5 Written by
Anna on
December 15, 2009 – 10:06 am
- I wonder if there will ever be a tabard/banner for the Ashen Verdict?
- There’s a lot of freaky stuff in Icecrown. Really freaky. Winged skeleton dude with four heads and no legs? Freaky. Giant Floating Head with Mouthbeams? Freaky.
- I’m amused that there are trash mobs that you can skip by having a rogue disarm traps. It’s about time!
- Deus ex Machina is kinda weird. Deus ex Machina with Varian Wrynn is weirder. Varian Wrynn not being a dick? WTF?
- Alright Blizzard – who are you and what have you done to Jaina. GAH. She was so strong, and had so much potential in WC3. Now? What a disaster.
- I’m enjoying ICC so far, overall. The fights are healing intensive, and occasionally annoying (the run away/out of range thing is REALLY getting old), but it’s still SO much better than Round Room of Badge Dispensation.
- The /music/ in ICC is superb. The use of a high-voice children’s choir is perfectly spooky and eerie, and I love that hat tip back to previous soundtracks that have done similarly.
- Jetpacks. ’nuff said.
Also, I got a new sword! It’s pretty cool (so much hit. blegh) … but it has a little skull-charm on it. With fangs. I can’t see this going well around any kitty-druids. The Fordragon Blades are still prettier.
I’m mildly amused that my first upgrade out of ICC (10 or 25) is for my retribution gear. My second upgrade was for my healing gear, but is the reputation ring, so I’m not sure it counts.
11 Written by
Anna on
December 14, 2009 – 10:00 am
This post contains spoilers about the 3.3 Raid and Instance content. As such, it is behind a “Read More” tag, as surprising people with spoilers is one of the qualifications for being a dick in TRI. (DBAD!)
It is not, however, complaining about Icecrown. Instead, it’s about some of the roleplay implications for what’s going on in the Citadel.
If you don’t want to know anything about these instances until after you get to see them yourself, you’ll want to skip this post. (:
Read the rest of this entry »
14 Written by
Anna on
December 11, 2009 – 9:03 am
Icecrown cometh.
The final push, the breaking of the siege – and it’s not really very pretty in there. The 5 man instances are filled with a sense of foreboding, and while I’ll avoid spoilers, the first 5 minutes inside the raid instance is pretty mind-bending as well.
Any character that is fighting there will need to find some strength, some faith, or some /something/ to keep them going, just like any person that’s ever found themselves in the throes of a terrible war; just like the soldiers whose letters we found on the undead during the Scourge Invasion last year.
Today’s prompt is in kind.
Your character is at war (if they aren’t in a position to be fighting the Lich King just yet, either pretend, or have them in another of the many wars that have ravaged Azeroth – from the Sundering, to the Shifting Sands, to the First and Second wars). Write a letter home from your character to someone they care for – a mentor, a lover, a friend, a family member.
OR
If your character isn’t one that would BE at war, write a letter they receive from someone they know/care about that is fighting, or the letter of encouragement they might send back.
This doesn’t need to be long, and it doesn’t need to be dark, necessarily. Will your character ask for more cookies? What happens to inkwells in Icecrown (I’d bet they freeze). Are there any comforts of home that they miss particularly? This isn’t meant to be an epic prompt or a dramatic one – just a little slice of how your character deals with the one thing that seems to have been constant on Azeroth for … well, the extent of this World of Warcraft. I guess they named it that for a reason, huh?
2 Written by
Anna on
December 10, 2009 – 11:15 am
So I had this post all ready in my head (several actually) that was clear and explanatory, possibly even worthwhile and informative! After a link post yesterday, I figured you guys were due for some actual posted content too.
And then… and then I got a ping in GoogleChat from Arrens.
It had this in it (from Loreli of AoD Studios):
I’ve mentioned before how amazing it is to have someone create art of your characters.
There’s something about seeing your mental creations taken into visual space that just – well, it’s hard to explain. It makes the character even more real, it’s hugely evocative, and it makes you just want to hug whoever did the art while you dance around shoving it under anyone’s nose that will look at it and listen to you gush. (Which is, of course, essentially all this post is… >.>)
This piece is quite different in style from the previous artwork I’ve had done of Aely – Lansiron’s work is very finely detailed, this piece from Loreli is done in broad strokes. But the emotion, the expression, the general atmosphere is just as effective in both styles, and I’m totally thrilled with both. I love the fact that it’s done almost as a negative image – the background is dark, and it’s the places where there is /not/ color and shading that makes it work so well – and both of their facial expressions are just awesome.
So thank you again, Loreli.
You kicked the awesome up to 11.
(And to anyone that’s wondering, or couldn’t tell – if you have the opportunity to have someone create art of your characters? It’s /totally/ worth it. Especially if the artists are as amazing as Loreli and Lansiron are.)
