There’s a part in Lord of the Rings Online that sticks with me. When I finally got out of Moria and went to Lothlorien, Frodo is there. The game has a mechanic where when you’re in the presence of particularly strong evil you get a debuff called dread that lowers your morale (essentially your HP). When I approached him I noticed I had a dread debuff and was confused as to what was causing it until I remembered - of course, he has the ring! The game doesn’t make any mention of it, it’s just left for you to notice. It was a great way to subtly depict the burden he would have to carry for a long time.
Frodo at the end of LotR was pretty permanently screwed up from his suffering. Sometimes there’s a hint of realism from authors/media creators.
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You don’t have to be trying to depict addiction to end up doing it anyway. The ring’s allure might be magical, but the pattern is broadly the same.
There’s a part in Lord of the Rings Online that sticks with me. When I finally got out of Moria and went to Lothlorien, Frodo is there. The game has a mechanic where when you’re in the presence of particularly strong evil you get a debuff called dread that lowers your morale (essentially your HP). When I approached him I noticed I had a dread debuff and was confused as to what was causing it until I remembered - of course, he has the ring! The game doesn’t make any mention of it, it’s just left for you to notice. It was a great way to subtly depict the burden he would have to carry for a long time.