Magnuszered wrote:Today, my brother just bought the Balrog and I was wondering who would win in the film, the Balrog or Sauron?

But also, what were the Balrogs? I know that Sauron was one of the Maiar just like gandalf and saruman but where did the Balrogs come from?

Anfauglir wrote:
Well, it depends really. Sauron was powerful before the forging of the Rings of Power, certainly, which is why he was Morgoth's right hand, after all.

Dr. What wrote:Sauron was one of Morgoth's right hand spirits. The other was a balrog (blast my mind for not remembering its name)!

But in game, every time I've tried, the Balrog wins in a 1v1.

Magnuszered wrote:
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If Sauron could change shape when he was a luitenant then he could have transformed himself into a stone giant to counter the Balrog's size and strength

Magnuszered wrote:I thought he lost his powers after the destruction of numinor? I thought he spent most of his powers to save the ring from being destroyed?

Magnuszered wrote:I love the prologue...

Brother-Captain Scotti wrote:I would go with Sauron due to his magic prowess as well as his combat.

SBG wise I have done this several times when I was younger with my brother and Sauron won every time.

Magnuszered wrote:What where Sauron's reasons for creating the ring? It just made him more vulnerable

Wikipedia wrote:The Ring's primary power was control of the other Rings of Power, including "mastery over [their] powers" and domination of the wills of their users.[4] By extension, the Ring also conferred the power to dominate the wills of other beings whether they were wearing Rings or not. However, this is its least accessible power since it granted this ability in proportion to the user's natural capacity. In the same way, it amplified any inherent power its owner possessed.[4]

A mortal wearing the Ring was made effectively invisible except to those able to perceive the non-physical world, with only a thin, shaky shadow discernible in the brightest sunlight.[4] Whether immortals would be made invisible by it is unknown. The only direct example given is Tom Bombadil, over whom the Ring seemed to have no power. The Ring would also extend a mortal possessor's life indefinitely by preventing natural ageing. Gandalf explained that it does not "grant new life", but that the possessor merely "continues" until life becomes unbearably wearisome. However, the Ring could not protect its bearer from immediate death or destruction; Gollum perished in the Crack of Doom while in possession of the Ring, and even Sauron himself (as the only one who could truly control the full power of the Ring) could not preserve his body from destruction during the downfall of Númenor. Likewise, the Ring could not protect its bearer from physical harm; Frodo (while bearing the Ring) was seriously injured by the Witch-king on Weathertop. In the same way, Frodo lost a finger while actually wearing the Ring. Sauron himself suffered the death of his physical body at the hands of Elendil while wearing the Ring. Like the Nine Rings, the One Ring also has the effect of physically corrupting mortals who wear it for extended periods of time, eventually transforming them into wraiths. Hobbits were somewhat resistant to this process, as proved by Gollum.

It might have also given its wielder the ability to read minds, as Galadriel suggested to Frodo when he asked if he could learn to communicate telepathically as she did. When Samwise wears the ring to avoid being seen by orcs, the Ring sharpened his hearing at the expense of his visual acuity.

Within the land of Mordor where it was forged, the Ring's powers increased so tangibly that even without wearing it, its wielders could draw upon its powers. Seemingly, the Ring actually in some way inspired or caused its wielders to access its powers. One power the Ring could give was an aura of terrible power which would emanate from the Ring and onto its wielder. When Sam encountered an orc in the Tower of Cirith Ungol and held the Ring, he appeared to the orc as a powerful warrior cloaked in shadow "[holding] some nameless menace of power and doom." The orc was so terrified of this vision of the otherwise unintimidating Sam that it fled. Similarly at Mount Doom, when Frodo and Sam were attacked by Gollum, Frodo grabbed the Ring and appeared as "a figure robed in white... [and] it held a wheel of fire." In this scene, Frodo also accessed a second power of the Ring. Frodo told Gollum "in a commanding voice" that "If you touch me ever again, you shall be cast yourself into the Fire of Doom," a statement fulfilled when Gollum fell into Mount Doom with the Ring. Although the Ring was certainly invoked with this statement, it is unclear whether Frodo was prophesying a fate of Gollum (Frodo previously had less sinister visions while in possession of the Ring), or if Frodo was laying a curse upon Gollum.

As it contained a large part of Sauron's native power, it was endowed with a malevolent sentience of sorts. While separated from Sauron, the Ring would strive to either manipulate its bearer into claiming it for themselves or returning to him, both by impelling its bearer to yield to Sauron or his servants, and by abandoning its possessor at key moments.[5] For example, it slipped from Isildur's finger during the ambush at Gladden Fields; moments later he was killed by orcs. It also slipped off of Gollum's finger when the time was right for it to be brought back into the world at large. Frodo carried it on a chain, having been warned by Bilbo that it tended to slip away if it were not attended to otherwise.

To fully master all of these abilities, a wielder of the Ring would need an extremely disciplined and well-trained mind, a strong will, and a high degree of spiritual development. Those with weaker minds such as Hobbits and lesser Men, would have gained very little benefit from the Ring, let alone realized its full potential. Even for someone with the necessary prerequisites it would have taken time to master the Ring's powers to the point where he was strong enough to overthrow Sauron.[5] Yet in the end, the Ring's inherent corruption would have twisted its bearer into another Dark Lord as evil as Sauron was, or worse, regardless of his intentions at the outset. Ironically, this is the main appeal that the ring holds over all those who come in contact with it. It is seen as a symbol of hope for anyone strong enough to dominate it, that they would have the power to defeat Sauron and bring peace to the world.

Despite its powerful qualities, the Ring was not omnipotent, nor was its power over others absolute. Three times Sauron suffered military defeat with it in his possession, first by Gil-galad in the War of Sauron and the Elves, again by Ar-Pharazôn when Númenórean power so overawed his armies that they deserted him, and again at the end of the Second Age with his personal defeat at the hands of Gil-galad and Elendil. Tolkien indicates that this would not have been possible during the waning years of the Third Age when the strength of the free peoples was greatly diminished. At that time there were no remaining heroes of the stature of Gil-galad, Elendil, or Isildur; the strength of the Elves was fading and they were departing to the Blessed Realm of Aman; the Dwarves had been driven out of Moria and would have been unwilling to concentrate their strength in any event; and the Númenórean kingdoms had either declined or been destroyed, and had few allies.