I’m No Expert

There are some who have devoted a great deal of time and effort to become scholars—armchair or otherwise—of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. I’m not one of those folks. Although I will claim to possess more than a passing knowledge of the Professor’s fantastical world and some of the background that led to its creation, I also find it impossible to differentiate my Fingolfins from my Finrods from my Fёanors without a scorecard (or at least a quick consultation of The Tolkien Companion).

I don’t consider this lack of expertise to be a crippling disadvantage to running a RPG set in Middle-Earth (or to write a blog about the same subject matter). At the gaming table, it’s more about getting the tone right than making certain the minutia is correct. If the game feels like something the Professor might have written, especially to those with only a modest familiarity with the written works, I consider the game to be successful. Thus, it’s more important that we share stories of good vs. evil, of loss and hope, of ancient kingdoms and a fading age than ensuring I have the dates of Eorl the Young’s reign correct or that my newly-created landmark has a 100% accurate name in the Quenya language. 

Tolkien scholars (assuming they’re reading this blog) will undoubtedly cringe at some of the material they’ll find herein and I beg their indulgence. This is an amateur effort to document a recreational interpretation and immersion into the Professor’s creation and not a literary or academic discourse on the subject matter. Please restrain the urge to take me to task for any errors in the canon you might encounter and try to enjoy the spirit of The Forsaken Inn if you can.