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Doing What You Set Out to Do: The Smart Hobbit's Guide
to Bearing a Ring of Power, by Frodo L. Baggins, Ph.D.
in Ringbearing
Chapter One: This Book Can Help (and You Probably Need
It!)
When I was bearing my ring of power in Middle Earth
during the late Third Age, I did almost everything wrong.
It took me almost a year to finish my quest, and by
the time I finished I never wanted to bear a ring again.
I had problem companions and a problem ring, and I eventually
ran out of lembas bread. I spent the last month exhausted,
bearing my ring up the rocky slope of Mount Doom, while
trying not to give myself away to Sauron, the Nazgul,
or the orcs - not my idea of a great adventure. The
bottom line is that all my ringbearing could have been
completed in three months if I had known what I was
doing...
...Ringbearers run into problems because they do not
understand how ringbearing works; nor do most wizards
and elves provide enough realistic guidance. Therefore,
ringbearers charge off in the wrong direction or in
no direction at all.
This book tells you what ringbearing is really like.
Instead of just telling you what you have to do, reminding
you not to wear your ring, or telling you to check with
your wizard if you have no idea what you are doing,
I tell you how to create a comprehensive strategy that
will ensure your hard work pays off with the destruction
of the Enemy and your very own story about your quest...
Chapter Three: Do You Need To Go?
If you decide to become a ringbearer, don't do it because
you don't know what else to do. Ringbearing, particularly
bearing the One Ring, demands much more of you than
just wearing a pretty trinket. The ring is heavy, costs
are high, and the chances of success are uncertain.
Your fellowship friends will be gone, and the environment
will probably be neither as hospitable nor as safe as
when you were in the Shire. Particularly for bearing
the One Ring, the solitary nature of the work makes
most ringbearers feel isolated. As one elf queen once
said, "To bear a ring of power is to be alone."
Therefore, in deciding whether to go, be realistic.
Weigh the costs, both in physical health and in time,
against the benefits. Even a two month ringbearing job
can make you substantially ill and place you in more
danger than you ever dreamed possible...
Chapter Five: Choosing a Fellowship
Most ringbearers leave their decision about who goes
with them on their quest to some imperious elf. Once
embarked, they find out that their companions might
not be as trustworthy as they originally thought. If
you are a would-be ringbearer, this is the wrong approach.
Because your companions will have such a tremendous
influence on whether you complete your quest and destroy
the Dark Lord, you should identify and contact potential
fellowship members before you volunteer to bear the
ring, and then determine whether they're going to be
tempted to steal your ring and ruin your quest...
The ideal fellowship would advise you from your first
tentative steps toward Mordor, help you hide from potential
dangers, or even fight them off for you, help you navigate
your way through Middle Earth, cook your food, and even
carry you when you're too tired to go on. They would
give you moral support, champion you against your enemies,
help you get into Mordor, let you yell at them when
you're overcome by the ring, cheer for you as you toss
the ring into the volcano, and pull the strings necessary
to get you out of Mordor before you are killed...
If you get a bad fellowship member, he or she may actively
try to prevent you from succeeding. Even a nice person
may believe that his or her duty lies in taking the
ring and trying to use it for their own purposes, and
he or she may honestly believe that you will ultimately
try to claim the ring yourself.
Problems with fellowship members run the gamut, from
idiocy that nearly gets you killed to quest sabotage...You
can change fellowship members, but this might be costly
in terms of time. Therefore, it is much wiser to avoid
such troubles ahead of time by thoroughly investigating
any fellowship member you are considering....