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Or, to use an old fantasy/sci-fi trope: Frodo is the "Chosen One." :D

What's new about taking a subversive approach to D&D? In a sense, the game has always been subverting itself. Besides that, I think it would make more sense to produce a D&D series than a feature film.

This is certainly also true of many video games. Male characters are often hyper-muscular and have tiny heads. All brawn and no brain, I guess.

Is this a dungeon crawl?

Making Krampus a fiend is problematical since he often accompanies St. Nicholas/Santa Claus. So, making him a dark fey would certainly make sense. Btw, naughty children often get a sack of coal as their Christmas present. There are many similar companions of St. Nick, including Knecht Ruprecht...

I don''t understand why it is set in the year 1999. You could just as well have it set in the present day. If you want to make the technology more "primitive" you could set a Pulp game in the 1970s or '80s. That way, you can also include Cold War rivalries in the game.

I never cared for the alignment system, but orcs and goblins are simply nasty and I will always treat them as "sword-fodder".

Is D&D really appropriate for that? I would think that rules systems such as Mythras or some of the grittier OSR systems would fit better. I've personally used BRP for a more realistic medieval setting. However, I think that the over-the-top magic of D&D makes it perfect for settings such as...

I actually kind of like the idea of wealthy countries establishing big magic academies where they train thousands of students in the magic arts each year. These new mages would serve throughout the kingdom as either civil servants, business employees or independent wizards. In case of war they...

I always thought of a default D&D setting as being very magic heavy. As a result, communication and transportation would be quite fast for the rich. Civilized areas would be densely populated and boast huge cities, because most natural diseases would be eradicated and harvests would be much...

As I understand it, zombies and skeletons can also be charmed in 5e. That wasn't the case in 3.5e.

Oddly enough, skeletons rarely seem to be used to depict death in world art. I certainly don't know of anything like it from ancient Greek or Roman art and not even from the death-obsessed Ancient Egyptians. The only cultures that I know of to use the skeleton to represent death are those of...

For inspiration, there is also the version of the Triumph of Death painted by Pieter Brueghel's son Jan Brueghel. It's even darker:

What are Kender then? They obviously aren't a "Cute" race! We have to add a sixth race: Annoying

And don't forget Der Zauberring (The Magic Ring) by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué! It was first published in 1812. Because many of Fouqué's works were translated into English it's quite likely that Tolkien read it in his youth.

I think religion works well enough in D&D for what the game sets out to do. More depth probably isn't needed unless your players really want it. However, I've never come across any players that wanted more detail than is available in, say, the Greyhawk setting.

I think the easiest way to "escape Tolkien", if you feel so inclined, is to simply set one's world in a Greek, Egyptian or other non-Nordic, non-Celtic setting. That way, you can have satyrs and centaurs, for example, instead of halflings, elves, and dwarves. Another option would be an Arabian...

One of the relatively low-tech inventions that Twain mentions in Connecticut Yankee is bicycles. There is no reason why people in a "medieval" fantasy setting couldn't make them, thus greatly speeding up travel along roads. It would make infantry considerably more mobile without having to worry...

My problem would be to find anyone to play it with. That aside, I'm a bit surprised that they're doing this, given that J.M. Barrie is a controversial figure, to say the least.