Monday, June 14, 2010

A Nod to Tolkien

There is one place where I would like to see a concept lifted almost whole cloth from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. I have always loved the Dunedain - the long lived, super-human humans of Numenor of whom Elessar, Aragorn was born. To me it is something of an omission that their representation in D&D is as the Ranger character class. I see them as a race and a lineage and Angadurgh has a place for them. They are the people in whose tongue Angadurgh is named - the Durough E'na An - the people of the land as they are known in their ancient language.

They originate before the calamity, and are one of the peoples responsible for the marvellous but decaying cities that form oases in the ever changing landscapes of Angadurgh. Their closest D&D analog would be the Deva, or Aasimar. A noble but diminishing race "never more, but sometimes fewer". Like the Deva, I see them as being reborn over and over - perhaps by some ancient magic, or even a lingering divine connection.

No one knows exactly how many there are - perhaps one or two thousand Durough E'na An in the whole of Angadurgh, and they are rarely found in gatherings of any size. Twenty Enaan (as they are known in the common speech) is considered a host - and would never be seen except as some great event.

Although as a people they are slowly diminishing - every generation or so some few fail to be reborn for reasons unknown to outsiders - they are not resigned or bitter. Rather they labour seemingly tirelessly on great tasks and quests known only to them and perhaps a few scholars. They are known to maintain the library city of Engedda - although few outside their ranks can read the tomes stored there, and the Enaan themselves seem to read them only occasionally.

2 comments:

  1. Tolkien, with a maddening casuality and seeming little effort, can come up with a race of men like the Dunedain with a story that will break your heart and stick with you forever.

    Maybe I'll make a Deva like that... thanks for the idea.

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  2. I'm more curious about the way they would be represented mechanically... would you simply use the Deva but make them "Humans?"

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