Fourth Age of Middle Earth gaming

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by whswhs

It seemed kind of ironically fitting. And of course it wasn't the One, which was what he really wanted.

Yes, but I seem to recall that it was jealousy over Cirdan giving Narya to Gandalf that provided the seed that led to his corruption (or one of the seeds, I forget).


Hans

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

Yes, but I seem to recall that it was jealousy over Cirdan giving Narya to Gandalf that provided the seed that led to his corruption (or one of the seeds, I forget).

That's at least a plausible theory. But I don't think that getting one of the Nine is quite equivalent. The Three were under no one's control as long as the One was lost; but when Sauron regained the One, the Nine were firmly under his control, and so were their wearers. So it was quite a comedown for Saruman.

Bill Stoddard

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by whswhs

That's at least a plausible theory. But I don't think that getting one of the Nine is quite equivalent. The Three were under no one's control as long as the One was lost; but when Sauron regained the One, the Nine were firmly under his control, and so were their wearers. So it was quite a comedown for Saruman.

Oh, I agree completely. A very ironic outcome. Hence the smiley in my original comment.


Hans

[combatmedic]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

JRRT had a theological problem with his orcs that he never solved, and it led him to a constant back-and-forth about the nature of the orcs and their origins (and thus their relationship to other peoples). He originally considered them to be a corrupted, twisted form of Elf, later he concluded they derived from Men, then he went back and forth and back and forth, even toying with the idea that they might not even be sapients, but rather a kind of animal (though that was clearly nonsense and he didn't stay with it).

A GM running a 4A campaign would need to decide what the orcs are, to decide what sort of things might or might not be plausible or possible.

I prefer the corrupted Elves version.

But that doesn't preclude hybridization with Men.

[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

Yes, but I seem to recall that it was jealousy over Cirdan giving Narya to Gandalf that provided the seed that led to his corruption (or one of the seeds, I forget).


Hans

He had deduced that Cirdan had given Narya to Gandalf, and he resented it. There were other factors as well. He was jealous of Gandalf, of the respect Gandalf commanded from others, and he recognized that Olorin had some special favor or fortune of God with him, deep down. Instead of asking himself why and seeking to learn from it, he allowed the resentment and jealousy to consume him.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Hans Rancke-Madsen

Oh, I agree completely. A very ironic outcome. Hence the smiley in my original comment.

Was that a smiley? I can never tell what expression those emoticons are trying to convey. . . .

Bill Stoddard

[Rocket Man]

Originally Posted by whswhs

Was that a smiley? I can never tell what expression those emoticons are trying to convey. . . .

Bill Stoddard

:-D is a broad grin, though I usually see it without the "nose."

[Hans Rancke-Madsen]

Originally Posted by Rocket Man

:-D is a broad grin, though I usually see it without the "nose."

I like to include the nose. I think it improves the overall impression.

Be that as it may, I'm sure Bill could learn to decipher smilies if he wanted to.


Hans

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by whswhs

I can never tell what expression those emoticons are trying to convey. . . .

Tilt your head 90 degress to the left. Or imagine rotating the emoticon 90 degrees clockwise. They're little pictures of a face. The colon is two eyes, curves up or down for smiles or frowns. Noses are optional.

:-) happy
:-( sad

It goes on from there with varying degrees of cuteness.

:P tongue sticking out
8-) big round eyes or glasses
B-) more glasses or sunglasses
8O shocked or surprised

You get the idea. Just ASCII art.

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Anaraxes

Tilt your head 90 degress to the left. Or imagine rotating the emoticon 90 degrees clockwise. They're little pictures of a face. The colon is two eyes, curves up or down for smiles or frowns. Noses are optional.

I understand the 90° rotation just fine. But the picture of a face seldom conveys anything to me. For example, the D looks like nothing so much as the slack-jawed drooling mouth of an idiot, or maybe the dropped jaw of someone totally amazed, like Sam Gamgee seeing the oliphaunt.

Bill Stoddard