Why is the One Ring so good?

[will_asher]

disclaimer: I have never found the One Ring in a game, so for me this is completely a thematic issue, not a gameplay issue.

Whenever I heard anyone mention the One Ring on these forums, I hear them talking about a rare uber-good item that you wish you'd find. I really don't think wearing the ring should be so beneficial.
Smeagul / Gollum found the ring in a river and owned it for many years. It granted him unnatural long life and apparently a little extra strength (he regularly strangled orcs with his bare hands). It addition, it turns the wearer invisible. He did not become uber powerful even after owning the ring for many years. For Frodo, the ring turned him invisible a few times (sometimes at completely the wrong time), but mostly it was nothing but a burden for him. It was only the characters who were already really powerful (Gandalf, Galadriel, Saruman) who were tempted by its power and would really become more powerful by wearing it.
I think the ring in Angband should have a couple big strengths (but not nearly as much as it has now), and some very serious drawbacks (more than it has now). I don't think it is reserved for variant territory to make the One Ring a little more authentic to the literature.

For DaJAngband, I've already changed it some. I plan to change it more but it's kindof low priority because it's so deep and rare.

PS: I thought I'd revive an old thread on the same subject but the search mechanic on these forums is really bad and I didn't want to spend several minutes searching for the appropriate thread.

[camlost]

Neither Smeagol/Gollum nor Bilbo tried to master the ring. I think it goes without saying that characters are powerful enough to attempt (and succeed) at this. The trouble is that the One Ring is a corrupting influence. If anything it should in the long term cause you to fail, as you no longer want to kill Sauron/Morgoth. But that doesn't sound like fun. Angband is first and foremost a game.

[nullfame]

Originally Posted by will_asher

He did not become uber powerful even after owning the ring for many years.

Yes, why did Sauron expend so much energy if the ring is totally worthless? And why forge it in secret? Why not just hey, "hey, I'm gonna make this trinket that will give me long life and make me only moderately stronger." I don't think anyone would have objected to that. It's never the crime, always the cover up that makes people mad.

And why did Elrond make such a big deal out of destroying it? I mean obviously Sauron without the ring has a pretty long lifespan. So what if he gets it back.

Now that I think about it the entire LOTR plot doesn't make any sense.

[chris]

Originally Posted by camlost

The trouble is that the One Ring is a corrupting influence. If anything it should in the long term cause you to fail, as you no longer want to kill Sauron/Morgoth. But that doesn't sound like fun.

What bad effects does the One Ring have in Vanilla? In Hengband, it carries the Ancient Foul Curse, which, among other things, might turn you into a statue (Free Action doesn't help!), surround you with extremely deadly high level monsters (more so when you a paralyzed), drain your stats, etc. I've had a few characters die while attempting to wield it. Still, its power is tempting ... and it does indeed seem ... precious. I think just having a really buff curse on the Ring is balancing (something more than just Aggravation and perma-curse, I think). It should continue to be powerful, but you should definitely think twice before deciding to use it.

[Therem Harth]

I'd like to see something like this:

+5 to all stats and speed, plus FA, light, dark, blindness, nether, and chaos resist
Invisibility
And a chance of summoning one or more high-level uniques ever turn!

So it makes you powerful and invisible... But Morgoth's more powerful servants will sense it, and make an appearance if you wear it for too long. Wielding it might win you a battle against a strong opponent; or it might summon even nastier things, and make the fight impossible to win. You decide if it's worth the risk.

Edit: and I'm strongly against perma-curse. And aggravation. As for the evilness part of it, maybe there could be something that says you fell under the Ring's influence and became a wraith, if you die or quit before kiling Morgoth.

[NotMorgoth]

I've always assumed that characters who find the ring and wear it want to kill Morgoth so they can rule the world themselves.

Definitely variant territory rather than Vanilla, but maybe there could be an alternate win condition for evil characters: travel to Valinor and defeat the Valar.

[PowerDiver]

Originally Posted by chris

It should continue to be powerful, but you should definitely think twice before deciding to use it.

So the one time you find it, after playing for years, you don't want to use it?

Anything that rare should be a no-brainer IMO.

[fph]

I like Therem's suggestion. Random summon_unique would make it a really interesting object.

[NotMorgoth]

Maybe it could get more powerful the longer you wear it, to represent the time taken to master its powers.

This could make it an interesting item as when you first find it, it would be weaker than some other rings so you would have to make the choice of giving up something in the short term to gain greater power in the long term.

[Derakon]

I'm with PowerDiver here. The One Ring is the "oh my god, I can't believe I've actually found it after all these years!" artifact. I have no problem with something this rare being almost unequivocally useful.

Besides, let's face it: the player's character is probably not a very good person. Just take a look at the townsperson / angel killcounts at the end of the game.