Less math, more ponies!

Alrighty. That last post was a lot of numbers. Let’s change pace. Less math, more ponies! Since it was my birthday recently, I got a new steed or two. Not that I needed a reason to get a steed… just waking up in middle earth is a good reason to go new steed hunting! Here are a few of my recent ones and a few steed pictures I liked.

Here is the Nimble Black Goat. It was the one I got on my birthday. Named Firefoot, this goat is obtained by finishing all deeds in Moria. Those darn kergrims of Skumfil for slayer-deed were the last hold-out.

I started that Moria deed journey at level 60 on February 3, 2011 when I joined a group to enter the Dark Delvings. Derffel, Behni, Tineytim, Augustuss, & Nimitar were there. I think I was supposed to be healing as I was the only healer of the six. Having never healed a group before nor understood the healer traits, skills, or LIs, I can only imagine that I was dead weight in that group. 

April 6, 2012 saw the end of that deed journey as Macrez, Pengladir, Assmunahi and I overpowered and prevailed in Skumfil.

Malledhrim steed. The next day, I went back to Mirkwood and soloed enough repeatables to finally get my Malledhrim steed. It takes 20 Malledhrim gold stars. (I think the repeatables out of Thangulhad and Taur Morvith give 3 gold stars, 25 silver tokens daily... and 25 silver can be traded for 1 gold star). The Malledhrim also have the Smokey Black steed at the same barter price.

There are two steeds available from Stangard. I bartered for the Limlight one, shown here. I will need to go back for the other Stangard one soon. Each barters for 20 gold Anduin tokens. Repeatable quests for gaining gold tokens are... 4 solo quests: 2 in Brownlands, 1 in Rushgore, 1 in the bog east of Rushgore (the queen bug), and 3 fellowship quests in Limlight: 2 at Wailing Hills (spiders and trolls), and 1 to the far west from the ents (tree chopping).

Treasure hunting Goat! I totally need to do a post on the treasure hunt. The lil danas and I had a ball of fun! Of the three steeds obtainable during the treasure hunt, I got only one, this goat. Danadelion got all three; if you let her, she will tell you all about how she is the "hunt-master".

Threanody, who I believe may have hunted at least as much as I did, appears to have fainted from the non-stop digging.

Skeleton Painted steed. After two fall festivals of visiting the haunted burrow, and with all danas searching for nearly 200 visits to the "secret chest" to look for the special skelehorse, I bought this one. Sometimes, when other options run out, you make your own luck. (This link was the first time I had seen it in 2011.... skelehorse post).

Cremello and Green Painted. Here is a shot of MW and I on the Cremello and the green painted steeds. I like the picture. :) (This link was the day I got my Cremello steed... Cremello post).

Hunter steed. I don't usually pass up a steed if i can help it. Here is the hunter steed. I dressed for the occasion to go riding in Dunland. The outfit is the green Rohirrim outfit.

It is hard for my to say that I have a favorite steed. However, my "go-to" steed is the Steed of Minas Ithil. 

Here is MI and me going into a random scary forest. No idea where that is, but it looked pretty and creepy.

And a closeup of us riding around north Dunland somewhere.

Charge! Storming the gates of Isengard!

The next steeds on my to-do list are 

• (1) that other steed from stangard needs a home, for the low low price of 20 Anduin gold tokens, 
• (2) Anniversary steed (Yay! the anniversary party started last night!) requires 40 anniversary tokens, 
• (3) Isengard war steed requires 99 orthanc sigils (looks like I'm 60/99th of the way there),
• (4) Dunedain war steed is obtained by completing all of the deeds in Eriador (I have only Thorog, the Helegrod dragon to beat... "that dragon has my steed!"),
• (5) Wild Mountain goat is obtained by completing all of the deeds of the Savior of Lothlorien: Lumul-nar, Nala-dum, Halls of Crafting, Dar Nadbugud. (I am no where near complete with this one; it is a long-term project.)
• My aware-they-exist-and-currently-so-far-unlikely-as-to-not-make-the-list: Galadhrim war steed (Dol Guldur deeds), Ost Dunhoth war steed (Ost Dunhoth deeds), Horse of many colors (Isengard deeds), Treasure laden steed and Cave-claw masked steed (treasure hunt), Perlino PAX steed (2012 PAX), Red Painted Steed (random loot box), Mahogany Bay and The People's Courser (Rank 9 and Rank 12 Moors steeds), Ale Association goat (AA isn't very nice, and I went with the Inn League).

I think that is it? hahahaha 

...until Asma tells me last night that while opening envelopes, she got a Steed from the Anniversary quest that isn't the anniversary steed. Oy vey! It begins anew...

You'll Yule festival!

Alrighty then! I am alive and well in my new bloggy home! I’m ever so glad that you have made your way here too.

I have so many things in my head to write about… but the first one that I didn’t want to overlook was Yule festival!  “But Dana”, you say… “This is February; it isn’t Yule fest time”. Too-true, too-true… Yule fest did end only three weeks ago due to the unusually long fest duration and we haven’t had another fest, so it still counts. Besides, I really liked some of the pictures. J

Beginning:

To the top of the porch, to the top of the wall… Now dash away, Dash away! Dash away all!

Lead on Cremello Szand! Festival has begun!

So many things to do, so many things to see! Dalyn, put us in the mood with a lil holiday jingle and welcome visitors to Frostbluff.

Abominable 2011

“Mr. Bumble… <poke, poke>. Mr. Bumble, time to wake up…I saw some fresh deer wandering by… the red-nosed ones are extra sweet. Time to get up and play at festival!”

Snowman Army 2011

“Mwah-ha-ha-ha! My snowman army grows larger! Last year we were relegated to the far field. Now we move closer to take over the town. Our numbers grow. Good work to my minion Virgil Greenfield for paying the people to build the army that will enslave them. Beware!”

Dancing

Time to go out with friends and do a lil line dancing! Irialeth, Cherrypop, and I bring the dancing to the people, dancing overhead at the entrance to Frostbluff.

New Horses

Festival steeds! Some of my favorite steeds! Every festival the lil danas and I go out to pick up our festival horses. The strangest thing happened this festival. Hengstacer offered two new steeds this past Yule. That had not happened before. In festival’s past, Hengstacer offers a newly designed tack for the current festival as well as the previous year’s festival. This Yule, there were new two steeds plus the last year’s steed. I’m not sure if someone got overzealous and it came out in err, but there it is. J The grey one with white covering is the first 2011 Yule steed (offered beginning 12/20), and the brown one with blue covering was the second 2011 Yule steed (that showed up at the farm around the first week of January).

A Goat!

I forgot I even had this goat. Goats are a bit unnatural as a steed, but I like them all the same. As I was recalling fond memories of Yule, I came across this picture of me on a Fleet-Footed Goat riding through Frostbluff, so I must have gotten it as a Christmas present from the lotro store and forgotten. What WAS in that Mystery Drink anyway??? I’m going to have to check the stable when I get home to see if I got any other steeds.

A Property Guard

Some of this is coming back to me now. There was a good sale, and who could pass up a good sale? Somechick the “Elf Female Property Guard” was part of the Christmas shopping. She is free to roam, but mostly she just stands there in the yard making sure no dwarves or goats try to swipe mail from the mailbox. You go Somechick! When the lil danas finally move out of my house, it is good to know Somechick will still be there making sure the property is guarded.

Consumables

Oh consumables. The snowballs were fun. You earn them, you throw them, you earn the experience of having the skill to always gather a snowball to throw. Very useful. …but, oh the shocker of three of the other festival skills. Those three were tied to the same Cooldown timer, and that timer was 5 minutes. Since you need 300 for deed completion, that would be 1500 minutes worth of consumabling for EACH of those three. To get all three, it is 4500 minutes. Really? Working alone, that is 75 Hours minimum to complete the consumable deeds? Really? Which silly person came up with that as a reasonable deed?

I express my shock and dismay.

I gave it a shot, working on it several times with others such as Nimitar, Chupachup, Daweirdo, Weimar, Ariahnnas, and Thenarch, but alas, I did not finish those three. I made it about halfway with another 50 each of the three consumables that I stored in the vault for later use. If two other people did the same, and we worked on it another 13 hours, I would finish. But, really? Those will remain the only three festival deeds I have ever skipped.

Danadalyn advises that sometimes one can consume a lil bit too much. Wise words lil dana.

Theatre

The theatre. The theatre is a lot of fun! I look forward to another story from the hobbits next year. Last year, the lil danas and I must have watched or performed that show a hundred times. It does sum up their attitude though. The show is about how Gandalf, the villain, led poor Bilbo off on an adventure. Gandalf is the bad guy, the dwarves are bad guys, yada yada.

Claus was busy with whatever-it-is-he-does and missed last year’s festival. This year’s extra duration Yule let him join in the frivolity. Here is a shot of “the star” meditating backstage.

As much fun as it is to actually perform, sometimes, it is better just to hang out with friends and watch others perform. Here Isilibel, Belile, and I wait in the audience and watch Candykane star as the hero of the show and silence the critics with her moving emotes.

Friends

One thing I have always liked about festival, is that often I see friends I don’t normally see. Festival has a way of bringing people together. Sometimes, I meet new friends there also. Here are a few from Yule.

Tanais. I nearly always see Tanais at festival. She is my friend, and one of the leaders of the Swords and Spirits. I first met Tanais in the theatre last year.

Saeiranos. I met Sae at this Yule festival. She joined the Riders of Rohan during festival and I am glad she is around.

Lynrial. Here is Lynrial talking to Danaish. I’ve known Lynrial longer than nearly anyone else in Middle Earth.

Sparowen. I met Sparowen at the 4th Anniversary party when we were playing in the beer brawl.

Lynrieth. I have known Lynrieth almost as long as I’ve known Lynrial. Mebbe longer.

Nimitar. Here is Nimitar chatting with Danaszar. There are not many that are more determined to make the most of festival than I am. Nimitar of one of those people... without even having to ask, I’m pretty sure he completed his 300 festival consumable deeding.

Cherrypop. Where did I meet Cherrypop? She has always been here hasn’t she? I believe I met and hung out with her at one of the earliest festival I ever attended. She has been my friend as long as I can remember. She is notable as one of the highest ranking RKs in the moors, and her name makes a warg’s fur stand on end and defilers turn grey with dread. I gave Cherry the red skirt in the picture for Christmas. It was lovely but I am not fashion-wise enough to know how to match it. Within a day, Cherry had assembled the ensemble below. Mad skills.

Lobelia, the grinch who nearly stole Christmas

Well, you can’t have festival without a lil drama.

Our heroine, Danadalyn, upon entering Frostbluff could immediately sense something amiss. Why does the guard want ME to bother these poor people who are sitting around town? Why not just put them to work? If they really have nowhere to go here in town, why not head to Bree? There seem to be lots of people doing nothing there. Learn a trade, mebbe? Then you too could stand around Galtrev crafting basement. At least it is warm.

Ah, Danadalyn confronts Banker Archbluff. He blames me for the plight of the poor? Why is it everyone else’s fault Archie? You know what… someone has been messing with your mind… You haven’t been talking to someone named Sarah Oakheart have you? No?

Hmm….

Donning her riding cap, Danadalyn rides toward the Shire.

Yes, as expected, Lobelia might be behind this.

Hmm… she is using an old Shire law, “Whosever resides in the Hill at Bag End shall be charged with the planning of festival activities and shall preside over said activities…”.

Lobelia is pilfering money out of Frostbluff with the help of Mayor Goodnough to line his pockets and bankroll some project.

How to stop her?

Ah-ha!

The Great Smials holds the library of Shire records and the Book of Festival Law. If enough signatures can be signed on this petition, we can vote her out of festival planning. That is a start. But, how to get Lobelia to admit she was wrong and return the money to those citizens of Frostbluff?

I need a bit of help. Time to call on the big man.

With a bit of Yule magic, Danaclaus pulls out a bag of “Dear Danaclaus” letters written by good lil hobbits during the yule season. With a hearty chuckle, he pulls one out of the stack and acknowledges that this opened letter was delivered to him by mistake and that he was returning it to its rightful owner. The letter was written by Lobelia and addressed to Mayor Goodno. Perhaps you can get it to its destination, Danadalyn?

Ha! Caught in the act by your own words. You intended to split the festival profits between yourself and Mayor Goodno! Time to do the right thing Lobelia. Do it for the lil ones like Marigold. (whispers… “show the sad panda face Marigold”). Thus, festival is saved and the people said “Hurrah!”.

End

Fear not, Angels are all around you. Sometimes you just need to look up.

Lil Danas

(archived from December 8, 2011)

Hey hey! A lil downtime there since my last post... I blame the tryptophan (http://hsionline.com/2002/11/27/thanksgiving-drowsiness/) though general holiday bustle is far more likely!

Someone asked recently what the lil danas are up to. They will show up throughout the columns, so I decided to give them their own column as an introduction.

Which lil dana was first? Darn good question. I have no idea, but am certain it was one of four choices. On the lil dana staff, I have four quadruplet hobbits, an elf, two humans, a dwarf, and another hobbit. All except Danaish grouped together to form the Angels. They are a great support staff working primarily in crafting and AH marketing, but each has a unique personality.

One of the quadruplets was first, but getting an answer to who showed up on my doorstep first is like trying to resolve which was born first. Even if I thought I knew, they look so similar I could have been mistaken. Alphabetically, they are Dana Arodel, Dana Boffin, Dana Horn, and Dana Onar. All four hobbits were hired to do “consignment craft quests” (http://lotro-wiki.com/index.php/Quest:Consignment:_Thick_Hides), which have been obsolete for more than a year.

Basically, the hobbits would show up and pay an NPC to gather resources for far cheaper than could be bought on the AH. The only catch would be that you would have to re-show up to pick up your materials at least 40 hours later. It was quite the pain for me to stop what I was doing to go get the consignments, but to have the four sit there and wait on the mats was a perfect job for young entrepreneurial hobbits.

So, with the quest cancellation, Arodel, Boffin, Horn, and Onar went on extended vacation until it was decided that they would become Thorin’s Hall greeters. Since then, they have become very proficient at marketing and make their living buying and selling at AH.

Arodel: She is more of a nature-lover than the others. She might look like just a farmer-girl but she has good fashion sense. Arodel originally worked in Celendim, at the scholar’s enclave. She now manages the entire clothing line and advises the rest of the danas on how to dress. The quads tend to dress in festival attire, while many of the others have tended toward fashions out of Dunland.

Boffin: She knows how to work a deal, watching the markets to buy when commodity prices fall and resell when she can turn a profit. Of the four, Boffin has the best head for business. She originally worked out of the Shire in Overhill, very near where they were born. She manages corporate dana-buys and sales.

Horn: True to their first jobs, Horn kept in the crafting line. While none of the four actually know how to craft, Horn keeps up with craft related sales, which include recipes that look like that might turn a profit and crafted items from other danas when coin is in short supply. She originally worked east of Bree.

Onar: She is the festival and housing accountant. If ever I need to know, “do we have…x”, Onar will know the answer. Her job transition was easiest; her consignment job was near Thorin’s Hall. Now all four sisters work together there.

Danaish: Danaish was the next lil dana. Danaish is the only lil dana that is a Rider of Rohan; in fact, she was in the rider kin nearly a year before I was.

Danaish has been out and about and was once known as Sno White of “Sno White and the five Chees”... but that is a story for another day.

Here is a picture of Danaish’s first visit to Rivendell. She attended the Riders of Rohan 4th Anniversary party, in which the Riders rode from Thorin’s Hall to Rivendell. This shot is Danaish dancing the afternoon away with others on Elrond’s front doorstep.

Like the other lil danas that came after her, Danaish loves to craft and loves the festivals! If you go to festival, you are likely to see her.

I first met Danaish when she tried to pick my pocket in Bree. Rather than vaporize her, I opted to rehabilitate her. The Riders gave her a home, I set her on the path toward becoming a jeweler, and now she is a productive contributor spending most of her time in Esteldin. Undoubtedly, she has not forgotten her Burgling roots and may someday put those skills to use.

I will tell you more about Danaish's origin down below and her ties to Archet. For the moment, I will show you one of her favorite tops I sent home from Dunland; it was a sleeveless green-trimmed blouse.

Danadelion: Danadelion is a champion and has the attitude to match. It shouldn’t be a surprise that she is the Head Angel, leader of the lil danas group. She is fearless, except when it comes to bugs. Please don’t tell her what lies within Skumfil.

As a metalsmith, she has proven to be a dominant crafter. Like most crafters, she could settle down and make her living as a master of the forge. She is leading the lil danas to greater things, including a large house in Duillond within a few months. Here is a shot of Danadelion shortly before she organized the lil danas toward the common goal of buying a bigger house. Danadelion called first dips on the yellow star blouse from Dunland. It fits her style and attitude.

Danaszar: Danaszar is a very laid-back hunter. She is the only elf on staff and we share a common bond of having both come from Lorien. The only thing that gets a good rise out of her is the competition of seeing just how fast she can get through the festival races: horse races, Bree maze races, Shire haunted burrow races. Otherwise, Danaszar is very low-key and takes her time; in fact, she is a hunter that knows very little about porting; she rides where she needs to go. True to her low-key nature, she can often be found in a Rohirrim red outfit.

Danaszar is also good with her hands, a real top-notch wood crafter. Mostly, she hangs out in Esteldin waiting for the next festival and managing wood inventory and wood craft.

Danaclaus: Danaclaus is one of the newest members of the lil dana family, joining the danas less than a year ago. He is a jolly old dwarf and the only male on staff. He seems wise and patient, a good Guardian of the group, protecting the others.

Through experience, he has learned that one can indeed get into trouble out in this world. He and Danaszar are the only lil danas to ever meet defeat; hers was due to being very under-geared as she cut a path toward Esteldin to setup Shoppe. Danaclaus knows the moment he met his match. In the Lonelands, he stumbled across Asht, a higher level elite warg, who had other wargs around him. It was a good lesson indeed... that tanks are NOT indestructible.

Recently, as December rolled in, Danaclaus started getting very busy crafting things, and he was making lists and started checking those lists twice.

Last Delion heard, Claus took off on his Cremello pony Dasher, saying that he had to attend to some business up North for a few weeks and would be back before January.

Danadalyn: Danadalyn really joined the lil danas full time around Fall festival. She really livens up a room with her stories about adventures in Middle Earth and likes to play games and jokes on others (Fun Fall Festival, Friends!). I am told, she is quite the performer, getting the patrons of the Prancing Pony to pay attention.

She is really kind to all she meets and will talk to anyone, sheep included.

I taught Danadalyn to ride recently; she has taken to it like a hobbit to food. With her rise in skill, like the other lil danas, she too got to buy fall festival steeds and is looking forward to winter festival. Here she is on a Rohirrim steed. She chose a white long jacket from the clothes I sent back from Dunland. 

Of all the lil danas, Dalyn is the one I understand best. She is no rune-keeper but is close enough that I understand her. She knows when to hit, how to hit, when to run, and when and how to heal. She is an adventurer after my own steps. Here is Dalyn facing down a bear near Bree; fearless right? :)

Archet Ties: I have known for a long time that Danaish came out of Archet, but I didn’t really get the full story until I hired Dalyn recently.

Danaish, now a teenage girl, is or was the daughter of Ned and Peg Pruner of Archet. Before Archet’s burning, Ned was the jailor of the settlement and his wife Peg was a local supplier of simple goods. They made a decent living in the small community just northeast of Bree. I won’t go into the entire story of how Archet burned, many of you know it and I couldn't do justice to Dalyn’s ballad if I tried, but the gist was that Danaish’s father was killed. Dalyn found his body while following Jon Brackenbrook’s team into Archet as it was burning. Danaish’s mother hasn’t been seen since the fire and is presumed dead.

Danaish escaped the fire, but was haunted by the nightmares of carguls. She turned up in Bree a year later gaunt and starving, trying unsuccessfully to become a pickpocket.

Danadelion was a guard working in Archet for Captain Brackenbrook. When Amdir betrayed the Captain, Delion cowered in fear amidst the fire and watched the decimation of the town and death of her friend. After Archet, she started working as a guard against the Blackwolds in Bree and eventually became good enough with blades to venture forth and do more. She takes personal responsibility for Danaish, undoubtedly feeling shame related to her failures at protecting Danaish’s parents and the Captain of Archet.

As for Dalyn? She persevered to tell the stories of those who fought and died at Archet. She knew them all or seems to be able to fill in details with plausible stories. Whenever, the ale starts flowing in the local taverns, rest assured, you just might catch Dalyn telling the tales of Jon Brackenbrook, Atli Spider-bane, Constable Thistlewool, Cal Sprigley, and Ned Pruner.

If you like festivals like I like festivals, you will most likely see the lil dana team around. Feel free to say hello! Soon enough Delion will get her way and move the team out to the country... but that is another story.

(I love comments, and kept the comments from the original posting, reposted @ final-comments)