The 7

[Angelalex242]

Well...if there's just '16 corrupt rings, and dwarves are resistant' then why not repurpose the recovered 3 to make 3 more human ringwraiths? For some reason Sauron doesn't do that.

Or maybe we're both right, and there WAS just a set of 16, but long association with the dwarves altered the 7 dwarven rings to be, well, 'dwarfish.'

[Otaku-sempai]

Actually, the three recovered Rings could have been given to Men, but they would not have instantly transformed them into Nazgul. The Rings of Power were forged around SA 1500 to 1590 and Sauron crafted the Master Ring about ten years later. The Nazgul did not appear in their undead form until S.A. 2250. The Dwarven Rings would have extended the lives of Men until they transformed into Ringwraiths. Except the destruction of the One Ring would have stripped them of their power and Sauron's living servants would be out of luck.

[Angelalex242]

Hmmm. So it takes about 650 years for a Ring to turn a man into a wraith. If Gollum is any indication, it'll warp your physical appearance before you get there.

Depends on when he recovered 2 of the 7 then. We know when he recovered Thrain's ring (too late) but we don't know when he got the other two.

So maybe the Mouth of Sauron had a repurposed dwarven ring?

[TheMonarchGamer]

So maybe the Mouth of Sauron had a repurposed dwarven ring?

Ooooh, that's interesting. I like that. I like that a lot. He would be a pretty dinkum campaign villain.
-TMG

[aramis]

Hmmm. So it takes about 650 years for a Ring to turn a man into a wraith. If Gollum is any indication, it'll warp your physical appearance before you get there.

Depends on when he recovered 2 of the 7 then. We know when he recovered Thrain's ring (too late) but we don't know when he got the other two.

So maybe the Mouth of Sauron had a repurposed dwarven ring?

Smeagol was a river hobbit, not a man.
Smeagol found the One Ring, not one of the lesser rings
He is thus twice removed from being a suitable model for man and lesser ring of power.

[Otaku-sempai]

Smeagol was a river hobbit, not a man.
Smeagol found the One Ring, not one of the lesser rings
He is thus twice removed from being a suitable model for man and lesser ring of power.

We can still extrapolate from the history of the Rings and the Nazgul, who first appeared as Ringwraiths about 650 years after Sauron crafted the One Ring.

[Glorelendil]

I'd say a +1 to one stat (like the Lesser Ring), plus a Greater Blessing to whatever your highest skill is (which means it could change as you spend AP). But one Permanent Shadow Point, and every time you use the Greater Blessing you have to make a Corruption Check against a stiff TN.

[Otaku-sempai]

Just an idea:

Great Ring (excluding the Three Elven Rings and the One)
The sixteen Great Rings that Sauron distributed to Men and Dwarves are not cursed items in the conventional sense but are actually objects of great evil created under the direction of Sauron himself (in the disguise of Annatar). The curses they bear are intended to corrupt the bearer to Sauron's Will and turn the subject into a servant of the Enemy. The Dwarf-lords proved unusually resistant, however, and the primary effect of the Great Rings upon them is to enhance their greed.
- Greater Blessing of Stealth (invisibility; does not affect Dwarves)
- Blessing of Awe
- Curse of Weakness (in the possession of a Dwarf, if the bearer comes to possess any significant amount of gold then the RIng inflicts him with the Flaw of Thieving regardless of his Shadow Weakness, otherwise it has no effect).
- Curse of Shadow Taint (permanently increasing the bearer's Shadow score by 3 points)
- Curse of Life Extension (this originally appears to be a Greater Blessing as the bearer seems hardly to age. However, the Ring does not grant more life but merely extends the life that the bearer possesses until he/she is neither alive nor dead and becomes permanently invisible to normal vision. Dwarves are seemingly unaffected by this Curse)

[Wbweather]

I have had the idea of enlisting several fans of the game to put together a Saruman centric campaign where the wizard enlists PC's to search for one of the 7 in various dens of dragons and former dwarf strongholds. I thought it also might be interesting if the PC's are involved in the recovery of Isildur's remains. It would be an interesting way to explore Saruman's transformation and ultimate betrayal.

Would any of you be willing to work with me on the said campaign? I have some ideas that I would like to bounce off of folks. If we put together a general outline and then several of us were willing to write individual adventures, I think it is something we could do fairly easily. I was waiting until after the Rohan book was released because I think that a large part of the campaign would be centered around Isengard and Rohan.

Here's some ideas for adventures that I have been considering:

1. The company is enlisted by Arciryas to help deliver a "shipment" from the gladden fields to Isengard.
(The remains of Isuldur, along with the Elendilmir have been discovered found buried in a barrow, perhaps interned by some hobbit folk in the ancient past)
2. Impressed by the company, Saruman sends them to investigate a dwarven ruin (looking for clues to one of the 7 rings)
3. The company is sent north to the Shire to establish trade with the Hobbit folk and procure some pipe-weed (as well as spy on Gandalf and see why he is so interested in the Shire)
4. Saruman sends the company south into Rohan and Dunland under the pretense of securing allegiance with the folk in the region. (In reality he is looking for weaknesses to exploit and seeking to turn a traitor against Theoden while stirring up animosity between the Rhohirrim and the Dunlandings.)
5. The company is sent on an errand to explore an ancient dragons lair and hopefully find an important tool to use against the enemy. (Searching for one of the 7)

I think that there could also be quests involving getting materials or information for Saruman to construct his own ring of power, capturing orcs for research purposes, or conveying messages to others in the White Council.

My hope would be that through the adventures they slowly see Saruman transform from a wise wizard into a manipulative power hungry egomaniac. There could be possible interactions with Gandalf and other important players on the White Council that fortell the conflict to come.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I admit it is rather ambitious, but it would be something that I think would be fun to offer the community at large if it were ever completed.
Any thoughts?

[TheMonarchGamer]

I have had the idea of enlisting several fans of the game to put together a Saruman centric campaign where the wizard enlists PC's to search for one of the 7 in various dens of dragons and former dwarf strongholds. I thought it also might be interesting if the PC's are involved in the recovery of Isildur's remains. It would be an interesting way to explore Saruman's transformation and ultimate betrayal.

Would any of you be willing to work with me on the said campaign? I have some ideas that I would like to bounce off of folks. If we put together a general outline and then several of us were willing to write individual adventures, I think it is something we could do fairly easily. I was waiting until after the Rohan book was released because I think that a large part of the campaign would be centered around Isengard and Rohan.

Here's some ideas for adventures that I have been considering:

1. The company is enlisted by Arciryas to help deliver a "shipment" from the gladden fields to Isengard.
(The remains of Isuldur, along with the Elendilmir have been discovered found buried in a barrow, perhaps interned by some hobbit folk in the ancient past)
2. Impressed by the company, Saruman sends them to investigate a dwarven ruin (looking for clues to one of the 7 rings)
3. The company is sent north to the Shire to establish trade with the Hobbit folk and procure some pipe-weed (as well as spy on Gandalf and see why he is so interested in the Shire)
4. Saruman sends the company south into Rohan and Dunland under the pretense of securing allegiance with the folk in the region. (In reality he is looking for weaknesses to exploit and seeking to turn a traitor against Theoden while stirring up animosity between the Rhohirrim and the Dunlandings.)
5. The company is sent on an errand to explore an ancient dragons lair and hopefully find an important tool to use against the enemy. (Searching for one of the 7)

I think that there could also be quests involving getting materials or information for Saruman to construct his own ring of power, capturing orcs for research purposes, or conveying messages to others in the White Council.

My hope would be that through the adventures they slowly see Saruman transform from a wise wizard into a manipulative power hungry egomaniac. There could be possible interactions with Gandalf and other important players on the White Council that fortell the conflict to come.

Anyway, those are my thoughts. I admit it is rather ambitious, but it would be something that I think would be fun to offer the community at large if it were ever completed.
Any thoughts?

Ambitious and really cool. Shouldn't this be its own thread though?
I'd be happy to help, but to be fair, the way I plan out/write adventures is pretty different than the way most people do. Not sure if I'd help more or hurt more.
-TMG