Some ideas regarding longevity races

[windsurfjunkie]

Here are some ideas for the races of longevity regarding weapon development and other racial issues that I thought might better represent them vis-a-vis Tolkien's works:

At the opening of a character, all longevity races have a weapon level expertise that is +1 to the original level (only one weapon category). This is due to time spent with weapons and honing the intricacies of wielding the weapon over a longer period of time; these peoples have decades longer to hone their skills than do other races. These races are: Elves, Dwarves, and Dunedain
These same races have downsides:
Dunedain: -2 on all corruption rolls. Throughout the Tolkein books, the Dunedain have been especially susceptible to the Enemy’s twisted logic, their own pride, and greed. Basic examples include the nine nazgul, Boromir with the One Ring, and the Black Numenoreans. In the unique circumstance of direct interaction with/through the ‘Eye’, the result of shadow points is doubled. -If the characters Wisdom rating is high (like Aragorn's most likely was), then there should be more success.
Elves & Dwarves: -2 on all courtesy rolls. Throughout the books, these races have difficulty establishing good relations with other races. The elves are particularly arrogant and aloof while the dwarves are haughty and narrow-minded.
I used to be a MERP gamer, but find this system to be far superior in realistically mirroring the books atmosphere. However, the MERP Fenlon maps were amazing and could be used here.

I hope this provides for some good discussion and feedback. Cheers.

[Beran]

Interesting idea. This is a subject that does bother me about the system. However, I believe it is the Races of Man, in general, that are susceptible to corruption; not just the Dunedain. Correct me if I am wrong, but not all the Nine were Dunedain in life?

[Rich H]

Correct me if I am wrong, but not all the Nine were Dunedain in life?

If the MERP write-ups are accurate then you're correct - they were a mix of different mannish races.

[Mim]

The Silmarillion tells us that three of the nine originated as Númenóreans.

MERP ran with the ball & gave the other six all kinds of unique origins.

[windsurfjunkie]

I appreciate the feedback, everyone.

The question about the Nazgul and whether they were all Numenorean (Dunedain) is a very good one.

As a Tolkien fan over many years, and reading his books and appendices, I found many good passages that led me to believe Sauron only chose the powerful Numenoreans in the west and possibly the strongest Kings of Eastern Middle Earth, of which little is written.

In Appendix B of Return of The King, around 1200, Second Age, in the tale of years, the Numenoreans were settling the coasts of Middle Earth and building their fortresses. It was around 1500, Second Age, that Sauron had won over the Elves of Eregion into making the Rings Of Power, and the rings were completed around this time. Sauron was very concerned by the growing power of the Numenoreans, but formost the Eldar (elves). By 2251, Second Age, the Nazgul then first appear.

So it is with this sequence in mind that I came to think that Sauron would only subvert the great kings of the Numenoreans on the coast and perhaps the great kings of the eastern civilizations. This is not to say that the lesser races of men would be any less susceptible, but maybe Tolkien saw their unrefined, lesser stature as a gift of resistance to the allure of sauron`s temptations of immortality; they, after all, would be less tempted by his grandiose plans of conquest and everlasting life, compared to the haughty and proud Numenorean Kings like Ar-Pharazon, who saw his greatness diminish with age, and thus see attacking Valinor more of an option to gaining immmortality through the twisted words of Sauron.

I think this is a very plausible explanation as per my ideas regarding the longevity races and the Numenoreans being more susceptible to corruption.

cheers and thanks for the feedback - it is so cool to be able to discuss my ideas with you.

[Garn!]

It's not necessarily that the Numenoreans were more susceptible than the average man (ie, Gray Men), just that Sauron made a greater effort to tempt the Numenoreans. After all, why should Sauron expend energy recruiting the average man (aka cannon fodder) when he could gain mentally, physically and magically superior adherents who could decimate the average man quite easily?

I'm not sure I agree with the idea that the Dunedain suffer more corruption than others. Although I might believe that having chosen to consciously embrace evil, their dedication to the cause might be more thorough or wholehearted. In game terms, it amounts to the same game mechanic though.

[windsurfjunkie]

These are very good thoughts/ideas/opinions on this. Thank you.

This forum is really substantial compared to others; obviously TOR has gained some very good players who are Tolkien fans.

cheers