I hope you’re not claiming that the nine actually still wear their rings? Sauron claimed them long ago, and holds them still. Though where he kept them while disembodied was never quite clear to me. Do disembodied Maiar have pockets(es)?
No, no, as in my original post the Nine clearly eventually become perminant (at the point where one becomes a Ringwraith).
What I’m not clear on is why he doesn’t keep handing them out. Even if Denethor or Theoden wouldn’t accept it hand it out to one of your subordinates and keep pumping out Nazgul. Perhaps it takes seventy or eighty years to work…
Frodo was invisible (at least to Sam) when Gollum attacked him.
It may be that Gollum, through long years of wearing the ring himself, was able to see Frodo even when he was wearing it. At any rate, Gollum may have been watching when Frodo slipped on the ring, so he could have had a good idea of where he was standing anyway. Or it may be that he was able to use his other senses to find him. He did live under the Misty Mountains and seems to have been able to get around pretty well without light both there and in Moria.
My god, man, he could have thousands of them by now. Can you imagine the time sheets? Keeping track of nine is obviously enough of a chore for him. He can’t even find one little ring that is calling out to him.
Yeah, let’s face it. Sauron’s not much of an administrator.
Maybe he needs a consultant.
Along the lines of ratty’s post:
Tolkien changed the story of how Bilbo got the Ring in The Hobbit. The text was actually changed in editions published after he realized what was needed for consistency with The Lord of the Rings. There is an explanation for the change (fobbed off as Bilbo’s having lied about it) in a forward to The Fellowship of the Rings. I’ve never seen the original version of Bilbo’s story, and early editions of The Hobbit are probably hard to come by, but it appears that, rather than finding the Ring in the cave, Bilbo actually won it from Gollum in the riddle game in the original tale.
The story (as it occurs in the earliest printings of the 1st edition) is recounted in Doug Anderson’s The Annotated Hobbit if you are interested in reading it. There is a new revised edition of the aforementioned work so it should be accessible at your local bookstore.
As far as invisibility and the ring goes, I really like Narile’s explanation that the ring puts the wearer into the world of shadow, thus being able to see the Nazgul, exposed to Sauron, etc. Remember, the ring does not make one “completely” inivisible. I believe it is in mentioned in The Hobbit, right after Bilbo jumps over Gollum to escape from the Misty Mountains, that in full sunlight the ring-wearer casts a slight shadow. I suppose if one were looking for evidence to support the magical properties of a fictional ring, this could be taken to suggest that when the ring is worn, the wearer enters the world of shadow but not completely.
Here’s the quote from the book The Fellowship of the Ring
[Frodo] “I would ask one thing before we go,” said Frodo, "a thing which I often meant to ask Gandalf in Rivendell. I am permitted to wear the One Ring: why cannot I see all the others and know the thoughts of those that wear them? ’
[Galadriel] “You have not tried,” she said. "Only thrice have you set the Ring upon your finger since you knew what you possessed. Do not try! It would destroy you. Did not Gandalf tell you that the rings give power according to the measure of each possessor? Before you could use that power you would need to become far stronger, and to train your will to the domination of others. Yet even so, as Ring-bearer and as one that has borne it on finger and seen that which is hidden, your sight is grown keener. You have perceived my thought more clearly than many that are accounted wise. You saw the Eye of him that holds the Seven and the Nine . . . "
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Well, since this is a thread about inconsistencies, wouldn’t that be one? All of the seven aren’t accounted for, are they? And certainly Sauron doesn’t hold them.
Sauron made a ring of power, and was powerful enough to access all of its powers. It was forged of his malice and will to dominate others, and it lends that kind of power to its wearer. Hobbits don’t try to do those things, although Lotho was starting to try. It simply never occurred to them.
It may have made Sauron invisible, but I suspect that Sauron knew how to control the power of the ring as he desired.
Why couldn’t the Nazgul see Frodo when he had the ring on? They were always drawn to him when he wore it except when he put it on right in front of them. Then they just sort of stabbed around blindly until they happened to poke him. If the ring brought him into the realm of shadows where they lived, wouldn’t it be like a big neon ‘kick me’ sign to them?
Here are excerpts from Tolkien’s letter 246 which speaks to the OP. (The whole thing is at http://www.americanidea.org/handouts/06240110.htm.)
Well, but at the final battle of the Last Alliance, Sauron clearly was wearing the Ring, because Isildur cut it from Sauron’s hand after Gil-Galad and Elendil defeated Sauron. How could they have successfully fought him if they couldn’t see him? Gil-Galad maybe had some special sight, as an elf, but what about Elendil? and how could Isildur see the Ring to cut it off if Sauron were invisible? 
It’s perhaps unlikely that Sauron could have remained invisible while wielding The One Ring - even while he was crushing Men and Elves by the dozens with a very massive (and visible) mace.
He would not have been invisible to Gil-Galad, who had worn Vilya - the mightiest of the Elven Rings of Power - given to Elrond before the great battle.
Anyways - Sauron used to corrupt folks by means of his fair appearance, superb (second only to Feanor) language skills and (second only to Feanor) smithy skills. Sauron -wanted- to be visible. Even in the latter Third Age - he still has a visage - The Eye. And now that he’s back, those who wear The One are quite visible to him. He’s got tens of thousands of really bad, visible warriors.
Was this ever stated in the canon? I always thought that this was Jackson’s vision of Sauron’s looks and weaponry.
And another thing…How did Elendil kill Sauron? Wasn’t he just a mortal man? If Sauron was so easily taken down in combat then why did he show he face on the battle field? Wouldn’t his side have won if he wouldn’t have died? Could a man during the time the LotR takes place kill Sauron?
Sauron was a very skilled fighter, smith and speaker. He used to have a fair appearance in the second age where he ruined everyone’s day.
Certainly The One ring granted Might - and Sauron was perhaps the mightiest of the Maia (he was Lt. to Morgoth with all the Balrogs about) and could be imposing.
Gil-Galad had beaten him previously, and Fingolfin had nearly dropped Morgoth.
Gil-Galad got thrashed by Sauron, after maybe putting some hurt on him. Elendil rushed to Gil-Galad’s aid and was also pummeled.
Sauron was vulnerable. 3000 years before. He’s still around and doesn’t need The Ring to win.
The seven are either destroyed by dragonfire or held by Sauron. The last to be taken was the one of Durin’s house, and it was kept by Thrain II until he was captured and taken to Sauron’s stronghold of Dol Gulder, where it was taken from him.
But the seven never achieved the same success for Sauron that the nine did. Dwarves were crafted by Aüle to resist domination. All the rings did was inflame their desire for wealth, which served Sauron’s purpose at least partially. But it did not give Sauron mastery over the dwarves. So the big guy was pissed.
When did Gil-Galad defeat Sauron? He held him at bay at times, and threw back his forces from time to time, but I don’t believe Gil-Galad faced Sauron in battle until his death.
In the War of Wrath, there is no mention of individual combat with Sauron, only that Sauron surrendered after the defeat of Morgoth.
IIRC, the only ones mentioned to have defeated Sauron in battle were Luthien and Isildur.
<< Why couldn’t the Nazgul see Frodo when he had the ring on? They were always drawn to him when he wore it except when he put it on right in front of them. Then they just sort of stabbed around blindly until they happened to poke him. If the ring brought him into the realm of shadows where they lived, wouldn’t it be like a big neon ‘kick me’ sign to them? >>
In the movie, it is pretty clear that once he has the ring on, their aim improved enormously.
THERE ARE NO INCONSISTENCIES IN LORD OF THE RINGS!!! Any time something happens that can’t be explained, we just say “A wizard did it.”
Got it? Wizard.