What was Gandalf's XP level?

[Miln]

When Eru intervened in previous episodes (e.g. 'The Breaking of the World') it came about through the intercession of Manwe. Do you recall whether Tolkein said if the Valar appealled to Eru for intervention on Gandalf's behalf, or did this miracle come as much of a surprise to them as it did to the other inhabitents of Arda?

I'm sorry I don't. I think it was an action initiated by Eru, but I'll have to check to be sure.

Anyone else have the book to check now?

 

[Space Coyote]

Gandalf = Fighter 4/Rogue 12, with a lot of ranks in Use Magic Device and a lot of magic items hahahahahahaha

 

[Ace]

I tend to see Gandalf as a lightly modified Celestial/Bard in D&D terms

This is my quick write up of Gandalf the Grey


Gandalf Greyhame

Str 12

Int 16

Wis 22

Dex 12

Con 18

Cha 18

Varient Bard 16

Celestial Template

Feats

H Negotiator

1 Endurance

3 Die Hard

6 Great Knowledge (+3 to Bardic Lore)

9 iron Will

12 great toughness

15 lightning reflexes


Spells Known
L0
Light
detect magic
open close
mage hand
resistance
know direction

l1
detect secret doors
hold portal (v)
detect evil
protection from evil
travel blessing (not written up)

l2
knock (v)
tounges
eagles speldor (I am not a conjurer etc etc)
calm emotions

l3
searing light
dispell magic
good hope
daylight

l4
legend lore
break enchanment
detect scrying
lightning bolt (v)

l5
greater dispell magic
greater heroism
fire seeds
telekenesis (in the movie at least)

L6
Sun Beam
Repulsion (you shall not pass!)

gear

Ring Of Fire (Powers ? among the ones I gussed include Extra Inspiration effect (fire in hearts and minds) and fire resistance -- i.e the Balrogs Lash

Glamdring +3 Orc Bane Longsword

Wizards Staff (powers?)

Robes of the Istari (as robes of the archmagi)


I figure that Middle earth uses Defense (ala WOT or Star Wars) and that most classes get +2 skills per level -- beyond that D&D works pretty well IMO

 

[Conaill]

I think this is a pretty pointless excercise, since the vast majority of characters in fantasy literature cannot be accurately represented in D&D.

 

[Teemu]

No. And let's not go there, 'k? This isn't the place and your comment indicates that you wouldn't take such a discussion seriously even if it was.

Wasn't trying to start a discussion.

 

[wingsandsword]

I always saw Gandalf as an example of an adventuring character with Divine Rank 0. If you're going to even try to stat the Fellowship in D&D, you need to decide if you're using the exact RAW or are willing to change things to fit the setting.

There was an old article in Dragon, Issue 5, page 47 according to the Dragon Magazine Archive CDs, called "Gandalf was a Level 5 M-U" (Magic-User, really old term for Wizard). It was an argument that you never see him cast anything above a 3rd level spell (even then rarely) and he wasn't 9th or greater because he couldn't Teleport the ring-bearer right into Mt. Doom to throw it in.

If you're using RAW D&D, I'd call Gandalf a Human Sorcerer 7/Fighter 1/Eldritch Knight 1 (Divine Rank 0), with a minor artifact scale ring, and both a staff and a sword that are major magic items.

 

[VorpalBunny]

CODA is similiar enough to d20 that it might help to use Gandalf's stats in the CODA LotR game as a coversion base:

66 Advancement (that's 66,000 experience points) Magician/Wizard; Bearing 16; Nimbleness 10; Perception 14; Strength 10; Vitality 10; Wits 16. (stats are base on 2d6).

To put things in perspective, Boromir has 33 advancements, Aragorn has 68, Elendil 104, and. Elrond 150.

So Gandalf, while not the most powerful being in Middle-Earth, does possess a very high Charisma (Bearing), Intelligence (Perception), and Wisdom (Wits) that would help set him apart.

A direct conversion assuming 1 CODA exp= 1 D&D exp and stats converted over using this chart:

d20	CODA
3-4	2
5-6	3
7	4
8	5
9-10	6
11-12	7
13-14	8
15	9
16	10
17	11
18	12
19	13
20	14

would look something like this:

Gandalf the Grey: Male Maia (Istari) 12th-level Wizard/Loremaster, Str 16; Dex 16; Con 16; Int 20; Wis 22; Cha 22.

Frankly, I'd buy it.

 

[Miln]

When Eru intervened in previous episodes (e.g. 'The Breaking of the World') it came about through the intercession of Manwe. Do you recall whether Tolkein said if the Valar appealled to Eru for intervention on Gandalf's behalf, or did this miracle come as much of a surprise to them as it did to the other inhabitents of Arda?

To definitively answer your question, no the Valar did not intercede.

Further, Tolkien explains that Gandalf was knowingly sacrificing himself to save the others when he made the stand on the bridge, even though he didn't have to. He was unwilling to break the rules laid down by Eru, so he did not use his full power to fight the Balrog. It was because of this obedience that Eru stepped in.

All of this is from letter #156 in "The Letters of JRR Tolkien."