What are the powers of the One Ring?

[Morrus]

We know that Bilbo and Frodo used it to turn invisible, thats it use can be sensed by Sauron and his minions, and that it corrupts its owner. But clearly the ring is far more powerful than that - Gandalf says he would start to use it with the best intentions, implying that it can do something other than turn him invisible. Boromir knew it could be used in some way in the war effort.

Is that explained anywhere in any of the ancillary writings? What can the ring do?

 

[Alzrius]

I think that this is an excellent article on the subject, containing quotes, analysis, and even d20 statistics!

 

[Rune]

It's main purpose is to control the other rings of power (and, presumably, their wielders). Two hobbits from the shire wouldn't even have an inkling about how to do this, but Gandalf or Galadrial could probably have figured it out. Denethor too, maybe.

And Sarumon. Sarumon, having extensively studied the subject, might actually already know how.

 

[Morrus]

It's main purpose is to control the other rings of power (and, presumably, their wielders). Two hobbits from the shire wouldn't even have an inkling about how to do this, but Gandalf or Galadrial could probably have figured it out. Denethor too, maybe.

So mainly to control the nine Nazgul, Galadriel, Agent Smith, and Saruman? Plus seven dwarves somewhere? Didn't Sauron already have the nine and seven rings, though?

 

[Rune]

Yes, mostly--Gandalf has the third elven ring, not Sarumon. And it seems to exert some manner of control over everyone who knows about it, anyway. But controlling the rings is what it was made for.

By the time The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are happening, that pretty much means controlling the elves (and Gandalf, though Sauron doesn't know that).

It's also worth mentioning that Sauron, like Melkor before him, has always had a special hatred for the elves.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I've always thought it was Sauron's phylactery as well, and would allow him to regain physical form. I'm not sure where I got that, though, unless it's just all the liches with magic rings that also happen to be their phylacteries, leading to the hilarious complications when a party member insists on keeping it.

 

[MarkB]

I always figured that, throughout the time we see the Ring in use, it was basically just continuing to obey the last command given to it by someone who knew what they were doing - Isildur's "make me invisible!" command. None of its subsequent wielders had sufficient lore to understand how to command it to do something else.

 

[Morrus]

That whole "enhancing the wearer's existing nature" thing. Maybe that's why hobbits turn invisible with it - they hide from bigger folk a lot. It's their existing nature.

In which case it wouldn't turn Gandalf invisible. It would do something completely different.

 

[Umbran]

So mainly to control the nine Nazgul, Galadriel, Agent Smith, and Saruman?

Mainly, but there are a lot of minor abilities.

It could, for example, change a person's appearance. For example, not even wearing the Ring, merely carrying it, Samwise appeared to an orc as a powerful warrior wreathed in shadow, carrying some item of power and menace. Similarly Frodo draws upon this power on Mount Doom to intimidate Gollum, appearing as a figure robed in white, bearing a wheel of fire (presumably, the ring has a mighty ego, and so always includes itself in the imagery.

This may be an extension of a more general ability - an enhancement to the bearer's ability to dominate others, ring or no, and the images described may be more mental illusion. Sam and Frodo have little such ability natively, so the enhancement doesn't mean much.

It is repeatedly said that a goodly chunk of Sauron's power is in that ring. As angelic beings go, Sauron was of higher order then Gandalf and Saruman, so we could be talking about a *lot* of power in there. Surely, that can't all be required to dominate other wearers of rings. The way Gandalf and Galadriel speak, the ring also would represent a significant boost to their personal power - presumably, they know enough about magic to access the power Sauron had locked away in there, in ways that mere mortal hobbits couldn't.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Does "plot control" count as a power?