shebit ([personal profile] shebit) wrote in [community profile] luceti 2013-01-10 11:30 pm (UTC)

Weaknesses edit as per request

Note: My Aragorn tends to be a mix of Tolkien's original, the movie version and a touch of head canon. I hope that's ok.

Weaknesses:
Physical: Aragorn has no particular physical weaknesses; he's human, and therefore prone to all of the injuries and sicknesses that affect humans, though his elven blood probably gives him some immunity to illness. As he's lean rather than musclebound he's not particularly strong - in hand to hand combat he would easily be overpowered by an Uruk-hai; it's only his swordsmanship which gives him an advantage over the strong but less skilled orcs. Although he's an experienced fighter, without a sword or bow in his hands Aragorn would be fairly useless in a serious fight - though he could probably hold his own in a bar fight. Of course, due to his setting, he has no knowledge of modern combat styles (like eastern martial arts) or, more importantly, weapons. His idea of the finest weapons available is an elven-forged sword and a good yew bow: any firearm would be completely alien to him, so no matter how skilled he is he'll be in trouble if he brings a sword to a gunfight.

Mental: Aragorn isn't a genius by any means, but he's not stupid, either. In dangerous situations he might be accused of thinking with his sword first and his mind second, but both blade and brain are fairly sharp. His friend Gandalf described him as 'the greatest traveller and huntsman in this age of the world', but Aragorn isn't much of a scholar - he knows what he needs to know, but doesn't waste time learning thins which will not be of use to him; Faramir is far more scholarly and well-read, as is Elrond. He speaks Westron (the Common Tongue) and Sindarin Elvish, but cannot speak, understand or read Dwarvish or the Black Speech of Mordor, which Gandalf can, nor Rohirric, despite spending some time in Rohan earlier in his life. Transported to a modern setting like Luceti, Aragorn would be utterly perplexed by all modern technology.

Emotional: Many of the emotional strengths listed above could also be considered weaknesses. Aragorn's deep-seated sense of duty and honour forces him to go out into the world as a ranger and adventurer when he'd be happier to sit by a warm fire with a book and a pipe. He suffers from bouts of self-doubt and deep melancholy, especially when he feels that he has failed him companions (when his friend and advisor Gandalf is lost at Kazadum he is almost unable to continue, so racked with guilt at the great loss). He is also prone to angry outbursts when he believes that others are being foolish (he snapped angrily at Boromir at the council of Elrond when the Gondorian insisted that the Ring should be used as a weapon).

Aragorn only learned of his true identity and destiny when he was twenty years old and did not take the news well, feeling betrayed by Elrond and his mother for their parts in the lie. Rather than let his anger fester, Aragorn took his leave from Rivendell (some might say 'flounced off in a strop') to spend several years out in the wilds rather than deal with the issue of his revealed identity.

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