Hey everybody! I was wondering if anyone wanted to take the time to create stats for all the Dwarves in the Hobbit as well as Bilbo (as if they were player-heroes, not Loremaster characters, but both couldn't hurt)? Why? First, I think it would be interesting to see what others think. Second, I would like to use them for my own purposes but I don't have the energy to stat them myself.

No I haven't, I'd take a guess that it would be hard to get people to agree on each members calling. I'll start the ball rolling.

Thorin - Treasure Hunter
Balin - Scholar
Dwalin - Wanderer
Fili - Wanderer
Kili - Warden
Oin - Treasue Hunter
Gloin - Slayer
Bifur - Slayer
Bofur - Treasure Hunter
Bombur - Scholar
Ori - Scholar
Nori - Wanderer
Dori - Warden

Note - Some of these calling make sense others I just made up to give a nice spread.

I'd have a couple the other way around:
Gloin - Scholar
Balin - Slayer

I statted out Balin, Dwalin, Ori, and Oin a while back for use as Loremaster characters. I came up with this.

EDIT: Here is the thread where some of the brainstorming and refining for those stats took place.

Ok, I've been awake for more than a day now and the mind is a bit fuzzy-wuzzy-was-a-bear. But Fili and Kili die defending Thorin, because he was family and they were "sister-sons" to him (aka, heirs). I'm not sure Wanderer works. However, I admit at the moment I cannot recall anything else that they really do in The Hobbit.

And putting up a good show while defending the person who is going to leave you an absolute fortune - heck, a dragon's hoard of riches - is not unreasonable. Coarse they ruined it by dying first.

Good call Garn. That makes them both Wardens I reckon. Were these two actually his heirs? I know that they are his nephews but did this put them higher up the chain that Dain? I can't actually remember how his claim comes about.

Is this using the personalities made up for the Hobbit app for the films? 'Cause in the book most of the dwarves are just faceless bodies.

We know a lot about Thorin, which I won't list here.

We know Balin is old. He knows about the ravens. He is the party's lookout man.

Oin and Gloin make fires.

Fili and Kili are young.

Dori is strong.

Bombur is fat.

And apart from a few biographical details, that's about it.

As for callings, Bilbo tries hard to be a treasure-hunter, though later in life he becomes a wanderer. Thorin isn't exactly a treasure-hunter, but the flaws that surface certainly match the correct shadow weakness.

Well I didn't want to make both Fili and Kili wardens so one of the is a Wanderer.

As to Balin as Scholar, my thinking was he had an interest in reclaiming Moria. You could argue treasure hunter as well I guess.

Gloin as Slayer, I was just going off the fact that he was Gimli's papa and I think Gimli would be a Slayer.

Don't forget that every one of them is an accomplished Musician.

Yeah, and so are all of the contestants applying for a spot on "American Idol"!


Halbarad,
Yes, they would be his heirs. Even today based off of English law, the siblings of the deceased have a right to the estate. That would have been Fili and Kili's mother. Who, having pre-deceased the boys, would have only one other living direct blood relative - Thorin.

Even if he didn't name them as heirs, based on English law they would still be eligible. They might even be eligible if he specifically wrote them out of a will. Simply because they would be the last direct blood relatives left. If one was written out that one might be ignored in favor of the other though.

After these two you go up a generation and then move sideways. So Thorin's father's siblings, then the siblings kids, etc. Which is where Dain fits in, I think he's Thorin's cousin (so Thorin's siblings' kid). That Genealogy site someone posted a couple weaks ago would show the exact relationship.

I said Musician... not talentless singer.

Halbarad,
I took a look back for the Genealogy link, this should be centered on Dain II Ironfoot: http://lotrproject.com/character/168#!open

The connection is the great grandfather, Dain I, who appears to have been King of Durin's Folk. Upon his passing the royal titles were split, Thror became King Under the Mountain and King of Durin's Folk, but Lord of the Iron Hills was broken away and given to Gror - a sibling of Thror's. Dain II is the direct line descendent of Gror.

As to "sister sons" they were always an acceptable heir if no others were available. A brother could be cuckolded by his wife. A sister's children were always genetically related to her - which means they were related to the rich brother. Even if the woman cheated on her legitimate spouse, the offspring were still related to the mother and therefore her brother - and were still sister sons. The only way there was a potential for subterfuge was:

• if the sister is not actually biologically related to the brother
• if we're talking pillows not pregnancies
• if the child is swapped/exchanged for another at time of birth

In most early cultures a pregnant woman required enough assistance that a faked pregnancy would be revealed pretty quickly though.

This is one of the main arguments for Matrilineal genealogical lines of descent. Short of DNA testing, paternity is open to debate. (Particularly in a culture where there is extensive similarity of features.) However, the woman who gave birth to a child is definitely related to the child. This is being proven by Mitochondrial DNA testing - which can trace motherhood back 8 generations with a tiny margin of error.

Yes, Bilbo was absolutely 'shanghaiied' by Thorin (on Gandalf's suggestion!) to be the party's Burglar (Treasure Hunter).... he proved to be effective in that role despite having it thrust upon him, due to his cleverness, wit and all-round Hobbit-ness .... Ah Olorin - always good at inspiring hidden talents in folk!
That said, I don't think Bilbo really held the philosophy/attitude of a Treasure-Hunter for very long ... he eventually seemed to be closer to a Wanderer in mindset IMO.
However - even moreso he went on to prove that he was essentially a Scholar (once back again he commenced writing a book, teaching literacy to Hobbit-kids, etc). My understanding is that he retired to Rivendell to life virtually as a 'cloistered' scholar...

Perhaps such special canon-characters potentially change their calling over an extended period??

Good point about the scholar calling; I agree.

Frankly, non-player characters generally don't have callings; they are there to define flaws, and flaws are about taking control away from players, which NPCs don't need. If the loremaster wants a character to be Grasping, then he is.

Garn[B]

Thanks for the link. I had forgotten all about Gror.

That's very interesting about 'sister sons' and the genetic/blood link.