Evening Reading: What Are You Playing?

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  he's very different than your average D&D mage. he's very subtle. he's mostly an illusionist. : dirge23
  • He'd be a Runemaster in Rolemaster (which is the Advanced version of Middle Earth Role Playing). Possibly... : AxeMan808
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    I actually liked that about him. i thought it made him more interesting. : valael
    • definitely. if he was throwing fireballs left and right he would be boring. : dirge23
  • He smokes too much Hobbit weed and forgets his spells. : Lightzout
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  Yeah I was a noob to LOTR when I saw the movies and was aching for more magic from this guy. He can make... : caveatemptor
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    Well, I remember the my freshman roommate in college would never shut up about how badass gandalf was... ... : MagicWishMonkey
    • The scenes of him vs the balrog at the start of the two towers is pretty badass. : pyide
    • read my post below, you've got it all wrong : Mr. Goodwrench
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  This is exactly what I was thinking. And Boromir is a crappy tank because he can't hold an aggro without... : Dessicator82
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    nerf legolas : SockMonkeh
    • ya. Totally overpowered. : CRasterImage
  • in my imagination gimli was this slavering dwarf berserker who would split people from sternum to crotch ... : dirge23
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  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44kBN340vd4 : SockMonkeh
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    I love the reaction the Balrog makes when his sword melts hitting that protection dome. "What the deuce??... : Godhatesfatpeople
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      i love the reaction Gandalf makes when he realizes what it is. "Christ we're all fucked" Also kinda looks... : thebroccoli
      • The armies of Balrogs depicted in the Silmarillion are pretty epic. : Mr. Goodwrench
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  Raistlin would kick his ass before he could cough twice. : FreshlyShavenGreasedAndAngry
  • Actually even Akiro could best him : FreshlyShavenGreasedAndAngry
  • hahahaha : hamachi
  • True...and then pretty much every mage in the entire Malazan series would kill both of them in a heartbea... : Vincent Grayson
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  I cast Magic Missile at the darkness! : Masem
  • Anyone want a Mountain Dew? : FreshlyShavenGreasedAndAngry
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  If you read the histories of middle earth, like the Silmarillion it explains that the White Council, whic... : Mr. Goodwrench
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    How convenient is that? Hey guys, can't use my awesome wizard powers... uhh, because you gotta save yo : MagicWishMonkey
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      magic is a whole different deal in middle earth. the best explanation i have is that in the books, one of : dirge23
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        That was always one of my favorite bits of dialogue, actually. : UtilityMaximizer
        • me too. that really defines tolkien elves for me : dirge23
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      Like I said, if you had read The Silmarillion you'd understand exactly why this was. : Mr. Goodwrench
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        I haven't read the books, maybe I should give it a shot sometime. : MagicWishMonkey
        • (I read the Hobbit, it was awesome, haven't read the rest though) : MagicWishMonkey
        • The SIlmarillion is made up of four books, and is a history of middle earth from it's creation by God rig... : Mr. Goodwrench
        • haven't, or can't? : MoreVespeneGas
        • Read The Hobbit, then The Lord of the Rings, and only if you are absolutely dying for more MIddle Earth s... : UtilityMaximizer
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        I love Middle Earth and all things about it, but Tolkien's writing in LOTR and the Silmarillion just kill... : glio1337
        • The Silmarillion is a bit of a mind fuck to keep up with. It isn't written in a typical story format thou... : Mr. Goodwrench
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          I found the Lord of the Rings a pleasant read, and I've read it many times since. The Silmarillion, howev... : UtilityMaximizer
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            yep. reading the silmarillion feels more like researching LOTR than actually reading something you'd want... : dirge23
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              It was FAR too list-based for my tastes. "And so-and-so begat whoseits, who ruled until XXX and was succe... : AxeMan808
              • It is like that in a couple of sections, but only to describe the various elf/men families and kingdoms. ... : Mr. Goodwrench
              • #1533

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                By: UtilityMaximizer x Show Full Post

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                Yeah, that's what I meant when I said it felt biblical. Particularly at the beginning, with its creation myth and begats and such. It gets better toward the end when tracing the history of men, but without strong characters, dialogue, or humor, it is tough going. You have to really want to know more about the setting to persist.

                Apr 02, 2010 9:14pm PDT
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                Yeah, that's what I meant when I said it felt biblical. Particularly at the beginning, with its creation ... : UtilityMaximizer
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                  Ah, OK. I never got that far! Maybe I'll give it another go, then. I've tried 2x and the begats knocked m... : AxeMan808
                  • Well, I said it gets better, but it never gets great. It never turns into anything like The Hobbit or The... : UtilityMaximizer
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                  tolkien as a writer has a bad tendency to tell you about the epic events that are unfolding rather than t... : dirge23
                  • gladden pelennor : dirge23
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                    It never actually states it is a ghost army though in the book does it? From what I remember it just said... : Mr. Goodwrench
                    • well, that's the problem. for such a pivotal event it's extremely vague. ghosts? zombies? resurrected war... : dirge23
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                      That whole thing in the extended edition with the skulls flowing all over the place was stupid. In fact, ... : UtilityMaximizer
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                        I was disappointed with RotK in general. Felt more like a kid's movie or something for a teenage girl in ... : Jumperus
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                          I've complained about the movies in general before: http://www.shacknews.com/laryn.x?id=21898684 I'll... : UtilityMaximizer
                          • Yeah, I would enjoy being able to go back and bitchslap Jackson, his wife, and the other fatty writer. Mo... : Jumperus
                • Pretty much. I really love the thought and creativity Tolkien out into his world and reading up on it's h... : Mr. Goodwrench
              • old testament'd : nurglich
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          Tolkien's style was a bit difficult. I love his stories, but he spends a lot of time describing things.... : CRasterImage
          • Yes, I think people sometimes forget that the books were written in the 50s. : spectr3
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    Isn't it also due (at least partially) to the Council's close relationship to the Elves? Who are leaving ... : AxeMan808
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      Well, Sauron was a slave to the men of Numenor, who were allowed to live on an island close to Valinor, b... : Mr. Goodwrench
      • The Silmarillion is great, some of the stories in there are my favorite too. : MoreVespeneGas
• His meeting with the Witch-King was pathetic, too. Okay, so he broke your staff. Get up off your face an... : Jumperus
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  Make me a giant moth? I don't remember the giant moth part. I remember when he talks to a moth to summon : UtilityMaximizer
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    What is the point of having magical powers if you can't use them? : pyrogen
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      I don't know; perhaps it was some kind of Christian allegory. Perhaps the elves, dwarves, and men were in... : UtilityMaximizer
      • Interesting, thanks. : pyrogen
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        There is a lot of Christian elements to middle earth mythology, the first Dark Lord Melkor was a fallen V... : Mr. Goodwrench
        • Also, http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Ungoliant : Mr. Goodwrench
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        Tolkien stated outright "I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done sin : rasputinreborn
        • that out of the way; of course he drew from a great many influences, but mostly of the pagan European sor... : rasputinreborn
        • I know that, and admire him for it, yet I cannot believe that there is no allegory in his work. Some of t... : UtilityMaximizer
        • And yet his work is full of allegory, no matter his disdain for it. : Tommy Toolbag
    • Maybe using them isn't as straightforward as deciding to stand up and walk. I mean, our world can make d... : barcibus
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    He was screwing around with a Moth when he was stuck on the top of the black wizards tower. It's just ... : MagicWishMonkey
    • It wasn't a giant moth; it was just an ordinary moth. The movie doesn't quite convey it, but in the book ... : UtilityMaximizer
• Wait until he finally learns Firaga. : Masem
• Gandalf at Weathetoop. That is all that needs to be said. If you have no clue what I'm talking about, you... : CoreContingency
• Depends on what kind of power you're thinking about. His side won. It did because of his influence. Dude ... : creeping-judas
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  Shitty wizard? The fucking guy took on a giant demon with nothing but a sword. The start to the second fi... : Godhatesfatpeople
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    When we saw it in the theater, one of my friends turned to me: "From now on...THAT'S how you start a movi... : AxeMan808
    • haha yessss. The entire theater filled to the brim with people. They were cheering and clapping at the en... : Godhatesfatpeople
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    he seems pretty badass to me http://www.theonering.com/images/medialibrary/87tcal_08.jpg : gyokuro
    • God, that's so cool. : Godhatesfatpeople
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      Looking at that image, I can just hear him YOU! SHALL NOT! PASS! MOTHERFUCKER! : EricZBA
      • more like WHERES MY TANK : moe6
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    Seriously, the dude was a badass. He just didn't show off or use magic of any significance unless it was... : nurglich
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      the more spells a wizard casts the bigger the noob he is. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_ekugPKqFw I r... : gyokuro
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        whaaaaaaat... : DooBall
        • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oWAb5NVALw&feature=related : gyokuro
        • He cast lightning bolt. : SigENeaT
      • haha the clapping at the end : extrahappyturtle
      • What I want to know is, what's to prevent me from just saying "I deflect your pathetic paper lightning bo... : Scotty22
    • Whoah... I swear I didn't read your comment before making mine. : vx2o
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  i tried getting into LOTR...but failed. the movies just bore the shit out of me. i felt like i was watc... : crypt420
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    the tech was pretty amazing when they came out nine years ago : EvilDolemite
    • It still is in the DVD cut imo. BluRay is gonna kill it unless they have done a good job at realising the... : SigENeaT
  • I loved them, but they're definitely not something I want to watch again. : valael
• That's the type of wizard he's supposed to be, though. Tolkien's wizards aren't about slinging spells eve... : David Craddock
• Gandalf Is A Shitty Wizard ... that sounds like a shackname 2.0. : steelsamurai
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  Yeah well standards are different in a world where the most powerful thing is a ring that does nothing bu... : barcibus
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    Dude, ring gives you abilities according to your level. Duh : locater16
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      More to the point, the hobbits who came in possession of it had neither the knowledge nor ability to "use... : AxeMan808
      • Dammit! I had fixed that "it's", and retyped and committed the error again! : AxeMan808
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    you dont know shit about LOTR. basically if Galadriel or Gandalf took that ring they could walk over and ... : gyokuro
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      also you didn't even watch the opening scene of LOTR when Sauron was wearing the ring kicking everyone's ... : gyokuro
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        It's not crazy to assume that he's kicking everyone's ass because he's a huge and powerful whatever-the-f... : Vincent Grayson
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          the only one that could wear it was Tom Bombadil. And even when Frodo put it on Tom could see him. : gyokuro
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            I was pretty pissed off they didn't include him in the movie. : ucanbfuzzy
            • They explained it pretty well in the documentaries. : Jumperus
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              Agreed. The Bombadil scenes are one of my favourite ones in the books. If not THE favourite one. : vx2o
              • When playing LotRO, I always referred to him as "Crazy-ass Tom". : AxeMan808
        • He's huge and powerful whatever-the-fuck because of the Ring. Sauron put a goodly portion of his own powe... : ucanbfuzzy
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        Lawl, breathe man breathe! Sorry to have spoken evil words about your baby. I love LOTR, but power was : barcibus
        • If you knew anything about Galdalf's origins or previous feats throughout the Ages, there really would be... : Moonbase Commander
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      Elrond wearing the One. Just think about for a moment. OK, stop now, or you'll ACTUALLY DIE FROM IT. : AxeMan808
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        If Elrond took the ring and put it on he'd turn into Agent Smith : gyokuro
        • He'd eat candy, then assimilate Treebeard, then fly into Sauron and explode him from the inside. : Jumperus
• Gandalf vs Balrog in HD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoZwA5SF1Go : grendel
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  There's that age old question gandalf or dumbledorf : Koral06
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    Double Dore. Although I admit I know much more about him than I do Gandalf. : spazzium
    • I used to watch Double Dore when I was a kid, the host was kind of weird : Halen
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  You guys are out of your minds. At Weathertop, before Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pipping, and Aragon arrive, Gand... : CoreContingency
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    why didn't he just wave a flamey stick around? : GloriousCow
    • Shh, we'll pretend that never happened! : CoreContingency
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    also in FOTR the river turning into water horses were gandalf and elrond's work : gyokuro
    • iirc, the flood was elrond.... gandalf just made it look like horses. : skryte
• Pfftt... he's no show-off, he only does what is absolutely necessary. : vx2o