Grey has it right. Beleriand was wrecked by the fury and might of the battle in the War of Wrath. Eru did not intervene then. Eru only got called in when Valinor got invaded, Numenor thrown down, and the very nature of the world changed.
From:Faq of the Rings
This may seem like a joke, but it’s a serious question…
What if C.S. Lewis had converted Tolkien to a-Christian theism in 1931, rather than Tolkien (and Dyson) converting Lewis to Christianity?
I have no doubt Tolkien would still have written LoTR, but how would it be different?
Yes, you can gain intrinsics from rings and amulets when you’re polymorphed as a Xorn (or any lithivore such as that).
I have an obsession with NetHack.
No one?
It’s possible.
The balrogs are also Maia, as are Sauron and Gandalf.
Presumably, the Balrog of Moria fled Angband after Melkor’s defeat in the War of Wrath at the end of the First Age of the Sun. What status this balrog had in the pecking order prior to the Second Age isn’t known.
But although the balrogs were Melkor’s chief henchmen, Gothmog* being first among them, it seems clear that even at this point Sauron was the next in succession. Also, the Balrog of Moria had been inactive for some 6 millenia, while Sauron on the other hand had been building his power.
But if the BoM possessed the One Ring, this might have tipped the balance.
*Gothmog is also the name of Sauron’s lieutenant during the War of the Ring.
I realize I probably shouldn’t bump up a thread I started but -
I loved the speculation about the Balrog getting the ring. I’ve often wondered about that myself.
I’m still wondering who would have roused Theoden and Rohan’s forces if Gandalf had “really” died.
And what if Faramir had journeyed to Rivendell and not Boromir? How would the division of the Fellowship occurred? Would Boromir deny Aragorn’s right to the kingship?
Thanks for all the responses. Since I can’t live in the fictional world of Middle Earth, discussing it is the next best thing.
and I’m glad we didn’t devolve into fanfic what ifs about Aragorn/Arwen/Eowyn.
My own responses to other what ifs:
If Frodo had died at Shelob’s lair, Sam probably could have destroyed the ring, but the book would not have had as much of an impact. Ditto for if Frodo had tossed in the ring rather than claiming it. I think the plot thread of Frodo succumbing to the ring is one of the most powerful aspects of LOTR (for reasons I won’t go into here).
Regarding the Balrog acquiring the Ring, it’s already been calculated here:
