I know y'all do it too!

About this video:
Recorded using Fraps, using the song "Uptown Funk" by Bruno Mars. This took 3 rehearsals and a lot of focus on timing. Enjoy!

A Roam Of One's Own

Leader of Evernight's Facebook group and physical embodiment of all that is lovely: Ember Stone-Pierce posted on our little network, asking the following:

Which is your favourite Region of Middle Earth and why? I'm a big fan of Forochel, with it's snowy mountains and icy seas. Where do you think is the most scenic?

And it got me thinking. Considering Lord of the Rings Online is a visually enthralling game, there's aplenty of competition.

Mine would have to be, without a doubt, Ered Luin. It is beautiful both day and night, all year round.  Here are some of my favourite screenshots.

What about you?

*Pants* That. Was. Amazing.

Tonight has been amazing for Evernight's Ettenmoors. First Marshal Pouch, renowned Hobbit Burglar, led the Free Peoples against the Arlgurz lead Monster Players raid. With well over 40 players making an appearance on each side, our Ettens has been graced with some truly adrenaline-rushing-blood-boiling action.

The fight, lasting well over 8 hours, has possibly been the most thrilling action I have come across in my 4 years of playing in PVP. I have personally gained over 10k comms (now giving me a rather sexy pair of shoulders for my PVP armour set) and a new found love for my Guardian.

The metaphorical tug of war between both sides showed an unrelenting battle of tooth and claw against sword and shield. The healers kept their comrades' morale up, while Hunters scouted and Wargs pounced. It was a delightful Raid versus Raid as each side danced a song of fire and blood.

Maybe I am getting too poetic. But the fight was really good!

As Evernight sees its PVP blossom, I invite all players to come give it a go - it will be thoroughly worth your while.

 

The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies Review

The Hobbit: Battle of Twenty Armies plus Bilbo was a visually gorgeous film, with fantastically choreographed elves. The CGI was top notch (in both 2D and 3D - yes I watched both). The costume was superb on all accounts. Even the kiddies' acting was on form and lest we forget some Lee Pace's I'm not taking your shit any more acting. Well done Peter Jackson.

I have read many reviews on this film, and it generally comes down to this (please read in a high pitched, nasally tone):

"Trying to stretch out a just-under-300-page novel into 3 films is just as bad as trying to squeeze a just-over-500-page novel into one film (cough Harry Potter cough). It simply doesn't work. To compensate, the screenwriters have to add in extra storylines to justify the length of the films blah blah blah."

This sums up my feelings entirely to such articles.

Yes, the film was a tad long. Yes, I had to visit the loo twice to stretch my legs. But it was an effing fantastic way of bringing in female characters in Tolkien's literature: something of which we are dismally in need.

Having a female brings new layers to the storyline that previously didn't exist in The Hobbit. 

Although Peter did stretch out the films to a point of almost collapsing, he did do a bloody good job in representation. The women of Dale town fought alongside their male counterparts in the battle to defend their lives. Tauriel fights in battle. Galadriel's dark side was echoed from her first encounter with The Ring in The Fellowship of the Ring as she fights Sauron back into the East.

Peter Jackson empowered female characters to that equal of their male peers, and that alone deserves a tap on the back. Too many reviews comment on the gratuitous length of the films and solely mark down them for doing so, to them I simply offer this:

The films may not have been true to Tolkien, and I am sure die-hard Tolkien fans will complain. But to me, there are more important things than just keeping to the books.

Pew Pew QQ

This is an article about Player vs. Monster Player in the Ettenmoors of Lord of the Rings Online.

Nay, this is a request.

I request all seasoned, experienced, high ranking players to try playing on an unranked Warg, using a 6 year old-almost-burned-out laptop with an integrated mouse while using their mobile phone's data as their only means of connecting to the Internet and still find PVP within LOTRO to be enjoyable. So much so that they continue playing all year until they finally hit rank 6.

The struggle is a-paw-ling. So is this selfie.

I request this is because I often meet players who either see the lower ranked as noobs, or higher ranked as no lifers. The OOC chat is often woeful because of the petty arguments - we do not need to read this digital dysentery. We are Lord of the Rings Online players! Not some World of Warcraft 12 year olds who insult each others' mums!

Don't be this guy. Or his mother.

So, I beg of you fellow Evernight PVPers - find it within yourselves to respect the greenie you're about to completely annihilate. Don't QQ in OOC just because a warg pack is ganking your graveyard. Don't complain about overpowered classes *cough cough Warden cough cough* and just enjoy the game.

P.S: Within the next week my Alienware X51 will arrive at my door, ready to be embraced by a very happy Hannihr. Then I will play on a relatively decent gaming PC with HD 32" TV and highest internet speed possible. See you then noobs!

(A very late) Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Everyone at The Evernight Report  would like to apologise for the quietness of this newspaper. The enslaved Hobbits that usually write these articles while I dictate have been away on holiday, returning to their families for a much needed break. I assure you I shall be blasting them out of cannons shortly as punishment.

Christmas has been wonderful this year. Aliramiel (co-leader of Stormborn) bought these gifts for me - the first is The Hobbit translated into Latin by Mark Walker: Hobbitus Ille  (which you can buy here if you want it on an eBook or here for the hardback edition). As someone who had to learn Latin for 3 years, I can tell you this is a sweet release from the basic textbook stories we were given.

The second is Letters from Father Christmas. This book shows the letters sent by Tolkien to his children, talking of the mischief caused by the Polar Bear and why the letters were late that year. You will have to read the book yourselves to find out.

For a birthday treat, Aliramiel and I watched The Hobbit: Battle of Five Armies. The review is on its way!

What did you receive this Christmas that was rather Tolkien-y? Comment below!