Balrogs: The Maiar spirits of fire who gave their allegiance to Melkor. After the first age of Middle Earth and Melkor was defeated, the remaining balrogs made their home deep under the earth. The dwarves mined too deep into Moria inadvertently disturbing a balrog there. The balrog then slew several dwarves and the rest fled Moria; most of which were destroyed by invading orcs.
Dead Army: Unquiet spirits of the men of the White Mountains, who were cursed to remain in Middle Earth by Isildur after they abandoned their oath of aid to him in the War of the Last Alliance. They haunt the caverns beneath the Dwimorberg and the valley of Harrowdale that lay in its shadow. In the War of the Ring, Isildur's Heir, Aragorn, called on the Dead Men to fulfill their oath at last. They followed him through the Gondorian lands south of the Mountains, and at the port of Pelargir they drove away the allies of Sauron in fear. For their aid, Aragorn granted them their freedom, and they vanished at last from the world.
Dragons: Mighty reptilian creatures who ranked among the most feared of the servants of the Dark Lord. Of the origins of dragons, no tale tells; the first of them to be seen was Glaurung, Father of Dragons, who first issued from Angband in the middle of the First Age. After Glaurung, came many others to strike fear into elves and men for the next three ages; among them were Ancalagon the first winged dragon, Scatha who dwelt in the cold northern wastes, and Smaug, last of the great dragons. Dragons have powers of intelligence and speech, and many are also able to cast the dragon-spell, a bewildering confusion that affects any who gaze into the eye of the creature.
Elves: Elves are the firstborns. They were created before men, dwarves, orcs, hobbits, etc, except for their creator, Illuvatar, and his stewards, the Valar. They are considered the fairest of beings. They are immortal; having the ability to stay in Middle-earth until its end. They do age but do not suffer the effects of old age as men do. They do not get sick either, but their lives can be ended if they are slain or wither with grief. Elves are generally slender and have long hair. Elves also have far clearer sight and perception than men and they also have a good intuition.
Ents: A race of giant, tree-like people whose purpose was to protect the forests of Middle Earth. Ents are called the Shepherds of the Trees. Treelike in appearance, they primarily reside in Fangorn Forest. Though all resemble trees, Ents do come in many shapes, sizes, and colors. They have slow musical voices and their native language is Entish. Despite their different ages, they all have the same slow, steady, thoughtful expression. An Ent Moot is when the Ents gather together to discuss important matters.
Dwarves: Unlike Elves and Men, the Dwarves are not Children of Il�vatar; they were created by Aul� the Smith, though Il�vatar granted them life. Aul� made seven Fathers of the Dwarves, and these slept through many ages until after the Awakening of the Elves. Almost all the Dwarves that appear in Tolkien's works were descended from the eldest of the Seven Fathers, Durin the Deathless. Like Aul� their maker, the Dwarves delighted in smithcraft and stoneworking; they mined and worked metals throughout the mountains of Middle-earth. The Dwarves kept themselves apart from the other races; their language, Khuzdul, was a closely guarded secret, and they told their true names to none but themselves (all the Dwarf-names in Tolkien are in the tongues of Elves or Men, not true Dwarf names). Dwarves are four to five feet tall with the male dwarves having long beards.
Hobbits: Hobbit height ranges between two and four feet tall and they have pointed ears like elves. They have oversized feet and never wear shoes. Hobbits love to eat (six substantial meals a day), brew ale, smoke pipe weed, and garden in the Shire where they live. Hobbits look down on and discourage excessive or adventurous behavior. Hobbits are generally very provincial in nature and are typically untrusting of the outside world. Some Hobbits have lived as long as 130 years, and their average life span is 100 years. 33 years old is considered "Coming of Age" to adulthood.
Maiar(Wizards): Five "wizards" were sent to Middle Earth by the Valar to serve as advisors to oppose evil. Gandalf and Saruman were two of these. A wizard's appearance resembles that of an old man, although they age slowly and are actually physically vigorous. Wizards possess great powers of body and mind. They use staffs as a means to conduct their power and will. Each Wizard has his own color and grade. White being the highest in their order and Grey the next level in power and wisdom. Wizards are forbidden to dominate those in Middle-earth and match Sauron's power. However, Saruman disobeys this rule and joined forces with evil.
Men: Men were created after the elves had lived upon Middle Earth for a time. They are mortal and are destined to grow old, or sick, and eventually die. Men are not perceptive to the minds of others, can not see into the future and are less skilled in lore and crafts than other races. The race of men are very diverse. Physically they come in all shapes and sizes and inhabit many different parts of Middle Earth. Throughout the ages of Middle Earth, Men rose and eventually became the dominant race.
Nazgul: The terrifying Ringwraiths were once powerful kings and sorcerers among Men until they were tempted by the power of the Ring and forced to serve Sauron. The nine Ringwraiths, also known as Nazgul or Black Riders, are ordered by their master, Sauron to find the ring and bring it back to him. As with others corrupted by the ring, Ringwraiths are invisible to normal eyes and can only be seen because of their clothing. Ringwraiths have a keen sense of smell and extremely poor vision. The picture shows what they look like in their true form.
Orcs: Orcs are fierce warriors. Orc blood is black in color and they are cannibals. Orcs have a hideous physical appearance. They are hunched, bow-legged, and their skin charred. Often their teeth are fanged. Orcs are soldiers of Sauron and when in battle fight using scimitars, poisoned daggers, arrows, and broad-headed swords. Their armor is chain mail and steel-plate with dangerous jagged helmets. They are the size of small men and are weak in sunlight. The orc race was spawned from mutilated elves who were captured and tortured by the enemy.
Trolls: Trolls are huge creatures that stand at least ten feet tall. They are evil hearted and many serve Sauron. They were bred by Melkor as a mockery of the ents. Most trolls cannot survive sunlight and turn to stone when exposed to it. However, Sauron has now bred trolls that are unaffected by sunlight and uses them in his attack against Gondor.
Uruk-Hai: Uruk-Hai are cross-breeded with goblins and orcs which allow them to not weaken in the sunlight. Uruk-Hai are as tall as the tallest men, black-skinned and black-blooded. They are larger, stronger, and fiercer in battle than men, as their only objective is to kill. When in battle, the Uruk-Hai sometimes wear black armor and carried straight swords and poisoned arrows, and spears. They are also marked on their faces or bodies by the White Hand of Saruman.
Valar: 'Valar' is the name given to the fifteen powerful spirits who took physical form and entered Arda (a distant realm over the seas in Middle Earth) after its creation to give order to the world and combat the evils of Melkor (the fifteenth spirit). As spirits, the Valar have no fixed physical form, although they often took the shapes of the Children of Il�vatar (the elves). They could, though, assume any form they chose, or cast aside their shape altogether and travel formless and invisible through Arda.