In a quest called "The Stolen Gift", Radagast recounts the origin of both the Gauredain and the Ungoledain. The latter actually turn into giant spiders while fighting you.
Once there was a group of Men who respected the land and nature, and saw the beauty of the mountains and the vales between them. I was unlike them, of course, being a Wizard, but I did see some of myself in them. More than a little! I gave them a gift: the gift of skin-changing. I taught them how to use it, and as they practiced the art they became closer to nature. They were a good people, and they remained so to this day: the Beornings of the Vales of Anduin. These are your forbears, [Beorning PC]. Ha! This is not a time for jesting, forgive me! But still it is true. Your ancestors mastered the art of skin-changing, and used it to make safe the mountains and the valleys, and I was most glad for them.
But other Men became jealous of the gift. They captured one of the skin-changers, and tortured him, and in the end he gave away the secret art. These evil ones were driven mad by this new power, a power they were never intended to wield. These were the Gauredain, men of the wolf, and the Ungoledain, men of the spider.
I should have been more careful, [Beorning PC]. I repented of the gift, for once it was stolen I could do nothing. Now the Woodmen face a peril of my own creation. We must find their encampment and protect them from the leader of the Ungoledain.
I have no problem with Radagast being involved in the origin of the Beornings. Heck, I might even accept that there's an evil counter to the Beornings that changes into something else. But the above just makes no sense for several reasons:
- If skin-changing is a skill that can simply be "taught" (whether willingly or because you're being tortured), then why don't more people know it than Beorn's literal family line? Why don't they teach it to the Wilderfolk, so they can defend themselves, or the elves?
- If the Ungoledain learned the "secret art" and used it to turn into spiders, then why couldn't Beornings use it to turn into anything but bears? Why not Eagles, or otters, or boars, or any other animals?
- Gauredain are called out here, and yet at no time have Gauredain ever been presented as skin-changers. No Gauredain has ever become a wolf in-game. This was always an impressive level of restraint and creativity Turbine/SSG showed. They got to have wolf-men without actually having werewolves.
For these primary 3 reasons, the above just doesn't make sense, even with itself.
LOTRO itself presents every Beorning as literally part of Beorn's family, which is consistent with the text in the Hobbit. They all look distinctly different from every other human, and they all look related, and playing as a Beorning in the Vales, every Beorning addresses you as a *blood relative*. But then Radagast makes it sound like anyone can learn, and that it can be into other animals besides bears. This just introduces a host of inconsistencies and questions.
Now I suppose one could say Ragadast gave the "gift" to Beorn, and it was passed down through his line (not through being "taught" but by being intrinsic in his bloodline), and at some point some sorcerers of Dol Guldur captured a Beorning and, by studying its fea/hroa discovered the secret of Radagast's gift, and figured out how to pivot it to spiders. I could probably accept that.
Still, at least when a human turns into a bear, they retain the same number of limbs/fingers/eyes/ears, whereas a spider you have to grow all sorts of new parts, including a butt-rope.
This whole thing just seems poorly thought out. And I say this as someone who has totally bought into and praised all of Turbine/SSG's lore expansion in the past.
