Heart of the Wild question - Leofrings

[Kullervo]

Hello! Just recently joined the forums after realizing they well - existed. Been slowly buying up the books and going over em in anticipation for the campaign our LM promised soon-ish and... Ran across something I couldn't puzzle out in the Heart of the Wild book.

Wont quote the book since not sure if that's allowed even here, but on page 55, in the scroll-like bottom bar, it describes the Leofrings as a culture. I've seen the player made Culture for them as well, which looks pretty neat! The question I have now, though, is about lore: my Tolkien lore is a bit limited, as I've forgotten much of Silmarillion and don't recall a ton of recent-ish history perfectly, but even with doing research on wiki and tolkiengateway, I couldn't find any note on the Leofrings, Leor, or any notice of hint that these guys existed previous to being put in the Heart of the Wild book. Also asked few people I play tabletop with, nobody knew anything... So, just to confirm, asking here!

So basically, what I'm asking is, did are Leofrings a Cubicle7 invention, or did they exist in the original Tolkien lore?

Thanks!

[Falenthal]

They're C7's invention.

But not too far-fetched, as they are, so to say, the descendants of those Eorlings that didn't march south to Calenardhon. It's very believable that not everyone would want to abandon their homes and travel to a foreign land.

[Kullervo]

True enough. Thank you for the clarification!

[Bram Corolev]

It is a testament to the quality that Cubicle 7 consistently produces that we often don't know what originated from them or Tolkien himself. I can't think how many times I've come across something in these game books that caused me to ponder the same way you did.

[Feanor]

Actually in my own opinion, the Leofrings are supposedly northmen that didnt follow Eorl the Young on the road south to Calenardhon ALL the way. They instead choose to settle on the move down. They moved from the upper valleys of Anduin, where they had a very large threat in Mount Gundabad in the vicinity, whereas also Gondor needed people to settle on their large lands. So they are descendants from the Rohirrim (northmen ).

They could also be men in exile from Rohan, from whatever wrong thing the did and avoiding justice. Who knows ? Only Eru knows...

In many of Tolkiens works about the elves, men and dwarves we can all see the same tendencies. The elves were after all, meant to wake up in Cuivienen and all move to the undying lands ( Aman ), but some chose to stay in middle earth as long as to the end of the third age.

[zedturtle]

In many of Tolkiens works about the elves, men and dwarves we can all see the same tendencies. The elves were after all, meant to wake up in Cuivienen and all move to the undying lands ( Aman ), but some chose to stay in middle earth as long as to the end of the third age.

Your larger point still stands, but there is no reason to think that the elves settling down was not Eru's will. They were, after all, designed to live in middle earth, not Valinor.

[Feanor]

Yeh it is, in th end they all left, after all.

[Otaku-sempai]

Yeh it is, in th end they all left, after all.

No, they did not. Most of the Elves of the Three Kindreds returned to the Undying Lands. However, some never reached them in the first place and may have never felt the call of the Sea as Legolas did. Then there were the Moriquendi (Dark Elves) who never went on the Great Journey; they remained in Middle-earth to diminish and eventually fade.

[Stormcrow]

The elves were after all, meant to wake up in Cuivienen and all move to the undying lands ( Aman )

Just a little literary nitpick here. The elves were not meant to abandon Middle-earth; they were supposed to stay and resist Melkor. The Valar were mistaken in their decision to call the elves to them, and it bit them in the rear end later when the Noldor rebelled and caused all the angst of the Noldor and Sindar ever since.

[zedturtle]

Yeah, I was on my phone earlier and was unfortunately brief. I meant what Otaku and Stormcrow are referring to, the Valar's decision to invite the elves over to Valinor didn't work out too well... I think the Undying Lands were meant as a refuge and retirement plan by Ilúvatar. In other words, the elves first needed to live in Middle Earth before they could truly appreciate Valinor. When they went too early, bad things happened (thanks, in part, to your namesake).

But still, this is a little thing... Tolkien's depiction of folks settling down along the way is a pattern, and (IMHO) realistic and plausible.