Ring Wraiths
The Ring Wraiths were a pretty powerful. They also are effectively the only way Sauron is able to act in the world. After all, he cannot be too strong of a force when his body is destroyed, spirit effectively trapped in Badad-dur and is separated from the One Ring. Yet the Ring Wraiths can be his eyes, ears and commanders.
Here is the one major problem of the Ring Wraiths in my mind. When a group of subordinates have extreme amounts of power concentrated in their hands, it makes them well placed to rebel. Essentially, Sauron needs the Ring Wraiths. Without them, he is essentially powerless in Middle Earth. More problematic is there are no replacements for them. In real world nobility for example, they know that there is a whole pool of people who would love to take their spots. Especially once armies became more professional, kings had a pool of people with proven loyalties that could step up. which meant that rebellions by nobles were contained by the understanding that they could be replaced. Ring Wraiths are not replaceable.
This has two major implications. When someone is essential and not replaceable, they have extreme amounts of leverage. Thus, without the mind control powers that led them to becoming wraiths in the first place, they would practically be the main power in Mordor. Next, Sauron would probably be much more cautious in their deployment. Each wraith lost is devastating and cannot be recovered from. This needs to be factored into how they are used in battle.
Their intended roles are command and control over field armies. They also run the local administration of key facilities like Dol Goldur, Minas Morgul and Angmar. They also are perfect for scouting operations. Most importantly, they are perfect for covert operations. Locating the One Ring being the most obvious one. Trolls are too stupid for these roles and tend to stand out a little too much. Orcs clearly suffer from a critical lack of steath and ability to organize that make them ineffective in these roles. Among other issues that keep them from being effective. So the Ring Wraiths fill vital roles that other assets cannot. So their creation is completely justified on these grounds.
Now the important question. If orcs and trolls do not do well in this, do the Wraiths do better? Yes. Part of this is the fact they do in fact their ability to terrorize allows them to effectively command orcs, who notoriously need fear and punishments to remain obedient. Their ability to scare their enemies makes their use as shock troops much less risky. In fact, this terror is their strongest asset and source of much of their utility. Not only does this make them more effective in battle, getting information from those they interrogate is easier. Many of the near misses they had in finding the One Ring came about due to this. We can assume then that if Sauron did in fact get the One Ring, this terror inducing ability would be a major contributing factor in that.
Their near invincibility, magic and combat skills makes them quite good at fighting. Especially when paired with the fell beasts, they are quite deadly and hard to kill. Thus making them solid shock troops and ideal monsters in their own right. Their direct communication with and complete subservience to Sauron makes them perfect local administrators. Without their cloaks, they cannot be seen. With their horses, they can move much more stealthily. Both of these help with their covert missions. Basically, they are quite well suited for their roles. And over their incredibly long history, they were battle tested and proven effective. Their powers were actually battle tested prior to their conversion into Wraiths.
They have many clear fatal flaws. They are also reliant on Sauron to be able to interact with the physical world. So much so that they have to return to Mordor after every loss of a mount. Specially trained horses and specially created Fell Beasts came directly from Sauron. These alone make them pretty dependent on their master.
They also all became slaves to Sauron's will. Their rings totally bind them to the will of Sauron, so that independent thoughts and actions appear impossible. Monitoring and communications between them are instant and impossible to escape. Lastly, their lives were tied to that of the One Ring. Whoever controls the One Ring controls the Nine. Destroying the One kills the wraiths. Which means the only way to truly succeed in a rebellion against Sauron is to destroy the One Ring. Doing that would kill them in the process. So rebellion is both impossible and lethal.
Some form of blackmail material the dictator can use is also useful in real life. Hence why atrocities and corruption are never really punished. They provide a means for the dictator to say "keeping me in power is the only thing keeping you from the wrath of my enemies". Thus, people will fight tooth and nail. They see keeping the dictator in power as the only way to ensure that they do not fall victim to revolutionary mob violence or prosecution for their crimes. Similarly, hostages have been taken to provide leverage. The effect is the same. The person in question would be obedient out of a desire to keep their family alive.
Now, their intelligence we can assume is quite high. They would need to be in order to be effective commanders and administrators. They also were formerly famous people, rulers, sorcerers and military commanders. Basically they come from a group of people in medieval society that had a virtual monopoly on higher education. Plus these jobs require higher education and experience to be effective. This is confirmed by the Witch King being described as quite cunning and a great general. Thus they are smart enough to do their jobs. The problem is they are probably too smart. So under the right conditions, they might be able to overthrow Sauron. Without the mind control of the nine rings, they would probably be able to organize effective rebellions.
What exactly would the "right conditions" look like? The question in my mind is the exact extent of the weakening of the One Ring. It is noted that the power of the Wraiths goes up as the One Ring gets closer to Mordor. This suggests to me that when the One Ring is far away from Mt. Doom, its effectiveness is lower. This might explain why Saruman was able to effectively trick the Witch King. But it also might mean that the Wraiths are less under the control of Sauron too.
Yes, they are weaker and not in a position to successfully pull off a rebellion at this stage. But one of the effects of the rings is that it made life unbearable for them. If the mind domination of the Nine weakens with the rest of the powers of the One, then it is entirely possible that this would open the path to rebellion. All it would take is one wraith having sufficiently powerful will at a critical moment. It would be extremely difficult and unlikely I admit. But lets say in the Shire when the powers of the One are at its lowest. The Wraith in question is so tired of his condition that he overcomes the mind control to allow the One Ring to escape. He would intentionally wish the One Ring destroyed so that his miserable existence would end too.
Normal political factors also are insufficient to provide a counterbalance. As noted at the beginning, there are no means to replace them, which grants the Wraiths abnormally high amounts of power in Mordor. Also, it is critical for dictators to make sure key posts are filled with people who want to serve. This means those with ideological commitment to the cause are ideal. So too is filling high positions with those who have a long history of loyalty and obedience. In real life, this means filling posts with family members and party loyalists among other such tactics. So Sauron's recruitment of Easterlings, "Kings men" and Black Numenorians makes sense.
But where he fails is the more mundane inducements to obedience. Any loyal and ideologically committed servant can be abused enough into becoming disillusioned. Corruption allows dictators to reward loyalty by granting higher than otherwise possible material rewards. Top positions are often given monopoly privileges, massive government contracts, huge mineral concessions and so forth. Basically, the power of the state is used to concentrate massive private gains in the hands of elites loyal to the leader in exchange for that loyalty.
But this does not apply to Mordor. Sauron uses pure fear and mind control. In real life, people will not commit unlimited atrocities if they are not getting something out of it. This can be victory over some enemy in an ends justify the means mentality. Or they can keep their family safe or get rich in the process. But if their loyalty earns them an increased level of suffering or simply insufficient rewards for what they feel they sacrificed, they will begin to turn against the leader in question. The Rings of power make the Wraiths miserable to the point they hate their own life. If this is not a precondition for desperate rebellion, I do not know what is.
In total, I suspect that without the full power of the One Ring, the Ring Wraiths would be a threat to Sauron. Success would require a degree of suicidal desire, extreme willpower and luck. But any slipping of Sauron's control and this could become a factor. Under normal conditions, Sauron's control is uspernaturally high and would be far beyond the abilities of real world dictators with impressive surveillance agencies. But his power declines to levels where this rebellion would technically be possible, and said power was never actually infinite. So this is possible.
Basic Information
Anatomy
They basically had nor real physical form at all. What form the did had came from the black cloaks they draped over themselves. In fact, they needed Sauron's creations to give them any ability to interact with the world
Biological Traits
Then, the fact that they could not be killed by normal weaponry or men, they were almost invincible. The Witch King was even more impressive on this front – weaponry that hit him was destroyed in the process. The unlucky attacker able to land a blow would also be poisoned. The effects were so severe that when Eowyn stabbed the Witch King, this was considered worse than the mace blow that broke her arm.
Additional Information
Uses, Products & Exploitation
They rarely engaged in direct combat. Their main use was more as command-and-control and terror. Their screams and presence could induce panic and terror in all but the truly fearless of the enemy. Then they have the ability to kill people that look into their faces for too long or touch them. It must be noted that their power increases as the One Ring gets closer to Mordor. This terror is also one of their most useful battlefield abilities. The Cult of the Offensive demands breaking the enemy will. The Wraiths appear to be one of the most effective means to do this.
This terror is to a degree totally justified. Their breath literally kills people. It leads to disorientation, nightmares, loss of consciousness then finally dying. Then they are skilled at magic and combat and immune to a wider than normal range of damage. With the flick of his hand, Frodo's dagger was destroyed by the Witch King. While speaking in "some forgotten tongue", the Witch King weakened the gates of Minas Tirith and caused them to explode when Grond broke through.
Facial characteristics
The only real feature that can be seen is their hypnotic eyes - which are described as hellish fire when the wraith is enraged.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Their eyesight is actually weak in the material world. Sunlight made it much harder for them to see. But at night their sight improved dramatically along with their ability to induce fear.
At the same time, they were invisible to everyone without their cloaks. Though they can see better in the wraith world. So when someone puts on the One Ring, it becomes easier to find the wearer. More often than not though this ability meant they mainly saw the delusions and phantoms of Sauron. So this too became an element of their enslavement, manipulating literally how they saw the world.
Also interesting to me is their hearing and smell being improved. They apparently got to the ground and sniffed out their prey. Blood was always detectable.
Civilization and Culture
Common Dress Code
Their armory was not much of a factor really. But they did have 60 inch long swords, 14 inch knives and a mace for the Witch King. They also had mail shirts under their cloaks. The Witch King is the only one I know of to wear a helmet. This appears to be totally adequate though. Their supernatural protection and ability to cripple their enemies with fear makes much army seem like overkill.
One thing that does not seem adequate though is their weapons. First, if one is going to primarily get around by horse, why does one not have a bow or lance? Granted, swords can be useful, but the ones the Ring Wraiths use appear to be more infantry oriented. So they are perfectly suited for their infantry roles, but not mounted. Granted lances do tend to require more troops than the nine available for a Ring Wraith formation. But the point remains. A lance would be better, especially if the Wraiths are hunting a single target or small group. Which is perfectly in line with their mission profiles.
There is some debate in the sources I have read regarding whether a lance or specialized cavalry sword would be ideal. What is not up for debate is the utility of a high powered composite recurve bow. As it stands, darts are the only ranged weapon they have. The only case I am familiar with of pre-modern armies using darts was Ancient Rome, who outfitted their troops with 5 of them. Granted, Mordor's appear to use the same black magic applied to their daggers on the darts. But that is still a limit of 5. So the darts then are quite effective against specific high value targets - which the wraiths would be suited to target.
But this is wholly impractical for normal combat. They would need to have much more range and ammo than what can be accomplished with just 5 darts. Meanwhile, recurve bows are much better suited for mounted combat - whether this is on a horse or fell beast. So for normal battlefield conditions, the use of a bow would be more in line with what they would need. The impracticality of lances for small unit combat suggests that on the battlefield the wraiths would fill a light cavalry role more in line with their scouting role.
The Witch King was able to set hit sword on fire. This appears to be a weird power for them to possess. Yes, this does enhance their terror inducing attributes. But they are also afraid of fire. Perhaps this is why we do not see this power used outside the Witch King's confrontation with Gandalf.
History
Each of the wraiths saw their wealth, power and fame increase over time. Their natural talents also increased. The Witch King for example saw his magical abilities dramatically increase due to the power of his ring. But this did not last. They slowly began to hate life as they fell increasingly under Sauron's control. Their bodies decayed so much they eventually all became effectively ghosts. The time that it took depended on the strength and willpower of the individual in question, but their fate was inevitable.
The Witch King’s destruction of three kingdoms of men would not have happened without the Rings of Power corrupting them. They were also responsible for taking Cirith Ungol and Minas Morgul from Gondor. This allowed the reconstruction of Mordor's forces, better defenses from enemies and easier reconstruction of Sauron's armies. After Sauron declared himself openly in Mordor after his long time in hiding, three of the Wraiths garrisoned Dol Goldur.
From there, they took over the search for the One Ring. One wraith was sent to negotiate the aid of the Lonely Mountain. In exchange for three dwarven rings of power and Moria, the dwarves were expected to help find the One Ring. But the dwarves turned this down. This was partly due to the fact that the King Under the Mountain was still operating under the belief that the dwarven colony in Moria was still operational.
During the buildup to the War of the Ring, they were sent to look for the One Ring directly. Gollum had revealed Bilbo had it. So they rode out on horses stolen from Rohan. The pursuit led to their mounts being killed outside Rivendell. After that, the wraiths increasingly became battlefield forces. The Witch King led the assault on Minas Tirith where he was killed. The rest participated in the fighting at the black gate. They attempted to get to Mt. Doom before the One Ring was destroyed, but failed, dying in the process.
Historical Figures
At least three of the nine were from Númenor.
Essentially the Witch King proved to be one of the most important single servants of Mordor. He took over Angmar in T.A. 1409. From there he exploited the fragmented political situation of the human kingdoms west of the Misty Mountains. He able to place his agents in control over one kingdom and aided its wars against its enemies. The result was the human residents essentially being wiped out and driven from the area by sorcerers. The Great Plague did not help much, leading to another of the three kingdoms falling. The king of the last died in a shipwreck just as the Witch King was pressing an attack. This unfortunate timing led to the last major kingdom falling.
Granted he was eventually kicked out in T.A. 1975. The king who died at sea was able to get word to Gondor. A coalition formed with the surviving humans, elves and even some hobbits. The Witch King decided to go on the offensive - which led to his defeat. His army was routed and overrun by the enemy cavalry. This drove him from the area entirely. But at that point, damage done. Wights inhabited the territory to prevent the Barrow Downs from being repopulated. The Rangers became the closest thing to a government in a mostly depopulated region.
It is important to me to note that the wars here were fought by men but with elven aid. The Kingdom of Arthedain. It appears that they preferred to up their involvement based on the threat level. But even at the end, Gondor was still the main force against the Witch King. This fits the pattern I think the elves would follow.
At this point he retreated to Mordor. He took over Minas Morgul in the two year siege. He then (presumably) defeated the king of Gondor. Using his new base, he effectively destroyed Osgiliath but was unable to take it.
At this point, he took over the hunt for the One Ring. He came close many times, notably at Weathertop. Eventually, he was forced to take over the military front. This led to his ultimate demise outside Minas Tirith.
Khamûl was the second ranking Wraith. Apparently, it was easier for him to detect the One Ring, but he was more easily confused and weakened by sunlight. He was confirmed to be a loyal servant of Sauron by S.A. 2251. He was also famous for being the commander of Dol Guldur and one of the wraiths sent to the Shire to look for the One Ring. He then took the leadership role for the short period between Minas Tirith and the destruction of the One Ring.
Lifespan
At least 4,000 years.
Average Physique
Fire appears to at least scare them. We do not see them take damage from it, so it is unclear to me if this is purely mental or if fire does actually hurt them. They can also be hurt with special weapons crafted by the Dunedain and elves in the First Age. Lastly, apparently female humans and all non humans are able to kill them. Eowyn and Merry killed the Witch King. This means that human females are able to hurt them, plus males from other species.
Their power is bound up with that of the One Ring. There is the obvious issue of the destruction of the One leading to their deaths. But the closer to Mordor the One Ring gets, the more powerful they get. An often cited example is in the Fellowship of the Ring, their presence simply makes the hobbits uncomfortable. By the Battle of Minas Tirith, the Witch King challenges Gandalf one on one. Gandalf is a maia like Sauron and has a ring of power himself. So the fact that such a fight is even remotely feasible suggests a radical increase in power over time. I would imagine that should the One Ring fall into the hands of Sauron, their power would get even stronger.
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