Corrupted creatures bred by Morgoth in the First Age, possibly from captured and tortured Elves. Orcs are cruel, cowardly in the absence of a driving will, and hate all things of beauty. They serve as the foot soldiers of darkness throughout all three Ages - first for Morgoth, then for Sauron. They breed prolifically and come in many varieties, from smaller goblins to the large fighting Uruk-hai bred by Saruman. Orcs fear sunlight but are not destroyed by it, and they are skilled in crafting weapons and tools of war, though their work is crude and ugly.