The Valar

[Falconer]

Here’s a little thing I did, not super interesting, but I thought I’d share. There is a “common pantheon” in Foster’s Miscellany - www.drivethrurpg.com/product/407327/Fosters-Miscellany-Volume-1 - and I thought it would be interesting to map them to Tolkien’s Valar and Maiar. Not all fits are great, but that’s part of what makes it interesting.

The Father	Manwë
The Mother	Varda
The Grower	Vana or Melian
The Son	Eönwë
The Protector	Tulkas
The Judge	Mandos
The Scholar	Aulë
The Mariner	Ulmo
The Wanderer	Oromë or Gandalf
The Drunkard	Lórien
The Trickster	Saruman
The Corrupter	Melkor
The Deceiver	Sauron
The Killer	Makar or Gothmog
The Destroyer	Ungoliant
Brother Sun	Arien
Mother Earth	Yavanna
Sister Moon	Tilion

[Falconer]

I am kind of obsessed with coming up with a minimalist list of the Valar for my campaign. Interestingly, The Lord of the Rings names or mentions six Valar (well, one of them is “of the people of the Valar”):

The Elder King
Elbereth
Aulë
Oromë
Melian
Morgoth

Here’s another minimalist list I like, which I’ll explain in a moment:

Manwë
Aulë
Yavanna
Oromë
Mandos

It comes from Unfinished Tales via ICE’s 1990s Middle-earth: The Wizards collectible card game. I sure obsessed over this material as a kid.

[Falconer]

Here’s how I handwave clerics in Middle-earth: “Non-evil Priests per se are nonexistent in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings; however, he did often write about Loremasters and Healers and Wise-women. Among the Eldar and Edain there were clearly devotees of specific Valar and Maiar who were pupils and lovers of their specific lore and wisdom, and enjoyed their favor and protection— eg., the Aulenduri (servants of Aulë) and the Uinendili (lovers of Uinen). Or who can forget the powerful aid the Ring-bearers received when calling upon the name of Elbereth?”

So here’s my final “minimal list” of Valar and other subjects of non-evil quasi-religious orders in Middle-earth:

• Manwë
  • The Elder King
  • Lord of Winds
• Varda
• Aule
  • Aulendur
  • Khuzdul
• Yavanna
• Mandos 🙲 Nienna
• Lórien 🙲 Melian
• Ossë 🙲 Uinen
• Oromë
• Arien
  • Higher
  • Lower

I like to make a distinction between the Aulenduri — a Noldorin (originally) sect or school concerned with lore (including but not exclusively smithcraft) learned directly from Aulë in Valinor — and the Dwarven quasi-religion, which I view as certainly ultimately acknowledging Mahal as the great spirit who fashioned them, but being more immediately in the service of the Father as ancestor-hero-saint.