Midweek Rumble: Lord of the Rings VS Game of Thrones

TheWizard

Exiles is a fantasy game, so we had to kick off this series with a fight between two venerated fantasy franchises. As you consider everything from the characters to the lore to the setting, ask yourself:

Who would win in a knockdown drag out fight? J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings OR George R. R. Martin's Game of Thrones (i.e., A Song of Ice and Fire)

(here's the poll on Twitter)

Drakythe

Lord of the Rings

LotR hands down. Dragons are the classical western mammoths of death, destruction, and treasure in LotR, Elves are mysterious beings of eternal life who work magic of incredible power, and literal demi-god's become flesh in quests to right the wrongs rendered by their evil counterparts.

Nezuja

Lord of the Rings

I voted LotR first... but I would change my answer to Thrones because of the white walkers. This is how I see the battle going down... It would start and LotR would decimate since they have superior magic, beasts, and armies. Thrones would see the majority of their populace decimated... BUT that would only make them stronger BECAUSE of the the White Walkers. These guys would just start resurrecting the fallen, adding them to their numbers. Since they can only be defeated by dragon glass (which no one in LotR would know about since only 3-4 people in Thrones even know it)  the White Walker army would just start taking down LotR soldiers/mages/beasts by shear numbers alone. Every living being that would be killed would join there side and add to their numbers with no way to stop them.

The key here is the assumption that only Dragon Glass can kill White Walkers and there is no other way to stop them. They would just spread like a plague and win by shear undead unstoppable numbers. 

Hollow

Lord of the Rings

This one is a tough decision for me, but I would have to go with LotR. While I enjoy the world of GoT and the houses, I like LotR more for the variety of Middle Earth. The story of GoT is a more realistic drama in a fantasy setting. However, there are a lot of story elements that I wish were different. I like both equally , but if I had to choose in a poll (for an mmo) I would go with LotR. 

Drakythe

Lord of the Rings

Nezuja said:

The key here is the assumption that only Dragon Glass can kill White Walkers and there is no other way to stop them. They would just spread like a plague and win by shear undead unstoppable numbers. 

I'll grant you that if nothing in the LotR universe can kill a white walker, it makes it pretty hard to win a knockdown drag out brawl.

However: Working with the internet and my limited knowledge (I don't have the headspace for another fantasy epic at the moment, so I've not read GoT) Dragonglass is just obsidian, which exists in Middle Earth (since volcanoes exist). I'm pretty sure someone would have obsidian arrow heads, leading to several white walker deaths.

Additionally, Valyrian Steel is supposedly another of their weaknesses, which is a sort of magically forged steel created in Westeros. I'm just guessing, but I'd be willing to wager that elf-made blades would at the very least injure a white walker due to the magically nature of the blades.

As for the Wights (Reanimated dead caused by White Walkers) yeah... they'd be a problem, but dragon fire isn't exactly unheard of in Middle Earth.

I admit the White Walkers would make it a lot more interesting, but allowing for some hedging I still think LotR would win in an all out war.

Hollow

Lord of the Rings

Drakythe said:

Nezuja said:

The key here is the assumption that only Dragon Glass can kill White Walkers and there is no other way to stop them. They would just spread like a plague and win by shear undead unstoppable numbers. 

I'll grant you that if nothing in the LotR universe can kill a white walker, it makes it pretty hard to win a knockdown drag out brawl.

However: Working with the internet and my limited knowledge (I don't have the headspace for another fantasy epic at the moment, so I've not read GoT) Dragonglass is just obsidian, which exists in Middle Earth (since volcanoes exist). I'm pretty sure someone would have obsidian arrow heads, leading to several white walker deaths.

Additionally, Valyrian Steel is supposedly another of their weaknesses, which is a sort of magically forged steel created in Westeros. I'm just guessing, but I'd be willing to wager that elf-made blades would at the very least injure a white walker due to the magically nature of the blades.

As for the Wights (Reanimated dead caused by White Walkers) yeah... they'd be a problem, but dragon fire isn't exactly unheard of in Middle Earth.

I admit the White Walkers would make it a lot more interesting, but allowing for some hedging I still think LotR would win in an all out war.

If I remember correctly, white walkers can be killed with fire too. The size of the armies in LotR would overpower any of the armies in GoT.

Drakythe

Lord of the Rings

Hollow said:

If I remember correctly, white walkers can be killed with fire too.

If true I would pay good money for someone to animate a White Walker on Balrog fight, like entire cohorts of White Walkers against several Balrogs.

TheMayor

Game of Thrones

Let's not pretend that the GoT crew wouldn't somehow just negotiate a "truce" then sneak over to the LoTR camp and murder everyone in their sleep.

Finjinimo

Game of Thrones

I voted GoT because they are far more treacherous, and aren't bound by the notion of 'good' and 'evil'. They just are, and will do whatever they have to to win.

GoT all play to win, because if they don't they die.

LotR characters meander about taking the scenic route, stopping to have tea with balrogs, dance around with elves and then they finally defeat their greatest villain by throwing some jewelry into a bonfire.

I just can't see LotR out-witting, out-playing and out-lasting the GoT characters.

Although, LotR does have a lot more convenient plot twists, so it's got that going for it...

You know, just as GoT are about to win, the eagles show up and eat everybody or whatever. The end. No wait, it's LotR so now you get another three hours of endings.

Enjoy!

Winsomniak

I haven't watched a single episode of Game of Thrones.

I'll show myself out.

Nezuja

Lord of the Rings

Winsomniak said:

I haven't watched a single episode of Game of Thrones.

I'll show myself out.

gasps... 

Psycho_Mycho

Lord of the Rings

I vote LotR on this one because pretty much everyone lives in LotR versus GoT where pretty much everyone dies. If Gandalf, Aragon, or Frodo (or really any of the characters who almost died) had actually been killed, then the brawl between these two worlds would be more like McGregor vs. Diaz and less like Usain Bolt vs. EVERYONE (yes I know these are two different sport comparisons, feel free to plug in any 13-second UFC knockout if you'd wish)!

TheWizard

Fair points-- last day for this one! Tomorrow, one of the ones you guys suggested becomes the new Rumble...