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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 7269819" data-attributes="member: 22779">Not sure if this has been brought up, but one other major influence of Tolkien is the idea of the zero to hero arc that D&amp;D embraces.&nbsp; Pulp heroes like Conan or The Grey Mouser were never zeroes.&nbsp; They were always superheroes.&nbsp; They most certainly weren't some guy's gardener.&nbsp; Yet, by the end of LotR, the hobbits are all much more than what they started as.&nbsp; They are very different from what they started as.&nbsp; And that's something that D&amp;D has always based itself on.&nbsp; A pulp based game would start with accomplished characters who are pretty much super human.&nbsp; Or at least on the bleeding edge of the best of the best.&nbsp; They're larger than life.&nbsp; But, D&amp;D never started that way.&nbsp; You're first level PC was a peon and it wasn't until you were well into the campaign that you started to look like those pulp heroes.Now, I'm not saying Tolkien originated the idea.&nbsp; Of course not.&nbsp; But, that sort of Campbellian heroes journey is crystalized in fantasy by Tolkien.&nbsp; People have mentioned Jason and the Argonauts.&nbsp; Trick is, that's the equivalent of the Justice League.&nbsp; These weren't nobodies that got together in the Color Animal Inn.&nbsp; They were all established heroes with stories in their own right.&nbsp; It's largely Tolkien that gives us the idea of the &quot;zero to hero&quot; fantasy story with a group and not just a single protagonist.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 7269819, member: 22779"] Not sure if this has been brought up, but one other major influence of Tolkien is the idea of the zero to hero arc that D&D embraces. Pulp heroes like Conan or The Grey Mouser were never zeroes. They were always superheroes. They most certainly weren't some guy's gardener. Yet, by the end of LotR, the hobbits are all much more than what they started as. They are very different from what they started as. And that's something that D&D has always based itself on. A pulp based game would start with accomplished characters who are pretty much super human. Or at least on the bleeding edge of the best of the best. They're larger than life. But, D&D never started that way. You're first level PC was a peon and it wasn't until you were well into the campaign that you started to look like those pulp heroes. Now, I'm not saying Tolkien originated the idea. Of course not. But, that sort of Campbellian heroes journey is crystalized in fantasy by Tolkien. People have mentioned Jason and the Argonauts. Trick is, that's the equivalent of the Justice League. These weren't nobodies that got together in the Color Animal Inn. They were all established heroes with stories in their own right. It's largely Tolkien that gives us the idea of the "zero to hero" fantasy story with a group and not just a single protagonist. [/QUOTE]

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