In late January of 2005, the Minion Túrin had come to the conclusion that a large-scale project was necessary to delineate the various races which served the Dark Lords. After obtaining permission from Mordors then-rulers, Mandallah Sauron and Rohanna the Witchking, the Minion Research Project was launched in Febuary with lofty goalS: To research, analyze, and describe all the various Minion races so that the entire Plaza could understand Tolkien's vision of them. There were many who contributed to the project; ~Rings, Vugar and Túrin were there for the duration, and also there was Hoth, Narguzir, Ulkurz, Ufthuk, Maedhor, Imrazor Azrubel and Balbo involved at varying points. After long hours spend researching and long months spent compiling, the project was finally preparred to be unveiled in late November 2005. This is the work that they have togather produced.

For your reading:
The text in BROWN is description and analysis, the text in BLUE is quotations from which that analysis was derived; so if you are looking for a (more) brief description, use the brown words, however, we urge you to read the quotes as well for the deeper knowledge therein. We have tried our best to be exhaustive in our research and thorough in our interpretations

 

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These are the ultimate servants of Evil. Of all the creatures under the command of Melkor or Sauron, none are more powerful than the Balrogs. They are Maiar in origin and had a connection with fire, and hence will live and exist until their physical body is destroyed. One thing to note on Balrogs is that they were significantly altered by Tolkien. In early conceptions (pre-LoTR), Balrogs were less powerful and existed in large numbers, and they were creatures created by Melkor. During the writing of Lord of the Rings, Tolkien was changing his Balrogs around, making them more powerful and lesser in number, until it was reduced to somewhere between three and seven ever existing. Around 1958, they became significantly different; they were changed from created beings to actual Maiar. However, even in the early tales, Balrogs are more powerful than anything else, even Dragons, so in the later, more powerful versions, they are that much stronger.

"Now those drakes and worms are the evillest creatures that Melko has made, and the most uncouth, yet of all are they the most powerful, save it be the Balrogs only." (Book of Lost Tales 2, Turumbar and the Foaloke)

'There should not be supposed more than say 3 or at most7 ever existed' (HoME 10: Morgoth's Ring)

Appearance:
Balrogs are more or less like men. They are a bit larger than men, but still in the general form. They are perceived to be great shadows or fiery in nature. Durin's Bane is described to be a dark figure streaming with fire, if that is any indication on what they might look like. Also, the fire and shadow seemed to be a part of the Balrog, part of their nature. Their hair was described as a 'steaming mane', this could mean a literal mane, but seems more likely to indicate simply long hair.

"What it was could not be seen: it was like a great shadow, in the middle of which was a dark form, of man-shape maybe, yet greater; and a power and terror seemed to be in it and to go before it." (Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge of Khazad Dum)

"It's streaming mane kindled, and blazed behind it." (Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge of Khazad Dum)

"The dark figure streaming with fire raced towards them." (Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge of Khazad Dum)

Intelligence:
Being that they are Maiar and the most powerful servants of Melkor, it would seem natural that Balrogs be intelligent beings. Gothmog is the High Captain of Melkor’s armies. However, there is little other clear evidence to suggest how intelligent these beings actually were. The most we can really point to is how some Balrogs were smart enough to trick Fingon by distracting him and the other coming up from behind.

"At last Fingon stood alone with his guard dead about him; and he fought with Gothmog, until another Balrog came behind and cast a thong of fire about him. Then Gothmog hewed him with his black axe, and a white flame sprang up from the helm of Fingon as it was cloven.” (Silmarillion, Of the Fifth Battle)

Abilities/Skills:
It seems that Balrogs have the ability to manipulate both the shadow and the fire which are a part of them. They can cause one to grow and the other to wane, etc. The fire is, obviously, fire; and the shadow seems like a cloak of darkness, dimming everything around. Similarily, the Balrogs have a similar presence as the Nazgûl have, the disheartening presence which fills people with dread just from being nearby. Now, despite how powerful Balrogs are, they are not ALL-powerful. They do know fear and self-doubt, as was proven by Durin's Bane when Boromir blew his horn, the Balrog literally stoped for a moment. Also to note is that Balrogs can wield magic. In Khazad Dum, Durin's Bane is more than a match for Gandalf himself, overpowering Gandalf's spell on a door with his counter-spell. And for their plain fighting ability, Balrogs are top of the line, Tolkien went so far to say that they were the most deadly of all Elf-banes aside from Sauron himself. One last ability we know the Balrog had was amazing speed, they are at one point described to have 'winged speed' when they come to the aid of Melkor, and in another text their speed is compared to a tempest of fire.

"The Balrog made no answer. The fire in it seemed to die, but darkness grew. It stepped forward slowly on to the bridge, and suddenly drew itself up to a great hight," (Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge of Khazad Dum)

"Then Boromir raised his horn and blew.  Loud the challenge rang and bellowed, like the shout of many throats under the cavernous roof. For a moment the orcs quailed and the firey shadow halted." (Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge of Khazad Dum)

"The counter-spell was terrible. It nearly broke me. For an instant the door left my control and began to open!" (Fellowship of the Ring, Bridge of Khazad Dum)

"It was a Balrog of Morgoth,' said Legolas; 'of all elf-banes he most deadly, save the One who sits in the Dark Tower." (Fellowship of the Ring, Mirror of Galadriel)

 Traits/Habits:
Not all that much is known about the traits or habits of Balrogs. We know that they were generally the last into combat in the First Age, since Melkor held them back as a sort of “elite company” of warriors. They are mentioned as using a wide array of weapons though. They are all armed with whips of flame with many thongs, but they also use other weapons. They are said to use maces, swords, axes, bows, and the like. The only real significant weapon other than the whips that is mentioned specially is the black axe that Balrog uses. What importance it might have is not known, but for some reason Tolkien tells us that Gothmog bore a black axe.

"...their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness, and terror went before them; they had whips of flame.” (HoME 11, Commentary on Chapter 3, Of the Coming of the Elves)

Then the Balrogs continued to shoot darts of fire and flaming arrows like small snakes into the sky, and these fell upon the roofs and gardens of Gondolin till all the trees were scorched, and the flowers and grass burned up, and the whiteness of those walls and colonnades was blackened and seared: yet a worse matter was it that a company of those demons climbed upon the coils of the serpents of iron and thence loosed unceasingly from their bows and slings till a fire began to burn in the city to the back of the main army of the defenders. " (Book of Lost Tales II, The Fall of Gondolin)

About the evolution of Balrogs in the mind of Tolkien (not physical evolution, his thought of Balrogs and their nature).

Warning:
What follows is a long and complex use of HoMe. If you would rather not be quite confused, I would suggest not reading it unless you are interested in the topic. It's the only way I know of to explain the issue; I'm not trying to scare anyone off. You in no way are expected to be able to understand or replicate this to participate with us.

Those with the text and ability to decipher them can use that to help explain things which arise about the main books. All it is is elaboration, the good stuff is in LoTR, Hobbit, Silmarillion, and the UT.

That said....

Early (and through most writings) Balrogs were not Maiar. They were creatures created by Melkor. They were still incredibly powerful, even more so that Dragons, but they were no Maiar, and they existed in large numbers, hosts of them even. These Balrogs were apparently able to reproduce and multiply. First of all there is the fact that Gothmog is originally the actual son of Melkor, like Orome is the son of Aule and Yavanna, and Fionwe (later Eonwe) is the son of Manwe and Varda. Tolkien, however, moved away from the idea of the Valar having children, so those who were such evolved into something else, generally just simple Maiar.

Around the time of the writing of Lord of the Rings, this was still the case.  Balrogs were not Maiar yet, and so apparently would be able to reproduce. If you look through the drafts of The Bridge of Khazad-Dûm and the meeting with Celeborn and Galadriel, you can see that the Balrog is being transformed to lesser numbers and more power - but they are not called Maiar at any point, and it seems that they do not become Maiar for some time later.

To clarify, the reason I say that these early conceptions of Balrogs can reproduce is based on the quote:
"One of the reasons for his [Melkor's] self-weakening is that he has given to his 'creatures', Orcs, Balrogs, etc. power of recuperation and multiplication. So that they will gather again without further specific orders. Part of his native creative power has gone out into making an independent evil growth out of his control." (Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed, footnote to text VI)

Now where was I? Oh yes, when Balrogs became Maiar. In Morgoth's Ring there is a later version of The Silmarillion (it's largely similar to the Lost Road version, but there are edits, updates and the like made or noted in it). It says of Balrogs:

"§18 .....  Melkor....gathered his demons about him. These were the first made of his creatures: their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness, and terror went before them; they had whips of flame." (MR, Later Quenta Silmarillion, 3 Of the Coming of the Elves, §18)

And in a note to that paragraph Christopher Tolkien tells us:

"The actual text of LQ 2 my father emended at this time very hastily to read:

These were the (ëalar) spirits who first adhered to him in his days of splendour, and became most like him in his corruption: their hearts were of fire, but they were cloaked in darkness...."

(MR, LQ2, Commentary on 3 Of the Coming of the Elves, Commentary to §18)

That right there is the clincher - the Balrogs went from creatures that Melkor made to spirits which joined him. That's the transformation from Beast to Maia. The date to look at would be when LQ 2 was made, and in the intro to the Later Quenta, CT says: "It seems likely that it was soon after this (Letter send in Dec 1957) that LQ 2 as made. It is noteworthy that it was typed on the same machine as was used for the typescript of the Annals of Aman (also extant in top copy and carbon), and both texts may well belong to the same time - say 1958." (MR, LQS, Introduction)

So it is sometime after 1958 that Balrogs lost the ability to reproduce. At the latest, it would be with Myths Transformed Text VII:

"Evil is fissiparous.  But itself barren.  Melkor could not 'beget', or have a spouse (though he attempted to ravish Arien, this was to destroy and 'distain' her, not to beget fiery offspring)." (Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed, Text VII)

Now, one thing to note about this is that it's Text VII, and above in Text VI we are told that Melkor managed to give his creatures, Balrogs included, powers of multiplication. Text VI was found in papers dated to April 1959, but written on documents dated to June 1955. All in all, CT estimates that all of Myths Transformed was written around the late 1950s, which is in line about with when LQ2 was written an emended hastily changing Balrogs to Maiar.

The Barrow-wights make up an ambiguous race in Lord of the Rings. They seem to be almost like phantoms, but are also very real and physical. Their mysterious nature extends into the books as well, with tales and stories being told about them, and seemingly little known for certain. They came from the realm of Angmar, where the Witchking ruled, and one speculation on why the Barrow-wight captured the Hobbits was because he sensed his former master in the area.

"The Hobbits and all other peoples suffered greatly, but the plague lessened as it passed northwards, and the northern parts of Arthedain were little affected. It was at this time that an end came of the Dúnedain of Cardolan, and evil spirits out of Angmar and Rhudaur entered into the deserted mounds and dwelt there." (Eriador, Arnor, and the Heirs of Isildur, Appendices)

Appearance:
Because of the lack of any major role of the Barrow-wights, there is not much to tell of them. What we do know is that the one the Hobbits encountered had a cold voice; he was tall and dark, and had eyes that seemed like distant pale lights. And he was strong, with a touch that froze the bones, probably somewhat like when the Hobbits stabbed the Nazgul.

'Here!' said a voice, deep and cold, that seemed to come out of the ground. 'I am waiting for you!'"
'No!' said Frodo; but he did not run away. His knees gave, and he fell on the ground. Nothing happened, and there was no sound. Trembling he looked up, in time to see a tall dark figure like a shadow against the starts. It leaned over him. He thought there were two eyes, very cold though lit with a pale light that seemed to come from some remote distance. Then with a grip stronger and colder than iron seized him. The icy touch froze his bones, and he remembered no more. (Fellowship of the Ring, In the house of Tom Bombadil)

Intelligence:

Abilities/Skills:
The Barrow-wights have magic of some sort, there were tales told about their dreadful spells, and none of the Hobbits remembered anything between being captured and when Tom Bombadil came to their rescue.

A Barrow-wight had taken him, and he was probably already under the dreadful spells of the Barrow-wights about which whispered tales were spoke. (Fellowship of the Ring, In the house of Tom Bombadil)

Traits/Habits:
The most we can glean about Barrow-wights is about what they do. We know that they as a rule dwelt in the large barrows in the Barrow-downs, the area South-west of Bree. The barrows were made by men, we don't know when they began but it is thought that the ancestors of the Edain made them, and the Dunedain, the ancestors of the Rangers of the North, Aragorn's kin, used them to bury noblemen. There was much gold and jewelry buried with the Dunedain, it appears, for the Barrow-wights took this and bore some of it, and there was a large pile on top of the mound which the Hobbits had been imprisoned in. For some reason the Barrow-wights were more hesitant or would not attack wanderers who passed on the Western side of the barrow; why is not known, Tom Bombadil warns the Hobbits of this, one reason might be connected with the fact that the West is somewhat 'holy' or always 'good', Valinor is in the West, and the Western lands of Middle-earth have always been where the side of good has lived: Elves, the Dunedain, the Rohirrim, etc. Also, the Barrow-wights seem to prepare their captives almost as if for a sacrifice of some sort. The Hobbits had been stripped and clothed in all white and decorated with circlets, gold chains, swords, etc.

There was victory and defeat; and towers fell, fortresses were burned, and flames went up into the sky. Gold was piled on the biers of dead kings and queens; and mounds covered them, and the stone doors were shut; and the grass grew over all. Sheep walked for a while biting the grass, but soon the hills were empty again. A shadow came out of dark places far away, and the bones were stirred in the mounds. Barrow-wights walked in the hollow places with a clink of rings on cold fingers, and gold chains in the wind. (Fellowship of the Ring, In the House of Tom Bombadil)

Don't you go a-meddling with old stone or cold Wights or prying in their houses, unless you be strong folk with hearts that never falter! He said this more than once; and he advised them to pass barrows by the west-side, if they chanced to stray near one. (Fellowship of the Ring, In the house of Tom Bombadil)

He turned, and there in the cold glow he say lying beside him Sam, Pippin, and Merry. They were on their backs, and their faces looked deathly pale; and they were clad in white. About them lay many treasures, of gold maybe, though in that [pale greenish] light they looked cold and unlovely. On their heads were circlets, gold chains were about their waists, and on their fingers were mainy rings. Swords lay by their sides, and shields were at their feet. But across their necks lay one long naked sword. (Fellowship of the Ring, In the house of Tom Bombadil)

"It is said that the mounds of Tyrn Gorthad, as the Barrowdowns were called of old, are very ancient, and that many were built in the days of the old world of the First Age by the forefathers of the Edain, before they crossed the Blue Mountains into Beleriand, of which Lindon is all that now remains. Those hills were therefore revered by the Dúnedain after their return; and there many of their lords and Kings were buried. [Some say that the mound in which the Ring-bearer was imprisoned had been the grave of the last prince of Cardolan, who fell in the war of 1409.]" (Ibid)

The Black Numenoreans were those of the Numenoreans who fell into evil. They were the King's Men, the ones who followed the wayward Kings and abandoned the Valar and Eldar, as opposed to the Faithful, who followed the Lords of Andunie (of whom Amandil, father of Elendil, was the last), who did not turn to Sauron's lies. Therefore, they would be similar in mind and body to the average Numenorean, though of darker skin, because they lived primarily in the South, in Umbar and beyond.

"Then Tar-Ancalimon, son of Atanamir, became King, and he was of like mind; and in his day the people of Númenor became divided. On the one hand was the greater party, and they were called the King's Men, and they grew proud and were estranged from the Eldar and the Valar." (Akallabêth, The Silmarillion)

"But the King's Men sailed far away to the south; and the lordships and strongholds that they made have left many rumours in the legends of Men." (Akallabêth, The Silmarillion)

Appearance:
The Black Numenoreans would be tall, taller than any other race of Men, as all of the Numenoreans were, and they had (usually) sharp grey eyes. They grew in stature of mind and body far beyond that of of Man of Middle-earth, becoming almost indistinguishible from even Elves. Their hair was probably brown or black in general, but blondes would certainly be among them.

"Eonwe came among them and taught them, and they were given wisdom and power and life more enduring than any others of mortal race have possessed...[...] ...and they were tall, taller than the tallest of the sons of Middle-earth; and the light of their eyes was like the bright stars." (Silmarillion, Akallabeth)

"...and they increased in stature both of mind and body." (Silmarillion, Akallabeth)

"They became thus in appearance, and even in powers of mind, hardly distinguishable from the Elves.(Letter 131)

Intelligence:
Being that they were descended from Numenor, the Dark Numenoreans would have greater wisdom and technology than other Men. And it would be in their best interest to keep the Haradrim and other Southrons below them, so as to keep themselves on the top, ruling.

"Eonwe came among them and taught them, and they were given wisdom and power and life more enduring than any others of mortal race have possessed." (Silmarillion, Akallabeth)

Abilities/Skills:
The Black Numenoreans would be very skilled in crafts, they were wise and powerful beyond the average denizen of Middle-earth, so if they desired or needed something, they would be able to do it very well. At first, at least, their favorite crafts were all sorts of ship-craft, they were the best mariners ever to live in the world. Though this interest might have waned in later years, it is probable, especially because Umbar was always known as the haven of the Corsairs when Gondor did not control it, that the Black Numenoreans remained interested and skilled in the craft. Their mind powers, too, were impressive, being but a little less than Elves, who were the 'magical' beings, creating the Rings of Power and glowing swords and such. For an example, think of the Barrow-down blades, it was enchanted with spells and made in Arnor by Numenorean exiles, as the Black Numenoreans were.

"For the Dunedain became mighty in crafts, so that if they had had the mind they would easily have surpassed the evil kings of Middle-earth in the making of war and forging of weapons, but they were becoming men of peace. Above all arts they nourished ship-building and sea-craft, and they became mariners whose like shall never be seen again since the world was diminished; and voyaging upon the wide seas was the chief feat and adventure of their hardy men in the gallant days of their youth." (Silmarillion, Akallabeth)

"They became thus in appearance, and even in powers of mind, hardly distinguishable from the Elves." (Letter 131)

Traits/Habits:
The Black Numenoreans hated the Gondorians. Their hatred went all the way back to before the Fall of Numenor, and never lessened. Their minds were not dominated by Sauron like Orcs' were, but the Black Numenoreans served Sauron eagerly. Originally, their lifespans were three times that of other Men in Middle-earth, but even before the fall of Numenor they were waning. Aragorn (190 years old) lived double the average man, and lived longer than others of his time. The House of Stewards was less well preserved than Aragorn's line, so it might be worthwhile to compare the average Black Numenorean to the average Steward near the end of the Third Age, which turns out to be around 100-110, roughly. So while the Black Numenoreans did wane, it would have been in their best interest to retain their skills and knowledge to keep themselves on top and ruling the men in the South.

"And Sauron gathered to him great strength of his servants out of the east and the south; and among them were not a few of the high race of Númenor. For in the days of the soujourn of Sauron in that land the hearts of well nigh all its people had been turned towards darkness. Therefore many of those who sailed east in that time and made fortresses and dwellings upon the coasts were already bent to his will, and they served him still gladly in Middle-earth." (Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age)

"Elros chose to be a King and 'longaevus' but mortal, so all his descentants are mortal, and of a specially noble race, but with dwindling longevity: so Aragorn (who, however, has a greater lifespan than his contemporaries, double, though not the original Numenorean treble, that of Men). (Letter #153)

"...a triple, or more than a triple,  span of years." (Letter #131)

"The great cape and land-locked firth of Umbar had been Numenorean land since days of old; but it was a stronghold of the King's Men, who were afterwards called the Black Numenoreans, corrupted by Sauron, their race swiftly dwindled or became merged with the Men of Middle-earth, but they inherited without lessening their hatred of Gondor." (Gondor and the Heirs of Anarion, Appendix A, RotK)

For so we reckon Men in our lore, calling them the High, or Men of the West, which were Numenoreans; and the Middle peoples, Men of the Twilight, such as are the Rohirrim and their kin that dwell still far in the North; and the Wild, the Men of Darkness.
Yet now, if the Rohirrim are grown in some ways more like us, enhanced in arts and gentleness, we too have become more like to them, and can scare claim any longer the title High.  We are become Middle Men, of the Twilight, but with memory of other things." (The Window on the West: The Return of the King)

Dragons are some of the most powerful servants of Melkor. They are large serpentine creatures. Some are winged and some are not. Their origin is unknown and has ever been a matter of debate. We only know that Melkor brought Dragons into the forms we know them as. Something interesting to note, however, is that Dragons were never a widespread scourge. Glaurung fought a few times in the First Age, but otherwise, Dragons were only utilized in the First Age in the War of Wrath which effectively concluded it. In later Ages we hear very little about Dragons, primarily Smaug and Scatha, who are mentioned in the Appendicies. They are menaces to individual settlements of Dwarves, but do not have much impact beyond those specific targets. The mightiest Dragon to live was Ancalagon the Black, who fought in the War of Wrath. And contrary to a common belief, Smaug was not the last of the Dragons, there were others after him.

"Before the rising of the sun Eärendil slew Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the dragon-host, and cast him from the sky; and he fell upon the towers of Thangorodrim, and they were broken in his ruin." (Silmarillion, Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath)

"They had not stopped; since they were active in far later times, close to our own." (Letters of Tolkien, Letter #144)

"Now those drakes and worms are the evillest creatures that Melko has made, save it be the Balrogs only. A great cunning and wisdom have they, so that it has been long said amongst Men that whosoever might taste the heart of a dragon would know all the tongues of Gods or Men, of birds or beasts, and his ears would catch whispers of the Valar or of Melko such as never he had heard before. few have ever acheived a deed of such prowess as the slaying of a drake, nor might any even of such doughty ones taste their blood and still live, for it is as a poison of fires hat slays all save the most godlike in strength. Howso that may be, even as their lord these foul beasts love lies and lust after gold and precious thngs with a great fierceness of desire, albeit they may not use nor enjoy them," (BoLT II, Turambar and the Foaloke).

"Many are the dragons that Melko loosed upon the world and some are more mighty than others. Now the least mighty - yet were they very great beside the Men of those days - are cold as is the nature of nsakes and serpents, and of them a many having wingd go with the uttermost noise and speed; but the mightier are hot and ver hevay and slow-going, and some belch flame and fire flickereth beneath their scales and the lust and greed and cunning evil of these is the greatest of all creatures ... (BoLT II, Turambar and the Foaloke)

Appearance:
Dragons also seem to have a black, venomous and acidic blood, as Turin experienced when slaying Glaurung.  It is hard to pin down a specific appearance for Dragons.  Ancalagon is implied to be black, Glaurung to be golden colored, Smaug is a reddish-gold, etc.  They vary in color.  One thing that is constant, however, is that they have thick hides or scales (sometimes called armor) which protect them except on the underbelly.

Then he wrenched out the sword, but a spout of black blood followed it, and fell on his hand, and the venom burned it. And thereupon Glaurung opened his eyes and looked upon Turambar with such malice that it smote him as a blow; and by that stroke and the anguish of the venom he fell into a dark swoon, and lay as one dead, and his sword was beneath him. )Silmarillion, Of Túrin Turambar)

Few have ever achieved a deed of such prowess as the slaying of a drake, nor might any even of such doughty ones taste their blood and still live, for it is as a poison of fires that slays all save the most godlike in strength." (BoLT II, Turambar and the Foaloke).

Then Fingon prince of Hithlum rode against him with archers on horseback, and hemmed him round with a ring of swift riders; and Glaurung could not endure their darts, being not yet come to his full armoury, and he fled back to Angband, and came not forth again for many years. (Silmarillion, Of the Return of the Noldor)

Intelligence:
Dragons are intelligent creatures, perhaps an offshoot of that is to try and use their intelligence to understand riddles, because they love riddling.

"This of course is the way to talk to dragons, if you don't want to reveal your proper name (which is wise), and don't want to infuriate them by a flat refusal (which is also very wise). No dragon can resist the fascination of riddling talk and of wasting time trying to understand it." (The Hobbit, Inside Information)

" A great cunning and wisdom have they, so that it has been long said amongst Men that whosoever might taste the heart of a dragon would know all the tongues of Gods or Men, of birds or beasts, and his ears would catch whispers of the Valar or of Melko such as never he had heard before." (BoLT II, Turambar and the Foaloke).

Abilities/Skills:
Dragons are incredibly powerful creatures,  They are strong and apparently wield some sort of magic with their eyes.  Turin Turumbar and his sister Nienor had spells cast on them by Glaurung, and Bilbo would have if he had not been wearing the Ring when facing Smaug.  This may not be applicable to al Dragons, but it exists in both of the Dragons that we get some detail on.  One possible explanation for this Dragon-spell is the power of Melkor; he had bred the Dragons and in Glaurung it is mentioned that his eyes were filled with the power of his master.  And side from the Dragon-spell, the gaze of Dragons outreached even the most far-sighted of Elves.

The senses of Dragons are also rather acute, because Smaug "heard Bilbo's breath" and "felt his air".  For a measure of their strength - the Host attacking Morgoth in the War of Wrath was not only halted but actually driven back by a sudden attack by Winged Dragons.  One thing to note about Dragons though, is that their powers are not inexhaustible.  If they are rampaging about blasting fire all around and crawling through rivers to make great steam, then they will need to rest.

Then Túrin sprang about, and strode against him, and the edges of Gurthang shone as with flame; but Glaurung withheld his blast, and opened wide his serpent-eyes and gazed upon Túrin. Without fear Túrin looked into them as he raised up the sword; and straightway he fell under the binding spell of the lidless eyes of the dragon, and was halted moveless. Then for a long time he stood as one graven of stone; and they two were alone, silent before the doors of Nargothrond. (Silmarillion, Of Túrin Turambar)

And while he was yet held by the eyes of the dragon in torment of mind, and could not stir, the Orcs drove away the herded captives, and they passed nigh to Túrin and crossed over the bridge. (Silmarillion, Of Túrin Turambar)

Then Túrin, being yet bemused by the eyes of the dragon, as were he treating with a foe that could know pity, believed the words of Glaurung and fuming away he sped over the bridge. (Silmarillion, Of Túrin Turambar)

"Bilbo was now beginning to feel really uncomfortable. Whenever Smaug's roving eye, seeking for him in the shadows, flashed across him, he trembled, and an unaccountable desire seized hold of him to rush out and reveal himself and tell all the truth to Smaug. In fact he was in grievous danger of coming under the dragon-spell." (The Hobbit, Inside Information)

"But the glance of his fell eyes was keener than that of eagles, and outreached the far sight of the Elves..." (Unfinished Tales, Narn I Hîn Húrin)

"I smell you and I feel your air. I hear your breath." (The Hobbit, Inside Information)

"And there right before her was the great head of Glaurung, who had even then crept up from the other side; and before she was aware her eyes looked in his eyes, and they were terrible, being filled with the fell spirit of Morgoth, his master." (Unfinished Tales, Narn I Hîn Húrin)

"Then, seeing that his hosts were overthrown and his power dispersed, Morgoth quailed, and he dared not to come forth himself. But he loosed upon his foes the last desperate assault that he had prepared, and out of the pits of Angband there issued the winged dragons, that had not before been seen; and so sudden and ruinous was the onset of that dreadful fleet that the host of the Valar was driven back, for the coming of the dragons was with great thunder, and lightning, and a tempest of fire." (Silmarillion, Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath)

"But he was slow now and stealthy; for all the fires in him were burned low: great power had gone out of him, and he would rest and sleep in the dark." (Unfinished Tales, Narn I Hîn Húrin)

Traits/Habits:
While presumably not ‘immortal’, Dragons are very long-lived creatures.  When Glaurung was somewhere around 100 years old he was “yet young” and “scarcely half grown”.  And yet he is still more than a match for most Elves, even without what is called his “full armoury”, which is the thick hide and scales protecting him.  Dragons also lean toward the precautois side, if a Dragon is suspicious of something, they will (if they have eyelids anyway - Glaurung did not) keep one eye open while they sleep!

One rather odd trait of Dragons is the love of treasure.  Smaug loved his, and Glaurung drove the Orcs under his command out of Nargothrond and took all the treasure to lay on it.  And as another somewhat interesting note, the Dragons in the Third Age appear to have been somewhat organized, making war as a group on the Dwarves.

Again after a hundred years Glaurung, the first of the Urulóki, the fire-drakes of the North, issued from Angband's gates by night. He was yet young and scarce half-grown, for long and slow is the life of the dragons, but the Elves fled before him to Ered Wethrin and Dorthonion in dismay; and he defiled the fields of Ard-galen. Then Fingon prince of Hithlum rode against him with archers on horseback, and hemmed him round with a ring of swift riders; and Glaurung could not endure their darts, being not yet come to his full armoury, and he fled back to Angband, and came not forth again for many years. (Silmarillion, Of the Return of the Noldor)

"It is also an awkward fact that they keep half an eye open watching while they sleep, if they are suspicious. Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid. of Smaug's left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!" (The Hobbit, Inside Information)

"Then he turned to his own pleasure, and sent forth his blast, and burned all about him. But all the Orcs that were busy in the sack he routed forth, and drove them away, and denied them their plunder even to the last thing of worth. The bridge then he broke down and cast into the foam of Narog; and being thus secure he gathered all the hoard and riches of Felagund and heaped them, and lay upon them in the innermost hall, and rested a while." (Silmarillion, Of Túrin Turambar)

"But Thorin I his son removed and went into the far North to the Grey Mountain, where most of Durin's folk were now gathering; for those mountains were rich and little explored. But there were dragons in the wastes beyond; and after many years they became strong again and multiplied, and they made war on the Dwarves, and plundered their works. At last Dáin I, together with Frór his second son, was slain at the door of his hall by a great cold-drake." (Appendix A, Durin's Folk)

As a side note, it must have been an amazing spectacle to see the fall of Ancalagon the Black, the mightest Dragon ever:

But Eärendil came, shining with white flame, and about Vingilot were gathered all the great birds of heaven and Thorondor was their captain, and there was battle in the air all the day and through a dark night of doubt. Before the rising of the sun Eärendil slew Ancalagon the Black, the mightiest of the dragon-host, and cast him from the sky; (Silmarillion, The War of Wrath)

'Easterling' is the generic term given to peoples who came out of the East, from the lands known as Rhûn, Khand, and lands past that.  While we are not told large amounts of detail about the nature of their civilization, there is a sizable body of information out there.  For instance, we know that the Easterlings were very populous, for they came in hordes against Gondor for a long time.  It should also be known that there are two groups to which the term 'Easterlings' was applied; the Easterlings which Morgoth recruited in the First Age, and those which Sauron utilized in the Third Age.  In the descriptions, however, they two groups seem to be relatively similar, so they will be treated as the same.

Appearance:
The Easterlings are described to respectable detail.  We are told, repeatedly, that they are short and broad, that they have long, strong limbs, and that their skin is swart or sallow.  That is the same term used to describe many Orcs, so it is likely that the Easterlings were dark and yellowish, what Tolkien called debased forms of the least lovely Mongol types (Paraphrase).  They also have dark eyes and black hair, which grew over their body, on their face and chest, etc. 

It is told that at this time the Swarthy Men came first into Beleriand. Some were already secretly under the dominion of Morgoth, and came at his call; but not all, for the rumour of Beleriand, of its lands and waters, of its wars and riches, went now far and wide, and the wandering feet of Men were ever set westward in those days. These Men were short and broad, long and strong in the arm; their skins were swart or sallow, and their hair was dark as were their eyes. (The Silmarillion: Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the fall of Fingolfin)

the proud and barbaric women of the Easterlings (UT, Of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin)

"Now the Easterlings or Rómenildi, as the Elves named these newcomers, were short and broad, long and strong in the arm; their hair was balck, and grew much also upon their face and breast; their skins were swart or sallow, and their eyes brown; yet their countenances were for the most part not uncomely, though some were grim and fierce."  (The Lost Road and Other Writings, Quenta Simarillion p. 314)

The new host that we [Rohan] had tidings of has come first, from over the River by way of Andros, it is said. They are strong: battalions of Orcs of the Eye, and countless companies of Men of a new sort that we have not met before. Not tall, but broad and grim, bearded like dwarves, wielding great axes. Out of some savage land in the wide East they come, we deem. (FOTR, The Muster of Rohan)

Intelligence:
Little information concerning the intelligence of the Easterlings can be deciphered.  One of the only indicators is the quote (in next section) talking about their amour, so they must have competent blacksmiths and forgers.

Abilities/Skills:
The Easterlings were a warlike race.  From their beginnings, they are recruited to be soldiers for the Dark Lords (or for Maedhros, but all of the faithful Easterlings were slain).  They had armor and helmets and spears and well-ordered companies.  They would likely be skilled in battle, for they are 'war hardened' and steadfast against the armies of Gondor and Rohan.

But here and there he caught the gleam of spears and helmets; and over the many levels beside the road horseman could be seen riding in many companies. (TTT, The Black Gate is closed)

…and the Easterlings were strong and war-hardened and asked for no quarter. (LOTR, ROTK, THE BATTLE OF THE PELENNOR FIELDS)

Traits/Habits:
The Easterlings were far from a unified group, no matter the time period we look at.  Their houses and tribes were very numerous; there was seemingly no central king or ruler over them.  Sometimes they would act together, other times they would not.  One thing is certain - they were opposed to and superstitious of the Elves and Men who allied with them, choosing to associate more with the Dwarves than Elves and their friends.

For in the past the attacks of the Easterlings had come mostly over the plain between the Inland Sea and the Ash Mountains. (LOTR, ROTK, GONDOR AND THE HEIRS OF ANÁRION)

Their houses and tribes were many, and some had greater liking for the Dwarfs of the mountains than for the Elves.  But the sons of Fëanor, seeing the weakness of the Noldor, and the growing power of the armies of Morgoth, made alliances with these men, and gave their friendship to the greatest of their chieftains, Bór and Ulfang."  (The Lost Road and Other Writings, Quenta Simarillion p. 314)

Those days were evil; for the Easterlings that came into Hithlum despised the remnant of the people of Hador, and they oppressed them, and took their lands and their goods, and enslaved their children. (The Silmarillion, Of Turin Turambar)

….the diversity of their tongues and their mutual hostility; (HoME XII, The War of the Jewels)

In  ancient  days  the  Naugrim  dwelt  in  many  mountains of  Middle-earth,  and  there  they  met mortal  Men (they  say) long ere  the Eldar  knew them;  whence it  comes that  of the  tongues of the   Easterlings, many  show   kinship  with   Dwarf-speech  rather than with the speeches of the Elves.* (HoMe 12: Of the Naugrim and the Edain. Concerning the Dwarves)

"...We meet here the expression 'the incoming Men', surviving in the term 'Incomers' used in the Narn, and also the element that the Easterlings were afraid of Morwen, whispering that she was a witch skilled in Elvish magic."  (The Shaping of Middle-Earth, The Quenta p. 221)

Other Information:

Morgoth now broke his pledges to the Easterlings that had served him, and denied to them the  rich   lands  of Beleriand  which  they  coveted,  and  he sent  away these  evil folk into  Hithlum,  and  there  commanded  them  to  dwell.   And  little though  they  now  loved  their  new  king,  yet  they  despised  the remnant  of  the  folk  of  Hador  (the  aged and  the women  and the children  for  the  most  part),  and they  oppressed them,  and took their  lands  and  goods,  and  wedded  their  women  by  force,  and enslaved  their  children.  And  those  of  the  Grey-elves  that had dwelt  there  fled into  the mountains,  or were  taken to  the mines of the North and laboured there as thralls. (HoME XII, The War of the Jewels)

…and the people there were few and churlish, and they spoke the harsh tongue of the Easterlings, and the old tongue was become the language of serfs, or of foes. (UT,THE FIRST AGE, NARN I HÎN HÚRIN)

"In the wide lands of Rhovanion, between Mirkwood and the River Running, a fierce people now dwelt, wholly under the shadow of Dol Guldur. Often they made raids through the forest, until the vale of Anduin south of the Gladden was largely deserted. These Balchoth were constantly increased by others of like kind that came in from the east..." (Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion, Appendices)

"'Foreseeing the storm, Cirion sent north for aid, but over-late; for in that year (2510) the Balchoth, having built many great boats and rafts on the east shores of Anduin, swarmed over the River and swept away the defenders." (Gondor and the Heirs of Anárion, Appendices)

Appearance:
The Southrons, or Haradrim, or Swertings, as they are called, are large, tall, dark men.  They are larger than Orcs, seemingly almost to be half-trolls, and while not as cruel as Orcs, they are many times referred to as being cruel.  They come out of the lands termed ‘Harad’, the south.  Scarlet seems to be the colour of choice, as their flag was a black serpant on a scarlet field, they wear red cloaks, red face pain, have red-tipped spears, etc.  Their long hair his black, as are their eyes, and they have a dark and fierce countenance.

and it had been joined by regiments from the South, Haradrim, cruel and tall. (LOTR, ROTK, The Siege of Gondor))

...Southrons in Scarlet, and out of Far Harad black men like half-trolls with white eyes and red tongues. (Return of the King)

They are fierce.  They have black eyes, and long black hair, and gold rings in their ears; yes, lots of beautiful gold.  And some have red paint on their cheeks, and red cloaks, and their flags are red, and the tips of their spears; and they have round shields, yellow and black with big spikes.  Not nice; very cruel wicked men they look.  Almost as bad as Orcs, and much bigger. (TTT, The Black Gate is Closed)

Then he was filled with a red wrath and shouted aloud, and displaying his standard, black serpent upon scarlet… (The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, RotK)

Intelligence:
Not too much is told of the intelligence of the Haradrim, but at the very least they are intelligent enough to learn how to capture and tame the Mûmak, which are like elephants but of a much more massive size.  And they discovered the tactic to build towers and mount them on the backs of the Mûmak for war.  That speaks for itself about their intelligence.  If not necessarily an advanced race, they are intelligent enough to recognize superior tactics.  They also knew the craft of building large sea-going vessels (quote in the next section)

...but the Mûmak of Harad was indeed a beast of vast bulk, and the like of him does not walk now in Middle-earth; his kin that live still in latter days are but memories of his girth and majesty. On he came, straight towards the watchers...passing only a few yards away, rocking the ground beneath their feet: his great legs like trees, enormous sail-like ears spread out, long snout upraised like a huge serpent about to strike, his small red eyes raging. His upturned hornlike tusks were bound with bands of gold and dripped with blood. His trappings of scarlet and gold flapped about him in wild tatters. The ruins of what seemed a very war-tower lay upon his heaving back, smashed in his furious passage through the woods; and high upon his neck still desperately clung a tiny figure-the body of a mighty warrior, a giant among the Swertings. (Return of the King)

Abilities/Skills:
The Haradrim seem to be accomplished warriors on land and sea.  The threat of their assault is enough to cause widespread fear all through the southern fiefs of Gondor, along the coast.  In the War of the Ring that area even refused to send as much aid as it could to Minas Tirith because of this fear.  They also had regiments of cavalry, so they had tamed the horse as well as the Mûmak and the waves, for they had a large fleet, one that caused despair when it was seen in the battle of Pelennor Fields (the Corsairs are related to or are a branch of the Haradrim; so they and the Black Numenoreans who settled in the south will share some traits such as this).

In the South the Haradrim are moving, and fear has fallen on all our coastlands, so that little help will come to us thence. (LOTR, ROTK, The Muster of Rohan)

There at Pelargir lay the main fleet of Umbar, fifty great ships and smaller vessels beyond count. (The Last Debate, RotK)

Southward beyond the road lay the main force of the Haradrim, and there their horsemen were gathered about the standard of their chieftain.(The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, RotK)

Traits/Habits:
The Haradrim were cruel.  Tolkien tells us this a number of times.  Both their appearance and personality make them so.  They are also confident in their abilities, some examples are that they laughed in the face of extreme danger, and were somewhat careless in traveling to Mordor, confident that they or their new mmaster (Sauron) would easily fend off any Gondorian attack.  They are mentioned as bearing spears and scimitars, and shields with large spikes on them.

..for Mordor has allied itself with the Easterlings and the cruel Haradrim... (The Council of Elrond, FotR)

But the Haradrim, being now driven to the brink, turned at bay, and they were fierce in despair; and they laughed when they looked on us, for they were a great army still. (LOTR, ROTK, The Last Debate)

And he looked out, and in the growing light he saw the banner of the king, and that it was far ahead of the battle with few men about it. Then he was filled with a red wrath and shouted aloud, and displaying his standard, black serpent upon scarlet, he came against the white horse and the green with great press of men; and the drawing of the scimitars of the Southrons was like a glittering of stars. (The Battle of the Pelennor Fields, RotK)

These cursed Southrons come now marching up the ancient roads to swell the hosts of the Dark Tower. Yea, up the very roads that craft of Gondor made. And they go ever more heedlessly, we learn, thinking that the power of their new master is great enough, so that the mere shadow of His hills will protect them. (TTT, Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit)

…spears; and they have round shields, yellow and black with big spikes.  Not nice; very cruel wicked men they look.  Almost as bad as Orcs, and much bigger. (TTT, The Black Gate is Closed)

Other Information:

’Aye, curse the Southrons!’ said Damrod. ’Tis said that there were dealings of old between Gondor and the kingdoms of the Harad in the Far South; though there was never friendship.’ (Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit, TTT)

But because of the power of Gil-galad these renegades, lords both mighty and evil, for the most part took up their abodes in the southlands far away; yet two there were, Herumor and Fuinur, who rose to power among the Haradrim, a great and cruel people that dwelt in the wide lands south of Mordor beyond the mouths of Anduin. (The Silmarillion, Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age )

The Nazgul are the greatest of Sauron's servants.  In long times past they were kings, warriors, or sorcerers.  All were ensnared by Sauron, however, and through the use of the Nine Rings he gained complete control over their wills, which he held mainly because Sauron himself held the Nine Rings of the Nazgul, the Nazgul themselves did not have them.

"Nine [Rings] he gave to the Mortal Men, proud and great, and so enslaved them. Long ago they fell under the dominion of the One, and they became Ringwraits, shadows under his great Shadow, his most terrible servants." (Fellowship of the Ring)

Men proved easier to ensnare. Those who used the Nine Rings became mighty in their day, kings, sorcerers, and warriors of old. They obtained glory and great wealth, yet it turned to their undoing. They had, as it seemed, unending life, yet life became unendurable to them. They could walk, if they would, unseen by all eyes in this world beneath the sun, and they could see things in worlds invisible to mortal men; but too often they beheld only the phantoms and delusions of Sauron. And one by one, sooner or later, according to their native strength and to the good or evil of their wills in the beginning, they fell under the thraldom of the ring that they bore and under the domination of the One, which was Sauron's. And they became for ever invisible save to him that wore the Ruling Ring, and they entered into the realm of shadows. The Nazgûl were they, the Ringwraiths, the Enemy's most terrible servants; darkness went with them, and they cried with the voices of death. (Silmarillion; Of The Rings of Power and The Third Age)

Appearance:
The Nazgul are mostly seen through the eyes of regular people, and so they are the black-robed figures, often mounted on black horses as well.  Later they are on the flying creatures rather than horses.  When Frodo looked at them when wearing the Ring, he saw how they appeared in the Wraith-world; they were robed in white and grey and had a fell look and voice.

Black figures riding on black horses" (Fellowship of the Ring, A Conspiracy Unmasked)

"They have taken the guise of riders in black" (Fellowship of the Ring, Council of Elrond)

"He could see them clearly now: they appeared to have cast aside their hoods and black cloaks, and they were robed in white and grey. Swords were naked in their pale hands; helms were on their heads. Their cold eyes glittered and they called to him with fell voices." (LotR, FotR, Flight to the Ford, pg. 208)

Intelligence:
We can reasonable assume that the Nazgûl were fairly intelligent.  They were ‘immortal’ in the sense that they wouldn’t die of old age, so they had millennia to learn and study, so it would make sense that they are intelligent.  Also, during the Seige of Minas Tirith the Witchking is called Sauron’s greatest captain, and Tolkien makes reference that the Witchking was more able commander than standard Orc chieftans.

"It was no brigand or orc-chieftain that ordered the assault upon the Lord of Mordor's greatest foe." (Return of the King, The Siege of Gondor)

"[the Witchking is] the most fell of all his [Sauron's] captains.." (Return of the King, The Seige of Gondor).

Abilities/Skills:
The Nazgul are not mighty warriors.  They in fact are nothing exceptional to brag about.  Their main strength is the "unreasoning fear" which they inspire, it spreads from them.  And the fear is less in daylight.  Togather, this means that the Nazgul are singly no great enemies.  Daylight also dampened their senses, such as sensing the One Ring, it affected the Nazgul to varying degress, but it is reasonable to assume none were immune to this.  Another interesting note is that all blades which pierced the Nazgûl disintegrated, such as Merry's and Eowyn's swords at the Battle of Pelennor Fields.  We can also assume that they were fair horsemen, if not very good horsemen, for they are described as riding, and riding swiftly, in places which are somewhat challenging.

"It is based on a misconception of the Black Riders throughout, which I beg Z to reconsider. Their peril is almost entirely due to unreasoning fear which they inspire (like ghosts). They have no great physical power against the fearless, but what they have and the fear that they inspire is enormously increased in darkness." (Letter#210)

The Nazgul came again, and as their Dark Lord now grew and put forth his strength, so their voices, which uttered only his will and his malice, were filled with evil and horror. Ever they circled above the City, like vultures that expect their fill of doomed men's flesh. Out of sight and shot they flew, and yet were ever present, and their deadly voices rent the air. More unbearable they became, not less, at each new cry. At length even the stout-hearted would fling themselves to the ground as the hidden menace passed over them, or they would stand, letting their weapons fall from nerveless hands while into their minds a blackness came, and they thought no more of war, but only of hiding and of crawling, and of death. (RoTK; The Siege of Gondor)

"But it is the Black Captain that defeats us.  Few will stand and abide even the rumor of his coming.  His own folk quail at him, and they would slay themselves at his bidding." (Return of the King, The Seige of Gondor)

Of Khamûl it is said here that he was the most ready of all the Nazgûl, after the Black Captain himself, to perceive the presence of the Ring, but also the one whose power was most confused and diminished by daylight. (Note 1, The Hunt for the Ring, Unfinished Tales)

"... all blades perish that pierce that dreadful King." (LotR, FotR, Flight to the Ford, pg. 193)

"There is no fight. Sam does not 'sink his blade into the Ringwraith's thigh', nor does his thrust save Frodo's life. (If he had, the result would have been much the same as in III 117-20: the Wraith would have fallen down and the sword would have been destroyed.) (Letters, Letter #210, pg. 273)

"At once the white horse sprang away and sped like the wind along the last lap of the Road. At the same moment the black horses leaped down the hill in pursuit, and from the Riders came a terrible cry, such as Frodo had heard in the Eastfarthing far away. It was answered; and to the dismay of Frodo and his friends out from the trees and rocks away on the left four other Riders came flying. Two rode towards Frodo: two galloped madly towards the Ford to cut off his escape." (FoTR, Flight to the Ford)

"Far up in the darkness it was answered. Out of the black sky there came dropping like a bolt a winged shape, rending the clouds with a gastly shriek." (RoTK, The Tower of Cirith Ungol)

Traits/Habits:
The Nazgûl were some of the few who remembered and spoke the Black Speech which Sauron had made.  Perplexing to note is that the Nazgul were afraid of water for some reason.  Water dampened their senses, but none of the Nazgul liked or wanted to enter water at all.  Control of the Nazgul was not by whoever held the One Ring, it was primarily based on who held the Nine Rings.  They would at least pretend to be a servant of whoever held the One, but their real master was whoever held the Nine.  Tolkien describes a hypothetical scene where Frodo claims the Ring and leaves the Cracks of Doom.  Sauron had sent the Nazgul, and Tolkien says that they would have greeted Frodo as their Lord and asked him to view his new realm - but then they would have destroyed the entrance so that Frodo could no longer destroy the Ring.  Tolkien didn’t think the Nazgul would actually be able to attack Frodo or make him captive, because he had the One Ring, but they would have either lead him to Sauron or waited for Sauron to come, and Frodo would have been destroyed.  So the Ringwraiths do not act directly against whoever holds the One, but their allegiance is to the Nine.

It is said that the black speech was devised by Sauron in the Dark Years…but after the first overthrow of Sauron this language in its ancient form was forgotten by all but the Nazgul. (Appendix F)

All except the Witch-King were apt to stray when alone by daylight; and all, again save the Witch-king, feared water, and were unwilling, except in dire need, to enter it or to cross streams unless dryshod by a bridge. (The Hunt for the Ring, Unfinished Tales)

"Would they [the Ringwraiths] have been immune from its [the One's] power if he [Frodo] claimed it as an instrument of command and domination? Not wholly. I do not think they could have attacked him with violence, nor laid hold upon him or taken him captive; they would have obeyed or feigned to obey any minor commands of his that did not interfere with their errand - laid upon them by Sauron, who still through their nine rings (which he held) had primary control of their wills....I think they would have shown 'servility'. They would have greeted Frodo as 'Lord'.  With fair speeches they would have induced him to leave the Sammath Naur - for instance 'to look upon his new kingdom...'.  Once outside the chamber while he was gazing some of them would have destroyed the entrance." (Letter 245)

Orcish Appearance:  Orcs are as a rule darker skinned.  The color ranges from sallow or swart to black, probably depending on breed.  Generally, the Uruks are described as being black or otherwise very dark, and other kinds may have a lighter skin tone, they seem to have large heads or wide faces as well.

"…squat, broad, flat-nosed, sallow-skinned, with wide mouths and slant eyes: in fact degraded and repulsive versions of the (to Europeans) least lovely Mongol-types." (Letters #210)

“There in the shadows on a large flat stone sat a tremendous goblin with a huge head…” (Hobbit, Over Hill and Under Hill)

"... a huge orc-chieftain, almost man-high, clad in black mail from head to foot..." FotR, The Bridge of Khazad-dum [my bold emphasis]

"His broad flat face was swart, his eyes were like coals, and his tongue was red..." FotR, The Bridge of Khazad-dum [my bold emphasis]

In the twilight he saw a large black Orc, probably Ugluk [an Uruk], standing facing Grishnakh [Not an Uruk], a short crook-legged creature, very broad and with long arms that hung almost to the ground. TTT - The Uruk-hai

Beneath the hills on either side the rock was bored into a hundred caves and maggot-holes: there a host of orcs lurked, ready at a signal to issue forth like black ants going to war. TTT - The Black Gait is Closed

Even from a distance they could see in the dim light the movement of the black guards upon the wall, and the patrols before the gate. TTT - The Black Gait is Closed

Against the wan walls and the luminous pavement of the road Frodo could see them, small black figures in rank upon rank, marching swiftly and silently, passing outwards in an endless stream.  TTT - The Stairs of Cirith Ungol

Soon he had passed, like a shadow into shadow, down the winding road, and behind him still the black ranks crossed the bridge. TTT - The Stairs of Cirith Ungol

The two orc-figures were still some way ahead. He could see them now, black and squat against a red glare.  TTT - The Choices of Master Samwise

Something was lying on the floor by the wall under the window, but over it a black orc-shape was straddled.  ROTK - The Tower of Cirith Ungol

About it the ground was busy with folk going to and fro; a wide road ran from it south-east to join the Morgul-way, and along it many lines of small black shapes were hurrying.  ROTK - The Land of Shadow

Presently two orcs came into view. One was clad in ragged brown and was armed with a bow of horn; it was of a small breed, black-skinned, with wide and snuffling nostrils: evidently a tracker of some kind. ROTK - The Land of Shadow

In the last years of Denethor I the race of uruks, black orcs of great strength, first appeared out of Mordor, and in 2475 they swept across Ithilien and took Osgiliath.  LOTR Appendices - Gondor and the Heirs of Anarion

----On the variation and competition among Orc tribes:  The different breeds of Orcs are marked not only by physical differences, but also by linguistic differences.  Each tribe had it’s own language or dialect, and it was hard for another tribe to understand it - therefore they used mainly the Common Tongue when talking to different breeds.  They were also highly competitive, not passing up on opportunities to brag up themselves or degrade the other tribe.  Sauron remarkably got Orcs of different tribes and breeds to cooperate under him - imagine forcing the Petty Dwarves and the Sindar to fight together!  However, if they were not kept at war against a common enemy, his Orcs would turn on each other eventually, for one reason or another.

'Trackers/Snaga':
"Presently [three >] two orcs came into view. They were in black without tokens and were armed with bows, a small breed, black-skinned with wide snuffling nostrils, evidently trackers of some kind..." (HoME IX: Sauron Defeated, The Land of Shadow)

'Regular':
Grishnakh, a short crook-legged creature, very broad and with long arms that hung almost to the ground. TTT - The Uruk-hai

Uruks/Uruk-Hai:
”…large black orc, probably Ugluk…” (TTT, The Uruk-Hai)

“To Pippin's surprise he found that much of the talk was intelligible many of the Orcs were using ordinary language. Apparently the members of two or three quite different tribes were present, and they could not understand one another's orc-speech.” (TTT, The Uruk-Hai)

“'Aye, we must stick together,' growled Uglúk. 'I don't trust you little swine. You've no guts outside your own sties. But for us you'd all have run away. We are the fighting Uruk-hai! We slew the great warrior. We took the prisoners. We are the servants of Saruman the Wise, the White Hand: the Hand that gives us man's-flesh to eat. We came out of Isengard, and led you here, and we shall lead you back by the way we choose. I am Uglúk. I have spoken.'
'You have spoken more than enough, Uglúk,' sneered the evil voice. 'I wonder how they would like it in Lugbúrz. They might think that Uglúk's shoulders needed relieving of a swollen head. They might ask where his strange ideas came from. Did they come from Saruman, perhaps? Who does he think he is, setting up on his own with his filthy white badges? They might agree with me, with Grishnákh their trusted messenger; and I Grishnákh say this: Saruman is a fool, and a dirty treacherous fool. But the Great Eye is on him. 'Swine is it? How do you folk like being called swine by the muck-rakers of a dirty little wizard? It's orc-flesh they eat, I'll warrant.’” (TTT, The Uruk-Hai)

“… the diversity of the Orcs in breed and language, and the feuds among them; while in many places in Middle-earth, after the fall of Thangorodrim and during the concealment of Sauron, the Orcs recovering from their helplessness had set up petty realms of their own and become accustomed to independence.  Nonetheless Sauron in time managed to unite them all in unreasoning hatred of the elves and of Men who associated with them…[see footnote]
[footnote]: But there remained one flaw in his control, inevitable....[his Orcs] must be kept ever at war with some 'enemy' to prevent them from slaying once another.” (Morgoth’s Ring, Myth’s Transformed, Text X)

Orcish Intelligence: Contrary to popular opinion, Orcs were not mindlessly dumb.  In the just-above quote it shows that they set up their own kingdoms when they were free (think: Azog in Moria, and the Great Goblin).  They also had their own languages, and they made medicine which was both effective and worked quickly, as Merry and Pippin saw when they were captured.  Gorbag showed that Orcs could read signs and deduce a conclusion from them, meaning that Orcs are capable of logic and reasoning, which is also seen by Ugluk, whose soldiers want to slay the Hobbits but realize there’s not enough time to do it properly.  The Orcs were also proficient fighters, they knew how far bows could fire and stayed just out of that range when they attacked Minas Tirith.

“Busy as ants hurrying orcs were digging, digging lines of deep trenches in a huge ring, just out of bowshot from the walls; and as the trenches were made each was filled with fire, though how it was kindled or fed, by art or devilry, none could see.” (Siege of Gondor, ROTK)

*The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage when he looked at it, and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth, clashed their shields, and stamped. They knew the sword at once. It had killed hundreds of goblins in its time, when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them in the hills or did battle before their walls. They had called it Orcrist, Goblin-cleaver, but the goblins called it simply Biter. They hated it and hated worse any one that carried it.*(The Hobbit, "Over Hill and Under Hill)

“By all the signs, Captain Shagrat, I’d say there’s a large warrior loose, Elf most likely, with an Elf-sword anyway, and an axe as well, maybe; and he’s loose in your bounds, too, and you’ve never spotted him.” (TTT, Choices of Master Samwise)

“Ugluk thrust a flask between his teeth and poured some burning liquid down his throat: he felt a hot fierce glow flow through him. The pain in his legs and ankles vanished. He could stand.” (TTT)

“Seizing him roughly Ugluk pulled him into a sitting position, and tore the bandage off his head.  Then he smeared the wound with some dark stuff out of a small wooden box…He was healing Merry in orc-fashion; and his treatment worked swiftly.  When he had forced a drink from his flask down the hobbit’s throat, cut his leg bonds, and dragged him to his feet, Merry stood up, looking pale but grim and defiant, and very much alive.  The gash in his forehead gave him no more trouble, but he bore a brown scar to the end of his days.” (TTT, The Uruk-Hai)

Orcish Traits/Habits:  The Orcs seem to have a tendency for all things black.  Be it blades, arrows, bows, clothing, armor, or anything else, black is the general color of choice.  They were naturally bad and pitiless, taking pleasure in the evil things that they did, but that does not mean they looked only for themselves - some Orcs at least chased the Fellowship all the way from Moria to avenge their fallen leader.

“But Aragorn saw that he was pierced with many black-feathered arrows; his sword was still in his hand, “but it was broken near the hilt; his horn cloven in two was at his side.”  TTT- The Departure of Boromir

Then he sent plundering Orcs, and they carry off what they can, choosing always the black horses: few of these are now left. For that reason our feud with the Orcs is bitter.”  TTT - The Riders of Rohan

“He had a black knife with a long jagged blade in his hand. "Lie quiet, or I'll tickle you with this," he hissed.”  TTT - The Uruk-hai

“Walls stand up no longer: gorgun knock them down with earth-thunder and with clubs of black iron.”  ROTK - The Ride of the Rohirrim

“He it was that now rode out, and with him came only a small company of black-harnessed soldiery, and a single banner, black but bearing on it in red the Evil Eye.”  ROTK - The Black Gait Opens

“Sam had brought several orc-helmets. One of them fitted Frodo well enough, a black cap with iron rim, and iron hoops covered with leather upon which the evil Eye was painted in red above the beaklike nose-guard.” ROTK - The Tower of Cirith Ungol

“They were indeed so corrupted that they were pitiless, and there was no cruelty or wickedness that they would not commit; but this was the corruption of independant wills, and they took pleasure in their deeds.   … They sometimes fought [>they hated one another and often fought] among themselves, to the detriment of Morgoth's plans.” (Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed, Text X)

“…cruel, wicked, and bad-hearted…” (Hobbit, Over Hill and Under Hill)

“'Not our orders!' said one of the earlier voices. 'We have come all the.way from the Mines to kill, and avenge our folk. I wish to kill, and then go back north.” (TTT, The Uruk-Hai)

----Foods:  Orcs are not cannibals.  To be accused of eating Orc-flesh seems to be quite the insult among them.  And though they will eat foul or disgusting things, they do not prefer them.  Captives are eaten only if the Orcs are in need of food and have no other; although Saruman’s Uruk-Hai seem to boast about eating Man-flesh.

“They needed food and drink, and rest, though many were by training as tough as Dwarves in enduring hardship.” (Myths transformed, Morgoth’s ring)

“Foul waters and foul meats they'll take, if they can get no better, but not poison.” (RoTK)

“For goblins eat horses and ponies and donkeys (and other much more dreadful things), and they are always hungry” (The Hobbit)

“…they sometimes used to go on raids, especially to get food or slaves to work for them. Then they often got the Wargs to help and shared the plunder with them.” (The Hobbit)

“…one thing Morgoth had achieved was to convince the Orcs beyond refutation that the Elves were crueler than themselves, taking captives only for 'amusement', or to eat them (as the Orcs would do at need)." (Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed, Text X)

“…food-bags, the rinds and crusts of hard grey bread…” (TTT, the riders of Rohan)

----Weapons (See also various descriptions in the above category):  Orcs generally use curved scimitars, but that is not all that they can wield.  The Uruk-Hai of Saruman were equipped with broad-bladed swords and bows like Men used.  Orcs also operated siege engines, such as catapults and siege towers, the battering rams seem to be left to larger creatures if any were available.

“…axes and the bent swords…” (Hobbit, Over Hill and Under Hill)

“They [Uruks] were armed with short broad-bladed swords, not the curved scimitars usual with Orcs; and they had bows of yew, in length and shape like the bows of Men.” (TTT, Departure of Boromir)

“Slowly the great siege-towers built in Osgiliath rolled forward through the dark.” (Siege of Gondor, ROTK)

”siege-towers crashed or blazed suddenly like torches” (ibid)

”great engines for the casting of missiles” (ibid)

Orcish Abilities/Skills: (See also some descriptions in the Intelligence section):  The Orcs have many interesting abilities.  For one thing they are described as having great eyesight - being able to see through mist, fog, and night.  There are also passages which seem to infer that they are indeed immortal, like the Elves, who were their ‘base’ of corruption by Melkor.  They use slaves, and they make instruments of torture rather well.  They can also mine and tunnel just as well as most Dwarves when they want to, but are generally not a careful in doing so.

“They make no beautiful things, but they make many clever ones. They can tunnel and mine as well as any but the most skilled dwarves, when they take the trouble, though they are usually untidy and dirty. Hammers, axes, swords, daggers, pickaxes, tongs, and also instruments of torture, they make very well, or get other people to make to their design, prisoners and slaves that have to work till they die for want of air and light. It is not unlikely that they invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them, and also not working with their own hands more than they could help; but in those days and those wild parts they had not advanced (as it is called) so far.” (The Hobbit, "Over Hill and Under Hill") [color and bolding are mine]

“…Orcs were there with eyes of yellow and green like cats that could pierce all glooms and see through mist or fog or night...” (The Book of Lost Tales II, The Fall of Gondolin)

"They were certainly dominated by their Master, but his dominion was by fear, and they were aware of this fear and hated him. … They were capable of acting on their own, doing evil deeds unbidden for their own sport; or if Morgoth and his agents were far away, they might neglect his commands. (Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed, Text X)

“They had languages of their own, and spoke among themselves in various tongues according to differences in breed that were discernible among them.” (Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed, Text X)

Other:

They are not based on direct experience of mine; but owe, I suppose, a good deal to the goblin tradition (goblin is used as a translation in The Hobbit, where orc only occurs once, I think), especially as it appears in George MacDonald, except for the soft feet which I never believed in.  (Letter #144)

Appearance:
Trolls are not pretty, but they are large and strong.  There are a number of known varieties of Trolls about - the Stone-, Snow-, Mountain-, and Hill- Trolls, and there are Olog-Hai.  What the differences between all these breeds are is not nearly as known, but it is probably that it has to do with their origins (at least in the case of Stone-Trolls).  They were a race in their own right, like the Orcs were originally Incarnate creatures, though the first Dark Lord, Melkor, 'tinkered' with them to make them to his liking.  That may be a possible explination for the different varieties of Trolls as well.

"In their beginning far back in the twilight of the Elder Days, these were creatures of a dull and lumpish nature.."(RoTK, Appendix F)

"But through them(orcs) there came striding up, roaring like beasts, a great company of hill-trolls out of Gorgoroth. Taller and broader than Men they were, and they were clad only in close-fitting mesh of horny scales, or maybe that was their hideous hide; but they bore round bucklers huge and black and wielded heavy hammers in their knotted hands ... for these fell creatures would bite the throats of those that they threw down." (RotK - The Black Gate Opens)

"He (Helm) would go out by himself, clad in white, and stalk like a snow-troll into the camps of his enemies, and slay many men with his hands." (Appendix A, RotK)

"... and behind walked mountain trolls to wield it [Grond]." (RotK - The Siege of Gondor)

"The Elves would have classed the creatures called 'trolls' (in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) as Orcs - in character and origin - but they were larger and slower. It would seem evident that they were corruptions of primitive human types." (Morgoth's Ring, Myths Transformed, Text IX)

Intelligence:
Trolls are not the most intelligent of creatures, but they do have some brains, and are cautious enough to be wary of new things.  The Ologs are much more intelligent than normal Trolls, being called "cunning" by Tolkien.

Trolls are slow in the uptake, and mighty suspicious about anything new to them (The Hobbit)

"Trolls [the Olog-Hai] were....: a fell race, strong, agile, fierce and cunning" (RoTk, Appendix F, Trolls)

Traits/Habits:
There is little that we know about Troll habits, but we do know that they would bite the throats of the enemies they slew.  And we know that they do not do good, they are evil all through, and very brutal in their evilness.  And they do not build things themselves, so they must take over dwellings of other creaures, or take up in natural caves.

'No,'  said  Trotter;  'trolls  do  not  build. (HoMe VI, Return of the Shadow, A Long Expected Party)

"Trolls simply detest the very sight of dwarves (uncooked). …for (Stone-)trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again." (The Hobbit)

"...for these fell creatures would bite the throats of those that they threw down." (RotK - The Black Gate Opens)

"But there are other sorts of Trolls beside these rather ridiculous, of brutal, Stone-Trolls, for which other origins are suggested......I do not agree [...] that my Trolls show any sign of 'good', strictly and unsentimentally viewed." (Letter #153)

Abilities/Skills:
The Trolls were all large and strong, much larger than Men, but the Ologs were far superiour to the other types of trolls.  They could tolerate the Sun, and were harder than stone, in order words, extremely tough.  But in addition to this brute physical force, they were agile, fierce and cunning.

"They are mighty strong.  But Trolls are only counterfeits, made by the Enemy in the Great Darkness, in mockery of Ents, as Orcs were of Elves." (TTT, Treebeard).

"Trolls [the Olog-Hai] were, but filled with the evil will of their master: a fell race, strong, agile, fierce and cunning, but harder than stone.  Unlike the older race of the Twilight they could endure the Sun, so long as the will of Sauron held sway over them.  The spoke little, and the only tounge that they knew was the Black Speech of Barad-dur." (RoTk, Appendix F, Trolls)

Appearance:
The Wainriders are not described to much extent. One of the things we do know is that they were a people or confederacy out of the East, though they were stronger and better armed than any Easterlings the Gondorians had met before. They travelled in large wagons, called wains, and the more powerful among them used chariots in battle.

The Wainriders were a people, or a confederacy of many peoples, that came from the East; but they were stronger and better armed than any that had appeared before. They journeyed in great wains, and their chieftains fought in chariots. (Return of the King, Appendix A)

Intelligence:
The Wainriders were probably slightly smarter than the average Easterling, because they were better armed. Better weapons usually goes hand-in-hand with a higher level of learning. It is, of course, possible that they were supplied by agents of Sauron, but we simply don’t know. At the very least, they had intelligent tactics, for they defeated Gondor’s main army on one occation; and when they were defeated made a retreat to land where Gondor could not reach them and plotted more attacks. They also had a mustering, they worked togather to plan large-scale attacks, and they made alliance with common enemies of Gondor, recognizing foes from potential friends; these demonstrate some more intelligence.

"In the meanwhile the Wainriders licked their wounds, and plotted their revenge. Beyond the reach of the arms of Gondor, in the lands of the Sea of Rhun from which no tidings came its Kings, their kinsfolk spread and multiplied, and they were eager for conquests and booty and filled with hatred for Gondor which stood in their way ... (Unfinished Tales - Cirion and Eorl - The Northmen and the Wainriders)

The Wainriders had mustered a great host by the southern shores of the inland Sea of Rhûn, strengthened by men of their kinsfolk in Rhovanion and from their new allies in Khand. (Unfinished Tales, Cirion and Eorl, The Northmen and the Wainriders)

Eventually a peace and alliance was agreed between these enemies of Gondor, and an attackwas prepared that should be made at the same time from north and south." (Unfinished Tales, Cirion and Eorl, The Northmen and the Wainriders)

Abilities/Skills:
Again, this race is slightly mysterious, but they seem to have a knack for battle and conquest. They conquored and occupied the lands occupied by the Northmen, who lived in the Rhovanion area, a Gondorian King even came to the Northmen’s aid and was defeated and slain.

But when the invasions of the Wainriders began and involved Gondor in wars that lasted for almost a hundred years, the Northmen bore the brunt of the first assaults. King Narmacil II took a great army north into the plains south of Mirkwood, and gathered all that he could of the scattered remnants of the Northmen; but he was defeated, and himself fell in battle. (…) Most of the Northmen were reduced to servitude, and all their former ands were occupied by the Wainriders (Unfinished Tales, Cirion and Eorl and the friendship of Gondor and Rohan)

Traits/Habits:
The most known trait of the Wainriders is that which they draw their name from - they travel in great wains or wagons. Why this is, however, is not known. They are not said to be nomadic, and they seem to settle down in lands that they conquor, such as Rhovanion when they conquored the Northmen. Their chieftains and captains also fought in war-chariots, how effective these were is not known. Anothing thing, note really a habit, but a fact which did not fit elsewhere, they first invaded Gondor in 1851 of the Third Age.

The Wainriders were a people, or a confederacy of many peoples, that came from the East; but they were stronger and better armed than any that had appeared before. They journeyed in great wains, and their chieftains fought in chariots. (Return of the King, Appendix A)

1851 The attacks of the Wainriders upon Gondor begin. (Return of the King, Appendix A, Tale of Years)