Whatever happened to all the adventurous heroes?

[BSF]

Yes, I realize there were limits to what he could do. But if this were a "typically expected" D&D campaign it would run something like:

Player: Hmm. That's interesting. How does the political system work? I should work on making some contacts so I'll have an easier time when I ascend.

or...

Player: What exactly does the prophecy say? Maybe I should find out more clues about this.

etc etc.

The point being that an "efficient" or "typical" D&D campaign would expect the player to be proactive, to care about it and try to find some angle.

And what was Aragorn's motivation to become king anyways? I firmly believe that he did it for Frodo and the fellowship, and not because he wanted to rise to power. He did what needed to be done.

When people care about other people -- that's where you get your real heroic stories. Dangling plot hooks where the players get a chance to be "heroic" is always going to be less effective than when players are motivated either by their companion or a specific higher cause, rather than "I should be a hero," in my opinion.

Umm, Aragorn became the King for several reasons. Among them that this great grand uncle to the xth generation (Elrond) wouldn't let his daughter (Arwen) marry anything less than a king of both kingdoms. Strictly speaking, Aragorn was already a king without a throne or land. As I recall, he was already in his 70's when the Fellowship came to be. During that time, he had served in the armies of Gondor and Rohan. He had scouted the lands of the Haradrim and spent time in Galadriel & Celeborn's realm. In fact, that is where he met Arwen. Aragorn knew what it would take to be King. He would need to defeat Sauron. I won't go into details because other posters have covered them.

Boromir travelled to Rivendell because of the dreams about Isildur's Bane. He undertook the journey rather than Faramir because it was too important a journey to entrust to Faramir. Boromir was cocksure and prideful. These are the traits that the ring exploited to get him to try to take the ring from Frodo.

Legolas was in Rivendell to report that Gollum had escaped his father's custody. The Elves in Mirkwood were too damn compassionate and that resulted in Gollum escaping. (Aragorn was the one that captured Gollum near the edge of the Dead Marshes. Unfortunately, it was after Gollum had been released from Mordor.) Upon hearing that there was a hopeless quest underway to destroy the One Ring, Legolas volunteered to participate. I suppose it could be argued that he felt guilty for letting Gollum escape, but I never got that impression.

Gimli journeyed with his father, Gloin, to warn Bilbo that emissaries for the Dark Lord were looking for him. The Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain had already been visited by emmisaries looking for Bilbo and were offering some of the Dwarven Rings as 'reward'. King Dain was troubled about the best course of action. Rather than escort his father back to the Lonely Mountain, Gimli also volunteered to join the Company.

Merry & Pippin were, essentially, fools to join in such a dangerous endeavor. However their sense of adventure and friendship overrode good sense.

Bilbo himself offered to take the Ring on the quest. He figured it was his responsibility since he was the one that 'found' it.

Sam wasn't the bravest person involved. He undertook the quest out of his love and admiration for Mr. Frodo. Good thing too!

As much as I liked the movies, I thought there was some er... interesting interpretations of the characters. For me, the books always read quite differently. Most of the Fellowship was quite proactive and 'adventure seeking'. Aragorn would certainly classify as one of the most adventurous folks in Middle Earth. He was just a little patient. He was in for the long haul and he knew it would take a lot to accomplish all of his goals.

But enough about Tolkien.

Quasqueton, I hear what you are saying. But I think you could have designed a scenario that was a little more compelling to become involved in.

 

[LostSoul]

Quick note: In the Hero's Journey, the Hero Refuses the Call to Adventure. It's an important part in myth, apparently.

Anything else I had to say has already been said.