sevillana: (interests ♥ roll 2d6)
Sevillana de Corazón ([personal profile] sevillana) wrote in [community profile] luceti 2013-01-09 01:42 pm (UTC)

Revisions: Strengths and Weaknesses Expansion

Strengths:

Physical:

Bilbo makes a better 'burglar' type than he'd admit. Hobbits are capable of moving very quietly, so quietly as to be unnoticed. He uses this frequently to get a better look at situations facing the company, or help them out of danger if he managed to escape being in the thick of it with them.

Bilbo relates that he enjoyed playing conkers as a young hobbit, which has given him some accuracy with thrown projectiles, such as stones. He is also slowly learning to use a sword, but at this point he has no special skill with it. It's something he may be willing to work at in Luceti in the hopes it will stand him in good stead if he returns to his world and quest.

Mental:

Bilbo shares the mental resiliency of his race. He is strong-willed. When he is in possession of the One Ring, he is ultimately able to resist it - not perfectly, but remarkably well. He owns it for years, even decades, and only begins to show shades of Gollum's attachment to it. He is able to let it go at Gandalf's urging, and while this was difficult for him, it was also something no other owner of the Ring has been able to do - even Frodo was unable to in the very end.

He is good at quick thinking. When pressed, he comes up with creative solutions to problems faced by the company. He's the one who thinks to play for time when facing the trolls, letting the morning light do the work. He is also the one who eventually leads the spiders away from the company, creating an opportunity to save them, and he is the one who will smuggle them out of the Elvenking's halls. Ultimately, this is his greatest strength that helps his group.

Intelligent and educated, Bilbo enjoys riddles and knows them very well, enough to think of several difficult ones (and solutions) off the top of his head under great pressure during Gollum's challenge. He has a large collection of books, and maps that he once enjoyed for the thought of far-off places but now enjoys academically. He has some writing ability; his memoirs will become a well-known book once he has finished his journeys and written it.

Between maps and learning, he's good with directions. He isn't disoriented even in the darkness of the goblin tunnels, and he finds his way back up through them even though he had no idea where he was going when he fell and tumbled down towards the bottom and Gollum's lake.

Emotional:

Bilbo's greatest quality is his compassion. This is what motivates him to take up the dwarves' quest as his own: He puts his own love of home next to their homelessness and realizes he wants to give them the chance to have what he loves. It's also compassion and pity that ultimately impel him to spare Gollum's life once he has a clear escape and killing his foe is not necessary. Similarly, compassion will make him want a satisfactory and fair ending for everyone involved when the dragon gold is finally gained - and to be divided. He will even put himself at risk, and jeopardize his relationship with his friends, to follow what he believes is right.

He is steady and loyal. He loves his home and simple pleasures, and he's a symbol of that quiet, undisturbed life that Gandalf and the rangers fight so hard to protect. When his friends are in danger, he becomes much braver and performs his most daring and strongest acts in order to help or save them. He has even faced down a widely-feared goblin in order to rescue Thorin.

Other:

While it's not his own power, it should be noted that Bilbo does have the One Ring, which he knows he can use to seem to vanish. In reality, it draws him into the Twilight World, but this is unknown to him and he is unaware of its other vast potential - and danger. Thus, he feels able to use it freely.

This is largely irrelevant in Luceti, but Bilbo is from a wealthy family background, enough that relatives are hopeful of an inheritance, especially his nice hobbit hole. He is able to live as a gentleman of leisure. This can also be a drawback, in that it makes him unfamiliar with hardship until his journey.

Weaknesses:

Physical:

Bilbo is small, not strong, and untrained. As he says himself, he is no warrior. Actually, he has no combat skill at all to begin with, and is very shaky and awkward with the sword he does begin to use. He's more dependable in avoiding a fight than in helping during one.

His feet, hobbit feet, are very durable and tough, to the point they need no shoes. This would be an advantage, and sometimes is, but it has proven to be very detrimenal over some terrain such as the goblin halls that sorely bruised them.

Mental:

Typically, hobbits are not good with heights, preferring to live in holes and with no second floors. However, so far, Bilbo has seemed to keep his head. He is most likely to overcome any mild phobia like this in moments of crisis.

Bilbo's comfortable rut and self-doubt have kept him stationary, even almost stagnant, overly concerned with his dinner and dinnerware. He wants security to the point of refusing to go with the company when he learns there are no guarantees. He's all but stopped being able to look outside the small confines of his life. Fortunately, he's quickly growing out of this thanks to his experiences on his journey, and Luceti is likely to provide a similar push towards growth.

The One Ring is a double-edged power. While Bilbo only knows it as a convenience, the more he uses it, the more susceptible to its corruption he will become, as it has a will of its own.

Emotional:

At times, Bilbo's drive to prove himself borders on a weakness to peer pressure. His more reckless acts are almost always to show that he can contribute to the company, and can fill the role set out for him. It's a point of pride. It leads him to trouble with the goblins (trying to pick their pockets) and will eventually lead him into even worse trouble with Smaug (caught trying to steal the cup).

Similarly, he can require a lot of reassurance. He doubts himself and his place in things, to the point of nearly leaving the company more than once. He typically finds the reassurance he needs in the faith Gandalf and closer friends have in him.

He can be fearful. The mere mention of some of the dangers he will face causes him to quite literally faint. To be fair, he is facing fearsome situations, from trolls to goblins to dragons. However, this fearfulness is another part of what keeps him looking backward towards home instead of forward towards his travels and adventures.

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