Un-Undying

I've been really impressed with the Warden class. I'd thought I wouldn't like it, or that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it (the jury is still out on that one), but as it turns out, I've been doing pretty well so far. I've actually done much better than I have with any other class.

As you may know, LOTRO has a series of deeds that grant you titles if you make it to several level marks without dying. They are:

• The Wary - Achieve 5th level without falling in battle
• The Undefeated - Achieve 10th level without falling in battle
• The Indomitable - Achieve 14th level without falling in battle
• The Unscathed - Achieve 17th level without falling in battle
• The Undying - Achieve 20th level without falling in battle

Prior to my Warden I'd never made it past Indomitable and I'd only achieved that once. So, when I hit Unscathed I was ecstatic and started really focusing on my game-play, stressing caution as I tried to make it to Undying.

All was going well, I'd just made it to level 19 on Saturday when I had to log off as I had promised my daughter (who likes to watch me play LOTRO) that we'd watch The Fellowship of the Ring move together (her first time). I had pushed the envelope on time so I needed to log quickly if I was going to get the movie started so she would not have to be up too too late (as it was she was going to be going to bed nearly 2 hours late). I decided to do something I rarely do, I logged off in a dangerous are (the Old Forest) rather than in a town. I wasn't too concerned though, as I had been doing well there, and I was no where near any elite trees.

We had a wonderful time with the movie. She was totally engrossed and my fears about some of the imagery turned out to be unfounded. When some of the scarier things came up, I'd ask here about it. Instead of "that's scary", "Icky", etc, I was treated to a bright eyed "it's sooooooo cool". Add to that the fact that it's now been 3 nights since the movie with no bad dreams. All in all we had a great time with the movie, and I'm looking forward to watching the others with her in the near future.

The next morning I signed into LOTRO. I had been working on these websites and wanted to go into the game for some screenshots. The login was seriously lagging and I was ultimately distracted by trying to get the server status tool working just right. When I finally got it working the way I wanted I remembered I had logged into the game.

I switched windows to find I was no longer in the Old Forest. I was in the circle of stones in Buckland. My casual gaming attitude and my easily distracted nature got the best of me. the Title "Undying" would not be mine.

I have to admit I was frustrated for a bit (my wife heard my "cry of pain" in the other room). However, it didn't take long before I realized that now I could relax and just play the game again. Throwing caution to the wind I tried to take on the Haunted Barren-Oak to complete the Haunted Forest quest (something I'd been avoiding as I tried to reach level 20 without a defeat). I described this fight IC in Beaten to a Pulp.

So why the bit about the lost eye? Well, one of those secret admirer gifts was a Black Corsair Eypatch (not a muffin recipe, I know, I was shocked too). So I thought this was an excellent opportunity to work it into the character (because let's face it, it's cool looking). To add to the image I visited the barber at the Prancing Pony Inn and added a scare to Vigilo's face that lines up perfectly with the patch.

So, I may have lost my chance at the Undying Title, but I gained game-play freedom, a cool look, and an excuse for a story that involved a host for tree puns.