It's hard to translate Tolkien into d&d because there is no "magic" in Tolkien. The elves, in lothlorien, I believe, say that the do not understand the way we call what they do magic. To them it is more like just making things very well, with ancient, long guarded techniques. Gandalf does things we can only call magic, but we do not know how far he can could have gone, how much more powerful he was. He is also not human, older than than time, so does not fit into any d&d race of class. Also, there should not be any talk of clerics or paladins, because they call on the power of there gods, which does not fit into Tolkien at all. Magic and Gandalf aside I think this idea is a lot of fun. Here is how I think it should be.(I have different ability sets for some people becaus if you carry a 50lb pack for three months, your strength goes up, and other things like that that d&d has trouble accurately simulating with tomes and such.)
Frodo: thief, lvl 3, 9 str 16 con 18 dex 16 int 14 wis and 16 -17 cha at the beginning in the shire. By the end of his adventure lvl 20 with 14 str 15 con (from the weather top wound) 18 dex 16 int 17 wis and 17 cha.
Sam: multiclass cook/gardener lvl 10 (or if you despise creativity, a bard lvl 1 but this isnt a perfect fit) 11 str, 15 con 16 dex 14 int 17 wis and 15 cha. At the end: 16 str, 16 con 16 dex 14 int 18 wis and 16 cha( because he came back savior of the shire, knight in shining armor.)
Pippin: blade lvl 1 8 str 14 con 17 dex 16 int 13 wis 14 cha At the end: lvl 20 14 str 15 con 17 dex 16 int 16 wis and 15 cha
Merry: multi fighter/thief lvl 1 9 str 16 con 17 dex 17 int 16 wis 15 cha At the end: lvl 25 15 str 17 con 17 dex 17 int 17 wis 16 cha
Aragon: ranger lvl 30 18 str 19 con 17 dex 16 int 18 wis 14 cha At the end: lvl 50 18 str 18 con 17 dex 16 int 18 wis 15 cha
Legolas: ranger archer kit lvl 25 17 str 17 con 19 dex 15 int 15 wis 17 cha At the end: lvl 40 18 str 17 con 19 dex 15 int 16 wis 17 cha
Gimli: dwarvin defender lvl 15 18/00 str 18 con 12 dex 12 int 14 wis 10 cha At the end: lvl 35 19 str 19 con 13 dex 13 int 16 wis 11 cha
Boromir: fighter lvl 17 18 str 18 con 16 dex 14 int 14 wis 17 cha At the (untimely) end: lvl 20 18 str 18 con 16 dex 15 int 15 wis 17 cha
And as before mentioned, I will not try to put gandalf where he does not belong.
Don't know about stats, but I do know that the levels barely went above 5-6. Gandalf is purely riding on his racial hit dice, he has special abilities from being what he is, not from a particular class. For example, check the Astral Deva, which has more than enough power to equal Gandalf without a single class level.
Putting anyone at level 20 is ridiculous, level 20 characters decimate armies, solo dragons and have knowledge and wisdom beyond any normal mortal ken. Aragorn barely survived a single troll at the end (which, going by Hillgiant standards is CR7) while being a powerful subrace himself. I'd put him at lvl6-7 max.
The party fought nothing but goblins, orcs and uruk-hai (slightly stronger orcs) and the occasional troll. Even at level 10, you're fighting off giants, angels, demons and abberrations from beyond the realms. There's no need for them to be such ridiculous high level.
I'll use 3rd edition/Pathfinder rules because 2nd edition is a bit overused in this forum.
Frodo, Neutral Good Hobbit 1 Aristocrat/4 Rogue 10 str, 16 dex, con 18, Int 13, Wis 16(you need a big wisdom in order to resist the one ring for so long) Cha 14
Samwise, Lawful Good Hobbit 3 Gardener/2 Bard 10 str, 13 dex, 16 Cos, 14 Int, 14 Wis, Cha 16(he became the mayor of Hobbiville)
Aragorn, Neutral Good Human(Dunedain) 10 Ranger/6 fighter 18 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Cos Int 16 Wis 16, Cha 18
> @abacus said: > I'd go with Fighter/Mage for Gandalf... He probably despatches as many (or more) enemies with his weapons as he does with openly magic abilities. Gandalf is more a sorcerer than a wizard.
I agree with Drugar, we're looking at a level 5-6 party. It's a low powered setting. The Maiar aren't powerful at all, they may exert influence over the world and be immortals who float about as spirits if you kill them but Saruman still goes down to a backstab from a dishevelled human, Gandalf still can't open stubborn doors, and even Sauron at the very height of his powers can be taken down by adversaries such as a talking dog, and a human warrior with a broken sword. That's important to remember: this is one of the most powerful characters in the world, he's a demigod, he massively enhances his power through his masterplan with the Rings, and he still loses to a regular human who ain't even armed properly while he's wearing The One Ring. The Witch King, who thinks he can challenge Gandalf the White, dies to a woman plus a hobbit.
I'd say most of the hobbits are probably best classed as Fighter/Thief characters, and they'd all start at level one. Mostly Lawful Good and Neutral Good.
Gandalf needs about spell level three to simulate most of the stuff he does, and due to his weapon use I'd make him a Fighter / Wizard. He's around 5th level. His highest score should be Wisdom, maybe a 16. Gandalf the Grey is Neutral or Chaotic Good, Gandalf the White is Lawful Good.
Aragorn might be the highest level of anyone, and should really be mid level from the start. He's a Ranger, of course.
Legolas and Gimli should be equals, somewhere between Aragorn and the others. They're both Fighters.
Boromir? He's another Fighter. Who designed this party composition?!
Comments
It felt SOOOO good!
Magic and Gandalf aside I think this idea is a lot of fun. Here is how I think it should be.(I have different ability sets for some people becaus if you carry a 50lb pack for three months, your strength goes up, and other things like that that d&d has trouble accurately simulating with tomes and such.)
Frodo: thief, lvl 3, 9 str 16 con 18 dex 16 int 14 wis and 16 -17 cha at the beginning in the shire.
By the end of his adventure lvl 20 with 14 str 15 con (from the weather top wound) 18 dex 16 int 17 wis and 17 cha.
Sam: multiclass cook/gardener lvl 10 (or if you despise creativity, a bard lvl 1 but this isnt a perfect fit)
11 str, 15 con 16 dex 14 int 17 wis and 15 cha.
At the end: 16 str, 16 con 16 dex 14 int 18 wis and 16 cha( because he came back savior of the shire, knight in shining armor.)
Pippin: blade lvl 1 8 str 14 con 17 dex 16 int 13 wis 14 cha
At the end: lvl 20 14 str 15 con 17 dex 16 int 16 wis and 15 cha
Merry: multi fighter/thief lvl 1 9 str 16 con 17 dex 17 int 16 wis 15 cha
At the end: lvl 25 15 str 17 con 17 dex 17 int 17 wis 16 cha
Aragon: ranger lvl 30 18 str 19 con 17 dex 16 int 18 wis 14 cha
At the end: lvl 50 18 str 18 con 17 dex 16 int 18 wis 15 cha
Legolas: ranger archer kit lvl 25 17 str 17 con 19 dex 15 int 15 wis 17 cha
At the end: lvl 40 18 str 17 con 19 dex 15 int 16 wis 17 cha
Gimli: dwarvin defender lvl 15 18/00 str 18 con 12 dex 12 int 14 wis 10 cha
At the end: lvl 35 19 str 19 con 13 dex 13 int 16 wis 11 cha
Boromir: fighter lvl 17 18 str 18 con 16 dex 14 int 14 wis 17 cha
At the (untimely) end: lvl 20 18 str 18 con 16 dex 15 int 15 wis 17 cha
And as before mentioned, I will not try to put gandalf where he does not belong.
Putting anyone at level 20 is ridiculous, level 20 characters decimate armies, solo dragons and have knowledge and wisdom beyond any normal mortal ken. Aragorn barely survived a single troll at the end (which, going by Hillgiant standards is CR7) while being a powerful subrace himself. I'd put him at lvl6-7 max.
The party fought nothing but goblins, orcs and uruk-hai (slightly stronger orcs) and the occasional troll. Even at level 10, you're fighting off giants, angels, demons and abberrations from beyond the realms. There's no need for them to be such ridiculous high level.
http://kuoi.org/~kamikaze/RPG/gandalf.txt
Frodo, Neutral Good Hobbit
1 Aristocrat/4 Rogue
10 str, 16 dex, con 18, Int 13, Wis 16(you need a big wisdom in order to resist the one ring for so long) Cha 14
Samwise, Lawful Good Hobbit
3 Gardener/2 Bard
10 str, 13 dex, 16 Cos, 14 Int, 14 Wis, Cha 16(he became the mayor of Hobbiville)
Aragorn, Neutral Good Human(Dunedain)
10 Ranger/6 fighter
18 Str, 16 Dex, 14 Cos Int 16 Wis 16, Cha 18
Legolas, Neutral Good Woodelf
15 Ranger( Divine Marksman archetype)
14 Str, 20 Dex, 14 Cos, 13 Int, 16 Wis, 16 Cha
Gimli, Chaotic Good Dwarf
12 fighter
18 Str, 13 Dex, 18 Cos, 12 Int 11 Wis, 12 Cha
Boromir, Lawful Good Human
9 fighter
16 Str, 14 Dex, Cos 18, Int 14, Wis 11, 15 Cha
Gandalf, Neutral Good Maiar
20+ Sorcerer
18 Str, Dex 18, Cos 18, Int 17, Wis 20, Cha 20
> I'd go with Fighter/Mage for Gandalf... He probably despatches as many (or more) enemies with his weapons as he does with openly magic abilities.
Gandalf is more a sorcerer than a wizard.
I'd say most of the hobbits are probably best classed as Fighter/Thief characters, and they'd all start at level one. Mostly Lawful Good and Neutral Good.
Gandalf needs about spell level three to simulate most of the stuff he does, and due to his weapon use I'd make him a Fighter / Wizard. He's around 5th level. His highest score should be Wisdom, maybe a 16. Gandalf the Grey is Neutral or Chaotic Good, Gandalf the White is Lawful Good.
Aragorn might be the highest level of anyone, and should really be mid level from the start. He's a Ranger, of course.
Legolas and Gimli should be equals, somewhere between Aragorn and the others. They're both Fighters.
Boromir? He's another Fighter. Who designed this party composition?!