A few quick responses to some of the questions we've asked.

1. Concerning the appearance of the Istari & their aging:

They first appeared in Middle-earth about the year 1000 of the Third Age, but for long they went about in simple guise, as it were of Men already old in years but hale in body, travelers and wanderers, gaining knowledge of Middle-earth and all that dwelt therein, but revealing to none their powers and purposes.

...and Men perceived that they did not die, but remained the same (unless it were that they aged somewhat in looks), while the fathers and sons of Men passed away.

...but clad in bodies as of Men, real and not feigned, but subject to the fears and pains and weariness of earth, able to hunger and thirst and be slain; though because of their noble spirits they did not die, and aged only be the cares and labours of many long years.

Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth, The Istari, 388–90, 401–402.

2. Concerning Gandalf's casting powerful spells (BTW, I agree with ToR's conservative interpretation):

Aragorn & Frodo glimpsed lightning that leapt up from Weathertop when the Nazgûl attacked Gandalf. The text is unclear who cast the lightning but we're talking some pretty heavy spell-casting.

Gandalf repeated the whole fire-casting defense against Wolves (Wargs) from The Hobbit during the battle in Eregion in LOTR, but note how the flames leapt across the trees. I always laugh reading the Hobbits' reactions.

Gandalf blasted the Witch-king with a white light during the wreck of the Causeway Forts. The Morgul Lord turned away, so it must have been some type of secret fire of Anor or that sort of thing (of course he was Gandalf the White at that point). From a gaming perspective, you can obviously tweak it a bit & still be in canon.

The key with this type of magic is to be subtle. Remember Gandalf's comment while they crossed Cirith Caradhras about writing "Gandalf is here..."

3. Concerning Gandalf's inspiration:

Narya unquestionably enhanced his ability to inspire & rally. The wizard repeatedly gave heart to those troubled or weary by the Shadow; the example of Theoden is a good one!

Since Saruman had been corrupted by 3018TA, it is also very possible that if Grima was influencing Theoden on his own, that he was using (in Game Terms) a Dreadful Spell (sorcery) taught to him by Saruman.

As Theoden' will was being subjegated, that would be a fair guess, as that is the nature of sorcery.

A very good point In the same instance (at the Council of Elrond) Gandalf mentions that "I was hard put to it indeed: such light and flame cannot have been seen on Weathertop since the war-beacons of old."
This points strongly in the direction that in the "old times" - i.e. when Arnor and Arthedain were using Weathertop as an important fortress/tower - such displays of power were at least not uncommon in their wars with Angmar.

Another point about spells that might be acquired by lore (e.g. studying). It is true that they are likely to be fuelled by the mordo and their use thus ultimately corrupts the user if he is not very careful and self-restricting.
From our ("out-worldish") POV this is absolutely true, but almost all men in Middle-earth would be unaware of this due to the often very subtle manner. Even beneficial (e.g. healing etc.), learnable spells would be subject to this slow corruption.
It is a primary theme in Middle-earth as described by Tolkien that Evil (the Shadow) is not only a big bad and overwhelmingly evil force in Mordor or Dol Guldur, but also a clever one that is able to achieve its purposes by subtlety and patience. Due to the aforementioned reasons, it may gain recruits now and then by mages who have succumbed to the temptaions provided by their spells. The Nine are good examples as well, since some of them even had good and beneficial intentions which were slowly corrupted by their Rings.

Unless someone does not care and wants to acquire power as quick as possible and then use it for his own benefit (i.e. evil purposes) this unintentional corruption is something observed occasionally by "mages", even though they don't understand fully the reasons behind it (especially the source of their very own powers which causes this).

Cheers
Tolwen

Just wanted to add that it's great to have you here, Thror! I'm also an old player/GM/fan of the Decipher game, and the Hall of Fire issues are pretty spectacular work!

You make a lot of really good points (as do Mim and Tolwen) regarding how common/rare magic is, how it is usually subtle in Middle-earth (and not what we typically see in RPGs in the way of "spells"), and how it can be corrupting, when used by those who don't truly understand it.

I read this differently. That Gandalf's fire & light show was the equivalent of large beacons from time past. In the past, it would have been a large beacon fire lighting up Amon Sul. In the fight against the ringwraiths, it was Gandalf's fires doing the lighting up of the hill.

Yes I agree with Valarian's reading of that passage.

That is how I read that passage as well.

Agreed. No overt magic available to PC's in TOR.

Maybe if we decide to come up with "Elves! The First Age!" Everyone can run around with Mithril armor
and Ithilnor weapons that cut through stone and cast Balrog-Slaying magic.

But we're not, so we don't.

Originally I was surprised at the lack of a magic system for the characters, but having thought on the subject I think the more subtle system that has been created is the best approach. Especially when you take into consideration the Wizard in the books doesn't really cast anything more special then the occasional light spell.

Good point. It is not clear indeed and the subject remains ambiguous

Cheers
Tolwen

This thread reminds me of another conversation found in THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING. There will always be the curious Sams of the world, mixed in with the content Frodos...

'And I reckon there's Elves and Elves. They're all elvish enough, but they're not all the same. Now these folk aren't wanderers or homeless, and seem a bit nearer to the likes of us: they seem to belong here, more even than Hobbits do in the Shire. Whether they've made the land, or the land's made them, it's hard to say, if you take my meaning. It's wonderfully quiet here. Nothing seems to be going on, and nobody seems to want it to. If there's any magic about, it's right down deep, where I can't lay my hands on it, in a manner of speaking.'

'You can see and feel it everywhere,' said Frodo.

'Well,' said Sam, 'you can't see nobody working it. No fireworks like poor Gandalf used to show. I wonder we don't see nothing of the Lord and Lady in all these days. I fancy now that she could do some wonderful things, if she had a mind. I'd dearly love to see some Elf-magic, Mr. Frodo!'

'I wouldn't,' said Frodo. 'I am content. And I don't miss Gandalf's fireworks, but his bushy eyebrows, and his quick temper, and his voice.'

'You're right,' said Sam. 'And don't think I'm finding fault. I've often wanted to see a bit of magic like what it tells of in old tales, but I've never heard of a better land than this. It's like being at home and on a holiday at the same time, if you understand me. I don't want to leave. All the same, I'm beginning to feel that if we've got to go on, then we'd best get it over.'

Well summarized James.

BTW, I do believe that ToR mostly hits it with the current magic system as developed - there's a surprising amount that player-heroes can accomplish.

That said, however, I find myself increasingly tweaking LM characters, for example, & adding my own Dreadful Spells to spice it up & add some variety. 'Not trying to stir things up, just mentioning that it seems to work for my style of gaming & of challenging the heroes & keeping them guessing

Mim,
Yeah, but I have a feeling that SG/C7 is going to find that Dreadful Spells has kind of bit them on the buttocks. It is just too open to customization and interpretation. I would not at all be surprised if at some point we get another bunch of abilities for Adversaries so that Dreadful Spells usage is reduced. At the moment I don't think we'll see any alternations to current Adversaries, but that might ultimately happen as well (down the line though, say in another 2 years or something).

You raise a valid point about the customization problem Garn.

Speaking of which, I hope that they add some additional foes during their forthcoming pubs, & that they give them a new special ability from time-to-time.

Heck, I can't wait for the current batch to reach publication - I expect the Ringwraiths in one of them (well, at least one Black Rider)...