Rivendell Preview 3: Rangers and High Elves

[Glorelendil]

But do they at least deposit into to the FP, even if they can't withdraw? I would think so.

The cool thing about that is they essentially lend power to their companions, since they give (on average) each member more Hope to spend than they would have if a non-Ranger were in their place.

If that's not clear, the simplest example is party of two. With one Barding and one Beorning, each of them would each get to freely spend 1 Hope per session. With one Barding and one Ranger, the Barding gets to freely spend TWO Hope per session. The Barding becomes more effective just by dint of hanging out with a direct descendant of...you name it...Earendil, Tuor, Melian, Thingol, Beren, Luthien, Elmo, Beor, Turgon, Fingolfin....

That's a lot of family baggage, isn't it? Can you image what they've got stuffed away in their attic?

[Rich H]

But do they at least deposit into to the FP, even if they can't withdraw? I would think so.

Yep, me too.

I would think that if there are two rangers in the party then they still cannot access the FP points relating solely to the other ranger as it would be a bit of a pain to track - eg, each ranger would only be allowed to draw 1 FP (ie, the other ranger's 'contributed' amount) which although could be done is another thing to track and record. Easy to houserule though for those groups comfortable with adding it.

[Tolwen]

The Barding becomes more effective just by dint of hanging out with a direct descendant of...you name it...Earendil, Tuor, Melian, Thingol, Beren, Luthien, Elmo, Beor, Turgon, Fingolfin....

That applies only to members of the (former) Royal House. The vast majority of the Dúnedain were and are not descendants of the line of Elros, but of the thousands of Edain that went to Númenor and multiplied there.
In other words - the descendants of Elros are only a small fraction of the Dúnedain as a whole.

Cheers
Tolwen

[Glorelendil]

The Barding becomes more effective just by dint of hanging out with a direct descendant of...you name it...Earendil, Tuor, Melian, Thingol, Beren, Luthien, Elmo, Beor, Turgon, Fingolfin....

That applies only to members of the (former) Royal House. The vast majority of the Dúnedain were and are not descendants of the line of Elros, but of the thousands of Edain that went to Númenor and multiplied there.
In other words - the descendants of Elros are only a small fraction of the Dúnedain as a whole.

Cheers
Tolwen

Presumably a small population of Dunedain is going to intermarry. I'd be shocked if after 59 generations any were left that didn't have some of that blood in them.

[Tolwen]

Presumably a small population of Dunedain is going to intermarry. I'd be shocked if after 59 generations any were left that didn't have some of that blood in them.

Technically maybe - yes. But probably not in the outcome. Tolkien has given a lot of thoughts on his genealogies - and especially the Line of Elros (and its later descendants in the Third Age). It is the life expectancy that can be used as a good marker here, since that of the royal line that qualifies as "Heirs of Isildur" (or Elros for that matter) is much higher than that of the regular Dúnedain. In addition, Tolkien went into great detail on these matters, making conclusions quite reliable. When you look at these passages, it is obvious that the "specialty" that makes the Royal House what it is as "descendants of Lúthien" is dependent on lineage. Only the direct decsendants qualify as "real" in this sense, while "lesser lines" (i.e. cadet branches that form when younger siblings marry other Dúnedain and become more distant to the direct line) relatively quickly lose the special status of the royal line until after a few generations they blend into the general Dúnadan population.
So essentially, to qualify for the appelation of "descendants of Lúthien" you need not only to be technically descended by one or more member of the royal house long ago, but also be either in the direct line of succession or at least very near to it (probably something like one to three generations at most). Eärnil II, who was already four generations removed from the direct line, became the best candidate available to the Gondorian throne when Ondoher and his sons were killed. He was already a second-best choice with no better claimant available and after the death of his son, no one with even this distant claim was to be found (and thus acceptable) as a king.

Casually speaking, the specialty that comes with the Royal House seems to "rub off" relatively quickly once cadet branches become ever more distant to the direct line and blend back into the normal Dúnadan population.

Cheers
Tolwen

[Glorelendil]

Yup, that's a totally valid interpretation. One of many.

[Beran]

Forget game balance...it's a myth. I for one embrace the ideas that I have seen regarding the Rangers and the Noldor. In fact I'm thinking of how some of the ideas can be applied to the Elves of Mirkwood.

[poosticks7]

ElfCrusher and DoctheWeasel won the INTERNET with that fryingpan stuff. Only a Roleplayer would get it - but by god that was funny - hats off to you both.

[zedturtle]

ElfCrusher and DoctheWeasel won the INTERNET with that fryingpan stuff. Only a Roleplayer would get it - but by god that was funny - hats off to you both.

There are tears in my eyes... I was laughing almost uncontrollably.

[PaulButler]

ElfCrusher and DoctheWeasel won the INTERNET with that fryingpan stuff. Only a Roleplayer would get it - but by god that was funny - hats off to you both.

Yeah, that was quality.