Yep, the trailer is out. This is the best Christmas present I could get. If you havent already seen it, you can find it here.

-Havard

Alright, they have already been all over the blogosphere and forums, but I wanted to have the dwarves on my blog as well. Is that too selfish? While some have expressed worries about the length of beards or that these dwarves somehow don't look right, I actually like that Jackson is individualizing the dwarves. It may even be good for the hobby that these films are challenging our often stereotyped views of demihumans. How many battle axe wielding Gimli copies have not appeared in your D&D games? How many Elven archers?


Kili and Fili


Oin and Gloin
Nori, Ori and Dori



Bofur, Bombur and Bifur




One of the things done to differentiate the dwarves seems to have been the emphasis on the difference between noble born dwarves and those bred in the west:

"While most of the Company of Thorin Oakensheild is related to the royal and noble line of Durin, Bofur, his brother Bombur and their cousin Bifur most definitely are … not. Born and bred in the West, descendants of coal miners and iron workers, they have joined the Quest for the Lonely Mountain partly to seek their fortune and partly because they were told the beer was free."

 Back to Blackmoor.



-Havard

I have previously discussed the Tolkienesque nature of Dave Arneson's Halflings. In all early D&D, the connection to Tolkien was apparent. With the release of the third edition, however, the halflings were re-imagined in a way which grognards have described as "ninja Kender". The reason for this change was a view of the older edition D&D Halflings, not just among WotC employees, but I believe among many D&D players as a whole, that Halflings in D&D were a race of fat, weaklings, useless as PC option.

When ZGG began publishing Blackmoor in 2003, they announced that Blackmoor's Halflings would be a return to the Tolkienesque halflings, in the spirit of Dave Arneson's original fantasy campaign. However, what does that really mean? Is it true that Tolkien himself described Hobbits as weak, fat and useless? Not at all, of course!

Sam carries Frodo. Scene: Return of the King,  Peter Jackson, Dir. 2003

When looking at Tolkien's Hobbits, I think it is useful to distinguish between Hobbit adventurers and regular folks. Much of the early day inspiration for D&D halflings seems to have been drawn from the first part of the novel The Hobbit. But the descriptions there refers to the non-adventurer Hobbits of the Shire. Bilbo is said to have been the first adventurer from the shire (though there are some references to previous heroes of the race elsewhere in Tolkien's writing). Still, Bilbo wasn't much of an adventurer when he was first dragged out of his hobbit hole by Gandalf and the dwarves.

Similarly Frodo, Sam, Pippin and Merry were completely unexperienced at the onset of the Lord of the Rings. Compare this to the same characters towards the end of the trilogy. The Hobbits have all become heroes in their own right. They have no problem disposing the stooges of Saruman who have been destroying the Shire in their absence. Similarly, Bilbo makes the trek from the Shire to Rivendell completely on his own, even though the distance he covered was known to be populated by Wights, Trolls and other evils.

One of the abilities most often overlooked in Hobbits is their resiliance. Gollum was able to keep the Ring for centuries. Still, he had retained enough of his "humanity" to give Frodo hope that he could be redeemed in Return of the King. Frodo was the only one who would be able to carry the Ring to Mordor, a task none of the heroes of the other races would have been able to accomplish. Sam was even able to give back the Ring to Frodo after "carrying it for a while" for his master.

Take a look at Sam carrying Frodo up the slope towards Mount Doom. Is that the work of a weakling? I think not! Hobbits can be tough heroes without the need of being turned into anorectic ninja elflings. Dave Arneson and his players were aware of this, as shown in the adventures of Mello and his companions.




-Havard

One of the oldest races of Blackmoor, older than the elves by far are the Tree Lords. Sometimes called Ents, these walking tree like humanoids are as ancient as the oldest forests of the planet.  Ordana the Forest Mother is said to be one of the first generation of Tree Lords. After her ascendance to Immortality, she created the elves. From the birth of the elven race, the forests took care of them. As the elven race matured, the elves learned to care for the forests, like children growing up to care for their aging parents. In the North, King Uhlmar instructed the elves to care for the Tree Lords.

The Oldest Tree Lords are known as the Gakkaraks. These creatures are easily mistaken for dark moss covered trees. These ancient ones have grown bitter over the centuries, recenting all but those who show the utmost respect for the woodlands. Gakkaraks have a special connection to the forests they live in, being able to sense intruders of any sort. In addition to the Wizard of the Woods himself, Druids are the only humanoids that the Gakkaraks will fully tolerate. Even the elves are viewed by suspicion by these woodland giants.

The more common of Tree Lords are usually referred to as Treants. In the Age of Blackmoor, Treants are the servants of the elves. Treants are often called for when elven realms are threatened. It is not unheard of to see armies of Treants marching at the command of elven lords. In the great wars of the North, Treants under elven leadership have been known to serve both Blackmoor and Thonia in various alliances.

As the elven race became divided, Treants remained loyal to the Cumasti elves. In the Western Woods, they no longer obey the Westryn, but instead act as they see fit for themselves. A powerful Gakkarak lives within the borders of the Duchy of Ten. His name is Benoit and he cares little for the affairs of man, trying to stay out of the recent conflicts in that part of the world. Still a creature such as Benoit would be a vast source of information, having lived for such a long time. He even remembers Halgred Forestwalker, the first druid in this part of the world.

In the Cumasti Woods, Treants remain loyal to Menander Ithamis. With the elven lord’s alliance with King Uther, it is not unlikely that armies of Treants could once again be called upon in the service of Blackmoor, just like in the days of King Uhlmar.

Behind the Curtain:

Ents are listed in the FFC as available army units for both Vestfold and The Great Kingdom (later Thonia). The term Ents was of course removed from later D&D products along with hobbits and  other terms borrowed from Tolkien.  Still, it is fascinating to imagine armies of Tree-men marching to war in Blackmoor, similar to how Tolkien described in Lord of the Rings. 

The DA modules did not feature Ents, but a new monster, the Gakkarak was introduced there. It was later included in the Creature Catalogue. Gakkaraks are more powerful than the Treants, which is what D&D’s Ents ended up being turned into, but the Gakkaraks are also more hostile towards humanoids. 

Ordana, originally a Treant herself appears in the Mystara product line, but Ordana is also the main patroness of the elves in the ZGG Blackmoor line.




Image Source





-Havard

Seeing as today would have been Prof. Tolkien's 118th birthday, I decided to take a new look at the Professor's influence on early Blackmoor. As with most of D&D, Blackmoor was originally filled with Hobbits, Ents, Orcs, Balrogs and even references to Saruman, Sauron and Mordor! Ofcourse, these were removed from later printings of D&D, and were also dropped when Blackmoor returned to TSR with the DA series.

Arneson relied heavily on Chainmail when populating his setting and many of the Tolkien references were brought over from there. Greg Svenson confirms that

"Tolkien was a major influence, otherwise the primary races would not have included elves, dwarfs, hobbits, orcs and goblins; but, at the same time [...] there were many 'major' influences on our games. We all read lots of Sci Fi and Fantasy. Remember there was no cable TV or VHS and DVD players for entertainment in those days..."

While TSR were not able to use Tolkien's trademarks in their later published works, there is no reason that fans should feel bound by this. So let that be our present for Tolkien! Lets bring back the Balrogs, Hobbits and Ents to our games, in honor of the Professor who affected our lives in so many ways.




-Havard