The Lord of the Rings Online Developer Diary
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As we worked through the classes the pieces of the puzzle really started to fit together. Surprisingly enough, the reduced presence of "traditional" magic in Middle-earth really was freeing in terms of how we could design our classes. Our health stat was morale, so it was the Minstrel who sings songs of inspiration to heal his fellows rather than a cleric praying to his deity. We wanted a ranged DPS class, but without a fireball slinging wizard, it fell to the Hunter to provide a different spin on that role. We wanted a buff class, but without a mage that could magically augment a player's attributes, it was a leader, the Captain, who would inspire his fellows to greater deeds. Six of our classes have no magical abilities whatsoever, but can accomplish just as much as games that rely on arcane forces or divine intervention to give their classes form. Only one, the lore-master, had any magic at all, and his was required to be subtle magic at that and only a small portion of the class as a whole.
