Of the eight gamers in my weekly Table Top RPG night, five have read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. The rest are familiar with the world of Middle Earth only through the Peter Jackson movies. A few who have read the trilogy (including myself) have read a few other tales written by the Professor but no one has successfully completed the Silmarillion.

For my gaming group the Lord of the Rings movies have had a very powerful visual impact on how Middle Earth looks, works and feels. For many, including myself, it is difficult if not impossible to imagine Middle Earth NOT looking and feeling like Peter Jackson’s trilogy. In my head I know that Tolkien did not describe plate armor (I have heard plate armor was a John Howe depiction), crossbows, and orcs with facial piercings. Still it is hard to think and imagine Middle Earth differently…

Like the movies or hate them, you must admit that have shaped the perspective of Middle Earth. This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending upon how strongly you feel towards the Professors text. How canon do you keep your imagery of Middle Earth setting?

A question for those in the role of Loremaster for The One Ring. Do you use descriptive narrations based strictly upon the novels or do you embellish your imagery with scenes from the movies?

avoided all reference to film.....unless I get blank faces and they say "its the bit in the movie where....."

I admit it I like the texture and cultural depiction in the films.

I like the overall look and feel of the films, but there are some other elements that I want to avoid. I'm afraid that my mixed bag of players (those who have read and those who haven't) is already "tainted" with Jackson's vision to one degree or another, so I'm planning a lot of pre-game expectation management:

• Dwarves are for more than just comic relief
• No, Elves don't skate/shieldboard down stairs
• They don't surf on oliphants, either
• etc etc

Really they try that stuff?

I was lucky to have had a very thorough knowledge and reading of all things Middle-earth long before the movies came out. Therefore, in my head, I can very well keep the PJ version at a good distance. I take this or that IMO good detail (the Trolls were mostly quite good IMO), but simpy skip any other part.
I advocate as soon as possible a position that the PJ movie is (both in content and visualization) in no way authorative or a guideline for my Middle-earth interpretation in a game or supplementary work (e.g. realm description etc.) unless otherwise noted. That way everyone knows how the priorities are set.
Concerning the visualization of Middle-earth (especially in a gaming context) I am heavily shaped by the "Big Three" artists (Ted Nasmith, Alan Lee, John Howe) as well as the MERP artwork. Thus for me personally, PJ is just another - and later - facet of an already well-established image. I would never let it become important for sure (e.g. a player saying "it was this or that way in the movie" so to make it such).

Best
Tolwen

In a way the movies keep the world of Middle Earth simple (which it is not, a highly complex world with a long and detailed history). I suppose that can be a plus if a Loremaster chooses to reference the films.

I tried to read The Hobbit as a kid, but I couldn't get past the imagery from the Rankin Bass cartoon (that I HATED the look of as a kid, but have come to respect as an adult) so I never got into Tolkien until after I was wowed by the films.

The films were the springboard for me, as an adult, to discover and delve into Tolkien. Despite going about it in this backwards sort of way, I still have a reverence (and preference) for Middle-earth from the books over the films, but I love both.

The way I would explain it, LOTR is kind of like a great song or album that works as a stripped-down acoustic jam in a small room with friends AND as a big-budget rock concert in a sold-out stadium. When it comes to TOR, I try to follow the feel and spirit of the books and keep things "unplugged" - that's how I'd explain the game to someone who's only seen the movies.

I also generally avoid all reference to the films unless someone - like your fellow gamers - have not read the books.

In otherwords, I try to stay closer to canon, though I don't want to get into an argument about the films because they're just entertainment.

Fortunately, TOR stays relatively close to the books.

The other medium that is sure to play a large role in how we visualize, depict and otherwise narrate the game is the MMO.

As an avid player of LotRO myself, as is at least one other player at the table our concepts have different context to draw from in certain cases than a couple of others who have read the books (and seen all movies) and the other two who have only seen the movies.

I will say that keeping things strictly to canon (of the books) is a lot more work and effort on anyone's part and is a bit off-putting to those who are not a true fanatic of the books. On the other hand, having the MMO to draw inspiration from has proven immeasurably helpful in a number of instances - especially when I don't have an canonical memory or understanding of one of the books in a specific reference and can rely on what I've learned from hours of enjoying Middle-Earth virtually.

It is however quite fascinating to read Wiki references of Middle-Earth, and the text within TOR and see how closely so much of it mirrors the lore learned from playing the MMO. They are rarely if ever at odds; except for the obvious MMO-ish content meant to merely make a game playable online and attract viewers (such as extravagant clothing and displays of magic, etc).

But the geographical, and historical content along with visual depictions are pretty spot-on to the books in most cases - especially in cases where it conflicts with what we saw in the movies.

That was a delight to read....well done.

What about hearing from the other camp? Those who embrace the films as the vision of The One Ring they want to describe? I suppose knowing you really can't keep canon could set your imagination free...