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Anon gains a superpower
(sh.itjust.works)
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this post was submitted on 28 May 2025
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Had forgotten about that, I always tough it just gave power to the user, what power? That's depends on the users desires and ambitions, and because Hobbits are not a lot into desires and ambitions, the ring wasn't particularly powerful in them, neither had a lot of power to corrupt them.
What the ring does:
So the Ring.. does things. One of which is pulling the bearer into the wraith world. I believe the reason Sauron doesn't turn invisible is that he is already of the wraith world (implying he is invisible without the Ring, but I have no confirmation of that).
This is one of the things I like about Tolkiens approach to magic: It's very diffuse.
We understand that Gandalf and Saruman are powerful, but it is very unclear exactly how they use their power. We don't see them bringing down castle walls or throwing lightning bolts. Some rare examples are when Gandalf breaks the bridge the Balrog is on, and when he breaks Sarumans staff. None of these are feats of magic that would lead you to think they are by far among the most powerful beings in middle earth.
When Gandalf battles the Balrog, the books state something like "they battled for three days", without specifying how a physically frail (at least by appearance) Gandalf could defeat a Balrog.
With the ring(s), we just learn that they "grant the user immense power", without ever learning exactly how Sauron would become unstoppable if he had the ring. I think it makes the story great, because it makes the story inherently character-driven, with magic being a diffuse "force" in the background rather than concrete abilities someone like Gandalf could use to teleport, shield someone, or set a building of fire.
Saruman did cause a landslide/avalanche which was pretty nifty.
I seem to remember that a blizzard is also attributed to Saruman at one point. What I love though is that it's not Saruman waving his arms and chanting some formula to cause the blizzard, but rather a situation where a blizzard was already possible and Saruman kind of "nudging" nature to ensure the blizzard hits in the right place and is especially violent. In a sense, it feels like the blizzard happens just because Saruman wants it to happen.
I also seem to remember that it's also implied that the ride of the Rohirim to Helms Deep should have been near impossible, but because Gandalf was with them they had the speed and stamina to make it. He doesn't explicitly do anything, but kind of "wills" them to be faster.