The Evolution of Fantasy Role-Playing Games - Michael J. Tresca [24]
HUMANS • No discussion of the Fellowship would be complete without a discussion of the inheritors of the mantle of rule in The Lord of the Rings—humanity. Boromir’s failure to resist the Ring and ultimate sacrifice speak volumes about Tolkien’s opinion of humanity.
Men compare poorly with the other races in Middle-earth (Fahraeus 2007:269). They are mortal, short-lived, weak of spirit and body. But they have two characteristics that set them apart; they breed quickly and are quite stubborn (Day 2001:153).
In fantasy gaming, humans have been cast as the standard by which the other races are measured. They have endless variety, while dwarves, hobbits, and elves largely hew to their stereotypes. It seems to be beyond the reach of most non-human races to be different without being racially unique, and yet humanity achieves precisely that (Aeon 2001).
It is also noteworthy that humanity is destined to inherit a mantle that it has lost. The weakness of men is inherent in the loss of greatness and Aragorn’s subsequent struggle to regain it. Corrupted and without leadership, it is up to men to take history’s stage next.
MAIAR • The word “Maiar” isn’t as well-known in fantasy, but the appearance of angelic beings of mixed ancestry has a long history in folklore. Their description varied in Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The Maiar were always unassuming or even foolish, until they chose to reveal themselves ... and then their true presence could be awe-inspiring.
In Middle-earth, the Maiar were a subrace of the Ainur, or “holy ones.” The Maiar were the lesser of the Valar and their servants. As the servants and helpers of the Valar, the Maiar are lesser beings but no less powerful to ordinary mortals. Most significantly, Maiar were sent to assist the forces of mankind in the form of Istari, wizards cloaked in the forms of old men (Ozment 2007:187). They were five in number: Radagast the Brown, Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Alatar and Palladno the Blue (Day 2001:145).
Modern fantasy games have largely ignored the inherent magical abilities of Gandalf. Although possessing the same appearance, fantasy wizards are spell-casters akin to Shakespeare’s Prospero who learns his art through his books (Ozment 2007:191).
Until the third edition of Dungeons & Dragons, there was no clear parallel to the Maiar. The angelic yet earthly beings eventually manifested as Aasimar (Baker 1995) in the Planescape setting. Even then, Aasimar were considered too powerful to be a playable race.
Classes
The majority of the Fellowship are known by who they are rather than what they do. And yet each character’s profession does help define him. Aragorn is known as a ranger, Gandalf as a wizard, and some of the hobbits (bolstered by Frodo’s use of the One Ring to make him invisible) as stealthy thieves. The Decipher book Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game refers to these professions as Orders (Long 2002:77).
BARD • The term “bard” is originally of Celtic origin, descended from the Old Celtic “bardo” which in turn produced the Scottish and Irish Gaelic “bard.” This reference means “poet-singer,” which introduced the word into English as a “strolling minstrel” (Ayto 1990:52).
The Dungeons & Dragons bard is a hodgepodge of at least three different kinds of musical singers: the Norse skald, the Celtic bard, and the southern European minstrel. The Celts had a much more organized structure, in which the bard filled the important role of historian, trained by druids to follow heroes into battle to record their deeds. Minstrels, perhaps the best known bard archetype, were entertainers for nobles in Italy and Germany