[Hiram]

Despise the image that many persons have of great burning eye in the top of Barad Dur, Tolkien never give a proper description of Sauron during the War of the Ring. It is true that during the book, the flaming lidless eye is used to talk about Sauron, but many believe that this is an allegory of how he was permannently watching from the high of his tower.

There are also some parts that seem to indicate that Sauron did had a phisical body during the ending of the third age:

• When the free armies of the middle earth reach the black gate, Aragorn command Sauron to come foward; that show that he knew Sauron have mobility, unless he was expecting a giant, flaming, eye to came out of the gate.
  
• When Gollum talks about his steady in Mordor, he talks about Sauron having hands.

So how is Sauron going to be portrayed here?

[Beren IV]

I don't think the development team is even considering that at the moment; I'm sure they're more concerned with what Morgoth looks like instead.

As for the burning eye, when Frodo looks into the Mirror of Galadriel, the burning eye is one of the things that he sees. I don't know if the Mirror can show something that isn't real and is only a symbol, but I would imagine that the flaming lidless eye is a real entity. Whether it is a form that Sauron can take (as a Maia, he can shapeshift, remember), or whether it is some enchantment, magical item, or spirit of some kind that is bound to him by sorcery, we'll never know.

But yes, it is quite clear that Sauron is capable of taking on a humanoid shape, may even be confined to a humanoid shape, at the time of the War of the Ring.

[Tar-Palantir]

I think you can just copy sauron from the prologue of the movie

[Aldandil]

After the Fall of Numenor, Sauron could never again take on a pleasing shape that would deceive anybody, in fact I think he may have been stuck in the form of a "Dark Lord" just as Morgoth was after the Darkening of Valinor.

In the battle at the end of the Second Age, Isildur cut the ring off of his hand, probably along with a finger, which shows that at the battle he was in a humanoid form. During the Third Age, Gollum described him as having hands.

The "lidless eye" in my opinion is not a physical form that he takes, it is a physical description of the telepathic experience of having him assault your mind through a palantir. Either that, or it's a description of what his eyes look like. Did anyone ever describe the lidless eye as disembodied, or give any other reason to assume it wasn't attached to a face? If the eye was extremely mesmerizing, or just compelled one to look at it, Frodo might not notice the rest of his face. Even dragons can do that.

Physically taking the form of a giant floating eyeball... what would be the use of this? He used his mind and power to search for the ring because it was a part of him, he didn't need to turn into an eyeball to do it, plus with his mind he could "see" in many directions at once, over the horizon, past obstructions, etc. He could use his mind to dominate his slaves, too. As a giant eyeball he'd have no hands, and he wouldn't fit in most rooms. He could probably get around the lack of a mouth using telepathy, but still. I just can't see it.

This post has been edited by Aldandil: 30 June 2009 - 12:20 AM

[Shield Bearer]

Quote

I think you can just copy sauron from the prologue of the movie

@ Tar-Palantir

dude, didn't you read they are trying not to copy the movie but make the game from their imagination.

[Fingolfin21]

i always think that in the first age he appeared as a man, but great and terrible in power, or fair when he wished and also his vampire and warewolf phases, so basically a shapeshifter without one set form. in the second age id say he wore his fair form most of the time, and in the third i agree with aldandil about him probably using the eye for mental assualt but id say his physical form was some kind of dark lord, he just chose to stay in the barad dur. perhaps some of his power had also dispersed to his servants (like morgoth before) leaving him more weak and more vulnerable than in the first age

[oshron]

it could also be that sauron could change with age advancement. its a little-known fact that sauron originally took the form of an enormous werewolf, so before and during the first age, he could be a giant wolf, and then in the second age onwards he would be in his better-known Morgoth-like form(he took on that form to be more like morgoth)