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General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Did Tolkien create the D&D Ranger?
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 6601496" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>The problem I have is that the hero-king archetype is, almost without fail, someone extraordinarily "special" who has some combination of unusual lineage, divine blessing, indwelling spirit of leadership, or some other "I'm different!" flag. Aragorn happens to have all three (he's one of the few remaining Dunedain, last of the line of kings, of royal blood from several lines including the line of half-elves through Elrond's brother; he has a clear divine right to rule; and his charisma and leadership qualities are well-attested in how he handles the reunited kingdom). The kind of narrative required for this is special. You could--possibly--achieve it in 13A, what with the One Unique Thing idea and the flexible backgrounds, but I genuinely don't think you can get it in D&D without having your DM explicitly backing you up.</p><p></p><p>A Paladin/Warlord certainly comes close, but it's still not "I bear the blood of kings" and "I am the ultimate protagonist of this era," which Aragorn totally has. (As I said before, in the hands of anyone else, Aragorn *would* be the protagonist--he's not because Tolkien specifically wanted to say something about the purpose and strength of the "nobody" common folk, that they could also quite easily be the hinge upon which destiny swings.) The Pally/Lord doesn't inherently cover the origination elements, at least IMO, and those are fundamentally important. After all, (Greek) heroes are never nobodies, they always come from some god(dess) coming down and getting their sex on.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 6601496, member: 6790260"] The problem I have is that the hero-king archetype is, almost without fail, someone extraordinarily "special" who has some combination of unusual lineage, divine blessing, indwelling spirit of leadership, or some other "I'm different!" flag. Aragorn happens to have all three (he's one of the few remaining Dunedain, last of the line of kings, of royal blood from several lines including the line of half-elves through Elrond's brother; he has a clear divine right to rule; and his charisma and leadership qualities are well-attested in how he handles the reunited kingdom). The kind of narrative required for this is special. You could--possibly--achieve it in 13A, what with the One Unique Thing idea and the flexible backgrounds, but I genuinely don't think you can get it in D&D without having your DM explicitly backing you up. A Paladin/Warlord certainly comes close, but it's still not "I bear the blood of kings" and "I am the ultimate protagonist of this era," which Aragorn totally has. (As I said before, in the hands of anyone else, Aragorn *would* be the protagonist--he's not because Tolkien specifically wanted to say something about the purpose and strength of the "nobody" common folk, that they could also quite easily be the hinge upon which destiny swings.) The Pally/Lord doesn't inherently cover the origination elements, at least IMO, and those are fundamentally important. After all, (Greek) heroes are never nobodies, they always come from some god(dess) coming down and getting their sex on. [/QUOTE]
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Did Tolkien create the D&D Ranger?
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