The Great Evils of the Third Age - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Zigûr · 06-28-2014, 12:22 AM

"Why did the Balrog never leave Moria?" is an interesting question. Two possibilities come to mind.

1) It didn't want to - it was contented where it was.
2) It feared what lay outside - who knew what threats it might face if it made its existence too publicly known? Dwarves were one thing, Lords of the Eldar another.

I think its presence in Moria was very convenient for Sauron. All Orcs, directly or indirectly, served Sauron by the end of the Third Age, and given that the Balrog seemingly did not object to their presence it must have been logical to take advantage of the location.

I'd argue that Sauron may not have known for sure what Durin's Bane was, although it probably wasn't especially difficult to guess. But I don't think Sauron needed it. Smaug would have been useful - I think any arrangement there would still have been more of an alliance than Smaug directly serving Sauron - but evidently he was not necessary either. Really the only thing that mattered was recovering the One Ring so that he could dismantle the defences of Lórien and Rivendell. He presumably thought that everything else could be accomplished through sheer weight of military numbers.

Nikkolas · 07-04-2014, 11:40 PM

So diverting this thread off a bit I was reading the Balrog vs. Witch-king topic and wanted to discuss something. I am guilty of liking to debate "power levels" in Tolkien and one character I was quite fond of when I first read TTT was Shelob.

She was kinda lame in the movie but the book says:
[i]"But Shelob was not as dragons are, no softer spot had she save only her eyes. Knobbed and pitted with corruption was her age-old hide, but ever thickened from within with layer on layer of evil growth. The blade scored it with a dreadful gash, but those hideous folds could not be pierced by any strength of men, not though Elf or Dwarf should forge the steel or the hand of Beren or of Túrin wield it"

That is some incredibly high praise for her strength. Short of saying frickin' Hurin could not harm her, I can't think of how else it could have been framed more impressively. What's more she is the child of Ungoliant, the monstrosity that nearly consumed Melkor.

I just wondered, since it specifically mentions she is unlike dragons, how do people reckon her power compared to Smaug, the other "last of his kind" of the First Age?

06-28-2014, 12:22 AM	#1
Zigûr Ghost Prince of Cardolan Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 785	"Why did the Balrog never leave Moria?" is an interesting question. Two possibilities come to mind. 1) It didn't want to - it was contented where it was. 2) It feared what lay outside - who knew what threats it might face if it made its existence too publicly known? Dwarves were one thing, Lords of the Eldar another. I think its presence in Moria was very convenient for Sauron. All Orcs, directly or indirectly, served Sauron by the end of the Third Age, and given that the Balrog seemingly did not object to their presence it must have been logical to take advantage of the location. I'd argue that Sauron may not have known for sure what Durin's Bane was, although it probably wasn't especially difficult to guess. But I don't think Sauron needed it. Smaug would have been useful - I think any arrangement there would still have been more of an alliance than Smaug directly serving Sauron - but evidently he was not necessary either. Really the only thing that mattered was recovering the One Ring so that he could dismantle the defences of Lórien and Rivendell. He presumably thought that everything else could be accomplished through sheer weight of military numbers. __________________ "Since the evening of that day we have journeyed from the shadow of Tol Brandir." "On foot?" cried Éomer.

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07-04-2014, 11:40 PM	#2
Nikkolas Haunting Spirit Join Date: Jun 2008 Posts: 55	So diverting this thread off a bit I was reading the Balrog vs. Witch-king topic and wanted to discuss something. I am guilty of liking to debate "power levels" in Tolkien and one character I was quite fond of when I first read TTT was Shelob. She was kinda lame in the movie but the book says: [i]"But Shelob was not as dragons are, no softer spot had she save only her eyes. Knobbed and pitted with corruption was her age-old hide, but ever thickened from within with layer on layer of evil growth. The blade scored it with a dreadful gash, but those hideous folds could not be pierced by any strength of men, not though Elf or Dwarf should forge the steel or the hand of Beren or of Túrin wield it" That is some incredibly high praise for her strength. Short of saying frickin' Hurin could not harm her, I can't think of how else it could have been framed more impressively. What's more she is the child of Ungoliant, the monstrosity that nearly consumed Melkor. I just wondered, since it specifically mentions she is unlike dragons, how do people reckon her power compared to Smaug, the other "last of his kind" of the First Age?