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Old 09-15-2017, 12:29 PM   #11
Not another shrubbery
 
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Default Re: full list of powers for the seven dwarven rings of power

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Originally Posted by adm View Post
Would the Seven Rings and the Nine Rings have survived the destruction of the One Ring?
Possibly, although whether they would survive the fall of Mordor is another question. Note that, according to Gandalf, four of the Seven had already been consumed by dragons (and presumably destroyed). Sauron only had the other three in his possession, along with all of the Nine.
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Old 09-16-2017, 02:29 PM   #12
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Default Re: full list of powers for the seven dwarven rings of power

I.C.E. Treasures of Middle-Earth pgs 91-96 lists powers and abilities of all the Rings of Power for Rolemaster if you can find a copy.
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Old 09-16-2017, 03:05 PM   #13
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Default Re: full list of powers for the seven dwarven rings of power

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I.C.E. Treasures of Middle-Earth pgs 91-96 lists powers and abilities of all the Rings of Power for Rolemaster if you can find a copy.
Several on eBay, but one less than there was ten minutes ago.
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Old 09-16-2017, 03:44 PM   #14
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Default Re: full list of powers for the seven dwarven rings of power

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I.C.E. Treasures of Middle-Earth pgs 91-96 lists powers and abilities of all the Rings of Power for Rolemaster if you can find a copy.
Um... Yes, of course it does.

Goes and reads it.
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Old 09-17-2017, 10:23 PM   #15
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Default Re: full list of powers for the seven dwarven rings of power

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Originally Posted by Celjabba View Post
You may want to check the old ICE book "Lord of Middle-Earth" 2 or 3 (the one about Dwarves and Hobbits ) I guess the "Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone" are in.

You may want to move your post to the "Roleplaying in General" Subforum instead, perhaps someone will have the inspiration for designing 7 artifacts. As said above, this forum is for the Gurps Dungeon Fantasy set.
The best way to describe the Rings is to let their author explain:

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JRRT:The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay (i.e. `change' viewed as a regrettable thing), the preservation of what is desired or loved, or its semblance -this is more or less an Elvish motive. But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor - thus approaching `magic', a motive easily corruptible into evil, a lust for domination. And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron...such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible.
That's taken from his collected correspondence.

Note that exact results of a Ring will depend on an interaction between that Ring and its bearer, so each case may be a little unique. The Rings slow down the entropic effects of Time, which is probably the thing that makes them most 'perilous' (Gandalf's word) for mortals. Elves are by nature immortal, so that 'slowing' is good from their POV.

But for mortals, it has a nasty tendency to stave off death past its natural time, which leads (at best) to Gollum, at worst to wraithdom.

Even the Three Rings would be dangerous in that respect for mortals.

But as JRRT says above, they also amplify the natural talents and abilities and powers of the wearer. 'Power in accordance with stature', as Gandalf puts it. The more powerful you naturally are, the more powerful a Ring will make you.

The Dwarves are a special case on their own, they are mortal, but not like the other mortal races. The Rings can't make them live any longer or shorter, and (I suspect) could not make them invisible. But their natural talents with material things are amplified, as well as their possessive impulses about such things. The richer a Dwarf is, the richer a Ring could make him. A Ring would probably magnify a Dwarf's skills at forge and mine, too.

The old ICE game system actually fit the Rings rather well in one respect. The ICE system assigns characters magic points, the more points, the more powerful a spell you can use. They also had 'spell multipliers', items that would multiply your power points. So a x2 multiplier item would double your power, a x3 would triple it.

In the ICE system, the Great Rings tended to be x7 or x9 multipliers, with is huge. But it also means that the more power points you had to start with, the stronger a Ring makes you. If your natural level is 10, a x18 multiplier like the One Ring gives you 180 points. If your natural base is, say, 100, the Ring raises you up to 1800 points.

IIRC Gandalf had 300 points in the ICE system naturally, so the One Ring would give him 5400 points, plus other powers.
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Old 09-24-2017, 11:11 PM   #16
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Default Re: full list of powers for the seven dwarven rings of power

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I don't think there's an actual distinction between the powers of the sixteen rings distributed to men and dwarves; it's just that nine men and seven dwarves got rings. The seven dwarves were probably the heads of the seven houses of the dwarves. Dunno why nine men were given them. I also don't know why, after the nine men were turned into wraiths and Sauron collected their rings, he didn't give out those rings to more men.
Men seem to be the only race in Middle Earth that can create empires without the Dark Lord's help. That was the kind of power Sauron was really most interested in. In a sense the rings given to Dwarves hurt them less for the same reason THE ring did not hurt Bombadil at all. It was not the kind of power they wanted and the kind they did want they got-and paid for. But curmudgeonly and avaricious as Dwarves are they don't seem have had an imperialistic impulse. They certainly had a tribalistic impulse but it was limited in it's demand.

As for why the rings were not given to nine more men, Sauron needed the rings to enthrall the first nine. The Nazgul were unique among his subjects in allowing Sauron to take their competence for granted without fear of mutiny. They also had an exanimate aura of fear that allowed them to keep the other slaves in line. Giving away the rings would hurt that; the Nazgul would put their loyalty to the rings not to Sauron. It would be like Napoleon ceasing to feed the Imperial Guard. Sauron had enough preternatural spooks and wights under his thumb as well as enough corporeal monsters and enough orcs, and enough just plain human soldiers and slaves. He needed someone to both keep all that mess in line and be trustworthy enough to do his bidding. What other kind of creature, for instance, could he have sent to grab the ring in the early part of the book?
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Old 09-25-2017, 09:29 PM   #17
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Default Re: full list of powers for the seven dwarven rings of power

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Originally Posted by jason taylor View Post
Men seem to be the only race in Middle Earth that can create empires without the Dark Lord's help. That was the kind of power Sauron was really most interested in. In a sense the rings given to Dwarves hurt them less for the same reason THE ring did not hurt Bombadil at all. It was not the kind of power they wanted and the kind they did want they got-and paid for. But curmudgeonly and avaricious as Dwarves are they don't seem have had an imperialistic impulse. They certainly had a tribalistic impulse but it was limited in it's demand.
Other races can create empires, but by the late Third Age only Men tend to do it. The Elves did create extensive empires in the First Age, esp. in Beleriand, and probably elsewhere the Silvan Elves did as well. But by the Third Age, those realms were either conquered by the enemy, wiped away by natural or supernatural cataclysms, or dwindled away as more and more of the greatest of the Elves went over the Sea.

Gil-galad, for ex, ruled a large empire in the Second Age, at its peak his dominion was said to extend to the edge of Mirkwood in Wilderland, and throughout most of Eriador and the upper Anduin Valley. At one time in the Second Age, Legolas' grandfather Oropher also ruled a substantial realm that included most of Mirkwood, and somebody ruled a realm that was centered on but larger than Lothlorien, though different writings differ on just who it was.

But by the Third Age the Elves are a dwindling folk, more and more going over the Sea, probably the exodus was greater than their female fertility rate. To make it worse, a disproportionate percentage of those departing were Noldor and Sindar Elves, by far the most capable and able and knowledgeable Elves of Middle-earth. So the Elvish realms were shrinking, while Mannish populations were rising everywhere except for the Northwestern region.

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As for why the rings were not given to nine more men, Sauron needed the rings to enthrall the first nine. The Nazgul were unique among his subjects in allowing Sauron to their competence for granted without fear of mutiny. They also had an exanimate aura of fear that allowed them to keep the other slaves in line. Giving away the rings would hurt that; the Nazgul would put their loyalty to the rings not to Sauron. It would be like Napoleon ceasing to feed the Imperial Guard. Sauron had enough preternatural spooks and wights under his thumb as well as enough corporeal monsters and enough orcs, and enough just plain human soldiers and slaves. He needed someone to both keep all that mess in line and be trustworthy enough to do his bidding. What other kind of creature, for instance, could he have sent to grab the ring in the early part of the book?
Exactly. To give one of the Nine to another Man would be to destroy one of the Nazgul he already had. Then he'd have to wait for a new one to 'form', which takes time, and there's always the chance of it going sour and maybe even losing a Ring.

I suspect that if he regained the One, he might have given the surviving Seven Rings to various Men, though, to create additional Nazgul. Once he had the One back, 'losing' a Ring would no longer be possible in practice.
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