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I'll recommend the Atlas of Middle Earth. It's both visually gorgeous, and informative.

Personally - while perhaps not the popular choice, I have found that most of my game inspirations come form perusing various websites devoted to his writings.

Tolkien Gateway is my favorite.

The advantage I have seen to this is the "links" of important names while reading something. So I'll read about one important character, it'll mention a place or other name that I"m not familiar with and give a link to that info. I'll open those in other tabs and will read about them (which create more links to read too and so on perpetually) and before I know it I have a helluva lot of info on a subject I previously knew nothing of.

Which by the way is what gave me most of the inspiration I had for my first major campaign arc with the missing wine from dorwinion and missing elven wine-steward, AND the ideas I have been moving the PCs towards on my own Light of Balthi adventure that also was inspired by the Werewolf adventure that JamesRBrown posted on here.

I have yet to take the time to do so - but I intend to write the outline of my epic storyline in that thread soon - all of which came from reading various links on Tolkien Gateway website.


Before TOR, my only knowledge of Tolkien was in reading The Hobbit and LotR books 20+ years ago, and having seen the movies. I enjoyed them, but wasn't a guru. I now know much more thanks to these messageboards, the various websites, and some of the Halls of Fire and Other Minds that I've taken the time to read over the past year and a half.

Robert

I have a read a lot of Tolkien's other stuff... and it just doesn't stand up to Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit. Sorry, guys - I know that might not be popular round here but I really couldn't recommend anything else he's written.

I would, however, recommend a couple of books about Middle Earth. Hobbits, Elves and Wizards is a great primer and definitely worth getting out on games night for your players to flip through. And the Atlas of Middle Earth is great for bringing a sense of the lengths Tolkien went to to make his creation realistic. It's also very useful for plotting out the movements of characters in the books.

If you wanted fiction to read after teh Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, I'd probably recommend some Tolkien pastiches over Tolkien himself. They're generally more Tolkien than the professor's other works... which become either dry and overcomplex, or overly twee. Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow and Thorn is probably my favourite.

I chant the poetry of the Lays of Beleriand to my five-month old daughter almost every day. I enjoy it, she enjoys it, and it transports you into the mind of the Professor in terms of themes, vocabulary, and grand vision.

voidstate wrote: I would, however, recommend a couple of books about Middle Earth. Hobbits, Elves and Wizards is a great primer and definitely worth getting out on games night for your players to flip through.

I have to second Voidstate's recommendation of Michael Stanton's book Hobbits, Elves, and Wizards as an incredibly good read and a great primer for role playing TOR with a Tolkienesque feel! Just a stellar read and easily accessible, you don't need any in-depth Tolkien or Middle-earth knowledge beyond The LotR.

Mim wrote: I'd recommend Unfinished Tales. It gives you some great characters & events for all of the ages, so you might be comfortable with the Third Age chapters.

Also, I would agree with Mim and others that have recommended The Unfinished Tales. Many chapters and essays could be extensions of The LotR appendices. Many of them were intended in fact as appendices. Time and length became the enemy that cut them down before they had a chance to see the published light in Tolkien's life-time.

Mordagnir wrote: I chant the poetry of the Lays of Beleriand to my five-month old daughter almost every day. I enjoy it, she enjoys it, and it transports you into the mind of the Professor in terms of themes, vocabulary, and grand vision.

The Lays are so often overlooked, wonder upon wonder for your daughter! Anyone interested in exploring how the Necromancer ended up in the Mirkwood of The Hobbit might enjoy this book. I imagine, though, it would have to be paired with The History of the Hobbit by John Rateliff.

Has anyone read Verlyn Flieger's books on Tolkien and Middle-earth?

Regards,
Scott

Ps. When I first posted this thread, I had just encountered a number of gamers at our local game store that had little or no exposure to Tolkien or Middle-earth. Well, that is no exposure to Tolkien's Middle-earth. Some were interested in moving beyond the movies or MERP and, of course, others felt very little motivation to "labor through the books" sad to say. (Not my quote...!) I thought to myself, "A thread would be nice for players that wanted suggestions." (This is my quote...!) If that thread had more than my thoughts, all the better!

Apart from the obvious of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales (dip in at the Third age to get a feel for the style before going to the creation of Arda at the beginning). I find the Tolkien The Illustrated Encyclopedia by David Day as a great dip in book. Also by David Day his excellent Tolkien's Ring gives a feel for the wider tales that inspired the Professor's thought and writing gives me ideas for adventure hooks and new challenges for my players who are well versed in Tolkien lore themselves.
For inspiration on campaigns and adventures I love The Atlas of Tolkien's Middle Earth by Karen Wynn Fonsted - I'm sucker for a nice map. Hope that helps.

After LotR and the Hobbit, I would suggest Volume 12 of The History of Middle-earth: The Peoples of Middle-earth. It covers a lot of information on Elves and Dwarves, which can be useful to loremasters.