Peter Jackson hired to make The Hobbit, in two films

[Mikey]

True, but it was mentioned that Aragorn's lifespan was exceptional even among the Dunedain, whereas it was merely typical of the ancient Numenoreans; and the implication was present that the power of Men was no longer the same as in the days of Numenor.

[Jordanis]

True, but it was mentioned that Aragorn's lifespan was exceptional even among the Dunedain, whereas it was merely typical of the ancient Numenoreans; and the implication was present that the power of Men was no longer the same as in the days of Numenor.

This is so, I'm just saying that for Men, the end of the third age was a new beginning, even if they had lost something, where for the Elves it was an end of many things they loved. So the sadness of the Elves at that point was much greater than that of Men. For Men, the victory was untainted. For Elves, it was tainted by the knowledge that it meant their time in the fair places of Middle Earth that they loved, and their relevance in the world, was at an end.

[Deepcrush]

The golden age of Men for the Reunited Kindom wasn't what the War of the Ring was built around. Before the King's return, Men were at their weakest state. Gondor was in constant war and in slow retreat from Morannon ,Mordor and mainly Minas Morgul. Rohan was still just a small state that was suffering from the North and East. Anor fell and the Elves were in withdraw from the mainland. The world of Men was split between good and evil. Men battled Men for no reason other then to allow the dark armies time to mass.

[Jordanis]

And in the victory, the evil forces were largely cast down and Gondor eventually spread it's winged crown and good civilization across a huge portion of Middle Earth. Whereas for the Elves, in the victory, the power preserving their fair places was destroyed, and they passed at last into the west.

All I'm really getting at is that the regret and sadness of the Elves has a larger part in the tale of the ring than that of Men. The Elves helped create the ring, and the Elves had to destroy themselves to destroy the ring, and they knew it. They had no hope for themselves, but Men still did, and so the world passed into their keeping.

[Deepcrush]

I think the dwarves were left totally in the dark for everything. I'm still not sure what brought their downfall in middle earth. I know that their greed was a part but, I never understood why they started to fall apart like they did. I don't remember any "Major" infighting for them. Plus weren't they friends of both Anor and Dale?

[Sionnach Glic]

Well, the loss of Moria would have been a major blow to their influence and power in the region, and (IIRC) Mordor launched an attack on Erebor during the war which, although it failed, caused a lot of damage and death.

[Deepcrush]

But what about before then? We know that they were great fighters. Their armour was second to none. They must have been expert tunnel fighters. What do we know about why they were so weak by the time of the war. Moria fell true enough but what about the Iron Hills under King Dain? Erebor before the war? Moria before if fell? The race of men had only three allied kingdoms. Rohan, Anor and Gondor. Where were the dwarves during this? I know that they ended up fighting one of the Rhun armies but aside from that and the battle at Erebor. But aside from that what did they do during the war? Did they just sit out the rest?

[Captain Seafort]

The biggest problems the Dwarves had were due to their declining population - the Lonely Mountain and the Iron Hills were their only significant population centres by the end of the Third Age. The result was that they had a significant effect on the battles where they were present in significant numbers, such as Five Armies and Erebor, but they couldn't exert a wider influence

[Deepcrush]

So then they weren't able to refill their ranks. That would make sense. A population in decline makes it hard to replace battle losses.

[Captain Seafort]

Not just an inability to refill their ranks, an inability to even deploy forces comparable in size to those of the humans and elves, which were themselves considerably smaller than those of the Last Alliance.

[Deepcrush]

Its strange that humans would ever have trouble with numbers. Has anyone ever seen how fast we breed! My grandmother was one of ten. My mother one of five. I am one of six. Hello! If that was even a halfway constant rate then my family would be able to do what it in fact helped to do in the first place. Populate West Virginia and then North Point Maryland! I never understood why it was so hard for the race of Men to build up their armies. Then again, I was still pretty young the last time my mother had me read those books. *I wonder what the hell happened to them?*

[Captain Seafort]

ME humans reproduce at a somewhat more constrained rate - Aragorn was an only child, as was Theodred, Boromir and Faramir were Denethor's only children, ditto with Eomer and Eowyn. Not to mention the considerable problems with Sauron-inspired raids by Orc and Easterlings, the Kinstrife, and various diseases throught the latter Third Age.

[Deepcrush]

You know thats a good point. Those bums need to get in the sattle a little more often!

[Sionnach Glic]

Didn't Denethor's wife die while giving birth to Faramir? If she had lived, it's possible he might have had more children. Though your point still stands.

[Deepcrush]

If you need man power then you should be breeding it! Its not a hard thing to ask!

"HEY! EVERYONE START HAVING SEX! NONE STOP! EVEN THE NERDS!"