Storytelling: Book 3, Chapter 3 - Fallen Once More

Mincham asked me to quickly return to Halbarad in Esteldin. He explained that because Angmar had captured such a crucial spot all of the North was in danger. The Ranger also hinted at a greater evil in the hallowed halls of Fornost, but when I pressed him, he declined to say more.

It took me longer than I expected to get to Esteldin. I stayed at a farm for a day because the farmer, allegedly the last of the North Downs, refused to give up his land to marauding orcs. I knew he would not last, but he also wouldn't budge. So I helped by killing a small outfit of orcs and returning the stolen grain. The sound of Aegrist's razor edge slicing through the rain and orcs is one I will not soon forget. I hope to return to the farmer after I deal with the Rangers of Esteldin for he is a survivor, and our world needs such tough and hardy men as he.

Halbarad gave thanks for the information, as dire as it was. His tone was respectful, but I could not understand how he could say such words without the sting of sarcasm. With the threat of three separate orc tribes, and the Rangers fighting mainly against the occupation of Dol Dinen, Halbarad believed the only way the North Downs could stand a chance was to call the people of the North Downs to council.

Moondog: Fishing in Evendim

Fishing is one of a Hobbit's favorite pass-times. And few places in Eriador are more serene and beautiful than lake Evendim.

LOTRO Videos

Ravric: Troll's Teeth

First, check out Disseminated's post containing a new first for our humble blog: VIDEO. There is a deed in the Lonelands that requires you to kill level 24-26 elite trolls from the Balt-Olog clan. To complete the deed through both stages you need to kill 180 of the fat beasts.

I set up my first event with my guild Council of the Secret Fire to just try and have a good time grinding together. I was a little worried about whether it would be fun or tiresome because normally the grinding activities are done solo.

It was a lot of fun. We started with four or five people from the guild, and we had our core group including myself, but players started rotating in and out depending on how many they wanted to kill, etc. The best part was we also had a burglar in our group, a person that can make fellowship maneuvers. Fellowship maneuvers are very powerful events that require the coordination of every member of the group to get the most juice of the event. Basically when a fellowship maneuver pops up every person in the group can pick 1 of 4 colors, and the order which those colors are picked creates a certain fellowship move. It is almost like a simple mini-game within the overlying game.

It felt to me that this was a taste of what Public Quests coming in Warhammer Online would feel like. As you stayed longer throughout the Public Quest you would begin to develop more of a relationship with others that stayed longer, however, new blood would continuously be coming in. So, I think even if you are doing a repetitious activity, this style of play keeps it fresh.

I look forward to more activities like this once in awhile. It makes grinding things out a lot more fun.

Moondog: Smiting Trolls in Harloeg

The foul abominations were running amok down in the swamps of the Lone-lands. Sure, they didn't bother anyone there, but it was clear they were gathering in preparation for an attack on the civilized realms!

Luckily Ravric mustered Councilmen Moondog, Lorthalin, Ferimgard, and some local allies to go clean up that mess!

Storytelling: Book 3, Chapter 2 - The Gates of Fornost

We stood at Mincham's camp for a time staring out across Fornost Fields. It seemed as if the sun was still determining whether to appear that early morning or whether Angmar's darkness had crept a little further towards the sunny Bree-lands.

Something being ambushed and killed in the Fields broke Mincham's reverie, and the Ranger asked me to scout out Norbury Gates for agents of The Enemy.

I was glad I was in that mythical time when the nocturnal hunters are heading to their dens and the beasts of the day had not yet awaken because my journey to the Gates was swift. The taint of orcs and the smell of wargs was immediately apparent. The fires of the orcs guided me towards their deaths.

And the wargs, guarding the gates on padded feet, I found. They died as well, although their tough animal bodies were a little stronger than the orcs. Their forms were twisted and crushed as I stepped over them to attack another group of orcs.

My arms began to tire from the slaughter. Even with the blessed strength of my Club of the Champion, with its unearthly red glow, I felt that were an alarm to be raised to a larger force. I would have to retreat a coward.

The mission, though, was complete. I had seen enough to tell Mincham, and so returned to him. I hoped to see the sun rising in my approach, but it seemed my heart was not hopeful enough.

I gave Mincham the dire news, but he seemed to already know. His days of glory were over, and now he was a mere peddler of information. I was sad as he gave me his cloak. It was a resignation of fate. I wish I could have offered him my cloak sewn by the light I know as Goldberry, but my journey is not yet over.

Storytelling: Book 3, Chapter 1 - Ranger of the Fields

Halbarad and I discussed the news of Estelding, the North Downs, and the world beyond through the night. Angmar, to the east, was beginning to grow in power, but Halbarad had heard there were orc tribes moving throughout the many fronts of the North Downs. The falled capital of Arnor, Fornost, was a crucial holding point for the battles raging throughout the North Downs. Halbarad asked me to meet with Mincham, an Esteldin Ranger, camped to the south of Fornost.

I left Esteldin just before sunrise. The farms I passed were seemed more empty than ever. It was a horrible thought that the Free Peoples could not protect the farms, which provided food and warmth to all. It was a worse thought that the farms of the North Downs foreshadowed Bree-land's fate.

I got to Mincham's camp just as the sun was waking. The Ranger's camp was breaking their fast with their fire already well stoked for the coming morning. Mincham told me that he believed Fornost was now occupied by the forces of Angmar. I knew of the spectres and shades that haunted the fields of Fornost, as I had combated them many a nights. It was in my quests to redeem the lost Men that I had first met Mincham and members of his small outpost.

The Ranger asked that I scout Fornost because he was unsure whether a small company had holed up in the old city, or whether a entire tribal army of Angmar had occupied it as a staging ground to start pushing south to Bree.

The Playstyle of I, Gamer (part 1)

This blog has completely changed the way I play MMOs. Not all the time, but more often than not I am playing Lord of the Rings Online with an eye towards this blog.

The first thing that evolved rather quickly was my screenshot usage. To be honest, I feel that I get some pretty good shots, but those aren't just dumb luck. I try and find good angles, good action moments, etc. while I am playing. It also does rely on dumb luck. This warg screenshot found in this post took me a few minutes to get the angle correct and make sure a warg spawned where I needed it. Then as I fought it I continually spammed the screenshot button, and I got about 20 screenshots for the fight. That's part of the process. If you get a load of screenshots, one or two will be gems.

For my screenshot taking style here are my tips:

• Take a ton of screenshots. When I play in high-energy/intensity areas, I turn on a screen capper program as well to take a screenshot every 20 seconds.
• Keep the camera a little closer to your character than you normally would. My conventional playstyle is to zoom all the way out to gain the best zone control, and the 50 pixel tall character makes for horrible screenshots to pass on to you.
• Spin the camera. I even have trouble with this one because it does require more conscious effort.

If I had one wish for LOTRO it would be to have repeatable content far more accessible for my Storytelling posts. I have not played through LOTRO, and sometimes I do miss good or crucial moments. For example, when I was playing through Book 2, Chapter 8 the group leader moved the story on before I had a chance to click on Danassen. I figured out what happened by reading my quest log and re-clicking on Danassen to get a dumbed down version of having to kill Neven, but I still missed it. There was also a lot of better text and actions throughout Book 2, Chapter 8 that I would have preferred to capture, such as Radagast spearing Ivar with lightning.

My wish is something I am looking forward to for Warhammer Online and Guild Wars 2. Warhammer Online will have an epic storyline similar to LOTRO's, which may or may not be repeatable, but the game will also have Public Quests, which are bite-sized, repeatable quests with a small bit of story to them (amplified in the Tome of Knowledge). Guild Wars 2 is going to have an event system that seems (with the very little we have heard) take the Public Quests of WAR and turn it into a more organic cause and effect system.

Regardless, LOTRO is very deep and rich, and I have plenty of material. My playstyle did have to change a little in order to get some better screenshots, but when I pull up the folder with 100-200 screenshots from the last hour or two of playing, it is like reviewing those great moments again. Even if you don't run a blog or care about journaling your character's efforts through an MMO, you might want to consider running a screen capper while you play just to see what pops up.