They are shorter in stature than men but compensate for this by their stocky build. Their preferred weapon is the battle-axe, and Dwarven armies are invariably clothed in fine mail and helms of great craftsmanship. Most famous of all the Dwarven peoples are the descendants Durin the deathless, who built both the fabled city of Moria and the kingdom under the mountain at Erebor. Peace loving and unwarlike the Hobbits of Middle-earth live generally quiet, unadventurous lives. Their reluctance to mix amongst the larger races has led them to develop remark-able skills in moving in silence and in the techniques of evasion.
Hobbits are generally brown and curly haired, and prefer greens and browns to brighter colours.
The orcs are probably the most numerous of all the races of Middle-earth. Dark-grey in colour with eyes like red coals. The true orcs are a terrifying parody of the Elves to whose graceful countenance they are a distorting mirror-image. With long arms and claw like hands they lope rather than walk, with a distinctly simian gait. Chaotic by nature these creatures can only be welded into a community or an army by the brute force and cruelty which is their common currency.