Club Eclair II: Into Moria

[Craiden]

Dear diary,

We had to leave Issuriel behind in Ost Galadh, as she was still very weak. So only Achardor, Cucheron, Sigileth, Bróin and I went. I still don't know where the Greyhammers are. But it's fine, maybe Bróin sent them on some other secret mission.

We got there without any incident, but Bróin was still pretty exhausted from his long endeavor to find the flower. He leaned on his stick, trying to catch his breath when Achardor called me over. He had also noticed that Bróin was at his limit and wanted me to tell him that it may be best if he remains behind during the exchange. But I should do it without hurting his feelings. Again Achardor mentioned how much he regretted what he had said earlier of the dwarf. "He has proven himself to me and the others for the rest of time", he said. And, while he initially went on this mission to avenge his brother, he now has another, much better, reason: "We will do this for Bróin now". When I asked Bróin to stay behind, he, to my surprise, readily agreed. Even laughed. I had expected him to protest and say he wouldn't have come all the way to miss out on the moment we get Bori back. But no, he just said it's ok. I guess he must have been really at the end of his tether.

When we walked up to the gate, Mazog begged us again to set him free, clearly afraid. Of course this was not an option and I didn't feel sorry for him at all. The gate was now guarded by an Uruk and two large trolls in full battle gear. The Uruk demanded to know who we are and why we have come and Achardor explained that we were to trade Mazog for the lives of the dwarves imprisoned in Dol Guldur.



The Uruk asked us to wait and sometime later returned with the sorcerer and three dwarves.They looked emaciated and as if they had been heavily abused. Sadly, I never got to know their names. None of them was Bori though and I had a bad feeling about this.

The sorcerer told us right away that he is not interested in our offer and that he has no use for Mazog. "King of nothing" he called him, ha, and Mazog flinched at hearing this. But since it would amuse him to hold in his dungeon, he would accept the offer nonetheless. Achardor then asked about Bori and said that we can't accept unless we also get him. The sorcerer apparently enjoyed the game he was playing with us, as he nonchalantly informed us that Bori is not part of the deal.



And then he spoke a spell, the same he had spoken in Zabadgathol so long ago. We could not move. "You think this is not a fair trade? You get three dwarves for the life of only one orc. But maybe you are right, maybe it is not fair." And Gorothul walked over, and stood behind the three dwarves he had brought. And he slew one of them right in front of our eyes, and there was nothing we could do about it. "Perhaps you are right, perhaps this deal was not fair. How about these two then for Mazog?" he said gleefully and commanded Mazog to walk over, while Cucheron beseeched him to show mercy.



But this was not the end of his malice. He snickered as he told us that he is not even authorized to accept our offer. He is only a guest in Dol Guldur and not its master. And then three black-robes figures glided down the path from the tower above and stood behind him.



And dread passed over us. The Nazgûl Fuirgam had mentioned! THREE of them! And since our deal would therefore be void, he commanded some archers perched above to shoot and kill the other two dwarves. The arrows came flying in and the dwarves dropped. One word from the sorcerer and we would also be dead.

But then a miracle happened. Bróin, who must have watched everything, came running up and struck the sorcerer with his axe. He dropped to his knees and lost his concentration I guess, for we could suddenly move again. And Achardor cried: "I will defy you and your master!", and he ran up to the Nazgûl. "Achardor, no!", Bróin yelled, but it was too late. With a quick blow, one of them smote him down.



There was nothing we could do, but run. These were way beyond our abilities. And the Uruk and the two trolls were also closing in on us.
We simply had no other choice. We ran without looking back until we made it to Ost Galadh, where we collapsed near the gate. Cucheron sat down on the roots of a tree, utterly heartbroken and beyond consolation.

He said the Nazgûl that had killed Achardor was the Lietenant of Dol Guldur, second only to the With-king himself. Not sure how he'd know that, maybe it was the blade he wielded. Sigileth stood nearby, repeatedly kicking a rock. She had not spoken a single word since we made our escape and I did not dare to approach her.

And Bróin was also devastated. "It is over, Erikin", he said. "So many have died, and Bori is still languishing in the dungeons of Dol Guldur. We cannot fight the Nazgûl. We have failed." And I could see the sadness and resignation in his eyes. I thought about the three nameless dwarves who I've never gotten to know and their fate and how horribly they must have been treated. Who were they? Their mangled bodies and the frightened look in their eyes will haunt me forever. We should build a statue for them.

And Achardor... He was so ashamed and tried to redeem himself when he took on the Nazgûl. Not in the eyes of the others, I think, but for himself. His courage and bravery in the face of ultimate evil will always be remembered. Bróin knows it too. "He gave his life so we could get away. We shall never forget him." This won't be much comfort for Nurelleth back in Lothlorien though, who now has not only lost her husband, but also her brother.

Sigileth went to tell Issuriel what happened and they wish not to be disturbed in their grief. The Hidden Guard has failed. We are disbanding. I wished Bróin and Cucheron the best of luck.

I will now look for my friends, hoping they are still around somewhere. From what I've heard they had been sent to Thangulhad, the part of the battlement of Dol Guldur that was captured by the Elves. Even though we will not get Bori back, I will do everything in my power to avenge him and the members of the Hidden Guard. I will fight and kill as many orcs as I can find, and gladly so. And me and my friends may still be of some use, helping the Elves in their plans against the Enemy.

Maybe it was foolish to try and make a deal with the sorcerer, but I believe the price, Bori's life, was worth the attempt. I need to rest a bit and will leave only tomorrow. At least I will be with my friends again, and together we will make the sorcerer's life hell and make him pay for what he has done.

[Tiempko]

To: Daffodilia Wildfeet
Chief, Bounders of the Shire - Addernotch Station


Sir!

We stand in the shadow of Dol Guldur. We are actually at an outpost of the castle called Thangulhad what the elfs have taken from the orcs. Standing on its wall, the castle itself towers just east of us. It is massive! Though, even from where we stand, it is obscured in mirk and fog. It is a dark gray outline against a lighter gray sky.

Oh, I should mention that Erikin found us. Apparently, he had been working with elfs and dwarfs all this time to exchange Mazog for Bori. I knew that this was the plan, though I figured we would all do this together. That first we would reach the gates of Dol Guldur and then we would fetch Mazog for the exchange. Yet, it turns out that the elfs and dwarfs were travelling right along beside us as we pushed further into Mirkwood. Indeed, when we were at the Haunted Inn and were tasked with climbing the hillside and dislodging the batfolk from the old elven forts built on the slope, Erikin was with us. I do not recall iffen we reported that. But he just showed up. It turns out that he and Mazog's escort had him in the basement of Inn - and we did not know it. I went to seek beds in the basement of the inn - it is built much like the Forsaken Inn within the Lone Lands, oddly enough. But they would not let me go down into the basement. I thought it odd. Now I know why.

But Erikin did not bring good news. The attempt to exchange Mazog for Bori met with treachery. It cost the lives of at least three elves and nearly a fourth, iffen I understand Erikin's telling. And of three dwarf prisoners other than Bori what were brought out in exchange for Mazog who were slayed rather than exchanged. And yet they took Mazog. So, Mazog is with his folk in Dol Guldur. Bori is still prisoner. Six folks have been slayed. It is dire news indeed.

So, what shall we do?

Erikin believes that Bori, too, has been slayed. Yet, when he told the story of the attempted exchange, he reported to us that Broin had said, ""So many have died, and Bori is still languishing in the dungeons of Dol Guldur." I thought it odd and asked him to repeat it, and he used the same words. Broin, at least, thinks that Bori still lives. And even if Bori should be dead as Erikin fears, there are obviously other prisoners within Dol Guldur. And the castle remains a threat to the elfs of Lothlorien. Let alone a threat to the the dwarfs in Moria and who knows what else iffen they should take these strongholds. By far our first original mission was to help the dwarfs reclaim their home from those who had taken and defiled it - and that task is undone. It remains undone so long as Dol Guldur threatens those within. So, we have our duties still.

We have been staying at Thangulhad for the past few weeks helping to reduce the orc parties that are built here outside the wall.

The trolls here are among some of the more fiercest that we have encountered out in the wilds. Those that are this tough are usually kept within castle walls guarding the most important treasure hordes - like the forgotten treasury in Moria or the mines and foundries of Carn Dum. But these are right in the wild among the orcs and wargs. At one time, we were out on a raid, attacking the orcs what had brought massive siege weapons to the very walls of Thangulhad and then burning the machinery before it could do any damage. And I was focused so heavily on the machinery that somebody in the party - I do not recall - asked "What about the troll?". It was sleeping right there in a alcove off to the side while we fought orcs and torched siege machinery right beside it. It remained sleeping until Sagla woke it with a shout. It woke in the most foul mood and it were a true challenge to defeat it.

One other thing . . . I think we may have found a way into Dol Guldur. In one of our patrols, we found an open gate guarded by a redrobe and a troll. I would swear as I looked through it that it was at the base of a trail that climbed the mountain up towards Dol Guldur. It may have been a back way in. I was so frightened of what I had found that I encouraged the others to leave promptly and return to the elfs. The place that the elfs have said they will send us next is near to that place. I may ask folks to gather their nerve and take a look inside. It could be dangerous.

I will let you know what we find.

Bounder Hedgerow Shrewburrow



We are going to take another week to patrol around Thangulhad to make sure everybody is caught up. The Monday group is still a week behind the Saturday group. So, the Saturday group may need to spend a week telling stories and the like.

The Epic Story is now fellowship-friendly again. Much of what remains consists of three skirmishes which we can do as a group. So, ICly, we are back on the epic story. Erikin has reported the failure to exchange Mazog for Bori and we are now working with the elfs to weaken Dol Guldur as much as possible before they launch their imminent attack on Lothlorien. As I understand the epic story, there will be an inevitable attack on Lothlorien that they elfs doubt they can win. They have launched this attack on Mirkwood to knock them back on their heals before the main attack comes. But an attack will come.

After a patrol or two around Thangulhad, we will walk to the next quest hub for another set of adventures. There is yet another quest hub in that direction that we have not been vectored to. So, we may have Sagla again report that she has found the place while she has been out scouting and they are in need of our help.

We are on the threshold of the Mirkwood end-game stuff. There are two three-person instances, two six-person instances, a raid, and four skirmishes that fit into the main story ahead of us. So, we are nearing a phase with a great deal of group content.

[Tiempko]

Sagla has placed a motion on the floor ((Middle Earthquake!!)) to raise the level cap to 62.

((Actually, to raise the virtue cap to 31 as she - and others, including Hedgerow, Alphred, and Roy - are losing virtue points as we finish Mirkwood deeds.))


Arguments favoring the proposal:

(1) Virtue points will not vanish into nothingness. ((Hedgerow has recently lost 4400 virtue points from completed slayer deeds and will loose several thousand more.))
(2) We already failed the Moria raids at 60 and, if we want to finish them as a part of finishing Volume II, a level increase is in the cards anyway.
(3) The Dol Guldur instancees are scalable, so we can increase the challenge proportionally no matter what level cap we choose.

Arguments against the proposal:

(1) Enedwaith landscape - level 60 to 65 region - will be even more boring if we pass through at Level 62.
(2) The remaining Mirkwood landscape will also be less challenging.
(3) One may just want to see how far we can go at 60 until we are forced to raise the level cap.

My personal preference: I am strongly reluctant to raise the level cap since I value playing below level so as to make things properly challenging for a group. Particularly since Enedwaith ((Volume 3)) starts at Level 60 and a group would ideally enter at level 55. Entering at Level 60 was going to be bad . . . entering at level 62 will be worse. However, the way LOTRO is built, and with a wish to finishing Volume II before starting Volume III, starting Volume III at 60 may well be a pipe dream under the best of circumstances. So, if I give up on my dream of finishing Mirkwood (including the Watcher and Dar Narbugud instances) at 60 - if I admit that the level cap will have to be raised some day before we finish - now is as good a time as any.

No decision has yet been made.

Please discuss.

Or send me a post in-game. ((Hedgerow or Alphred))

[Swanee]

Just my 2 coppers, as I am semi-transient companion to the club. I vote for staying at lvl 60. While I understand there are those that are losing virtue points by staying put here are my reasons;

1. A few years ago I completed Mirkwood and Enedwaith as a lvl 60 champ. It was not difficult solo. I doubt it will be much of a challenge with a group at 60. In their Absence and Ost Dunhoth would be an interesting challenge at 60 although I'm not sure if we gain access until lvl 65.

2. The intent of Club Eclair is to remain 5 below the quest level for increased difficulty in a very solo friendly game. I think increasing levels for the sake of virtues goes against that founding principle.

3. I understand that through game mechanics we will be forced to increase levels in order to gain access to the next story content, I just don't believe we have reached one of those points yet.

4. Lastly, this is purely a selfish reason, I am working on a lvl 60 Grey Company Captain to join in the next Epic. I know a few levels doesn't matter much but I have so much work to do on him with what feels like so little time. Ok, that's not a good reason.

I will abide with whatever the decision is. I am here for the roleplaying, completionism bug, and mostly for the company.

Safe travels and good fighting.

Thalachon

[ertr]

The main reason for increasing level cap now is indeed to avoid wasting too many more Virtue XP. Even if we just raise the cap to 62, I think we will find it difficult to max out all our virtues by the end of Enedwaith. Without a raise now it will certainly be impossible.

Unless we can find some more people for Club Eclair we will need to raise level cap anyway to be able to finish the raids in Moria - which I really want to do before we start Enedwaith or Volume III of the Epic.
We will probably need a raise in level cap to handle some of the bosses in the Mirkwood instances as well, but since those are scalable we can always increase the level of the instances if they turn out to be too easy.

We are nearly done with the Mirkwood landscape quests, but while increasing the level cap will make them a bit easier, I do not see that as a problem - when patrolling in a group as we do, there is no challenge to them anyway.

For those who want to do some of the quests solo and want a challenge, I will note that just because the level cap is raised it doesn't mean everybody has to hit the new cap at once. Those who wish to remain at level 60 for a while longer can do so.

I do not think we can get the quest for the "In Their Absence" storyline until level 65, in which case that is irrelevant for the question of raising the level cap now.


Staying 5 levels below quest level is not a fundamental principle of Club Eclair. It is just a means to an end - namely to get a decent challenge. And that is not even the important part - which is to experience some good stories together.

Enedwaith isn't going to be hard at level 60, so level 60 or 62 just won't make much of a difference - the options are: Easy or Easy.
Keep in mind that Club Eclair went on a patrol into Enedwaith to find one of the Mysterious Relics back at level 45. And we got in and out again without dying.
If we could do that at level 45, it is not going to pose any challenge at all at level 60. Going to level 62 is not going to make a noticable difference.

[Swanee]

You make some good points concerning difficulty of content, and the story-wise flow of completing the 2 remaining Moria raids. The “In Their Absence” comment was just me thinking out loud, not having looked up when the chain unlocks. The intent was to identify what other content may be challenged while we are at lvl 60. The difference in challenge at lvl 60 vs 62 is like comparing the weight of a penny to a feather. Lifting them requires little effort, but to some the difference in effort is important. Perhaps a compromise of sorts may be reached. As Volume 3 begins with a lvl 65 invite from Rivendell, as well as the In Their Absence story, the Club could begin the storyline on level, like Volume 2 was started. In the meantime, we complete the rest of Volume 2 at 60 and use the Epilogue to level up. That way we gain “strength” from our experience in defeating the forces of Dol Guldur and weakening evil in the area. We can limit our patrols in the Ashenslades until we compete Chapter 18 so as to not earn more virtue points. I totally understand the frustration at losing virtue points as every trait is maxed. My aversion to the level cap increase is that it should not be primarily based on virtue caps. I feel keeping the story, and role play, at the forefront of the Clubs decisions is the most important factor. If the story makes sense, keep on rolling. To each their own.



Additionally, I checked this time, we can complete 6/8 of the Dunland region at LVL65, including the Epic Vol 3 up to Book 4 chapter 12.

[ertr]

You make some good points concerning difficulty of content, and the story-wise flow of completing the 2 remaining Moria raids. The “In Their Absence” comment was just me thinking out loud, not having looked up when the chain unlocks. The intent was to identify what other content may be challenged while we are at lvl 60. The difference in challenge at lvl 60 vs 62 is like comparing the weight of a penny to a feather. Lifting them requires little effort, but to some the difference in effort is important. Perhaps a compromise of sorts may be reached. As Volume 3 begins with a lvl 65 invite from Rivendell, as well as the In Their Absence story, the Club could begin the storyline on level, like Volume 2 was started. In the meantime, we complete the rest of Volume 2 at 60 and use the Epilogue to level up. That way we gain “strength” from our experience in defeating the forces of Dol Guldur and weakening evil in the area. We can limit our patrols in the Ashenslades until we compete Chapter 18 so as to not earn more virtue points. I totally understand the frustration at losing virtue points as every trait is maxed. My aversion to the level cap increase is that it should not be primarily based on virtue caps. I feel keeping the story, and role play, at the forefront of the Clubs decisions is the most important factor. If the story makes sense, keep on rolling. To each their own.

That compromise of yours would get us the worst of both worlds.
By limiting patrols in Ashenslades it disrupts story in order to accomodate game mechanics - which is against the general principles of Club Eclair in my opinion.
It also won't help much, if at all, with virtue XP.
Raising the level cap on the other hand won't interfere with story or roleplay, just with difficulty of content. And as mentioned landscape content isn't any real challenge anyway.


No, I want an increase in level cap to at least 62 as soon as possible. Even if we raised it tomorrow I would probably be unable to avoid finishing some deeds and lose some VXP before actually leveling up, but delaying it will just mean losing more VXP.
I don't really care if we start Vol III and Enedwaith at level 62 or 65, but if want to avoid wasting even more Virtue XP at that point the level cap should probably go up to 64 or higher before we get started on Dunland.

[StinkyGreene]

Why don’t we just finish The Watcher and Dâr Narbugud before we continue to move forward? That certainly will solve one of our issues. There is another group at 60 behind us in Moria (or at least there was a month ago) that perhaps we could coordinate with. After that we can raise our cap to whatever and faceroll Enedwaith (potentially losing members).

We all know the new virtue xp portion of this game was a poor design decision, but to have that negatively affect our flow is probably the most frustrating thing our group has faced in years. On one hand we have half the group with maxed out virtues that we should try to accommodate, and on the other hand we have people looking for a challenge that won’t get it if we please the former folks. A no win situation.

And now, the great Warg Pen debacle hits us with the unfinishable quest/deed issue. Sorry, just 4am venting...

[ertr]

Why don’t we just finish The Watcher and Dâr Narbugud before we continue to move forward? That certainly will solve one of our issues. There is another group at 60 behind us in Moria (or at least there was a month ago) that perhaps we could coordinate with. After that we can raise our cap to whatever and faceroll Enedwaith (potentially losing members).

We all know the new virtue xp portion of this game was a poor design decision, but to have that negatively affect our flow is probably the most frustrating thing our group has faced in years. On one hand we have half the group with maxed out virtues that we should try to accommodate, and on the other hand we have people looking for a challenge that won’t get it if we please the former folks. A no win situation.

And now, the great Warg Pen debacle hits us with the unfinishable quest/deed issue. Sorry, just 4am venting...

Because we already tried and failed The Watcher and Dar Narbugud? If you can find some more people and coordinate with them so we get a full 12-man group I am certainly willing to give them another try at level 60.
Otherwise we will have to raise our level to be able to handle them.

I am quite sure we would faceroll Enedwaith at level 60 - just as we have done with Mirkwood so far. Doing it at level 62 or 65 won't be much of a difference, except fewer deflects.
People wanting a challenge can try doing quests solo - in both Mirkwood and Enedwaith, and can stay at level 60 if they want to even if the level cap goes up.


What "Warg Pen debacle" ?

[StinkyGreene]

We cant finish the quest “Let Them Hunger” (or associated deed) until level cap, so that Dungeons of Dol Guldur part of the quest log will have a quest hanging out forever. SSG should have that quest unavailable until level cap, but of course we all picked it up in Helethir.

[Swanee]

I think as a group most, if not all, would agree that a logically flowing story is the priority. Beyond that its all a matter of personal preference. Whether that is a sense of accomplishment, challenge, completionism...etc. As was just motioned, there are deeds that are locked to us because of our current level. I also noticed the Dol Guldur instances don't even show up in the the Finder at our current level. Perhaps somebody else knows when they appear (61-65?) and is that a mechanic that prevents our entering, even with a gatekeeper. I know we just did a bunch in Moria but I don't remember if they were present in the Instance Finder. Increasing the level cap for virtues alone, a broken mechanic, does not offset the value that others may hold in completing VOL2 at Lvl 60. However; if we are blocked from advancing the Story, then that is another reason to increase the cap. Better to have an area full of quests to build XP than stuck against a wall with few options. Personally, I have 8,000 points still in my deed log for Mirkwood and no where to put them. Just from looking at what we have coming up Story-wise in the game, the developers seemed to have done a good job of blocking Story-flow content until 65. Granted it's mostly in the next Volume, but it's starting to feel like our time at 60 is becoming limited. Gathering the few comments on here this is what I see;

Advancing the level cap
1. We don't lose any remaining virtue points in Mirkwood.
2. We don't lose the XP. Well, not all of it.
3. We can always increase the difficulty in the instances/skirmishes.
4. We gain access to Dul Guldur instances/deeds (maybe at some point, need level confirmation, but its 4 instances and 1 raid)
5. We may be able to complete the remaining Moria content.

Remaining at current level
1. We keep the challenge of completing Vol 2 at lvl 60
2. Landscape enemies will remain at 5 levels above.
3. Sorry I though there were more, lol

A compromise in this instance seems difficult. Here is the best Story-flow idea I can think of.

Club Eclair finishes their patrols in the Ashenslades. The Warg-pens and Sword Halls are not challenged yet, as Dol Guldur has not been breached. They return to Thangulhad in order to assist the Golden Host with assaulting the Fortress. Upon completion of CH. 18 (cue level increase), Battle in the Tower, the Forces of Dol Guldur have been weakened enough that the other areas may be assaulted (ie. all the instances and raid). After achieving victory, the Eclairians Travel West, completing the Epilogue as we go. In Moria they assist the elves in finally subduing the remaining evil, for now. The Club finally reaches Rivendell preparing to go their own ways when they are summoned by Elrond.....cue the music, credits and hidden preview of Volume 3.

Any deeds remaining in Mirkwood can be completed during the Epilogue march, or as always on your own time. The story flows logically and we don't bounce from region to region. I put the instances after Ch. 18, because it seems up to that point we're still a small band infiltrating the fortress. After that, the Golden Host begins its assault in full. Always open to ideas and discussion. Maybe it's not that big of a compromise, but it does flow as a story. Some of us are going to lose Virtue points, and others are going to say goodbye to completing all of Vol 2 at 60, but there really is no solution to make everyone happy. Just a little less sad.

[Craiden]

I don't mind either way. My virtues are not even all maxed. Raising now would give me a bit more time to get to 62, which I won't force anyways. I am fine too with being at 60/61 for a while, while others are at 62 already.

Since we usually play in a group, the landscape is rather trivial and will be so in Enedwaith too, if we are 60 or 62 doesn't matter. Talachon even said he soloed the elite trolls in Gathburz
Those sessions are more for the immersion, the story and the enjoyment of having like-minded people to play with.

The challenge will be in the instances, and those we can from now on scale to our needs, except for Dar Narbugud and The Watcher. I'd like to give those another try though at Lvl 60 before we raise the cap. It was close when we tried and we may have gained a bit more power with some new items and better LIs. Maybe we can interrupt the flow of the current story by saying the Dwarves have recalled us to Moria, as something evil in the Foundations of Stone stirs and then see how it goes. If we get past the trolls, we can even spend a couple of weeks back in Moria.

Unfortunately, I think we can only enter the next set of instances (the In Their Absence cluster) when we are at 65, not even with a gate-keeper (?), but we can then maybe set them to 70.

Maybe the main issue is to let go of something you like, like being at Lvl 60 That is hard, but progress is inevitable and giving people the option to get to 62 now, if they want, might be the best choice. But as said, my suggestion would be to try at least DN one more time. We don't even have to go there, just open the instance panel OOCly and see how it goes. If we succeed and get past the trolls, either the mentioned recall may happen now (and we go back to Mirkwood with a level raise after we beat DN), or we do not raise the cap until we finish Mirkwood and get sent back into Moria for the epilogue and do DN then at 60.

I am somewhat opposed to raise just because of virtues. There are many ways to get virtue points, one of them all the festival wrappers I think, or you delay some deeds for after a level raise. It should not be too big of an issue to reach max virtue points again in the future. So imho we should raise the cap only because we run out of content or some instances are just too difficult. But I of course will also abide with whatever the decision is

So, in a nutshell: Try DN again. If we beat the trolls = no raise and decide if we want to go back to Moria now or after finishing Mirkwood. If we fail, we can as well raise to 62 now.

[StinkyGreene]

Yeah the Dol Guldur instances require a gatekeeper. Aryhawk let Hroik, Hedge and Thorcundo into the Warg Pens. We were fine (albeit a sloggy deflected mess at times) on Sunday.

[Tiempko]

A relevant piece of data.

Volume III Prologue is currently available. We can start Volume III at Level 60.

I sent Alphred to Rivendell to see if he could start the Volume III prologue if he wanted to, and the quest was waiting for him. (I did not take it, of course. But, if we happen to finish Mirkwood and Moria at 60, we can start Volume III at 60.)

Concerning "In Their Absence" . . .

The Volume III prologue involves rounding up all of the Rangers in the Gray Company and marching them through the Gap of Rohan to reach Aragorn. "In Their Absence" concerns what happened in the Shire and surrounding areas after the Rangers left and were no longer there to protect them. My intent is to start Volume III, round up the Rangers, and march them south. When the group reaches Galtrev (in the middle of Dunland - at Level 65), they will encounter a story teller who will tell them what has been happening back home since the Rangers left. They will tell us of the evil that happened in the Shire, North Downs, Trollshaws, and Forochel. That is to say, we will experience the first four instances as stories being told to us of battles going on in the homeland we . . . well, some of us . . . left behind. Our story teller will then reveal that the author of this menace is currently at some ruins in southern Enedwaith (the location of the final instance). We will then march there - it is about a day's hike away - and deal with this menace before continuing our march south with the Rangers.

"In Their Absence" is, in my view, an extremely good instance chain. I am looking forward to it.

[StinkyGreene]

Erikin, great post. Sagla, I agree with you on most of that post. A hard balancing act going forward. I certainly hope and know that we find a solution that is somewhat amenable to all.

[Tiempko]

Hear ye! Hear ye!

The level cap will be 60 (62).

Officially, the level cap will remain at 60. However, the bylaws that allow a character to exceed the level cap by 1 level will be temporarily suspended to allow a player to exceed the level cap by 2 levels (level 62).

Because the level cap is still 60, players will still be limited to level 60 armor and weapons. And, perhaps, characters that should find themselves at level 62 may seek to equalize their power with the rest of the group by adventuring without a cloak or necklace or some such article.

Level 63 characters will be tied up and left to the wargs. (Seriously, don't press your luck. Don't try for 62.9 and forget to pocket your stone)



The primary goal of Club Eclair is entertainment. We have folks who would really hate to lose more virtue points. That's not fun.

At the same time, an adventure requires challenge and difficulty. As Samwise Gamgee said: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

By the time Club Eclair reaches Level 70, we will need about 80,000 virtue points more than the game will give us for deeds. While festivals and missions can make up some of it, we will confront a deficit sooner or later. And some folks prefer later to sooner. Festivals award about 15,000 per year IF one wants to spend a huge amount of time and effort doing the same things over and over and over again. Hobbit presents . . . maybe 10,000 per year.

The fact that we CAN start Volume III at level 60 means that I would like to start Volume III as close to level 60 as possible.

NOTE: I suspect that we will need to raise the level cap to 62 at some point to finish Moria/Mirkwood. And, if forced to make a choice between starting Volume III at 60 and finishing Moria/Mirkwood at 62, I favor a coherent story by finishing Moria/Mirkwood before starting Volume III.

So, officially, the level cap is now Level 60 (62) with no intention to raise it further until we finish Enedwaith in Volume III and are ready to march into Dunland. Though we will raise the level cap earlier if we must do so in order to finish Volume II.

I hope that is agreeable.

[Craiden]

A good decision, everybody can choose for themselves how they want to approach this. With a mix of characters between 60 and 62 the coming instances and raids will also be a bit more doable.

Another reason why I stayed with Club Eclair for so long - excellent leadership

[ertr]

Following that, we will follow the Epilogues back to Moria. (I am going to have to figure out an order to do these that makes a reasonable story. This trail back into Moria will have to include visits to Dar Narbugud and The Watcher, before ending at the 21st Hall. It will end with us in Moria at the Chamber of Leadership for the epilogue, "Zigilburk Returned").

Be aware that the Epilogue quest "Gorothúl of Dol Guldur" becomes available only AFTER "Zigilburk Returned" is finished. This is the quest to slay the evil sorcerer Gorothul, who has been the main antagonist for a while now, in the 6-man instance Sammath Gul.

So "Zigilburk Returned" will NOT be the end of Vol 2 for us.

Other Epilogue quests will send us to find and enter the 3-man instances in Mirkwood.

Doing the Epilogue will thus lead us to all the non-raid Mirkwood instances.


Also, the Epilogue quest "Greyhammers" will take us over most of Eriador, but it ends in Thorin's Hall so it is probably best done while gathering the rangers during Book 1 of Vol 3.

(All this assumes lotro-wiki is correct, but I have no reason to believe it is wrong about any of this.)

[Tiempko]

Father

As I had expected, the plan to trade the orc leader Mazog for the dwarf Bori fell to disaster. And the efforts to rescue this one dwarf resulted in the deaths of half a dozen good folks - each of them leaving behind people who loved and cared for them as much as Broin cared for Bori. It was a tragedy in the making from the first day the plot was conceived.

Nobody in our crew was harmed. Indeed, we were largely left out of the efforts - except for Erikin. He got himself involved somehow and met us at an elf fort called Thangulhad where he gave us the bad news. Mayhaps it would have turned out differently iffen we had been involved, but Erikin could not talk them into seeking our help except indirectly - by cutting a path to the gates of Dol Guldur.

Now that the rescue has failed, we still have the chore of doing as much harm to the forces of villainy as we can before they muster their own great strength against the elfs of Lothlorien and the dwarfs of Moria - both of whom are doomed to be attacked by great forces massing further east, at least that is what the elfs are saying. When that attack comes, the elfs, as I understand it, plan to retreat to the far side of the Anduin river and its natural defenses. But they hope to have the forces of villainy fight their way to the east bank rather than march in good order in piece and rest. Indeed, in the time we have been here, we have raided more than a few Orcan camps and killed a great many Orcan leaders - including more than 20 very large trolls - taking advantage of the fact that the camps here had not been organized into war.

As it turns out, among the forces that this villainy is trying to muster for its war is an army of fell spirits. We are on our way to a fortress to the south where villainous sorcereers are raising this army out of the mass graveyards of the swamp. I hate to frighten you and the girls, but I have written before about evil sorcery returning life to the dead. This is not actually a case of the dead returning to life - as one might think. Rather, there is a type of spirit that can enter the decaying body and give it life. The spirit belongs to somebody . . . or something . . . else, a different being . . . and it is simply using the body of one who had died to work its will on the world. That is what was the case with the spirit that occupied Skogrim and the Once Dead Dragon of Helegrod. I suspect that they are summoning these spirits to use the bodies of the trolls and orc leaders we have slain.

Well, we are mustering for the march. I will let you know how things go when we return.

We shan't be gone long.

Love,
Alphred Troute



Well, Sagla . . . that is unfortunate news. It is far better to end on that instance than to have to march ALL THE WAY back to Dol Guldur to battle that last villain. Thank you for the information. I will see what I can work out.

[Craiden]

Dear diary,

I am happy to report that I am with my friends again. I've heard they had been sent to Thangulhad and when I got there, they were already out on a patrol. Ha! Knowing how diligent and dependable they are, that came as no big surprise. They had been sent to Gathbûrz, that huge orc camp not far to the north, in the shadows of the great wall of Dol Guldur. So I went looking for them. Place was full of orcs and it seemed they were considerably stronger than your regular orc. I battled a few and lit some fireworks to draw my friends' attention. Maybe they would see me. But then I saw them, on a platform below, battling a large group of orcs and destroying catapults and ballistae the orcs hoped to use to recapture their lost outpost.

I lit another firework, and I saw them look up and Burnheart poiting at me. "Is that Erikin?", I heard him ask. And then they walked up the stairs, and I walked down, and we met half-way for a cheerful (and tearful on my side) reunion. "Brother dwarf!", Burnheart exclaimed, and Hedge was surprised and happy: "Erikin, you live!" And he told me he was worried sick and had been looking and asking around for me everywhere.

I exploded and told them right there everything that happened. How Bróin wanted me on his secret mission, how we lost Raddir in the Drownholt, how Issuriel and Mazog got poisoned in the Scuttledells, and about the failed exchange and the three black robes. And also that I would rejoin them now for whatever missions they have if they would still have me after I had abandoned them. But I didn't have to worry about that, Hroik cheered and Bohregard said it is good to have me back. Sagla was as grounded as ever and got down to business right away: "The exchange mission sounds like it's over, but our mission to help the Elves and make troube around here is still on."



And that's what we did then, just like in the old days, in Angmar or Khazad-dûm. Gathbûrz is a huge staging area for the troops of the Enemy, and we went from one small camp to the next, fought orcs, destroyed their war-engines, burned supplies and banners, and hunted down and defeated several commanders. This was a warzone if I have ever seen one, but it seems not really well organized. The orcs probably also did not expect such an attack, so deep behind their lines. They were strong, but it seems the commanders were of a bit lower rank and they didn't have a general who manages everything, like they had in Dol Dinen for example.



It felt good to be with the group again. They are so capable, so confident in what they are doing, and even in the most dire places such as this, sometimes even cheerful and joking around. I slowly started to feel better and invigorated, the memory of Bori's demise and the vain toil of the Hidden Guard not fading away and still painful, but replaced with a newfound sense of purpose.

They had been given a mission by Rodelleth to destroy as much of the garrison of Gathburz as possible, soldies, supplies, leadership. She had said that the Elves don't have the power to attack the fortress of Dol Guldur itself and that soon a large force will arrive and assault the Golden Wood, but before that happens we can try to weaken the Enemy forces as best we can before we are all driven back, or get the order to retreat. And that's what we did, as we went on several patrols over the next few days. We found some wounded Elves that had been seperated from their squads and escorted them to safe spots. And then Talachon, the old elf who had been sleeping for so long, showed up and said he had battled a large troll all by himself and that there were several more, and we helped him destroy these too.



One day the two dwarves in the camp, Vatnar and Thyrnir, told me they had heard something from below the mound, or rather inside and asked me to join them for an investigation. We soon discovered that a band of goblins were digging tunnels, probably to launch a surpise attack on our position. We defeated quite a few and Vatnar used explosive powder to collapse the tunnels while we guarded him when he set it up. The goblins were much stronger than expected and I had to be on top of my game. Then, at the end, we heard a loud bang and the stomp of heavy feet. "That's no goblin...that's a Cave-troll! Run for it!", Thyrnir shouted. The troll was fast and closed in quickly, then we heard a loud explosion and the tunnel came down and buried him under a ton of rubble. Ha, Vatnar had set a trap for him! But I was sweating and glad this endeavor was over. Next time these dwarves want some help, I'll ask my friends to come along, that's for sure!

Then another day we got closer to the Gate of Dol Guldur, where the exchange happened. I didn't feel comfortable and it evoked bad memories, but there was no one to be seen, just a lone troll. We got curious and simply walked through it. The troll was not much of a problem, and then we just followed the path. Not a lot of enemy troops, so we walked and walked, on and on along the eastern wall, and across a bridge, and through another gate, and then we found ourselves inside the Enemy stronghold. It was fascinating, but quite eerie too. We could see these flying beasts circling above, eyeing us. We might run into a trap here and so it was wisely decided to turn back. Better not push your luck.



As we got back, Rodelleth was pleased to hear of our progress. "With so many Uruks and leaders fallen, so falls Gathbûrz. We should expect no further resistance", she said. And with even their trolls defeated, the Enemy will now stay behind the walls until the eastern army arrives. So, we finally had our great victory!

But this was not the end of it though. On our patrols we had found some papers which she could read and which mention that the sorcerer had sent several of his adepts to the south, a region called the Ashenslades, where they were tasked to raise the dead to join the Enemy's army. Well, as Hedge says, it's not really raising the dead, but to place spirits in dead bodies, to animate them, so they can walk and fight. It is not like the original person that died is raised, but only their bodies used. Or something like that, it's too complicated for me. But our next mission was to foil these plans.

[Tiempko]

To: Daffodilia Wildfeet
Chief, Bounders of the Shire - Addernotch Station.


Sir!

It is my honour to report of the progress of our battles in Mirkwood against the villainy of Dol Guldur.

Our battles go well, as far as they go. We are up to the very feets of Dol Guldur castle. There's still villainy on this side of the walls, but we can largely move about as we will and our flanks are secured.

However, the next step in our adventure may be too big of a step for us to take. From outside of the walls of Dol Guldur we look up . . . and up . . . and up . . . .

There is a wall here that we cannot hope to cross.

Well, that's not entirely true. We have crossed it a couple of times when the enemies left it unguarded. Orcs and trolls are lazy folk and, unless they expect something of an attack, they appear to be off sleeping or some such allowing a hobbit and a few companions to take a peek inside.

However, we are afraid to make much of a disturbance on account of bringing the whole place to attack us.

We have been patrolling to the south as of late - the "right flank" as those with a military mind like to call it. After having raided to the left, burning every siege machinery and destroying whatever supplies and camps and leaders we could find. Indeed, on our next patrol, it is our intent to move as far as we can to eliminate the enemy forces gathered in that region.

But, what to do next?

There is naught but Dol Guldur itself standing before us.

And then there are the lands beyond - lands we cannot reach as Dol Guldur castle blocks the way. In those distant fields, we are told, a huge army is forming. When the time comes, it will come through Dol Guldur like a flood, sweeping free folk before it, as it rushes down the mountain side and to the Anduin river across from Lothlorien itself.

Well, that was the plan. The elfs figured said from the start that this was not a battle they could win. They merely hoped to knock Dol Guldur off balance so that when the blow came - as it was sure to do - that it can be weakened and better resisted. They are prepared for a fighting retreat back to the shores and then across the river, where they will await the final invastion.

However, on our most recent patrols, we captured some orders saying what the enemy plans actually are. The main army is still approaching from areas further east and south, the Lieutenant of Dol Guldur seems to be impatient to retake Thangulhad before the big army arrives. and so, at least as it was written, he has ordered some orc in the Dol Guldur castle guard to use some of its defenders to recpature Thangulhad.

As far as we can tell, it will still be a few more days before this orc commander has mustered what he thinks is sufficient force to retake the fortress. Meanwhile, the elfs are thinking that we may be able to surprise them.

There are goblin tunnels beneath Thangulhad. And while the dwarfs have done a thorough job of blocking a great many of them, they have left a single route from Thangulhad itself to an exit in the direction of Ost Galadh through which it will be possible to bring reinforcements and supplies. And, thus, it is hoped that we will be able to surprise the orcs in how difficult it may be to take this fortress.

Particularly iffen we Eclairians can get inside its walls!

We are told to stand ready to rush to Thangulhad as soon as there is evidence that this company of orcs is making its approach. We do need to get inside before the orcs in place on account of if we appear on the inside as if by magic the orcs may think to look for the tunnel, and then the advantage would be lost.

A pack of dwarfs with their explosive powder will be stationed in the cavern to destroy it iffen an enemy patrol should discover it and try to attack us from that direction.

I do hope this Elf plan works. I fear the results iffen we get trapped inside Thangulhad with a stronger force intent on eating us refusing to allow any food in. We would starve in short order.

Mayhaps iffen I snuck some extra food in and kept it hidden, then I could hide with my food long enough for the orcs to get tired of looking for folks and then I can escape.

Could I hide enough food for all of the Eclairians?

Please have Mr. Sweetweed send extra helpings of his fine Shire cooking the next time he sends a package from the Shire.

One should always prepare for the worst.

Anyways, I will let you know how it goes.

Bounder Hedgerow Shrewburrow

[Tiempko]

Father:

I am about to head out to Thangulhad. While we were down in the southern part of Mirkwood, the steward of Dol Guldur sent an army of orcs and trolls to try to take Thangulhad from the elfs. Some of our number - Sagla, Thorcundo, Erikin, Hroik, Hedgerow, Bohregard, Burnheart . . . they were at Helethir when the summons came and they went right away. I was out on a patrol with Thalachon, Twostep, Fraori, and a friend of the hobbit Jaytull whose name escapes me at the moment. When heard the news on our return to Helethir. Galdhron shared a quick conversation with Twostep and then Twostep rushed off into the dark, hoping to beat the orcs to the stronghold.

The elfs here have told us that the defenders have left a passage through the goblin tunnels open . The dwarfs have set up the passage so that they could close it quickly if the orcs should find it. Unless and until that happens, we should be able to enter and there should be no fear of keeping the fortress supplied and reinforced as needed. On that account, I came here to Ost Galadh to replenish my supplies and such before heading up to the fortress. I shell venture there in the morning.

Perhaps it would be odd to mention it, but I took a path here from Helethir that I have never taken before and none of the others had talked about. On the route, my trail went into a tunnel that was both, at the same time, behind a waterfall and under a large rock that fed a stream that flowed down off of the mountain. It would not have felt right, though, to stop and fish.

When I got here to Ost Galadh, the elfs informed me that the orcs had already tried twice to enter the besieged fortress. I was informed that one of our number, Bohregard, was set to the task of operating the ballistae in defense of the south wall. Thorcundo and Sagla formed up to stop the attackers before they could breech the gate. And then Bohregard would launch the massive spears through as many of the villains as possible. His skill with a bow may be telling as he was able to strike the villainy without putting Thorcundo and Sagla at all at risk.

The greatest villain though was a massive troll. He proved a dangerous villain - nearly smashing through the defenders and taking the fortress. He must have had some magic placed upon him as he grew even more powerful as the fight went on. Our forces . . . or so I am told . . . was required to retreat and regroup, but ultimately their line held.

Currently, as I write this, I have heard that the enemy is still probing the defenses. These attacks are not so vicious, and merely Thorfaniel, Roy, and Hedgerow are augmenting the elf defenders while the others rest after the hard exertions of the day before. Thorfaniel had just arrived, and I can hardly credit Hedgerow as having worked so hard in the first battle that he might need of rest. He usually stands back and watches and cheers on those who do the real work. Roy, on the other hand, deserves much credit as this is not the first time he has agreed to one shift after another.

Hopefully, the villains will so weaken themselves against the defenses of Thangulhad that there will be scarce enough left to hold the fortress of Dol Guldur. With luck . . . we may have an opportunity I had not dreamed of, to enter Dol Guldur itself. The elfs inform us that they have found a way into the castle walls and, once there, we might be able to inflict even more harms against the enemy. Their main army is still a good distance away and will not be a threat if we act quickly.

I will let you know how things go.

Take care, father.

Love

Alphred

[Tiempko]

I had an opportunity to go through the epilogues to figure out a story for them.

Epilogue Greyhammers is to be done OOC at your convenience. We will not do this one as Eclair.

(1) Epilogue Laeglang will send us to the now nearly vacant Dol Guldur. We will visit the Warg Pens, Sword Hall, and Dungeons instances. (3 and 6 person) We are told to just find the enterances, but we will go through the instances officially.

(2) We will also take the Ninglorel and Sigeleth epilogues, finishing the former and carrying the knives to Lothlorien as we travel west.

(3) When done with the Laeglang instances, we will start our way back. We will pick up a message at Ost Galuth to deliver to Lothlorien (Epilogue Achardor’s Fate) and go on Barvessain’s epilogue.

(4) Then March to the Haunted Inn for Cucheron’s epilogue.

(5) March to the Moria landings for Epilogue Alfirimbes

(6) For Epilogue Braiglann at Imlad Lalaith, we will “tell stories” of our success at the Dol Guldur instances for Laeglang. That should be sufficient.

(7) Stop off at Caras Galadhon to finish the Sigeleth and Achador epilogues.

(8) Travel to Cerin Amroth for Issuriel’s Flower epilogue.

(9) Return to 21st Hall for the Zigulberk epilogue. I will leave it as an option to walk the distance (as my characters will) or just muster there. (Though this is a solo instance, I would think that this is a good time to do it.) We then travel to the Peaceful Path for Issuriel’s Flower.

After this instance, three threats remain: The Watcher, Dar Narbugud, and the Sorcerer (Sammath Gul).

The Barac Guldur raid does not seem to have a story connected with it. It is detached. It is also a scaled instance. We may opt to remove this from the story as something to return to when we are higher level - between Isengard and the Great River.

[ertr]

I had an opportunity to go through the epilogues to figure out a story for them.

Epilogue Greyhammers is to be done OOC at your convenience. We will not do this one as Eclair.

(1) Epilogue Laeglang will send us to the now nearly vacant Dol Guldur. We will visit the Warg Pens, Sword Hall, and Dungeons instances. (3 and 6 person) We are told to just find the enterances, but we will go through the instances officially.

(2) We will also take the Ninglorel and Sigeleth epilogues, finishing the former and carrying the knives to Lothlorien as we travel west.

(3) When done with the Laeglang instances, we will start our way back. We will pick up a message at Ost Galuth to deliver to Lothlorien (Epilogue Achardor’s Fate) and go on Barvessain’s epilogue.

(4) Then March to the Haunted Inn for Cucheron’s epilogue.

(5) March to the Moria landings for Epilogue Alfirimbes

Keep in mind that the places we need to go for Barvessain's epilogue overlaps with those for Cucheron, Alfrimbe, and Ninglorel. So unless we really want to visit those places more than once it could be smart to do those four quests in parallell.

[Tiempko]

Keep in mind that the places we need to go for Barvessain's epilogue overlaps with those for Cucheron, Alfrimbe, and Ninglorel. So unless we really want to visit those places more than once it could be smart to do those four quests in parallell.

I did not notice that as I read through it. Thanks.

I am also open to having folks do the Zigelbert epilogue OOCly after Chapter 18 so we can get it done.