Editing Middle Earth characters (section)

==Humans==
The second-born of [[God|Eru Ilúvatar’s]] children. Humans are split across many tribes and nations throughout Middle Earth. Unlike the immortal Elves, who are tied to the world and reincarnate in Aman if they die, the souls of men leave the world altogether to parts unknown by all save Ilúvatar himself. Men are also a mystery to everyone else in Middle Earth and are given "strange gifts," for they alone are able to shape their fates beyond the Music of the Ainur. It's noted that while Men are more corruptible to evil than the Elves and were the most similar to Morgoth in nature, Morgoth still greatly feared Men, including those who served him, since they were such an anomaly in Arda. Nevertheless, most [[Warriors of Chaos|of evil's footsoldiers in the franchise who aren't Orcs/Goblins/Uruk-hai are corrupted humans]]. Their capacity for corruption has, in fact, given the race of Man something of a mixed reputation among Elves, who sometimes regard them as weak. Luckily, there's always an Aragorn or Faramir just waiting to prove them wrong. 

=== Edain of the First Age and Outlaws ===
The Edain were the first three tribes to arrive in Beleriand and make contact with the elves. The Edain and their descendants were staunch allies of the elves and the forces of good, despite taking terrible losses during the first age. It should also be noted that, while the elves were always superior to men in beauty, craft and wisdom, the Elves and Edain were equals in strength and endurance, and an Edain could be mistaken for an elf from long distance.
* '''Beren Erchamion''' (the Renowned in Sindarin) - Member of House of Bëor and the protagonist of "Beren and Lúthien" story. Is notable for [[Awesome|stealing a gem from the crown of Evil Satan guy]] and marrying an Elven woman (the first time in the Legendarium). Beren’s ring of Barahir becomes the only relic of the Numenorean Royal family that survives into the Third Age, used to mark Aragorn’s royal lineage. Based off of Tolkien himself, which is a ''bit'' self-indulgent on his part, but most would say the man earned it. 
* '''Hurin Thalion:'''(the Steadfast) - One of mankind’s bravest warriors and a close ally of Turgon of Gondolin. He and his men fought to allow Turgon to escape Morgoth, with Hurin being the sole survivor.  [[Grimdark|Morgoth tortured Hurin for the location of Gondolin, but Hurin refused to betray them, so Morgoth cursed Hurin’s children and for Hurin to witness their doom from afar]].
* '''Turin Turambar''' (Master of Doom) - Member of House of Hador, son of Hurin, known to be '''THE''' Kullervo expy way before [[Elric]]. Went from great hero to [[meme|An Hero]] thanks to Morgoth placing a curse over his family. It is said that he will finally get his revenge against Morgoth in the Dagor Dagorath (Middle-Earth's Ragnarok), by being the one to finally killing him.
* '''Tuor Eladar''' (the Blessed) - Cousin of Turin and a great human hero during the war with Morgoth, chosen by the vala Ulmo to find Gondolin and warn its inhabitants that the city will fall. In spite of Turgon's reluctance to leave he was able to convince the city's population to listen. Also married an elf princess and is the grandfather of Elrond. His symbol is the Swan, a motif kept by his human descendants.
* '''The Gaurwaith''': The Gaurwaith were a band of outlaws who Turin came to be in control of. They died in the battle at Amon Rûdh after Mîm's betrayal (see Mîm's section for the cause and details). Androg, the one indirectly responsible for the betrayal through an accidental murder, sacrificed himself to save Turin, Beleg and his own son Andvir. After Beleg was accidentally killed by Turin and Turin's suicide, Andvir was the last survivor. He related the portions of Turin's tale relevant to him to the poet Dirhaval, whose account of Turin's life make the primary source of the story of Hurin's family.
===== Followers of Melkor in the First Age =====
*'''Ulfang the Black''': Chief of one of two Easterling tribes that migrated westwards and became friends with Elves. [[Erebus|Unlike his fellow chieftain Bór the Faithful however, he was a traitor serving Morgoth all along.]] [[Horus Heresy|And yeah, his sons and tribesmen basically gave the Dark Lord the second biggest army in his service (after Orcs, of course).]]

=== Númenóreans ===
The Edain were rewarded by the Valar after the first age with their own island nation and extended lifespan; by 25 their aging slows down dramatically and can live for potentially hundreds of years, though they also have the ability to die willingly; some do before senility and infirmity sets in, but later Númenórians held on to their lives as long as possible out of fear of death. The Númenórian empire grew powerful, establishing many settlements across Middle Earth during the Second Age. However, Númenor was destroyed following a split between its people, as explained below.
*'''Pre-Schism Edain''':
** '''Elros''', or '''Tar-Minyatur''' as a King (Kings of Númenor always took an Elven Regnal name, and when that stopped -see below- it meant the end of the human golden age), was the first ruler of Númenor and Elrond's brother who chose a human fate (but still got around 500 years to live). He is also an ancestor of Aragorn.
** '''Tar-Minastir''': the eleventh king who ruled during the War of the Elves and Sauron; Minastir sent an army to aid the elves, but because Numenor had no standing army at the time, it took weeks to prepare an army and they arrived too late to save Eregion. Tar-Minastir's rule marks the beginning of Numenor's shift, as now they had a taste for war and an envy of the elves, and started permanent settlements in the mainland. But things wouldn't fully go south until the rule of his grandson Tar-Atanamir, as seen below.
*'''The King's Men''' - the majority faction in Númenor. With the support of the royal house, they were an Imperialist, faithless (later satanic), human-supremacist faction that opposed the Valar and desired power, wealth, and immortality. They would fall to Sauron's lies, and become the Black Númenóreans after Númenor's destruction.
** '''Tar-Atanamir''' - Founder of the King's Men faction and thirteenth king of Númenor. Atanamir openly opposed the Valar and Elves and coveted their immortality. Because men were forbidden to sail west, he sent his men east to start colonies in Middle Earth and subjugate the people living there, extracting its wealth for his kingdom, though he didn't have the balls to stop using an Elven name, the arrogant egomaniacs that followed him dropped that.
** '''Ar-Pharazôn the Golden''' - Last king of Númenor. Ar-Pharazôn usurped the throne from its rightful queen, his cousin Tar-Miriel, by [[Rape|a ''very'' forced marriage]]. Ar-Pharazôn defeated Sauron in open combat and brought him back to Númenor as a hostage to prove his might; this however turned out to be a trap, as [[Erebus|Sauron manipulated Pharazôn and the King's Men into believing that by worshipping Morgoth and making human sacrifices to him, they'd be able to challenge the Valar and take immortality for themselves, leading to Numenor's ruin]]. [[Fail|The moment Ar-Pharazôn and his men set foot on Aman, however, his armies became trapped beneath the Earth, Aman was permanently separated from the rest of the world, and Númenor sank beneath the seas as divine punishment]].
*'''The Faithful''' - the minority faction who still retained their devotion to Eru Ilúvatar and respect for the Valar and Elves. The Faithful became more oppressed over time by the King's Men.
**'''Tar-Palantir''' - The final Faithful king and second-to-last king of Númenor. Tar-Palantir tried his best to reverse the damage brought on by his predecessors, but it was too little too late, and much of Númenor's population opposed his policies. Tar-Palantir prophesied that the line of kings would end if the White Tree was felled; this came partially true, as the kings of Númenor ended with Ar-Pharazôn after he sacrificed the White Tree to Sauron, but a sapling of the tree was saved and the line of kings continued through the line of Elendil.
** '''Tar-Miriel''' - The daughter of King Tar-Palantir, and the last rightful heir of Númenor. Ar-Pharazôn was like "fuck that, I want to be in charge" and married her to get the power [[Rape|against her will]]. Sadly dies when Númenor goes under. Actually gets to be in charge in [[Skub|Rings of Power]] as Queen-Regent [[Wat|while her daddy's locked up as a prisoner in his own kingdom.]] Blinded later on, which in conjunction with her foresight gives her an "Oracle of Delphi" feel. 
**'''Amandil''' - The last Lord of Andúnië, which is a cadet branch of the Royal line and had been the centre of the Faithful presence in Númenor; though once Amandil had been close friends with Ar-Pharazôn, the lordship had later been revoked, thanks to the cunning of Sauron. When Amandil had learned of Ar-Pharazôn's plans of invading Aman, he with three other servants travelled to the West to warn the Valar and have mercy upon Númenor. Though, just in case that plan didn't work, he also warned his son and grandchildren to flee the island with as many of the Faithful as they could find. Nothing more is known of Amandil's fate. Just as likely he could have died instantly as he stepped into Valinor, as he could have been welcomed by the Valar and become immortal, like Tuor.
**'''Elendil''' - Son of Amandil, Elendil and his family did their best to preserve their ancestor's traditions, including saving a fruit of the White Tree of Kings (Nimloth) before it was destroyed. They organised the evacuation fleet to Middle Earth during the fall of Númenor, where they settled new Kingdoms in Gondor and Arnor. As the new High King, Tar-Elendil lead the Men of the West during the War of the Last Alliance, where he fell in combat against Sauron.

=== Gondorians, Arnorians and Black Númenóreans ===
Gondor and Arnor were kingdoms established by the Faithful after the fall of Númenor. Though Arnor in the North fell to Angmar, Gondor lasted through the entire Third Age and well into the fourth, becoming the ''Reunited Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor'' (since the heir to Arnor's throne, Aragorn, inherited Gondor's, what with his original kingdom being gone and all).
* '''Isildur''' - second High King of both Gondor and Arnor. Finally defeated Sauron in the War of Last Alliance, but became a victim of One Ring's power and tragically died in an Orc ambush, leaving the Ring without a host for a while. Body was never found. Becomes a Nazgul in the Shadow of Mordor/War continuity, until Talion frees his spirit from Sauron's control...and then later takes his ring and his place as one of the Nine. 
* '''Anarion'''- Isildur's brother, died before their father Elendil during the early months of the War of the Last Alliance.
* '''Gondorians''': The Dúnedain of the South. They are descendants of the Faithful from Númenor.
** '''Denethor II''' - Ruling Steward of Gondor at the beginning of the books. He originally was a great and capable ruler whose sanity was damaged by usage of the Anor-stone Palantir, as instead of helping in espionage against Sauron it showed [[Grimdark|the death of everyone and the triumph of evil]]. By the time of War of the Ring he is majorly depressed, almost insane, and highly incompetent. Finally snapping completely during the siege of Minas Tirith, he tries to immolate himself and his unfavorite son, Faramir, but only succeeds in the first of these.
** '''Boromir''': Elder son of Denthor and a great captain of Gondor (also daddy's favorite). Despite being a great warrior and leader, Boromir ultimately fell to the temptation of the Ring and tried to take it from Frodo. Despite this, he redeemed himself by sacrificing his life to serve as a decoy for Frodo and Sam, and acknowledged Aragorn as his kinsman and king. Somewhat infamous for being one of the only major heroes in the trilogy to die, and the only one of the Fellowship to die (well, him and Gandalf, but the latter got to come back). Remember kids, this ''isn't'' [[A Song of Ice and Fire|that other popular Fantasy series where good guys drop like flies]] (even though Boromir's actor would end up being in and dying in that too!).
** '''Faramir''': Younger son of Denethor and leader of Gondor's Ithilien Rangers. Faramir, while a skilled warrior, he had no love of war and preferred to study and sought council with Gandalf. Denethor disliked Faramir and even told him he would've preferred Faramir to die and Boromir to live. Despite the toxic family environment, Faramir became a worthy steward and passed the rule of Gondor to Aragorn. Like Beren, Tolkien has admitted to basing Faramir off of himself, though also admits that Faramir is more courageous than he.
** '''Prince Imrahil''': Prince of Dol Amroth, who aided in the defense of Minas Tirith and accompanied the Host of the West on the march against the Black Gate. Sadly reduced to a bit role in the movies proper (he isn't even mentioned by name in the films). Fun fact he is also the Uncle to Boromir and Faramir, with his sister Finduilas Marying Denethor.
* '''Arnorians''': The Dúnedain of the North. They are descendants of the Faithful from Númenor. After the fall of Arnor and its successor kingdoms, the Dúnedain chose to live in hiding rather than rebuild the kingdom, protecting the people from the shadows.
**'''Chieftains of the Dúnedain''':
**''' Aragorn II (Elessar Telcontar)''': Last Chieftain of the northern rangers. He was a member of the Fellowship and contributed to the defeat of Sauron. He later claimed the kingship of Gondor and restored Arnor, as the third High King, and married his Half-Elven kin Arwen. One of the main heroes of the franchise, and all-around badass, especially in the films where he does shit like cleave through Uruk-hai like they're made of twigs, throw torches in Nazgul's faces, and ''parry sword strikes from Olog-hai''. As an aside, while the movie's take on Aragorn is as well regarded as the rest of the films, it is still nevertheless the case that his characterization is different: Book Aragorn is more of a stoic, mythical figure similar to King Arthur, who accepts the call to become King of Gondor without any question and is more of a wise, benevolent fighter-King than Movie Aragorn, who is rejecting his destiny at first due to him having severe feelings of inadequacy and far less of a poetry-reciting philosopher (though still very selfless and noble). This was done in order to make the character more relatable to greater audiences, and is a rare case of a change to the source material that has generally been accepted by the die-hards. 
*'''Black Númenóreans and Corsairs of Umbar''': Descendants of the King's Men from Númenor. The Black Númenóreans who did not directly serve Sauron in Mordor continued their predecessor's ways and held sway over Umbar and Harad as their own colonial possessions. Over time, the Black Númenóreans intermixed with the native population or died out altogether. Some Black Númenóreans were actually renegades from Gondor, who stole large parts of Gondor's fleet during a civil war and became pirates ever since. That Harad's people suffered under their control makes them throwing in with Sauron to get revenge deeply ironic, [[Just As Planned|but that's Sauron for you]].
**'''Mouth of Sauron''': The "not Nazgul" who serves as Sauron's herald and envoy (and implied to serve as a torturer as well).  A Black Númenórean of great rank and magical might within Sauron's cult, who's served Sauron for so long, that he forgot his own name and only goes by the aforementioned title Sauron gave him.  Puts the "ass" in "ambassador" and in the movies has one of the most dangerously toothpaste-neglected set of chompers in all of fiction. He has lived for a long time, having entered into Sauron's service when "the Dark Tower first rose again", which depending upon interpretation, either makes him an extremely long-lived Black Númenórean if said rising was post-Downfall of Númenor in Second Age 3320, or makes his servitude a much more reasonable 68 years if said rising was Sauron's return in Third Age 2951. Either way, his life was no doubt extended with foul sorcery and dark arts. Despite being a cowardly wuss in the books and getting beheaded mid-sentence without a fight in the films, he's playable in a few video games where he's actually allowed to kick ass for a change.

=== Men of Middle Earth ===
Men not related to the Númenóreans, but who also play significant roles in the world.
*'''Northmen/Men of the North'''
Men who live north of Gondor and west of the sea of Rhûn. This includes the Rohirrim, the Dalish, and the Woodsmen of Rhovanion. The Northmen are distantly related to the men of Gondor, as their ancestors came from the same group as the Edain.
**'''Rohan'''
***'''Eorl the Young''': Founder of Rohan.
***'''Helm Hammerhand''': The Ninth King of Rohan, during a time of protracted war against the Dunlendings as well as great civil strife within Rohan. Said strife came to a head when a rich noble named ''Freca'' with greatly mixed Rohirric and Dunlending ancestry claimed that his family line had a greater claim to the throne and attempted to coerce Helm to marry his daughter to his own son ''Wulf''. After a great many insults and arguments, Helm punched him so hard in the head that Freca was said to have died instantly from the sheer power of that single blow, which gave Helm his byname of '''Hammerhand'''. Helm declared Freca and his kinsmen to be enemies of Rohan, and they fled into Dunland, only to return four years later with a great host of their own led by Freca's son Wulf. Edoras and the Westfold was overrun by the invaders, and Helm and his sons were made to endure a long siege at the then-named Súthburg. By all counts he was an unstoppable warrior, capable of killing scores of Dunlendings with his bare hands and routing their lines with only a blow of his great war-horn. Such was the carnage he single-handedly inflicted that he was likened to a Snow-Troll. Thus was the fortress of Súthburg renamed into ''Helm's Deep'', with the keep where his war-horn was kept renamed to the ''Hornburg''.
****[[Skub|In the Shadow of Mordor continuity, none of the above happens exactly as it did, and instead he is nearly slain; presumably by Freca and his followers. Sauron and Celebrimbor give him a ring of power as he lies dying]], whereupon he becomes an angry, hammer wielding badass with a horned helmet. The corrupting nature of his Ring of Power however drives him to ever greater madness and rage, during one such moment of anger he strikes down his own daughter, and proceeds to kill his rival for the throne and everyone who tries to stop him, which completes his transformation into a Ring-wraith. [[A Song of Ice and Fire|So basically Robert Baratheon]] but a Nazgûl.
***'''Théoden''': King of Rohan. For a time he was possessed by Saruman the White as part of his ploy to conquer Rohan, but was freed by Gandalf. Théoden led Rohan in the successful defense against Isengard and rode to Gondor's aid in the battle of Pelennor Fields. Died in battle, but by all accounts was one hell of a leader (except in the Rankin Bass animated film, where his death sucks utterly).
***'''Théodred''': Son of Théoden. Théodred was killed by Saruman's forces, but Théoden didn't learn of this until after his mind was restored.
***'''Eomer''': Nephew of Theoden and heir to the throne, after Theodred's death. As such, Eomer became King after Théoden died at the Battle of the Pelennor Fields.
***'''Eowen / Eowyn''': Niece of Théoden and sister of Eomer. Eowen was a shieldmaiden and long desired to win glory in battle, but was often left behind as Théoden feared Rohan would be left leaderless. Eowen developed a crush on Aragorn, but when he refused her claiming she only loved the idea of him, Eowen went to Pelennor Fields in disguise and fought against the Witch-King of Angmar in one of the most badass duels in the whole book series. After the battle she met Faramir and settled down with him, claiming she no longer wished to fight, but to restore what had been destroyed in the war. Much like Princess Leia from Star Wars, one of ''the'' original badass ladies, nerd-crushes, and feminist role models in fiction all rolled into one. The PJ movies make her even ''more'' badass by having her bring down a Mumakil solo and holding her own against an army of Uruk-hai that get into the glittering caves at Helm's Deep in a deleted-but-mentioned-in-reference books scene. 
***'''Grima Wormtongue''': Advisor to the king, but in reality a pawn of Saruman. After his treachery was discovered, Grima ran back to Saruman, where he was regularly abused and mistreated by him until Grima finally stabbed Saruman in the back (literally) during their misadventure in the Shire and was shot with arrows for his troubles; in the movies he instead dies at the Orthanc and it's Legolas who kills him. Widely recognized in-universe and out as a slimy prick and complete coward.
**'''Dale'''
***'''Bard the Bowman''': First king of the restored Kingdom of Dale. Bard was an accomplished bowman who could communicate with birds and had a black arrow that always reached its target. This combination helped him to kill Smaug after finding the weak spot on its chest. After the Master of Lake-Town disappeared, he became the new King.
***'''Master of Lake-Town''': An unnamed character who ruled Lake-Town during the events of the Hobbit. He was a greedy SOB who was only interested in his own power and wealth; he abandoned Lake-Town when Smaug attacked, then later ran off with a good chunk of the loot following the Battle of the Five Armies. Died alone and starving to death in the barren wilderness. 
*'''The Wildmen of Dunland''': Primitive men who lived in the hills. Unlike the Northmen, the Dunlendings were much more hostile to outsiders, having been enslaved and abused by the conquering Númenóreans of the past. They allied with Saruman as he promised that their original lands would be taken from the Rohirrim and returned to them.
*'''Beornings and Woodsmen''': Named after their progenitor Beorn, a large wild man who could transform into a bear, an ability some of his descendants would share. They lived primarily in the lands between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood. While not overly friendly to outsiders, they were willing to aid the Free Peoples in the fight against Sauron and his minions. They are likely distant relatives of the Rohirrim. The Woodsmen were minor tribes of Edainic men who lived in Mirkwood and were allies of Thranduil and the Beornings. After the War of the Ring with Dol Guldur destroyed, the Beornings and Woodsmen reclaimed Central and Southern Mirkwood (now Greenwood) for themselves. 
*'''Woodwoses/Druedain''': A name borrowed from medieval legend; they are wild men who live deep in the forest and remain isolated from the rest of men. They are short and stocky, so some confuse them for Dwarves, but they are definitively of mannish stock. Despte their reclusiveness, the Druedain had been allies of the Edain and their descendants as far back as the First Age, so they appear periodically among the free peoples. The Druedain helped the Rohirrim reach Minas Tirith by way of secret highway through the forest, so they could reinforce the city and avoid an ambushing army. Somewhat like a smaller version of a Sasquatch, or more size-accurate, the Orang-Pendak of Vietnam.
*'''Men of the East''': Commonly referred to as “Easterlings”, and come from the vast lands East of the Sea of Rhun. 
**'''Rhun''': Men from the vast and uncharted lands of the East. Rhun is made up of many kingdoms and tribes, most of which are under Sauron’s dominion. However, it should be noted that one of the missions of the Blue Wizards was to raise a resistance in the lands of the East and South; we don’t see them in the stories because they likely were too busy fighting in their homelands. In the Peter Jackson films (and video games based off of them), they become basically Sauron's Chaos Warriors, being elite, well-armored humans who are fanatically devoted to the Dark Lord. 
*'''Men of the South''': collectively referred to as “Southrons” and live south of Gondor and Mordor.
**'''Haradrim of Near Harad/Far Harad''': Tribesmen of the deserts and jungles of Harad. Like the Easterlings they lived under the sway of Sauron, but earlier in their history they also suffered under the dominion of the King’s Men of Numenor (who became the Black Númenóreans and Corsairs of Umbar); this would give them a pre-existing hatred for the descendants of Númenor. Also like the Easterlings, some had allied with the Blue Wizards and refused to fight for Sauron. The Southron's usage of heavy cavalry and scimitars at the battle of the Pelennor Fields suggests a Saracen-like aspect; which together with the inclusion of the tribal and African elements suggested by Sigelhearwan; implies that the Haradrim are organized in an empire-like fashion held together with tribal confederacies. Though in the books they initially keep fighting ''even after Sauron is beaten'' (which the men of Gondor and Rohan actually respect), they're implied to eventually live in peace with the other kingdoms of Men after Aragorn lets them have Sauron's now empty lands as their own.
**'''Men of Khand/Variags of Khand''': Of all the Men under Sauron’s rule we know about Khand the least, other than that they were horsemen who attacked Gondor, it is not even clear as to whether the nomadic horsemen natives and Variags are the same or separate peoples, although the etymology of the word ''Variag'' being derived from the Russian word for ''Varangian'' implies that the Variags are viking-like mercenaries in some fashion, and thus are separate (and possibly even foreign) peoples.
*'''The Nazgûl''': The Nazgûl were the nine holders of the Rings of Men and as such, bound to Saurons will. They were his foremost Lieutanants ever since they fell into his grasp and powerful foes. Tolkien left their origins deliberately vague, the only details that were given that they were once Kings of Men who couldn't withstand the temptation of the Rings giving them limitless power and immortality and that they first appeared in the second age, where they already lead Saurons Armies against the Free People. Their appearance and powers are tied to Saurons influence in the world, but also to proximity to the One Ring. Fellowship describes the Nazgûls appearance during the chase to Rivendell as those of imposing riders wearing black robes and riding tortured, wicked horses. Their foremost power was their unnatural incorporealness, which was distinct from those of normal Undead like those that haunted the Barrow-Downs and instilled a strong sense of primal fear and disgust in everyone in their presence. When their powers were at their strongest, during the Siege of Gondor, they could weaken the resolve of even their most stalwart opponents by merely being in their vicinity. They are, however, not invulnerable, the Dúnedain blood of Aragorn gave him a natural immunity against their aura of dread, for example. They could be slain and wounded like most creatures of Middle-Earth, the right weapon provided and held a strong aversion to running water. The books tip-toe around the question if they could be killed permanently as long as Sauron was around; Elrond swept them away by conjuring up a massive tidal flood from the river Bruinen, from which they recovered after some time, but the Witch-King was explicitly stated to have been killed permanently by Eówyn and Merry at the height of the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. All but two of them were never named, which is where many apocryphal authors insert their own version of Nazgûl origin stories into their narratives.