The Lord of the Rings the other Rings of Power as the ultimate weapon in his campaign to conquer and rule all of Middle-earth. From quiet beginnings in the Shire, a hobbit land not unlike the English countryside, the story ranges across Middle-earth, following the course of the War of the Ring through the eyes of its characters, not only the hobbits Frodo Baggins, Samwise "Sam" Gamgee, Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck and Peregrin "Pippin" Took, but also the hobbits' chief allies and travelling companions: the Men, Aragorn, a Ranger of the North, and Boromir, a Captain of Gondor; Gimli, a Dwarf warrior; Legolas Greenleaf, an Elven
The Lord of the Rings dark elves, following Tolkien's example), dwarves, half-elves, orcs, and dragons. However, Gary Gygax, lead designer of the game, maintained that he was influenced very little by "The Lord of the Rings", stating that he included these elements as a marketing move to draw on the popularity the work enjoyed at the time he was developing the game. Because D&D has gone on to influence many popular role-playing video games, the influence of "The Lord of the Rings" extends to many of them as well, with titles such as "Dragon Quest", the "Ultima" series, "EverQuest", the "Warcraft" series, and the "Elder