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<blockquote data-quote="molonel" data-source="post: 3266904" data-attributes="member: 10412">Mmmmmm ... no.There is this sense throughout Tolkien of the races waning and becoming less powerful. This is true of elves. This is also true of men. Hurin, in the Silmarillion, slew over 70 trolls from the troll guard of Gothmog. In the Book of Lost Tales, Volume 2, during the battle for Gondolin they slew a couple of dozen balrogs including Gothmog, the Lord of All Balrogs. Shelob is less powerful than Ungoliant. Sauron is less powerful than Morgoth.In D&amp;D, adventurers are powerful. People who go out and fight, and learn how to do battle, are ultimately more powerful than someone who stays home and grinds corn, and farms. The Noldor who came over from the blessed land were much more powerful elves than the wood elves of Mirkwood. Tolkien has elves and great heroes dying, not because he's human centric, but because it's not D&amp;D. People don't have abstract hit points. When Isildur lost the one ring, and came up out of the water, he died with an orcish arrow in his eye. The elves you're talking about were not the most powerful elves.Level limits are an arbitrary mechanic to make humans more powerful with no logic or reason beyond, &quot;I want humans to be the most powerful race.&quot; It doesn't reflect Tolkien or any other great fantasy writer. It's Gygax, and it was a silly rule then, and it's a silly rule now. Many of us ignored it back then, and rightly so.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="molonel, post: 3266904, member: 10412"] Mmmmmm ... no. There is this sense throughout Tolkien of the races waning and becoming less powerful. This is true of elves. This is also true of men. Hurin, in the Silmarillion, slew over 70 trolls from the troll guard of Gothmog. In the Book of Lost Tales, Volume 2, during the battle for Gondolin they slew a couple of dozen balrogs including Gothmog, the Lord of All Balrogs. Shelob is less powerful than Ungoliant. Sauron is less powerful than Morgoth. In D&D, adventurers are powerful. People who go out and fight, and learn how to do battle, are ultimately more powerful than someone who stays home and grinds corn, and farms. The Noldor who came over from the blessed land were much more powerful elves than the wood elves of Mirkwood. Tolkien has elves and great heroes dying, not because he's human centric, but because it's not D&D. People don't have abstract hit points. When Isildur lost the one ring, and came up out of the water, he died with an orcish arrow in his eye. The elves you're talking about were not the most powerful elves. Level limits are an arbitrary mechanic to make humans more powerful with no logic or reason beyond, "I want humans to be the most powerful race." It doesn't reflect Tolkien or any other great fantasy writer. It's Gygax, and it was a silly rule then, and it's a silly rule now. Many of us ignored it back then, and rightly so. [/QUOTE]

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