SD+SB in Middle Earth

[Admiral Valdemar]

That is a little harder given what it does with contact.

It still seems of more use as a easy to make chemical weapon.

Well considering we'll eventually run out of ammo on most of the weapons after Helm's Deep, we'll need some sort of Deus ex Machina to make up for our shortfall in numbers.

[Nova Andromeda]

--As I see it this senario is complete overkill unless SD + SB people manage to totally screw themselves.
1. The good guys win even without intervention.

Through sheer luck. In an alternate timeline, we can't count on that.

--In the original time it was predicted that a man would not kill the Wraith Lord. Doesn't that mean that such a universe is deterministic and the uncertainty principle is broken? If the uncertainty principle was still in effect how could such an unlikely event be predicted? At any rate, for arguements sake we can assume victory isn't assured without intervention.

2. Knowledge of what the future holds in the hands of the good guys is absolutely crippling for the bad guys.

Again, we can't count on that.

--Even if you don't know the exact events you know who are the bad guys and what their general plans are. This allows you and the good guys to strike against them immediately (or as soon as possible). Saurumon could be neutralized before he even becomes a significant threat.

3. The firepower held by the SD + SB people in addition to the standard good guys is totally overwhelming. This becomes more true the sooner the good guys move since the bad guys will not have had the time to prepare for war or steal the new tech.

Most of our firepower is not portable. The heavy guns and ammo on the base are explicitly said to be fixed to the base; we can't remove them (yes, I know, this doesn't really make sense, but it's part of the scenario; assume it's some magical restriction). So all we've got is small-arms, some SAW's, grenade launchers, and whatever we can fabricate. It would be unwise to simply go storming in, and we don't want to take ANY casualties if we can avoid it.

--It doesn't matter that most of your firepower is not portable. Your small arms are a great deal of firepower regardless (I am assuming you can take ammo for those arms with you on excusions). In addition, the enemy has not assemble the majority of their armies yet. Better yet, the good guys can destroy the One Ring immediately without a huge army in their way (if the thermite doesn't work). As for the casualty phobia, I would say that quick action together with the good guys would result in fewer casualties in the end. That doesn't mean you don't plan your attack well of course.

--I see several ways in which the SD + SB people could screw themselves.
1. Fail to conduct the proper scientific studies of middle earth physics and adapt plans accordingly. The primary weakness here is uncertainty about people's soul. Do the SD + SB people have them like middle earth people do? Does this mean SD + SB people can be corrupted like many of the people in middle earth were? If so what plans can be enacted to garantee that a small number of undiscovered turncoats won't screw everyone else. For example, what happens if Mike Wong takes the One Ring at some point in order to attempt to melt it? What is the risk that it will corrupt him and allow Sauron to doom everyone?

A scientifically-minded person is probably less corruptible than a superstitious person. Besides, if I had possession of the ring it would be in a test fixture, not hung around my neck and dangling close to my heart. I imagine its power over me would be lessened. And when I'm busy trying to melt it down with thermite, I doubt anyone will try to pick it up.

2. Fail to contact the good guys immediately before any unforseen problems arise and put the mission in jeopardy.

My strategic plan calls for recon and advisory contacts with the good guys, as well as the use of our vehicles to faciliate the movements of the Fellowship.

--Your belief that you are less corruptable than other people is an inherent risk. Much of what is viewed as supersition in this world is reality in their world. Besides, people are going to be exposed to the One Ring during transport to the base if you need to take it there. If you fail to destroy it people are going to have to handle it afterward. Basically, I'm saying this opperation will have to be carefully planned and executed. You want to plan for your own Boromir.

If Sauron learns of the base and its nature it is a safe bet he will try to take it out and/or take it over. At the very least he will gain some insight into moder tech.

That is highly doubtful. Looking at a Hummer and being able to build your own Hummer are two entirely different things.

--However, they already have powder. They are not that far away from having guns.

3. Fail to secure modern tech. from the enemy and thus allow him to steal it. For example, he may learn all sorts of stuff by using insect and animal spies. If he manages to get ahold of the information in the library somehow that is a real problem. Even just seeing the new equipment gives the enemy valuable information.

Surely you're joking. Imagine this scenario: you take a primitive medieval knight, plop him in the middle of a modern military base and let him look at all the stuff. Then, take him back to his primitive medieval home and say "OK, you've got a year to start building your own military vehicles and firearms like the ones you saw there." What would you expect to find when you come back in a year?

--Actaully they have 18 years if you wait (which is why I advocate moving sooner rather than later). In addition, Sauron can use animals, insects, and the Eye to take a detailed look at your equipment and possibly your library (translation would be a problem I guess). He also has an entire Kingdom's resources to support research and knowledge of how to make powder.

4. Failure to anticipate counter measures. It has been suggested that mustard gas be used against Sauron. This seems like a rather risky venture to me. We know that the enemy has at least some control over the weather. What if he managed to trap some of that gas and then sneak it into the base with magic on a foggy night?

Since the gas dissipates quickly on its own, this won't happen. And there has never been any indication whatsoever that they have such fine control over the weather that they can manipulate pockets of air like that. If they could do that, they could simply weaken and/or suffocate people by lowering the air pressure around them, and we certainly don't see that.

However, creating a storm like the one we saw Sarumon make would require a great deal of control would it not? You would have to alter atmosphere presure, change wind patters, change humidity, etc. Predicting weather not an easy thing to do let alone creating it. What makes you think Sauron won't be able to just blow the gas away?

Perhaps even worse, what if he used it on a hummer scouting patrol, but kept the people alive in order to corrupt them for use as spies? Is such a risk worth taking? Consultation with the good guys could of course solve this problem.

I have no idea where you're getting these weird ideas. If he could do these things, the Fellowship would have been completely screwed and dead on the first night.

--It is just idle speculation and not well thought out. The point is that all the possibilities should be carefully considered and a powerful weapon like mustard gas should not be used unless you really need it (and I don't believe you do).

[Durandal]

All right, I might as well write up my little resumé.

Name: Damien Sorresso
Height: 6'
Weight: ~170 lbs
Build: Light/Medium

I've done drilling-type stuff before in Tae-Kwon-Do for 6 years, so I'm not averse to following orders or practicing a skill until I master it.
My firearms skills are more or less negligible. I can hit a tin can from about 25 yards away with a bee-bee gun.
I have hand-to-hand and some melee combat experience, with askrima sticks and the boken.
I'm a physics student, so my contributions would be more toward research and probably design. I'd end up spending a good deal of time in the lab designing and testing mobile artillery pieces, as well as determining the properties of any unique metals we may find in Middle Earth.

[Ghost Rider]

That is a little harder given what it does with contact.

It still seems of more use as a easy to make chemical weapon.

Well considering we'll eventually run out of ammo on most of the weapons after Helm's Deep, we'll need some sort of Deus ex Machina to make up for our shortfall in numbers.

Well I was meaning more for us in terms persay of carrying it around

Using as a makeshift ready weapon for larger battles, that thing is outlandishly effective as a first strike weapon(other than pelting the bastards with shells), especially given it's inhalation effect as well contact.

[adam warlock]

All of the human structures are made of wood, and many farmers must undoubtedly remove trees as a matter of course. The Ents must surely have some tolerance for deforestation practices, or they would have declared war on just about everybody a long time ago.

try not to use trees from fangorn forest.

[Cpt_Frank]

Phosgene seems the best bet from my take on it.

Yep it's the best way to go, it's effective and we might be able to set up a primitve factory to produce it in sufficient quantities.

There are 2 ways to produce Phosgene:
CCl4 + H2SO4 -> COCl2 + 2ClSO3H is the way you'd do it in a laboratory

Industrial production of large quantities is done with the help of a carbon-based catalyst, at a temperature of 100-120°C:
CO + Cl2 + catal. -> COCl2


Btw are we allowed to take along some breech-loading black powder rifles like the Chassepot M-1866 in this scenario?
They can be used with paper cartrides that we'd be able to manufacture, and they're reasonably ragned and accurate.

What makes you think Sauron won't be able to just blow the gas away?

Errm if we're talking about Phosgene here wind won't help much since it's lethal in very small concentrations so you'd need one hell of a wind to blow all of it away so that noone would be affected.

--However, they already have powder. They are not that far away from having guns.

The first guns they'd build would be similar to our 14ths century hand-cannons, and they were even less effective than bows.

[Sr.mal]

Though my post count is not very large, I do believe I have some skills that would come in handy.

1.I can weld.

2.I reload all of my own ammo, so as long as I have a supply of gunpowder and some lead I'm good for ammo.

3.ROTC all during HS so I'm inclined to take orders.

4.12 years experience with firearms, also an exellent marksman.

5. I can make hand grenades. It's very simple the pineapple grenade of WW2 was filled with black powder. Simply get some steel of the right thickness, a stamp press, and a simple trigger mechanism. Boom you have grenades and the like.

6.I have a rather large collectioin of firearms. I come with 3 Mauser K98's, 2 Russian made SKS, a working replica BAR, and many pistols.

[phongn]

I've just noticed the mention of RSA, and nukes in the thread....

As I recall there is meant to be a hospital in the base...precision grinding equipment is part of the opthalmy department of any hospital......so with quality equipment it is possible to reach the tolerances for a nuke....

We still can't refine uranium, unless we have the electical capacity of the Tennesee Valley Authority at our beck and call (there's a reason Oak Ridge is over there). Plus we'd need to make the gas-diffusion and centrifuge seperation systems, the precision detonator circuits (unless you want to go for the gun-type design), etc.

Nukes are a no-go here.

[Sea Skimmer]

Hmmmm...... we can dig a moat outside and use that for our sewer system. I'd like to see the orcs try to cross a small river of decades-old collected shit and toxic chemicals. However, this thing would be simply diease waiting to happen and would plunge moral down to zero to anyone that has to deal with it, so you might wonder if it would end up doing more damage to ourselves than to the enemy.

We'd all soon die from disease if you did that. There's a reason why you don't find cesspools near most homes. Not to mention the god-awful smell and contamination of any ground water we might get out of an internal well.

[Sea Skimmer]

Errm if we're talking about Phosgene here wind won't help much since it's lethal in very small concentrations so you'd need one hell of a wind to blow all of it away so that noone would be affected.

Phosgene incapacities at 100 parts per 10m in seconds and kills at 200 within 1-2 minutes

Mustard gas is fatal as just 10 parts, but with an hour skin exposure. However giving the lack of repository protection, nor much ability to clean off contaminated material or deal with the resulting burns we'd easily knock out large numbers with less.

[Admiral Valdemar]

What do we do about power? Diesel generators are a start but it would be good if we had something a little more heavy duty (MHD generators?).

[Darth Wong]

We don't need that much power. Our weapons don't require electrical power, so all we need is power for heating, lighting, labs, etc.

[Sr.mal]

I think we should have less SB and more SD.net in the force. It seems like there are more level-headed individuals here then over at SB.

[phongn]

I think we should have less SB and more SD.net in the force. It seems like there are more level-headed individuals here then over at SB.

Work with what you got. The less level-headed can have discipline forced into them and kept on a short leash if need be.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I was thinking if we could in the future make other stuff that would need such power sources, just in case.

Electric fences for instance would be good.

[Sea Skimmer]

I was thinking if we could in the future make other stuff that would need such power sources, just in case.

Electric fences for instance would be good.

Wooden obstacles will serve just fine with M2 goalkeepers behind them. An electric fence would be maintenance nightmare if it had the power needed stop humans or orcs.

[Admiral Valdemar]

I was thinking if we could in the future make other stuff that would need such power sources, just in case.

Electric fences for instance would be good.

Wooden obstacles will serve just fine with M2 goalkeepers behind them. An electric fence would be maintenance nightmare if it had the power needed stop humans or orcs.

I'd like it if we had some sort of other defence mechanism that was active too.

The .50cals will do now though.

[Nova Andromeda]

We don't need that much power. Our weapons don't require electrical power, so all we need is power for heating, lighting, labs, etc.

--I'm betting the dwarves and the elves have enough metal smithing skills to build a crude initial machine shop which could be used to build a good machine shop. One could probably build a steam generator and use coal for fuel. One might try to build some communications systems too.

[Beowulf]

It occurs to me that zepplins would not be infeasible. The big problem w/ the Hindenburg after all was the fact that it used what was effectively rocket fuel as the covering of the ship. Drop impact fused bombs and napalm bombs from it, and you could do a very good job of taking out the back ranks of the orcs before they got close enough to harm you. Put some rifles on it to take down anything that flys uo to meet you and you'd have a fairly good time.

[LadyTevar]

A scientifically-minded person is probably less corruptible than a superstitious person. Besides, if I had possession of the ring it would be in a test fixture, not hung around my neck and dangling close to my heart. I imagine its power over me would be lessened. And when I'm busy trying to melt it down with thermite, I doubt anyone will try to pick it up.

Hell, if we really want to minimize the risk, persuade Galadriel to grab it and instruct her in the ways of the lab. She appears to be immune to the effects of the One Ring. Elrond or Celeborn should be able to pull this off as well.

Umm... did you forget what happened when Frodo offered her the Ring?

(begin spooky double voice)
"In place of a Dark Lord, you would raise a Queen! Not Dark, but Beautiful and Terrible as the Dawn! Treacherious as the Sea! Stonger than the Foundations of the Earth! All shall Love me, and Despair!"
(end spooky double voice)

And that was just seeing the Ring. Resisting it once is one thing... having it where she can see it, hold it daily? No. Just... no.

[Patrick Ogaard]

A proposal for standardization of small arms:

#1: The standard weapon for at least two thirds of the troops should be a suitable civilian, semiautomatic copy of the M14 rifle, cleaning kit, basic repair kit, shoulder sling, bayonet, at least 20 magazines, a low-power (4x) telescopic sight, a padded and zippered scabbard, and a carrying case. This provides a forgiving weapon with high knockdown power, long range, a good-sized magazine (20 rounds), and the ability to fire rapidly when (not if) the enemy closes the range. Also, fitted with a bayonet the M14 is a long but fairly streamlined weapon, and the wooden furniture of the weapon will be relatively easy to repair compared to plastic and sheet metal.

#2: The remaining third of the troops should invest in a 5.56 mm semiautomatic knockoff of the assault rifle of their choice, with the same accessories as above. The only requirement is that the weapon must be able to use the standard NATO pattern of magazine as used by the M16, allowing troops to swap magazines and pool their resources while in the field. These lighter rifles are ideal for second line troops, and an orc is unlikely to sneeze at having two or three bullets in its gizzard.

#3: Anyone who brings a shotgun or submachine gun instead will be soundly thrashed and turned over to Mr. Wong for suitable "corrective entertainment." The only exceptions are those persons who are really, really good with their chosen weapons and can prove it. Both weapon types are designed for extremely close range combat, ranges where a bow or a thrown spear will kill. Also, shotguns, unless loaded with exotic ammunition, will be less than stellar when pitted against wooden shields and armor composed of layers of iron and leather and padded cloth.

#4: The standard pistol should be the ever-popular 9 mm Beretta as employed by the US military. The 9 mm Parabellum round (AKA 9 mm Luger) has excellent penetration for a handgun round, combined with moderate killing power and a good reserve of ammunition. Standard accessories should be: cleaning kit, basic repair kit, dummy cord, at least 10 magazines (likely as not the 10-round models currently legal), a tiny low-powered telescopic sight, a standard military hip holster complete with protective flap, a shoulder holster for covert work, and a carrying case.

#5: If legal in the scenario, every weapon should come with a laser targeter, thermal sight and spare batteries for the same. Even if never used, having access to all that stuff will be potentially useful (if just for morale).

#6: In addition to the knife bayonet, everyone should also carry a conventional combat/survival knife of sturdy construction (and not so impracticably long as to be compensating for shortness elsewhere), as well as a pocket tool like a Leatherman or imitator thereof, and a large folding knife. The classic Ka-Bar with leather washer handle would be a good choice, as would the survival knives of the other military services.


Everyone should include some common basic equipment in the Mighty Backpack:

1. A solar charger for regular rechargeable batteries.
2. A small supply of assorted rechargeable batteries of common sizes (at least one pack each of AAAA through D, and 9-volt).
3. Five kilograms of compact, durable luxury food & beverage items like coffee, tea, sugar, favorite spices, etc. (including cigarettes if appropriate).
4. Two full sets of personal comfort clothes with which to personalize the uniform clothing during that extremely long time away.
5. Two personal notebooks or sketchbooks and writing supplies.
6. An MP3 player (and perhaps pocket DVD player) using rechargeable batteries, and chock full of personal favorite music, radio comedy, etc.
7. A half-dozen DVDs.
8. At least one kilogram of recreational printed materials (paperback novels and a few magazines).
9. A laptop/notebook with rechargeable battery pack, the computer loaded with as many relevant programs and files as possible, including games/entertainment.
10. A pair of standard, small two-way radios, running on rechargeable batteries, and all conforming to a single standard.
11. Bedding and a sleeping bag.
12. At least two rechargeable flashlights, one large enough to serve as a makeshift club in combat (long D-cell-size Maglite or the like).
13. A compact mess kit.
14. Anyone with a relevant technical/engineering/medical/etc. skill should include as comprehensive a kit of the corresponding gear as can be fit in. This includes a compact printer, printer paper, etc. if relevant.
15. A large supply of strike-anywhere matches.
16. A small supply of silver coins and bullion: silver is much, much cheaper now than in a medievalish setting, and the locals likely won't care that much about whose face is on the coin, the weight of the silver being more important.

The basic idea with the MP3s, DVDs, paperbacks, games, computer files, and magazines is that given a pool of a few hundred people, there will be enough of that stuff to go around for years to come, based simply on trading. People will go nuts quickly otherwise.

All the various bits of electronic paraphernalia will break down eventually, and the rechargeable batteries will eventually refuse to take any useful charge, but things will be bearable for a few years, by which time the force will be either dead or possessed of other entertainment.


On the matter of all that .40 S&W ammo and all those 12 gauge shotgun shells going to waste:
Some people will bring compatible firearms, so that the ammunition will get use, but it might be useful to think outside the box:

Explosives will be insanely dangerous to produce. With a small population of non-expendable personnel, having a lab or shop blow up would be a non-positive development. Much the same goes for the nastier chemical agents, which would require an industrial setup to allow their production in significant quantities useful in combat under the open sky.

The alternative is to use all those shotgun shells and .40 S&W cartridges. Here's how…

Let's estimate the total friendly force of transdimensional adventurers and suicide jockeys to number 400. Then let's assume the following (if only for the sake of this argument):

No gun barrel is likely to survive firing more than 10,000 rounds and still be in any kind of usable shape. Light machine guns (SAW) and GPMGs (M60) are assumed to have 4 barrels issued per gun.

A further assumption is that the supply of ammunition is laid out so that enough ammunition is present to provide every gun of a 400-strong force with 10,000 rounds if the entire force chose one particular type of weapon. For SAWs and GPMGs, it is assumed that up to 10% of the total force will carry either one or the other plus a rifle (which is likely very optimistic but sounds pretty good).

So …

400 * 10,000 rounds of 9mm P = 4,000,000 rounds
400 * 10,000 rounds of .40 S&W = 4,000.000 rounds
400 * 10,000 rounds of 12 gauge ammo (assorted) = 4,000,000 rounds
400 * 10,000 (10,000 * 40 *4) = 5,600,000 rounds of 5.56 mm NATO
400 * 10,000 (10,000 * 40 *4) = 5,600,000 rounds of 7.62 mm NATO

Given a supply of small nails, stout wooden planks and short lengths of steel tubing of approximately 10 mm internal diameter, it would be a trivial matter to produce a primitive version of the mitrailleuse. The metal tubes are set into a perforated plank, a .40 S&W cartridge is set into each tube, and a second plank, set with carefully aligned nails, is placed just behind the plank. Given a stout timber frame and a hammer, or a more complex mechanism to be designed by an engineer, a massive volley of very short ranged antipersonnel fire can be achieved. A smaller version, with a single bullet, can be partially buried in the ground to produce a tiny foot-blasting mine. A more mechanically advanced device could work as a primitive gatling gun, more closely emulating the mitrailleuse. As soon as one ammunition panel is used up, simply insert another.

A similar, albeit larger diameter, array of tubes can be used to put the shotgun shells to good use.

Similarly, mounting the small mine version of the pistol cartridge on the end of a stout shaft of wood about ten feet long could produce a deadly spear capable of effectively piercing heavy body armor. Each spear would only have one shot, but a shot providing much greater power than a pike thrust. It might be an effective way to arm a force of auxiliary troops recruited from the aboriginal population.

Potentially even more effective would be the manufacture of zip guns for the yokels. A primitive single-shot, rifle-length smoothbore gun using a .40 S&W cartridge would provide a force of aborigine auxiliaries considerable firepower, especially if backed up by a brace of pistols using the same principle.

If all else fails, simply mine the excess/incompatible ammunition for useful materials. Shotgun shell primers and propellants provide ready made explosives without the risk of manufacture.


On the vehicle front, a force of 150 Humvees or civilian Hummers is insanely huge. As a substantial number of M60s and SAWs is likely to be included in the force, arming the vehicles is a trivial matter. The military models normally come with the standard roof hatch, and even if none is fitted, rigging a suitable gun mount should be entirely possible for anyone capable of doing body work on a vehicle. Even if none of the vehicles is one of the armored types, that is easily remedied: strategically back the body panels with half-inch wood planking and you're practically done. Anything short of a troll's club or a ballista bolt should be stopped cold. Adding skirts of mail or of metal-studded leather as protection for the tires completes the picture. The vehicles won't be tanks, but they will be toughened against arrow and spear.

If one is very lucky, all the vehicles will be diesel-powered. Diesel engines will run for extended periods on vegetable oil, like canola oil. Either plant the area around the fort with huge fields of suitable plants or trade goods and services for supplies of vegetable oil or stuff like flax or sunflower seeds to keep the vehicles running for all those years.

Chemical warfare might be better served by a relatively harmless set of materials. One example would be finely ground unslaked lime, another would be lye. Fill ceramic vessels with the finely ground quicklime. Then fill more of those vessels with a mixture of lard and well-concentrated lye.
Simple mechanical catapults can then be used for delivery. Orcs with quicklime in their eyes and lungs and with lye eating into their skins will have their combat effectiveness reduced and their charges stopped, and friendly troops equipped with firearms will have no problems shooting at those milling formations. Of course, stuff like phosgene and chlorine is nasty, and if someone is good with chemistry, more power to them. It might be nice if someone thinks to learn how to produce simple charcoal filters.


Another thing to consider is the possibility of war wagons. A standard humvee has substantial towing capacity. Produce wagons of very sturdy timber construction and face the timber with metal if at all possible, leather otherwise. The wagon walls are fitted with loopholes. The wagons don't have to be fast. A two-story wagon with a fighting top would be nice, but a one-story wagon with fighting top would be adequate. Friendly troops, especially aboriginal auxiliaries, can be packed in the wagons and equipped with primitive firearms. The wagons will not be able to negotiate rough terrain, but in a set-piece battle they would be extremely dangerous. Secure cargo convoys for supply of the base are another possible application.

[Keevan_Colton]

I've just noticed the mention of RSA, and nukes in the thread....

As I recall there is meant to be a hospital in the base...precision grinding equipment is part of the opthalmy department of any hospital......so with quality equipment it is possible to reach the tolerances for a nuke....

We still can't refine uranium, unless we have the electical capacity of the Tennesee Valley Authority at our beck and call (there's a reason Oak Ridge is over there). Plus we'd need to make the gas-diffusion and centrifuge seperation systems, the precision detonator circuits (unless you want to go for the gun-type design), etc.

Nukes are a no-go here.

I know its a no-go, but I thought I'd mention that the precision grinding was less of an issue compared to the other problems listed.....and to be honest....it was all mostly a build up to my RSA comment at the end....

[Keevan_Colton]

Errm if we're talking about Phosgene here wind won't help much since it's lethal in very small concentrations so you'd need one hell of a wind to blow all of it away so that noone would be affected.

Remember the flip side of the argument that was already put forward....not trying to save his troops....blowing it to kills US....

[LadyTevar]

Well, I'm not among the top, especially since I am extremely new to this board, but here's my qualifications:

Female. (if you don't think that makes a difference, you need to think twice)
5'7
Decent shape, which means I can walk a mile in about 15 minutes on flat ground, and not be too out of breath.

I have been a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism since 1989, and while I am not an expert at anything, I am a jack of many trades among the Society. A short list of what might be useful: Sewing, Cooking (for 200+), Serving, Archery, Heavy Fighting ('Sword-n-Board'), Medieval Ettiquette & Heraldry, Merchanting/Trade, Candlemaking, Slight Herbalism.

In my backback would be copies of Tournements Illuminated and The Complete Anachronist. Why? Because T.I. offers short articles on ways to recreate various Medieval comforts (food, clothing, armour, furniture), while each Complete Anachronist is an in-depth how-to on one Medieval subject.

Also in the backpack? Needles, Thread, Scissors & sharpener, my complete Spice Rack, various sharp kitchen knives, and all the gold/silver jewelry I could carry. (if you can't figure out what the various items are for, ask me.) Of course, to make it *really* work, I'd need to raid JoAnne's Fabric Store.

Which means I'd need a HumVee to carry all the items I'd consider 'necessary', including my staff and .410 shotgun with both squirrelshot and slugs.

[phongn]

A scientifically-minded person is probably less corruptible than a superstitious person. Besides, if I had possession of the ring it would be in a test fixture, not hung around my neck and dangling close to my heart. I imagine its power over me would be lessened. And when I'm busy trying to melt it down with thermite, I doubt anyone will try to pick it up.

Hell, if we really want to minimize the risk, persuade Galadriel to grab it and instruct her in the ways of the lab. She appears to be immune to the effects of the One Ring. Elrond or Celeborn should be able to pull this off as well.

Umm... did you forget what happened when Frodo offered her the Ring?

(begin spooky double voice)
"In place of a Dark Lord, you would raise a Queen! Not Dark, but Beautiful and Terrible as the Dawn! Treacherious as the Sea! Stonger than the Foundations of the Earth! All shall Love me, and Despair!"
(end spooky double voice)

And that was just seeing the Ring. Resisting it once is one thing... having it where she can see it, hold it daily? No. Just... no.

She was given the ring to do as she pleased and passed the test - which was whether she accepted it or not, I think Galadriel can withstand it for awhile, at least long enough to see if thermite would obliterate it. Certainly she'll do better then Men.

Dwarves might work as well, since they're designed to be resistant (not totally) to the effects of the Ring.