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Aside from Eomer marrying Imrahil's daughter...

Yes, I agree finding the sweet spot between canon and heretical is the key. For me, it would have to be if I considered the switch corny or not. I read online about a person's account of SW/LOTR mash up where Yoda faced off against the Balrog. For me that would have been the worst, but the GM who ran seemed to have had a blast.

For me LOTR is big enough for me to have great adventure with little change to the big story.

Southron Loremaster wrote:Aside from Eomer marrying Imrahil's daughter...

Yes, I agree finding the sweet spot between canon and heretical is the key. For me, it would have to be if I considered the switch corny or not. I read online about a person's account of SW/LOTR mash up where Yoda faced off against the Balrog. For me that have been the worst, but the GM who ran seemed to have had a blast.

For me LOTR is big enough for me to have great adventure with little change to the big story.

My money's on Yoda.

Elfcrusher wrote:
My money's on Yoda.

In the report the GM said he was sliced in half.

Here is a link http://www.funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/2780894/Omg of the two fighting. Sorry, I couldn't post the picture directly.

There is a prize for the worst idea?
I know a GM who put Gundam in Middle-earth, back in MERP's days.

I think either a game campaign or an althistory taking as its point of departure Smaug not being killed over Lake Town would be a very interesting one.

The immediate question would concern the fate of Thorin&Co and thus the Ring. Would they escape the Mountain, which would allow for the LotR story to unfold with some changes to account for the possibility of Smaug rather than Dain as King Under the Mountain, or would they be slain by Smaug? Either way there would be no Battle of Five Armies.

If Thorin&Co were slain by Smaug, what of Bilbo and the Ring? Bilbo might be able to use the Ring to escape. If he did not and the Ring came to Smaug, what then? Gandalf opined that there was no dragon in Middle Earth whose fire was hot enough to consume the Ring. Would Smaug be able to use the power of the Ring? I do not think he would willingly turn it over to Sauron. Dragons are naturally covetous and the Ring seems to increase this in other owners.

If I were to run it as a campaign I would have Bilbo return, eventually, to either Rivendell or the Shire, with the LotR quest occurring earlier, probably with Bilbo as Ringbearer. Smaug would likely be courted as an ally of Sauron, Lorien would be under further threat...

Right now I'm running things with the canon but my players have got an idea they'd like to try later on down the road when we've got books for most of Middle-Earth where one of them winds up with the Ring and try running Lord of the Rings to see how things ends up

Strictly playing canon.

With my group if I even hint that canon is malleable they will be off like a shot. This is why our current TOR game has changed to Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok, they seem to click better with Vikings at the end of the world.

I do know other players locally who I think better understand the spirit of Tolkien, so all hope is not lost.

I try to follow canon as much as possible but if the campaign deviates in a logical and organic manner then so be it.

For instance, Gimli and a couple of dwarves were in grave danger and the PCs went to save them. If they wouldn't have succeeded then he would have likely died. Someone else would then have been sent to Rivendell and joined the Fellowship of the Ring.

I'd love it if my PCs (or, more likely, their heirs) attend the Council of Elrond. I fully intend to let them volunteer to take the Ring if they want... But that's a long way in the future.