Appearance-wise, the Sword of Kahless, as seen in the eponymous Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode, looks nothing like the One Ring:
But in terms of their effect on the holder, they are quite similar. In "The Sword of Kahless", Worf, Dax, and the Dahar Master Kor go on a quest to find the ancient bat'leth. When they do, it poisons the minds of Worf and Kor. Merely holding the sword fills each of them with paranoia and hatred. They begin to plot the other's death, as they dream of using the sword to wield control over the Klingon Empire.
Various sites have noted the analogy with the Ring:
- DauntlessMedia.net — "In that sense, the Sword takes on qualities of the Ring of Power..."
- Siskoid's Blog of Geekery — "If anything, The Sword of Kahless reminded me of Lord of the Rings, with its artifact whispering sweet nothings into the heroes' ears..."
- Jammer's Reviews — "...leaving us to assume that the Sword has some kind of ill effect on its possessor (similar to the One Ring in LOTR)."
Have the writers specifically stated that the Sword of Kahless was inspired by/was an homage to the One Ring?