The Hobbit
- Thread starter Feien
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Sulrn
Deuces
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I didn't think the Witch King died to prophecy but to the ancient enchanted blades the hobbits found in the barrows way back in FotR that were specifically crafted bane weapons during the first rise of the Witch King. Also, Gandalf/Elrond/Galdriel mentions that the ring wraiths have been defeated numerous times "but one cannot truly destroy their evil" and they reform after time due to Sauron still being around.
chaos
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My understanding was that so long as their rings and the one ring exist, they exist in some form. The blade that actually "killed" the witch-king was whatshername's though Pippin crippled him with the leg blow from the barrow blade.
This stuff is all kind of iffy because half of it isn't very well explained, and probably on purpose. Nazgul are way cooler the more mysterious they are.
This stuff is all kind of iffy because half of it isn't very well explained, and probably on purpose. Nazgul are way cooler the more mysterious they are.
j00t
Silver Baronet of the Realm
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It is specifically mentioned that the only way to kill the witch king is through the fulfillment of a specific prophecy. I take that to mean that the other ring wraiths are killable without any overly specific means. Though maybe that means that they are killable the same way sauron was, in that in time they would simply reform.
Also, I don't think the balrog and smaug are as equal as people were saying. Balrogs were maiar, but they were weaker, almost feral creatures. They always came across to me as tactically minded trolls. Smart enough to lead an army but at the end of the day they were killable by the opposing army. Though smaug was pretty weak compared to the other known drsgons so maybe they were equal.. I still think smaug would win but who knows
Also, I don't think the balrog and smaug are as equal as people were saying. Balrogs were maiar, but they were weaker, almost feral creatures. They always came across to me as tactically minded trolls. Smart enough to lead an army but at the end of the day they were killable by the opposing army. Though smaug was pretty weak compared to the other known drsgons so maybe they were equal.. I still think smaug would win but who knows
Chris
Potato del Grande
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Maiar Beast vs non Maiar Beast? The Balrog would garb hold of Smaug and beat it to death.
Gandalf sacrified himself to kill the Balrog because it COULDN'T be allowed to possibly ally with Sauron, although he wanted Smaug gone he didn't go all out and wasn't even there then he died.
Gandalf sacrified himself to kill the Balrog because it COULDN'T be allowed to possibly ally with Sauron, although he wanted Smaug gone he didn't go all out and wasn't even there then he died.
Loser Araysar
Chief Russia Reporter. Stock Pals CEO. Head of AI.
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My entire knowledge of LOTR/Hobbit stems from watching the 5 movies. But it definitely seems like the Balrog in the movies is much more badass than Smaug in FOTR. He is like 10 stories tall and is a supernatural demon while Smaug is just a very strong and tough lizard.
Asmadai
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Dagor-nuin-Giliath, an army of 90,000 Orcs and Balrogs took on about 15,000 Elves and were like, completely wiped out. Hell, Feanor took on multiple balrogs all by himself and though he eventually died from his wounds (and from a beating from Gothmog), he still managed to kill his fair share. Even Gothmog, Lord of the Balrogs couldn't take down Fingon (who was the younger half-brother of Feanor) by himself without another balrog sneaking up behind him and giving him the edge.
Not to take away from the strength of balrogs or anything, but those elves in the earlier days of Middle-earth weren't nothin' to fuck with.
Not to take away from the strength of balrogs or anything, but those elves in the earlier days of Middle-earth weren't nothin' to fuck with.
Big Phoenix
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Asmadai
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Nah, to be honest it's rather consistent when you know the lore. The Elves of the Third Age are no where near as powerful as the ones from the First, and for good reason. Tolkien really wasn't one to inflate/deflate power levels of characters for the sake of story. At least, nothing I can directly recall.
Cad
scientia potentia est
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How is that possible when many of the elves from the first age are still alive in the third, and don't appear particularly distinctive from the rest? A lot of the "elf magic" is referred to but never really observed or described. Galadriel is probably the most powerful elf in the series, wouldn't you say? Is she also the oldest?
Quaid
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Galadriel chooses to 'diminish' when she rejects Frodo's offer of The One Ring. In doing so, she allows The One to be destroyed, which will also destroy the ring of power she wields (Nenya), which provides her with much of her strength.
Or so I always interpreted it.
Or so I always interpreted it.
Quaid
Trump's Staff
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When The One was destroyed, the three elven rings lost their power:
The Encyclopedia of Arda - Three Rings
The Encyclopedia of Arda - Three Rings