Statting the Ring: Fellowship Geekery

[Lupy]

Okay, so I love Tolkien, and am currently re-reading LotR, and I was wondering... What are the Character's Stats, I'm thinking levels and abilities, but further geeker is encouraged.


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I'm statting for just after the ring was destroyed.

I'm doing abilities in this order:
DEX
STR
CON
INT
WIS
CHA

Frodo- 4th Aristocrat, 2nd Ranger,
12, 9, 14, 15, 14, 11
Sam- 1st level commoner, 2nd level ranger, 1st level fighter
12, 10, 15, 10, 15, 8
Legolas- 7th level fighter, 4th level ranger
19, 13, 16, 13, 13, 12
Gimli- 11th level fighter
8, 17, 17, 12, 14, 9
Aragorn- 4th level fighter, 11th level ranger
14, 16, 18, 13, 15, 14
Merry- 2nd level aristocrat, 2nd level fighter
13, 9, 12, 13, 10, 12
Pippin- 2nd level aristocrat, 2nd level fighter
13, 9, 12, 13, 10, 12
Gandalf- 0th or 1st level diety
Maia, and so unknown
Boromir-

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(Deceased) 9th level fighter
13, 16, 16, 10, 9, 10

Faramir- 11th level ranger
17, 13, 17, 13, 15, 12

And just cuz he's awesome:
Turin: 14th fighter, 6th ranger, 2nd rouge
20, 22, 21, 14, 14, 12

[FlyMolo]

Gandalf is messed up. Epic levels, DR 0, and only 18s topped out?

Don't make me laugh. He doesn't seem that smart, granted. But you wouldn't even be able to exploit those 9th level spell slots without 19 int at least.

[Ascension]

Gandalf is messed up. Epic levels, DR 0, and only 18s topped out?

Don't make me laugh. He doesn't seem that smart, granted. But you wouldn't even be able to exploit those 9th level spell slots without 19 int at least.

And what evidence do we have of him using 9th level or higher spells?

[Kurald Galain]

Frodo- 2nd level commoner, 1st level bard, 1st level rouge, 2nd level ranger

First, it's "rogue", not "rouge". Second, most of the hobbits are actually aristocrats. Third, NPC classes make little sense for the major PCs of the story. And fourth, four base classes for one guy, how is that not weird?

Frodo - moderate level rogue, with extremely high wisdom and the Iron Will feat.
Sam - low level fighter, with likewise Iron Will
Legolas - high (12-15) level ranger, archer specialty and dexterity in the low twenties.
Gimli - high level fighter, this one is pretty obvious.
Aragorn - high level ranger; he is one of the foremost archetypes of rangerhood, and entirely not a paladin. Two-weapon specialty.
Merry and Pippin - low level rogues, relying mainly on charisma
Gandalf - Maia incarnate, qualifies as unstatted. Since D&D doesn't really do unstatted, moderate level wizard with an expensive racial template. Outsiders get weapon profs for free, anyway. Significantly more powerful than anybody else in the fellowship, definitely epic, archetypical wizard but none of the D&D classes really meshes with his abilities.
Boromir - moderate level fighter, low wisdom score.

[Saihyol]

For that matter what spells do we ever see him use?

(from the films)
Light
Shield of Faith (maybe?)
Speak with Animals/Animal Messenger

1Ranger/1Cleric?

[Renegade Paladin]

Searing light and (from The Hobbit) fire seeds.

Gandalf's abilities are all over the class charts. You can make a good case for paladin and/or bard for the way his presence bolstered the courage of the soldiers of Gondor (and it started to flag again when he moved on to a different part of the wall). Though actually, come to think of it, you might be able to technically attribute that to the Prince of Dol Amroth, who was making the rounds with him, though it's heavily implied that it was Gandalf doing it.

Though ultimately, I credit several of Gandalf's powers to his Ring.

[Lupy]

Sorry, but I play SWRPG, not D&D, and I was wondering what all of you said more than my own thoughts, and in SWRPG abilities tend to balance out more than go eliteist like they seem to in D&D. And multiclassing is awesome because there is no XP penatly.

[Lord Tataraus]

Though ultimately, I credit several of Gandalf's powers to his Ring.

He has one of the Elvish Rings (the three Sauron gave to the elven lords). However, his true power is the fact that he is a wizard which is completely different from the common sense of the title. In Middle-Earth a Wizard is a Maiar (a divine being) sent to the mortal world to watch over it. So all of his abilities are innately divine, he is a cleric.

[Kurald Galain]

Sorry, but I play SWRPG, not D&D, and I was wondering what all of you said more than my own thoughts, and in SWRPG abilities tent to balance out more than go eliteist.

Comes with the setting. Lord of the Rings has way more high powered characters (and way higher powered ones) than Star Wars does. Palpatine's got nothing on Sauron.

[Kurald Galain]

Sorry, but I play SWRPG, not D&D, and I was wondering what all of you said more than my own thoughts, and in SWRPG abilities tent to balance out more than go eliteist.

Comes with the setting. Lord of the Rings has way more high powered characters (and way higher powered ones) than Star Wars does. Palpatine's got nothing on Sauron.

[Hadrian_Emrys]

Gandalf is a twisted mix of Divine Bard, Paladin of Freedom, and possibly Risen Martyr (I have no way to check this last part without the book at hand). He wasn't a fan of casting nukes so much as laying the smackdown while dual wielding a bastard sword and a staff. The DM took pity on his player (being one of those obsessive "I'm a role player, not a roll player !!1!" types) and gave him a couple of kickers so he wouldn't die TOO frequently.

[Oslecamo]

One thing people forget is Gandalf casted fireball to repel a bunch of wolves on the first book, before the fellowship entered that mountain with the storm. The classic fireball that lasted for all D&D editions. Making him at least lv5 wizard or lv6 sorceror.

But Gandalf is indeed a special case. Very complicated and mysterious, he never truly reveals the whole extent of his powers.

[Renegade Paladin]

He has one of the Elvish Rings (the three Sauron gave to the elven lords). However, his true power is the fact that he is a wizard which is completely different from the common sense of the title. In Middle-Earth a Wizard is a Maiar (a divine being) sent to the mortal world to watch over it. So all of his abilities are innately divine, he is a cleric.

Yes, yes, I know all that. His courage-inspiring ability, though, I have to credit to Narya because, well, that's exactly what the Red Ring is supposed to do; inspire others to valor and hope.

"Take now this Ring, for thy labours and thy cares will be heavy, but in all it will support thee and defend thee from weariness. For this is the Ring of Fire, and herewith, maybe, thou shalt rekindle hearts to the valour of old in a world that grows chill." -- Círdan the Shipwright, upon giving Narya to Gandalf.

[Hadrian_Emrys]

Was it a fireball really? Did he instagib the poor sods, or just chase them off? He was a huge fan of all things that were flashy, but had a subtle effect. LotR would have sucked if it was just Gandalf roasting the world and doing an Eagle bombing run of the Ring into Mt. Doom.

As a side note, LotR has some SERIOUS lame spots. I mean, Mt. Doom? What the flaming hades is that!? Elves: we're so perfect and awesome. Hell, one of our leader types took down a crapton of Balrog before breakfast that one time! Which leads into the whole annoying: leaders are the bestest combatants EVAR!1!! Alright, I'm ranting again. Back on topic.

I stand by the claim that he was a Bard/Paladin/etc. Anything and everything that is vaguely magical and Cha based, while being decent in combat.

[Saihyol]

I remember Gandalf enchanting Legolas's arrows with some form of fire with the wolves.

That aside he refuses the ring when Frodo offers it because it would give the ring access to his power. I assume this was something more than light spells, encouragement magic and (possibly) fireballs.

Also he mentions on the bridge at Kazadoom:

"A servant of the Secret Fire...wielder of the Flame of Anor"

presumably some hints of his power...

I tend to agree with Kurald Galain's earlier comment about 'unstated'. In any case I don't think you see enough to make any kind of call on what he was capable of.

[Draz74]

Lord of the Rings is an E6 campaign. Characters can't be higher-level than 6. That's why Trolls can still be scary to the world's mightiest heroes. Characters past Level 6 are "epic" and keep gaining new feats, including some feats designed specifically for this system to help them emulate things that aren't available by Level 6. Thus, characters keep getting more powerful over time, but not at the rate we expect in non-E6 D&D.

Thus, Gandalf has tons of experience, and tons of feats, but can still fight in the same fights as Level 3 heroes without making his comrades completely obsolete (as opposed to what a high-level character would do).

Gandalf's race, mechanically, is merely an Aasimar. Sure, he's a demigod-like being from the eternal realm ... but on Middle-Earth he doesn't have access to most of his "Maiar" abilities, and therefore this is what we call a "backstory."

So ...
Gandalf: Old Aasimar Bard 6 with about a gazillion Epic Feats and a couple of minor artifacts (ring and staff).
If you attribute some of his powers to the ring and staff, that pretty much takes care of it -- except for his bond with Shadowfax. Maybe the Paladin's Mount is available as a feat in this E6 campaign, to epic Lawful Good Aasimars with high charisma?

Aragorn: Human Ranger 6 with a lot of epic feats (but not nearly so many as Gandalf).

Legolas: Wood Elf Ranger 3/Fighter 3. Probably Level 4 or 5 when he enters the story, but by the end he's Level 6 and has a few Epic Feats.

Gimli: Dwarf Fighter, same level as Legolas. Possibly with a level in Marshal somewhere; his banter with Legolas seems like a marshal's Aura, and he definitely has Skill Focus (diplomacy), though arguably he still doesn't have very many ranks in Diplomacy.

Merry: Tallfellow Halfling Aristocrat/Fighter. Probably Level 5 or so by the end of the trilogy. Fighter feats probably along the Mounted Combat tree, thanks to his affiliation with Rohan. Good WIS and CHA.

Pippin: Halfling Aristocrat/Fighter, same level as Merry. Fighter feats more in line with Gondor styles. Much poorer WIS than Merry, but possibly better INT.

Frodo: Halfling Aristocrat/Rogue, with high WIS and Iron Will. About the same level as the other hobbits. Carries major artifact (obviously).

Sam: Halfling Commoner/Fighter (?), with high WIS and Iron Will and a good Sense Motive skill. About the same level as the other hobbits.

Houserule: NPC classes don't cause multiclassing penalties.

Boromir, Eomer: Fighters, about the same level as Legolas/Gimli.
Faramir: About the same as Legolas, but Human, and he rolled higher stats than Legolas overall (except for Legolas' insane DEX).
Eowyn: Fighter, maybe about a level higher than the hobbits.
Theoden: Fighter; starts off the story at Level 6 and maybe with some epic feats, but also Old, which hurts his melee abilities.

Edit: The Silmarillion is not an E6 campaign. Fingolfin is a great example of how superhuman D&D heroes should seem at high levels.

[Tsotha-lanti]

Gandalf's levels would be out there. He was only killed by - and in turn killed - a Maiar of fire and darkness, equal in power to great dragons. The fact that he didn't use "powerful" magic is explained very simply: in Middle-Earth, magic is not free, like it is in D&D. Even the Valar didn't use their powers willy-nilly; they only ever came out directly to confront Morgoth, who was one of their own. Galadriel and Elrond similarly won't use their powers and their rings overtly, but instead use them subtly - improving healing abilities, affecting the mood and nature of their home, concealing them from scrying, and so on. Gandalf is too wise to use his full power, unlike Saruman, who ended up corrupted.

Rolemaster / MERP puts Gandalf pretty aptly at level 80 or so (depending on whether he's Grey or White). Valar are level 350 to 500 (nothing being over 500, and the only things at 500 being Manwe, Melkor, and Ungoliant at her greatest), Maiar are anything from 50 to 300 or so, elven heroes topped out around 150, and humans rarely exceed 20, and the greatest humans are 40. (I've never seen a PC go over 15 in campaigns that lasted years, myself.)

Since in RM/MERP your power increases slower and slower as you gain levels (the difference between 1 and 10 is huge, but the difference between 80 and 90 is pretty much smaller than between 8 and 9), this works out nicely.

[brian c]

Lord of the Rings is an E6 campaign

I'd never thought of this before, but it's actually a pretty awesome idea, and makes more sense than the whole "X character killed Y monster" and "X character used Z ability/spell" method of determining levels. I still think Gandalf would have more firepower than a Bard; maybe Sorcerer.


Also, @Lupy: I don't think you really have to spoiler anything in LotR. At this point in time, if anyone who is the type of person to read this forum hasn't read the books or seen the movies, then they must have some strong reason for not doing so (and then they wouldn't be reading this thread)

[GoC]

One thing people forget is Gandalf casted fireball to repel a bunch of wolves on the first book, before the fellowship entered that mountain with the storm. The classic fireball that lasted for all D&D editions. Making him at least lv5 wizard or lv6 sorceror.

It wasn't a fireball, it was that very catchy and hard to put out fire also used in The Hobbit.
Also aren't the hobbits all level 1 commoners? Their main "thing" is that they're perfectly ordinary members of their species.

[Lord_Kimboat]

Despite some of my criticisms in other posts, I am actually a fan of LotR. However, you might have to clarify a few things. First, are you trying to stat the characters from the films or the book? Are you trying for what the author intended or just what is observed?

One of the few things I dislike about LotR (the book as author intended) is how noble and righteous everyone and thing is. People respect Aragorn because he is the heir without having a reason of knowing that he is the heir or because he does anything noteworthy. Sam's respect for Frodo is almost fawning and is definitely part of some class structure as Sam is clearly tougher and usually has better judgement than Frodo.

Gandalf says he is a wizard but rarely (if ever) casts spells. The book also explains he is of some near godly race and everyone seems to accept this. However, being a little more cynical, we can see that Gandalf benefits from his reputation as a wizard and his actions fit most closely with those of a bard. He produces fireworks and illusions, he obviously has a great deal of charisma as he commands respect almost everywhere he goes and isn't afraid to bluff people either. He is even chalked up on knowledge skills.

Also, if you take only what is witnessed by others, it explains far better his fall in Moria and reappearance. He didn't fight the Balrog in an epic battle that "smote the mountainside" where he was then raised from the dead so that he could help a little more. No! He fell, but grabbed something below the bridge and managed to get to safety - or even cast a low level spell to stop him from falling to his death. He then escapes Moria but when confronted weaves a great story about what a powerful wizard he is.

Don't even get me started on why he has one of the rings for Elven Kings, when he is clearly neither.

[Frosty]

Dude, I can totally see Gandalf as a Beguiler now.

[Draz74]

I still think Gandalf would have more firepower than a Bard; maybe Sorcerer.

In my hypothetical stats for Gandalf, I chock up the blasting capabilities to "his staff." Because, IMHO, the D&D writers originally based the Staff of Power and Staff of the Magi on Gandalf's staff. (E.g. retributive strike, like he used to blow up the bridge in Moria.)

One of the few things I dislike about LotR (the book as author intended) is how noble and righteous everyone and thing is. People respect Aragorn because he is the heir without having a reason of knowing that he is the heir or because he does anything noteworthy. Sam's respect for Frodo is almost fawning and is definitely part of some class structure as Sam is clearly tougher and usually has better judgement than Frodo.

Well, some of this is symbolic and needs to be in there for the symbolism's sake.

I agree Aragorn actually became a lot more interesting in the movies, where he had some character struggles and weaknesses instead of being as "perfect" as in the books. (In the books, he's already fully come to terms with his destiny and responsibility of assuming the throne.)

Sam ... even if he is tougher and has better judgement than Frodo (which is very possible, but hard to say for sure, because we don't get much evidence of what Frodo would be like without the Ring dragging him down), that wouldn't change the way he looks at Frodo. His respect is partly due to class system, but it's a lot more due to:
- Sam's overall goodness and ability to see the good in everyone
- A long-developed, positive master/paid servant relationship
- Evidence that Sam has seen over the years about Frodo being a person with really good desires and respectable qualities
- Frodo being more quick-witted or at least better educated than him (Frodo is one of the most educated hobbits in the Shire)
- His respect for the way Frodo is bearing the Ring and (mostly) not giving into it

Also, if you take only what is witnessed by others, it explains far better his fall in Moria and reappearance. He didn't fight the Balrog in an epic battle that "smote the mountainside" where he was then raised from the dead so that he could help a little more. No! He fell, but grabbed something below the bridge and managed to get to safety - or even cast a low level spell to stop him from falling to his death. He then escapes Moria but when confronted weaves a great story about what a powerful wizard he is.

That's quite the Epiplectic Tree theory. I can't say I agree with it.

Don't even get me started on why he has one of the rings for Elven Kings, when he is clearly neither.

Cirdan gave it to him. It would be nice to have more detail about how that interaction happened, but it's not such a mystery fundamentally. I always figured Cirdan was just like, "Hmmm. I sit here decade after decade in the Grey Havens, not really doing much but building ships. I suppose someone else could do more with this ring than I'm using it for."

[Oslecamo]

It wasn't a fireball, it was that very catchy and hard to put out fire also used in The Hobbit.
Also aren't the hobbits all level 1 commoners? Their main "thing" is that they're perfectly ordinary members of their species.

Except that in that particular situation he made the fire explode in a spherical patern above their heads, whereas in the Hobbit he lighted up branches and threw them against the wolves. It was a fireball because he didn't any material suport to spread the fire that second time.

And Frodo standed out from the rest of the Hobbits from the beggining, being classified as a freack by most of the rest of the population. Merry and Pippin were pretty mishieveous before the adventure started, stealing food from everybody and anybody. Sam was a "simple" gardener who liked to sneack overnight to overhear his master's conversations with the mysterious wizard.

[Gorbash]

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I'm statting for just after the ring was destroyed.

I'm doing abilities in this order:

Boromir-

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(Deceased) 9th level fighter
13, 16, 16, 10, 9, 10

First of all, this is totally unnecessary. Everybody who visits this board has read the book two times or more, or at least seen the movies. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been here.

Second of all... I'd say Gandalf is a Factotum...

[xPANCAKEx]

so how do you lot equate gandalf's fire works then? illusion spell with a exploding powder for a spell trigger?

[Lord_Kimboat]

Cirdan gave it to him. It would be nice to have more detail about how that interaction happened, but it's not such a mystery fundamentally. I always figured Cirdan was just like, "Hmmm. I sit here decade after decade in the Grey Havens, not really doing much but building ships. I suppose someone else could do more with this ring than I'm using it for."

Sorry folks, Draz started it! I told people not to even go there but then he brings it up anyway!

Okay, so my suspicious mind has Gandalf as the not quite so noble Bard who somewhat fraudulently claims to be a wizard so people respect him more. I mean come on, people in these forums will tell you that wizards, especially high level wizards with some cheesy race with LA, will pwn just about anything. While Bards can be beaten by three goblins, a stiff breeze and Fifi the Wonder Dog. I'd lie about it as well.

So, how does Gandalf get the ring? He goes down to the docks (yeah, nothing dishonest ever happens there) and a shipbuilder (or maybe even a stevedore, remember, Gandalf embellishes these things) says, "uh yeah, an Elf headed for the Haven's just gave me this ring. *looks around shiftily* He said he wouldn't need it any more and I could just keep it. But I don't really need it so you, a fine adventuring type should have it."

In short, a successful slight of hand roll and the ring now has a new owner. Enterprising Elven rogue, known to the local authorities as Ciridan, then unloads his magical merchandise for several thousand gold pieces to the first adventurer he can find before the previous owner notices its missing. This is probably one of the reasons why Gandalf doesn't show it off or even use it that much around Elves.

Now we all know the poem. Three rings for Elven Kings. Does it not strike anyone else as odd that none of these rings are actually owned by an Elven king?

Galadriel has the best claim. She is the ruler of a small, but perfectly functional kingdom. However, female kings are usually referred to as Queens.

Elrond has a ring but Rivendell is quite clearly a 'house' not a kingdom. Also, he is not exactly 100% Elven either.

Gandalf is clearly not an Elf (the lack of pointy ears is a giveaway) and seems lucky to own his own clothes much less a kingdom!

There is though, one Elven king around, Thirandiril - Logolas' father. Now I know the Tolkien fans will start jumping up and down at this point complaining about High Elves and nobility, etc, etc. However, we know that Thirandiril isn't exactly adverse to breaking the law. He did abduct and hold prisoner a party of Dwarves and a Halfling just for straying into his kingdom. Also, Legolas strikes me as an Elf of action rather than a stickler for niceties or fine points of heritage.

Thus I have a theory. Thirandiril certainly knows the poem and it doesn't say 'three rings for HIGH Elven kings', but just 'Elven kings'. He is an Elven king and thus wants this magical piece of bling for himself. He sends his boy to the nearest Elven ring that he knows about, Elrond with the message, "hand it over."

When Legolas gets there though, he discovers (or maybe Elrond points out) that Gandalf has a ring and is neither Elf nor king and that would be a much nicer present for daddy. Thus Legolas joins the party with a hidden agenda. Gandalf may have discovered this and thus fakes his own death to cover for it. When he is caught, he spins the story of dying and coming back naked (without the ring).

Granted, this is all from my very cynical mind and I find it much easier to attribute motives of self interest to people rather than ones of nobility. This may seem sad but if you don't believe me, try watching the news some time. Our politicians, our business people and even our holy men and women almost always have motivations of self interest. They will quite often resort to lies and deception as a first resort. Maybe Tolkein didn't see that or didn't want it in his world but it is what people are like and I have a hard time suspending my disbelief if people don't act that way.

[Ossian]

Nice inputs!

Well, the hobbits are a bit special, but it's more of a narrayive quality to them, than classes and levels. Still, Id' say Frodo and Sam are character that stand out and develop through the series.

Strictly ruleswise, all characters should not gain but a single level throughout the whole trilogy. Thus, Aragorn gets the crown and the chick, level up.

Merry and Pippin get high on Ent Booze, slay a BBEG each (well, almost no comparison between the 2, but they just get INTO the next level, no one knows how far). Level up.

Frodo: owns Sauron (level up)

Sam: owns "The Ring" (many times). Level up.

Legolas and Gimli, not so much. They don't do much in the way of 'new experience', except thay do their lifetime job on a much bigger scale. 2 major battles and 2 big skirmishes. Level up.

Gandalf: hmmm.....well, he gets the "campaign completion" bonus, the "destiny fulfillment" bonus, the travel XP, research XP, own a BALROG singlehandedly. Gets into 1 big battle. Fends off the 9 at weathertop, owns the 9 nazguls repeatedly during the siege and tells off the Witch King. Gets a promotion to "Histarion Ered" chief overthrowing his former boss and breaks a powerful enchantment. Dies and is reborn with a new body and a new mandate. Ok, level up.

As far as numbers go:

Frodo:
Starts as level 3 expert and ends as Expert 3/Rogue 1, or possibly (changing some fluff), as EXP 3/Paladin 1. Just remove the heavy armor proficiency (but they do have to get used a to a lot of armor weight when disguised as orcs), and the martial weapon proficiency. Bard wouldn't work because of the magic side (absent in Frodo). Iron will agreed, and high Charisma and Wisdom. Also, good Constitution, as he is put to the test for many months.
When he comes back he is FRODO OF THE 9 FINGERS, he saves the world. He went a long way and came back a better person. He is "ideals" incarnate. Paladin for the win. As a ring bearer, he will forever be marked, more attuned to the supernatural, possibly even able to see what is evil in things and people, and smite it.


Sam
Starts as an Expert 2/Rogue1 (younger than Frodo by many years). He is definitely coming back as EXP.2/ROG. 2
Iron will. High wis. Not so high charisma. Sturdy and well built.

Merry and Pippin
Start as low level rogues/experts (EXP1/ROG1). When they come ack, they might have gained a level or 2 in Warrior. High charisma. Good constitution. Pippin? Belkar-level wisdom.

Aragorn
Paradigm of rangerhood, brave, toughest fighter of his age or close to the toughest. Wise and noble. Trained since childhood to stalk and kill and capture minions of the dark and to know nature and history. SPeaks languages and has seen many countries.
Start as a Ranger and stay Ranger until level 8 (swift tracker). Mix it up with levels of Fighter (2). and horizon walker.
He sets from Rivendell as RGR 8/FTR 2/HOW5 (all terrains mastery). Levels up with soje fancy PrC level 1.
High Wisdom, very High charisma. Excellent constitution.
Something like DEX 16 . STR 16. CON. 20 (high, tall, resilient numenorean descendant from Elendil and practically pure blood). INT 14. WIS 17. CHA. 20
Give him a +1 level adj. for his race (with a +4 CON modifier when rolling stats) and the Lay on Hands for free.

Boromir
Pure core fighter. Go with aristocrat 2 (formal aducation and some necessary skill points to build up an institutional leader) and throw in 6 or 7 fighter levels
Very high CON (survives a shower of arrows, for a little while) and good CHA. Low WIS.

Legolas:
Scout from "Complete Adventurer" would be great. Skill monkey (to make up for the huge age difference and the many fields of expertise an elf has to have), quick, nimble, lots of movement bonus. Add some levels of Ranger (they are the fighters of the wilderness) with archery. I guess a Scout 9/Ranger 2 is ok, with archery feats. Flawless stride and camouflage are perfect for him. Also is skirmish (like a moving sneak attack). By the end, with all the battles he goes through, grant him a level in FTR.

Scount 9/Ranger 2/Fighter 1

Gimli
A bit like Boromir, maybe a bit higher. Fighter 8 and maybe expert 1 (he is a skilled miner and a person of renown in his community, and is not really that youngish). Finish with a level in FTR.
FTR 9/EXP1

Gandalf:
Native Outsider is very cool for him. Class levels to be divided between Druid and Bard. He is, more or less, a merlin of some sort. Merlin was considered to be both or one or the other. No effects of aging on STR, DEX and CON.

Druid 4/Bard 12/Eldritch Knight 10/Add whatever you like such as mystic theurge (arcane and divine boost) or loremaster.

Change songs to spells (that's a bit what they are in Middle Earth and a bard druid is all right (esp. the Song of Freedom to break all enchantements). MT boosts caster levels, and so does EK.

Saruman
Total wizard (or sorcerer) specialized in Illusion or Enchantment, turning into Loremaster and Archmage at some stage. Wise and knowledgeable, skilled in many crafts, dexterous, charming. WIZ 13 / LOM 10 / ARM 5 and so on.

Ossian

[Worira]

Gandalf also casts Hold Portal in the mines of Moria.

[Sleet]

My favorite Gandalf build is half-celestial human (yes I know he's not human, but it works) paladin 10/sorcerer 3, with some hack to let him cast lighting bolt - maybe the staff.

[GoC]

Saruman
Total wizard (or sorcerer) specialized in Illusion or Enchantment, turning into Loremaster and Archmage at some stage. Wise and knowledgeable, skilled in many crafts, dexterous, charming. WIZ 13 / LOM 10 / ARM 5 and so on.

And when exactly did Saruman start throwing around 9th level spells?
In fact to the best of my knowledge in the book he never used a single bit of magic.

That's quite the Epiplectic Tree theory. I can't say I agree with it.

Actually it would be very plausible if it didn't throw into doubt Gandalf's character. As he's a good Maia it's very unlikely that he'd lie like that.

Except that in that particular situation he made the fire explode in a spherical patern above their heads, whereas in the Hobbit he lighted up branches and threw them against the wolves. It was a fireball because he didn't any material suport to spread the fire that second time.

You might want to re-read the book.

In the wavering firelight Gandalf seemed suddenly to grow; he rose up, a great menacing shape like the monument of some ancient king of stone set upon a hill. Stooping like a cloud, he lifted a burning branch and strode to meet the wolves. They gave back before him. High in the air he tossed the blazing brand. It flared with a sudden white radiance like lightning; and his voice rolled like thunder.
“Naur an edraith ammen! Naur dan i ngaurhoth!” he cried.
There was a roar and a crackle, and the tree above him burst into a leaf and bloom of blinding flame. The fire leapt from tree top to tree top. The whole hill was crowned with dazzling light. The swords and knives of the defenders shone and flickered. The last arrow of Legolas kindled in the air as it flew, and plunged burning into the heart of a great wolf chieftain. All the others fled.

EDIT: I'd put Gandalf as a 9hd outsider that casts spells as a 1st level wizard but with caster level 9. Also his magic artifacts are pretty neat but not beyond the WBL of a 9th level character.