I never understood that part. All of the characters expressed the belief that the ring would somehow grant them great power, aside from invisibility I don’t recall the ring doing much.
(preview!=post)
How did they expect the ring to help them rule over people?
Someone like Frodo, Bilbo or Smeagol couldn’t make the ring do much. Someone like Sauron, Saruman or Gandalf, or even Galadriel or Elrond, could have, but would have slid into darkness as a consequence (much like Smeagol did and Frodo almost did).
The characters’ fascination for the ring stems from its powers of seduction and its ability to create an “addiction” to it. This is what happened to Smeagol, and everybody who owned it had severe difficulties getting rid of it. I only recall Bilbo doing so voluntarily.
The Power of Command, once one learned to the wield the Ring. That is the power to order people. . . well, elves, dwarves, Men, hobbits and Ents to do things, just like the Dark Lord could order orcs & the Nine to do his terrible bidding.
From the FAQ of the Rings: The powers of the One Ring
To rule the other Rings
To control the wielders of other Rings
To understand languages, or read thoughts?
To control or influence people in general
To deceive and corrupt its bearer and others
I win!
You were first, but mine is BIGGER ! HAH !
Correction: Sam did so as well. But he carried it only briefly.
Yeah, and more likely to irk the CR PTB too, so nyah! 
I think there’s also mention (by Galadriel?) that simply carrying the Ring gave Frodo more insight into the thoughts of the powerful than would be expected from an ordinary mortal.
Does size matter?
:dubious:
So did Tom Bombadil. And Frodo tried to give away two or three times, but no one would take it. And Faramir never held the Ring, but was never remotely tempted to hold it in the first place.
It’s probably a good thing you had all those character going on and on about how hard it was to give up the Ring, because just going by what actually happened, you really don’t get a sense of it from the books.
Yes, and in the “Mirror” scene it is established that Frodo, who carries and has worn the One Ring, can see Nenya the Adamant Ring that Galadriel wears, while Sam cannot.
i think it stretches your lifespan too. for hobbits at least.
Fo’ shizzle. A mortal who possesses any of the Rings of Power does not die, but he does not obtain more life - the Ring merely keeps him from dying. That was true of the Nine as well as the One, and this was what created the Ringwraiths. Gandalf observed that by contrast Gollum had not dwindled away to wraithdom; he was still visibly a living creature, thin and tough, though he looked perpetually starved. But, as Gollum might have said, “when five hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not.” 
As for Bilbo, he was still doing very well at a hundred and plenty - though he felt over-extended, he was visibly in good health, and as long as the Ring lasted he was in full possession of his wits. It was only after the Ring was destroyed that he finally became extremely elderly and infirm.
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Der Trihs, you quoted WAY more material than is fair usage. I’ve therefore deleted all but the first paragraph (in this situation, mods are not allowed to do any “editing” other than to delete all but the first sentence or two.) You’ve provided a link to the source, and that should be sufficient.
You know this, of course, but please remind yourself (and for others who are unaware) of our policy on quoting material: FAQ - Rules for Posting on the Straight Dope Message Boards and note especially Post #3 in that thread. You could also get similar (somewhat expanded) information in Post #2 ofForum Rules – PLEASE READ!
Please don’t do this again.
Except, of course, that it didn’t do this for the dwarves.
I always laugh at blanket statements about the Rings of Power. Not one single such statement appears to be true about all the rings, all the time. Frodo perceives Nenya on Galadriel, but he never perceives that Gandalf is wearing Narya, or that Elrond is wearing Vilya. Etc., etc., etc.
Plus, Sam would kill him if he tried anything.
Ooo. Shrinkage. Do women know about shrinkage?