Nifft said:
He had very few fights compared to a D&D character. His "once in a lifetime" works out to what, 20% of all his battles?
You need to go back and read the books, my friend.
Aragorn has had a very long and distinguished adventuring career prior to joining the Fellowship, and was often Gandalf's ally in more serious ventures. Within the novel itself, he drives off the Nazgul twice in the Fellowship, as well as several "encounters" (using 4e terms) with orcs in Moria, plus a cave troll. He also tells Frodo of having captured Gollum in the Fellowship, which certainly involved a fight. Last, but not least, he faced orcs (admitedly, only Legolas did any shooting) on the Anduin, and then fought them when Boromir fell. He also faces supernatural wolves just before entering Moria.
In the Two Towers, we learn that hunting orcs is nothing new to Aragorn. They are a Favoured Enemy, and there are few alive who know more about them than he. And, in TTT, he fights orcs. At Helm's Deep he smites them hip and thigh. He wades in a sea of orcs and men in that battle, and triumphs. Not finished yet, he then goes an engages in mental combat with Sauron himself, and wrests the Palantir of Isengard from him (<-- Kewl Powerz Alert!). He passes through the Paths of the Dead (which, though a non-combat encounter like Cadaraz in Fellowship, is a true challenge) and fights the Corsairs of Umbar, securing their fleet and freeing the southern allies of Gondor from the forces that beseige them. We also learn in this book that Aragorn is no stranger to Rohan and Gondor, having ridden in battle with the Rohirim, and having entered Minas Tirith as a soldier.
In Return of the King, Aragorn fights in the battle of Pelanor Field, which in the book is not simply a bunch of ghosts sweeping over the battlefield. He then goes and fights the amassed armies of Sauron with nary a ghost to help him....orcs, trolls, and men. And, while Frodo's/Gollum's action in destroying the Ring prevents the mind of Sauron from directing the battle and enforcing morale, surviving and triumphing is no small feat.
LotR doesn't represent Aragorn's "Adventure Path" (which started 50 years ago), but it does represent an arc of three adventures on his rise to glory. Does the average D&D character face more discrete combats in three adventures? Perhaps. But, if so, the average D&D character doesn't face as many
opponents over the course of three adventures.
IMHO, of course.
RC
(and this said by someone whose favourite PC type is the Wizard, but often wants to play the other types as well).
