so with the forum being dead i thought id give us all something to discuss

so who is your favourite tolkien character out of the books, so we're not talking cards here

mine no surprises is Gandalf. from the moment he walked up bilbo's path in the hobbit he become the character i always go to when thinking of middle earth. he's also great from an RPG perspective, he comes and goes, stays where he wants, knows all peoples…and of course he's a wizard

he also has  a sense of humour (of sorts) which i appreciate, and some of his lines are just epic (the one about bilbo not killing gollum is my favourite)

rich

Great idea Rich! My gut reaction is Erkenbrand, Aragorn, or Tom Bombadil (and that's limiting myself to TH and LotR). Narrowing from there will be pretty difficult, but I think tops would be Tom Bombadil (probably the worst choice Jackson made regarding characters to excise).

Really tough choice though, even beyond those three there are Bilbo, Sam, Dain, Thorin, Glorfindel, Eomer, Halbarad, and BEREGOND (excited for that card!!!). Going back in the ages there's Gil-galad, Manwe, and Orome. I don't know if Eru could be considered a "character" really, but he would hit the list too. So many likable characters with so much depth (regardless of what some on the board would say).

 I'm with John, there are too many great characters!

But I think I have a soft spot for Sam. As far as minor characters, I like Elfhelm (see avatar) and Imrahil.

As a race, I do love Durin's Folk.

good choices both

if we're talking races id have to go back to basics again and say hobbits

i think my two choices come from fond readings of the hobbit when i was younger, though i love the shire and everything hobbity.

the 1st book of the fellowship is the one i re-read the most

rich

Does Bill the Pony count as a character?

starhawk77 said:

sure does- and a good one too

 Beorn                

 Bilbo, the hobbit himself.  He's just way too endearing!

mine is the guy I think his name is Bard the Bowman of Esgaroth … like there was a game character called Brand that is his grandson or something

Anyway, The story of him shooting the dragon in the hobbit while not as full on as the scouring of teh shire really shows Tolkiens complete disrespect, near hatred of politicians and army leaders.

I find it one of the rare moments in fantasy literature where there is a almost magical conversions of subtext and story to make a really fantastic moment.

All the violence all the famous generals (heroes) all the major plot interactions of armies and nations… it is in fact the single action of a lone, almost ignored .. single soldier that saves the town and is the true unsung hero. It is Bard that acting alone and beyond the call of duty that achieves teh impossible, an act of the every man.. the power of teh individual.

The implications that can be read though this part of the novel is deep and moving and to mind mind speaks a truth about war and politics, one that Tolkien got a very real lesson in with ww2 and angered him so much that it lead to the extremely unsubtle sequence were people turn their backs on Saroman and the act of not following orders and listening to politician leads to true peace in teh shire and teh insta nullification of his power….. this is teh same point.. but much more artfully presented.

IMO the single best moment of all 3 books.

Are we limiting this to Hobbit/LotR or is it just that people only have favs from those? Mine would be from Silmarillion.

I have always had a strange taste in favourite characters. Mine are Saruman and the Mouth of Sauron, hardly in the books either of them, but still! I like the fact that Saruman is this sort of offstage malevolent evil for a lot of the time, and he has a terrific name too. Mouth of Sauron is there for what, a page and a half? Just the ballsy attitude he has in treating all the heroes with complete disdain at the gates of Mordor. Classic! 

@dam - from anything tolkien wrote

@spalanzani- i like those two as well…..mouth of sauron has that really eerie feel with him, imagine if they had won…..

 The primary strength of Tolkien (for me and others I am sure) have always been the variety of characters. Some obvious, some probably not so. Mostly taken from a writer-reader perspective.

Gandalf. You would think it is easy to make a likable old wizard like him, but there are few (if any) other writers who achieved that.

Beorn. Very special, the way of life represented nicely there.

Boromir. Love the dilemma, love the humanity in the failure, love the redemption.

Sméagol/Gollum. The hate and pity aspect is perfect.

Túrin Turambar. Great and tragic, there are similarities to Aragorn's story, the latter being much more lucky, the former much more powerful.

Fingolfin. Sheer power gazing from almost every line he's in. How I wish Tolkien actually had finished the Silmarillion himself.

Glorfindel. Sort of a gateway to the great old days.

Gildor Inglorion. Again, just a few lines in the story and a very memorable character springs up.

Bilbo Baggins. The transition is close to unbelievable but just believable enough.

Treebeard. Ents rock (and stone).

Huan. Another strength, why not put in a real bad-arse dog, kicking Sauron's butt in the process, and of course dying emotionally as is the way with dogs.

Tom Bombadil. The best enigma there ever was.

lleimmoen said:

Fingolfin also gets my nod for favourite, dude at least went out like a champ, toe to toe with Morgoth.

But there is another for whom I have a soft spot, namely Hurin, father of Turin. Last man standing in the last stand of the Men of Dor-lómin, most renowned deed of war the fathers of Men did for the Eldar. Taken prisoner to Angband and his line cursed by Morgoth, had to watch all the evil that befell the land, before he was finally released, only get to taste yet more woe. "Mightiest of the warriors of mortal Men." (Silm)

I am relatively new to the lore of Middle Earth (huge Star Wars Fan), but I am being drawn in deeper and deeper with each passing day.  So far, only reading the Trilogy and it being a while since I read the Hobbit (though I want to reread it before the film) I'd say that I tend to like groups more than individuals: 

I like the idea of the Dunedain/Rangers.  Silent protectors that allow the innocent to live thier lives in peace and freedom.  

My favorite race would be the elves.  I would like to read more about the glory days. 

I like the eagles, though I don't know much about them.  Perhaps I will learn more when re-reading the Hobbit.

As far as individuals go, I like Strider more than Aragorn.  Same person I know, but I just like the ranger version more than what he becomes.  I like Sam as far as Hobbits go, as he is easy to root for and his devotion, loyalty, and bravery are admirable.  My favorite individual so far would have to be Glorfindel.  Not much is known relative to the others, but it must have been something to see him in action as a warrior.  The lack of details leaves me asking for more, and I wish Peter Jackson had included him in that scene instead of Arwen at the river.