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Tolkienmoot is an annual convention run by the Eä Tolkien Society (official smial of the UK Tolkien Society) created for scholars, gamers, and enthusiasts of the works of J. R. R. Tolkien. It began under the name of Merpcon (for "Middle-earth Role Playing Conference") in 2005. Always a convention focused on Tolkien scholarly discussion and gaming in Middle-earth, its name was changed in 2009 as the venue expanded. The convention was founded by Hawke Robinson and others.

Tolkienmoot includes scholarly discussions and guest speakers, but also provides an emphasis on role-playing games. It is typically held annually on the third weekend of July in Spokane, Washington, typically for 1 to 5 days. The convention is open and free to the public. In 2022 it moved to a dedicated regular location at the non-profit RPG Research community center.

Event details

The event is focused on J. R. R. Tolkien and his works, with a special emphasis on gaming, especially tabletop paper and dice Role playing games, using any role playing game system adapted or created for play in Middle-earth, as well as video games, wargames, and boardgames. Participation is both in-person and remote. Each event has guest speakers such as Tolkien scholars and published authors. These have included the author John Garth and the Tolkien scholar John D. Rateliff. Each event has a different theme, such as "Elves", "Hobbits", "Dunedain", or "Trees". Events explore new and old game systems such as Iron Crown Enterprises' Middle-Earth Role Playing; a Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 variant known as Ea RPG d20; Harnmaster adapted for use in Middle-earth; Adventures in Middle-earth by Cubicle 7; The One Ring Role-Playing Game 2nd Edition by Free League Publishing; and others. Tolkienmoots feature new Other Minds Magazine issues and have discussed papers such as "Tolkien's Love of Trees and the Environment".

Different approaches to the guest speaker segments have been used. The opening speaking session is typically presented by the convention founder, with a "state of the union" discussion about the current state of Tolkien scholarship, fandom, role-playing gaming community, project updates. Other sessions have sometimes been in a format called "Raw Hobbit", hosted by Tolkien essayist and author Michael Martinez as an homage to William Shatner's Raw Nerve talk show. Other sessions have included the interactive "Tolkien Youth Panel", while still other sessions generally include notable guest speakers (see list) with local and online audience participation in follow-up Q&A. The final sessions often overlap with episodes of Middle-earth Talk Radio as a live broadcast from the third day of the event with live audience participation both locally and online.

The founders of Tolkienmoot are also the founders of Other Minds Magazine and an official smial of the UK Tolkien Society, the Eä Tolkien Society based in Spokane, Washington, U.S.

References

1. TolkienMoot XVII
2. Profile page and papers for Hawke Robinson
3. TolkienMoot XVIII Schedule Adjustment, Special Guest Speaker Announcement: Signum University Teacher Brenton Dickieson, New Dedicated Location
4. Hobbit enthusiasts converge on Spokane August 13–15 for Tolkien Moot
5. The Tolkienist mentions Tolkien Moot X
6. Tolkienmoot Guest Speakers Biographies Page
7. The Ea Role-Playing Game System
8. This paper originally presented at Tolkien Moot and revised for U.K. Tolkien Society Seminar 2011
9. RPG Research
10. The Middle-earth Radio Talk Show Website Archived August 22, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
11. The Eä Tolkien Society Smial Website

External links

• Official website

v t e The Lord of the Rings
J. R. R. Tolkien Constructing The Lord of the Rings
About	Volumes The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King Stories "The Shadow of the Past" "The Council of Elrond" "The Scouring of the Shire" "The Tale of Aragorn and Arwen" Translating List of translations Swedish Reception Impact Literary Fandom Fan fiction Oxonmoot Tolkienmoot Works inspired Tolkien's impact on fantasy
Analysis	Elements Artwork Company of the Ring Family trees Heraldry Languages Black Speech Elvish Quenya Sindarin Khuzdul Maps Poetry A Elbereth Gilthoniel Namárië Song of Eärendil The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late The Road Goes Ever On A Walking Song Proverbs Themes Addiction to power Ancestry as guide to character Architecture Christianity Death and immortality Decline and fall Dreams and visions Economy England Environmentalism Evil Forests Hell Heroism Luck and fate Magic Mental illness Moral dilemma Music Naming of weapons Northern courage Paganism Plants Psychological journeys Quests Race Sexuality Sound and language Time Trees Women Influences Antiquarianism Beowulf Celtic Classical world First World War Norse Medieval Modern sources Modernism A mythology for England Philology Shakespeare Techniques Anachronism Character pairing Editorial framing Frame stories Pseudotranslation Impression of depth Narrative structure Interlacing Storytelling Prose style Ambiguity Epic Pooh
Peoples	Maiar Balrogs Sauron Wizards Gandalf Radagast Saruman Free peoples Dwarves Balin Gimli Elves Galadriel Glorfindel Half-elven Arwen Elrond Legolas Thranduil Ents Treebeard Hobbits Bilbo Frodo Merry Pippin Sam Men Beornings Drúedain Dúnedain Aragorn of Gondor Boromir Denethor Faramir of Rohan Éomer Éowyn Théoden Wormtongue Monsters Barrow-wight Gollum Nazgûl Witch-king of Angmar Old Man Willow Orcs Shelob Trolls Wargs Watcher in the Water Other Eagles Goldberry Tom Bombadil
World	Geography Eriador Bree Old Forest Rivendell The Shire Bag End Gondor Harad Lothlórien Mirkwood Moria Mordor Rohan Isengard Battles Helm's Deep Pelennor Fields Morannon Things Mithril Oliphaunts Palantírs Phial of Galadriel Rings of Power One Ring List of weapons and armour
Related works	The Hobbit The Adventures of Tom Bombadil Errantry Fastitocalon The Sea-Bell The Road Goes Ever On Bilbo's Last Song The Silmarillion Unfinished Tales The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien The History of Middle-earth The Children of Húrin The History of The Hobbit Beren and Lúthien The Fall of Gondolin The Nature of Middle-earth
Adaptations and derivative works Books Bored of the Rings (1969) The Last Ringbearer (1999) Muddle Earth (2003) Illustrations A Map of Middle-earth Pauline Baynes Barbara Remington John Howe Alan Lee Margrethe II of Denmark Ted Nasmith Theatre Fellowship! (2005) Lord of the Rings (2006) Music Music Inspired by Lord of the Rings (1972) Symphony No. 1 The Lord of the Rings (1988) Led Zeppelin "Ramble On" (1969) "Misty Mountain Hop" (1971) "The Battle of Evermore" (1971) Radio The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1955) The Lord of the Rings (NPR, 1979) Hordes of the Things (1980) The Lord of the Rings (BBC, 1981) Der Herr der Ringe (1992) Film Animated The Lord of the Rings (Bakshi, 1978) The Return of the King (Rankin/Bass, 1980) The War of the Rohirrim (Kamiyama, 2024) Peter Jackson series The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) The Two Towers (2002) The Return of the King (2003) Music "Concerning Hobbits" "Into the West" "May It Be" Approach Production Hobbiton Movie Set Peter Jackson's interpretation Picturing Tolkien Tolkien on Film Other Sagan om ringen (1971) Khraniteli (1991) Hobitit (1993) The Rings of Power (2022) music Fan-made The Hunt for Gollum (2009) Born of Hope (2009) Video games Journey to Rivendell Game One Game Two: Shadows of Mordor War in Middle Earth Vol. I (1990) Vol. I (SNES) Riders of Rohan Elendor Vol. II: The Two Towers The Fellowship of the Ring The Two Towers The Return of the King War of the Ring The Third Age Game Boy Advance The Battle for Middle-earth Tactics The Battle for Middle-earth II The Rise of the Witch-king Conquest Aragorn's Quest War in the North Lego The Lord of the Rings Guardians of Middle-earth Shadow of Mordor Shadow of War Gollum Return to Moria The Lord of the Rings Online Mines of Moria Siege of Mirkwood Rise of Isengard Riders of Rohan Helm's Deep Mordor Minas Morgul War of Three Peaks Fate of Gundabad Before the Shadow Tabletop role- playing games Middle-earth Role Playing The Lord of the Rings Roleplaying Game The One Ring Roleplaying Game Adventures in Middle-earth Board games Middle Earth War of the Ring Gondor: The Siege of Minas Tirith Sauron Lord of the Rings War of the Ring Card games Middle-earth Collectible Card Game The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game Other games Middle-earth Strategy Battle Game Lego The Lord of the Rings

• Fantasy conventions
• Tolkien studies
• Tolkien fandom