About Callings and shadow weaknesses

[Mikha]

Hi everyone!
In the last few sessions with my group of adventurers we found ourserves talking about callings and shadow waknesses; as a matter of fact the conversation started soon after the dwarf (and treasure hunter) luxuriously failed a corruption test and triggered a revelation episode with the most appropriate Eye I've ever seen.
A series of unfortunate events, kind of, that led to a bout of madness.
So, after the storm, the conversation peaked when we tried to remember famous "bouts of madness" in the Lord of the Rings and consequently the characters' callings.
Gollum must have been a treasure hunter, while Boromir and Arangorn guardians. Gimly a slayer, Legolas a wanderer and so on.
But there was some discussion about many other characters, as for the hobbits (which isn't totally insane, looking at them through the rules of TOR and the stellar amount of hope they have).
I found that my players were interested in this little game of associations and this helped a lot to really feel the "mechanic" of the corruption.
Any thoughts?

[Stormcrow]

The One Ring assumes the player-heroes went off on adventures willingly and even eagerly. This clashes with some of Tolkien's protagonists, who go on adventures because they have no choice, or because they have a responsibility.

Frodo has no choice but go to Rivendell; he believes he has a responsibility to go to Mordor. He likes the idea of adventure, but he'd rather it were just hiking in the Shire.

Sam feels a responsibility to protect and serve Frodo. He has no interest in adventure beyond accompanying Frodo on nature walks in the Shire.

Merry and Pippin start out simply with their love for Frodo; they don't really want to leave the Shire or Buckland either, though they think adventures are exciting. But as the story progresses they become real adventurers. Merry becomes a Scholar; Pippin probably a Wanderer, maybe a Warden. But at first neither is suited to be a hero in The One Ring.

Bilbo is ostensibly a Treasure-hunter, though his initial motivation is more to "go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick," i.e., a Wanderer. After his big adventure he is definitely a Wanderer, with the Ring apparently fuelling his Wandering-madness, but eventually he settles down to be a scholar (lowercase s) instead of an adventurer.

[Majestic]

Great discussion! I agree with Stormcrow that many of Tolkien's protagonists didn't really start out as "adventurers", per se; it's not a very accepted way of life for a Hobbit, after all. I think TOR does an excellent job of giving Callings as a good rationale for those (like Aragorn) who do often travel across Middle-earth, accomplishing great deeds.

One way we can figure out people's Callings, too, is by looking at the Shadow Weaknesses. For instance, Thorin was probably a Treasure-hunter, as we saw a Bout of Madness with him. How about Boromir, was he a Slayer, driven all the way to be Murderous? Or was that just the Ring affecting him?

[Stormcrow]

Boromir was definitely a Warden, who succumbed to the Lure of Power.

[Majestic]

I was considering that one, too.

The way the One Ring works, it seems to make almost anybody have the weaknesses of Dragon-sickness, with desire to posses it specifically.

[Falenthal]

Gimli and Legolas seem like Slayers to me.
None of them had wandered far from their hometowns (well, Gimli probably did from the Blue Mountains or even the Iron Hills, but doesn't speak about it) or knows much about other cultures than their own, so Wanderer seems out of place.
They also don't seem like Scholars, Wardens or Treasure-Hunter for obvious reasons.

Gimli had probably Lore (Orcs), and enjoyed most of the campaign (Moria, Helm's Deep, Pelenor fields, Morannon).
Legolas had Lore (Spiders) and still thinks the LM had a problem with him playing an elven prince.

[Falenthal]

Balin seems like a Scholar, and Glóin some sort of diplomat. Wanderer, maybe?

[Otaku-sempai]

Gimli and Legolas seem like Slayers to me.
None of them had wandered far from their hometowns (well, Gimli probably did from the Blue Mountains or even the Iron Hills, but doesn't speak about it) or knows much about other cultures than their own, so Wanderer seems out of place.

I'm not entirely sure about Gimli and/or Legolas being Slayers (keeping in mind that callings are optional). But your first instinct on Gimli's origin was correct. As the son of Glóin, one of the companions of Thorin Oakenshield, Gimli would have been born in the Blue Mountains.

[aramis]

I'd argue that Merry and Pippin, and possibly a few old Tooks mentioned in canon, were inherently adventurous. That they didn't always take the opportunity - for them, it was an exciting chance to see the world beyond the Shire.

[Falenthal]

Gimli's origin was correct. As the son of Glóin, one of the companions of Thorin Oakenshield, Gimli would have been born in the Blue Mountains.

That's probably so, but we don't know if, at any time before the Quest of Erebor he could have wandered to the Iron Hills to live his life there. I don't think it's likely, but also not impossible.

In any case, I'd consider him "from the Blue Mountains".