OK. So I just finished watching the second episode of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power. I gotta say, I was actually VERY impressed. This is crazy to me because I expected it to suck moldy lemons since so many were bashing it for not staying true to Tolkien. I'm actually eagerly waiting for episode 3, and I thought to myself while watching it that this is the best D&Dish show I've ever seen. Frankly, it was a REAL fantasy, not some goofy, silly, cheesy joke of a fantasy like what D&D keeps producing in terms of movies and such. I have actually enjoyed RoP a lot mainly because I feel like finally they are branching out from the mainstream LotR story. FINALLY, they aren't dwelling in the Third Age at the end of the era when Sauron and the One Ring are a thing and Aragorn and Frodo, etc. They are branching out to the full larger world of Middle-Earth that Tolkien was creating, and they aren't even just sticking with the stories told in the Silmarilion. They're touching on those stories, but they're branching out to tell additional stories that have never been told. ORIGINAL STORY! What a concept in today's world where all people ever do is regurgitate the stories already told from the 80s or before.
So yeah. This is going to create lots of backlash. I'm fully aware, but I don't care. I thought it would be good to create a thread where people can express their opinions about the Rings of Power and also how it relates to BG3.
How does it relate to BG3? Besides the "Elves look like humans with pointy ears" debate which partially stems from the fact that LotR elves are frequently depicted as roughly pretty humans with pointy ears, I found a few other things that relate. Feel free to add more.
1. Dwarves look and act like dwarves. Ah! It was refreshing to see more dwarves that look and act like dwarves - not like Thorin and company in the Hobbit movie. I don't know what they were thinking, but they looked like short humans and acted like them too. I didn't feel that most of them were actually dwarves. In RoP, they seemed more like actual dwarves, and Prince Durin's wife really won me over. I thought, "Finally, a dwarf woman who has all the classic dwarf woman characteristics including a bit of hair running down from her sideburns along her chin. And yet, I thought they didn't overdo it, like some do. She still looked like a good-looking dwarf woman. And I thought she did the part very well.
2. Hobbits. Please, Larian. Even RoP has halflings that look more like how halflings are supposed to look. The main Hobbit girl is more like what I think Niara would approve of for a base halfling model in BG3. Her best friend is also a HUGE improvement to what we're looking at for models in BG3. Their proportions are WAY better for all Hobbits in RoP - at least in my opinion.
3. Lore. What are your thoughts about RoP's interpretations of Tolkien's lore. I, personally, thought they did a pretty good job. I noticed a few items that I thought were a bit off, but for the most part I thought they stayed relatively true. For example, I liked how the dwarves kept bringing up Aule. I liked how Elrond brought up the Silmaril and talked about their forging and what they actually were. I liked how Galadriel and her company went into the Forodwaith and explored one of Morgoth's ancient strongholds. I liked how the elves were treated by humans like arrogant overlords, and the humans of Middle Earth were quite happy that the elves were leaving. I wasn't bothered that they took maybe a few liberties. It was actually refreshing. Similarly, Larian has taken a few liberties with BG3 instead of staying true 100% to established lore - such as ceremorphosis and its process. Instead of making a point to say that a person with a tadpole won't even be themselves after a few hours with a typical transformation, but their brain is completely consumed and so is their very life, they make it sound as if the victim will remain aware of who they are the entire seven days. Some find this to be just as refreshing. I, for one, think RoP held more true to established lore - so far anyway - than Larian is, but I do think Larian is doing a pretty good job themselves. I've actually been fairly impressed overall with Larian's lore. Again, there are a few things I've picked apart, but overall - so far - they've done fairly well at staying true to the source.
Anyway, that should be enough to get the ball rolling, especially since I'm sure you all don't need much to get you going on this topic. Some are going to berate me for even saying that I even remotely enjoyed RoP, and I'm sure I'll get a lot of "Can you even call yourself a Tolkien fan?" kinda comments. I'm sure I'll also get a lot of "BG3's lore SUCKS, man! How can you even remotely say it's good." But whatever. I enjoyed RoP, and I hope it continues to get better and better as they continue it. Similarly, I hope BG3 gets better and better as they continue it.
