ELVES

The Elves, were the first and eldest of the Children of Ilúvatar, considered the fairest and wisest of the earthly race of Arda.

Elves, like Men, are Children of Eru Ilúvatar and thus are very similar to Men. Unlike Men, however, they are immortal, in that their bodies do not age once they have reached maturity, so that they do not seem to become elderly or die of old age. They can be killed by physical injury however, or they may come to death from wasting away if after long eons of life they lose the will to live. Some Elves in the First Age living near Angband died from a wasting disease, which was presumably issuing from Thangorodrim, Morgoth's fortress. The Elves came into existence before Men, and when Elves die they pass to the Halls of Mandos in Valinor. Elves come of age at around fifty years old, and generally marry around this age. Elves who marry late or never are said to have strange fates. Elves can tell in the eyes and voice of another Elf whether they are married, and it is against an Elf's nature to take another by force; one so forced would reject bodily life and die. Because of the union of souls that occurs when Elves marry, and because of the eternal nature of Elven souls, they do not divorce or have multiple marriages. Elves have a taboo against incest, but marriage among second cousins is seen as acceptable. Whether this results in degradation from strong bloodlines is unknown.

DWARVES

Dwarves were a race of Middle-earth also known as the Khazâd (in their own tongue) or Casari, Naugrim, meaning 'Stunted People', and Gonnhirrim, the 'Masters of Stone'.

The rings of power did not have the effects that Sauron had intended, possibly because Aulë had made the Dwarves especially resistant to evil domination. The only apparent effect of the Dwarven rings was that the Dwarves became more greedy with gold lust, but they were not turned into wraiths like men.

ENTS

Ents, also known as Onodrim (Tree-host) by the Elves, were a very old race of Middle-earth.

Ents were tree-like creatures who over millennia became more and more like the trees they herded. They varied in height, size, colouring, and number of fingers and toes. An individual Ent usually resembled the species of tree they guarded.

ISTARI (WIZARDS)

The Wizards, initially known as the Istari or Heren Istarion (Order of Wizards), were five Maiar spirits sent to Middle-earth to aid the Free Peoples against the threat of Sauron. The Wizards resembled elderly men, although they aged very slowly. Despite their aged appearance, they possessed physically strong bodies and highly intelligent minds. Each of the Istari carried a staff and were associated with a color, and possessed a rank within their Order.

THE HARADRIM

The Haradrim, known in Westron as the Southrons and once as "Swertings" by Hobbits, were the race of Men from Harad in the region of Middle-earth directly south of Gondor. These people were ruled by many lords, until in time Sauron swayed many of them; calling their armies to war. They were among his most notable Mannish allies in the Third Age.

The Haradrim were bold and grim men, fierce in despair. They were tall and dark-skinned with black hair and dark eyes, and for that they were called Swertings or Swarthy Men. The men of Near Harad were brown-skinned, with black hair and dark eyes, while the race known as "half-trolls" out of Far Harad had black skin.

HOBBITS

Hobbits, also known as Halflings, were an ancient mortal race that lived in Middle-earth. Although their exact origins are unknown, they were initially found in the northern regions of Middle-earth and below the Vales of Anduin. At the beginning of the Third Age, hobbits moved north and west. Most of their race eventually founded the land of the Shire in the year TA 1601, though one type of hobbit known as Stoors remained in the Anduin Vale.

Most Hobbits lived longer life spans than Men, a race of which they might have been an off-shoot. The average lifespan of a Hobbit was about 100 years, though it was not unusual for a Hobbit to live as many as three decades beyond that. The time at which a young Hobbit matured and was accepted as an adult was 33, compared to a Man's 18 years. Thus, a 50-year-old Hobbit would only be middle-aged. The most distinguishing feature of Hobbits was their short stature. They were smaller than Dwarves and were usually between two and four feet in height. With the gradual passing of time, Hobbits became even shorter. By the Third Age, they were usually less than three feet tall. Hobbits' ears were slightly pointed and their furry feet had leathery soles, so they generally didn't need (and rarely wore) shoes or boots. Tolkien wrote that a typical Hobbit had a "round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and 'elvish'."

Most Hobbits enjoyed farming, food, ales, parties and the giving and receiving of presents. They were usually friendly and happy-go-lucky, although they were often shy of Men. Hobbits preferred a quiet, normal, and peaceful life, which is why Gandalf was humorously frowned upon sometimes, because he brought adventure to Bilbo. Many of them had seen him returning from his long journey to the Lonely Mountain (the journey told of in The Hobbit) with his steed laden with great chests of gold. They also have developed a keen taste in the smoking of Pipe-weed and blowing smoke rings. This was first started by Tobold Hornblower of Longbottom in the Southfarthing. They were very ignorant and knew little of the happenings of the world. They dwelt in Hobbit-holes (known also as "Smials").

CAVE TROLLS (TROLLS OF MORIA)

Trolls were a very large and monstrous, and for the most part unintelligent, humanoid race inhabiting Middle-earth.

Melkor created trolls before the First Age. They were very strong, but turned into stone in sunlight. Many trolls died in the War of Wrath, but some survived and joined the forces of Sauron, the greatest surviving servant of Melkor. In the Second and Third Age, trolls were among Sauron's most dangerous warriors.

BALROG

Balrogs, or Valaraukar (plural of Valarauko, Quenya; "Demon of power"⁾, were Maiar that were seduced and corrupted by Melkor into his service.

Balrogs generally took the form of tall, menacing beings roughly humanoid in shape, though seeming to consist of or be surrounded by shadow and flame. They used both a flaming sword, and a fiery whip; they were constantly burning, and their weapons appeared molten. Gothmog, the Lord of Balrogs in the First Age, used a black axe as well. It is unclear, and highly debated, whether Balrogs had wings. Balrogs seemed to encapsulate and project power and terror, perhaps meant to be a dark shadow of the majesty that the Valar radiate. Additionally, Tolkien refers to Balrogs with "streaming fiery manes".

DRAGONS & WYVERNS

Dragons were ancient, intelligent, powerful creatures, as feared as they were admired in Middle-earth. Their exact origin is debated, though it was clearly stated that they were created by Morgoth in some sense, millennia before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Dragons were long-lived, powerful, cunning, possessing subtle intelligence, great physical strength, and covered in nearly impenetrable scales everywhere except their undersides. They had an overwhelming lust for treasure, especially gold, and were known for sleeping on hoards of all they had stolen. By their very nature, they relished not only the theft of beautiful things, but the act of dispossession itself; it was more satisfying for them to steal treasure from others rather than find unclaimed valuables.

PALE ORCS

Pale Orcs were the strongest breed, and the rarest breed, in Middle Earth of orcs. They were the swiftest. strongest, and the most intelligent of all orc races.

URUK HAI

Uruk-hai (for short, Uruks) were brutal warriors of Middle-earth, and the strongest breed of Orc.

His Uruks army includes pikemen, swordsmen, crossbowmen, sappers, scouts, and berserkers. The berserkers are even larger and more vicious Uruks. They shave their heads and fill their helmets with human blood, so that when they put on the helmets the blood runs down their backs and its scent sends them into a killing frenzy.

MORIA ORCS

"Moria Orcs" refers to the Orcs who in TA 2480 came to inhabit the abandoned Dwarven realm of Moria.

They appear to craw and look like spiders in some occasions.

DOL GULDUR ORCS

Much like Azog himself, these Orcs were a more disciplined and dangerous breed. They were tall, long-limbed, brutal, bloodthirsty and "bred for war". The Guldur Orcs were heavier-built and larger than the Orcs that took over Erebor during the War of the Ring, though their armor and weapons are similar. Most were hive-minded brutes that worked directly under the orders of the one currently in charge of their forces. When their commanding officer was killed, they would completely lose all methods of strategy and organization.

GUNDABAD ORCS

Gundabad Orcs were a smaller yet slightly more intelligent breed of orcs.

Gundabad Orcs like Azog began to take residence in Moria before forging an alliance with Sauron, in his Necromancer guise at Dol Guldur, in an attempt to revive Angmar through Smaug taking the Lonely Mountain.

GOBLINS

"Goblins" are what J.R.R. Tolkien called the Orcs whom Thorin and Company encountered in The Hobbit. They lived deep under the Misty Mountains in many strongholds, ever since the War of Wrath in the First Age. Tolkien described them as big, ugly creatures, "cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted."

MORDOR ORCS

"Mordor Orcs" were the Orcs bred by the Dark Lord Sauron in the Land of Shadow. They formed Sauron's main military host during the Second Age and Third Age.

MORDOR OLOG-HAI

The Olog-hai are described as being taller than a Man, covered in spiky scales, carrying war hammers, large swords, or spiked maces, and bucklers, and having claws and, on occasion, tusks. It is mentioned that after the War of the Ring, all Olog-hai were killed.

OGRES

Ogres were a race mentioned only once, in The Hobbit.

They are stated in to have been based off Half-trolls, suggested to be somewhere between the largest Orcs and the smallest Trolls. They served in Azog's Army as both shock troops and Troll commanders. One commanded a team of catapult trolls. Several Ogres appear in Dale and two are killed by Bard the Bowman. One of the them, notably, had an abnormally small left arm, while his right arm that held his club was more proportionate to the size of his body.

OLOG-HAI

The Olog-hai were an advanced breed of troll that appeared in the last days of the War of the Ring in Sauron's service in Middle-earth.

The Olog-hai are not mentioned by name in The Lord of the Rings; the term appears only in the appendices. They were bred by Sauron in the late Third Age, possibly for the same reason Saruman bred the Uruk-hai, for improvement and less vulnerability to sunlight. They lived primarily in Mordor and in southern Mirkwood. However, they are described as being in the Battle of the Black Gate, where Pippin saves his friend Beregond from one.

STONE TROLLS

Stone-trolls were huge trolls who turned into stone in direct sunlight.

Stone-trolls tended to be dumb and ill-tempered. Almost all stone-trolls have first names, and a few (like William Hagins) had last names. Stone-trolls ate things such as wild fowl, wild pigs/boars, Dwarves, hobbits, and fish (if they could actually catch them). They hunted simply by chasing or ambushing the animals, then hitting them with a weapon such as an axe or a club.

GREAT EAGLES

The Great Eagles were beings of Arda said to have been "devised" by Manwë Súlimo, leader of the Valar, and were often called the Eagles of Manwë. They were sent from Valinor to Middle-earth to keep an eye on the exiled Ñoldor, and also upon their foe the evil Vala Morgoth, and later upon Sauron.

ISENGARD BERSERERS

Berserkers were tough Orcs bred in Isengard.

They were larger, even more fearsome versions of the Uruk-hai, standing about six-and-a-half feet tall and weighing an estimated three hundred pounds. Before they were sent into battle, it is said that the bowl of their small, tight-fitting helmet was filled with the blood of their enemy, and then pushed onto their heads. The intoxicating smell awakened a blood-lust that drove them to a battle-frenzy and made them immune to pain. Berserkers had no regard for personal safety, wore no armor except their helmets, and were expected to fight to the death. Their sole object was to establish a bridgehead. One Berserker was given the task to set off the explosive mines planted by the Uruk-hai.

GUNDABAD BERSERKERS

They are portrayed as tall, bulky Orcs with pale skin and glowing eyes.

The Gundabad Berserkers were one of the most powerful orcs, weighing almost one ton and carrying nothing, but a sword.

STONE GIANTS

Giants were one of the mysterious races of Middle-earth, mentioned only fleetingly.

In The Hobbit, Stone-giants are described as hurling rocks at one another as in a game, during a violent thunderstorm. Their physical form was not described, nor was much else about them. Stone-giants are golem-like creatures that appear in the fourth level, hurling rocks at Bilbo as he tries to travel along a mountain path. They are completely made of stone, and their stones are dangerous.

At one point, Bilbo saw a rock in a stream, and wondered if it had been cast miles into the plain by some giant among giants. He also compared being struck like the crash of battering-rams made of forest oaks and swung by giants.[citation needed] Gandalf later remarked that he would like to find 'a more or less decent giant' to block several of the Orc caves.

SHAPESHIFTERS

Skin-changers, also known as Shape-changers, were Men and rare individuals with the ability to assume the form and abilities of an animal.

In the Third Age, Beorn (who dwelt in the north-eastern Anduin Vales) was a Skin-changer who helped Bilbo Baggins, Thorin Oakenshield and his Company during their Quest of Erebor. He took the shape of a huge black bear and a black-haired man, yet the origin of this ability is unknown. According to Gandalf, Beorn "[was] under no enchantment but his own."

It is possible that Beorn's son Grimbeorn was a Skin-changer.