Slowly but surely making my way through the Lone Lands at last. It was my stopping point the last time I played Lotro back in 2007, before I ended up leaving the game to join a raid group in WoW.

So here I am again, on a new toon, my Rune Keeper and I’m not doing so bad. I had made a minstrel my main toon before but I’m thinking Laerdis just might stay my main at this point. She’s pretty darn self sufficient.

I’ve been able to take down mobs 3-4 levels over her. Signature mobs haven’t been much of a struggle. And even that darn pesky Lalia in Barrow Downs didn’t die when I soloed that quest last night. Dang, I couldn’t solo that on my Minstrel at lvl 24, yet Laerdis did. I was quite shocked. I always want to leave that little girl in the Barrows after she gets me killed over and over until I find a group for it. Someone needs to show that girl the way home and staple her dress to a chair.

But back to the Lone Lands…barren, desolate, dry, dangerous, darn right lonely it feels. You can feel the dark shadow that is following Strider and the hobbits on their way to Rivendell. You can see the affect it’s having on the inhabitants and their struggle to survive.

I will be glad to finally work my way through and see what comes next. It’s very exciting!

Make sure you say that with a Scottish accent, now.

One class I’ve never played is the much-talked about Captain. Well, “much talked about” in my guild. And maybe it was only because I brought it up

*shrug*

So I made one finally. Got her to level 10. Got my herald (aptly named Harold).

Hmmm…

*fiddles with papers on desk*

Hmmm…

*gets a cup of coffee*

Not sure what to say yet. Okay, maybe just hitting level 10 and getting my Herald isn’t enough to form much of an opinion, but I haven’t fallen in love yet. The spell combinations just don’t feel fluid yet. The cool-downs seem to hamper they way the character flows from my fingers to the screen.

My daughter LOVES her Captain. She hardly plays anything else.

Hmmm…Maybe someone can give me some encouragement to keep going…lol.

Two posts in one day. What’s come over me??

Must be PIE!!

I managed some online time last night and had a great deal of fun running pies to and fro in the shire. I have to say, when I first started playing Lotro back in open beta, I didn’t have much love for hobbits.

Shameful, I know.

Now I can’t get enough of hobbits. The Shire is such a peaceful place to level up. Running the post here and there, saving people from eating spoiled pies.

Oh yes, there is the heroic slaughtering of wolves and pigs and bears, and even goblins and nasty dourhands, but the fun little quests like trying to quell the Ghost of the Old Took, or getting fireworks for Lobilia Sackville-Baggins or collecting eggs from chickens. There’s just a simpleness to it all that really hits home after a long day at work.

Just like farming pipeweed or strawberries!

No, no, this is not a philosophical post.

I was just bemoaning the fact how life can sometimes get in the way of some of those small things we really enjoy, like playing Lotro.

In fact, it’s been so busy lately, that I’ve had no time to play nor post anything here.

Enough bemoaning, what have I enjoyed over this past week?

I’ve engrossed myself (and my daughter) in rewatching all the Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings movies (extended versions) and finished up rereading The Fellowship of the Ring.

Awesome and exhilarating!

Some major major differences between the books and movies but when I watched the behind-the-scenes commentaries, I began to understand why they made some of the changes they did. Not that I agreed with it but I was finally able to give up hoping for a literal adaptation of the books and allow for more of a artistic license in the adaptation that Peter Jackson did.

In that vein, it’s really given me a better appreciation for the faithfulness Turbine has given to the books and for the HUGE job it was to take what was on paper and translate it into this game.

Now if life will just slow down a bit so I can enjoy it more

Well, life took me away from the game for a few days. Got to keep my new little granddaughter while my daughter-in-law was in the hospital. Totally out of practice and exhausted!

But I did manage a tiny bit of online time on my hubby’s computer last night (grand baby’s crib is in my computer room) and got my rune-keeper up to 20. I was happy to find my UI settings were saved server side so I didn’t have to reset everything just for an hour or two of play time. Way to go, Turbine!

I have noticed, or maybe it’s just my lack of planning but I do a whole lot more running around in Lotro than I ever did in WoW. Then again, I’m not trying to level fast and I tend to prospect and chop wood and pick strawberries and get myself all off track.

It takes a conscience effort to not drop quests because they are out of my way or time consuming. It’s good practice in being mindful and just enjoying myself and the game rather than getting into the WoW mindset of “hurry up and get to the end”. I find I really do enjoy the game a whole lot more when I let myself just relax and enjoy the long walk.

The Rune-keeper, though. The more I play her the more I love her. She’s awesome soloing and I find the ability to heal myself and others indispensible (naturally). Healing classes have always been my preference so I do have a little Minstrel Hobbit in the works. I’ll have to start playing them “side by side”, so to speak, to see which class I prefer.

I just finished The Hobbit the other day. Yeah, I read it when I was little but I really didn’t remember much.

What an awesome book!

Then I ’stole’ the first volume of The Lord of the Rings from my daughter to reread it since the last time I read it was just before the movies came out. I remember skipping over some parts and rushing my way through so I would beat the movie.

Not this time.

And OMG!

Definitely a different “feel” than The Hobbit - there was a lightness and jovial quality in The Hobbit. The Fellowship feels much more serious from the start.You already get a sense of the burden Frodo is to bear from the beginning.

But since I’m now playing Lotro, I can actually “see” things in a whole new light while reading it. And I feel like I know the characters a bit already just from interacting with them in game. The movies really didn’t do much for me that way, but the game has really brought the books, the whole world of Middle Earth, to life in a way I didn’t imagine

When Frodo, Sam and Pippin met Gildor while on their way to Buckleberry Ferry, I was like “I know you!!! You saved my little hobbit from the Black Rider with Bounder Boffin.” And then Fredegar Bolger, again “omg I know you! You were at Crickhollow.” And then Bill Ferny (boooo), “I know you. You are with Sharkey and his men, and were making poor little Adso pay protection money. What are you doing in the Prancing Pony? Watch out Frodo!”

The movies didn’t do that for me, not like the game is doing. The books are so much more enhanced because of the faithfulness of the game developers and they way the have incorporated everything.

Thank you Turbine!

I remember when I first started gaming, the fun seemed to come from the “ding” and progressing as quickly as posssible. Getting to that level cap was the end-all, be-all of the game, and being able to raid with the big boys and girls.

Maybe its because I’m older now or maybe it’s because I’ve “been there, done that” or maybe its a whole host of other things but leveling fast and getting loot and raiding are just not at the forefront of my mind anymore.

I find myself wandering in game, clicking on doors to see if they open, clicking on npc’s to see what they say, staring at the sky trying to find constellations (I found Orion last night!), listening to the rain or watching the snow fall, composing screen shots from all different angles trying to capture that perfect sunrise, and just enjoying being in a beautiful environment while chatting with my Kinmates.

Endgame is so far from my mind at this point.

There is something wonderful in just taking my time and wandering, and not really getting anywhere.

Title: Music and Fun
Location: Bree
Description: Music session on Elendilmir in Bree
Start Time: 21:00
Date: 2009-04-22

I found myself fascinated with the little tiny runes that float up when Laerdis casts spells. I’d love to see if I can write them down and figure out if they mean anything.

I thought about taking screenshots and zooming in but Fraps might be a better way to capture them. Then going in slow motion to see if I can write them down. I’ll have to download fraps and see if it works.

Well, the things you discover wandering the internet

Guess it fits one of my favorite quotes..”There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after.” - J.R.R. Tolkein

I’ve come to grips with the fact I’m older than a lot gamers but luckily I’ve found a group of like minded individuals (wave to my kinmates in Avaro Naeth) to share my adventures in Middle Earth with.

This is really an awesome perk that Turbine put in for players of Lotro. I plan to use it to chronicle what I experience and find along the way while leveling up my Rune-Keeper and my host of alts.