The 7

[Angelalex242]

Alright. So far, the builds for the 7 are:

Mine: (only for the 7, which I believe are fundamentally different then the 9)
(Double Strength Dragon Sickness Shadow Weakness,
Double Strength 'Stiff Neck of the Dwarves' virtue,
every treasure point you obtain becomes 4.)

Otaku: (For all16)
Greater Stealth blessing (dwarf immunity)
Awe Blessing
Curse of Weakness (For dwarves, automatically inflicts thievery as well as greatest natural weakness)
Curse of Taint (3 permanent shadow)'
Curse of Life Extension (Dwarf immunity)

Glorelindel:
+1 to any stat (like Lesser Ring)
+Greater Blessing to highest Common Skill
+1 Permanent Shadow, and using the greater blessing triggers a corruption check.

Any other ideas?

I might modify Glor's to, instead of +1 to any stat, increase to maximums for your race. (That is, every dwarf who puts one on becomes 7 Body 4 Heart 6 Wits, regardless of what he was before. Also, all of his favored bonuses become +3.). The High Elf Reward is a LESSER Ring, after all. Far inferior to the big 7.
If the highest common skills had a tie, pick the one most likely to make the dwarf wealthy.

Any other ideas?

[Wbweather]

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

Yes, I was planning on starting this as its own thread, but I had been waiting until the Rohan book was released. I was posting it hear just to sound it out with a few of you to see if there was any interest or if anyone thought it was worth the effort. I will probably work on it anyway, but on my own, who knows when it would get finished.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Actually, the three recovered Rings could have been given to Men, but they would not have instantly transformed them into Nazgul.

The other reason Sauron might not have given out the 3 Dwarven Rings he recovered is that even if they did turn Men into Ringwraiths, those Ringwraiths might not have been under his control! Notably, the nine Ringwraiths we know about were all transformed during the time that Sauron was wearing the One. We know that the lesser Rings of Power were all subject to the will of the wearer of the One, but I don't think they were automatically subject to Sauron, as such. Without the One, he couldn't necessarily control them. Notably, there are several references to Sauron "holding" the Nine, and it's mentioned at one point that the Nine's wills are enslaved to their Rings, which Sauron holds. My assumption is that at some point when Sauron still had the One, he commanded the Ringwraiths to give him their Rings, as an "insurance policy" of sorts. Presumably, he stashed them somewhere safe, and they weren't found after the Battle of the Last Alliance, allowing him, when he reformed his spirit, to collect the Nine and once again command the Nazgul via them.

But if a Man took up one of the Dwarf Rings and eventually became a Ringwraith, during the Third Age, while Sauron did not have the One, I don't think there's any indication that Sauron could automatically command them. Certainly, after Sauron lost the One, the Elves felt safe in taking up the Three Rings again, and using them, even after Sauron was revealed as still existing - they seem to have not feared his control unless he regained the One. So giving a Dwarf Ring to a Man might have just made an immortal being with great powers to dominate the will of others, and no particular desire to serve Sauron - a rival, rather than a servant, in other words. If that's the case, it makes sense that Sauron was just hanging on to the three Dwarf Rings he had collected, rather than giving them out again. Maybe if he recovered the One, he would have tried to make three more Ringwraiths, but since he never did, we'll never know.

That's the assumption that I'm running with in my game, anyway, where an NPC ally of the party has picked up one of the Seven, and is now slowly starting a descent into Ringwraith-hood. (I'm running a game set 1000 years before the LoTR/Hobbit period, and the Ring that was found is actually one of the ones destined to be consumed by dragonfire. Hopefully, I can set that event up without it being too contrived. )

[Otaku-sempai]

The other reason Sauron might not have given out the 3 Dwarven Rings he recovered is that even if they did turn Men into Ringwraiths, those Ringwraiths might not have been under his control! Notably, the nine Ringwraiths we know about were all transformed during the time that Sauron was wearing the One. We know that the lesser Rings of Power were all subject to the will of the wearer of the One, but I don't think they were automatically subject to Sauron, as such. Without the One, he couldn't necessarily control them.

Good point, but I still maintain that it would take hundreds of years for a Man bearing one of the Great Rings to transform into a Wraith.

...if a Man took up one of the Dwarf Rings and eventually became a Ringwraith, during the Third Age, while Sauron did not have the One, I don't think there's any indication that Sauron could automatically command them. Certainly, after Sauron lost the One, the Elves felt safe in taking up the Three Rings again, and using them, even after Sauron was revealed as still existing - they seem to have not feared his control unless he regained the One. So giving a Dwarf Ring to a Man might have just made an immortal being with great powers to dominate the will of others, and no particular desire to serve Sauron - a rival, rather than a servant, in other words. If that's the case, it makes sense that Sauron was just hanging on to the three Dwarf Rings he had collected, rather than giving them out again. Maybe if he recovered the One, he would have tried to make three more Ringwraiths, but since he never did, we'll never know.

That's the assumption that I'm running with in my game, anyway, where an NPC ally of the party has picked up one of the Seven, and is now slowly starting a descent into Ringwraith-hood. (I'm running a game set 1000 years before the LoTR/Hobbit period, and the Ring that was found is actually one of the ones destined to be consumed by dragonfire. Hopefully, I can set that event up without it being too contrived. )

It might also be that Sauron wanted to reclaim the remaining Dwarven Rings because he might have been able to regain some of his power through them. Or, since he did attempt to seduce some of the Dwarf-lords of the later Third Age with Rings, he might have laid new spells upon them that he hoped would be more effective in enslaving the bearers. Alternately, maybe he just wanted to sow further division among the Free Peoples.

[Terisonen]

Of the three Elven Ring, Sauron never has a part in their building, contrary to all the other one. If a men start to bear a ring even if Sauron don't have the one, the effect will be the same: a ringwraith in the order of Sauron.

I have nerver read somthing that would say about the nature of the ring, if they were all identical or all different. May be they are all different in effect and appearance, save they grant long life to human (and in the end the passing into shadow). And I percept that inherently, the more powerful the bearer is, the more potentiel effect of wearing the rings is. That's why Sauron give them to prominents figure (Dwarf and Human) of that time.

[Kelly Pedersen]

Good point, but I still maintain that it would take hundreds of years for a Man bearing one of the Great Rings to transform into a Wraith.

Oh, definitely agree there. Certainly, it doesn't seem like there would be enough time for Durin's Ring (taken from Thrain II in 2850 TA) to seriously transform a Man into a Ringwraith, even if Sauron gave it to a servant immediately after recovering it (it would be 169 years until the War of the Ring, and we know it took something like 550 years for Ringwraiths to start showing up after Sauron got the Nine the first time). Of course, the other Dwarf Rings were recovered before that (Thrain knew his Ring was the "last of the Seven"), but as far as I know, there's no good evidence for when Sauron got them, so it's certainly possible he had only recovered them a few years before Thrain's Ring, and thus didn't have time to Ringwraith-ify anyone else with them either.

Still, I do tend to assume that the other Dwarf Rings were recovered rather earlier than that, so I my personal guess is that Sauron would have had a chance to use them to make new Nazgul, if not Durin's Ring, and thus his failure to do so needs some explanation.

It might also be that Sauron wanted to reclaim the remaining Dwarven Rings because he might have been able to regain some of his power through them.

I'm not sure that makes much sense - Sauron is never indicated to have put a great deal of his power into any of the Nine, the Seven, or the Three. It was only the One he poured a bunch of his power into. I wouldn't assume that holding the Dwarf Rings would really make Sauron notably more powerful.

Or, since he did attempt to seduce some of the Dwarf-lords of the later Third Age with Rings,

Hmm. I've never read any indications that he did this. I know of only one time Sauron gave Rings to dwarves, that being the first time, in the Second Age, when he apparently still assumed they would let him dominate their wearers. All his efforts since then seem to have been to get back the Seven, and I don't know of any examples of him giving them to other Dwarves. The only possible example I can think of is in the Council of Elrond, when Gloin is describing the offer of the messenger of Sauron, who promised King Dain "Rings... such as he gave of old." But that's just something Sauron is saying, not actually doing, and he's certainly not a trustworthy bargainer! Do you know of any other textual examples of Sauron actually giving out Rings to Dwarves in the Third Age?

[TheMonarchGamer]

Question slightly off topic but still on topic, as it were. How would one go about destroying one of the greater rings (not The One)? Evidently, dragon fire worked, but would some kind of dwarven smithy or enchanted hammer be able to shatter a ring? Ideally, I'd like an answer that involves the ring being shattered/cracked, not melted down. Just... "theoretically" speaking, if my players had an opportunity to destroy one of the Nine Rings, how could they do it and have the wraith come back in time for the events of the War of the Ring?
-TMG

[Otaku-sempai]

Sauron is never indicated to have put a great deal of his power into any of the Nine, the Seven, or the Three. It was only the One he poured a bunch of his power into. I wouldn't assume that holding the Dwarf Rings would really make Sauron notably more powerful.

None of Sauron's power was used to craft the Three; the Elves made them in secret and Sauron never touched them.

Or, since he did attempt to seduce some of the Dwarf-lords of the later Third Age with Rings,

Hmm. I've never read any indications that he did this. I know of only one time Sauron gave Rings to dwarves, that being the first time, in the Second Age, when he apparently still assumed they would let him dominate their wearers. All his efforts since then seem to have been to get back the Seven, and I don't know of any examples of him giving them to other Dwarves. The only possible example I can think of is in the Council of Elrond, when Gloin is describing the offer of the messenger of Sauron, who promised King Dain "Rings... such as he gave of old." But that's just something Sauron is saying, not actually doing, and he's certainly not a trustworthy bargainer! Do you know of any other textual examples of Sauron actually giving out Rings to Dwarves in the Third Age?

Yes, Glóin speaks of this during the Council of Elrond. A messenger from Sauron visited Dáin offering friendship and Rings, "such as he gave of old." I stated that Sauron had made the offer, not that anyone had accepted it.

[Otaku-sempai]

Question slightly off topic but still on topic, as it were. How would one go about destroying one of the greater rings (not The One)? Evidently, dragon fire worked, but would some kind of dwarven smithy or enchanted hammer be able to shatter a ring? Ideally, I'd like an answer that involves the ring being shattered/cracked, not melted down. Just... "theoretically" speaking, if my players had an opportunity to destroy one of the Nine Rings, how could they do it and have the wraith come back in time for the events of the War of the Ring?
-TMG

Dragon-fire is certainly powerful enough to destroy the Great Rings (other than the One). Or perhaps dragons have stomach-acids that do the job. The smiths of the High Elves might be able to produce fires hot enough to do the job, and maybe the greatest of the Dwarven smiths could do it. The Men of Numenor might have had the knowledge and ability. Gandalf or Saruman might have the ability to detroy the Rings either by fire or acid. But, this is all speculation.

[Angelalex242]

Well, we're already changing canon by handing one of the big 7 to a PC to begin with. Well, probably. We don't know when, exactly, the 4 unaccounted for Dwarven rings got munched by dragons.

Still...however we stat the thing, somebody getting hold of one of the Big 7 is going to send serious ripples throughout Middle Earth. The Nazgul will know, Sauron will know, and Elrond/Galadriel/Gandalf will know.