sauron

I mean, he already had a form, why would he lose it if the Ring was destroyed? That was his power, not his body, right? I could see him being destroyed when the Dark Tower, which was held up by the Ring's power, fell down, with him in it, much like happened to him when Numenor sunk, but it...

I'd never caught the possible hint at what Gloin was implying in "The Council of Elrond", but now I think I may get the meaning. Gloin: It is now many years ago that a shadow of disquiet fell upon our people. Whence it came we did not at first perceive. Words began to be whispered in...

I can't find a thread on this, so here it is. We know Melkor actually had the power to corrupt and twist other Maiar (witness Balrogs). But what about Sauron? Did he actually corrupt Saruman for example? Or was Saruman simply a result of his own choices? Sauron's primary powers seem to lie in...

The answer is probably 'thematically inappropriate', but this is a question I've had while reading a lot of 'pre-history' fantastic settings which involve a precursor of Earth. Conan's Hyboria, for example. You have these interdimensional monsters who can shapeshift and create all sorts of...

I recently read a post (I've since lost it) about Sauron vs. Superman. The author points out that the types of 'power' and the logic of their universes are very different. A great deal of Sauron's power is that his overwhelming spirit will cow people and keep them from even trying to fight them...

It was said that the Nazgul, or at least the Witch King for sure, were able to inspire terror that would frighten off all but the bravest of men. And we know that Sauron's human armies weren't immune to being terrified, as Aragorn was able to get the Oathbreakers to scare off Sauron's goons...

After getting the information about Shire and Baggins and that the Ring had been found again, Sauron let Smeagol go, instead of having him executed. This move seemed to have turned out to be one of Sauron's worst mistakes, up there with his underestimating Eru with the Numenorean plan...

I mean, is he basically a spirit of malice stuck in the Void (BTW, did Sauron and Saruman go there too?) who can't do more than make angry faces at Middle Earth and those on it or even those in Valinor? Or can he still whisper and corrupt those who are not morally pure enough?

So, Sauron was a very competent force, even without the Ring, right? Then why does the Council view sending the Rings "over the sea" (if they could find a way to get the Ring safely to the sea) a valid way to defeat Sauron? Wouldn't he still present an incredibly difficult foe to defeat, being...

Most of the evidence in the books seems to suggest that the answer is "no", but, on the other hand, after reading Shadow of the Past just now, I noticed that Gandalf said that their "dreadful chance" was that Sauron long thought that his Ring HAD been destroyed and so never went looking for it...

So I get the idea of Sauron "putting himself" into the ring, or however you want to say it. What I don't understand is how he functioned without it, vs. how he functioned after it was destroyed. Obviously the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Sauron puts something of himself into...

Mairon/Sauron is about order and stability and all of that. Melkor is clearly nihilistic, basically throwing a cosmic temper tantrum because he can't rule Eru's universe, thus trying to destroy everything. It has to be clear that, even if Melkor had won and somehow not only crushed the...

I won't go into the details but the net effect of one of my stories is Ar-Pharazôn dies before the launch of the Great Armament, Númenor isn't sunk, and the One Ring is destroyed prior to the end of the 2nd Age, Sauron loyalists from Númenor have taken up residence in Umbar. My questions are...

Ok I know I'm not Tolkien but here is my possible theory as to why Sauron after drowning with the Island of Numenor was no longer able to appear fair/shapeshift again. As we know Sauron is an extremely powerful maia. And before the forging of the One ring he was able to take many forms, humanoid...

On the first few readings of LOTR, I completely missed this duel. It was when Frodo is on Amon Hen hill, wearing a ring, and had a duel inside: Later, Gandalf told Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas about this duel: So, I think, we can pretty safely assume that person talking "Take it of Fool"...

Click here for the video version of this post. If anybody were to ask me what my favorite world mythology is, it would be Celtic mythology. What I find most fascinating is how much the lore has changed and been corrupted over time. When talking about Irish folklore, you’d be forgiven if your...

Morgoth used up a lot of his original power to take greater control over Arda. Sauron put a lot of his original power into making the One Ring with the power to control the lesser Rings. What I'm curious about, especially as they were sent by the Valar specifically to stop Sauron, is why...

Someone else asked about who would win in a fight, Smaug or Sauron. A friend asked me who would win in a battle of wits though, Smaug or Sauron. My opinion is that Sauron being a maiar would defeat Smaug easily but at the same time, aren't there theories that dragons are possibly maiar as well...

If Morgoth, what did he have that Sauron didn't? Also, had Morgoth not been destroyed by Mandos, would he have likely been betrayed and murdered by his own apprentice?

At the battle of the last alliance Sauron, lord of the black land and all evil in middle earth's major weapon was the one ring. Which by itself is an incredible weapon, but what would happen if Sauron had the three simarils aswell. Would the simarils change the course of the battle or would...