this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2023
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I know it's a meme and all, but I feel like good jokes need to be rooted in a bit of truth otherwise it's just... Stuff you say for no reason? And this is that. Are we forgetting all the times he was instrumental? Dude was like the most influential character. Nudging so many different people in the right direction. Not to mention the Balrog or how he protected frodo from the eye when he put the ring on at amon hen, the Jedi mind tricks used on saruman, etc
But, it's interesting how he's so different from the "mage" of other fantasy / D&D.
For example, he uses a sword along with his staff. He's the most powerful mage, and yet he needs a sword?
Also, he doesn't seem to use any direct-damage magic. He doesn't throw fireballs, he doesn't cause enemies to be hit by lightning. He also doesn't directly create illusions. Most of what he does is very subtle. He claims he can read minds, he gives ponies greater stamina, he opens doors, he lights or extinguishes fires, but mostly for lighting not for damage.
That's partly because most of this stuff precedes modern fantasy media and also because Tolkien said that Gandalf isn't actually a wizard it's just that to him wizard was the closest word he could find to describe him. As back then wizard just meant very wise person, afaik. A more apt term for him nowadays would be "sage", I guess? Dunno. Also, Gandalf isn't human, he's a celestial being and he's not allowed(?), I think, to use the full extent of his powers. Either way, yeah.. the more I learn about Tolkien's work the more interesting it becomes.
But, it's interesting that Gandalf inspired decades of mage / wizard characters who broadly shared common themes: using magic to do direct damage, not wearing armor, not using swords, being physically unimposing, often being old men, etc.
How different would modern fantasy and TTRPGs be if people had been inspired by different parts of Gandalf's character. Like, we might expect Wizards / Sages to lead an army's charge, despite not wearing armor or doing direct damage. A typical fantasy wizard / mage hangs back and lets the people in armor lead the charge. We might expect them to have incredible perception, seeing very clearly, sensing danger nearby, etc. A typical fantasy wizard / mage / sorcerer is focused inward and often the least perceptive one in a group. We might expect them to be physically fairly strong, at least enough to fight with a sword. We might expect them to be loners, rather than wanting to join adventuring parties. We might expect them to do mostly cleric-ey things like heal people, boost morale, strike fear into others, etc.
Instead, people adopted the physical appearance (minus the sword) and tacked on a lot of direct-damage magic. For TTRPGs that makes sense because you can't have a character who's both physically imposing, extremely charismatic, able to fight with a sword, and also capable of using magic. That's just too powerful for one character. But, I also can't think of many fantasy books or movies that have a strong, perceptive, brave sage/wizard character.
Actually, he does turn pinecones into little fireballs in The Hobbit. At least in the book, I don't remember if that was in the movie. Nothing like the Fireball spell in D&D, though.
Not to mention the fire magic used to burn and scare the goblins when they were captive of the goblin king.
The pinecones were pretty awesome at burning the wolves too the way it magically spread amongst them if they touched.
Well, it's obvious. He isn't a humanoid spellcaster, he's a celestial. Quite literally. In this book's frustrating diversion from established D&D terminology, the humanoids simply call celestials wizards.
Lord of the rings predates D&D though.
Yes I'm aware Lord of the Rings is not D&D fanfic, thanks. Twas a joke.
My bad, you never know on the interwebz ^_^'
I think it's mildly funny how when WotC got their hands on some LotR rights to make MtG cards, they still typed Hobbits as halflings.
But then the halfling token for the set is labeled as Tolkien Creature - Halfling instead of Token Creature - Halfling.
It's like this dude only knows prestidigitation, detect thoughts, and create fire. Gandalf level 1 wizard confirmed.
I now kinda want to play a wizard who only uses cantrips for some convoluted reason
The reason could be that he's illiterate
As well as his great (magic?) time management skills that allow him to arrive precisely when he means to.