The Red Book of Westmarch (Archives)

News
MerpCon V 2009 Pre-Registration Ending
06.09.09 | Kunochan | Permalink | Speak, friend and comment!

MerpCon (Middle-earth Role Playing Convention) is an annual international event dedicated to Tolkien enthusiasts, scholars, fans, and role-playing gamers. Gaming events are set anywhere in Tolkien’s expansive universe. Guest speakers are noted (and often published) Tolkien scholars.
Web Links
How Tolkien inspired D&D
11.18.08 | Kunochan | Permalink | Speak, friend and comment!

First, there’s the simple fact that Tolkien’s innovations are so great that they have, ironically, come to be considered “generic.” In fact, they only appear that way because the genre of Modern Fantasy is something Tolkien himself largely created: he is the exemplar that defines the category. The very idea of a player character party — a group of diverse individuals of differing races with differing talents and specialties who set off on an adventure together — is a uniquely Tolkienian innovation, unprecedented in earlier fantasy, where we either have a hero, or a hero & a sidekick.