| Tolkienmoot | |
|---|---|
| Status | Active |
| Genre | Gaming |
| Venue | Spokane, Washington |
| Country | United States |
| Inaugurated | 2005 |
| Most recent | 2021 |
| Attendance | 20–45 in-person, 100–200 online interactive participation |
| Organized by | Eä Tolkien Society, an official smial of the UKTolkien Society |
| Filing status | non-profit/free |
| Website | http://www.tolkienmoot.org/ |
Tolkienmoot is an annual convention run by the Eä Tolkien Society (official smial of the UKTolkien Society[1]) created for scholars, gamers, and enthusiasts of the works ofJ. R. R. Tolkien. It began under the name ofMerpcon (for "Middle-earth Role Playing Conference") in 2005. Always a convention focused on Tolkien scholarly discussion and gaming inMiddle-earth, its name was changed in 2009 as the venue expanded. The convention was founded byHawke Robinson[2] 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 inSpokane, 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-profitRPG Research community center.[3]
The event is focused onJ. R. R. Tolkien and his works, with a special emphasis on gaming, especially tabletop paper and diceRole playing games, using any role playing game system adapted or created for play inMiddle-earth, as well as video games,wargames, andboardgames.[4][5] Participation is both in-person and remote. Each event has guest speakers such as Tolkien scholars and published authors. These have included the authorJohn Garth and the Tolkien scholarJohn D. Rateliff.[6] Each event has a different theme, such as "Elves", "Hobbits", "Dunedain", or "Trees". Events explore new and old game systems such asIron Crown Enterprises' Middle-Earth Role Playing; aDungeons & Dragons 3.5 variant known as Ea RPG d20;[7]Harnmaster adapted for use in Middle-earth;Adventures in Middle-earth byCubicle 7;The One Ring Role-Playing Game 2nd Edition byFree League Publishing; and others. Tolkienmoots feature newOther Minds Magazine issues and have discussed papers such as "Tolkien's Love of Trees and the Environment".[8]
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,[9] project updates. Other sessions have sometimes been in a format called "Raw Hobbit", hosted by Tolkien essayist and authorMichael Martinez as an homage toWilliam Shatner'sRaw 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[10] 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 UKTolkien Society, the Eä Tolkien Society based inSpokane, Washington, U.S.[11]
