As far as the combat ability of the balrogs, I did have the idea that Feanor should be able to contend with one in single combat. I'm not suggesting that he should just roll over it, but we do know that Glorfindel is able to kill a balrog in single combat before succumbing to his wounds and the nearby precise. Maybe Feanor is slightly more powerful than the first balrog he encounters and is getting the upper hand when the others come to help?
I thought Glorfindel was killed when the balrog dragged him into an abyss. Perhaps Feanor is a match for the first balrog and the time he takes in dueling it is the time taken for the others to arrive.As far as the combat ability of the balrogs, I did have the idea that Feanor should be able to contend with one in single combat. I'm not suggesting that he should just roll over it, but we do know that Glorfindel is able to kill a balrog in single combat before succumbing to his wounds and the nearby precise. Maybe Feanor is slightly more powerful than the first balrog he encounters and is getting the upper hand when the others come to help?
Glorfindel was taken with the balrog when it fell, dragging him by the hair.I thought he fought it briefly and then knocked it off a cliff.
Sword doesn’t even have to be fancy, per se, right?Ecthelion stabbed Gothmog with his helmet, and dragged them both into the bottomless well/fountain together.
Glorfindel fought and they both went over the cliff; the Eagles recovered Glorfindel's body.
Gandalf took the bridge out from under Durin's Bane, only for it to drag him down into the abyss with him. After hitting the water at the bottom, they both climbed to the mountain peak, where Gandalf threw it off - again.
Essentially, these things are not easy to kill, and simply fighting one with a sword (even a fancy sword) doesn't get you very far.
But...it's also possible that they're not particularly amazing at killing elves, so just because you can't get many meaningful hits in against them, doesn't mean they can strike a killing blow, either. So, it may be possible to 'hold your own' against one balrog, if you are a very skilled defensive fighter.
Fëanor...is pretty much the opposite of a defensive fighter. He's all offense. So, he's going for the kill...but not successfully. As for why the balrogs don't kill him....well, they do wound him, severely. But he just keeps fighting, so maybe they don't even realize their strikes are doing any damage.
There is no reason not to follow the books, so we should do so.Will we follow the books in that he was reluctant to leave Valinor (this does play a role in the fact that he returns to life earlier than most and is allowed to return to Middle-Earth as an emissary.)?
So if Morgoth keeps balrogs around him, does Luthien knock them out too when she and Beren come for the Silmaril?For the curious, here is how the balrog math went down:
Morgoth will always keep some balrogs with him as a personal bodyguard. He will remain fearful of an imminent attack from the Valar for a long time, and he is 'saving' his best soldiers for that.
TWO balrogs will survive the War of Wrath. Durin's bane and another balrog will mysteriously vanish. We may never learn what happened to the other one.
Two balrogs (including Gothmog) will die in Gondolin. Three balrogs will die in the War of Wrath.
Aegnor will be killed by a balrog in the Battle of Sudden Flame. Corey has mentioned this before, explicitly wanting his death to be significant and not just a generic death in battle. However...will he kill the balrog who takes him out? Fëanor and Fingon will be killed by balrogs without eliminating them. Also, will the adventures of Earendil include him fighting a balrog far afield? Or, rather, not Earendil personally, but one of his faithful companions?
Both Trish and Dave were in favor of a total of nine balrogs. They seemed to think that more was better, and that if we have a limited number to work with, it's better not to limit ourselves too much. But they did want there to be some basic rules - seldom would we see more than one balrog in a fight at the same time (a few major battles are the exceptions). A balrog appearing on screen means that somebody is going to die - ALWAYS. We want the audience to know why Gandalf reacts with the dread he does in Moria - they know this means Gandalf is going to die, and the only question is whether or not he takes the balrog down with him. Balrogs kill named characters; they do not mow down grunts. The comparison to baseball-bat-wielding Sauron from the opening Last Alliance sequence in Peter Jackson's films is to be avoided.
At least two are present at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; Gothmog and another that ties up Fingon with his whip before Gothmog cuts open Fingon’s head.No, there will be multiple balrogs in the major battles - Sudden Flame, Unnumbered Tears, Fall of Gondolin, and War of Wrath.
Wouldn’t it be great if that other one is Durin’s bane?At least two are present at the Nirnaeth Arnoediad; Gothmog and another that ties up Fingon with his whip before Gothmog cuts open Fingon’s head.
It would. I once had thoughts that Durin’s Bane was Gothmog’s second-in-command or something.Wouldn’t it be great if that other one is Durin’s bane?
Having Earendil kill a Balrog might work. I mean, he is the biggest deal of the first age, and in Tolkien's earlier writings he was supposed to do all kinds of things, such as killing Ungoliant and so on. Even though he won't do this in our version, we should show that he is really awesome.Also, will the adventures of Earendil include him fighting a balrog far afield?