BalrogRingDestroyer
Member
- Joined
- Feb 19, 2018
- Messages
- 267
Let's say that, for whatever reason, the Witch King never tried to operate in Angmar, but instead operated from Harad or somewhere near Gondor. And suppose that the internal struggles of Arnor had instead plagued Gondor, and eventually it fell into disrepair, but the Witch King had been driven off?
As it was, Sauron was mostly hiding in Dol Guldor later in the Third Age, as the Necromancer. Also, the fact that Sauron now could just cross the Anduin as Gondor was mostly an abandoned area would have made attacking Dol Guldor SOONER more likely to occur, as the threat of any forces from Mordor coming across into Rohan and even Rivendale would have been too high for ever Saruman to try and downplay. This would have lead to an earlier strike against him, which would have hurt him more than in the original timeline. Also, if Saruman persisted in trying to downplay the danger of Sauron, his treachery would have been exposed much sooner and him fought by Gandalf, Radaghast, and others of the White Council. At any rate, I think, in this timeline, Saruman doing dirty work in Rohan would be harder than in the original timeline. Also, though I can't say if they were Sauron-loyalists or just weren't fond that Numenor snubbed them in favor of Rohan, it's possible that the Dunlandings would have been allies, even if reluctantly, due to the greater threat of Mordor (with Gondor being mostly empty).
Also, in this universe, the Rangers would have been in Gondor's leftovers, rather than Arnor's, so they may have been able to intercept Gollum sooner when he got away, BEFORE he got to Mordor. That would have meant that Sauron never learned, more or less, of where the Ring was.
Aragorn may well have been crowned king in the North. Of course, there are some downsides, such as Bilbo not getting Sting (I don't see the trolls, who had Sting in their treasure collection, being able to operate nearly as freely in a populated Arnor.) And, now that I think of it, a REALLY big problem would be that any area south of Rohan and Lothlorien (depending on where one is at) would likely to be filled with orcs, so the fellowship would have a nightmare of a time getting the Ring to Mt. Doom, as there would be no Faramir there to help Frodo and Sam. And, if Gollum was captured by Aragorn, he wouldn't be able to help Frodo and Sam through the Dead Marshes.
As it was, Sauron was mostly hiding in Dol Guldor later in the Third Age, as the Necromancer. Also, the fact that Sauron now could just cross the Anduin as Gondor was mostly an abandoned area would have made attacking Dol Guldor SOONER more likely to occur, as the threat of any forces from Mordor coming across into Rohan and even Rivendale would have been too high for ever Saruman to try and downplay. This would have lead to an earlier strike against him, which would have hurt him more than in the original timeline. Also, if Saruman persisted in trying to downplay the danger of Sauron, his treachery would have been exposed much sooner and him fought by Gandalf, Radaghast, and others of the White Council. At any rate, I think, in this timeline, Saruman doing dirty work in Rohan would be harder than in the original timeline. Also, though I can't say if they were Sauron-loyalists or just weren't fond that Numenor snubbed them in favor of Rohan, it's possible that the Dunlandings would have been allies, even if reluctantly, due to the greater threat of Mordor (with Gondor being mostly empty).
Also, in this universe, the Rangers would have been in Gondor's leftovers, rather than Arnor's, so they may have been able to intercept Gollum sooner when he got away, BEFORE he got to Mordor. That would have meant that Sauron never learned, more or less, of where the Ring was.
Aragorn may well have been crowned king in the North. Of course, there are some downsides, such as Bilbo not getting Sting (I don't see the trolls, who had Sting in their treasure collection, being able to operate nearly as freely in a populated Arnor.) And, now that I think of it, a REALLY big problem would be that any area south of Rohan and Lothlorien (depending on where one is at) would likely to be filled with orcs, so the fellowship would have a nightmare of a time getting the Ring to Mt. Doom, as there would be no Faramir there to help Frodo and Sam. And, if Gollum was captured by Aragorn, he wouldn't be able to help Frodo and Sam through the Dead Marshes.
