For distinct variations or types of Orcs appearing in Middle-earth.

In appearance, Orcs were squat, swarthy creatures. Most of them preferred to dwell in the dark, being blinded by the light of the Sun, but the kinds bred later in the Third Age such as the Uruk-hai could endure the daylight.

Orcs were the primary soldiers of both Dark Lords' armies, and their most common servants. Invented by Morgoth during the Years of the Trees of the First Age, they served him and later his successor, Sauron, in their aims to dominate Middle-earth.

An orc (sometimes spelt ork; / ɔːrk / [1][2]), [3] in J. R. R. Tolkien 's Middle-earth fantasy fiction, is a race of humanoid monsters, which he also calls "goblin". In Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevolent race of monsters, contrasting with the benevolent Elves.

Feb 4, 2025 · Orc-kind is a genus that includes the species of Orcs, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Half-orcs, Boggarts, Bugans and Uruk-hai. Orcs are very common in Middle-earth. They are about the size of a man with a hunchback, though some of the sub-races are of larger or smaller stature.

The Elf Ecthelion slays the Orc champion Orcobal in Gondolin. 2007 illustration by Tom Loback. J. R. R. Tolkien, a devout Roman Catholic, [T 1] created what he came to feel was a moral dilemma for himself with his supposedly evil Middle-earth peoples like Orcs, when he made them able to speak. [1] [2] This identified them as sentient and sapient; …

May 20, 2024 · As our Bosmer cousins have learned, the Wood Orcs do not take kindly to those who stalk their forests. They equate secret movement with malevolence and cowardice. In Part II of this collection, I'll detail specific hurdles that may come up in conversation with a Wood Orc, such as religion and Malacath , and the Wood Orc equivalent of Orsinium ...

We know that orcs were derived from elves who were tortured and twisted into evil versions of themselves. But does this mean that they are immortal, as the elves are? What happens to an orc’s soul when it dies? Orcs originating as tortured Elves was one origin story that Tolkien wrote.

A massive horde of Orcs came rushing out of the mountains, completly swiping away all resistance the old kingdoms could muster. Through a united alliance of nations who saw the horror unfolding over Escann, the Orcs were stopped and ultimatly defeated when a girl called Corin slew the crazed leader Korgus and the orcs fled from the battlefield.

3 days ago · Orcs who do not live in strongholds are derisively called "city Orcs" by those that do, and are considered soft outsiders just like non-Orcs. Many Orcs seek to escape traditional life in the strongholds. Orc women may want to escape being "just another wife" to the chieftain.