[Stormcrow]

Middle-earth is an inherently magical place, but it's not exactly GURPS-standard. What follows are my thoughts on the subject, though I have not refined them.

Each race is in touch with the magic of Middle-earth in various ways and to various degrees. What hobbits consider magic, elves consider natural, or made with skill. What dwarves make with cunning, men consider magic. The very meaning of the word magic depends on who says it.

There's another form of magic that appears in Middle-earth: spells. Spells are literally magic words. Using language is itself a form of creation, and words have power. Ilúvatar created Arda by saying Éa, "Let it be." One opens the West-gate of Moria by saying mellon, "friend." And Tolkien's primary interest in his stories of Middle-earth is the languages he created.

Anyone who knows the magic words can cast a spell, though the knowledge of the words is rare and passing from the world in the Third Age. Even orcs have their share of spells. Only hobbits seem to be ignorant of them, at least as far as we ever hear. I'm willing to bet that even hobbits have some, buried deep in some forgotten family tome.

In GURPS terms, magic in Middle-earth takes two forms: spells and advantages. The GURPS magic rules can be used almost without adjustment, provided it's understood that the magic rules are only used for actual spells—magic words. Middle-earth has high mana. The spell lists must be scrutinzed and categorized according to who knows what, however: elves do not know necromantic spells and orcs do not know light spells.

The other forms of magic that will appear in Middle-earth are powered by advantages. Both people and items can have special advantages that are "magical" to one person while being perfectly natural to others. Hobbits have some levels of Silence; elves can create cloaks with levels of Chameleon; Elrond and Galadriel obviously possess some sort of Telecommunication; and even the orc-draft might bestow Recovery. The task of the GM is to decide which advantages make sense for which races or people, or objects created by them.

By carefully organizing the selections of traits, skills, and spells, GURPS could be used for Middle-earth admirably.