So, I was reading an article from ZENIT this morning regarding THE HOBBIT and was struck by the following:

"The adventure [Bilbo] had lived had also taught him that great undertakings are not the work of a lone hero, but of a group."

In any case, it is an interesting article that briefly touches on several themes associated with Tolkien in general and THE HOBBIT in particular.

[edit: added the link]

http://www.zenit.org/rssenglish-36128

I see the need for the support of the group, companionship, the loss of hope and the danger of despair all being themes running through Tolkien's work. There are individual heroes, but they are all supported by others - sometimes without them knowing it.

Absolutely. What hit me was seeing one of TOR's most fundamental themes reflected in an article about THE HOBBIT in a totally different context.

Many RPG have mechanics to create relations between player characters and NPC, that way the story is constructed. What I love from TOR is that kind of relations are found inside the company (through roles, focus and community points as mechanics).

That captures Tolkien spirit: Erebor dwarves were Thorin's counselors and followers; Frodo, Merry and Pippin were cousins; Legolas and Gimli were rivals/friends; Sam was Frodo's servant; Gandalf was Frodo's mentor, etc. Sometimes they found their relations outside fellowship: Arwen or Bilbo, but it's when those support characters are rised to the epic narrative.

Background is mainly used to create a sense of adventure impulse, and not like a bunch of hooks. That's an implicit difference I see in TOR (as a Tolkien RPG) and others RPG like The Burning Wheel or Heroquest.