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Lord of the Rings: War in the North


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  • 2 weeks later...
it isn't a direct movie tie-in
That can only be a good thing (I despise Peter Jackson and his abominations), but it is obviously employing a visual tie-in at the very least and New Line is listed in the trailer credits. I really hope it turns out to be decent as well. It's certainly a franchise crying out for a good RPG.
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That can only be a good thing (I despise Peter Jackson and his abominations), but it is obviously employing a visual tie-in at the very least and New Line is listed in the trailer credits. I really hope it turns out to be decent as well. It's certainly a franchise crying out for a good RPG.
I loved the films, despite some of departures from the novels. I'm hoping it isn't completely film visual-esque, as I love the old aesthetic, but I understand if that is not the case.
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  • 3 weeks later...

If you were hedging on stereotypical archetypes, you'd think that Elves would have the specialist archer role sewn up, but apparently not. Judging by the voiceover, it would seem there are 3 preset characters - Human ranger, Dwarf warrior, and Elf loremaster (AKA wizard, apparently). The loremaster is odd - only Maiar and other supernatural entities should be able to cast "magic" in the traditional fantasy sense. Although I guess that wouldn't be awesome enough for their target demographic (who probably love the movies but have no idea wtf a Maiar is).

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  • 1 month later...

^^ I have to admit that would include me. The thing I'm not too keen on is the emphasis on co-operative gameplay, and that if you're playing solo, you're stuck in the shoes of one character most of the time. As a billy no-mates in online gaming this does not appeal.

 

However, this franchise will no fizzle out for some time yet, and I think it's brilliant they've got both the movie and book deals, means they can do anything they want with the world. Just wish it was a developer with a bit more RPG pedigree. Hand it over to Bioware s'il vous plait...

 

edit: oooo 1,000 posts. my word.

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If you were hedging on stereotypical archetypes, you'd think that Elves would have the specialist archer role sewn up, but apparently not. Judging by the voiceover, it would seem there are 3 preset characters - Human ranger, Dwarf warrior, and Elf loremaster (AKA wizard, apparently). The loremaster is odd - only Maiar and other supernatural entities should be able to cast "magic" in the traditional fantasy sense. Although I guess that wouldn't be awesome enough for their target demographic (who probably love the movies but have no idea wtf a Maiar is).

 

Sadly, that's one of the things I always liked about Tolkien's world. Magic actually seemed magic, because it was so uncommon, Wizards weren't running around everywhere, if I remember, they were pretty much all demigods... and that guy who sang all the time; Tom somethingorother. (Might be wrong, it's been ages since I read the books.)

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Sadly, that's one of the things I always liked about Tolkien's world. Magic actually seemed magic, because it was so uncommon, Wizards weren't running around everywhere, if I remember, they were pretty much all demigods... and that guy who sang all the time; Tom somethingorother. (Might be wrong, it's been ages since I read the books.)

Tom Bombadil?

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if I remember, they were pretty much all demigods... and that guy who sang all the time; Tom somethingorother.
Yes, as I said, "magic" in the Tolkien universe is restricted to the supernatural races, the Ainur, although certain Elves, like Galadrial and Elrond, obviously have some magic-like power through the use of their constructs (rings, Silmarils, etc.). Tom Bombadil is a Maiar as well, as I recall. The Maiar are basically angels in the supernatural hierarchy, with the Valar as the Greek-like pantheon of lesser gods, with everything created by Ilúvatar, who is the Christian-like supreme being.
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Tom Bombadil is a Maiar as well, as I recall.

 

Well, many people have theories, but I'll go with what Tolkien himself said. "Tom is just Tom."

 

Basically, The Hobbit is a story for children. It's a simple adventure story set in a fantasy realm with colourful characters and places.

 

When Tolkien set out to write The Lord of the Rings, he initially had the same young audience in mind. A character like Tom Bombadil was fine. As he was writing it though, he came to realize that to tell the story the way he needed to, he had to darken the tone and make it more "adult."

 

Tolkien went back and edited what he had written. He took out a few things that were frivolous and didn't really advance the plot. (Quite a feat for Tolkien, mind you. :p) When it came to Tom, though, Tolkien just couldn't bring himself to take him out. He loved the character too much to edit him out.

 

Now, many people want (or desperately desire) an explanation of exactly who Tom Bombadil is and what his true nature really was, but Tolkien himself didn't know. In the end, Tom Bombadil is just a fragment from an earlier draft of the novel that, even though he logically shouldn't be in the final story, is.

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When Tolkien set out to write The Lord of the Rings, he initially had the same young audience in mind.
That's not true. Allen & Unwin asked him for a sequel to The Hobbit when he pitched The Silmarillion to them. I've never seen any evidence that he set out to write it as a children's book. If anything he deliberately did the opposite.

 

Concerning Bombadil, while it was never made explicitly clear, it's fairly apparent that he is an Ainur of one sort or another.

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That's not true. Allen & Unwin asked him for a sequel to The Hobbit when he pitched The Silmarillion to them. I've never seen any evidence that he set out to write it as a children's book. If anything he deliberately did the opposite.

 

It's all from his letters. He's stated as much when talking about why Tom Bombadil is in the story when he clearly doesn't advance the plot. It's not supposition. It's straight from Tolkien's... er, hand.

 

Concerning Bombadil, while it was never made explicitly clear, it's fairly apparent that he is an Ainur of one sort or another.

 

Again, this comes back to what I said earlier. You're trying to logically reason what he must be. Tolkien himself didn't know and wasn't comfortable with trying to label the character as one thing or another within the world of Middle-earth. Hence "Tom is just Tom."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Actually, the Elves have magic of their own - Finrod Felagund, son of Finarfin used a song-based magic in a duel against Sauron during the First Age. Middle-Earth has considerably more magic than it appears, it's just rarely bolts of lightning and the like. Just about everything Elves -do- is Magic to some extent.

 

At any rate, it can't possibly be -worse- than Lord of the Rings: The Third Age. Still doesn't look that good, though.

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