Following in-forum debate, Lakeborn initiated conatct with DOME about joint exploratory raids on Bard Guldur. I subsequently added the more detailed proposal, below, and Falovir has responded positively on behalf of DOME. All kinship members interested in this raid should probably sign up to access the DOME forums (http://dome.thetroubleshooters.dk/phpBB3...ec9f9c38ea), as DOME have been invited to sign up on ours. The proposal I posted was:

"Greetings, friends and allies. In support of Lakeborn's post, and in my role as the Western Alliance's raids officer, I would like to propose that during the exploratory phase of the Barad Guldur 12-man raid, TWA and DOME members be given equal priority in signing up for raids. Irrespective of which kinship initiates the raid and provides the raid leader (who may not necessarily be the initiator), signups will be accepted on a first come, first served basis, always of course with the proviso that the raid leader may make changes for the good of the raid. This status will continue until the end of the exploratory phase or until one of the parties decides to terminate it, whichever comes first; after that, and for farming runs, we revert to the normal status of kinship members having priority over non-kinship. Is this acceptable to you?

We plan to run a first BG raid about a week from now; to sign up, you will have to gain access to the TWA boards (see above). Please also take the trouble of adding a brief post to the raid thread. Thank you for the hospitality, and I look forward to the Master of Dol Guldur biting the dust before the joint assault of our two distinguished kinships in the not too distant future..."

And Falovir's response:
"I will post a mail to DOME during the weekend in regards to this so i can try and get some feedback on the thoughts of this. I personally think co operating is a excellent idea to learn the early stages while other kin members get kitted out in the future."

I would like to reiterate a point Thor made in an otherwise irrelevant thread: if the Symbol of Celbrimbor drops in a kinship FS, you may only roll for it if you intend using it to make (or have made) a level 65 second-age Legendary Item  for the player character in question. You may not roll for it with the intention of selling it, whether privately or on the AH. This has turned out to be a very rare drop, and the priority is to equip as many kinship members as possible with second-age weapons. Obviously, since the item is not bound this policy cannot easily be policed, but we depend as usual on everybody's sense of fair play. That said, I shall take a very dim view of any TWA member who consigns a Symbol of Celbrimbor gained in a kin run to the AH.

Important Notice: Mumble server will be updated on 1st January 2010, this means you'll need Mumble 1.2.0 to log in on Mumble!

I'm sorry for the short notice, but I too got a little surprised. Today our Mumble provider will be updating their servers to Mumble 1.2.0. Unfortunately this version is incompatible with older versions, so you'll need to update (don't worry, the new version has a protocol negotiation that should prevent any of these issues in the future, no matter how much things change). Version 1.2.0 can be downloaded here. There are no changes to the server settings, so when you've updated you should be able to connect straight away. There are a couple of modifications 'under the hood' though. First of all there's a new audio codec in use, to make full use of it, go to your audio settings and slide the Quality slider to 40kb/s. Second major change is the use of certificates for identification. This means you can register your own username on the server and the server will recognize you by your certificate. Using these certificates you can also create friends lists and whisper to certain people. You're not required to use them though, you'll just be asked for the server password if you're not registered and recognized, like before.

Kinship raids will start up again after the New Year. I plan to schedule Dar Narbugud raids on Tuesdays and Fridays for the next 2-3 weeks, to allow all members to get a look at it and also pick up some +20 rad gear. If it turns out there is not enough interest in DN, we could switch to the Dol Guldur 3 and 6-man instances, or perhaps go back and do the odd Turtle or Watcher. For Barad Guldur, the new 12-man raid, all participants will need at least +120 radiance to be at all effective (+115 in practice), and at present we don't have enough people to make an attempt. If a few more of us hit +120 in the next couple of weeks, I'll schedule a first BG raid, probably with a bit of help from FOTW. In the meantime, I strongly recommend doing the Sammath Gull instance as often as possible in order to collect medallions for the three-piece +25 rad set; it's relatively easy once you get the hang of it.

On behalf of myself and the officer group I would like to wish all of our members, initiates, friends, supporters and acquaintances a Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2010 for yourself and all your loved ones.

In the spirit of the season I hope that we all can continue in the great spirit and progress that has been the highpoint of 2009 for the Western Alliance.
Though we have been met with disappointments in the last year and inevitably will continue to face these in the future I can only say that 2009 was definitely a great year for us, and as mush as you all know I would like to take credit in the end it was all a team effort. Even so a few special mentions have to be made. In no particular order.

Since he first joined this kinship he has always been involved in protecting it's ideals and giving his time as an officer various times. Lately, he has been indispensable as my second in command, a person I trust implicitly and whose contributions have no doubt helped shape the kinship to what it is today.
So first and foremost I must thank Kairos for his trust in me, his patience with my whims and all the hard work he has done for us all.

Secondly, a person that has held every seat available in our little democracy, and whom behind the scenes has ever been a wise adviser and counsellor, a sounding board for my ideas and frustrations, and always a source of reason and moderation when emotions flared, particularly my own.
So thank you Belegwe for your good advice and understanding during my latest terms as leader, and all your previous efforts, including your own terms of leadership in a period when the job was anything but easy.

Among the newest members one person stands out head and shoulders. Teolwyn has proven himself to be a diligent worker and staunch supporter of the kinship's ideals and I can honestly say his devotion has not only impacted this kinship, but also my personal life as I find myself freed of many duties and pressures and more able to focus on the larger tasks at hand, thus leaving me more time for my own sake. So Teolwyn keep up the tremendous job you are doing and know that every person in the kin acknowledges the great work you have done.

Finally, but most certainly not least, my thanks goes out to Ingaras.
I can honestly say, that I do not think TWA would be the kin it is today if it were not for him. In fact we may not be around at all.
In one of this kinship's most uncertain hours we desperately needed someone with the skill and knowledge to run our forums(always the hart of this kin) and create an environment in which our members could thrive and prosper and enjoy the game to the fullest.
Ingaras has stepped up and I believe I speak for everyone when I say that he has exceeded our wildest expectations, tirelessly working to improve the kin in real, noticeable ways and creating a forum that is the envy of many gaming communities out there. I can only hope he will be with us a long time, for we are far from done, and improvements can always be made, but for his incredible job so far I wish to give him my undying gratitude.

I wish I could be with you all during these holidays, but I must also make time for my other family, nevertheless I hope you all enjoy the next 2 weeks with friends and family of all types. Let's all work hard to make 2010 an even bigger success. Above all let's work hard on maintaining and improving our ideals of equality, friendship and understanding that make this Kinship so special.


Your leader,

Thoronthor Arandan

Please note that I expect everyone using these forums to show the same courtesy and tolerance we expect (and demand) in-game. It is perfectly acceptable to indicate a strong difference of opinion with fellow members, but it is not acceptable to slag off people or treat their views with contempt. If you disagree with a posted opinion, feel free to say so (preferably not over and over again!), but the kinship does not tolerate personal attacks of any kind. Remember that comments made online are always perceived as much harsher than they would have been in real life. So have a really good holiday, everyone, and let's get down to some serious Nazgul-kicking in the new year.

I'd like to suggest that raid leaders, or else some designated participant, start posting regular reports of how their raid went. It could be as brief as a quick note of how far they got, or else include tactical comments and/or descriptions - whatever you feel like.

Now we're all happy levelling again in Mirkwood, might I have your attention for a moment and remind you of the fact that we have a memberlist on the site here, where you can, all by yourself, update your characters to the correct level . While you certainly don't have to update everyday, it's appreciated if you do keep it more or less up to date, so we can for example get an idea of when there's enough people around for new instances and stuff like that. You should also regularly update your radiance level!

Thank you very much!

The very complicated rules of the new SoM barter economy for radiance items, as well as details of the new armour sets, have all been brilliantly condensed in this post on the CM forum: http://community.codemasters.com/forum/s...p?t=397218.

Official patch notes for SoM now available from Lorebook, here: http://lorebook.lotro.com/wiki/Release_N...h_Official. Interesting reading, no surprises.