Board Thread:Fun and Games/@comment-33719810-20180317041546/@comment-26298013-20180319163420

So, about Rings of Power: Men are the most easily corrupted by the Rings. Men have the greatest amount of choice in Tolkien's work, they cover the widest array of roles and cultures. This choice, however, have downsides. Men, not Elves, and only very, very rarely Dwarves, serve the powers of evil.

Dwarves are stubborn. Incredibly stubborn. Dwarves are so stubborn that the First Age dwarves stared down the Father of Dragons and didn't burn. They cannot be corrupted by the Rings, but Sauron does bend his will towards destroying the Dwarves (since he can't corrupt them). This results in the amplification of their greed, as well as an increase in their wealth-building skills.

Elves, of course, are also incorruptible, but not capable of fighting Sauron's full strength. Thus, they take off their Rings when Sauron forged the One.

As for why they have power...nobody knows why the Three, the Seven, and the Nine have power. The One, of course, has power because Sauron put his power (and, yes, part of his soul) into the Ring.