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Which parts of D&D came from Tolkien?
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<blockquote data-quote="MackMcMacky" data-source="post: 7275826" data-attributes="member: 6876074"><p>I think it's pretty obvious Gygax and others at TSR lifted from Tolkien. However, some of the conclusions people are making seem to be ignoring other influences and a very compelling element of game design. Rangers may have powers displayed in Tolkien's works but they also appear to borrow significantly from Jack the Giant-Killer (who had a magic hat, magic sword, cloak of invisibility which appears all over Arthurian material, and shoes of speed), etc.</p><p></p><p>Game design explains the concept of the "party" far better than lifting the "fellowship" from Tolkien. The game would be far less profitable if it encouraged one dungeon master and just one player. Game design also explains the "limited" number of followers a ranger has. Game design also means Elves aren't better at basically everything. </p><p></p><p>Gygax and company were lifting from here and there, mixing and matching. Just in this thread someone has argued that Aragorn is a paladin while another has argued he is a ranger. Well, he can't be both as a PC, not in the old days. </p><p></p><p>As far as Tolkien goes, he synthesized a ton of European mythology AND some Biblical traditions in telling his tales. The eagle has a special place in various traditions. Now, the Giant Eagle has plenty of shadings that would remind someone of Tolkien but, let's remember, they were buddies of the wizard (angel) not the elves. So, even when TSR added elements of Tolkien into their work they always shaped it for their own purposes in game design and, often, a D&D concept has more than one source of inspiration.</p><p></p><p>P.S. Am I missing something? I don't remember Aragorn being especially noted for his giant and giant-kin killing prowess?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="MackMcMacky, post: 7275826, member: 6876074"] I think it's pretty obvious Gygax and others at TSR lifted from Tolkien. However, some of the conclusions people are making seem to be ignoring other influences and a very compelling element of game design. Rangers may have powers displayed in Tolkien's works but they also appear to borrow significantly from Jack the Giant-Killer (who had a magic hat, magic sword, cloak of invisibility which appears all over Arthurian material, and shoes of speed), etc. Game design explains the concept of the "party" far better than lifting the "fellowship" from Tolkien. The game would be far less profitable if it encouraged one dungeon master and just one player. Game design also explains the "limited" number of followers a ranger has. Game design also means Elves aren't better at basically everything. Gygax and company were lifting from here and there, mixing and matching. Just in this thread someone has argued that Aragorn is a paladin while another has argued he is a ranger. Well, he can't be both as a PC, not in the old days. As far as Tolkien goes, he synthesized a ton of European mythology AND some Biblical traditions in telling his tales. The eagle has a special place in various traditions. Now, the Giant Eagle has plenty of shadings that would remind someone of Tolkien but, let's remember, they were buddies of the wizard (angel) not the elves. So, even when TSR added elements of Tolkien into their work they always shaped it for their own purposes in game design and, often, a D&D concept has more than one source of inspiration. P.S. Am I missing something? I don't remember Aragorn being especially noted for his giant and giant-kin killing prowess? [/QUOTE]
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Which parts of D&D came from Tolkien?
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