What were the Witch-king's powers?
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- Опубликовано: 16 авг 2023
- In this video, we look at the dark powers of the Witch-king, and his fellow Nazgul.
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You're my favourite RUclipsr
"Witch-King? More like Bitch-King!" - Éowyn Shieldmaiden of the House of Eorl, 3020 AA (Anno Aragorni)
It's a little boring, but the Witch-King must've had some real ability to manage a large organization, since ruling isn't just about scaring people.
I dont think Witch Kings sorcery powers were exclusive to him. It is said Nazgul carried blades of flame ( in plural) and that some of them were sorcerers but it also seems like Witch King was a special one from the start. Like a super Ringwraith. Even before Saurons demonic empoverement Witch King was still a menace. I think this may have to do with his superior ancestry. It is said 3 of the Nine were Numenoreans and Witch King, along with 2 other Ringwraith were the ones that passed Bruienen first and the ones that stabbed Frodo. I dont think this is a coincidence . Not to mention WK was a Numenorean wizard in the earlier drafts.
On the other hand, the 2nd of the Nazgûl was Khamûl the Easterling, which implies he was the 2nd most powerful.
@@istari0 That is true but he was also the one most affected by sunlight. I think this may imply that he would also be the one most affected by natural elements despite being second most powerfull overall.
I love how you completely trash-talked Saruman at the end and then threw shade at the Witch-King too just for good measure. 😂 Also, do a video on Shelob. Anything about her fascinates me. Powers, origin story, comparison with other Middle-Earth villains, her physical appearance, personality, favorite TV shows, etc. Literally anything.
Also Shelob's kids are an interesting subject.
It's notable that their Morgul powers existed beyond the destruction of the One Ring and the undoing of the 9. Frodos wound never healed, for example.
He's one of my favourite characters from the story honestly. Enigmatic af really. We have so little but also a lot of information available. It's just not told in relation to him. I have a tattoo of him and the eye from the films on my leg! It's based on Alan Lee's concept art. I love it!
Do you mean Saurons eye in the film?
@@oguzhanenescetin5702 Yep!
@@Jopeymessmusic Oh. Good for you
YEAAAAAAAH THE TRILOGY IS COMPLETE
Excellent video!
Love your final taunt to the Witch King at the end! Ha! Ha!
I've always wondered why Aragorn and the Hobbits didn't suffer from Black Breath after the battle on Weathertop. They were in fairly close proximity for at least a few minutes (which seems to be all it takes) and it would have greatly benefitted the Nazgul to use it then.
I suppose it could have simply been a classic case of "Crap, I forgot to pop my cooldowns!" but there's probably a better explanation.
That is due to the fact that Nazgul were weakened when they confronted them. Tolkien says Nazgul were still shrunken and in great fear of Gandalf after their fight with him. So it is easy to assume that they were way less terrible and powerfull in that forms
I speculated above that maybe the Black Breath is associated with direct physical contact with a Wraith or, more seriously, with a wound afflicted by them or their weapons.
It really was still on cooldown 😅
@@oguzhanenescetin5702 Agreed. The Nazgûl had attacked Gandalf at night, when they were stronger, and he held all of them off. This also helps explain why they didn't continue their attack on Aragorn and the Hobbits after Frodo was stabbed.
@@istari0
Seems like a good handwave.
They ultimately defeated Gandalf but the effort of doing so left them exhausted.
Some powers of the Witch-king in D&D 5e:
- Silence:
"By Elbereth and Lúthien the Fair,’ said Frodo with a lasteffort, lifting up his sword, ‘you shall have neither the Ring nor me!’ Then the leader, who was now half across the Ford, stood up menacing in his stirrups, and raised up his hand. Frodo was stricken dumb. He felt his tongue cleave to his mouth, and his heart labouring. His sword broke and fell out of his shaking hand."
Here we already have the use of a spell rarely remembered in the book: in addition to having given a "silence" lv 2, it still made Frodo lose consciousness.
For those who play D&D 5e, we can make a list of some of the Witch King's abilities:
A) Black breath:
"He seemed to be asleep. ‘‘I thought I had fallen into deep water,’’ he says to me, when I shook him. Very queer he was, and as soon as I had roused him, he got up and ran back here like a hare.’ ‘I am afraid that’s true,’ said Merry, ‘though I don’t know what I said. I had an ugly dream, which I can’t remember. I went to pieces. I don’t know what came over me.’ ‘I do,’ said Strider. ‘The Black Breath"
B) An aura of Inexplicable Terror to the point of driving the armies of Gondor and generating a fighting frenzy for the allied forces:
"Some said that it could be seen, like a great black horseman, a dark shadow under the moon. Wherever he came a madness filled our foes, but fear fell on our boldest, so that horse and man gave way and fled."
C) Control of the weather to the point of generating a windstorm and a blizzard:
"Do not mount on this sea-monster! If they have them, let the seamen bring us food and other things that we need, and you may stay here till the Witch-king goes home. For in summer his power wanes; but now his breath is deadly, and his cold arm is long."
(...)
"But Arvedui did not take his counsel. He thanked him, and at parting gave him his ring [the Ring of Barahir], saying: 'This is a ring of worth beyond your reckoning. For its ancientry alone. It has no power, save the esteem in which those hold it who love my house. It will not help you, but if ever you are in need, my kin will ransom it with great store of all that you desire."
And a lightning storm in Minas Morgul:
"And Minas Morgul answered. There was a flare of livid lightnings: forks of blue flame springing up from the tower and from the encircling hills into the sullen clouds."
D) A certain ability of necromancy to imprison evil spirits for the creation of Barrow Wight.
E) Control over fire - to trigger an explosion spell on Grond:
"Then the Black Captain rose in his stirrups and cried aloud in a dreadful voice, speaking in some
forgotten tongue words of power and terror to rend both heart and stone. Thrice he cried. Thrice the great ram boomed. And suddenly upon the last stroke the Gate of Gondor broke. As if stricken by some blasting spell it burst asunder: there was a flash of searing lightning, and the doors tumbled in riven fragments to the ground. "
And create a flame-sword (Azor Ahai):
"Old fool!' he said. 'Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it? Die now and curse in vain!' And with that he lifted high his sword and flames ran down the blade."
There is a writing by Tolkien that speaks (in letter 210) of the "Demonics force" that anabolized the witch king, to the point of making him an active weapon in addition to the innate fear he generated in opponents, so much so that he managed to approach a region "on fire" (fire being a weapon against the Nazgûl) in the siege of Minas Tirith
Thank you for another great bideo daddy darth
A bit of an OT: the With-king was most likely a Numenorean right? RoP added a sister of Isildur and Anarion completely out of the blue right? Are you telling me that...
What's an OT?
Everyone's a distant cousin of Aragorn.
About the climate in Eriador, I believe he was responsible, because when the ring was destroyed Eriador became warmer again and the Shire even more fertile
Thank you! One minor observation and possible addition to weapons being destroyed on striking the WK: but Merry's arm was disabled immediately upon doing so, and Aragorn later says that Eowyn suffered more from her sword arm than the shield arm that was broken. Perhaps this is all part of the Black Breath. But perhaps it's a separate thing, more associated with weapon destruction. If so, maybe the Black Breath tends to only have its most serious effect when there is a wound associated with it, or upon physical contact with the Wraith or its weapons. This could explain why Merry isn't long affected the first time he comes into contact with it in Bree, and why no-one but Frodo is affected after Weathertop. (Or maybe Tolkien was just winging it.)
Ted Sandyman's powers next please! :P
Good point.
I think the inimical effect of contact with Nazgul is greatly increased if they actually touch you, or you them, and for this purpose weapons count as extensions of the body.
Nice video. Remember that even if analytics tell you that a Sarumon video wouldn't be generste views, sometimes it's best to be complete with your coverage.
Not everyone likes mint flavored or banana flavored ice cream, but many ice cream parlors still offer it.
I personally love the Saruman lore. He was so good in the parts he had in the movies (RIP Lee)
Maybe you could do a video of The Witch-King vs The Night King.
Witch King slams
So do the ring wraiths have physical bodies in the books? How does that work? And how does Sauron have a physical body when it got destroyed in Numenor? Always wondered that
The Nazgul do have physical bodies.
They're still *mortal men*, they've just been greatly altered by sorcery.
Sauron just makes himself new bodies
Wonderful video. 👍
I have an idea for a what if Szenario. What if Sauron would rebel Morgoth, or if Morgoth betrayed and abandoned Sauron during the first age. Would Sauron become a third party in the war in Beleriand or would he redeem himself and join the elves, men and dwarves against his former master. And what would the Vala do to him after they defeat Morgoth?
What would you think?
PS: You make wonderful videos and greetings from Austria 👍👍👍
If Eonwe says Sauron must return to Valinor, but doesn't actually try to arrest Sauron on the spot, then the Valar must be willing to forgive him. But Sauron couldn't see that. He definitely had a chance for redemption, but had spent so much time torturing and murdering people that he couldn't see forgiveness as an option.
Good video! Would have been interesting to hear your take on the scene from the extended edition of RotK, in which Jackson had the Witch King shatter Gandalf's staff. Personally, that kind of messing with the power dynamics of a story really pisses me off. Gandalf the White is apparently even more Maiar than he was as the Grey, and this entity who has but a fraction of Sauron's power is going to disarm him just like that? Even worse, it's just done to manufacture fake, unneeded, tension. But I appreciate you are probably just sticking to what's in the books and other original source material - one source of truth is definitely a smart choice to make.
Hey!, I want a video on Saruman! At least he tried to betray Sauron; the Witch King couldn't do that.
Totally agree, but then I'm a fan of Saruman and think he's more interesting than a lot of the other characters. Ditto Smaug.
What would be your personal estimates for the population of the northern dunedain during the War of the Ring?
Also, great video as always!
Though I would not reject the opinion that the climate of Eriador had worsened without the Witch-King's influence, one must also mention as it is written that during the winter his power is enhanced, while during the summer it wanes.
Now this can mean 1 of 2 things.
1) He has magically cursed the land with cruel weather, which destabilizes his enemies, while his own forces are not affected
2) He knows that his forces are more powerful in the cold so he went there on purpose (possibly having some insight on climate change).
It could also be both. His forces are more resilient during the winter, so he naturally chose a region that is already cold enough and he enchanted it to be even colder, if he ever was able of such prowess.
_"in Bree, Merry gets exposed to it without ill consequences"_ ... he is a hobbit, remember!? Hobbits get punched, knocked, walloped and stung, and the ill effects are waking up after some hours only to ask what's the clock and when is the dinner or the second breakfast! That's their secret power: they repair their damage with second breakfasts.
Can you explain the level of autonomy of the nazgul? Were they capable of independent thought where it came to tactics and just followed the spirit of their master's orders or will, or was it a micromanaged affair? Please and thank you!
The witch king definitely had some personality of his own, as can be seen in several passages of the books, but I think the domination was more macro in scope, he couldn't betray Sauron
The Nazgûl had to have a fair degree of autonomy to be able to execute their missions for Sauron. The Witch King was after all the King of Angmar and ran that kingdom for centuries. But ultimately their wills were enslaved by Sauron; that's why Sauron entrusted them with the mission to recover the One Ring.
@@istari0
They were slaves firstly of The Ring and secondly of Sauron as ring maker.
I’m not sure if you’ve answered this, but is there a reason why both Arnor and Gondor were founded, instead of a singular kingdom?
Good question.
They technically were one kingdom to begin with, but had two separate points of administration due to the vast distance between them. It's similar to how the Roman Empire was technically one realm (until 395 AD), but often had multiple emperors ruling over different portions of the empire. Arnor was the "senior" realm, and was ruled by the High King. Gondor was the "junior" realm, and was ruled by a king(s), but that king was subordinate to the High King. Even after the War of the Last Alliance, Isildur proclaimed himself High King of both Arnor and Gondor, and was fully intent on continuing this arrangement. Notably, Meneldil, Anarion's son, was less keen, and was happy when Isildur left for Arnor. Thus, when Isildur and his sons perished at the Gladden Fields, and Arnor ended up being ruled by a literal child, Meneldil got his opportunity to effectively make Gondor independent.
0:01
"Go do stuff"
"K"
What's known about hobbits in earlier ages? Did they live in Beleriand for example? 🤔
Minas Morgul is so psychically contaminated no one can live there any more.
Except orcs, who seem to have a psychic immunity.
Perhaps they're too dull to be affected, in which case good for them.
Algormancy!
I stan Saruman
Could the Nazgul sense the One Ring or could their rings sense it and convey that to them (akin to the Elven rings)?
Witch King was able to sense One Ring in Morgul Vale so they can sense it. Not to mention Nazgul doesnt keep their rings with them.
Master maker of meat pies and fluffy buns.
Also your comment that Saruman content doesn't get people hyped was intriguing. My first thought is that in terms of behavior and motivation that maybe he's not quite enough of a fantasy villain and a little uncomfortably close to characters we might encounter in the real world.
He was joking of course. Saruman is a great villian
@@oguzhanenescetin5702 He definitely wasn't saying Saruman is a bad villain, just talking about how his analytics don't show Saruman content generating a lot of excitement. As far as joking goes, maybe? My impression is more the "making a humorous observation about a fact" kind of joke.
The Witch-king is the OG.
Don't forget the ability to command armies of orcs. Regular humans never command orcs, only dark magic users can do that. Sauron and Saruman were each able to command sizeable orc forces, but Sauron's were much more numerous because he had the Nazgul to help keep them organized. It was his command of the orc armies that made Sauron rich and powerful enough to corrupt and intimidate kings of men into allying with him as well.
Which king is this? :)
Why do you think Tolkien never show us a major victory for sauron during the war of the ring like he did with morgoth in the battle of unnumbered tears for example?
Sauron had many victories in TA. If he won War of the Ring this would be game over since Valar wouldnt probably intervene and that Saurons tyranny would be compelete.
Sauron was on the verge of multiple victories in the War of the Ring until the One Ring was destroyed. In the Council of Elrond, I believe it is Gandalf who tells the others that victory through force of arms was not possible.
Sauron’s Bottom Bishhhh
A A N G B A N G
How, would the Nazgul fair against someone like , Goku or superman. Dont, forget Saitama.
Goku would die instantly due to fear element. Whether that fear power would affect Saitama and Superman is debatable since they have greater will power
:)
I disagree with the initial claim that Sauron was winning throughout the Third Age. If Gandalf/Galadriel/Saruman/Aragorn/Whoever claimed the Ring, Sauron would have been over with too.
its cause saruman stands for Sorry Ass Man!
Minas Morgul is the New Jersey of Mordor :)
This video is so bad. The WK can’t control the weather at all and there is no suggestion he can. The flashes from Weathertop were definitely Gandalf. The corruption of Minas Morgul isn’t clearly from the WK, and you mix movie stuff with actual book canon.
Algormancy!