[Johnny1A.2]

Originally Posted by Stormcrow

Hobbits should have something like this too. All hobbits who possess a Ring of Power show an ability to resist its effects that men never did. Gollum had the Ring for 500 years without fading into a wraith. Bilbo gave it up of his own free will after having it for 70 years (and being assisted by Gandalf). Sam refused its temptation when he got it, with his hobbit sense. Frodo eventually gave in, but he was exhausted, starved, parched, and standing on the brink of Mount Doom; he gets a pass. Meanwhile, Pippin manages to survive his Palantir encounter with Sauron without giving the game away, though Sauron was in haste and jumping to conclusions. Fatty Bolger is supposed to be frozen in fear when the Ringwraiths attack Crickhollow, but he manages to throw off the Black Breath long enough to run for help. And four hobbits and a ranger manage to spiritually fend off the nine Ringwraiths for weeks.

Yes, hobbits have very strong mental defenses.

But what Hobbits have is rather different from what the Naugrim (Dwarves) possess.

According to JRRT, a Ring of Power has very little power over a Dwarf. It can inflame the already-present tendency toward obsessive behavior and greed, but it doesn't make them invisible and it won't make a Dwarf live any longer or shorter (at least not directly, it might get him murdered, like Thror and Thrain).

So a Dwarf with the One Ring would not become a wraith, nor would he become like Gollum. He would (barring violence or accident), die at his natural time.

Hobbits, though, _are_ affected by the Great Rings just as other Men are, the difference is one of degree. Hobbits tend to be resistant of domination, but they aren't immune to it like Dwarves. Sméagol hardly ever wore the Ring after he went underground, which is part of why he ended up as what he was rather than a wraith. Hobbits most certainly do stop aging if they hold a Great Ring, as we saw with Sméagol, Bilbo, and Frodo, and obviously a Ring can make a Hobbit invisible.