system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Lord of the Rings] It's implied (if not outright stated) that Gandalf and Sauron have a lot more power than they're actually throwing around in the War for the Ring. What's holding them back, why don't they cut loose?

Gandalf only uses his magic sparsely, and almost never in combat, and Sauron only ever acts through lackeys. They both seem like they've got a greater well of power they could use in magical slugfest, but they don't.

Are they being held back by some rule or limitation, or is it more of "nuclear deterrent" situation?
gpt
In Gandalf's  case, Literal God has forbidden him from doing so. He's here to guide, not to take over.

Sauron, meanwhile, doesn't *have* his power- the majority of it in the ring. That's why he wants the ring back so desperately,  why keeping it out of his hands is so important, and why destroying it utterly ends him as a threat. Once he has it he'll crush everything but, for  now, he's at a fraction of his power.