Why did Sauron need ring?

[Sauron the White]

Question: much is made of the fact that if Sauron obtains the One Ring during the Lord of the Rings timeperiod, then all is lost and the world of Middle-earth comes under his shadow and rule. Here is what I do not quite get - Sauron had the One Ring. It was his in the Second Age and cut off of his finger by Isildur right there on his own doorstep in Mordor. So he had the ring, he had his armies, he had power. And it availed him not. The armies of the Last Alliance marched upon him, laid siege to his tower of Barad-dur and defeated him despite his possession of this powerful ring. So why then at the end of the Third Age does everyone with any knowledge seem to feel that the Ring will spell the end for the Free Peoples of Middle-earth when it had not had that effect previously?

There is talk of the power of Sauron having grown during the time - but how could Sauron without the ring have grown in more power compared to the time when he actually had the ring? That seems a huge contradiction.

Why did Sauron need the Ring at the end of the Third Age when he had it earlier and it failed to help him?

[Elfchick7]

It is my understanding that Sauron needed the ring b/c he poured a great deal of himself into the making of it. So his existence depends on it.

His power can grow without it but he is still largely dependent on the ring. That is why he wants it and why the fellowship must destroy it. Savy?

[Boo Radley]

Not only that, but there's all the talk about how the blood of mankind has weakened and that they are just a shadow of their Numenor... Numenorian... Numer... ahem, former selves.
If that's the case, Sauron probably felt he had a victory in the bag.

[Sauron the White]

Yes, I do understand that. But it would seem that the Free Peoples may have had the attitude "we beat you once with the damn ring, we can surely beat you without it". But none of that comes through. Its all "we are dead meat if Sauron gets his ring back". They already beat him once when he had the ring. That is the part that seems contradictory to me.

Its akin to Florida having to play Ohio State yet again for the NCAA basketball title and this time Ohio does not even have its best player. They beat them once already when they had more firepower. Why would they not think they would simply repeat that task?

[Legate of Amon Lanc]

I think it mainly depended on that if Sauron got the Ring again, he could undo all what has been done with the other Rings - even with the Elven ones. This would mean, no "Last Alliance of Men and Elves" could be formed, only "Last Alliance of Men, and Lórien and Rivendell fall without enough opposition".

[Boo Radley]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

Yes, I do understand that. But it would seem that the Free Peoples may have had the attitude "we beat you once with the damn ring, we can surely beat you without it". But none of that comes through. Its all "we are dead meat if Sauron gets his ring back". They already beat him once when he had the ring. That is the part that seems contradictory to me.

Its akin to Florida having to play Ohio State yet again for the NCAA basketball title and this time Ohio does not even have its best player. They beat them once already when they had more firepower. Why would they not think they would simply repeat that task?

OK, granted that Sauron didn't have the Ring, but at the same time, the Free Peoples didn't have any of their heavy hitters like the last time either.
Perhaps they felt that as long as Sauron didn't get his mits on the Ring, they had a good chance of beating him (but if Frodo hadn't gotten to Mt. Doom when he did, they probably wouldn't have), but they had to look at the worst case scenario where Sauron WOULD get the Ring and if that happens, they probably figured, "Oh... we are SO hosed!"

Just my take on it. Your mileage may vary.

[Sauron the White]

Thats a good point that the Free Peoples had lost much of their fire power also -- no big Elvish army to count on with Gil-galad leading the way. And I guess Elrond explains why nobody else like the Dwarves can be counted on. Good points all.

So I do understand a bit more now. But I do feel that this overpowering feeling of "if Sauron gets the ring we are toast" is also a bit overdone.

But still my favorite book. Thanks to all for contributing.

[The 1,000 Reader]

To be honest, I do have to agree. When Sauron had the Ring he didn't seem to have any extra abilities and his hosts didn't seem any better. In a way, the One Ring was a failure in my eyes; the elves could just take their rings off, the dwarves only focused on themselves (and they might have become stronger,) and the Nazgul didn't need the One Ring to be controlled after they were made. All Sauron had was a band of gold on his finger. The Last Alliance was composed of the survivors of Numenor (few and lacking a good deal of their standard supplies) and and kingdom of elves that was much, much weaker than the kingdoms in the First Age. Without any divine backing or even a prophecy, they marched in, destroyed Mordor, and killed Sauron.

With the destruction of Arnor, the Great Plague, and the elves getting "depressed" and leaving, the reason that Sauron would have won in the Third Age is that only he had the "morale" or want to summon a large army up. Everybody else was either giving up or suffering from previous problems.

After reading the book, the Ring seemed more dangerous in the hands of Sauron's enemies than in Sauron's own. Everybody was at risk of becoming obsessed over it and killing each other for the Ring.

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

Question: much is made of the fact that if Sauron obtains the One Ring during the Lord of the Rings timeperiod, then all is lost and the world of Middle-earth comes under his shadow and rule. Here is what I do not quite get - Sauron had the One Ring. It was his in the Second Age and cut off of his finger by Isildur right there on his own doorstep in Mordor. So he had the ring, he had his armies, he had power. And it availed him not. The armies of the Last Alliance marched upon him, laid siege to his tower of Barad-dur and defeated him despite his possession of this powerful ring. So why then at the end of the Third Age does everyone with any knowledge seem to feel that the Ring will spell the end for the Free Peoples of Middle-earth when it had not had that effect previously?

There is talk of the power of Sauron having grown during the time - but how could Sauron without the ring have grown in more power compared to the time when he actually had the ring? That seems a huge contradiction.

Why did Sauron need the Ring at the end of the Third Age when he had it earlier and it failed to help him?

I believe that the ring symbolizes materialism in the sense of power. The power of the Valar was a material power derived from Eru himself, direct power to alter even the material form of Arda, (Middle Earth), because although, as when this power was used by the Valar during the shaping of the world, the Valar acted spontaneously and independently of Eru, still while they were moving with power to fashion the shape and design of the world, they knew that everything that they did was already complete and entirely within the will and mind of Eru, 'The One'.
Sauron was of the Maiar, like second-class angels of lesser power, if you will, and the power of the maiar was not that of the Valar, who were like first class angels, who could command the very stone of the earth to rend, or the sea to rise and drown whole lands, but the power of the Maiar was not with the stone, or the lightning, or the water, or fire, elemental, so to speak, but was with the idea, the word, the feeling, the meaning, the truth, the image.
Before the ring was made Saurons power as a Maiar was like that power you feel in the presence of old man who is wealthy and powerful, and who has commanded respect by demonstrating superior ability his entire life. That vague feeling of mingled respect, envy, and fear when you are in the presence of someone like that, where you find that you have humbled yourself without willing to do so. That was the power he had. He could use that power and his words to inspire men, to move them to fear or doubt, to influence the path of their thoughts to conclusions that he himself had planned for them, and yet they would foolishly believe that they had arrived at a decision based on their own insight. He could daunt and inspire fear in the hearts of lesser men, or sow doubt and suspiscion in the minds of the wise. But he could not force. He could not by sheer power alone completely overide the will of any save his most miserable servants, orcs and trolls and such. For example: If he were to destroy an army and king garrisoned behind stone wall and iron gate; he could by clever parley and crooked counsel, if heeded by the gate messenger and the king, convince the king to open the gate and thus save his people from eventual starvation, but he could not by command cause the material elements that made the castle door to rend asunder, or at least his power over the things of the Earth was limited.
By the forging of the ring, by some secret art of long study he developed a way of taking a large part of his inherent power and by placing it in the form of a ring, to change his power into a far more direct and present and tangible form. I am probabily wrong at many points but I think I have it in a general way.
Sauron also taught this secret to the Elves, because if he could get them to place their power in material form by direction of his arts, that act of doing so, by the Elves, would place them in subjection to his power. Their power would become in a sense materially linked to his, and subject to it because it was from him that their power had evolved into that form. Sauron underestimated the power of the Elves. In the hour of the completion of his design, the Elf Lord Celebrimbor perceived his intent, and 'the three were hidden from him'.
The Elves were far stronger and more numerous at the great battle at the end of the second age, the power of the Numenorean kindoms in exile was still very strong, though in decline. And at that time the very lives, hearts and minds of the Elves and their Lords were directly threatened. If at any time Sauron succeeded in capturing a traveling Elf, or some Lord's messenger, and by torture learn the wherabouts and idenity of a keeper of one of the Three Rings, that knowledge would greatly strengthen him and weaken the possessor of the ring. He did not know which of the Great had the rings. At any time he could by ill chance or design find out. And so the whole combined and entire might of the Elven kingdoms moved as one in great stroke against him, and with the help of the still numerous and strong Gondor, but little removed from the height of it's power and fresh in the living memory of the splendor of Numenor. And there are other powers at work in Middle Earth, powers of good and they are not always distant or idle.
After the end of the second age Sauron's power began to grow again because the Ring was not destroyed. Although it was not in his posession, the greater part of his native power was become material, bound to the ring, so long as the ring continued, so did he. During this time the Elves, on the other hand, faded. The passage to the Grey Havens long hindered, was open, and after many thousands of years and battles, many elves began to take to the west. After I believe somewhere in the neighbor hood of 1500 years when the Elves learned for certain, that the ring was not destroyed, and Sauron had risen again, They could not muster again the resolve to suffer the carnage of another great war for middle earth. They could leave. They would leave.
Yes the Elves and Numenorean exiles won the war, but at exceptional cost. Close to half the number of all the Elves and Men of the West who could wield blade died in that war. Men were bound to Middle Earth, the Elves were not. And even if the Elves once again united against Sauron, and the Ring were destroyed, then the Power of the Elven rings would also cease. Such was the evil of Sauron. So either way, the Elven lords would also lose their power. But better to leave middle Earth, that to become the slaves of Sauron or to dwindle into a secret and wild people of the wilderness and finally fade out altogether. So by the time of the great battle of the Third Age, as was made clear at the Counsel of Elrond, The battle against Sauron and the responsibilty for resistence and the custodianship of Middle-Earth fell to Men, and so great was the burden that Aragorn bore. only Gandalf and Elrond knew fully what that hour meant to him.

Sauron was certain that the Ring would be used against him. By the time he learned of the whereabouts of the Ring, much less after factoring in the time it would take to march his forces north across hundreds of leagues, he could reasonably expect that the Ring would have been moved. In fact, the Ring did leave Rivendell after only two months, which is probably faster than Sauron could have heard of the events and sent an army north.

As we learn in Unfinished Tales Isildur, with a small force of hardy Numenoreans, expected it would take him 40 days one way. Sauron would need longer than that even to just march his army and gather his forces.
Sauron would only know that the One Ring had been delivered to Rivendell and he would not know this right away. At Rivendell were several very powerful Individuals that, with the One Ring in (or on) hand could defeat Sauron. Add to this the idea that Tolkien himself gives as Sauron's greatest error in judgment, which was a belief that a person of power who gained control of the ring would act as he would.