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The real heroes of The Lord of the Rings Online are....
Billius8
Member Posts: 574
... the players, and should be. No, not the NPC fellowship characters, though some of those may exist in the game world. But what these developers had better realize is that the players are on center stage and not little helpers running through scripted quests to help out Frodo and Aragorn. There was nothing lamer in table top roleplaying games than to have some NPC (non-player character, computer characters in MMORPG's) take center stage while the players stood by and "followed the script".
I say all of this mostly because wizards are not allowable player classes. Wizards are "the Istari" and since there were only five or so "Istari", the players cannot play one. Perhaps a better approach would have been to view "Istari" as "master wizards" and allow players to play mages as they choose and to work their way up in level.
Remember, this game is a backdrop for the actions and heroic achievements of the players, and not some recreation of the great events of NPC's that the rest of us are assigned to stand in the shadows in awe and watch.
Comments
A Voice From Within
I always felt this was true about early SWG. The main players were there, but it was almost irrelevant. You really felt like you were making a life and a history for your character, turning him in to what you wanted to be, and that your actions affected you, your friends and enemies, the landscape around you, and the entire balance of power in the game (even if there was a lot of PVP or ranking...on each particular server/planet, you got to know quickly if the Rebs or Imps were in control).
I too hope they allow us to mold the world in whatever image we see fit, using Tolkiens great ideas as a backdrop, not a rulebook.
quite true. how could we make our own "fellowship" without a wizard? fellowship of the ring minus one.
also, as a huge fan of the books, i'm let down they went with turdbine, destroyers of DnD.
A Voice From Within
Just like SWG,and MxO...LoTRO allows you to have a character in the world each game represents. I would have to say that most people don't want to be the main characters...they want to tread there own paths.
I don't want to be Neo. I don't want to be a Luke Skywalker. I don't want to be Gandalf. I want to be me!
Joined 2004 - I can't believe I've been a MMORPG.com member for 20 years! Get off my lawn!
I felt that this post was making some good points until the whole "they-don't-have-wizards" argument came up once again...
though imput from the players should be considered invaluable there's also the issue of what I call 'Lore Compliance' which has been a reoccuring issue with LoTRO. Because Tolkien Enterprises is on-board with Turbine in this endeavor, the Devs have to pay a LOT more attention to the Lore since Turbine has the rights to the actual books, not the movies. Since Tolkien was very specific in that there were only 5 wizards in all of Middle Earth (and honestly, only 3 come into the story at all - Radagast, Gandalf and Saruman) to re-write or change that would not only draw the ire of many many die-hard fans but also I'm sure Tolkien Enterprises (who holds the intellectual property rights as I recall) won't stand for it either.
However, on the other side Turbine has worked very hard to incorporate a type of magician called a Lore-Master. I won't go into the details here since folks can find that stuff out on the LoTRO site, but this is actually a rather cool way for Turbine to incorporate a type of magician class without stepping over the line, and it brings a level of distinction to the MMO that Tolkien's tales deserve. If the "they-don't-have-wizards" issue is too much for some, then they should investigate DDO or one of the other numerous MMORPGS online... but only after they give LoTRO a chance!
The community response to the inclusion of the Lore-Master and other ingenious ways (IMO) that Turbine has incorporated spell-like capabilties into the game without seriously violating Lore-Compliance has been very positive, and I think it will allow folks to play LOTRO and not say 'oh this is WoW - the Lord of the Rings update' and so I urge everyone to at least give it a try when it comes out, and see for themselves!
My Rant is done.
**Falls off soapbox**
Turbine has said in many articles about the how they are using the Lore of the Books as a guidline for the game. But they have said that if something would interfere with the playability of the game they would choose to break the Lore. I have been observing the game since 2003 and the Tolkien fanatics have so far been pleased with the game.
"You had me until "mage".
Don't change lore, so it can be just another table-top. This is not just another table-top. This is what is considered across many genre's to be the greatest works of fiction that the 20th century produced. It's up their with other notable works such as "August 1914" "The Foundation" series, etc. "The Foundation" just barely beat out LOTR for the award to the best trilogy (Which I never understood, since LOTR is not a trilogy) This is much, much more than your average sci-fantasy game.
What is everyone's freaking god blessed obsession with playing a wizard? My god, you'd think they want the chance to play Jesus or something. If you want to play a mage, there are plenty of games where you can do that. If we want to play as "just a mage" then according to the lore of Middle Earth, you're going to last about 5 seconds, because your agro range is going to be from the Gulf of Lhun to the Misty Mountains. My god, even Gandalf was extremely hesitant to cut loose, for just that very reason. When he so much as lit a fire his comments were "Well, everyone from here to Mordor knows where I am now". So if you're playing as a "mage" (which does not appear in the works) - then you have less power than one of the Istari, but still agro? You'd be toast in 3 seconds.
In addition to THAT - Tolkien prided himself on the lack of overt magic in his books. It's not following the spirit of what the man wrote.
* * *
That aside, I WILL say that I agree with you that the game should be about the players. When it comes to this arena, I'd say make sure there is a group from the devs that are a part of a dedicated Live Events Team that plan global events every few months. I think some months back they mentioned this, and I really hope thought and attention goes into this. Some companies have put one together willy-nilly, and it shows in the events. Make such events about the players. Make them work within the events to obtain certain items, with badges, or whatever they want to call them in game, and other works going to the Winners. Heck, even allow the players to change the story somehow - but MAKE IT ABOUT THE PLAYERS!