...in B/X terms, Aragorn is a cleric?
I mean, he turns undead (the wraiths on Weathertop), he heals people, removes level drain, has fanatically loyal followers, displays a lot of wisdom, etc.
See, there ARE rangers in B/X...they're called clerics!
; )
Now we just need to remove the weapon restrictions!
ReplyDeleteJury duty seems to be a mind-expanding experience. Or else a mind-wandering experience?
ReplyDeleteHe certainly seems a messianic character, combining Priest, Prophet (dreams/the eye-orb as well as bringing it to the enemy), and Warrior-King. Not what I think of as a template for other would-be looters. More of a once in a while sort of world/game-changer.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm off here?
By Tollers and Gygax, I love this kind of trouble-making!
ReplyDeleteInteresting notion actually.
ReplyDelete@ Everyone: Not to mention you can consider his tracking ability simply the use of a FIND THE PATH spell. Many of his abilities appear to be clerical spells, actually...
ReplyDelete: )
Fun thing is, in my BECMI adaptation of the Lord of the Rings, Aragorn was a Paladin (per Companion Set rules.)
ReplyDeleteYes. And I've been wanting to play a Cleric-King for the last year because of that.
ReplyDeleteHeh. I've enjoyed sharing this idea with my friends. My trump card? "How the hell do YOU explain what happened on Weathertop then?!"
ReplyDeleteBeen a bit since I read LotR. From what I remember though, I'd roll up Aragorn as a Fighter with the Forester secondary skill. All he did for Frodo's numb-arm was give him an herb that Aragorn knew about and have Elrond do the actual healing. The main bit of tracking we see him do is when Merry and Pippin get Hob-napped and the three heavy dudes chase the Half-Orcs across the countryside (and how much of that was Legolas's doing?).
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of the stuff he did was a result of being a high-level character with experiences (not EXP) that gave him interesting tools to use.
I figure the Weathertop Incident was just meant to be a literary climax before the "save point" of Elrond. Not everything in the books makes sense. For example, why didn't Gandalf or the high level Elves make False One Rings that didn't have any powers but acted as little beacons that mimicked the scent of the One Ring to the Wraiths? That way you could have several dozen Fellowships and there's just no way a Ringwraith would grab the right one. Why didn't Gandalf or Elrond cough up some magic items to help everyone? It sure would have been helpful if he had summoned some horses or something at various times. He could have cast an Invisibility spell on Frodo and a Giant Eagle and sent them straight to the volcano. Please tell me Saruman's 1/2 HD birds can all Detect Invisibility at any arbitrary range.
The whole thing was a literary setup. It reads like a railroading DM.
"Well guys Gandalf says we can't go south around the mountains. He mumbled something about bird spies. Whatever. Turns out we can't go over the mountain because Saruman is more powerful at a range of 50 miles than Gandalf is. Guess we have to go through the big dungeon!"
"But Frodo, why split off from the rest of the party? They all agreed to come along and after all, what's really important isn't your damn martyrdom but actually getting the ring in the hole."
"Thanks for the grey Snuggies and rope, guys. And the white LED, this is nice. Oh and that seed. And the swan canoes. We really don't mean to seem ungrateful. But just maybe, could you spare some Wands of Fireball, a few Flying Carpets, some +5 Elven Chain, and a few Vorpal Swords? After all, you do have these things, and the world will end if we fail. You do live in the world, right? You do realize that if you have boats and leave the continent that Sauron can make boats and get you anyway? Okay yeah we're leaving."
"While we're here in Mt. Doom let's make some other artifacts that are invulnerable unless plopped back in. Like, for example, armor. Or engine parts."