If the players had stayed with Gandalf to fight the Balrog...
The DM's original plan was that the players would help Gandalf defeat the Balrog, and their decision to abandon him threw the story Off the Rails. If they had stayed with him, Gandalf would have gone with them to Lothlorien — taking all the credit for himself, of course, like later at Helm's Deep. But at least the players would have seen him being "promoted" to Gandalf the White, instead of it being explained later via exposition.
Sam, Merry and Pippin are played by Jim, Ben and Pete
Well, the Hobbits did leave to start a Star Wars campaign.
- Except that Star Wars exists in the world of DMOTR, but doesn't exist in the world of Darths & Droids, where all the Star Wars lore is the table's invention.
- Ben and Pete also seem to meet each other for the first time in Darths & Droids.
