LOL! This is legit! Redditor TheGlen posted this detailed reasoning using Dungeons & Dragons rules as to why Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings was not actually a wizard. Gandalf is actually just a fighter with a high intelligence. Here’s why:
By: TheGlen
(via: Geek Girls)
Bravo, you have pointed out many things that now seem apparent. Up until you said something I just thought he was pretty handy with a sword, for a mage. But yea he just dives right after the Balrog and hammers him in a falling fight. How epic he even lived. But he still may be a planes walking demi-god type.
That was a fun read. Thanks.
But you forgot when he tells them to use the Fly Spell…
I have spent years pushing the “Gandalf is a Bard” narrative.
1. Few flashy spells
2. Figured out the One Ring with song lyrics
3. His specialty is getting That Guy for the group
4. Uses a sword
5. Defeats trolls with ventriloquism
6. Has a thing with Galadriel…
There was an article in “Dragon” magazine, back in the fall of 1976, that argued that Gandalf was a 5th level magic user, making most of the same points, at least for the game as it stood in those days. (This was back when there was only one edition, and it came in a 6×9 box.)
So were just ignoring the fact that the Istari were deliberately and specifically forbidden from using their full power by the Valar because it would interfere with the natural order of things and Saruman doing that exact thing was part of why he turned evil? Not to mention that Gandalf died in that fight with the Balrog and was sent back with his Maia spirit in a whole ass new body.
Sure. When you only cherry pick your facts you can twist them to fit any narrative you want.
Nah, mon, you’ve almost got it, but you missed the mark. Sure, Gandalf isn’t a wizard, because he never casts spells. But he’s not just a fighter with a couple of tricks either. Gandalf’s trademark as a combatant isn’t weapons skill, it’s inspiration. He lifts the spirits of warriors and kings, dispells enthrallment, waves away the miasma of evil magic, and literally banishes darkness.
Tolkein calls that kind of thing magic, but it’s very one-sided magic, isn’t it? Like, the One Ring is evil but it can be used somewhat neutrally, to simply turn invisible. Gandalf never uses his powers in a merely neutral way. He disguises that fact by being a fireworks master, but the actual magic comes out only in service of the mission against Sauron.
Tolkein explains all this by giving a very narrow, strange definition of “wizard”: a Maia (angel) on a covert mission. But in D&D character class terms, what I’m describing is a Cleric. Gandalf is ALL about fighting an evil god. His powers only work in that cause. The common folk even call him a “Pilgrim”–i.e., god-touched.