So I just finished watching the movies again. I saw a lot of the characters in the game, but also didn't see a lot of the characters. Keep in mind I've never read the books *gasp* so my opinions may be moot.

Some notes on the ones I saw.

Eowyn - She was certainly strong-willed, but also a fairly capable fighter. Seems to me she could have been afforded a 2 attack at least.

Denethor - While I like his card and the actor (John Noble is one of my current favorites), I really didn't like the character. There wasn't much "heroic" about him. And he certainly didn't possess the knowledge necessary to be a Lore hero IMO.

I know we're still waiting on a Boromir, Frodo, and Sam for heroes, but how about Theodin? I saw more of him than of any other dwarf, ie Gloin, Thalin. Speaking of dwarves, I assume they are a bigger part of the book than "Gimli son of Gloin"? As far as the movie showed, dwarves are extinct except for Gimli. Also, what was the name of the blond elf that came to Helm's Deep? I couldn't tell if they gave him a name. He could probably get cardboard form too.

So the heroes that do not appear in the movies afaik are Gloin, Thalin, Glorfindel, Beravor, Dunhere, and Elenor. Theodred was in for about 2 minutes but he was already dead.

Mestrahd said:

First of all if you want real details read the books.

Eowyn:Yes you have a point here Eowyn could have some extra attack.Lets not forget she is the one who killed the Witch-King.

Denethor: even if you read the books you will not find a heroic act of Denethor.His knowledge comes from the palantir he owns.

Theoden:King of Rohan his role in the war of the ring is huge and i am sure we will have him in the future.

The blond elf in the movie is Haldir and this never huppend in the books.This is P.J's imagination.

As for Dunhere at the end of the two twoers the movie you can see Gandalf comes from the east with Eomer and a Rohan army.In the books Gandalf comes with Dunhere and not with Eomer.Again P.J's imagination.

I think you know about Glorfindel.Replace Arwen with Glorfindel.Arwen never saved Frodo from Nazguls, Glorfindel did.

Oh and i forgot don't look for Eleanor,Thalin and Beravor in Tolkien's books.Those are FFG's characters and they have nothing to do with Tolkien.

If you want more dwarves, you can read The Hobbit (the movies are coming out next Christmas I think). I wouldn't be surprised if we got cards involving other dwarves from Bilbo's adventure, the same way we got a few Beorn cards, even if he's been dead for some year by the time the events of The Lord of the Rings happen.

Beravor and Eleanor are heroes that were created by FFG for another of their Middle-Earth game and they reused them in this one. They were not part of the Tolkien stories.

Gloin is Gimli's father. He plays a minor role in the books as he attends Elrond's concil. He was one of the 13 dwarves that Bilbo ventured with in The Hobbit, however.

Haldir's role, as presented in the movie, was an addition of Peter Jackson. But the character does exist in the books and meets the Fellowship when they enter Lorien. He's the one bringing them to Galadriel and Celeborn.

I figured a couple of spots would have been director prerogative like the Glorfindel and Dunhere swaps. I was surprised about Elenor, Thalin and Beravor though. So the Haldir meeting before Galadriel was real, that's why he's getting an ally card then.

Mestrahd said:

I blame Toqtamish and Narsil for having those 3 characters .

Eowyn with just 1 attack is fine with me. She really doesn't have the fighter qualities to get the same attack as Gimli. She knows how to use a sword but her biggest accomplishment was to overcome the fear which is the mightest weapon of a Nazgul. For the killing she had some help from Merry.

Ramas said:

Don't forget mate that she also killed a Fell Beast and she fought at Eomer's side at the Battle of Pelenor.Gimli has 2 attack in this game but he can take dwarven axes and Blade of Gondolin if you want and he gets +1 attack for every wound on him.Wondering Took has 1 attack and i don't think that a hobbit has the same fighting skills as Eowyn's.

As the game is set years before LotR, let's say Eowyn does some decent training before the war of the ring.

I see your point altough i don't think that the Nazgul or their mounts are necessarily great fighters. Their weapon is fear and the count on that. Still i wouldn't like to see her on par with Duhere or Theodred who are trained Fighters of Rohan. Attack 1.5 would be fine^^

The movies don't explain the reason for Denethor's madness, but in the books he's driven crazy by overusing the palantir (those crystal ball seeing stones). He starts off looking into one to spy on Sauron. So his ability and his placement in Lore actually makes a lot of sense. But eventually Sauron realizes what Denethor is doing and makes sure to show him as much of his power and destruction as possible. This drives Denethor into despair because it makes him think Sauron's victory is absolutely inevitable, eventually to the point of defeatism and suicide. He doesn't come across as very heroic in either version, but then we see him after he's already going crazy.

Dwarves are mostly offscreen in both the LotR books and movies besides Gimli (they're not extinct in the movies; Moria was not the only Dwarf settlement and I think they reference this in the extended editions), but in The Hobbit they play a major role. There are 13 of them, plus an army at the end!

Mestrahd said:

Denethor is given perhaps least justice in the movies. The character in the book is indeed becoming mad but not just out of senility, there are reasons to most of his deeds. And whilst John Noble does indeed do a good job playing him, he cannot undo the poor writing. This is coming from a fan of the film trilogy but not a blind one who would not see mistakes.

I'd recommend reading the books. You shall not regret. Boy how I wish I had never read them and now had the chance for the first time. Envy.

Denethor is heroic. He possessed a significant amount of willpower to use the palantir for years, without being dominated by Sauron like Saruman. Also, he succcessfully defended Gondor for a quite some time (although the palantir helped in this). But the long use of palantir and the death of Boromir finally broke him. Indeed, the movie didn't do him justice.

servant of the secret fire said:

Haldir's in the book, he's just not at Helm's Deep

Erkenbrand is the one that Gandalf brings to Helm's Deep. Dunhere is a different Rohan guy, I think lord of Harrowdale?

Dunhere is a nephew of Erkebrand, lord of Harrowdale. He fights and meets his end at the Fields of Pelennor.

I think if they stick to the original, the Elves should have been much more powerful. It is stated throughout the text that those who have seen the Light of the Trees overshadow others both in combat and lore (although it could be said better). It could be a problem in the game system but Glorfindel should have been something like Will 4, Attack 4, Defense 2. Since it would make him threat cost of 15 it would be interesting if anyone still chose to play him. I would.

These things are pure speculations, yes and to take things too seriously is not fit in card games, I guess. But there is certain evidence to prove this or that.

lleimmoen said:

Yes this was my fault.Lleimmonen speaks the truth.

Scoob said:

Yes mate i know.I ment that Haldir's coming to Helms Deep was only in P.J's imagination.

servant of the secret fire said:

Ha ha

servant of the secret fire said:

Interesting, I had always thought that every character was in one book or another. At the risk of commiting "heresy", I would much rather watch the movies than read the books. When the first movie came out I became interested and read the trilogy. I wasn't impressed with Tolkien's writing. The movies are the reason I'm interested in this universe. Even if there are some changes made. I wonder if this means that I should go and read The Hobbit, just so I know what the differences are between Tolkien and the movie.

servant of the secret fire said:

What the hell do I have to do with that ? I never played the game they are in.

Do it. It's good

I think Glorfindel and Gloin are technically in the films - one of the Elves who comes with Arwen to Aragorn's coronation is credited as Glorfindel, and I'm pretty sure one of the Dwarves at the council at Rivendell is credited as Gloin. As others have said, The Hobbit is where you need to go for proper detail on Gloin.

Not convicned by the idea of Denethor being the worst treated in the films - think that one has to be a toos-up between Glorfindel and Faramir. Glorifndel gets demoted from rescuer of Frodo from the Nazgul (Fellowship) and Balrog-Slayer (Silmarilion) to silent Wedding guest, and Faramir is shown as wanting to take the ring for Gondor.

I'd like to see an alternate hero version of Glorfindel at some point, giving him the stats he deserves, and the associated ridiculously high threat cost.

Mighty Jim said:

He has the second highest willpower, tied for highest in attack, tied for highest in hit points, pretty useful ability and Aragorn-level threat. What more do you want? At some point, the designers have to keep the card balanced both from a power and a threat standpoint.