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Post by Falconer on May 12, 2023 16:26:06 GMT -6
Brainstorming anything-goes character ideas. These are all non-evil, as it happens (except one where, okay, I fudged it because it seemed compelling to me), but feel free to riff on this however seems fun to you.
Werebear
Ent
Entwife
Eagle
Dog
Repentant Balrog
Dead Man (Oath-cursed)
More or Less Decent Giant
Vanya
Water-maiden
Sun-maiden
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 12, 2023 16:55:52 GMT -6
Beorn's intelligent ponies
Ravens (such as Roac)
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Post by doublejig2 on May 12, 2023 17:31:47 GMT -6
And his bees! And the crows of Dunland and Fangorn Forest. And horses especially Shadowfax. And the midges on the way to Weathertop, because they are particularly ravenous. And the squirrel who notices the hobbits as they leave Hobbiton but never finds out what they were about (weird because it had that conjecture). Or, the black squirrels of Mirkwood for that matter (weird because they under the shadow of the Necromancer)... And, for Sam, the Oliphants!
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Post by geoffrey on May 12, 2023 18:08:36 GMT -6
How about the 1937 Gollum's race, before he became a pukey little hobbit? Especially as illustrated by Tove Jansson?  |
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Post by tkdco2 on May 12, 2023 23:19:34 GMT -6
The Druedain/Woses are humans, but they seem quite unlike other Men.
Iron Crown Enterprises invented the Umli, a race descended from a human/dwarf pairing, and included them among the races in MERP.
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 13, 2023 4:21:30 GMT -6
There was a distinct race of petty dwarfs too although, IIRC, they were mostly wicked.
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Post by tombowings on May 13, 2023 7:10:50 GMT -6
How about the 1937 Gollum's race, before he became a pukey little hobbit? Especially as illustrated by Tove Jansson? This is the perfect illustration to demonstrate why the written word is almost always the superior medium than film for fantasy. |
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 15, 2023 3:46:50 GMT -6
Not really a race, but the healers of the Houses of Healing (e.g., in Minas Tirith) are perhaps of interest..?
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Post by Falconer on May 15, 2023 10:54:49 GMT -6
Not really a race, but the healers of the Houses of Healing (e.g., in Minas Tirith) are perhaps of interest..? Yup. Presently I have 12 magic-using classes — Mages/Clerics/Druids in common RPG parlance; in Tolkien’s parlance Loremasters, Wise-women, Healers, Magicians, Aulenduri, and Uinendili. My present organizing principle is to call them The Path of Manwë, The Path of Varda, The Path of Aulë, etc., and let players “skin” their character as they please. I try not to give any class excessive pew pew spells, but the only types of spells I ban outright, for the sake of niche protection and Middle-earth aesthetics, are Invisibility (get a ring!), Flying (get an eagle!), and Teleportation (sorry, you gotta travel in Middle-earth!). Though the Elves of Mirkwood have a way to teleport short distances in the forest, so a “tree door” type spell can stay. Raise dead will have to have major caveats. |
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Post by Finarvyn on May 15, 2023 11:06:12 GMT -6
Not really a race, but the healers of the Houses of Healing (e.g., in Minas Tirith) are perhaps of interest..? Yup. Presently I have 12 magic-using classes — Mages/Clerics/Druids in common RPG parlance; in Tolkien’s parlance Loremasters, Wise-women, Healers, Magicians, Aulenduri, and Uinendili. My present organizing principle is to call them The Path of Manwë, The Path of Varda, The Path of Aulë, etc., and let players “skin” their character as they please. I try not to give any class excessive pew pew spells, but the only types of spells I ban outright, for the sake of niche protection and Middle-earth aesthetics, are Invisibility (get a ring!), Flying (get an eagle!), and Teleportation (sorry, you gotta travel in Middle-earth!). Though the Elves of Mirkwood have a way to teleport short distances in the forest, so a “tree door” type spell can stay. Raise dead will have to have major caveats. Can you post more on this, perhaps in another thread so as to not totally derail this one? I ask because my wife wants to play a spellcaster in a 5E LotR RPG campaign and it sounds like you have put more thought into this than I have.  |
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Post by Falconer on May 15, 2023 11:09:56 GMT -6
Sure, I will start a thread when I get a chance.
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Post by tkdco2 on May 15, 2023 14:31:13 GMT -6
There was a distinct race of petty dwarfs too although, IIRC, they were mostly wicked. The Petty-dwarves? The information I found is that they were outcasts from different clans rather than a distinct clan of their own. Ditto the Dourhands from LOTRO. That said, MERP included an enclave of the last surviving Petty-dwarves in one of their modules. I would probably stat them up as Duergar if I ran the adventure in D&D. |
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Post by tkdco2 on May 15, 2023 14:38:55 GMT -6
Not really a race, but the healers of the Houses of Healing (e.g., in Minas Tirith) are perhaps of interest..? Yup. Presently I have 12 magic-using classes — Mages/Clerics/Druids in common RPG parlance; in Tolkien’s parlance Loremasters, Wise-women, Healers, Magicians, Aulenduri, and Uinendili. My present organizing principle is to call them The Path of Manwë, The Path of Varda, The Path of Aulë, etc., and let players “skin” their character as they please. I try not to give any class excessive pew pew spells, but the only types of spells I ban outright, for the sake of niche protection and Middle-earth aesthetics, are Invisibility (get a ring!), Flying (get an eagle!), and Teleportation (sorry, you gotta travel in Middle-earth!). Though the Elves of Mirkwood have a way to teleport short distances in the forest, so a “tree door” type spell can stay. Raise dead will have to have major caveats. I wrote up specialty priests for the Valar for 2E years ago. For OD&D and B/X I prefer to limit magic to clerical magic with select magic-user spells. Lawful clerics are healers or loremasters, and their "spells" represent their abilities and learning. Chaotic clerics are sorcerers, who derive their powers from Sauron. That said, my rules aren't set in stone; I will consider my players' needs when deciding how to do magic in the game. |
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Post by waysoftheearth on May 15, 2023 18:44:57 GMT -6
The Petty-dwarves? The information I found is that they were outcasts from different clans rather than a distinct clan of their own. Ditto the Dourhands from LOTRO. That said, MERP included an enclave of the last surviving Petty-dwarves in one of their modules. I would probably stat them up as Duergar if I ran the adventure in D&D. I am no Tolkien scholar, just a fan. But FWIW, tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Petty-dwarves |
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Post by doublejig2 on May 16, 2023 0:25:45 GMT -6
Galadriel's swans - they must have kicked buttocks in combat. Fortuity.
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Post by jamesmishler on May 16, 2023 7:43:38 GMT -6
For mortal magic I'd use the Lankhmar style spellcasters as were used in the AD&D Lankhmar sets.
Wizards advance as Clerics and use the Cleric and Druid spell lists (with Magic-user limitations on armor and weapons). Use of reversed spells is possible but means you are tempted by Shadow (literally, Sauron can sense it and sends sorcerers and other servants to tempt you or destroy you). Limited to 5th level spells.
Sorcerers advance as Magic-users and use the Magic-user and Illusionist spell lists. You do not have to serve Sauron directly, but you Get noticed real quick if you do not at least pay him lip service. Use the Lankhmar corruption rules as you advance. Limited to 6th level spells.
Both classes can use each other's magic items, but wizards gain the attention of Sauron immediately if they use an item of sorcery.
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Post by tkdco2 on May 16, 2023 13:13:07 GMT -6
The Petty-dwarves? The information I found is that they were outcasts from different clans rather than a distinct clan of their own. Ditto the Dourhands from LOTRO. That said, MERP included an enclave of the last surviving Petty-dwarves in one of their modules. I would probably stat them up as Duergar if I ran the adventure in D&D. I am no Tolkien scholar, just a fan. But FWIW, tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Petty-dwarvesI doubt I qualify to be a Tolkien scholar. I too am just a fan. albeit an avid one. |
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