Sauron vs. Lord Foul the Despiser and a little bonus

[Redpieper]

Alright let's get this thing started.
Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Today for your eyes only, the epic struggle of two of the most evil beings penned down by humans, a fight of dark lords, rulers of evil, and... you get the point.

In the right corner we have the one and only Sauron! Dark lord of Mordor! His deeds need no mention, for he is known to all!
Now he had a little trouble with a certain hobbit carrying a ring and all, but that's not a problem..

..because...

In the left corner we have Lord Foul the Despiser! He is an evil entity trapped in an entire world, he schemes and plans for one reason only. To escape!
Now he's had some problems with a certain human carrying a ring and all but that's neither here and there.

Now tonight only, for your satisfaction, these two evils will trade places. Lord Foul the despiser will be transported to Middle-Earth and will have the exact same resources as Sauron had. He will arrive at the exact same time as when Bilbo surrendered the ring to Frodo. He will arrive in Mordor and now Middle-Earth has become his prison.
His task is simple, to retrieve the ring from Frodo so he can use it to break free of his prison, before Frodo throws it in Mount Doom.

Sauron on the other hand will be transported to The Land, at the exact same time as Thomas Covenant is transported to Kevin's Watch.
He will arrive in Foul's Creche, domain of his rival.
His task is to the make Thomas surrender the ring willingly or make him destroy the Arch of Time, and the world in the process.

Both are instructed in the specifics of their rival's world.

The questions are, can Lord Foul take the ring before it is thrown into Mount Doom?
Can Sauron manipulate Thomas in such a way that he gives up the ring willingly or destroy the world in his despair?

Bonus exercise, what if instead of the dark lords being swapped, the ring bearers are swapped in their position.
As in, would Thomas Covenant be able to bear the one ring and throw it in Mount Doom, and would Frodo be able to withstand Lord Foul?

(Lord Foul is from this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Thomas_Covenant,_the_Unbeliever )

[SmartAlec]

Come to think of it, I think the answer is likely 'no' in both cases, for the bonus - Lord Foul's brand of psychological warfare would reduce the morale and will of the Fellowship to mush, and Sauron's build-up-armies-until-I-am-unstoppable, stay-out-of-the-fighting strategies would make Covenant's task almost impossible.

[The Big Dice]

Lord Foul has been known to combine the huge armies with his thing for manipulating people into doing exactly what he wants by letting them think they're doing what they want.

That's pretty much what he did in the first Covenant trilogy.

Foul is also the epitome of evil under the Arch of Time, seemingly immortal and even the Ritual of Desecration and Wild Magic can't destroy him utterly. And on top of that, he's the brother or the shadow of the Creator. You could say he's Melkor cast down to Earth.

On the other hand, Sauron at the time Bilbo picks up the ring is not much more than a ghost. A powerful ghost, for sure. But he doesn't have a physical prescense in the same way that Foul does. He's more like one of the Ravers in that respect.

The biggest difference between the two is, Foul wants to escape from the Arch of Time, while Sauron wants to be the undisputed ruler of Middle-Earth. That gives the two of them very different desires and ultimately means that Foul has an edge over Sauron. Because Foul doesn't need minions to enact his ultimate aim, he just needs the White Gold to be given to him of the rightful owner's volition. Everything else is secondary and therefore expendable.

Here's how I think it would go down:

Foul would manipulate the Wizards of Middle-Earth in much the same way that Sauron did, but he'd also use the self doubt of Aragorn against him, making Isidur's Heir indecisive and hesitant. He'd also do the same to Denethor and Theoden, with the intent of getting the nations of Gondor and Rohan to go to war with each other. He would turn his attention t the Elves, hinting to them that Men are weak and divided, not worth bothering with and generally encouraging their isolation and withdrawl from Middle-Earth.

Because Aragorn doesn't trust his own motives, Gandalf wouldn't have his help in tracking down Gollum or in making sure the Hobbits get to Rivendell. Frod would die either on Weathertop, or on the road between Bree and Rivendell, the Nazgul would take the Ring to Mordor and Foul wins.

In The Land, things would go a bit differently. Assuming that Sauron is as clued up on events and items in The Land as Foul is, he'd recognise that the Staff of Law isn't something suited to his hand. However, the Dark Lord does not share power, and the Illearth Stone is power. He'd have no hesitation in turning that on the defenders of The Land, smashing High Lord Prothall's Quest to ruin while Covenant is still in the full grip of his Unbelief.

While Drool Rockworm weilds the Staff of Law on his behalf, Sauron seizes the White Gold. Between the two tokens of power he now owns, Sauron is free to lay waste to the Earth, enslaving and destroying all who stand before him. Sauron wins too, but Foul gets free while Sauron rules the Earth until the Arch of Time crumbles.