Gandalf in BG!

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When my boys were playing BG recently they had escaped from Candlekeep with Imoen and met with Xzar and Montaron and were heading towards the Friendly Arm Inn and guess what?

My seven year old excitedly announced that the 'old man' with the red hat was Gandalf!

I had to share that one. So many people have mentioned to me the Elminster is a copy of Gandalf and now my son has just proved it!

 

"Ho there, young one! Stay thy course a while, and indulge an old stereotype."

 

Yes, Elminster's based on Gandalf, who's based on Odin.

 

@Midwinter... Odin ? You got things a little mixed up there

 

odin is a viking god as far as i know and yes it is true!the powers which odin represented in the viking mythology are similar to the ones that gandalf has...i did an Extended Essay on that (boring IB thing)

 

Gandalf was a great wizard but he was far from god-like!

I have to admit that Elminister does look like Gandalf.

Odin is the Germanic god also known as 'Wotan'

 

As San Ti said Odin was a Viking God. The boss of the Gods. He was also a Germanic God as Cesard said.

Gandalf doesn't remind me of Odin.

 

Actually, in Middle Earth the wizards were a subclass of Maia which were basically a class of Angels.

In terms of whom Gandalf was based upon, Tolkien always claimed that the character was originally based upon a picture on a postcard that he bought in Switzerland featuring "Der Berggeist" by Josef Madlener. basically the painting was of a mountain spirit.

He then borrowed liberally from the literary sources that he was an expert on, with the Edda certainly being one of the more influential ones, to flesh out the character.

 

Gandalf was one of the Istari (along with Saruman, Radagast and two others). The Istari were part of the Maia who were 2nd tier spirits from Valinor (angels or demi-gods, depending on your point of view). So, in some ways he is a different sort of being from Elminster, but in other ways does indeed look very similar (not surprising given that they both have a pretty stereotypical 'wizardly' look about them).

 

Are the other two wizards a close kept secret? It's almost impossible to find their names or colours.

And damn Elminster!

 

The other two wizards were Blue and Green. They ended up going South and East so didn't figure in the main story told in The Lord of the Rings. But I guess they didn't really do their jobs properly given the Easterlings and the Haradrim ending up siding with Sauron.

 

Actually, there were two blue wizards in the East, and that was it( No green wizard). I haven't read the books in a while, but I'm fairly certain that's what it is.

They went east and were never heard from again.

 

Yeah I am pretty sure the other two went to the East and were both Blue but I can't recall their names - I think they are mentioned in Unfinished Tales.

 

I read somewhere that the two blue wizards were called Alatan and Palandor (or something similar) but I can't remember where I read that. Clearly, they were losers. Gandalf's real name back in Valinor was something like Olorin.

 

The blue wizards were Alatar and Pallando, and they're mentioned in the Silmarillion.

 

@ Midwinter - Sorry about that. It was I, who got things mixed up... Gandalf is truly inspired by Odin, (the Alfader of the Nordic Mythology)
Gandalf and Odin

Gandalf was original Olórin, a Maia, servant of the highest of the Valar.

 

Here is a site that includes a copy of Der Berggeist

 

Well...i suppose that Ed Greenwood doesn't have the fault that Tolkien created the stereotype of wizards with Gandalf... The pointy hat, long white beard, mono-colored robes, even the pipe...

 

It was funny that my boys knew who Gandalf was and didn't bother to read the name Elminster on the screen and simply shouted,"O look! it's Gandalf". Eventhough I've told them it's not Gandalf they still refer to him as Gandalf. Must be all the advertising. Elminster needs a better agent...

 

JSBB and Lynadin,

you guys are The Go To Scribes!

JSBB, looks like the BG developers took Elminster direct from that card. Your research is very, very good.

Thank you for sharring.