Project Lore

It's the time of year again, boys and girls. As Hallow's End approaches, everyone is gearing up to slay the Headless Horseman and gorge themselves on Tricky Treats, but it might be worth your while to celebrate the holiday's real-life equivalent, too. Each year, Blizzard hosts a pumpkin carving contest, and 2009 is no exception. They're looking for some talented gourdsmiths to artfully slice up these over-sized fruits to depict characters or scenes from at least one of the company's video game franchises. Zarhym details the rules below:

"The Royal Photographic Society of Azeroth is renewing its competition in celebration of Halloween. In a longstanding Blizzard Entertainment tradition, this year we're proud to announce our seventh annual pumpkin-carving contest. 2008's Winner, an exquisitely-crafted Horde pumpkin by Merrlynch Between 12:00 a.m. PDT on October 13 and 11:59 p.m. PDT on October 28, the RPSA will be accepting submissions for the pumpkin contest. The shutterbugs who submit the most outstanding photos of their work will have their pictures proudly displayed on WorldofWarcraft.com and Blizzard.com on Halloween. In addition, the crafters of the five most interesting, original, and well-carved pumpkin designs will each be recognized for their merits with a 32 GB iPod touch! Special thanks go out to Apple for this fantastic prize! Pumpkin submission tips:

• The winning entries will display high levels of originality, craftsmanship, and possibly humor.
• Your pumpkin must be lit up by a candle or other light source in your photo entry. You can show another photo of the pumpkin unlit if you wish.
• Pumpkins must be related to World of Warcraft or another Blizzard Entertainment title.
• Try to take the best picture possible, as picture quality helps make a good impression on the judges.
• Make sure you tell us what the pumpkin is supposed to be in the caption, just in case it's not clear."

Having big, meaty fingers like my own, and the carving skills of a back-alley surgeon, I don't think I'll be participating, myself. Every jack-o-lantern I try to make looks like Gary Busey after a motorcycle crash. And, besides, some of the winners from past years are intimidatingly well-made! But if you think you've got the chops, why not try your hand at it? Even if you don't win, you'll still have a bad-ass looking pumpkin to put on your doorstep. Full rules and a submission form can be found here.

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Oh, Hallow's End, how you have drawn me into the game once more. I mentioned in my Hallow's End Achievements post that it is my favorite seasonal event in Azeroth, and real life. The new Achievements, items and especially the candy, that Hallow's End offers has drawn me back to the game ahead of Wrath of the Lich King, which I did not expect to happen. I may not be raiding, but I am playing as much as before, if not more.

My new priest has received most of my Hallow's End play time, as well as most of my time in general. I have tackled a few of those Achievements I mentioned, despite the fact that I said I don't really care. I guess when I am so close to completing things like Tricks and Treats of Eastern Kingdoms, I get sucked into the idea of the pretty colors and effects flashing across my screen when I grab my last goodie. Unfortunately, I haven't tested my new found healing abilities in The Graveyard of Scarlet Monastery yet. The Headless Horsemen is just going to have to wait until I am 70, which should be before the event ends on November 1^st. I really need to get her in there so can experience the encounter as a healer.  Of course, she could also use the two rings, the mount, and squashling.

If I don't think my Priest is going to make it to 70 by the end of this week, I guess I will just start farming the Horseman on my Rogue. The rogue still needs an epic flyer, and while I will still have to cough up most of the money for the riding skill, at least I will look cool on the hard-to-get mount. Sadly, nothing else but the encounter itself is really needed.

I know Hallow's End is just a few days old at this point. Judging from the comments in my last post, that hasn't stopped some of you from completing the insane Hallowed Be Thy Name Achievement. Props to those who managed to accomplish it in only four days time, especially if you finished it before A Mask for All Occasions' removal. What are you guys going to do now? Work on scoring it on your alts, back to farming gold ahead of Wrath or abusing the EZMode raids due to the new patch?

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