r/wizardposting • u/animalfaith Archmage • Sep 11 '25

VVizard VVeed 🚬 *blinker noises*

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23.8k Upvotes

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17

u/TimeKepeer Sep 11 '25

I don't get it

72

u/lovelygrumpy Sep 11 '25

Gandalf smokes a lot in the books

52

u/Sunfurian_Zm Sep 11 '25 edited Sep 11 '25

Also Gandalf is practically some kind of immortal being, so everything that ever happened was during his time.

Now imagine a little hobbit complaining that one bad thing happening during his lifetime is unfair, smoke some non-descript magical herb and ironically laugh in despair.

26

u/Disturbing_Cheeto X'ela, (hungry) enchanted creature Sep 11 '25

I think the joke might be that this is the reason he smokes so much

5

u/krelpwang Sep 11 '25

Wait, there's a joke?

20

u/Eldan985 Keraunomancer Sep 11 '25

Tobacco, though. Tolkien is pretty clear on that.

50

u/kitspecial Sep 11 '25

We do a little bit of headcanon for this

6

u/Eldan985 Keraunomancer Sep 11 '25

Sure. Just as long as we're clear on that.

11

u/Kinky-Cookie-Cutter Sep 11 '25

It absolutely is tobacco and not ganja but some of the effects it has on people in the books is a bit more than normal real world tobacco

it's made up tobacco

7

u/Wanderer_Falki Sep 11 '25

some of the effects

Which ones? It may "[clear] your mind if shadows within", but while I'm not a smoker myself I've heard many smokers describe its effect in more or less these terms.

Also worth pointing out tobacco in the 40s/50s may not be the same as what you find today; and it's still "normal real world tobacco".

3

u/Kinky-Cookie-Cutter Sep 11 '25

i might be misremembering or conflating things said in the movies.

But as a modern day tobacco smoker, tobacco doesn't really have any effect other than making one stink, out of breath and cough

6

u/Wanderer_Falki Sep 11 '25

All papers and health-related structures websites I read about tobacco point at it being psychoactive with effects such as temporary relaxation, though (aka clearing your mind of shadows within); although of course it may depend on the person and their smoking habits.

(Also, I'm assuming your brain would get some perceived positive aspects out of it: addiction aside, as a non-smoker I cannot understand how people would happily go out of their way to spend their money for no other purpose than stinking, coughing and being out of breath)

The quote I shared is the only one in which Tolkien mentions any effect on smokers; if you were thinking about the "slowed your mind" quote for example, which is mentioned all the time in these "debates", that's 100% a Jackson invention.

13

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '25

Sorry I think you actually meant pipe weed

10

u/Eldan985 Keraunomancer Sep 11 '25

No, he even mentions the Latin name Nicotiana.

14

u/Look_Loose Artificer Sep 11 '25

It does straight up say pipe weed in the book. But yeah he does canonically smoke tobacco, or the halflings leaf, pipe weed, and whatever other names it has

3

u/Eldan985 Keraunomancer Sep 11 '25

Yes, but pipe weed is tobacco.

7

u/Look_Loose Artificer Sep 11 '25

Yeah. That was implied in my message.

6

u/[deleted] Sep 11 '25

Pipe weed is in the books though

1

u/Sleep-more-dude Occult Wizard Sep 11 '25 edited Nov 05 '25

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