I've been thinking a lot of late that Tolkiens world would have been very close to engineering early fire arms (cannons, flintlocks, muskets) in the 3rd age. I'm just wondering if others have thought of this and gone as far a incorporating this into there games somehow in anyway, I look forward to your thoughts

I always wanted to see Nazgul dropping bombs.

_________________
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!

You know... You could theoretically pick up a charge, and drop it, hoping the damage detonates it. If not, just send in a guy with a torch...

_________________
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!

Middle earth was always weird with its technology that started and ended thousands of years later about the same. The only things that ever seemed to invent anything were the evil powers. As for whether they had the technological capabilities to make guns I'd say its likely that, between both good and evil, they might have had both the metal working skills and the chemical knowledge to pull it off. On the other hand, just being able to do something does not mean that it will happen. Just because Saruman could have built a cannon with his blasting powered as a propellant, for instance, does not mean that he would have ever been met with a challenge were just an idea would have seem practicable or worth the trouble. And if Sauron always had such vast pools of manpower for a siege, lets say, to be particle for taking every stronghold then why would he think about breaking down the walls faster with something like a cannon? Good has the problem of being written by a guy who disliked industrialization so they never seem to think positively about technological development and would likely shun everyone who might have made the jump to guns with the right resources.

I like to think about this question in the same context as the Egyptian steam engine. Yes, they could think of it and yes, they could build a working model but they did not have anything to do with it so they never bothered to fix its technical problems and abandoned it. Even if the good guys could have built a primitive gun archery is at such a high level (see Legolas) that they might well never think the trade off was worth it when you're fighting large numbers of orcs with poor arms and armor. The Orcs themselves were not going to do it because they don't seem to do long-term planning, and Saruon would never need it to win so way bother. That is my thinking away.

_________________
"Draw your sword with a heavy heart, but swing it with a heavy hand"

Also, Saruman, the guy who actually wanted new technology, had gotten usurped and killed. And Sauron has magic, while orcs cannot shoot straight anyways.
By the way, are you saying JRR Tolkien was against new technology? I did not know that. Sheds a new light.

_________________
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth,
I bid you stand, men of the West!

I agree that Arda had a very slow technological advancement after reaching an iron age esque level early in the first age and not much more past the 3rd age (total of 7000 Years). Plus after the start/end of the 3rd age I kinda thought technology started to regress a bit due to the elf's leaving middle earth they where the best smiths after all.

But how cool would it have been if the warriors at the black gate had fire lances or the walls of minas tirith were lined with hwacha

Also cave dragon I don't think Tolkien hated technology it just a lot of writers have picked up on an idea that there is a kinda link between it and dark powers per sa.