Still would not have made any real difference. Bloodlines.
If he had gotten the ring he might have been suddenly inflamed with greed for gold and power, but under normal circumstances I'd say that is not really his personality.
However, the ring was not there to be found.
And Dain surely knew that it was hoped to find the ring, and he still let Balin go. If he was so afraid of his position, he undoubtedly had the power to stop the whole expedition, but he didn't.
I'm still going for the "Balin needed more adventure in his life" theory.
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...finding a path that cannot be found, walking a road that cannot be seen, climbing a ladder that was never placed, or reading a paragraph that has no...
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