Magic in Middle-earth

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by blantyr

"All the time" would be an exaggeration. As I said earlier, I thought long and hard and couldn't think of a single example of her singing with intent in an inn. In a public inn, she sings for the enjoyment of those around her. Outside, in the wild, she is more apt to sing songs devoted to one or another of the Valar, to call protection and growth upon the land..

Some would question an Elf frequenting an inn in the first place, and an Elvish female even less likely. As far as singing to the Valar, your Elf would have to have some association with Aman (Noldor, or at least Sindarin or a Teleri of Cirdan) to even care about the Valar.

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Morthoron

Some would question an Elf frequenting an inn in the first place, and an Elvish female even less likely. As far as singing to the Valar, your Elf would have to have some association with Aman (Noldor, or at least Sindarin or a Teleri of Cirdan) to even care about the Valar.

Does anyone recall a female character in the Prancing Pony at Bree? It might be possible to question a female human or even a female hobbit at an inn in the Shire. Middle Earth is quite territorial and segregated. People don't tend to leave the borders of their own realms very much at all, or mix with any but their own kind. The games in the Barrow Downs forums are far less segregated than the books, and Goldie's home game is no different.

Players want to run exotic characters, and many game master relax Tolkien's strict segregation and let people play the character they want where they want.

The characters in my off line game are a hobbit sheep herder of Breeland, a ranger of the north, an elven woodsman of Lindon, a female elven minstrel of Lindon, a knight of Dol Amroth, a human sheriff of Bree, a healer from Bree who trained in the Houses of Healing in Minas Tirith, a dwarf toy maker and warrior, an exiled rider of Rohan, a human merchant from somewhere south of the Shire but northwest of Dunland, and an exiled female rightful heir of a town and estate in Gondor. (Lady Jewel is played by the game master. She's a walking plot hook, an excuse for a major plot line. Don't blame me.) The group met at a mid summer's fair in Bree. They have been helping Breeland and the rangers handle problems resulting from ruffian's coming up the Greenway.

Is it reasonable that such an eclectic group get together? Not really. We were all required to come up with a back story to justify our character's travels. Goldie is a Sindar of the Tower Hills. She learned of the Valar from her love of music driving her to learn all the old songs. She has travelled with wandering companies between Rivendell and the Havens, learning woods craft in the warm months while singing by the fire in the cold. She joined the player character group as she wants to write songs, not just play them. She finds her kin too protective to allow her to live through incidents that will end up needing to be preserved in song.

All of our back stories are similarly plausible, sort of, almost. Collectively? Likely not. I agree with the game master's decision to allow us to generate the characters we want to play, but it admittedly stretches suspension of disbelief. No one dares complain about the other person's character, though. The whole idea of people in Middle Earth going on adventures is just too outlandish. (The hobbit's wife doesn't understand at all. There is a broad understanding that the hobbit gets a first go an any good jewelry we might run across, as otherwise we might lose our best archer.)

It occurs to me that Lake Town or Dale might be good places for mixed groups.

[Galadriel55]

I don't understand a few things here:

a) Goldie was created for the AQ, that doesn't exactly agree with the Downs. Why are you trying to mix the two?

b) I understand that you talk about Goldie to give a personal example. But AQ? It's one thing to discuss "Magic in ME" and another to talk about "Magic in AQ". In this thread we aren't trying to decide what is the best set of rules regarding magic and canonicity in a RPG.

c) Your point with the whole Goldie thing?


You say that "people want to run exotic characters". Maybe you do, but I personally don't. Plus, how is that relevant?

You are trying to say that a Tolkien RPG would be boring without specific/purposeful/whatever magic in it. But then (IMO) it wouldn't exactly be Tolkien. He didn't create characters like spiderman or the like (meaning that you could have inner abilities on the same scale). If he would have, I'd have only half as much respect for him and his works.

Tolkien's works are filled with magic, but it's not "spiderman magic". You yourself said that it is sbtle - but it's subtler than that. You state that one has to do something to be magical (sing, make something, etc), but he doesn't. One could be magical all the time, without singing.

EDIT: xed with your last post