About the Mythgard Monday Project
Dateline December 8, 2014
The Bird & Baby Pub, Michel Delving, The Shire (Landroval)
Welcoming a group of close to 20 representatives of all races and classes, our illustrious kin founder Wigend (very natty in his stripey attire) announced what I'm calling the Mythgard Monday Project: a collaborative course preparation exercise that will lead to the offer of a Mythgard Academy course on adaptation of Tolkien's legendarium, specifically The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, though there will surely be some dipping into the lore of The Silmarillion as well.
Mythgard Mondays are part of his research approach. Each week we will foray into different parts of Middle-earth (Eriador in the near term, then other lands later on down the line), where we will quest and pursue other deeds while Corey does a close reading of the story lines that those activities encompass. As this kind of study progresses, he will tie back to Tolkien's writings, examining how LOTRO's Middle-earth did or did not align with them, how certain stories got fleshed out, and how other LOTRO-specific storylines offer more "meat" to the history of the late part of the Third Age.
We will assemble every Monday (excepting occasional dates because of holidays or other circumstances) at 9:30 pm Eastern/Server Time at The Bird & Baby pub in Michel Delving (Landroval server)...or earlier for some dancing and fun before we get down to business. Then Wigend will take the stage and we will go from there. I will try to let folks know ahead of time what area we will be going to, so that you can match your alts and gear up appropriately.
THIS forum is for us...the collaborators. Please post topics and invite conversations about whatever relates to Mythgard Mondays. What came up during the evening that you found interesting? Did Corey mention something in passing that you'd like to know more about? Did you notice something that seems worth delving into (like a story told by a quest giver)? Is there something you'd like to see in a course like the one we are preparing for? Anything else?
See you in game!
Trish Lambert
(in the forms of Glordriel, Aredhin, Maizydae, Medwen, and Torondil)
It would be good if we knew a bit in advance where the quest will be headed. I tend to be random about working through quests (Oooh, look! A shiny object!) and often miss steps to get to the completion of the goal. If knew in advance I could either clean up the quest or get things done so I could participate more fully.
A couple of things from a hobbit POV:
I absolutely love how the story opens when you start a hobbit character. You begin at night on the Great East Road near Hobbiton, chatting with a shirriff, who is telling you about weird people passing through the Shire. Then Frodo, Sam, and Pippin pass by anxiously. A moment after they're gone a Black Rider shows up!
Second, have you noticed the townsperson just down the road from the Bird and Baby in Michel Delving, who is giving an impromtu speech to three or so other hobbits about Holly Hornblower's spoiled pies, and how the real problem is the Tooks and the Brandybucks are hoarding all the good pies for themselves? Fascist rabblerousing! The corruption of the Shire is already beginning.
Related to that is the quest in Budgeford, involving the "Black Rider" haunting a pig sty, which, not entirely coincidentally, is the subject of an offer of purchase from Lotho Sackville-Baggins. Something is definitely going on here....