Bilbo as an unreliable narrator

[PST]

This could get very deep into literary analysis and criticism given the various versions of the Hobbit, the rewrite to make the tone closer to LotR etc.

In my campaign one of the characters is a Hobbit who's set on a) seeing what really happened to Bilbo and b) outdoing him (which he knows is a fool's errand ooc). This together with his deliberately imperfect recollection of the events of the Hobbit has led to many amusing versions of 'what happened' being regaled by him to every child he encounters.

It led to me thinking 'what if the Hobbit is less accurate than I'd assumed' (for my campaign). There are a number of key areas where Bilbo could have skipped over events, misrepresented or misremembered them etc.

Add in the general 'fictitious history made western myth' espoused by Tolkien and there's a lot of scope to play with 'what happened' and twist it. Albeit bearing in mind that when playing in any established milieu, changing too far from what the players understand the game to be can lead to a clash of expectations (Announcing you're running a game in ME and then switching it to the 4th Age after Sauron won the war could be a cool game, but might not be what the players were expecting).

What points of the Hobbit have you changed or altered, where has your game's history differed from the books?

[Glorelendil]

Sort of on-topic, but sort of not, one of my favorite "fantasy" stories is Bernard Conrwell's version of the Arthurian myth (three volumes: Winter King, Excalibur, Enemy of God). What's unique about this version is that Cornwell, who usually writes historical fiction with a military slant, asks the question "What could have actually happened* in England in 500 A.D. that might have become the Arthurian myth?"

*(Spoiler: no plate armor, no shining white towers, no magic...sort of.)

For those not familiar with it, it's told from the point of a view of a character he invented, a warrior named Derfel, and it starts with (and occasionally returns to) Derfel as an elderly monk and pretty much the last person alive "who was there". Arthur is dead and Europe is slipping into the Dark Ages, and a young noblewoman, married off to a boor of a warlord, comes to Derfel asking him to tell her about King Arthur. But already the story is growing with the telling, and this young woman keeps interrupting him, protesting "That's not how it happened!"

It's absolutely brilliant. I've read it twice, and it's due for a re-read.

EDIT: In before "actually, Elfcrusher, it was more like 520 A.D...."

[Otaku-sempai]

Well, one place where Bilbo was wildly inaccurate (either because he wasn't paying attention or because Gandalf deliberately misled him at the time) was the nature of Gandalf's "great council of white wizards" that drove the Necromancer from southern Mirkwood. This was, of course, the White Council which grew out of the Eldars' Councils of the Wise dating back to before the Istari arrived in Middle-earth.

One might suspect that Bilbo's recollections of travel times through the Lone Lands east of Bree are also inaccurate as they do not align well at all with the travel times of Frodo and his companions through the same lands.

[zedturtle]

One might suspect that Bilbo's recollections of travel times through the Lone Lands east of Bree are also inaccurate as they do not align well at all with the travel times of Frodo and his companions through the same lands.

My preferred explanation for this is that Gandalf had business in Sarn Ford before setting off to Wilderland. So they went down to Sarn Ford and then up the Greenway to Bree and then took the East-West road. It aligns better with Bilbo's descriptions and helps with the travel time issue.

[Majestic]

One of the parts of the Hobbit that I have long thought was more hyperbole (or an outright tale told for amusement) was the rock-throwing Giants. Not that there couldn't be Giants out there, but they seem a bit out of place, considering they aren't spoken of for other major events (like the Silmarillion, or the War of the Ring).

The whole Golfimbul bit also seems a bit outlandish, and in my mind is likely more a joke or tall tale rather than actual character/event.

[Faire]

A little derail - this is what saved the movies for me (the second trilogy). Somewhere soonish after the start I got in the "Bilbo is trying to impress a bunch of kids cornering him on a long winter evening" mood and that really helped me a lot with some of the scenes - including the rock-throwing giants. I have had the same problem with some parts of the Book (as much as I love those scenes, elves on alcohol are still a bit extravagant idea for me ).

[Lugija]

I have often wondered what LotR would have been like if Bilbo had written it as he originally planned.

"And Galadriel entered the glade singing "Tra-la-la-la""
"You can imagine how frightened Sam was, staring down that large spider."
"No man could kill him. I'm sure you have figured out the solution to this riddle already, but you are sitting in your couch instead of standing before him and his fell beast."

At least he managed to slip the Tom Bombadil chapters into the book.

[Glorelendil]

I have often wondered what LotR would have been like if Bilbo had written it as he originally planned.

"And Galadriel entered the glade singing "Tra-la-la-la""
"You can imagine how frightened Sam was, staring down that large spider."
"No man could kill him. I'm sure you have figured out the solution to this riddle already, but you are sitting in your couch instead of standing before him and his fell beast."

At least he managed to slip the Tom Bombadil chapters into the book.

Great post. I love it.

[Blubbo Baggins]

I have often wondered what LotR would have been like if Bilbo had written it as he originally planned.

"And Galadriel entered the glade singing "Tra-la-la-la""
"You can imagine how frightened Sam was, staring down that large spider."
"No man could kill him. I'm sure you have figured out the solution to this riddle already, but you are sitting in your couch instead of standing before him and his fell beast."

At least he managed to slip the Tom Bombadil chapters into the book.

Brilliant.

[taitzu52]

You may want to have a look at "Unfinished Tales". The part titled, "The Quest of Erebor" will illustrate how Bilbo's perspective was certainly not accurate, and in fact a more light-hearted telling of the actual events. It also explains the long debated questions regarding Thorin's trust and treatment of Bilbo.