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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 7389445" data-attributes="member: 82106">OK, you COULD do it with your playstyle, I already stated that I am not excluding that possibility, how does that change any of my points? I disagree that there are no goals or perhaps they should be labeled 'themes' in this specific context of LotR. I expostulated a deep theme, the nature of evil, that it takes the form of dominance, etc. This is a deep theme which the players can explore with their characters in a setting. Tolkien DOES explore it with his characters, albeit in a novel and not an RPG. I'm not 'rationalizing' any goals. In fact I dispute that Frodo's goal is to destroy the ring! He certainly takes on a quest to do so, and I think its reasonable to assume that for SOME part of the story he works towards it steadily. I don't think it is really the core of what he is about though. In fact, you could see the final chapter of his journey to Mt Doom as a rejection. In fact I think that part of the problem he has there is he's NOT really resolved to destroy the ring. In the end it overthrows his mind. Only Gollum's intervention, fate, spares the world from a new Age of Darkness.We're not inventing hypothetical agendas because we're not determining some agenda after the fact and trying to view an existing story through that lens. When we RPG we are creating a story, using an agenda or a theme. Thus you have no substance for objection here.Yes, it amplified their powers, making it possible for them to DOMINATE OTHERS. Remember the words of Galadriel. "Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark  but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and  stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and  despair!" The very spell of making of the One Ring is a spell of domination "One Ring to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them!" All of the lesser ring bearers, even mighty Isildur, descendant of higher beings though he is, falls immediately under its influence.  This is a mighty theme! A wonderful theme! Filled with all kinds of potential. Here is the whole reason for Boromir, with his "don't you see! The Ring is a gift..." and finally "It should be mine! It WILL be mine!" I don't know that such a lofty theme can be utilized successfully in an RPG, it would take a very specific sort of players to execute that kind of play, but that doesn't make thematic play invalid. It just means that GM's and players need to consider their aims carefully in order to have fun. I don't see how that is different from the idea that a GM such as yourself needs to construct interesting adventures.</blockquote>

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