the lay of leithian makes a lot more sense if you imagine it as a dungeons and dragons-style tabletop rpg game between a group of dangerously eager players and an increasingly frazzled DM
“something about the orcs’ demeanor seems…suspicious”
“okay. sauron, roll for a perception check.”
“dude, come on, his nickname is literally ‘The Great Eye’, that’s not fair -”
“finrod, beren, roll for charisma”
*groans amid rattling of dice*
“the werewolf licks his jaws, which are dripping with gore and saliva. he tenses, as if to spring -”
“I FIGHT THE WEREWOLF”
“finrod, you’re chained up. you don’t have any weapons.”
“I FIGHT THE WEREWOLF WITH MY BARE HANDS”
*sigh* “roll for constitution”
“i use my musical abilities to seduce the dark lord!”
“luthien, you can’t just seduce the dark - nat twenty???
…alright, i guess you can seduce the dark lord.”
[some time later]
“luthien, i know it worked before, but this is the god of death, singing him to sleep just isn’t going to work this - nat twenty again, are you fucking serious -”
| Via: manywinged |
