In both Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Gandalf plays a key role in deciding the future of Middle-earth. But is he a commander? A leader? A mentor? A warrior?

These are some of the questions we’ll explore in Hall of Fire tomorrow as we explore the topic: Gandalf: wizard, warrior, white rider.

What does his wandering nature say about his character? That he befriends Hobbits (seemingly insignificant in the greater battle)? That being overlooked for leadership of the White Council bothers him not at all?

That he puts himself in mortal jeopardy to save others? And that he can see that the solution to large problems (Saruron, Smaug) lie not in mighty armies or the feats of elven lords, but in the actions of shire-folk arising to shake the towers and counsels of the great?

Is he a reassuring presence when things are grim? Or as Theoden calls him, is he a Stormcrow? A bearer of ill tidings? How much is his character affected by the fact he is the bearer of Narya, the elven ring of fire? And what don’t we know about him?

Join us tomorrow (Saturday September 3 at 6pm EDT) in #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net when we’ll discuss these questions and many others as we look talk about Ganfalf: wizard, warrior, white rider.

Time zone conversions

Not sure what time the chat will be where you are? Check this little conversion table out for some help.

America:
6.00pm EDT (New York)
5.00pm CDT (Chicago)
4.00pm MDT (Denver)
3.00pm PDT (Los Angeles)

Europe:
11.00pm GMT (London)
Midnight CDT (Europe)

Asia-Pacific
8.00am (Sunday) Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne
11.00am (Sunday) Wellington

Our chats usually last 45 mins to an hour, and are very newbie friendly. Simply drop in and join the conversation!

Where — connection details

Chat happens on #thehalloffire on irc.theonering.net — the TORn IRC server. You can connect instantly via our embedded Mibbit client that works inside your web browser.

Alternatively, you can install a dedicated chat program such as mIRC on your computer and just plug in the following connection details.

Server: irc.theonering.net
Port: 6667
Channel: #thehalloffire