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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 5326689" data-attributes="member: 58197">It is sufficient to have the places and history and names and background characters of Middle-Earth, coupled with the &quot;physics&quot; of that world (or a reasonable approximation thereof). As for the player characters, I don't give a damn if they look like a Fellowship knock-off or if they're a gang of bandits. Middle-Earth has bandits as well as heroes; maybe we're telling their story. That's the fun of roleplaying.Make up your mind. Do we or do we not know why Gandalf doesn't fling fireballs willy-nilly? You can't have it both ways. If we don't know, then my suggestions are just as valid as Vancian magic, but unlike Vancian magic they're extensions of established forces (Sauron, the Valar) and themes (pride and abuse of power leading to corruption) within the setting. If we do know, then Vancian magic is a pointless restriction with no basis.First of all, it's no better--from the perspective you seem to be arguing--than any of my suggestions. Everything I suggested would result in Gandalf being reluctant to use his power freely. Vancian magic is just one more way to do that.But in any event, it doesn't get us closer to a Middle-Earth simulator. A proper Middle-Earth simulator could answer the question: &quot;What would happen if Gandalf decided he didn't care about veiling his power and majesty any more?&quot; What it gets us closer to is a &quot;Lord of the Rings&quot; simulator, and I already have one of those which does a far better job than any D&amp;D adaptation. It's called &quot;The Lord of the Rings&quot; and it's sitting on my bookshelf. Just say, &quot;Each player chooses a part from 'The Lord of the Rings,' and the group reads the book aloud, with players reading their lines and the DM reading the narration.&quot;Voila. Rules complete. You have now simulated the &quot;Lord of the Rings&quot; story in the most perfect possible way, down to the last detail. Of course, it's utterly boring to play since the rules give you no option to deviate from any of the choices made by the protagonists, but so be it.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 5326689, member: 58197"] It is sufficient to have the places and history and names and background characters of Middle-Earth, coupled with the "physics" of that world (or a reasonable approximation thereof). As for the player characters, I don't give a damn if they look like a Fellowship knock-off or if they're a gang of bandits. Middle-Earth has bandits as well as heroes; maybe we're telling [i]their[/i] story. That's the fun of roleplaying. Make up your mind. Do we or do we not know why Gandalf doesn't fling fireballs willy-nilly? You can't have it both ways. If we don't know, then my suggestions are just as valid as Vancian magic, but unlike Vancian magic they're extensions of established forces (Sauron, the Valar) and themes (pride and abuse of power leading to corruption) within the setting. If we do know, then Vancian magic is a pointless restriction with no basis. First of all, it's no better--from the perspective you seem to be arguing--than any of my suggestions. Everything I suggested would result in Gandalf being reluctant to use his power freely. Vancian magic is just one more way to do that. But in any event, it doesn't get us closer to a Middle-Earth simulator. A proper Middle-Earth simulator could answer the question: "What would happen if Gandalf decided he didn't care about veiling his power and majesty any more?" What it gets us closer to is a "Lord of the Rings" simulator, and I already have one of those which does a [i]far[/i] better job than any D&D adaptation. It's called "The Lord of the Rings" and it's sitting on my bookshelf. Just say, "Each player chooses a part from 'The Lord of the Rings,' and the group reads the book aloud, with players reading their lines and the DM reading the narration." Voila. Rules complete. You have now simulated the "Lord of the Rings" story in the most perfect possible way, down to the last detail. Of course, it's utterly boring to play since the rules give you no option to deviate from any of the choices made by the protagonists, but so be it. [/QUOTE]

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