tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088Sun, 05 May 2013 19:21:57 +0000PersonalAnti-sexistRoleplayingRace: Forsaken20 daysRaidsLootStorytellingSillyArtBattle petsBrawler's guildStory: CordulaBloggingClass: monkSkill focusTiny postCommunityPvEDungeonsSpec: windwalkerSoloingBlog Azeroth shared topicStory: Nyxrinne's JournalLevelling upBlog rollPatchesFictionReputationSeasonalExplorationQuestingTransmogrificationMists of PandariaGuildCharacterA rotten monk's ramblings about the world of Warcraft.http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)Blogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-7544811560559478168Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:44:00 +00002013-03-02T13:31:55.807ZCharacterAnti-sexistPatchesCommunityMists of Pandaria<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/possessions.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/possessions.jpg" class="centreimg" alt="Throne of Thunder: Twin Consorts."></a> <p>How to dig yourself deeper into a hole in three simple steps:</p> <ol><li>Create a vibrant world with a wide range of characters, only to introduce new species with each expansion that come only in the default (male) gender.</li> <li>Create a female model for one of these races post-launch. Make it hypersexualised, and limit its appearance to one boss fight. Be sure to give it a name that describes it in terms of its relationship with a male character.</li> <li>Release a <a href="http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/blog/7407622/Patch_52_Raid_Preview_Throne_of_Thunder-26_02_2013">blog post</a> in which all other bosses are discussed in terms of fight mechanics and design team influences with jokes ahoy. In the section about this new Female Fight, neglect to do this, and instead neatly justify step two with a design team within a design team. Be sure to put extra emphasis on women as trophies for bonus depth.</li></ol> <p>Done? Congratulations, I bet you can barely see daylight that far underground!</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/mogu-did-it-possessions-of-thunder-king.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/mogu-did-it-possessions-of-thunder-king.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-4401657785795279844Sun, 24 Feb 2013 20:31:00 +00002013-02-24T20:36:57.520ZSilly<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/polar-banner.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/polar-banner.jpg" class="centreimg" alt="Lies and deceit."></a><p>So I was working toward VP cap on my paladin roughly twenty minutes ago when a seemingly everyday question was asked in guild chat: why is Orgrimmar full of polar bears? All the critters are polar bears.</p><p>Being super duper knowledgeable and that, I suggested that a mage or two had gone on a poly spree.</p><p>No, said my guildie. They don&#39;t have any active effects on them.</p><p>Perplexed, I logged over to Nyxrinne to have a look at these not-polyed critters. And you know what? I still have no idea what&#39;s going on here, but it&#39;s kinda brilliant.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/arctic-imposters.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/arctic-imposters.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-4603306407858575635Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:14:00 +00002013-02-19T15:19:34.194ZTransmogrificationCommunity<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/mataoscars-2.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/mataoscars-2.jpg" alt="Warcraft Oscars" class="centreimg"></a> <p>So, Matty of <a href="http://wowsugar.blogspot.co.uk/">Sugar &amp; Blood</a> is hosting <a href="http://wowsugar.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/you-like-me-you-really-like-me.html">a transmogrification contest based on favourite films</a>, and I thought I’d take a stab at producing a proper entry.</p> <p>This past year has been fairly disappointing for me in terms of film: I haven’t been able to go to the cinema all that often, and I haven’t much liked the majority of what I <em>have</em> seen. I did, however, enjoy <em>Snow White and the Huntsman</em> almost unreservedly, and it features women leads in brilliant costumes. Suffice to say, my choice of film to represent in transmog form was almost made for me.</p> <p>I should note that, while I was faffing around with the huntsman, Kaitz beat me to it with this film. You can see her <a href="http://memoirsofapetcollector.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/mattys-movie-transmog-contest.html">transmog sets here</a>. As you’ll soon see, mine are much less accurate…</p> <a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/warcraft-at-oscars.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/warcraft-at-oscars.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-7504058087731449712Mon, 18 Feb 2013 07:53:00 +00002013-02-18T07:53:38.688Z20 daysBloggingPersonal<img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/my-face.jpg" alt="I FOUND IT IN MY PHOTO FOLDER AND IT MADE ME LAUGH STOP JUDGING ME." class="centreimg"> <p>I’ve been dithering over whether to take part in the various ‘twenty days’ challenges that have been popping up all over my RSS reader.</p> <p>My brain is a stubborn lump, y’see. It notes that I’ve updated within the last three or four days and it decides it doesn’t want to write that concluding paragraph for an otherwise-finished post. If I was updating with a 20 days post every day, well, I don’t think I’d get anything else written.</p> <p>And yes, that is an admission that I’m not entirely on top of this ‘self motivation’ gig. I am working on it, alright.</p> <p>I’ve come to the conclusion that my best bet is to answer questions on a once-weekly basis, leaving the rest of the week to normal posts. The next twenty Mondays, therefore, will be dedicated to <a href="http://spellbound.nu/?p=829">Saga’s 20 Days of Blogging Challenge</a>. I’m thinking Friday can host my attempts at prose, but we’ll see about that. For now, onward.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/20-days-of-blogging-introduction.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/20-days-of-blogging-introduction.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-1125733111842522255Sat, 16 Feb 2013 17:24:00 +00002013-02-17T09:26:49.173ZClass: monkSkill focusMists of Pandaria<a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Hogger.png"><img alt="Touch of Death versus Hogger. Who else?" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Hogger.png" class="centreimg"></a> <p>In retrospect, I should have anticipated the downside to naming a blog after a class skill: luring people in search of Actual Information to a blog full of rambling and silliness.</p> <p>To all the WoW players who’ve stumbled here while searching for the details of the monk ability, I&#39;m sorry. Here’s a run-through of the basics as they stand.</p> <h3>Baseline</h3> <p><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=115080">Touch of Death</a> is learned at level twenty-two.<img align="right" alt="Touch of Death. Image by Nyxrinne." src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Touch-Rune.png"></p> <p>At a cost of three chi, Touch of Death will instantly kill non-player targets, but it can only be used on foes whose health is equal to or lower than yours. This is the actual number of hit points they have, not the percentage: as a levelling monk, you’ll find you can essentially one-shot some mobs from full health with this skill.</p> <p>Touch of Death requires melee range to use, and has a 1.5 minute cooldown.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/touch-of-death.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/touch-of-death.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-7211418878109868470Mon, 11 Feb 2013 11:28:00 +00002013-02-19T14:44:06.571ZSeasonal<p>Love is in the Air is back once again in 2013 with its <em>much-adored</em> grindfest. Any luck with with <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=50250/big-love-rocket">Big Love Rocket</a> yet? I thought not.</p> <img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/swift-lovebird.png" align="right" alt="The Swift Lovebird: its beady eyes are taunting you."> <p>Fortunately for us, the other seasonal mount we can obtain during this event is the <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=72146/swift-lovebird">Swift Lovebird</a>, and it isn&#39;t RNG-dependant like its flying counterpart. Instead you can buy it for a mere 270 <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=49927">Love Tokens</a> from the seasonal vendor.</p> <p>Love Tokens are purchased with <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=49916">Lovely Charm Bracelets</a>, one for one, although there are daily quests that allow you to pass a bracelet to each faction leader for five tokens a pop.</p> <p>It takes ten Lovely Charms to create one bracelet, and you obtain Lovely Charms when you kill mobs within your level range, so long as you&#39;ve a <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=49661">Lovely Charm Collector&#39;s Kit</a> in your inventory.</p> <p>In short, the Love Bird demands you mow down 2,700 foes if you&#39;re allergic to dailies, which I&#39;m sure is brilliant news that no-one is cursing aloud. But restrain your glee: there are several grind spots that trivialise this challenge, and I&#39;m about to list the best I can find right here.</p> <a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/excellent-farm-spots-for-lovely-charms.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/excellent-farm-spots-for-lovely-charms.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-4823532429246002533Sun, 10 Feb 2013 10:13:00 +00002013-02-10T17:42:42.709ZTiny postLootTransmogrificationSilly<P>So I took Praelia through the Shado-Pan Monastery today for the first time. Wow, was she ever lucky with the drops. Actually, lucky might not be quite the right word for it.</P> <h3>Enter: stylish</h3> <img class="centreimg" alt="Praelia before." src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/enter-pretty.jpg"> <h3>Exit: terrible</h3> <img class="centreimg" alt="Praelia after." src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/exit-terrible.jpg"> <P>I’ve inspected this from all angles now, and it is 100% certified horrible from every single one.</P> <center><table><tr><td><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/terrible-behind.jpg" alt="Terrible hunter armour."></td> <td><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/terrible-front-bottom.jpg" alt="More terrible hunter armour."></td> <td><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/terrible-above.jpg" alt="Terrible hunter armour again."></td> </tr></table></center> <p>It’s so terrible, in fact, that I just might keep it.</P>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-defeat-of-fashionable-hunter.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-5347387994377903427Sat, 09 Feb 2013 22:07:00 +00002013-02-09T22:07:33.932ZSeasonalMists of Pandaria<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/lunar-banner.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/lunar-banner.jpg" alt="Lunar Festival in Mists of Pandaria"></a></p> <p>We’ve reached the end of this year’s Lunar Festival, and I have to say: it was <em>even more</em> disappointing than usual.</p> <p>I know, that sounds difficult to achieve. The Lunar Festival’s in-game purpose has always been to celebrate the defeat of the Legion in the <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/War_of_the_Ancients">War of the Ancients</a>, an enormously important event in lore that led to the <a href="http://www.wowpedia.org/Great_Sundering">reshaping of Azeroth itself</a>, and it has always failed to convey even a pittance of the story.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-lunar-festival-in-mop.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-lunar-festival-in-mop.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-3951713910111591884Wed, 06 Feb 2013 12:00:00 +00002013-02-06T12:00:13.514ZStory: CordulaFiction<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Cordula04.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Cordula04.jpg" alt="Rainy day in Gilneas"></a></p><p>Water soaked her through as the mist began to dissipate, froze her to the bone. Silhouettes blocked out in uniform shades of grey began to show through the whiteness. Slowly the trees gained their knots and gnarls, and the post not far in front of her gained hair and eyes. </p><p>Copper and suspect shared a moment free of any comprehension: both rubbing their arms for warmth, both staring, expecting greenery.</p><p> Then the hoarfrost over Cordula’s brain gave way. She saw his helm over curling brown hair; the feline aspect to his face, cheekbones broad, eyes set wide; a thatch of beard along his jaw; and his standard-issue armour, the crest on the clasp of his cloak scratched away, where tapered gouges met in the middle like a brass snowflake. </p><p>Her stone-cold muscles turned her instinctive charge into a stiff-legged stumble. Blundering through ankle-deep water, her teeth chattering so hard she couldn’t force open her jaw to yell, she saw reality sink in through the man’s eyes, and his flight reflex flare up. </p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/Cordula-chapter-four.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/Cordula-chapter-four.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-3887958673451046554Sun, 03 Feb 2013 12:34:00 +00002013-02-03T17:41:41.324ZSillyQuestingMists of Pandaria<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Ogudei.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Ogudei.jpg" alt="Dominance Offensive Pits of Ogudei"></a></p><p>Okay Horde, it’s been weeks since the release of the Dominance Offensive dailies, and I think we need an intervention.</p> <p>I know it seems like a goliath task. I know it may feel as though you’d need truly mountainous willpower to do it. But you have a support network all around you, and you <em>can</em> escape the Ruins of Ogudei.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-pits-of-ogudei.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-pits-of-ogudei.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-4899603445849962384Tue, 29 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +00002013-01-29T12:47:39.211ZStory: CordulaFiction<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Cordula03.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Cordula03.jpg"></a></p> <p>The mud sucked at her boots, made her stumble. In all her armour Cordula held no delusions of being quiet at the best of times, but all this splashing and cursing wasn’t getting her anywhere, just increasing the chance she got sucked under, or that something mortiferous heard and reckoned it could get a solid meal out of her.</p> <p>She circled, lost, direction unfathomable with each patch of ground all dislocated from the next by the wall of white, and finally set her arse down on a mouldering log.</p> <p>What choice was there? Whoever it was, they were gone. Disappeared just as soundly as Dag and the injured guard, the path, and even the cathedral spire of Gilneas. Now that was proper disconcerting. The sight of the city was meant to be a constant.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/Cordula-chapter-three.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/Cordula-chapter-three.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-1691207177784549333Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:00 +00002013-01-24T12:00:18.732ZStory: CordulaFiction<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Cordula02.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Cordula02.jpg"></a></p> <p>The ground was steep past the bridge, steeper than either of them had expected, and wet from the dewfall. Dag slipped a few times, trying to forge ahead, trying to lead, his pistol drawn early, while Cordula planted her feet carefully, doubting, now, the shadows that entranced her, subjecting them to every inquiry her eyes and ears could make.</p> <p>It was a narrow path for a thoroughfare, this one, with the rising cliffs on one side and the falling cliffs on the other. There wasn’t much space for anything to hide, unless it sprang down from the rocks – and her head turned up at that thought, and she eyed the jagged ridge, jet black with the moon behind it. Nothing.</p> <p>Still nothing as the slope began to level out and the gatehouse into Gilneas loomed, with its lamps left unbroken and its walls good and strong. The other patrol didn’t head into the city, she knew that much, and there was only one other way to go: along the path as it doubled back on itself, following the very base of the cliffs around toward Duskhaven. Alongside the bog, as it happened, and well into the thick of the mist.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/Cordula-chapter-two.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/Cordula-chapter-two.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-2194192939450391081Wed, 23 Jan 2013 14:09:00 +00002013-01-23T14:09:51.120ZBattle petsRaidsPvESoloingSpec: windwalkerClass: monk<p align="center"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Razorgore.jpg"></p><p>Right, so, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/achievement=7934">Raiding with Leashes</a> is a thing, most of the new pets are several kinds of brilliant, and, oh yeah, some of them drop from <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/zone=2677">Blackwing Lair</a>. The place that has beckoned with all kinds of pretty armour for years, only to subject prospective soloists to burny beatdown at the very first hurdle: <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=12435">Razorgore</a>.</p> <p>For those who <em>haven’t</em> hated Razorgore since the dawn of time, I can summarise: there is a room full of eggs with a dragon and an orb. You click the orb to control the dragon and smash the eggs, and while you’re doing this your character is incapacitated. Adds spawn in waves and dogpile you and your new scaly minion. If said minion is overwhelmed, you can enjoy being one-shot.</p> <p>You can see why a lot of my in-game mates have been somewhat reluctant to attempt this encounter again, even though they’re now thirty levels above the raid requirement. In fact, I’ve been drafting in my epic paladin friend whenever I run Blackwing Lair on any character other than <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6_PfASeeP8">my cheating hunter</a>.</p> <p>This ended last week, when I tired of being scaredy and tried it on my own. Although things went less than smoothly because I can be a bit of a numpty at times, I downed him first try, and headed back there again this morning to see if I could improve on things. As it happens, when you’re not running around like a headless chicken, being a monk (or perhaps simply being level ninety) trivialises the encounter.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/windwalker-vs-razorgore.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/windwalker-vs-razorgore.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-5949909525660590895Tue, 22 Jan 2013 23:09:00 +00002013-01-22T23:09:01.935ZBloggingBlog rollPersonal<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/touchofdeath/Navi.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/touchofdeath/Navi.jpg" width="620" height="400"></a></p> <p>I&#39;m actually starting to feel <a href="https://twitter.com/Nyxrinne/status/293525214384504832">ill again</a> by this point, but today was a fine day of <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1PGxxXuuwuYqhaDiYozonVrCL_1lnsw1ZfWsmrMXz2q0/edit">writing</a> and <a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/WP_20130122_001.jpg">sunshine</a> and feeling unusually bouncy. Then things got even better, as per the header screenshot.</p> <p>Maybe another screenshot will provide sufficient clarification.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-good-day-is-better-with-visits.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/a-good-day-is-better-with-visits.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-7124721553607069031Tue, 22 Jan 2013 14:53:00 +00002013-01-22T14:54:15.117ZBrawler's guildSpec: windwalkerClass: monkCommunity<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/touchofdeath/brawlers-guild.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/touchofdeath/brawlers-guild.jpg" height="290" width="620"></a></p><p>It seems I picked up my <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=93194">Blood-Soaked Invitation</a> at around the same time as a couple more established bloggers (<a href="http://frostwolves.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/breaking-first-rule-of-brawlers-guild.html">Navimie</a> and <a href="http://www.bubblesofmischief.com/2013/01/21/brawlers-guild">Cymre</a>). I thought I’d add to the newbie brawler report! I gained my invitation by camping the faction rares for a while. Long enough, in fact, that Nyxrinne is now sporting half a PvP set, courtesy of a large stack of <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=93411">Honourable Commendations</a>.</p> <p>First off, the Brawler’s Guild is a lot of fun. Being a little self-conscious of what I anticipated being massive failure on my part, I started fighting early in the morning before work to avoid the crowd, but as other people started filtering through, mostly low-ranking newbies like me, there was no nastiness at all.</p> <p>In fact, we ended up cheering each other on. Eventually a rank seven priest showed up, working on GG Engineering, and the rest of us paused our queuing to let her spam the fight a bit. Compared to our <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=67262">crocolisks</a> and <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=68257">rams</a>, <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=67487">those</a><a href="http://www.wowhead.com/npc=67488"> guys</a> with their rockets looked <em>hard</em>.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/beginner-brawler.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/beginner-brawler.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-2830980174543986606Mon, 21 Jan 2013 20:07:00 +00002013-01-21T20:14:16.709ZLootSillyClass: monkMists of Pandaria<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/monk-t14-15.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/monk-t14-15.jpg"></a></div><p>Shy of <a href="http://shyatwow.blogspot.co.uk/" target="_blank">Shy at WoW</a> posted earlier to flag up the <a href="http://shyatwow.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/monk-tier-15.html" target="_blank">similarities between tiers fourteen and fifteen for monks</a>, pointing out the prevalence of saucer hats and the lack of anything really interesting about them.</p> <p>For the most part, I agree with her. I felt tier fourteen in particular was an unsuccessful attempt to prove that splashing neon onto neutral tones can make for something beautiful. Both fourteen and fifteen lack any powerful centrepiece to them.</p> <p>This changes somewhat if you view tier fifteen’s chestpiece on the male model, mind you. Due to a lack of boobs to cover, it becomes a lot more interesting.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/monk-tier-breaks-no-moulds.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/monk-tier-breaks-no-moulds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-3152916143824561361Wed, 16 Jan 2013 11:28:00 +00002013-03-07T18:54:30.990ZStory: CordulaFiction<p align="center"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Cordula01.jpg"></p><p>They put her on the night shift as a punishment, and after the second week Cordula was in love. It was the dark that did it. Only the shadows moved on the daytime beat, but when shadow had full reign it made the whole world shift along with it.</p> <p>She strolled through the centre of Stormglen at just after suppertime with the air balmy and the light dying slow. The lamplighter walked right alongside, chatty-like, her long pole with the wick on the end lifting up to the lamps until the streets were awash with flickering orange and the blackness danced between the cobblestones.</p> <p>Daytime was near-dead by the time she left the lamplighter at the outskirts. The sun hit the sea as she headed west: the water bronzed to precious metal, the path underfoot baked red, and one last gout of light lent flame to the trees. For a half-minute the Blackwald seemed to burn, before the stars opened up overhead, and the darkness set in.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/Cordula-chapter-one.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/Cordula-chapter-one.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-7837231673189511299Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:21:00 +00002013-01-14T00:10:01.541ZCharacterPersonalRoleplayingBlog Azeroth shared topic<p align="center"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/touchofdeath/bryma-is-miriah.jpg"></p><blockquote><a href="http://www.blogazeroth.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&amp;t=3466">Which of your characters do you always look forward to “seeing?” But the real question is why? Perhaps think of this from a role playing perspective, that this character has a personality, play style and demeanour that inevitably just works.</a><p align="right">Topic suggested by Mataoka of <a href="http://wowsugar.blogspot.com.au/">Sugar and Blood</a></p></blockquote><p>My favourite character, the one I always come back to, the one I’ve played the most and who always makes my top ten list, is my shadow priest, Miriah. This post has become a bit of a tribute to her.</p><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/Miriah-necromancer-ready.jpg" align="right"><p>I created Miriah at the start of June 2006 for roleplay, duelling and battlegrounds, and <a href="http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/character/moonglade/Sevielle/simple">my first character</a> (who had spent her time duelling outside Ironforge and raiding AQ) never drew my attention back.</p> <p>At the time this wasn’t all that confusing to me, as I had yet to figure out my preferred role in the game.</p><p> Nowadays, though, I’ve played through all the classes and I know I love being in melee range, if not tanking outright, more than anything else.<p></p> It seems a bit <em>odd</em> that my ‘main main’ is a caster. So I’ve been thinking a bit about why she’s such a compelling avatar.</p> <a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/BA-shared-No-Favourites.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/BA-shared-No-Favourites.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-5075206133022842074Thu, 10 Jan 2013 19:10:00 +00002013-03-07T11:18:31.220ZPatches<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/troll-reskin.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/troll-reskin.jpg"></a></p></div><p>After a minor spat with life I’m working on a proper blog post, but I saw the new model for the Jungle Troll Councillor (which you can view in 3D <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/news=209850/5-2-ptr-new-3d-models-ability-effects-rebuilt-capital-cities#modelviewer:1:47730:0">here on Wowhead</a> if you haven’t already) and had to say <em>something</em>.</p><p>This is the first time since Therazane that I’ve looked at a new female model and loved it unabashedly. Look, look!</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/SPOILERS-5-2-troll-model.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2013/01/SPOILERS-5-2-troll-model.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-1579743654187270461Wed, 26 Dec 2012 14:38:00 +00002013-01-11T00:02:53.567ZBloggingBlog rollFirst off, happy holidays to everyone who celebrates at this time of year! I hope your day(s) were enjoyable/tolerable and any allergic reactions to the ubiquitous soap-related presents were kept to a minimum. (Also that you did not lick any gifts trying to puzzle out if they were soap or food. Thank you <a href="https://www.lush.co.uk/">Lush</a> for that particular experience.)<br><br>Secondly, thank you so much to everyone who&#39;s been visiting and commenting on the blog, adding it to their blog rolls and retweeting my posts on Twitter. The number of hits Touch of Death received this month is double last month&#39;s traffic, and it&#39;s exciting to know there are people out there reading what I&#39;ve written and enjoying it enough to come back (<i>voluntarily</i>, even). Double love goes out to commenters for turning my rambles into discussion.<br><br>Which leads me to a site note: Touch of Death now uses <a href="http://disqus.com/">Disqus</a> for its comment threads. Blogger&#39;s default system is perfectly functional and all, but the comment form loads through an <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML_element#Frames">iframe</a> so I&#39;m unable to edit the look and feel of it to match the rest of the site. This, of course, is <i>unacceptable</i>. Thus: Disqus.<br><br>Unfortunately, while Disqus has copied all the comments over so nothing has been lost, existing comment <i>threads</i> have been broken by the switch over. Much, much more annoyingly, all the links back to each commenter&#39;s blogs have been rudely severed. So I thought I&#39;d do something to make up for that.<br><br><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-disqus-transition-and-some-blogs.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-disqus-transition-and-some-blogs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-2861060824580041061Sat, 22 Dec 2012 23:00:00 +00002013-01-23T12:59:48.639ZBattle petsArtBlog Azeroth shared topic<p align="center"><a href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/raidingwithleashes.jpg"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/raidingwithleashes.jpg"></a></p> <blockquote><a href="http://www.blogazeroth.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&amp;t=3460">If a future patch adds more raid-dropped pets like those introduced in 5.1, what pets would you like to see? What raid and boss would they be available from?</a><p align="right">Topic suggested by Effraeti of <a href="http://awaitingthemuse.wordpress.com/">Awaiting the Muse</a></p></blockquote> <p>This is an interesting question not only because it&#39;s a nice creative outlet, but because it has me thinking all about which bosses stand out from the rest and why. What makes a boss memorable? How do you encapsulate it in a pet?</p> <p>I&#39;m not much of a designer, but I&#39;ve picked out a few of my favourite bosses, each memorable for a different reason, and taken a wild stab at imagining up a pet for them.</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-raid-pets.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-raid-pets.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-7153796540269104244Mon, 17 Dec 2012 21:15:00 +00002013-01-21T10:37:04.004ZSillyMists of Pandaria<p>Farmer Yoon is not alone, and I don&#39;t mean that as a terrible lead-in to <em>he&#39;s got you, best friends forever!</em></p><p>I&#39;ve noticed this a few times on the inn-to-farm run my sad, neglected alts make most days. There&#39;s something shadowy on Sunsong Ranch, right by Yoon himself.</p><p align="center"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/haunting-yoon-1.jpg"></p><p>It&#39;s a little easier to see in-game because it&#39;s moving, but hopefully you can make out the slight shadow in that screenshot, between the witchberries and the carrot.</p><p>Investigating this proved difficult. As soon as you cross into the phased part of Halfhill, the ranch itself, the shadow despawns. It despawns more quickly than <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=101545/flying-serpent-kick">Flying Serpent Kick</a> can handle, which is saying something. That skill can handle <a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/the-levelling-experience-movement.html">most things.</a></p><p>My investigation tailed off, until <a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/miriahs-epic-adventure.html">my most recent silliness</a> reminded me that I have a priest, and that priests have <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/spell=2096">Mind Vision</a>. What better way to investigate the haunting of Sunsong than with the Yoon cam?</p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-haunting-of-sunsong-ranch.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-haunting-of-sunsong-ranch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-1830356286809515793Wed, 12 Dec 2012 21:33:00 +00002012-12-12T21:36:04.024ZRace: ForsakenArt<P align=center><img src=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/forceiswithyou-Nyxrinne.jpg></P><P>I would word now, but sometimes those are overrated.</P><P>Nyxrinne by the excellent <a href=http://forceiswithyou.livejournal.com/>Forceiswithyou</a>, who kindly threw sketches to lucky WoW_Ladies in the build up to her finals!</p>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/forceiswithyou-Nyxrinne.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-8874874394405547385Tue, 11 Dec 2012 18:09:00 +00002013-01-31T00:47:39.546ZStory: Nyxrinne's JournalFiction<p><h5><a href=http://touch-of-death.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/orgrimmar.html>Previous</a></h5></P> <P>Today I am on a boat. The living soldiers don’t particularly want me below deck, and the crew don’t particularly want me on deck, so I volunteered to sit up in the crow’s nest on watch. They would have refused this as well, I think, if I had not pointed out that I need very little sleep. So little that I can feasibly stay awake for the duration of the trip, and avoid polluting their deck altogether.</P> <P>That appeased them, so now I am up at the top of what is essentially a very tall pole, which pitches a lot when the water fusses, and takes the brunt of the wind at all times. I don’t mean that as a complaint. Those things are now my primary defence from the rowdiness below. No-one will come up here to pester me, so I can write as freely as I want.</P> <P>I cut off the other day because Awende interrupted. She came down from behind me, calling Nyxrinne! Walking dead girl! Then she cut off because I had turned to look, and she had seen my robes.</P> <P>I had put on my apothecary garb between witnessing the orc guard at the inn and sitting down in the Cleft of Shadow to write because it is comforting to be in uniform, even when the uniform is tied to a cause I don’t support in full. There are Forsaken in Orgrimmar who have gone over completely to the Horde, and cut ties to the Forsaken and thus really humankind in the process. I was repulsed by the idea of being mistaken for one of them.</P> <P>I admit, writing this now, that it was not a particularly logical decision at all. It was more a sign of how nervous I had become.</P> <P>Nevermind. I waited to see what Awende would do. For a moment, that was nothing more than stare. Then she scoffed.</P> <P>‘The way you were talking, I shoulda known. That’s some dark company you’re in with there, Nyxin.’</P> <P>‘I’m looking for a cure,’ I said.</P> <P>‘Whatever it takes, yes? I think you’ll be wasting your time. What Bwonsamdi has taken, he won’t be giving back.’</P> <P>This is roughly in line with what I have heard for as long as I have been Forsaken, from all different sources. It did not surprise me to hear it, but I was already under the weight of whatever complicated thinking was going on in the back of my head, so her words did bring me lower.</P> <P>‘We’ll see,’ I said.</P> <P>She came and sat next to me. ‘So then, did you come here to sit right in the chest of this Horde?’</P> <P>‘I don’t know what that means,’ I said. I was sullen.</P> <P>‘Right next to its beating heart.’ She thumped her chest like a pulse with one hand, and pointed with the other to a nearby tent.</P> <P>It was a warlock hut. I could see in through the sides, it was that poorly maintained, and there was an orc working on his runes inside, drawing them out on the floor in green fire. Two more were watching, too far from us for me to hear their comments.</P> <P>‘They’re the ones enjoying Garrosh’s loving care,’ said Awende. ‘They led the march on Theramore, the Horde made strong with demon might. Your people call that history repeating, I think.’</P> <P>‘Don’t,’ I said.</P> <P>‘What’s the matter, walking dead, tired of truth already?’</P> <P>‘Yes,’ I said. I drew my velvet sleeves taut around my knuckles. ‘It’s this place.’</P> <P>Where her tone had held bitter vitriol, now there was some gentleness. ‘Tired of the sight of us all slipping under, like your people slipped.’</P> <P>‘Just tired.’</P> <P>‘Come with me,’ she said. ‘There’s warships setting out for a whole new world. I don’t say a lot of this won’t come with us, but I do say a lot more will stay behind. Come. Let’s see if Bwonsamdi’s grip stays as strong past the mists.’</P> <P>Two things are probably very clear already: that she did not think the loa’s grip would lessen at all, and that I agreed to go. What I do not think anyone would anticipate, because we did not, was that Awende’s presence on the boat was protested even more than mine. So much that she was not allowed on at all. She is for now my lone companion in the crow’s nest, as a frog I am keeping wrapped up in my cloak for the warmth I cannot provide. It is a strange turn of events that one of the Forsaken is trusted over one of the Darkspear. I will have to work out why.</P> <P>We are due to reach land in two days, where we will set up a base of operations. I am not sure what Awende means to do then, as a stowaway whose race will not have changed and probably not become welcome simply because we have arrived. What I do know is that we bring almost as many cannons as people. The Horde is bringing war to this new land of Pandaria.</P>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/sailing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1222360421899134088.post-6393518731126873884Mon, 10 Dec 2012 19:43:00 +00002012-12-10T19:43:02.353ZExplorationSilly<p align="center"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/ferdy-what.jpg"></p><p>So, I woke up at quarter to five in the morning because my brain is a crime against humanity. Because my brain is a crime against humanity, I couldn’t then get back to sleep, so I decided I wanted to do some rare and relic hunting. Nyxrinne, I felt, was far too well-equipped for such a venture, so I hopped to my old main, Miriah, and started out.</p> <p>The main advantages of being Miriah are as follows.</p> <p><ul><li>Miriah is on a dead PvP server.</li><li>Miriah is still in her old Cataclysm sets.</li><li>Miriah cannot fly.</li></ul></p> <p>This makes for a lot of untouched spawns, the ability to pounce on the competition and wrestle them off cliffs, a lot of gear to upgrade, and a lot of Actual Exploring to be done from the ground.</p> <p>I basically blitzed through every single Jade Forest rare, because they were all kind enough to show up to my party. Krasarang and Four Winds were slightly less obliging, but surrendered after a few circuits and tea breaks and a brief stint questing to make Miri colourful.</p> <p align="center"><img src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v143/obsidianblade/touchofdeath/colours.jpg"><br><font size="-2">Apparently &#39;colourful&#39; isn&#39;t a desirable look for a priest of the Forgotten Shadow.</font></p> <p>She picked up <a href="http://www.wowhead.com/item=90721">epic leggings</a>, amongst some solid blue drops, and I became increasingly arrogant. What about crossing the wall and taking on the mantid, I thought.</p> <p>But it became clear that first there should be yaks.</p><p><font size="-2">Image heavy and ridiculous beneath the cut.</font></p><a href="http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/miriahs-epic-adventure.html#more">Full post »</a>http://touch-of-death.blogspot.com/2012/12/miriahs-epic-adventure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Nyxrinne)0