Aside from being used to communicate long-distance (like phones), Palantir could show visions to people. Sauron corrupted it to only show negative visions of the future to Gondor's king, making him believe that fighting or resisting Sauron's armies are pointless, eventually leading him to depression. He was a great king otherwise.
It's more complex than that.
Aside from being used to communicate long-distance (like phones), Palantir could show visions to people. Sauron corrupted it to only show negative visions of the future to Gondor's king, making him believe that fighting or resisting Sauron's armies are pointless, eventually leading him to depression. He was a great king otherwise.