They ALL have something in common. That's what will earn the reward!

Question
 

Query: Have we seen all of the new levels or are there more that might help shed some more light on the situation?

(In other words, do we want to start repping Lalwende as fast as possible? ;) )

No. Yes. No.

No more questions :p . Answers only (or regular Reputation discussion)

Roggie comes to mind, although the dwarves stumbled into him rather than stalking him. He did terrorize wood elves, and was forgotten on a couple of counts. But I've not heard of Roggie expressing any interest in taters.

I thought of Gollum-- also forgotten, and also terrorizing Wood Elves; there's the discussion about 'taters' in Ithilien; but Petty Dwarves don't fit as far as I can see.

Hoom, hom.

Did Bombadil have any run-ins with Petty Dwarves? He was forgotten often enough; did he steal Maggot's taters?

Petty dwarves...

Clarifying note: questions not directed at the Wight but rather at other posters as food for thought.

I have found a couple similarities: These new taters, wood elves, petty-dwarves, and misplaced reps are all funny, and are all mysteries that everyone is trying to figure out... :p

*ducks and runs*

mirror mirror on the wall
 

I may hazard a guess:

10 path to adventure
25 Getting the hang of it
50 No fool of a Took
100 Faithful as Samwise
200 Wisdom of Gandalf
500 Fame of Frodo
900 Aragorn's Court
1200 Elrond's Council
1500 Straight Road
2000 Sits on High Taniquetil

These are are previous titles (as far as I remember point/title correlation, I may err)

As follows may be the new titles (repeating the sequence of 10-25-50-100, that's why it changes so fast, having in mind members' increased giving power):

4010 Steals taters from gaffers
4025 Wonders what happened to the system
4050 Stalked by petty dwarves
4100 Terrorizing the wood elves
4200 Misplaced by forgetful maia
4500 ~
4900 ~
5200 ~
5500 ~
6000 ~


It seems to me that new titles (WHY starting with 4000 points? I've calculated thus far judging on what davem gives out - latest rating of his I've got, just before he left Taniquetil, was 44 points) mirror purport of basic titles, but with a funny twist to them, giving almost opposite (but not opposite as in negative rating, mocking, kind of, rather) definitions. Indeed, 'path to adventure' may lead young hobbit to steal mushrooms from Maggot or 'taters from gaffers', 'getting the hang of it' is mirrored by opposite state of being at loss to see thing once familiar come out with strange titles, being 'stalked by petty dwarves' is quite a stupid situation, so 'no fool' is mirrored by being placed into it, seeing as Sam was awed to see elves in a wood, to be terrorizing them is quite an opposite to feeling of admiration Sam was known for, Wisdom of Gandalf gives us 'forgeftulness of a maia'.

I may hazard further guesses as to what may follow:

4500 is almost forgotten in his own country
4900 got drunk and was thrown out of the court
5200 is happily asleep and snoring amidst the important meeting
5500 is having a roadside picnic
6000 has fallen off a mountain

I think Fame of Frodo is 300 points, not 500. HerenIstarion has the answer anyways, I bet.

I must have sneaked in early and unnoticed, much like Samwise! :)

Cheers!
Lyta (sitting in the hedge, eavesdropping at Elrond's Council)

ashould amend, than
 

Thanks for the tips, ladies and gentlemen. Let us alter the list, than:

10 path to adventure
25 Getting the hang of it
50 No fool of a Took
100 Faithful as Samwise
200 Wisdom of Gandalf
300 Fame of Frodo
600 Aragorn's Court
900 Elrond's Council
1200 Straight Road
2000 Sits on Hight Taniquetil


4010 steals taters from gaffers
4025 wonders what happened to the system
4050 is stalked by petty dwarves
4100 is terrorizing the wood elves
4200 was once misplaced by forgetful maia
4300 is almost forgotten in his own country
4600 got drunk and was thrown out of the court
4900 is happily asleep and snoring amidst the imortant meeting
5200 is having a roadside picnic
6000 has fallen off a mountain

Wow, Heren-Istarion, I can't believe you thought I put that much effort into it :)

You've generated quite a list there, but it's not nearly so complicated as that. All of the newest title names (well, most of them) have one root source.

Pity, I thought that was a good theory
 

Well, there is a plan B for that case:

You have't generated all that in Middle-Earth magnets, have you? :rolleyes:

4010 steals taters from gaffers
4025 wonders what happened to the system
4050 is stalked by petty dwarves
4100 is terrorizing the wood elves
4200 was once misplaced by forgetful maia

It could very well be as simple as Mister Wight picking (going in order of race) things that are improbable of actually happening. Perhaps that would be too easy.

The next one probably has something to do with a Vala. Perhaps a cowardly one.

I wonder if it has anything to do with these things being ways that someone in Middle earth could go about losing reputation and respectability.

Actually, I believe Aragorn's Court is 500 points, because that's my current ranking and I have 542 points at present.

A Very Short and Quite Unlikely Theory Courtesy of TGWBS
 

The Barrow Wight is offering a 100 point reward to whoever tells him how he created the new reputation titles.

The Barrow Wight has not claimed the 100 points himself.

Therefore, it stands to reason that The Barrow Wight doesn't actually know how he came up with the new reps. :D

Am I close, B-W?

Hmm. Bearing that in mind, I'm goign to make a few predictions...

4010 steals taters from gaffers
4025 wonders what happened to the system
4050 is stalked by petty dwarves
4100 likes terrorizing wood elves
4200 was once misplaced by forgetful maia
4400 Drinks at the Green Dragon (or 'Get's drunk at the Green Dragon')
4600 is no wizard's pupil
5000 Is a merry old fellow.
5500 Eats Barrow Wights
6000 Lives in Bag End

Gaffer's potatoes, petty dwarves, wood elves, misplaced by forgetful Maia.

I'm wondering whether Wormtongue was ever chased by Petty Dwarves.

Or whether Turin was ever misplaced by a Maia. (Missing something obvious, I think I am...)

...Carcharoth?? But why would he steal a gaffer's potatoes?

One that I have thought of is treasure.

Treasure stole taters from gaffers by taking up their land
Treasure was stalked by Mim when seeking Doriath
Treasure could terrorize wood elves because of the dwarves either in Moria or Sauron's treasure causing him to take residence in Mirkwood
Treasure misplaced by a Maia I'm think either Rhadagast or Melian but I can't think of what.

I'm probably wrong but being that 'treasure' can be flexible in its meaning I can see how it can fit into it.

Middle Earth Magnets, or Plan B, failed?
 

Plan C, than:

All the titles are describing unlikely situations:

1. Gaffers are very rarely confused, especially with regards to their taters
2. There is nothing wrong with the system, so no point in wondering about it
3. Being stalked by petty dwarves is unlikely situation, as A) they were hunted after, not vice versa B) with the Mim, they've died out
4. Wood elves are unlikely to be terrorized at all, quite the opposite
5. There are no forgetful Maiar, they are notorious for their minds' capabilities

So, the thing they all have in common is their absurdity :D

-----------------------------------------------

There is also Plan D on the way too:

The previous titles, roughly, may be associated with Frodo and his progress with the Ring:

1. Path to adventure started as soon as Frodo become Bilbo's heir, and future Ring-bearer
2. He was getting the hang of governing Bag-End/he was getting the hang of being the Ring-bearer
3. He was faithfull to his task
4. Surely, he was no Took and no fool at that
5. Wisdom of Gandalf was at his disposal
6. Well, his fame was his, no doubt about it
7. He was accepted to Aragorn's court, wasn't he?
8. He took part in Elrond's council as well
9. We all know he took the Straight road
10. Presumably, once in Valinor, he must have set foot on Taniquetil as well

Seeing Gollum as his opposite, and knowing his meanness, and the scale of power the Ring gave him:

1. Invisible Gollum might have been stealing potatoes when he was yet living with his grandmother.
2. He was sure to wonder what happened when he was thrown out of the settlement
3. He surely was known as 'some new horror. bloodsucking ghost' to Mirkwood elves
4. Not sure about petty dwarves
5. Gandalf says it was a mistake to forget about Gollum, and latest essay in catching him up was just an effort to correct that mistake. It was Gandalf who left Gollum in Mirkwood, and he was 'misplaced', as he managed to escape, either that or he was 'misplaced' in first picuture of situation Gandalf had

Hmm...Is it just the One Ring?

And do I need to explain that? :p

I guess it's not. This is beginning to get frustrating.

For some reason I have a feeling that the answer is going to be painfully obvious whenever somebody thinks of it.

I think HerenIstarion's Middle-earth Magnets theory to be the best so far. I'll wager that it's something like that ...

It's not scenes from the BW's own life, is it? :rolleyes:

I'm almost inclined to think it's Gollum.

"Steals taters from confused Gaffers" - maybe he did something like that when he first got the Ring.

"Wonders about the system" - Well, Gollum did wonder when he was kicked out of his hole.

"Is stalked by petty dwarves" - Didn't Gollum wander the streets of Dale? Maybe some dwarves followed him there.

"Likes terrorizing wood elves" - I imagine he partially liked being the "New shadow in Mirkwood"

"Misplaced by a forgetful Maia" - Gandalf once hunted him, had his track even, but then left off.


There are a few things to think about. Was there a "confused gaffer" in LotR? Are they "Petty Dwarves" as in Noegyth Nibin, or as in Dwarves who are petty? And "likes" terrorizing wood elves. Was there a forgetful Maia?

{edit: Oh gee, should've read HI's last post more thoroughly...:o}

I also thought of the Magnets idea, but I couldn't get back to the first ones to check (I had a feeling they would be from the first few).

Possibly the results of a MadLib B-W did?

Is it Bilbo?
 

I don't know much about the rep system, but they all seem to refer to Bilbo in some way.

Yes they do - but in a somewhat warped way which is perplexing ... Didn't Bilbo give the gaffer a sack of Spuds as a leaving present? And Thorin and co were of the Line of Durin not petty dwarves... I would have thought he bewildered rather than terrorised the elves while he burgled them - the maia one would seem the closest to the mark but ... I don't know. It does seem very Hobbit orientated and I haven't read it for a while. MAybe there is a version where Bilbo is more of a Sackville-Baggins type and does this stuff!!

Just offering a guess, but I think that perhaps the "wonders what happened to the system" may be the dissimilar one.

Plan E
 

What follows is a guesswork, as I haven't read the thing, only saw glimples online, but maybe new titles refer to Bored of the Rings parody, and, as the first round titles may have referred to Frodo's adventures, second round refers to Frito's adventures?

an anonymous correspondent ( of the positive variety!) has pointed out that Thorin and company can be regarded as petty in the mean minded sense (selfishly walling themselves up with their treasure) rather than culturally. Despite having said that I always thought of the culturally Petty Dwarves as bickering and small minded that had not occured to me!

I can remember some really funny stuff from Bored of the Rings- the Prophecy of Boromir's death sticks in the mind along with Frito's greeting of a certain dwarf... but nowt about taters... Oh well no doubt we will get another clue when the barrow betrothed return from Brum..

Well, I know something they all have in common: Lalwende has done them all. :D But surely that cannot be it....

Another correction. Elronds council must be 1000 because I have 929 and I'm still in Aragorn's Court.

I still expect it to be Turin Turambar, only I've forgotten how he could be remotely connected with Gaffer's taters.

Mim was carrying a sack of what I assumed was taters (and something else) when Turin caught him. However, I don't think that Mim would qualify as a gaffer.

Well Lal is now a descendent of groveling stone-trolls. Also Bb is now a tater stealer. Congrats!

Stone trolls looks rather Bilboish too.... they held him up for examination and what goes up must come down!!!! I expect something eaglish imminently!!!

I am? Oh, I am. Thanks, wilwarin, I think! I'm not at one of those nice 'round' numbers with all the zeros, so I wasn't expecting it for another thirty or forty points yet.

I think BW likes to be random and mischievious. He's an inveterate game player--who likes to win, of course, although he likes risks and challenges. No one has yet figured out the link between his avatar and my nick. He said no one would. ;)

I don't suppose Sauron lost some of his Olog-hai...

Here are my most recent reputation thoughts, just for the fun of it (important note: this came of discussion with my cousin so if any of it is right, I give him some of the credit). Maybe they'll help someone else.

Memory:

Dwarves are always trying to get back to what they had in the good ol' days.
Elves remember a lot, and not all of it good.
What better to forget than your memory?

As for those taters and trolls... Curse you, Barrow-Wight. Curse you thrice and your grandchildren besides.

Ah yes, and Lal, congratulations on reaching yet another new level.

Ooh, another thought: I need more Time for this sort of thing.

Time rots potatoes and gaffers get confused when they get old.
Dwarves want to get rich quick... especially petty ones.
Elves don't die, so time would get depressing after awhile.
Gandalf surely lost track of time trapped on Orthanc.

Now to figure out how to force the trolls into my time theory... I suppose if you really wanted to stretch it, the by-product of turning trolls to stone is that they're there for all time.

Whoa, Feanor. Curses? Grandchildren??? That's harsh.

All of these wild and complicated theories aren't even close. As I said before, there was little to no effort put into chosing these titles, and yet they all came from the same place. :smokin:

Makes me wonder if you took them from a particular thread? Werewolves maybe? Or somewhere in Mirth? Both places I do not frequent much.

Werewolves & Mirthians, your turn.