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CG Medium Outsider
Init +6; Senses arcane sight, detect charm, detect evil, true seeing; Perception +25
Aura Courage , Protective , Resolve
AC 20, touch 20, flat-footed 16
HP 150
Fort +13, Ref +7, Will +17
Special Defenses Uncanny Dodge; Immune Fear, Charm, Compulsion; SR 26
Speed 30 feet (6 squares)
Melee Glamdring +21/+16/+11 and Quarterstaff +19
Spell-like Abilities
Constant — align weapon , arcane sight, detect charm, detect evil, greater age resistance, greater mage armor, mind blank, pass without trace, true seeing
At Will — arcane mark, burning hands, light, hold portal, prestidigitation, mage hand, message, read magic, shocking grasp, snapdragon fireworks, spark
3/day — fire seeds, greater dispel magic, lightning bolt , sunburst , telekinesis
1/week — summon
Str 16, Dex 14, Con 18, Int 21, Wis 23, Cha 25
Base Attack +15; CMB +18; CMD 31
Feats Alertness, Arcane Strike, Dodge, Double Slice, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Two-Weapon Fighting, Quarterstaff Master, Weapon Focus , Weapon Focus , Weapon Specialization
Skills Appraise +9, Bluff +13, Diplomacy +13, Heal +11, Intimidate +13, Linguistics +13, Knowledge +20, Knowledge +20, Knowledge +20, Knowledge +20, Knowledge +20, Knowledge +20, Knowledge +20, Knowledge +20, Perform +15, Ride +16, Sense Motive +17, Spellcraft +20, Stealth +11, Survival +15
Languages Celestial, Common, Dwarven, Elven; true speech
Gear Glamdring , Narya, Quarterstaff
Bardic Performance : Gandalf may use bardic performance as a 15th-level bard , and can use countersong, dirge of doom, distraction, fascinate, frightening tune, inspire competence , inspire courage , inspire greatness , inspire heroics , soothing performance, and suggestion.
Channel Spell : Gandalf treats any sword he wields as if it possessed the spellstoring property. In addition, he may store a spell as a swift action .
Lore Master : Gandalf can take 10 on any Knowledge check he has ranks in. In addition, he can take 20 on a Knowledge check as a standard action .
Protective Aura : Gandalf and each ally within 20 feet gain a +4 deflection bonus to AC and a +4 resistance bonus on saving throws against attacks made or effects created by evil creatures. This ability otherwise functions as magic circle against evil and lesser glove of invulnerability .
Ring of Power, Aura of Courage : The wielder of Narya gains an Aura of Courage, as a 20th-level paladin.
Ring of Power, Aura of Resolve : The wielder of Narya gains an Aura of Resolve, as a 20th-level paladin.
Ring of Power, Immortality : The wielder of Narya gains greater age resistance as a constant spell-like ability, and effectively stops aging.
Ring of Power, Mind Blank : The wielder of Narya gains mind blank as a constant spell-like ability, except against divinations made by the wielder of
the One Ring.
Summon Mount : Gandalf may call upon the aid of Shadowfax, lord of horses. This ability functions as a 15th-level paladin’s divine bond ability, except that it can be used at will, and does not have the same limitations .
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Celestial Heavy Horse
CG Large Magical Beast
Init +4; Senses Darkvision , Low-Light Vision, Scent; Perception +10
AC 28, touch 14, flat-footed 24
HP 120
Fort +13, Ref +12, Will +5
Special Defenses Devotion, Improved Evasion; Resist Acid 10, Cold 10, Electricity 10
DR 10/evil; SR 23
Speed 80 feet
Melee Bite +14 and 2 Hooves +12
Str 23, Dex 18, Con 20, Int 6, Wis 12, Cha 6
Base Attack +9; CMB +16; CMD 30
Feats Fleet , Multi-Attack, Run
Skills Athletics +15
Special Qualities Link, Share Spells
Languages Common; understands but cannot speak
Smite Evil : Shadowfax can smite evil as a 12th-level paladin .
Well done. Looks 100% usable in game.
Personally I don't know that the weapon specialization is required. It seems that feat slot would be better served with something else. Also, while I think the choice to keep the spell selection slim is fine, I do think you should invest is UMD. I'd like to think that if Gandalf had a magic scroll or wand he would be able to use it. His AC seems very low too. Don't alot of outsiders have natural armor?
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Thanks, Ciaran Barnes. Took some elbow grease puttin' this baby together! Woo~wee~
I thought about giving him Use Magic Device, but I don't think Middle-Earth has very many magical items floating around. I mean, there's the rings or power, and some other relics from the bygone ages, but very little else.
Natural Armor would work well to boost his AC, but I can't really imagine him having any. His body is more or less human; he's not covered in scales, nor is he some thick-skinned beast.
I suspect AC 20 would be relatively high in Middle-Earth where most characters are low level. He would be one of the highest level characters around, after all, along with Saruman and Galadriel.
Besides, his his AC jumps to 24 against evil creatures. Against an orc, that's pretty good. He might be in some trouble if he's fighting a troll or some such, but that's when he's going to rely on his wits (and allies, of course).
He's also got a crap ton of hit points, and soothing performance, so he's not going to get taken out very easily.
His biggest threat would a spell-duel with Saruman, though a tango with the Balrog is a close second. In the case of the later, custom stats would be needed. The Balor is close, but probably too powerful to fit Middle-Earth.
Really, just wanted to say this is 9 kinds of awesome.
And I would have to agree, Middle Earth is a low level game. Maybe E6?
(Thanks!)
Not sure I'd go that low, although it could be done. I'd probably stat Aragorn/Legolas/Gimli in the 7th-11th range (lets say 9th). The hobbits would be much, much lower.
Nothing higher than 15th level (and this is for an Istar).
The balor was definitely based upon the balrog, but they're not a perfect fit. The balor was specifically designed for the d20 system (and all that it entails). If I were to convert the balrog, I'd probably do something along the lines of what I've done here. Most likely build it with 15 HD, and dumbed-down abilities borrowed from the balor (afterall, the flavor's right).
And I would have to agree, Middle Earth is a low level game. Maybe E6?
Speaking of E6: I've never gotten around to playing such a game. I tend to play lower levels (5th-7th), though. So, it seems right up my alley. Looking at the numbers though, I think I'd prefer E8 (mostly due to how BAB scales; in E6, medium BAB characters sort of get the short end of the stick, mechanically). There's rules for "purchasing" feats with EXP, right? I sort of want to try that...
Noticed one error, and that's regarding Gandalf's Dexterity score. It's listed as 14, but that means he doesn't qualify for Two-Weapon Fighting. To fix this, I pulled one ability point from Charisma, bringing it down to 24, and reassigned it to Dexterity, bringing it up to 15 (and thus, allowing him to take the feat).
The ability point which was reassigned was one which was gained from leveling, and so doesn't disrupt the build, especially since none of his ability modifiers were changed.
Oh, and although they aren't marked, Gandalf has several bonus feats. They are: Alertness, Improved Initiative, and Iron Will.
I'm no expert but I don't believe Narya granted immortality. Gandlaf, as Istari/Maiar, was already immortal (although bound to a specific physical form much like Sauron, the Balrogs, etc.). Furthermore, Narya was one of the three Elven rings of power which would make the immortality redundant. The three rings definitively had some preservative powers for Elrond and Galadriel used them to keep their communities pure while all other Elves were fading.
I'm no expert but I don't believe Narya granted immortality. Gandlaf, as Istari/Maiar, was already immortal (although bound to a specific physical form much like Sauron, the Balrogs, etc.). Furthermore, Narya was one of the three Elven rings of power which would make the immortality redundant. The three rings definitively had some preservative powers for Elrond and Galadriel used them to keep their communities pure while all other Elves were fading.Certainly in the First Age, Olurin (Gandalf) wasn't bound to a particular form - he was bound to the world. Most of that order could change forms, pretty much as they pleased - as could Sauron, until he got that power taken away for being naughty...
Right, but even bound they were still immortal. His immortality was not connected to the ring he possessed.
Dot.
Gandalf is definitely immortal on his own. Still, that's one of the properties shared by all the rings of power, so I included it in his stat block. Each of the rings of power grant longevity, if not immortality, to their wielders. Just look at Golum and Bilbo, and how each was influenced by the One Ring.
Narya is quoted as providing, "resistance to the weariness of time." In game terms, I felt greater age resistance would do the trick. Rather than mess with the aging tables, or maximum ages, I just added the bit about "effectively stops aging." A bit messy, but it works.
I put this together last night because I'm on a really messed up sleep-wake cycle. I literally cannot sleep at night, so I have to entertain myself somehow. That said, it's not perfect.
Anyone note how flippin' fast Shadowfax is? 80 squares of movement in one round, when running! Not to mention +35 to jump checks (granted, I used a house rule about jumping; it's governed by Athletics, which is Str-based, and combines Climb and Swim, rolling them into one skill)!
The Lord of Horses is swifter than the wind!
Well done, Detect Magic. I think is a great representation of the Gray "Wizard".
I would have given Shadowfax a 10 intelligence and not house ruled the skills.
Thanks, Arcanemuses. I had fun with this.
I would have given Shadowfax a 10 intelligence and not house ruled the skills.
Shadowfax has 6 Intelligence because that's what a paladin's mount has. I posted it with the houseruled skill because I've used it for so long that I no longer think about it (I removed other house rules before posting; this one just slipped my radar). To fix that, you can just switch out Athletics for Acrobatics, though it will reduce the bonus from +15 down to +13.
Besides the confusion introduced by what the "ring of fire" did, Gandalf also identified himself as a "servant of the secret fire, wielder of the flame of Anor" which meant that in his "spirit form" he was already identified with fire "magic". Or to put it another way, Gandalf was originally a fire "spirit" himself. Heck, before Melkor became Morgoth, he and the Balrog were probably drinking buddies.
I like the idea of Gandalf being represented as an outsider much more than trying to model him as a PC type of character.
For the most part I like this build, however, I still think it's too powerful in terms of hit dice and melee combat compared to what Gandalf actually demonstrated in the books. Also, I don't think I'd grant Gandalf "summoning" of any sort. In the books that is more of a "messaging" ability, not "summoning".
And where is his staff? Make the "Narya" stuff his staff and have Narya do specific fire related effects and I'd like this better.
I like your conversion!
Sorry if I repeat myself, but I prefer looking at the old MERP versions of ME's chars, magic items and so on.
While being off level-wise when compared to PF/DnD/d20 it gives a relative power by comparing items or chars.
Gandalf was not immortal since the physical body he chose wasn't - his essence though was immortal. Thus his essence returned to the Undying Lands (Aman) and he returned as Gandalf the White after his physical form was defeated by the balrog in Moria.
Ruyan.
I like your conversion!
Sorry if I repeat myself, but I prefer looking at the old MERP versions of ME's chars, magic items and so on.
While being off level-wise when compared to PF/DnD/d20 it gives a relative power by comparing items or chars.
Gandalf was not immortal since the physical body he chose wasn't - his essence though was immortal. Thus his essence returned to the Undying Lands (Aman) and he returned as Gandalf the White after his physical form was defeated by the balrog in Moria.
Ruyan.
I would have said "after his physical form was completely exhausted by defeating the Balrog."
Has a bit nicer ring to it, imho...
Is there any real evidence that Gandalf's staff itself was magical? I sort of interpreted his staff as a focus. Meaning, the magic was his own - the staff was secondary. Am I wrong in this conclusion?
Thanks RuyanVe, I'm glad you like it! I'm not familiar with MERP; care to elaborate?
Is there any real evidence that Gandalf's staff itself was magical? I sort of interpreted his staff as a focus. Meaning, the magic was his own - the staff was secondary. Am I wrong in this conclusion?
There is very little "evidence" of any sort about any of the magic described by Tolkien in his books. His magic is deliberately described in vague, inconclusive terms because Tolkien felt that magic itself was secondary to his focus on the more important moral questions he was always trying to explore. He also wanted his readers to create their own mental images of how the magic "worked."
However, having said that, Gandalf breaks his staff on the bridge, which is what released enough power to destroy the bridge and send the Balrog into the chasm. This implies rather strongly that the staff itself contained power which was released when it was broken.
Also, when he defeated Saruman, his first act was to break Saruman's staff, which seemed to greatly diminish Saruman's power.
So, yeah, I think the staffs are magical. They are listed in every online list of "magical items of middle-earth" and usually as some of the most powerful magic items in middle-earth.
He used the staff as a magical focus, like harry potter.
Wasn't Olorin/Gandalf a servant of Manwe and Varda? And Melkor was specifically a child of Aule (the smith), right? Hm, I'll have to check.
The flame of Arnor refers to his power as a servant of the Valar.
Narya was the Ring of Fire, but more in the sense of being able to lift the spirits of the de-spirited, kindling the hearts of others, in the sense of the reincarnation of the passion of life and of freedom.
I agree with you on the summoning part, AD. Summoning always carries the note of master and servant, but it is explicitly said, that Gandalf never aspired to rule others, he only urged those befriended to do what was necessary to help them or accomplish his mission.
Ruyan.
Olorin (Gandalf) was a Maia in the service of the Ainur. Varda and Manwe were Ainur, which can be viewed as sort of "arch-angels" in the Judeo-Christian mythos. Melkor is essentially a reskinning of Lucifer, the most powerful of the Ainur and a favorite of Iluvitar. The Ainur themselves predate the creation of Arda, the world of which "middle-earth" is a part.
The Maiar were created as companions for the Ainur, also by Iluvitar.
As far as I know the Ainur and the Maiar (together known as the "Valar" I believe) were created in whole and are both immortal. They don't "have children" that I know about.
Nice conversion.
I definately like the use of outsider. You might think about giving him access to more cantrips at will. He did a lot of things in the guise of a travelling entertainer. I would remove the summon eagles. He is good friends with Gwaihir, nothing more.
As for combat abilities, I have come around to the position that Gandalf held himself back a lot. He was trying to create heros, not sidekicks. Otherwise, it is hard to explain how a creature who takes out a Balrog one on one is unable to handle a dozen or so orcish worg riders.
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Nice conversion.
I definately like the use of outsider. You might think about giving him access to more cantrips at will. He did a lot of things in the guise of a travelling entertainer. I would remove the summon eagles. He is good friends with Gwaihir, nothing more.
As for combat abilities, I have come around to the position that Gandalf held himself back a lot. He was trying to create heros, not sidekicks. Otherwise, it is hard to explain how a creature who takes out a Balrog one on one is unable to handle a dozen or so orcish worg riders.
The world in "The Hobbit" is much different than the world in "Lord of the Rings". Comparing what Gandalf did in "The Hobbit" to what he did in "Lord of the Rings" is just going to be frustrating because the whole concept of Gandalf changed dramatically after Tolkien wrote "The Hobbit" and started working on "Lord of the Rings".
One of Tolkien's great frustrations in his later life was his attempts to reconcile the two books, which led to revisions and apologies to his readers when he went back and retconned things in The Hobbit to have LotR make "more sense." Eventually he just gave up on the effort.
Again, "The Hobbit" is a child's fairy tale that Tolkien published after basically writing it as a bedtime story for his kids. "Lord of the Rings" is an epic myth that he wrote to deliberately promote his ideas of morality and religion.
Not quite, though you've got the gist of it.
Ainur is the more generic term. They were all the beings who were with Iluvatar before the creation of Arda and took part in the Song.
Some of those Ainur entered into Arda. The Valar were the more powerful of those and the Maiar the lesser, though the term Valar is occasionally used for all the Ainur who came into Arda.
There is no difference in kind between Maia and Vala or Maia and Ainu. Merely in degree of power or of status.
In early versions, the Ainur did have children, but that concept was dropped.
Hmm... all my books are packed up, but you seem pretty knowledgeable so I won't challenge this. It's been a while since I really dug deep into the Tolkien mythos. I was pretty confident about Ainur vs Maiar and the use of Valar though... But by the time I move and unpack I'll have forgotten all about this. :)
(Update: Quick Wikipedia check seems to indicate that I reversed the use of "Valar" and "Ainur" after all. Sucks getting old...)
Is there any real evidence that Gandalf's staff itself was magical? I sort of interpreted his staff as a focus. Meaning, the magic was his own - the staff was secondary. Am I wrong in this conclusion?
There is very little "evidence" of any sort about any of the magic described by Tolkien in his books. His magic is deliberately described in vague, inconclusive terms because Tolkien felt that magic itself was secondary to his focus on the more important moral questions he was always trying to explore. He also wanted his readers to create their own mental images of how the magic "worked."
However, having said that, Gandalf breaks his staff on the bridge, which is what released enough power to destroy the bridge and send the Balrog into the chasm. This implies rather strongly that the staff itself contained power which was released when it was broken.
Also, when he defeated Saruman, his first act was to break Saruman's staff, which seemed to greatly diminish Saruman's power.
So, yeah, I think the staffs are magical. They are listed in every online list of "magical items of middle-earth" and usually as some of the most powerful magic items in middle-earth.
Actually, now that you point that out to me, it makes a whole lot of sense. Sauron invested a great portion of his own power into the One Ring, so the idea of the Istari doing likewise seems only natural. Perhaps to represent this, I'd give Gandalf something like a wizard's Arcane Bond (Staff), or more precisely the limitation imparted by it (must succeed a concentration check to cast any of his spell-like abilities when he does not have his staff in-hand).
Nice conversion.
I definately like the use of outsider. You might think about giving him access to more cantrips at will. He did a lot of things in the guise of a travelling entertainer. I would remove the summon eagles. He is good friends with Gwaihir, nothing more.
As for combat abilities, I have come around to the position that Gandalf held himself back a lot. He was trying to create heros, not sidekicks. Otherwise, it is hard to explain how a creature who takes out a Balrog one on one is unable to handle a dozen or so orcish worg riders.
Thanks! I'm open to the idea of granting him more cantrips/orisons. The ones listed are the ones that came to mind, but there are certainly more. I tried not to get too carried away while I was at it, haha.
Since a lot of people have commented on the summon ability, I guess I will address it. My intention was not that he was forcing the eagles to appear, but rather he was calling upon them in times of great duress. Notice that it can only be used once per week. This was meant to imply that he only ever uses it sparingly, mostly out of respect for the eagles. I did not mean to impress upon the reader the idea of a master-slave relationship, though perhaps the word "summon" carries that connotation.
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LazarX, the inability of anyone but Iluvitar being able to create life is a direct transference of Tolkien's religious faith where this is an article of faith and Lucifer/Satan is specifically excluded from that ability by dogma.
This is something Tolkien had to "fix" since early versions of his mythos had Melkor creating the orcs and other evil beings. His conscience got the best of him and this is one of the "retcons" he did to his overall world building.
It's interesting to study Tolkien's creative process in writing these books. You can quite clearly see how over time his religious beliefs completely dominated his world building, causing him to revisit many, many things he had previously written. In the end he viewed LotR as a deliberate attempt to popularize the fundamental tenets of his own faith.
It's interesting to see how popular the book has become with such a history behind it.
I agree, Adamantine Dragon - Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings" is definitely inspired by his faith as a Christian. Perhaps the most obvious is the celestial hierarchy, as well as the Melkor/Luficer figure. Frodo's stuggle against the temptation of the One Ring also parallels Christian theology.
Hi guys, I am brand new here and just saw this post.
I have this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Treasures-Middle-Earth-Middle-Earth-Playing/dp/155806 0480
It is a very interesting read and it breaks down the powers of all the rings (as well as hundreds of other Middle Earth "magic items", races, and materials) in a "game mechanic" friendly kind of way.
I do not have access to it right now (I am at work) but I bet it could be located in some form or other on ye olde internets if you guys were interested.
That's pretty cool. I'm sure it could be of some use in converting items from the mythos. Thanks for the heads up, this must be what RuyanVe was talking about.
Oh, and welcome to the boards!
In Pathfinder terms, that suggests Narya was a Ring of Sustenance enhanced with the powers of a Circlet of Persuasion.
I disagree.
It is described as having the power to "inspire others to resist tyranny, domination and despair." That sounds a lot like paladin auras (which is what I used). Further, it says nothing about nourishing the wielder's body. It helps the wielder resist "the weariness of time." That, to me, coupled with the effect the One Ring had upon Gollum and Bilbo, suggests that it increases the wielder's lifespan and reduces the penalties it suffers from old age (Str/Dex/Con penalties; also, diseases of the mind, like Alzheimer's, perhaps).
Cool! XD