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<blockquote data-quote="Talmun" data-source="post: 2422156" data-attributes="member: 17751">There seem to be several different species and sub-species in Middle-earthThe standard orc, seems to be roughly (very roughly) the equivalent of a D&amp;D orc, although arguments could be made about strengths and weaknesses.&nbsp; It appears, for instance, that LotR orcs are more affected by sunlight than the minor inconvenience that D&amp;D orcs suffer.The Uruk-Hai first appear about 500 years before the War of the Ring during the final sack of Osgiliath (the ruins bisected by a river in the Return of the King movie).&nbsp; In the book, Sauron, not Saruman, created them, although the latter used them quite effectively.&nbsp; The Uruk-Hai seem to be a superior strain of orc (selective breeding?), not half-bred or crossed with anything.The Half-orc may appear in LotR, although not named as such.&nbsp; Sharkey's men and the spies of Saurman in Bree and elsewhere may have been half-man, half-orc.&nbsp; These seem to be separate and different from the Uruk-Hai, because they can pass as human.There also seem to be variations in orcs as well.&nbsp; An example would be the tracking-orc that Sam and Frodo see in Mordor, who seems to have been bred as a bloodhound-type scent-tracker.The Hobbit uses the word 'goblin', but not 'orc' (save for a couple of times, IIRC), and the word seems to be used interchangeably with 'orc' in LotR a few times and it doesn't appear at all in the Sillmarillion.&nbsp; This would seem to indicate that goblin and orc are two words for the same thing.Naturally, Tolkein was much more concerned with storytelling than with providing concise info for RPG's, so much of the info on orcs is rather vague.&nbsp; This includes the idea that Morgoth made orcs by twisting and changing elves, which, when it appears in the stories, always seems to be in the form of a tale or opinion and not an absolute truth.As much as I like LotR and it's orcs, orcs IMC tend to be less like Tolkeins and more in line with the standard D&amp;D flavor for them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Talmun, post: 2422156, member: 17751"] There seem to be several different species and sub-species in Middle-earth The standard orc, seems to be roughly (very roughly) the equivalent of a D&D orc, although arguments could be made about strengths and weaknesses. It appears, for instance, that LotR orcs are more affected by sunlight than the minor inconvenience that D&D orcs suffer. The Uruk-Hai first appear about 500 years before the War of the Ring during the final sack of Osgiliath (the ruins bisected by a river in the Return of the King movie). In the book, Sauron, not Saruman, created them, although the latter used them quite effectively. The Uruk-Hai seem to be a superior strain of orc (selective breeding?), not half-bred or crossed with anything. The Half-orc may appear in LotR, although not named as such. Sharkey's men and the spies of Saurman in Bree and elsewhere may have been half-man, half-orc. These seem to be separate and different from the Uruk-Hai, because they can pass as human. There also seem to be variations in orcs as well. An example would be the tracking-orc that Sam and Frodo see in Mordor, who seems to have been bred as a bloodhound-type scent-tracker. The Hobbit uses the word 'goblin', but not 'orc' (save for a couple of times, IIRC), and the word seems to be used interchangeably with 'orc' in LotR a few times and it doesn't appear at all in the Sillmarillion. This would seem to indicate that goblin and orc are two words for the same thing. Naturally, Tolkein was much more concerned with storytelling than with providing concise info for RPG's, so much of the info on orcs is rather vague. This includes the idea that Morgoth made orcs by twisting and changing elves, which, when it appears in the stories, always seems to be in the form of a tale or opinion and not an absolute truth. As much as I like LotR and it's orcs, orcs IMC tend to be less like Tolkeins and more in line with the standard D&D flavor for them. [/QUOTE]

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