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Did Tolkien create the D&D Ranger?
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 6601907" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Well, I'm focusing more on OD&D/AD&D (whichever it was that actually *had* a ranger). To the best of my knowledge, that's a game where "background" didn't exist at all, and thus the hero-king archetype is effectively impossible.</p><p></p><p>I also think you're forcing a dichotomy when there's really a spectrum. It's not just "does the DM accept PC backgrounds, yes/no?" It's always more complex than that. Some DMs may not accept anything more than mercenary or mercenary-like backgrounds. Others want players to draft complete, long-form backstories covering much of the characters' lives prior to Session 1. Most fall in the vast space between. But the hero-king archetype is one that requires a <em>very high degree</em> of DM buy-in, and is difficult to keep while having an impartial referee; furthermore, unless it's planned very carefully, this has a high risk of making one PC the "star of the campaign." The hero-king is, by its nature, a narrative-warping, "I am the most important person in the world" type figure; everyone else becomes supporting characters (mentor, best friend, longtime rival, love interest) or enemies. And that's where the degree of DM buy-in seems beyond what D&D players, and the D&D game of Gygax's day, could accept. An entire class built around that concept just wouldn't work. You could--*maybe*--sell it as being akin to the "play a dragon" idea: that is, you start off as a "young dragon" or a "noble scion," and only REALLY become THE hero-king after you've earned it through adventuring...but the key part there is *becoming.* Aragorn doesn't have to do a damned thing to "become" the hero-king; he already IS the hero-king, and it shapes every aspect of his life.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 6601907, member: 6790260"] Well, I'm focusing more on OD&D/AD&D (whichever it was that actually *had* a ranger). To the best of my knowledge, that's a game where "background" didn't exist at all, and thus the hero-king archetype is effectively impossible. I also think you're forcing a dichotomy when there's really a spectrum. It's not just "does the DM accept PC backgrounds, yes/no?" It's always more complex than that. Some DMs may not accept anything more than mercenary or mercenary-like backgrounds. Others want players to draft complete, long-form backstories covering much of the characters' lives prior to Session 1. Most fall in the vast space between. But the hero-king archetype is one that requires a [I]very high degree[/I] of DM buy-in, and is difficult to keep while having an impartial referee; furthermore, unless it's planned very carefully, this has a high risk of making one PC the "star of the campaign." The hero-king is, by its nature, a narrative-warping, "I am the most important person in the world" type figure; everyone else becomes supporting characters (mentor, best friend, longtime rival, love interest) or enemies. And that's where the degree of DM buy-in seems beyond what D&D players, and the D&D game of Gygax's day, could accept. An entire class built around that concept just wouldn't work. You could--*maybe*--sell it as being akin to the "play a dragon" idea: that is, you start off as a "young dragon" or a "noble scion," and only REALLY become THE hero-king after you've earned it through adventuring...but the key part there is *becoming.* Aragorn doesn't have to do a damned thing to "become" the hero-king; he already IS the hero-king, and it shapes every aspect of his life. [/QUOTE]
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Did Tolkien create the D&D Ranger?
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