How to describe Strider's combat on Weathertop

[Storm Raven]

Speaking of Glorfindel, just what is he, as a powerful elf lord, doing through most of the trilogy?

Here is a guess. If you look in the appendices to LotR you will note that there was a lot of conflict going on in the north at the same time the events of the book, especially in Mirkwood and the surrounding areas. While Gondor was under siege, Sauron's armies in the north were driving the men of Lake Town away and laying siege to Lonely Mountain as well as fighting against Thingol's elves in Mirkwood proper.

Since Legolas went with the Fellowship, it would make sense that Elrond may have sent Glorfindel to Mirkwood to assist Thingol and to make up for the loss of his son's services during this critical time.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Arwen is the youngest Elf (Half-Elf, really)that is a named character. She's also not a Noldor. Well, she's one-quarter Noldor. There could well be plenty of relatively young Elves, but Tolkien never speaks of them. These are the ones that are laughing and singing at Rivendell in the Hobbit, or accompnaying Gildor Inglorion in the Shire. Some of them may have been Noldor. Maybe.

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

Have to say I'm incredibly impressed with the amount of knowledge shown in this thread!

Let's hope we're still having similar discussions after the next two films.

On a tangent, what do people think about Legolas' skills and feats in FotR so far? And how the fight sections he has, with the cave troll and later against the orcs?

 

[Jeremy Ackerman-Yost]

Have to say I'm incredibly impressed with the amount of knowledge shown in this thread!

Let's hope we're still having similar discussions after the next two films.

On a tangent, what do people think about Legolas' skills and feats in FotR so far? And how the fight sections he has, with the cave troll and later against the orcs?

Well, based on either the books or the movie, I'd say he has nearly every bow-related feat I've ever seen (certainly Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, and Far Shot) as well as Alertness and Track. The movie (and the Two Towers preview, especially) adds two-weapon fighting/ambidexterity. Strong cases can also be made for Weapon Focus and Specialization in Longbow, Improved Critical(longbow), Combat Reflexes, and Endurance. I wouldn't be surprised to see Dodge, Lightning Reflexes, Quickdraw, Run, or Mobility, either. Shot-on-the-Run is the only SRD bow feat he didn't definitively prove to have. I would also guess he's got Weapon Finesse in daggers (actually, those blades of his look somewhat like Kukri, but that would expend another feat for proficiency, and he's already got more feats than your average 3 Rangers put together, so we'll have to call them daggers). He's almost certainly a high level Ranger/Fighter in order to account for his clear Rangerish predilections and also his enormous list of feats. He's also got the world's highest Dexterity bonus, but I'm guessing his Strength bonus is a little on the weak side, since he avoids melee weapons like the plague. And unless he's got Endurance and Run, he must have great Constitution too (of course, the same can be said of Aragorn and Gimli, especially Gimli, who does all that running in moderately weighty looking armor.)

EDIT: If the preview from the FotR DVD is any indication, we'll definitely be having these discussions after tTT. Of course, I won't be in any of those until the movie theater pries me out of the seat and bans me

 

[mmadsen]

Well, Tolkien says that Aragorn was the wisest and hardiest man of his day. If he's not epic, then I don't know who is.

Maybe no one in Middle Earth is "epic" by D&D standards (level 21+). I certainly don't think of any of them as having 100+ hit points or casting Wish.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

Maybe no one in Middle Earth is "epic" by D&D standards (level 21+). I certainly don't think of any of them as having 100+ hit points or casting Wish.

And that's an indication of the subjectivity with which we all view the subject. Stat 'em up, and submit 'em to the Middle Earth d20 site. We welcome varying viewpoints. I'm waiting to see someone stat up the Fellowship using Gygax's assertion that Gandalf was a 5th level cleric as the benchmark. I'm not being facetious; I'd love to see it, and it would fill a niche at the site that needs filling.

 

[wolff96]

I'm waiting to see someone stat up the Fellowship using Gygax's assertion that Gandalf was a 5th level cleric as the benchmark.

CLERIC?

I can see him being a lot of low-level things, but cleric definitely isn't one of them. Wow.

And the real reason I posted: Legolas definitely has Manyshot as well. And a Quiver of Ehlonna, apparently.

 

[sword-dancer]

...

A fitting person to take on the Lord of the Ringwraiths: Witch-King of Angmar; King of the Nazgul; Sauron's Second-In-Command.

"And even Glorfindel and Aragorn could on foot not withstand the nine on Horse"
Two men, an true old Noldor and Elendils heir couldn`t withstand the complete third greatest force of evil in middleearth horsed, this implies even Aragorn could have taken at least one of the nine and Glorfindel how many 3 - 5 or more?

Originally posted by mmadsen
[Glorfindel] must be doing something while the fellowship is off traipsing about; I just don't know what.

I don`t think we will ever know for sure, but Legoloas said to Gimli that the war had come to their homes and people, I really doubt that the elves would sit on the side line ...
OTOH the war of the last alliance wasn`t called so for nothing, this would be the last war in middle earth were elves played a larger part(at least of armed forces )
But in Riders of RohanICE it is said, when the Eothred under Eorl rode to the help of Gondor, passed Lothlorien, the power of Galadriel washed the exhausting out the horses and maybe the man.
Perhaps helping to raze Dol Guldur, perhaps hunting the tue dangerous creatures and servants of Sauron?
I wouldn`t assume the mouth of Sauron was unique in type.
Most likely IMHO they fought Sauron not with steel but with mind?

Thanks foer correcting my mistakes.
It gives two reasons i see Anduril as an artifact.

1 Aragorn refused to lay Anduril down at Thingols Hall, and would have done this with any other weapon at the last servants hut.
2 The flaming of Anduril in the battle of Helms Klamm, when the need was dire, every time it sends fear in the enemy and raise the spirit of the Rohirrim(OTOH this could be also be the effect of experiencing that Elendils heir with Elendils sword fought with them, nothing magic but the beliefs of the warriors)

Maybe no one in Middle Earth is "epic" by D&D standards (level 21+). I certainly don't think of any of them as having 100+ hit points or casting Wish.

Aragorn was defined pre LoTR in ICEs Arnor as having 24lev.
What level in which classes would you give Aragorn, fitting his background and why?

Ít seems they didn´t realize it or thought they would lose their contact to Strider

@Edena: What did Boromir say about Denethor. In german he said that he is a good and honorable man but a weak ruler. I found it odd. I thought that he was quite a strong ruler, too.

In English it was the same.
And a weak ruler is the last thing i would say to Denethor Steward of Gondor.
He had a strong will, proud, and decisive.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

The Two Towers

I have one fear from the Two Towers preview -- that Jackson will modify/shift the emphasis of the plot too far.

In the preview (from the DVD) he states that the two towers of the film are "Orthanc and Barad-dur" and the film is about the cooperation between them.

There is a pretty explicit reference at the end of FOTR that states the Two Towers were Orthanc and Minas Morgul. Of course, I'm not sure if that comment is Tolkien's or the editor's, since Tolkien was against splitting the books.

Ok, I admit it. I'm splitting hairs. I probably should be statting up Gandalf as a 5th level Wizard, Aragon as a 4th level Ranger, Legolas and Gimli as 3rd level fighters, and the hobbits as 1st level commoners.

(I must admit -- I favor low level over high -- Epic levels -- pah!)

 

[ReignofGeekaos]

Well....

Gandalf is a Twentieh Level Sorcerer at most....just the way magic in middle earth seems this way to me, it's basically just cast without components.

Legolas: Fifteenth Level Fighter/ 5th Level Ranger

Aragorn: level 15 Ranger, Fifth Level Paladin.

Gimli: Pure Fighter, probably seventeenth level at most.

The hobbit's all are Nobles third/Rogue three, except Sam who's a streight up Fighter, maybe fifth.

Boromir: Pure fighter 15