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Why is it that more rings of this nature/power could not be made again? Are there no elven smith's left with the capability? How were the rings of power "enchanted" with their magical properties to begin with if Sauron did not directly forge them?

You would think that more would be made to aid in the battles against Sauron and his armies if someone had the capabilities to do so.

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  • any future rings made would still fall under the sway of the 1 ring, after the ring is destroyed however in theory more rings could be safely made i assume, but they would be forged across the sea as the skill to do such would have left middle earth long ago.
    – Himarm
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 20:59
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    I think you misunderstand the purpose of the Rings of Power. They're not weapons.
    – user8719
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 21:37
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    @DarthSatan - they add to the power of the person, so they are an aid in war even if they can't act as flamethrowers
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Jan 13, 2015 at 22:58
  • Yes, we know the impact Gandalf's ring had on everyone around him, heart lifter and courage giver. That is a weapon in itself.
    – Joel
    Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 13:21
  • Sauron was a maker. None could do what he could do. So for more rings like that he'd have to be the one making em. Which he did. But then, you know, you gotta get on with business. Running the evil empire and all. Can't stand around making rings till the kingdom come.
    – Misha R
    Commented Jan 16, 2015 at 10:36

3 Answers 3

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I can think of a few reasons.

  • Lack of knowledge. The elves of Eregion were the ones who crafted the rings of power. Celebrimbor alone crafted the 3 elven rings. Celebrimbor is dead, and Eregion was wiped out by Sauron. I'm sure Sauron made sure that there wasn't even a leaflet of notes on how to craft rings of power, and I'm sure a lot of knowledge was lost in death.

  • Fear of the past. You see what happened the last time they crafted rings? Didn't go so well.

  • Lack of skill. Elves created other rings of power alone for practice...they were just less potent which implies they didn't have the skill to create rings of power that Sauron was able to make(the elven rings are the exception, Celebrimbor is pretty good at stuff). All the rings of power that were relevant in second and third age were crafted with the help of Sauron...again, outside of the elven rings, crafted by Celebrimbor, who is dead.

  • Fear of the future. Who would they give the rings of power to? They were leaving ME anyways, so they weren't going to fight against Sauron. Would they give them to men? Diving into some risky business by giving men power. It's not just the fact that rings of power corrupt men, power in general corrupts men(not all men of course). Having power leads to the desire for more power. Big reason why hobbits were particularly resistant against the ring...they didn't care for the power it held.

And the reason I didn't note that the one ring would probably be able to control any rings of power created with the techniques of Sauron is because I feel like we're under the assumption that we're talking about the Third Age/War of the Ring. If it's the second age than I would say none of those points would apply because it would be psychotic to craft more rings when Sauron has the one.

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  • Sauron did show the elves how to make rings of power, and all the rings were crafted starting from this technique, so even the 3 elven rings were no different in this matter. Sauron himself only made the one, probably because, as it must be remembered, that the maker of the ring must "embed" a part of his own power in the ring, even Sauron was subject to this. So, creating a ring is not only risky business, it's also an exhausting business. But you're right, nobody knew how to make them anyway after the craftsmen of Eregion were dead, except Sauron himself.
    – Joel
    Commented Jan 14, 2015 at 13:30
  • This is getting into speculation, but it is not impossible that every member of the Gwaith-i-Mirdain (smiths of Eregion) were killed. Elrond did take some survivors of Eregion to Rivendell, and they certainly could have the smiths who reforged Narsil. Though whether they could have made more rings (if they had wanted to) is another question.
    – suchiuomizu
    Commented Jan 15, 2015 at 3:46
  • While there is no evidence that the forging of the lesser rings required an expenditure of self as Sauron's forging of the One did, they were still supreme manifestations of Elvish craft, and that seems to very hard to do more than once (e.g., Feanor with the Silmarils and the Palantiri or on a higher level Yavanna with the Two Trees.) It is very possible that no one but Celebrimbor and Sauron could make a ring of power.
    – Mark Olson
    Commented Jul 24, 2023 at 17:28
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Apart from the other reasons why more weren't made, Saruman actually forged his own ring of power. It was discussed in this question: What is the significance of Saruman's Ring?

In July 3018, Saruman set a trap for Gandalf, using the Brown Wizard, Radagast, to lure him to Orthanc. When Gandalf came, Saruman revealed his rebellion sporting a newly made ring of his own, and vestments of many shifting colors. When Gandalf refused to join him, Saruman made him a prisoner atop the tower. In September Gandalf was able to escape by Eagle from the tower and return to the north.

Emphasis: mine

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The accepted answer is correct, and as is the answer from Jason Hutchinson, and together they answer why no more rings were created while the One existed.

After the One Ring was destroyed, all Rings of Power ceased functioning as magic rings. It is likely any such rings made after that point would not have worked as magic rings; the specific workings aren't explained (they're magic!) but one may think of it as the One Ring having some special power source all Rings used, like it was the source of electricity for machines, and any new rings made could not use the same techniques to produce the effects.

This is glimpsed, I think, by the loremaster Saruman in Return of the King:

‘I did not spend long study on these matters for naught. You have doomed yourselves, and you know it. And it will afford me some comfort as I wander to think that you pulled down your own house when you destroyed mine.

He is speaking of the decline of the Elves, which was staved off by the Elven Rings, but he seems also certain that no method for the same kind of method for evading this doom will work any longer, which implicitly includes making more rings.

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  • This is interesting, but I think incomplete for two reasons. First, Celebrimbor made many rings including the Three before the One existed. His rings certainly did not rely on the One for their action. Secondly, the Three (unlike the Seven and the Nine) were untainted by the One, though still in its sphere of influence. Whatever the relation between the lesser rings and the One it was complicated. But the key is that functioning rings of power can be made without the One.
    – Mark Olson
    Commented Jul 24, 2023 at 17:34
  • They could be MADE, certainly, but all rings made with the principles Sauron taught were subject to the One, whether he touched them or not. No magic rings functioned after the One was destroyed, and it seems certain any created at that point wouldn't work at all.
    – Michael Foster
    Commented Jul 25, 2023 at 12:29

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