So, I got this idea the other day, just kicking back, thinking about stuff. You know how people do fantasy football drafts? Well, my brain went, why not do that for something actually interesting, like Lord of the Rings? Seemed like a fun way to kill an afternoon.
Getting Started
First thing, I had to figure out what exactly we’d be drafting. Characters, obviously. That felt like the most straightforward way to go. So, I started listing them out. Big names first, like Gandalf, Aragorn, Frodo, Sauron (yeah, gotta have the villains). Then I kept going – Legolas, Gimli, Boromir, Samwise, the other hobbits, Elrond, Galadriel, Saruman, Wormtongue, even guys like Théoden and Éowyn. I tried to get a decent pool, maybe 30 or 40 names? Didn’t want it too small, but also didn’t want to be drafting nameless Orc number three.
I just scribbled these down on a piece of paper. Real low-tech stuff. No fancy spreadsheets, though maybe next time I will, just to keep track easier. Found an old hat. Wrote each name on a little scrap of paper, tore ’em up, folded ’em, and chucked ’em in the hat. Felt kinda silly, but hey, it worked.
Then, the rules. We needed some structure, right? Or else it’s just chaos. I decided on a simple snake draft order, just like in fantasy sports. If you pick first in round one, you pick last in round two, then first again in round three, and so on. Keeps it fair, or fair-ish. How many rounds? Decided on maybe 10 rounds? Seemed like enough to build a decent “fellowship” or “evil council” or whatever you wanted to call your team.
The Draft Itself
Okay, so I actually did this solo first, just to test it out. Pretended there were four drafters, including me. Pulled names out of another hat to set the draft order. I got the third pick. Not bad.
Here’s kinda how the first round went down in my head (and on my notepad):
- Pick 1 (Team A): Gandalf. No surprise there. Probably the consensus number one pick. Power, wisdom, comes back from the dead. Solid.
- Pick 2 (Team B): Aragorn. Again, pretty obvious. King material, great fighter.
- Pick 3 (Me): This was tougher. Sauron was tempting, pure power. But I went with Galadriel. Maybe controversial? But she’s got immense power, foresight, and that whole Nenya ring thing. Felt like a strong anchor.
- Pick 4 (Team D): Sauron. Can’t let the Dark Lord fall too far.
The snake order kicked in for round two. Team D picked Legolas (good value), I grabbed Samwise Gamgee – maybe a reach in round two for some, but loyalty and hobbit toughness? Underrated. Plus, he actually gets the job done. Team B took Frodo (the ringbearer pair, makes sense). Team A rounded it out with Gimli.
I kept going like this for 10 rounds. It got interesting later on. Do you take Théoden for leadership? Éowyn for that Witch-king slaying potential? What about the villains? Saruman, the Witch-king himself, even Shelob? Making those choices, thinking about who complements who, that was the fun part. I ended up with a weird mix: Galadriel, Samwise, Boromir (risky, I know, but adds drama!), Treebeard (imagine him in a fight!), Faramir, maybe a couple of others I forget now.
It was surprisingly engaging, even doing it by myself just jotting down notes. Made me really think about the characters in a different way – not just their story role, but their “value” in a hypothetical team build. Who brings what to the table? It’s kinda like building a project team at work, strangely enough. You need different skills, different personalities. Didn’t expect thinking about hobbits and elves would remind me of Monday morning meetings, but there you go.
Anyway, that was my little experiment. Definitely gonna try it with some friends next time, maybe with some snacks. Should lead to some pretty intense debates, I reckon. Give it a try if you’re a fan, it’s a good laugh.
