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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jsaving" data-source="post: 7696912" data-attributes="member: 16726">It's hard to say whether Lord of the Rings is best described as a low-magic setting (characters have wimpy spells/equipment because nearly all spells/equipment in the world are wimpy) or as a different-magic setting (where magic items tend to look normal and casters for whatever reason tend to shy away from casting the high level spells they possess).  I tend to think it's a combination of the two, which makes it even tougher to write a "conversion manual" for LotR.But getting back to Gandalf -- we're talking about a guy who has three defining features compared to the other NPCs who are seen in the books/movies.  One, he can man the front lines and hold his own in melee as those around him go down, not because attacks bounce off of his magical defenses but because of his melee prowess.  Two, he has an unparalleled ability to inspire people around him and an unparalleled knowledge of lore.  Three, he is able to face epic-level monsters like the balrog and sometimes emerge triumphant, even telling the rest of his high-level party to fall back because the balrog is beyond their -- but implicitly not his -- power.Taken together, it just seems untenable to stat Gandalf as a low-level character.  A better approach is probably to give him max XP and then figure out his class(es) based on which class features best epitomize what he does in the setting.  While there are always pitfalls in this kind of exercise, I'd look for class(es) that would give him some combination of the extra attack class feature, spellcasting, access to an inspiration/exhortation class feature, and some knowledge of lore.  This would lead me toward either a college of valor bard or an eldritch knight, which are two of the more common ways people have statted Gandalf in the past.  The eldritch knight approach nicely reconciles Gandalf being a high-level character yet never casting high-level spells, while the bard approach handles the knowledge/inspiration aspect of his character while also offering class features like countercharm and magical secrets that dovetail nicely with his eclectic spellbook and ability to break through enchantments.     Opting for 20th level wizard is certainly another possibility, as Gandalf calls himself a wizard and carries the signature weapon of a wizard.  I don't see the class features of a 5th edition wizard as being a great fit for Gandalf, personally, but maybe it would be possible to carefully tailor his spellbook to include mainly buffs/divinations and then explain his apparent lack of magic by saying he was constantly casting those kinds of spells off-camera.  His martial prowess, inspiration ability and uncanny knowledge of lore would then be coming from spells even though we didn't explicitly "see" the appropriate spells being cast, an approach that could potentially make him a much higher-level wizard than he "appeared" to be.</blockquote>

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