the og sortinghatchats Lord of the Rings sorting:
Firstly, you should check out thetolkienhat, where some awesome people have created and collected a bunch of Tolkien sortings using this system. It’s really neat! And they all know this canon eight million times better than I do. Go say hi, sing their praises, contribute, etc.
I’ve read LotR a good few dozen times, but not in a few years. I’ll be working somewhat off movie canon here, though with that certainly shaded by a familiarity with and fondness for the text. Here’s our Hobbits, though! If I get inspired later, I’ll see if I can stick up the rest of the Fellowship, too.
Note: in the way we play this game, we use “primary” to mean WHY people do things and “secondary” to mean HOW.
Pippin - Hufflepuff primary/Gryffindor secondary - Heart of gold, a strong sense of duty and service, and a tendency to charge (or trip) into things.
Merry - Slytherin primary/Ravenclaw secondary - He’s possessive and loyal, and handles his problems with deliberate logic and intelligence. He has narrow focus on his allegiances where Hufflepuff Primary Pippin has a broad, non-exclusive affection for all; where Pippin charges, Merry can back him up (or yank him out of trouble) with a thought-out plan; and he’ll probably bring supplies, too.
Samwise - Slytherin primary/Hufflepuff secondary - We thought for a moment he was a Gryffindor, but we’re pretty sure all that is is that Frodo is his Most Important Person (and Morality Pet). Sam does some Big Loud Gryffindor Things but every one of them is for the sake of his Mr. Frodo, not the world, even if it does save it. He doesn’t talk about the cause, or evil, or duty— Sam crosses the world, fights orcs, and carries (and gives up) the Ring for, not the world, but for his Shire, his Gaffer, and his Mr. Frodo.
(No, let’s look at this again. Little hobbit Samwise Gamgee willing gives up the One Ring to Frodo, because in the end Frodo Baggins is more important to him than it could ever be. My Slytherin darling).
The Hufflepuff Secondary comes from the fact that Sam does not terribly engage with Ravenclaw’s planning and system building, Slytherin’s adaptability, or even Gryffindor’s charge (though he can resemble that last one fairly well) — one of his most stunning attributes will always be steadiness, sturdiness, and a willingness to buckle down and do hard work, whether it’s weeding or learning songs from Mr. Bilbo or carrying Frodo up Mt. Doom.
Frodo - Ravenclaw primary/Slytherin secondary - Frodo is very good at switching his path when things becomes irritating or difficult. He’s flexible and unattached to method— an adaptable Slytherin Secondary aimed towards quietly saving the world.
He’s certainly not a loyalty house— dropping Sam near Minas Morgul is easy; his leaving the Fellowship near the fords sounds most like an Idealist move, making decisions for the greater good. He’s not as linked to group as Hufflepuff Pippin, who mourns their disbanding. Of course his Slytherin Sam won’t let him abandon/save them entirely, but what else would you expect form the poor garden snake.
(thanks @paint-the-ravenclaw for tracking this guy down)










