Speculation on Smaug and the One Ring

[Aganzir]

Originally Posted by Sardy

To take the speculation one step further, would the use of dragon fire (had it existed) to destroy the existing Rings of Power (assuming all could be found) have been a viable (or at least interesting to speculate) strategy?

I think there would have been more cons than pros.

Originally Posted by Of the Rings of Power

--- if Sauron should come again, then either he would find the Ruling Ring that was lost, or at the best his enemies would discover it and destroy it; but in either case the powers of the Three must then fail and all things maintained by them must fade, and so the Elves should pass into the twilight and the Dominion of Men begin.

The elves weren't too happy that the Three would lose their powers but accepted that the One Ring must be destroyed in order to get rid of Sauron. And as Sauron wasn't wearing the One, he wasn't as dangerous for the bearers of the three as he would have been otherwise.

Originally Posted by Legate

because as we know, three (or four?) of the Dwarven Rings were consummed by the Dragons without any particular intention of destroying them, so it does not seem that stupid theory...

Why did the dragons destroy the rings in the first place? I would imagine they would have been rather interested in them instead. Accidentally? Or did they think they were of little worth?