Gandalf (by a titanic amount, he basically demigod)
Legolas (OP movie version at least)
Aragorn
Boromir
Gimli
Sam (does more badass shit then the rest of the hobbit combined)
Merry (Witch-King kill assist)
Pippin (uhh… He’s slightly tougher then Frodo)
Frodo (nearly died in EVERY SINGLE FIGHT HE GETS INTO)
While your list is mostly in the correct order, your analysis of the halflings is undermined a tad by the books. Pippin, for example, engages in two major battles (and one significant skirmish), and even slays one of Sauron’s elite trolls at the Black Gate, before succumbing to unconsciousness. Giving his prowess a dismissive “uhh” and comparison to Frodo while ignoring Pippin’s numerous accomplishments seems like an interesting choice.
Regarding the halfling order, there is a strong textual argument to be made that Merry and Pippin should both be ranked higher than Sam—not only do they drink a magical substance which makes them grow larger and stronger than other halflings, the novel explicitly says that those two were the most notable combatants in the Scouring of the Shire, with their military skill on full display and eclipsing that of Sam and Frodo in the eyes of most of the other hobbits. That said, Sam displays physical strength of his own throughout the books. I think a solid argument could be made for any ordering of those three, depending on what types of physical power you use as the basis of your analysis.
Gandalf (by a titanic amount, he basically demigod)
Legolas (OP movie version at least)
Aragorn
Boromir
Gimli
Sam (does more badass shit then the rest of the hobbit combined)
Merry (Witch-King kill assist)
Pippin (uhh… He’s slightly tougher then Frodo)
Frodo (nearly died in EVERY SINGLE FIGHT HE GETS INTO)
While your list is mostly in the correct order, your analysis of the halflings is undermined a tad by the books. Pippin, for example, engages in two major battles (and one significant skirmish), and even slays one of Sauron’s elite trolls at the Black Gate, before succumbing to unconsciousness. Giving his prowess a dismissive “uhh” and comparison to Frodo while ignoring Pippin’s numerous accomplishments seems like an interesting choice.
Regarding the halfling order, there is a strong textual argument to be made that Merry and Pippin should both be ranked higher than Sam—not only do they drink a magical substance which makes them grow larger and stronger than other halflings, the novel explicitly says that those two were the most notable combatants in the Scouring of the Shire, with their military skill on full display and eclipsing that of Sam and Frodo in the eyes of most of the other hobbits. That said, Sam displays physical strength of his own throughout the books. I think a solid argument could be made for any ordering of those three, depending on what types of physical power you use as the basis of your analysis.
You’re right, I totally forgot about the troll! The Ent draught honestly probably does make Merry and Pippun stronger then Sam, but considering that this effect doesn’t properly hit until over halfway through the story I’m still keeping Sam higher, also I’m biased cause Sam’s the best.
I’m not sure we can fight it anymore. It’s had an amazing run.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
My name’s Gradius, this is my second account :P I love Hollow Knight and I have been on ddb for a while. Come rp with me anytime! It is my purpose. My title that was given to me by Drummer is…SPIRIT OF THE WEST, GUARDIAN OF THE HOLLOWS.
No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void.
I’m not sure we can fight it anymore. It’s had an amazing run.
You give up that easily? This is nothing. It’s been dead for months before, but I always manage to bring it back. I’ll disappear for a month or so now ig, and then I’ll return and bring it back, I always do. See you in a month!
My name’s Gradius, this is my second account :P I love Hollow Knight and I have been on ddb for a while. Come rp with me anytime! It is my purpose. My title that was given to me by Drummer is…SPIRIT OF THE WEST, GUARDIAN OF THE HOLLOWS.
No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void.
I am surprised the Lord of the Rings MTG set never came up on this thread, considering this is a Wizards of the Coast website and it was an official Wizards of the Coast take on the novels. Even for those who are not Magic players, there is some great art well worthy of discussion--Wizards based the set exclusively on the books, rather than the film franchise, so was empowered to give completely different takes to characters, and did so in a way I think Tolkien would have been fascinated to see. https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&set=|[">Here is a link to the database of the LotR cards, for any who wish to look (or here for the full card gallery, which shows all the alternate arts for each card in a convenient manner).
Overall, I thought the set was pretty good - though some of the new mechanics were a bit annoying to play, the set overall was a blast and one of the best limited (you build a deck with random cards you open in pack, rather than curated cards you seek out specifically) environments in a long time. More importantly, it was great to see how excited people were for the set - even non-Magic players or long-retired Magic players showed up for the release event and their delight at seeing their favorite characters was palpable.
The set itself mostly did a great job representing the characters - there were a few I thought hit the mark, but that is expected since they were trying to use Wizards mechanics to represent someone else's intellectual property. The art was great and seeing characters from the novels that the films cut (such as Beregond--one of my favorite tertiary characters) was fantastic. The set did create some gameplay issues given a few of its absurdly powerful cards--though I think that was to be expected given the type of release it was (a straight to Modern set--for those who play, they know those tend to be game-warping products).
The biggest problem with the set was, as with most LotR things, the fandom--specifically the racist component of the fandom that complained about Wizards race-shifting some characters. Cries of "But Aragorn can't be black, you are trampling on Tolkien's, he would have hated that!" were nearly constant among those who pretended to care about Tolkien's legacy... without actually understanding it. After all, we know exactly what Tolkien would have thought about race-swapping characters--in a speech at Oxford University, he explicitly discussed how he thought one race claiming a book for their own was nothing short of literary "apartheid" and that he both "hated" that notion and did not care if people wanted to interpret his books in the light of a different race. Moreover, Tolkien was pretty darn explicit in a number of his letters that he created something he wanted others to share in--wanted others to put their own spin on. He was surprised and touched that his novels had become what they became, and absolutely loved that folks wanted to see themselves in his works and explore them in their own ways.
It never ceases to amaze me how toxic and bigoted the LotR fandom can get--here is a book where Tolkien explicitly wrote a b-plot about two racists (Legolas and Gimli) realizing their racism was unsubstantiated and standing in the way of a great friendship.... yet racists consistently try to sully Tolkien's own messaging and beliefs by "standing up for what Tolkien would have wanted" and engaging in the same kind of literary apartheid Tolkien abhorred.
I’ll go first:
Gandalf (by a titanic amount, he basically demigod)
Legolas (OP movie version at least)
Aragorn
Boromir
Gimli
Sam (does more badass shit then the rest of the hobbit combined)
Merry (Witch-King kill assist)
Pippin (uhh… He’s slightly tougher then Frodo)
Frodo (nearly died in EVERY SINGLE FIGHT HE GETS INTO)
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
So, everyone is gone again ig
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
While your list is mostly in the correct order, your analysis of the halflings is undermined a tad by the books. Pippin, for example, engages in two major battles (and one significant skirmish), and even slays one of Sauron’s elite trolls at the Black Gate, before succumbing to unconsciousness. Giving his prowess a dismissive “uhh” and comparison to Frodo while ignoring Pippin’s numerous accomplishments seems like an interesting choice.
Regarding the halfling order, there is a strong textual argument to be made that Merry and Pippin should both be ranked higher than Sam—not only do they drink a magical substance which makes them grow larger and stronger than other halflings, the novel explicitly says that those two were the most notable combatants in the Scouring of the Shire, with their military skill on full display and eclipsing that of Sam and Frodo in the eyes of most of the other hobbits. That said, Sam displays physical strength of his own throughout the books. I think a solid argument could be made for any ordering of those three, depending on what types of physical power you use as the basis of your analysis.
You’re right, I totally forgot about the troll! The Ent draught honestly probably does make Merry and Pippun stronger then Sam, but considering that this effect doesn’t properly hit until over halfway through the story I’m still keeping Sam higher, also I’m biased cause Sam’s the best.
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
Dead cult
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
I’m not sure we can fight it anymore. It’s had an amazing run.
My name’s Gradius, this is my second account :P I love Hollow Knight and I have been on ddb for a while. Come rp with me anytime! It is my purpose. My title that was given to me by Drummer is…SPIRIT OF THE WEST, GUARDIAN OF THE HOLLOWS.
No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void.
You give up that easily? This is nothing. It’s been dead for months before, but I always manage to bring it back. I’ll disappear for a month or so now ig, and then I’ll return and bring it back, I always do. See you in a month!
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
TOLKIENITES, IT IS TIME TO RESURRECT THE CULT
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
RRAHHHH
My name’s Gradius, this is my second account :P I love Hollow Knight and I have been on ddb for a while. Come rp with me anytime! It is my purpose. My title that was given to me by Drummer is…SPIRIT OF THE WEST, GUARDIAN OF THE HOLLOWS.
No cost too great. No mind to think. No will to break. No voice to cry suffering. Born of God and Void.
Rollcall, who's stil here?
I'm the Valar (leader and creator) of The Lord of the Rings/The Hobbit/Anything Tolkien Cult!
Member of the Cult of Cats, High Elf of the Elven Guild, and Sauce Priest & Sauce Smith of the Supreme Court of Sauce.
If you want some casual roleplay/adventures in Middle Earth, check out The Wild's Edge Tavern, a LotR/Middle Earth tavern!
JOIN TIAMAT'S CONGA LINE!
Extended Sig
I am surprised the Lord of the Rings MTG set never came up on this thread, considering this is a Wizards of the Coast website and it was an official Wizards of the Coast take on the novels. Even for those who are not Magic players, there is some great art well worthy of discussion--Wizards based the set exclusively on the books, rather than the film franchise, so was empowered to give completely different takes to characters, and did so in a way I think Tolkien would have been fascinated to see. https://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Search/Default.aspx?action=advanced&set=|[">Here is a link to the database of the LotR cards, for any who wish to look (or here for the full card gallery, which shows all the alternate arts for each card in a convenient manner).
Overall, I thought the set was pretty good - though some of the new mechanics were a bit annoying to play, the set overall was a blast and one of the best limited (you build a deck with random cards you open in pack, rather than curated cards you seek out specifically) environments in a long time. More importantly, it was great to see how excited people were for the set - even non-Magic players or long-retired Magic players showed up for the release event and their delight at seeing their favorite characters was palpable.
The set itself mostly did a great job representing the characters - there were a few I thought hit the mark, but that is expected since they were trying to use Wizards mechanics to represent someone else's intellectual property. The art was great and seeing characters from the novels that the films cut (such as Beregond--one of my favorite tertiary characters) was fantastic. The set did create some gameplay issues given a few of its absurdly powerful cards--though I think that was to be expected given the type of release it was (a straight to Modern set--for those who play, they know those tend to be game-warping products).
The biggest problem with the set was, as with most LotR things, the fandom--specifically the racist component of the fandom that complained about Wizards race-shifting some characters. Cries of "But Aragorn can't be black, you are trampling on Tolkien's, he would have hated that!" were nearly constant among those who pretended to care about Tolkien's legacy... without actually understanding it. After all, we know exactly what Tolkien would have thought about race-swapping characters--in a speech at Oxford University, he explicitly discussed how he thought one race claiming a book for their own was nothing short of literary "apartheid" and that he both "hated" that notion and did not care if people wanted to interpret his books in the light of a different race. Moreover, Tolkien was pretty darn explicit in a number of his letters that he created something he wanted others to share in--wanted others to put their own spin on. He was surprised and touched that his novels had become what they became, and absolutely loved that folks wanted to see themselves in his works and explore them in their own ways.
It never ceases to amaze me how toxic and bigoted the LotR fandom can get--here is a book where Tolkien explicitly wrote a b-plot about two racists (Legolas and Gimli) realizing their racism was unsubstantiated and standing in the way of a great friendship.... yet racists consistently try to sully Tolkien's own messaging and beliefs by "standing up for what Tolkien would have wanted" and engaging in the same kind of literary apartheid Tolkien abhorred.
There's any fandom without any of this kind of fan?