I think you raise a good point,
Ealasaide. There are several points to consider about how to depict Middle-earth, especially when Tolkien created different cultures and societies with different styles.
I know that when, years ago it seems now, I first set up the RPG resource thread, it was not with the intention of creating rigid categories of historical accuracy. Rather I hoped to provide quick sources people could use to develop vocabularies for various aspects of Middle-earth--aspects which would tend not to be found in our regular vocabularies today. Simple things really--vocabulary for parts of a horse, for archery and swords, for various kinds of occupations, styles of clothing, etc. One of the intriguing things about Tolkien is his control over diction and so I thought that might be reflected in how we care to write our games.
It seems to me there are two basic trends in gaming or Tolkien fanfiction. The pinacle of one kind is represented by Mithadan's superb short stories: an absolute allegiance to the style, tone, tenor and ethos of Tolkien's writing. It is a kind of fidelity and discipline, to challenge oneself to find the language which completely fits Middle-earth without any slippage into modern day terminology or attitudes. Sort of like 'writing Middle-earth from the inside.'
The other kind is looser, maybe more geared towards putting Middle-earth in other contexts: an approach which wants to say, "how would Tolkien have described this if he had included it?" That is what I strove for with my character Darash in Fordim's game Land of Darkness, a Black Amazon from ancient mythologies. I tried to imagine how that kind of person would fit into Middle-earth.
It seems to me too that we have come a long way in our approach to gaming here at the Barrow Downs. As I recall, our initial efforts were devoted towards asking people to respect the special qualities of Middle-earth and at least to be aware of how one went about imagining characters and events in a Tolkien game. At one time, we had many people who were more interested in hack and wack sword play and not so much in the particular attitude Tolkien had towards warfare. Or we had a plethora of unimaginative green-eyed maidens who were all orphans. I think our changes were designed to inspire gamers to strive for originality of characterisation and some degree of consistency with a Middle-earth tone: really a kind of creative writing with the kind of calibre which the discussion threads had. I think we are currently thinking about this same idea now regarding the Mirth forum: how to use language creatively, intelligently, wittily.
That is I think what is essential in any of the games here on the Downs: writing well.
I bet this is a real big help, isn't it?
