Getting Sapience to Isengard
Well, LOTRO is having another event.
For those who don't know, Sapience is a LOTRO community manager who frequently posts on the official LOTRO forums.
The event in question is to get one of his level 10 hobbits to Isengard. He will be hosting this event once on each server and the time will be sporadic. I hear there's a possibility of getting a title if the group is successful in getting him to Isengard and you can ask him questions. It will be live streamed if you can't make it.
I'm assuming he hasn't announced it in Crickhollow yet, but when he does we should get some Breakfasters down there to escort him!
I really think this is a great idea and I hope some of us can partake in it. ^^
Sounds like fun! Hope it's on a Sunday afternoon... =P
I thought I should let everyone know that the event on Crickhollow is set at January 24 at 5:00 p.m. EST. His hobbit's name will be Hadacar and it starts in front of the Prancing Pony. I'll add this to the calendar.
Keep in mind that the entire event will be on foot (horses caused too much lag apparently) and he will only be level 10. Be ready to do plenty of battle.
I'm not sure how long it will take to get him to Isengard or whether it will interfere with Bread and Jam. If so, what does everyone think of having some kind of traveling Bread and Jam event? That is, if those who usually host also want to do this.
Thanks for the information!
Speaking on behalf of Larksong, I'm sure that an event as singular as this one clearly supersedes Bread and Jam. I believe Willowing will be there, pew-pewing enemies as long as she can. I'll make sure our B&J regulars from other kins are invited along with us. I can't imagine it will take more than 3 hours to get him to Isengard, but who knows? Hopefully we'll have a celebratory event at the Pony afterwards
EDIT: Oh, I see Gilrain managed it in 1:22:55.
Do drop in. The doors are always open!
Willowing, Grimbear, Rosewynda, Marewyng, Ingrid, Hollydell, Laurelberry,
Merieloran, Gadrian, Linhaewen, Berangar, Athdan, Faerstar (4 Twinfall Path, Tund Faroth, Falathlorn),
Olangrim (1 Waterbank Road, Tund Faroth, Falathlorn), Gwencara (1 Brookbank Street, Greyheight, Shire),
Mossley (of the Frogmorton Middleworths), and Larksong of Crickhollow
Larkfeather, Faerstar and Olangrim of Landroval
Breakfast: the best meals of the day.
Even if Crickhollow does not match Gilrain's speed, I'm sure that young Hadacar will make it in before the start of Bread & Jam. But this does set up a "marketing" opportunity. Willowing's post-victory celebration idea is fantastic, and this is something that we can mention to all of the participants. Just roll the two together, and tell everyone about the dual event at Bread & Jam tonight. The possible downside is that it could lead to more griefers. It could also lead to new participants who never knew about the event, or never knew how much fun they could have with something like that.
Unfortunately, th' startin time means that workin folks livin in th' hinterlands o' th' US is goin t' have t' miss it, as fer me (fer instance) it starts at 3PM... I dunno, mebbe I'll try t' get a dispensation from th' Orcs I toil fer durin th' daytime, but as it's close t' th' end o' th' month, th' odds o' them grantin one is slim. Probly can't know til th' actual day...
After much discussion, some deliberation and enormous amounts of delay, or some mix thereof, Laurinda joined me to plot out the ideal route from the starting point --- The Prancing Pony in Bree --- to the venerable end, Isengard. We each rode horseback, to hasten the process, though keeping in mind that the actual event is on-foot we endeavored to avoid any steep inclines or mobs that would spell disaster at a slow pace. The path was narrowed down to its swiftest form by dint of comparison, with Laurinda tackling one possibility and the other left in my hands; the result, fine-tuned after another brisk run this morning, is outlined on the maps below.
According to Sapience's post he will /follow one member of the group that appears to guide him, someone either designated or nominated by said group, thus everyone who plans on attending should strive to consult the maps for the best route [we could find] possible. I'll walk it later and create a new post with the resultant time for a comparison. Be aware that the path does cross several mobs and mob-spawning areas, thus guards are necessary and should remain alert at all times. I would advise that all players interested in performing guard duties arrive either with a ranged or healing class (Hunter/Minstrel are preferable), although that by no means precludes others from taking part.
1. Bree, the Prancing Pony Inn to the outskirts of Bree-proper
2. Outskirts of Bree-town to the Lone-Lands
3. Lone-Lands to the Trollshaws
4. Trollshaws to Eregion
5. Eregion to Enedwaith
6. Enedwaith to Dunland
7. Dunland to the Gap of Rohan
8. The Gap of Rohan to Nan Curunir
9. Nan Curunir to the gates of Isengard
The leaderboard is presently occupied by the following...
Elendilmir - 1 hour, 10 minutes, 6 seconds (1:10:06)
...the route outlined above can be made, as I walked it today (yes, walked, no speed-buffs of any sort were active) in the following times; as I was uncertain what Sapience is considering "having reached Isengard" I measured the time for both reaching the border of Nan Curunir and essentially the Orthanc itself.
The Pillar of the White Hand - 57 minutes, 43 seconds (00:57:43)
The Gates of Isengard - 59 minutes, 13 seconds (00:59:13)
...a commanding lead in either case. I do hope someone from Second Breakfast is selected and, of course, that we can do Crickhollow proud!
WOW!!! doesn't begin to do justice to your efforts here. I, too, hope that we can convince the crowd to pick one of us (Graye!) to lead the way. Thank you for putting this together. Willowing will be there!
Do drop in. The doors are always open!
Willowing, Grimbear, Rosewynda, Marewyng, Ingrid, Hollydell, Laurelberry,
Merieloran, Gadrian, Linhaewen, Berangar, Athdan, Faerstar (4 Twinfall Path, Tund Faroth, Falathlorn),
Olangrim (1 Waterbank Road, Tund Faroth, Falathlorn), Gwencara (1 Brookbank Street, Greyheight, Shire),
Mossley (of the Frogmorton Middleworths), and Larksong of Crickhollow
Larkfeather, Faerstar and Olangrim of Landroval
Breakfast: the best meals of the day.
We'll do our best to make sure that people know that we have a plan. It seems that Evernight's run came to an abrupt end when lag caused Sapience to fall off the log in the Trollshaws, so that is worth keeping in mind. Lag will be our greatest foe, and the server size is to our advantage. Still we should go into full Weatherstock mode -- no cloaks, no hats, and definitely no mounts if at all possible.
Perhaps we should set up a scout raid that stays only a few steps ahead in addition to the protective raid. We can also try and get everyone on the event channel so we don't need to use GLFF. Keep people disciplined -- the Gilrain attempt had some issues with people getting too far ahead, and I'd worry about respawns. It would be great if we can get a few mid level bait characters for the spots with lots of stealth beasts.
I'll be glad to offer my little protective bubble, and no matter how it shakes out I'm sure it will be a marvelous time.
Thank you for outlining the trail on the maps, Graye! That will definitely be a very helpful resource. Walking it just to be sure is most commendable too. ^^ I hope you stayed clear of those trolls.
As for the classes that aren't hunter or minstrel, there are still a variety of useful things they could do. Obviously both captain and lore-master can summon backup. LMs should probably also be spamming Sign of Power: Vigilance for stealthed mobs just in case. Champions and guardians can endeavor to keep the mobs off of Sapience/Hadacar. Rune-keeper would be good as secondary healer most likely. Burglar could possibly be asked to scout ahead ever so slightly in stealth mode (not sure how well that would turn out), and Wardens also have several ranged attacks. If anyone who is more familiar with one of those classes has any ideas of something more specific for offense/defense that would be most welcome although I suppose it probably just comes down to everyone knowing what their usual role is in a fellowship.
I agree with Rosalie that any cosmetic items, such as cloaks, that causes lag should be avoided. Mounts aren't even allowed though because of this problem, so we shouldn't have to worry about that.