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Post by tkdco2 on Sept 19, 2020 16:02:23 GMT -6
Somehow, you always know when your Dungeon Master's "homebrew" campaign is really Middle-earth with the serial numbers filed off.
DM: You reach the town. For some strange reason it was built on top of the lake instead of on the shore. A guardsman, obviously an archer, walks over to you.
Player (in character): Let me guess. Your name is Bard, right?
DM: No, no, my name is BRAD. Bard isn't a name; it's the hair on your face!
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Post by tkdco2 on Sept 21, 2020 21:42:34 GMT -6
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Post by tkdco2 on Sept 22, 2020 23:30:05 GMT -6
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 11, 2020 23:05:36 GMT -6
Here are a couple of videos about mapping Middle-earth style: WASD20 shows how to draw maps like Christopher Tolkien: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBrnfSWVyD8How to be a Great GM talks about the rules for Tolkien-style maps. He makes a few mistakes in his Tolkien lore, but it's a good video overall www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPrL_S0Z-MkGotta love the intro!
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 14, 2020 15:32:13 GMT -6
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Post by machfront on Dec 15, 2020 0:03:19 GMT -6
That’s cool and handy, though I must wonder... allow me to say, as much as I love it and am into it all you, guys far outstrip me in deep geek knowledge here... I recall reading some things maybe pertinent here... first being I recall that Tolkien mentioned, concerning scale, that the whole of just Mirkwood alone was near the size of England.. Also, I seem to recall a number of folks who had major issues with the Atlas of Middle-Earth, etc. I dunno. Just bringing it up because, I’ve no idea,really...so...curious.
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 15, 2020 20:41:01 GMT -6
I've never heard that quote about Mirkwood's size until now. The Wikipedia link lists various measurements from different sources. According to Tolkien Gateway, some of the errors in the Atlas were corrected in the revised edition. Still, it's one of the best collections of maps out there, and one of my main references outside the novel.
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Post by machfront on Dec 16, 2020 2:53:57 GMT -6
I've never heard that quote about Mirkwood's size until now. The Wikipedia link lists various measurements from different sources. According to Tolkien Gateway, some of the errors in the Atlas were corrected in the revised edition. Still, it's one of the best collections of maps out there, and one of my main references outside the novel. Yeah, I wish I could recall where I read that or the supposed source. It was a forum... maybe here, maybe Dragonsfoot. It was a long time ago and I was rather shocked and took it and the poster at their word. But, as I admitted... I have no idea. It did seem more than a lil extreme. I appreciate the response. I’m well aware you know better than I, likely. Hahah I’m also glad to know of corrections concerning the Atlas as I always thought it looked rather nice and (I suppose perhaps now) foolish of me to not purchase and get what I may from it. I’ll correct that. Honestly.... and I dunno what it holds within nerd esteem...I really love and have kinda used as a handy campaign guidebook.. David Day’s Tolkien: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Fun book.
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 19, 2020 18:33:03 GMT -6
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Post by geoffrey on Dec 19, 2020 20:26:09 GMT -6
I've never heard that quote about Mirkwood's size until now. The Wikipedia link lists various measurements from different sources. According to Tolkien Gateway, some of the errors in the Atlas were corrected in the revised edition. Still, it's one of the best collections of maps out there, and one of my main references outside the novel. Yeah, I wish I could recall where I read that or the supposed source. It was a forum... maybe here, maybe Dragonsfoot. It was a long time ago and I was rather shocked and took it and the poster at their word. But, as I admitted... I have no idea. It did seem more than a lil extreme. I appreciate the response. I’m well aware you know better than I, likely. Hahah I’m also glad to know of corrections concerning the Atlas as I always thought it looked rather nice and (I suppose perhaps now) foolish of me to not purchase and get what I may from it. I’ll correct that. Honestly.... and I dunno what it holds within nerd esteem...I really love and have kinda used as a handy campaign guidebook.. David Day’s Tolkien: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Fun book. This is the thread you're looking for: odd74.proboards.com/thread/9416/map-wilderland-hobbit
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Post by machfront on Dec 19, 2020 20:40:17 GMT -6
Thank you, Geoffrey! Pretty funny I recall the one, single sentence from Stormcrow...after seven dang years. Heh. Interesting to read that again.
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Post by Falconer on Dec 20, 2020 21:21:40 GMT -6
Honestly.... and I dunno what it holds within nerd esteem...I really love and have kinda used as a handy campaign guidebook.. David Day’s Tolkien: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Fun book. Well, IF you want to know, Tolkien nerddom avoids David Day like the plague. The main part of it is that he writes fanfic masquerading as research. His take on Middle-earth lore is inaccurate, to say the least. Part of it is that he has basically written one book which he then recycles and retitles and repackages and reprints constantly. Part of it is that well-meaning friends and relatives will gift you with them if they catch wind of you being a Tolkien fan—and then you have to figure out how to get rid of it without hurting their feelings. That said, rely on Robert Foster for your research, and maybe keep the Illustrated Encyclopedia around for the art… but that’s it!
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 20, 2020 22:05:55 GMT -6
I have David Day's book about The Hobbit. It's entertaining, but perhaps I should take a more critical look at its accuracy. I do recommend Robert Foster's Complete Guide. It is, along with Fonstad's Atlas, a main reference for Middle-earth.
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Post by machfront on Dec 22, 2020 0:48:08 GMT -6
Honestly.... and I dunno what it holds within nerd esteem...I really love and have kinda used as a handy campaign guidebook.. David Day’s Tolkien: An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Fun book. Well, IF you want to know, Tolkien nerddom avoids David Day like the plague. The main part of it is that he writes fanfic masquerading as research. His take on Middle-earth lore is inaccurate, to say the least. Part of it is that he has basically written one book which he then recycles and retitles and repackages and reprints constantly. Part of it is that well-meaning friends and relatives will gift you with them if they catch wind of you being a Tolkien fan—and then you have to figure out how to get rid of it without hurting their feelings. That said, rely on Robert Foster for your research, and maybe keep the Illustrated Encyclopedia around for the art… but that’s it! Well...see? There ya are! Haha! Good to know. The first book on Tolkien’s work I ever had was Fosters Complete Guide which I bought in 1987 near the end of seventh grade. I’ve bought a few updated copies over the years, but I keep around my first as it’s a small paperback size that was hardcased bound for my school library that was getting rid of it at the end of that school year, so I like it for that.
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Post by Falconer on Dec 22, 2020 12:24:03 GMT -6
I have owned many paperback copies of Foster over the years. Recently I acquired a U.K. First Edition hardcover (for far less than the linked copy, by the way). I mostly collect the U.S. (Houghton Mifflin) editions of Tolkien books, because of the nostalgia factor and because of the bookstore hunt factor; but also because in general they are on par with the U.K. editions (at least until this century). That’s because the U.K. publishers would do the layout and printing, and Houghton Mifflin would more or less republish what the U.K. publishers had created. Not so with the Complete Guide. It started life as a Ballantine Del Rey book, so the U.S. edition was always on the shabby side. But the U.K. publishers gave it the usual loving treatment. So if you want something that’s uniform with your other hardcovers in size and quality (and with standard page references), the U.K. ed. is the way to go. They also did an illustrated version a few years ago; unfortunately, it eschews page references altogether.
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Post by geoffrey on Dec 22, 2020 14:45:55 GMT -6
I love Robert Foster's entry for Celeborn, in which he writes something like, "Though reputed to be one of the Wise, in The Lord of the Rings Celeborn doesn't seem particularly bright." LOL!
(It's been years since I read that, so if someone can supply the exact quote, it would be much appreciated!)
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Post by tkdco2 on Dec 22, 2020 18:25:13 GMT -6
I love Robert Foster's entry for Celeborn, in which he writes something like, "Though reputed to be one of the Wise, in The Lord of the Rings Celeborn doesn't seem particularly bright." LOL! (It's been years since I read that, so if someone can supply the exact quote, it would be much appreciated!) I read that quote. I think that came from Celeborn regretting letting Gimli enter Lorien after learning that Gandalf had fallen in Moria. Of course, Celeborn was a kinsman of Thingol, and he had a problem with Dwarves ever since the Sack of Doriath. Gimli was from the House of Durin, and therefore not related to the Dwarves of Nogrod, but Celeborn's bias ran deep enough to override his wisdom.
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Post by Falconer on Dec 22, 2020 18:49:35 GMT -6
Hahah!
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Post by tkdco2 on Jan 28, 2021 16:30:59 GMT -6
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Post by cometaryorbit on Jan 28, 2021 20:28:38 GMT -6
I love Robert Foster's entry for Celeborn, in which he writes something like, "Though reputed to be one of the Wise, in The Lord of the Rings Celeborn doesn't seem particularly bright." LOL! (It's been years since I read that, so if someone can supply the exact quote, it would be much appreciated!) I read that quote. I think that came from Celeborn regretting letting Gimli enter Lorien after learning that Gandalf had fallen in Moria. Of course, Celeborn was a kinsman of Thingol, and he had a problem with Dwarves ever since the Sack of Doriath. Gimli was from the House of Durin, and therefore not related to the Dwarves of Nogrost, but Celeborn's bias ran deep enough to override his wisdom. Also, he's just really overshadowed by Galadriel, so he doesn't get much of a chance to impress readers.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 3, 2021 17:51:42 GMT -6
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 5, 2021 16:10:32 GMT -6
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 5, 2021 16:12:53 GMT -6
Sauron's army advancing toward us: Uruk-hai
Sauron's army running away from us: Uruk-bye
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 27, 2021 15:30:14 GMT -6
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Post by doublejig2 on Feb 27, 2021 16:16:22 GMT -6
LOL! Not in my campaign!
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2021 17:08:17 GMT -6
Shameful and degenerate. I'm bookmarking these to use in my research against demonology. Yes. Noble purpose.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 27, 2021 17:28:10 GMT -6
Well, it does give support to a YouTube comment I read last year. The video was about Glaurung, the Father of Dragons. Someone had asked who the mother was, and someone else responded that Glaurung had hate sex with a female Balrog. Sorry, I know that's TMI, but still.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 27, 2021 17:40:59 GMT -6
Well, it does give support to a YouTube comment I read last year. The video was about Glaurung, the Father of Dragons. Someone had asked who the mother was, and someone else responded that Glaurung had hate sex with a female Balrog. Sorry, I know that's TMI, but still. It's not impossible. There's always a lot of vague references to breeding among the forces of evil but few details. I think the more likely explanation for old Stone Gaze was he was the end result of a lot of experiments with large reptiles over many years. Probably some Tolkien style corruption by being in proximity to Morgoth's dungeons. I'm not 100 percent opposed to the idea he was somehow infused with some essence of a Balrog or other corrupted spirit, though.
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Post by tkdco2 on Feb 28, 2021 3:06:22 GMT -6
By the way, I don't actually have a Balrog miniature yet. But I was doing a thought experiment. The Balrog is described as both a flame and a shadow. So I thought about using fluorescent yellow and orange paints to represent the flame and Musou black or Black 3.0 for the shadow. Those last two would also work great when painting the incorporeal bits on wraiths.
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Post by tkdco2 on Mar 25, 2021 16:06:42 GMT -6
FYI today, March 25, is Tolkien Reading Day. There are a bunch of YouTube videos available, as several Tolkien-related channels have collaborated for this occasion.
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