 PM]Arien Valar: well as Merry said .. i wouldn't have liked Fatty's job to wait for the enemy to appear
[5:01 PM]Sandalf13: And then later Freddy went ahead and led a rebel band of Hobbits acting agains the Shirrifs and other assoreted minions of Sharkey...he was a true, although underrated, hero.
[5:01 PM]Arien Valar: indeed
[5:02 PM]Sandalf13: That whole episode of the War of the Rings as it played out in the Shire could be a movie of its own...
[5:02 PM]Arien Valar: go ahead , Sandalf
[5:02 PM]Arien Valar: just don't ask Amazon to make it .. cough
[1
[5:03 PM]Sandalf13: I lack the appropriate connections....I wonder if there is someone's ear that I could whisper into...
[5:04 PM]Varda: "A Conspiracy Unmasked"
[5:04 PM]Eönwë Valar:
"'Of course we understand,' said Merry firmly. 'That is why we have decided to come. We know the Ring is no laughing-matter; but we are going to do our best to help you against the Enemy.'" - "A Conspiracy Unmasked"
[5:04 PM]Sandalf13: I can see it now in the bright lights...."The Shire in the War of the Rings"
[5:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Lord of the Shirings.
[5:05 PM]Sandalf13: The Shire at War
[5:05 PM]Varda: Merry had seen Bilbo disappear too
[5:05 PM]Sandalf13: Yes...that is in the text.
[5:06 PM]Sandalf13: So it is "a.u."?
[Note: a.u. is a fan-fic term for Alternate Universe. Sandalf meant to ask if it was "canon", as actually in the main books.]
[5:07 PM]Varda: Merry saw Bilbo escaping the Sackville-Bagginses.
[5:08 PM]Varda: Merry snuck a peek into Bilbo's book.
[5:08 PM]Eönwë Valar: "Escaping" makes it sound like Lobelia was brandishing her umbrella like a sword and it was all poor Bilbo could do to dodge behind a tree and slip the Ring on for the split second he was out of view, heh.
[5:09 PM]Varda: Merry kept his knowledge to himself until that Spring, then they formed the Conspiracy.
[5:09 PM]Arien Valar: amusing hehe .. but thats what she did towards Sharkeys men putting her in jail, wasn ' t ?
[5:09 PM]Sandalf13: The text does not state, however, that Pippin or Sam every saw Bilbo use the Ring.
[5:09 PM]Varda: Sam was chief investigator.
[5:09 PM]Varda: Until he was caught.
[5:10 PM]Sandalf13: So I guess the consensus is (coming bact to our earlier discussion) that the Members of the Conspiracy all knew about the Ring and its abilities once Merry shared his observations and knowledge with them.
[5:10 PM]Varda: It says they knew most of what Gandalf had told Frodo.
[5:12 PM]Sandalf13: Lobelia may be another under-appreciated Hobbit...although Tolkien does state that when she was finally released from prison, she was overwhelmed by the affection shown towards her by the other Hobbits...so much so, that she left her money to the rebuilding of Hobbit homes damaged by Sharley and his men.
[@Sandalf13
[So I guess the consensus is (coming bact to our earlier discussion) that the Members of the Conspiracy all knew about the Ring and its abilities once Merry shared his observations and knowledge with them.
[5:12 PM]Eönwë Valar: At the least by then, yes.
[5:12 PM]Arien Valar: Agreed , Sandalf
[5:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: All she needed was a bit of appreciation.
[5:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: A lil bit of love.
[5:13 PM]Varda: Fredegar does seem to have the same knowledge as the others, as they speak freely with him, and he is helping enormously.
[5:13 PM]Eönwë Valar: Lobelia was just too ornery, and when that got directed at the right people it was appreciated. After that she wasn't so ornery, but part of that might've been not just the cheers of the crowd but losing her son. Hard way to get humbled.
[5:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: A loaded projectile who needed to be aimed in the right direction
[5:14 PM]Varda: Losing him did break her ambition as that was what the ambition was aimed at: something great to leave to him.
[5:14 PM]Sandalf13: I see Lobelia as a sort-of unpopular child growing up, very aware of her family's wealth and influence, and as a result, somewhat off-putting....but she still craved acceptance and real friendships...and did not get them until the very end of her life....
[5:15 PM]Varda: We have reached the hour. : )
[5:15 PM]Arien Valar: oh yeah that happens ...
[5:15 PM]Varda: gavel trips over the hammerpad
[5:15 PM]Varda: whomp!
[5:15 PM]Varda: After-meeting!
[5:16 PM]Varda: Feel free to continue chatting if you like. We wandered a bit from Grima. : )
[5:16 PM]Sandalf13: Hey...chasing down enemy agents and their ilk is always fun!
[5:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, we kinda came full circle with the death of Lotho.
[5:16 PM]Eönwë Valar: I need to reread it, but I got the impression her "partner-in-crime" at least accepted her.
[5:17 PM]Eönwë Valar: And by "partner-in-crime" I of course mean her husband Otho.
[5:18 PM]Arien Valar: speculation Varda and remember the path we followed Grima-->Influnce of Saruman on him ----.> Saruman's influence in the Shire -------> the Hobbit conspiracy
[5:18 PM]Arien Valar: it was at least kind of logic in a way for once
[5:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: So, did Grima cannibalize Lotho or what?
[5:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: What's the consensus?
[5:19 PM]Arien Valar: Saruman seems to hint at that .. gruesome
[5:20 PM]Eönwë Valar: Grima was pretty scared about that insinuation if he hadn't.
[5:20 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Yes, but it might also just be another way to humiliate Grima in his current state.
[5:20 PM]Arien Valar: well it seems at least possible
[5:21 PM]Arien Valar: whether or not must remain yet another speculation but i am not sure whether i want to know that
[5:21 PM]Eönwë Valar: I suspect he did, or at least tried, in desperation and hunger..
[5:22 PM]Eönwë Valar: Even the attempt would be enough to feed guilt, to realize one's fallen that far.
[5:22 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Indeed.
[5:22 PM]Varda: Grima does seem to have been hungry and might have. But just having people think he did was bad enough for his wish to join the Shire.
[5:23 PM]Sandalf13: For our hike today, Eric and I cimbed Rabbit Mountain on the top of the Fountain Formation hogback in the Front Range...some fascinating geology on the way up.
[5:24 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Named for its shape from some angle, or are there many rabbits living there?
[5:25 PM]Arien Valar: anyway .. for me it is time to rertreat for the night. It was fun tonight as always Namarie from me
[5:25 PM]Sandalf13: You are looking at a bedding plane in the Dakota Sandstone, that shows osciallation ripple marks formed by the up-slope and down-slope movementy of the tides (up the beach and down the beach...current is moving in two 180 degree different dirrections...commonly observed on beaches today). Sands deposition by rivers have uni-directional ripples.
[5:25 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie Arien!
[5:25 PM]Sandalf13: These ripples formed on a beach about 130 Ma (million years ago
[5:26 PM]Eönwë Valar: I remember that beach. Great sand, great tan.
[5:26 PM]Sandalf13: Indeed yes...
[5:27 PM]Eönwë Valar: Terrible fishing, unless you like being eaten by a 100-foot halibut.
[5:28 PM]Varda: Arien, namarie : )
[5:28 PM]Eönwë Valar: Sleep well Arien.
[5:29 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie Arien!
[5:29 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: 130M... that was about... larger sauropoda age, right?
[5:29 PM]Eönwë Valar: Plesiosaur tastes just like chicken.
[5:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: Pterasaur tastes just like chicken.
[5:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: Chicken tastes like beef.
[5:30 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Still Jurassic or early Cretaceous? I'm sure borders have shifted in the last few years.
[5:31 PM]Sandalf13: This picture shows the location of the "Great Unconformity" in the Front Range, where the Pennsylvanian Fountain Formation has beeen thrust up by the migmatites and granites of the Front Rhange..the rocks to the right are 325 MA, and the rocks to the left of the line are 1.8 Ga (billian years old). The unconformity goes to the west of the the ridge on the very left hand side of the picture.
[5:38 PM]Sandalf13: A detailed picture of the view from Rabbit Mountain, and my hiking buddy Eric Klein.
[5:39 PM]Sandalf13: The Fountain Fm is Pennsylvanian, and the Lykins and younger Lyons are Permian...the Dakota is the earliest Cretaceous...
[5:39 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Any Dutch roots?
[5:40 PM]Sandalf13: That is quite a bit of geology you are looking at, there...
[5:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Indeed, all mushed up!
[5:40 PM]Eönwë Valar: Time for me to be off. Take care all, good night, sleep well, and have fun.
[5:40 PM]Sandalf13: Except for Eric...he is not geology.
[5:40 PM]Sandalf13: Namarie Eonwe!
[5:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie!
[5:40 PM]Eönwë Valar: Enjoy the Anniversary story.
[5:40 PM]Sandalf13: I shall!
[5:40 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And the art nods
[5:49 PM]Sandalf13: Hey Ar! I am leaving too...I have a dinner date with Eric Klein at a local Chinese Buffet to celebrate our ascent of Rabbit Mountain, and to fill an intense craving for some hot and sour soup with Mongolian Barbecue...will check in later. Sei gesund and Namarie for now!~
[5:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie And enjoy!
[7:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Personal gaming report:
[7:54 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: For (non)flashgaming, this week I'll give Evo Explores
[7:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: A puzzle game where you play a small robot exploring an abandoned world, and finding the story there. The gameplay is making your way through several levels where you can manipulate certain parts of the environment. The levels are 3-dimensional, but in an Escher kind of way, where physics and perspective are not what they seem
[7:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Fun little puzzles, not too difficult, no time crunch or anything, just explore your way through And remember, if you can't see a problem, it isn't there!
[8:17 PM]Sandalf13: Aiya Ar! I can keep you company for a while!
[8:19 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Aiya
[8:27 PM]Sandalf13: Right back at you.
[8:42 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Blizzard gaming:
[8:42 PM]Sandalf13: Lay it on....
[8:43 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Diablo 4: Well, the expansion's here, and I've got it installed, and while I have planned a bit, I haven't actually gone into it yet with my main druid, or started a seasonal character Maybe next week!
[8:43 PM]Sandalf13: See what your schedule looks like...
[8:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Hearthstone: Level 119 on the reward track! More gold rewards for that!
[8:46 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Spent 1000 of it on a new hero skin in the shop, in this case Jade Serpent Thrall, a shaman skin based on Pandaria's jade serpent mythology.
[8:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Also completed the quest event, unlocking 2 other skins: the druid skin Orgrimmar Faelin, and another shaman skin at the end, Overcharged King, based on the Thunder King. Plenty of choices now!
[8:48 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Event will be over in a few days, I wonder when the next one will start. They're certainly coming fast these days.
[8:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I also got my October card back for winning 5 ranked games, the Faire Play cardback.
[8:49 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And as part of the expansion announcement, I got 2 legendary cards for free from logging in: Nexus-Prince Shaffar, and the Avatar of Hearthstone.
[8:52 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: The brawl this week is Aviana's Night: The first card you play each turn is for free. I made a deck full of expensive cards, 7 to 10 mana, mostly minions, so I could plunk down an expensive one for free each turn. It kinda works, but there's also more powerful combinations possible with legendaries of slightly less cost. Still, got a win out of it, so that's enough
[8:53 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Warcraft Rumble: Got a few levels on my minis, but not enough for a new Collection level. We'll see when it happens.
[8:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Been working further on the Ysera event, getting a lot of challenges done, through gameplay as well as the shop. Completed the Arcane Surges needed as well. And ended up with enough currency to buy the legendary core, every bag of gold, and nearly every experience or star-pack on the reward track. Pretty much done on that thing, so I'm not worried about getting the remaining challenges done.
[1
[8:56 PM]Sandalf13: Wow...I tried something new, and a little smiley face popped up after your last entry...cool.
[8:56 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: hehe
[8:56 PM]Sandalf13: he he is right.
[8:57 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: In the dungeon, got my second undead hero, Thalnos, through level 18. No luck with 19 yet, but we'll see!
[8:58 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And in the heroic sigil campaign, I cleared Na'shala the Sandweaver with all families, and the next one, Rok'Alim the Pounder (a rock elemental) with 3 families. At 116 sigils now.
[8:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I did not have as much trouble with Na'shala as expected, the key is mostly focusing on ranged units or swarms of small units. Your minis are squishy, but the enemy only does single-target, so you can break through some weaknesses.
[8:59 PM]Sandalf13: I don't like all this messing with geologic characters..."Sandweaver," and "Rok'Alim the Pounder" - all good geologic names...
[8:59 PM]Sandalf13: Especially a rock elemental. I take that personally.
[8:59 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: haha
[9:00 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Rok'Alim the Pounder not to your liking?
[Wowpedia
[Rok'Alim the Pounder is an earth elemental in Thousand Needles.
[Rok'Alim is called the Pounder by the centaur tribes in Thousand Needles because of the thundering his fists make as he pummels those creatures brave, or stupid, enough to stand in his path.
[9:00 PM]Sandalf13: After all, I too am a rock pounder. as well as a sandweaver, of sorts.
[9:00 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Well, that's the thing about elementals! They don't just work with the stuff, they literally are the stuff
[9:00 PM]Sandalf13: Pretty fearsome looking...
[9:02 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: As for rarity upgrades, I got 2 more minis to Rare, the leader Rend Blackhand and the beast mini Gnoll Brute. Also got the second talent for Rend, with the Gnoll still waiting for his to show up in the shop.
[9:03 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: WoW:
[9:05 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Joined the raiding again! Got high enough gear to actually be helpful in the new raid, cleared a start and end bosses in the normal raid as we've already unlocked the shortcut, and then moved to heroic difficulty, where we've been struggling on a particular boss tonight. But we'll get there! Been getting some good loot as well, putting me at 588 ilevel now. Still a bit below average, but getting there.
[9:06 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Weekly quests are 2 this week, Northrend Timewalking and Pet Battles. Completed both, though the rewards for the quests have not been upgrades.
[9:08 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Lots of Delves this week! Unlocked the quest for Bountiful Delves, also getting a new mount in the process, the Delver's Dirigible. Also comes with unlockable customizations, though for that I need to progress through this season's Delver's Journey. I did get a few nice pieces already though.
[9:10 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Progressed through Delve difficulties from 6 onward, and am now doing Tier 8 only. A bit undergeared, but in tank spec it's good enough if I'm careful. And Tier 8 is optimal anyway for rewards and achievements, except for a couple that require Tier 11 but there's plenty of time for that.
[9:10 PM]Sandalf13:
[9:11 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm also getting coffer keys for bountiful chests through weekly quest events, 3 a week, which I can spend in those Delves as well for a bit of extra reward.
[9:12 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: I'm focusing on Delves where I haven't played through all story versions yet, and completed the stories for the Waterworks Delve already. That's a nice little project as well.
[9:13 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And in the meantime I've leveled Brann, the Delve companion, from 17 to 25! He's getting noticably more powerful, which is nice. If I get a bit more raid gear and Brann a few levels more, higher tiers should not be a problem.
[9:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And finally, completed the trading post for October! Doing lots of activities got it done pretty quickly
[9:14 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Got the Depthstalker jellyfish mount as a reward for that, and bought some stuff as well from there.
[9:15 PM]Sandalf13: Sounds good....and an excellent report, as always. Enjoy a wonderful week! Sei gesund!
[9:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Including a tabard appearance, the Ragged Harvest Golem ensemble, a pet called a Soot-Stained Shalewing, and the Delicate Ebony Parasol toy.
[9:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie, you too!
[9:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Said toy was my 500th toy, getting the 500 toys achievement, with the reward being... another toy! Murglasses, which turns people and npcs into murlocs when you wear them.
[9:16 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: And that's my report for the week!
[9:17 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Next up, more raids, more delves, and hopefully some Diablo 4 before the whole anniversary mess starts with even more WoW activities to do
[9:18 PM]Ar-Pharazon-V: Namarie
[9:18 PM]Sandalf13: NAmarie!
October 14, 2024
[4:23 PM]Eönwë Valar: OK, issues with the code for the Games Site appear to be resolvesd, the State of Valar Gaming Report is visible and not just up, and the Member Tables are working properly. Please make sure your gaming info is correct.
[4:32 PM]Varda: Thank you for all that work, Eonwe!
[4:57 PM]Treebeard: Yes, thanks
[6:30 PM]Eönwë Valar: MP :}
[7:38 PM]Eönwë Valar: YouTube - Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, But Today Is a Gift❣
[7:54 PM]Varda: aww
[7:55 PM]Varda: That's why it's called the present.
Thus ends this week's meeting. Come back and see us next week!