Sunday, January 27, 2013

Winter musings

I must admit, I have not been very busy lately.

I seem to have lost some of my mojo for Rohan.  Maybe it is the lack of challenge. Maybe it is just the time of year when I start wanting a change of scenery.  Recentlly I even spent a few days exploring a galaxy far far away.  Quite an interesting visit but not a long term move for me.

Speaking of scenery, I recently stopped in Snowbourn, a city in Rohan, and I have to say I am really liking the place.  Very pleasing on the eyes, reasonably well laid out.  Lots of trees and nice architecture and of course a land where they worship beautiful horses.  I could see myself setting up a little weaponsmith shop and retiring for a few months.  I am still an awesome champ and I have enemies that need vanquishing but maybe for a few weeks or rmonths I will just relax and enjoy the luxury of this pretty town.


My buddy Storbjorn recently sent me another photo of himself from Forochel. Apparently he is having similar thoughts about that cold nasty place.  Luckily we are not related or I would be questioning my gene pool.

In any case he seems to be liking the place.  He has the social graces of a barghest so maybe I shouldn't be surprised.  Based on the photo I would say he is going native.  He told me he is almost considered "kin" with the locals so I guess that answers that.


I should be nice to him as technically he is my leader as the founder of Something Something Taters; the kin I came over with from our old home on Gladden.

And of kins and kinships, I recently received an informal invitation to join that most august and prestigious kinship, The Lonely Mountain Band.  I have to say I am tempted.  I have joined them a few times recently on their Sunday night raids and they have all proven to be very nice people to work with.  I would definitely enjoy thier company going forward into the future.  My only real reservations are two fold.  One is that I am the last of the Taters, a small and most excellent kinship that at its height was composed of six or seven people.  Small though they were, they were very tight, very professional, and very fun to work with. That group has long since dwindled away.  One of my last remaining kinmates recently had to take a break due to the blanking out illness that has infected so many people since the Rohan campaign began.  Another left for the the Lonely Mountain Band which is how I came to participate in some of their recent activities.

My second reservation is that while very nice and helpful and mature everyone from the Lonely Mountain Band has been, I can't help but notice just how BIG they are.   There are hundreds of people actively participating and I don't know if that is really my style.  Maybe I am just spoiled by past experience with my old small highly skilled team that were available every day.  I am just not sure how I will fit in with a kinship that has rules and recruitment procedures (beyond "if you keep the mini alive  you're in") and actually hierarchies of organization.  It just seems so formal and bureaucratic and there will always be people in there I don't know on a first name basis.  That all seems very strange for me.

And then again, I am the last of the Taters and really the Taters are gone.  I need to move forward and seek new horizons.  And it is just a little bit of a shame that with all my skills I have no one in my groupings to pass them on too.  No matter how excellent I am I cannot make an empty kinshouse ring with my excellence.  Maybe the Lonely Mountain Band needs me to show them what a champ unleashed can really do.

Or maybe not.

-Andu

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Is LOTRO too easy?

I think that answer has become "yes".  I don't want to turn the blog into a whine fest but I did a little experiment in Rohan yesterday to test my point.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Belated Holiday Movie

Well, the release date was a bit late for the season but BBB raised the standard yet again with this one.  You might be sick of Jul carols about now but I bet if you sucked it up for the first 15 seconds this video would hook you in.



Look for my stellar cameo that really sends the point home I think ;-)

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Happy New Year!

It has been brought to my attention that perhaps I have taken this whole Landroval socialite thing a bit too far.  My critics might have a point.  I haven't swung a sword in anger in... months?   I am a bit better at dancing though so I have not been totally unproductive.  I suppose that only reinforces my critics' point however.

My New Year's resolution is to balance my dancing lessons with more orc smooshings.  I will begin right after the Julfest is over.  I needs my snowballs ;-)

I have strived to make myself a bit more fashionable since I have been on Landroval.  Not too much.  I am no spring dandy but I did pick up a few items that help me look sophisticated and refined while cleaning tables, rousing snow beasts and making snowmen in Frostbluff.


I brought my sister along this year.  She doesn't get out much and instead prefers keeping up with my house. In case you haven't seen her yet (and you wouldn't unless you visited my home or ran into her last week in Frostbluff) here is a picture of my sister Cynnamin.


If you try to flirt with her you will have me to answer to.  Just keep that in mind.

Cynnamin does a pretty good job of keeping house.  This year she used some hobbit Jule wall decorations and I really like them.  The season is about over but I am not sure I want to take them down just yet.  Here is a picture of my greeting hall.

 ... and my office.




Now that I have become a famous Landroval actor I was invited to help out with the theatre in Frostbluff.  In just a few days I managed to play every role several times earning myself heaps of new titles.  I stacked them on my title heap back home.

Speaking of acting.  I was called in at the last minute to star in a BBB moving picture.  My role was to have my head cut off so I am quite interested in seeing what else happens in this picture.  No doubt ladies will weep everywhere when that picture is released.

While attending the festivites in Frostbluff I ran into my accolyte Brorlion Badaxe and his companion Framrolf.  They were busy bashing each other with snowballs so I didn't hang around long.  My snowball throwing is legendary and I thought it better to let the boys play alone.



To wrap up the year I created a short picture montage of my life this past year.  All in all it was a good year.




Next year, more orc smooshing and less dance lessons.  Too bad as the lovely Bethyn Swan was just teaching me some new instruments  and I was thinking of starting my own band.  Well, maybe I can just busk a little here and there.  No harm in that.  I can still make my presence felt in Rohan while doing a little jig and strumming a theorbo.  Or squeezing sweet sounds out of a bagpipe - even better!

Happy New Year all and I hope this year is as good to you as this last one was too me.  See you in Rohan, (or maybe at the next concert outside the Pony)

-Andu