The Lore of Living Creatures

[zavron]

Learn now the lore of Living Creatures!
First name the 4, the free peoples:
Eldest of all, the elf-children;
Dwarf the Delver, dark are his houses;
Ent the earthborn, old as mountains;
Man the mortal, master of horses;
(That is the original)

(Here are the extras)
Half-grown Hobbits, the hole-dwellors;
Drow the dark sight, hidden seekers;
Centaur the star-gazer, half Horseman;
Gnome the Hill Lord, smallest of peoples;
Deurgar Grey-Dwarf, strong are his tunnels;
Gargoyle the ancient, the living statues;
Sprite the faery, gurdian of forests;
Troll the hardy, shunned by people;
Griffon the lost ones, keepers of cloud;
Dragon FireBreather, Lizard Kings;
Orc the evil, maimed for life;
Giant the tall man, the overgrown Human;
Ogre the Ugly, Large appetite;


I am going to add more to them to account for all Races. Some races have been taken out of other books but are similar basis to The Tolkien Books.

[Elf.Freak]

cool, bet that took you ages to think up!

[Curunír]

Why I haven't the talent to do that? Wauw! Keep going mate!

[Radagast The Brown]

I didn't knew there are Gragoyls, Centaurs, Griffons or sprites in ME... is it the free people of ME? I guess not.

[Nilore]

Is this just taken from an account from the Two Towers?????????????

Nilore

[Ñólendil]

Centaur? Gnome? Grey-Dwarf? Gargoyle? Sprite? Griffon? Drow?

"Gnomes" is another name for the Noldor, and they are not the smallest of peoples, and of course Trolls are shunned by people -- they are sort of these gigantic evil creatures that would love to eat you, after all.

[Lollypopgurl]

What's a Grey-Dwarf?

[Sister Golden Hair]

Gnomes were the Noldor in Tolkien's early mythology of the Book of Lost Tales.

[BeardofPants]

Didn't they pop up in the lays as well?

[cassiopeia]

When I read 'gnomes' in the BoLT, I kept getting images of those little garden gnomes.

[Rían]

Originally posted by cassiopeia
When I read 'gnomes' in the BoLT, I kept getting images of those little garden gnomes.

ROTFL!

I think Zavron is adding in races from other books, too, in the same writing style as Tolkien.

[Ñólendil]

He might as well open up the Encyclopedia Mythica then, and start with the "A"s, if that is his purpose.

"Gnomes" is also used (once) in The Hobbit. Tolkien stopped using it because of the common vision of Gnomes: the funny little creatures that inhabit forests and gardens. He used it in the first place because it comes from Greek gnOmE, "to know". The word "Ñoldo" (in Third Age Mannish pronunciation "Noldo") comes from Primitive Quendian ngolda, "wise, knowledgable". So the meaning of Gnome and Ñoldo is similar. The word "gnome" first became associated with a race when the medieval scholar Paracelcus used it to describe the most important earth spirits (so says the Encyclopedia Mythica) -- the Ñoldor, of course, were association with the earth as well, and were and are little more to us than spirits in the Ages of Man.

[zavron]

No I'm talking about the Hill people.

Gnomes typically inhabit rolling, rocky hills that are both well wooded, and far from human communities. They are very similar in appearance to dwarves, and are also renown as excellent miners. Most gnomes have earthly skin tones, whitish hair, and have eyes of grey-blue to bright blue. They wear clothing of leather or earth tones, and are fond of jewelry.

The typical gnome is short in stature, yet is slightly stronger than humans, a little more deft, and tend to be a little bit wiser. Like their dwarven cousins they have somewhat of a resistance to magic but, unlike dwarves, tend to be above average at spellcasting. Because of their tendencies to stay away from humans, they are not completely accepted in human communities.

Gnomes can see well in near darkness, an adaptation to their mining lifestyle.

Theres the description of Gnomes.

Also known as Gray Dwarves, are usually found only in the subterranean depths of the earth. They have somewhat rebelled against their surface-dwelling brothers, and often are only seen when raiding them. They are of the same stature as other dwarves, and have simply adapted to living underground. They excel in mining and other subterranean activities, yet loathe direct sunlight and do not function so well outdoors.

Duergar are strong and hardy, yet lack a little in wisdom and speed. They can give and take a lot of punishment in battle, yet are rather not as accepted as many other races. Like their cousins, they are resistant to poisons and magic, and are not often prone to be spellcasters.

Duergar all have the ability to:see in the dark; to move silently; to hide in shadows; and experience excruciating pain and lose the ability to heal while in direct sunlight.

Grey dwarves.

Drow elves, like their surface dwelling cousins, are very magical in their nature. The difference between the two lay in the fact that Drow elves left the surface world for a subterranean existence. Drow tend to dabble more in the "dark" arts of magic, and are evil in their nature. Some Drow however are outcasts, and have decided to venture out to the surface.

Drow elves are extremely good spellcasters, and are resistant to magic as well. They are a lot weaker than humans physically, but compensate with a greater intelligence. Drow are not as hardy as most races, but are more dexterous than most as well.

Drow have developed the ability to see in the dark, to sneak up on their foes, and can hide from them equally well. Drow cannot stand direct sunlight, and feel excruciating pain when sunlight hits their skin. During this time they cannot heal any damage they have sustained or recharge their magical energies.

Drows. Anymore you'd like me to explain!!

[Curunír]

Originally posted by Radagast The Brown
I didn't knew there are Gragoyls, Centaurs, Griffons or sprites in ME... is it the free people of ME? I guess not.

I have found a few things about that:

"...brownies, fays, pixies, leprauns, and what else are they not called, for their number is very great...they were born before the world and are older than its oldest, and are not of it, but laugh at it much..."
Book of Lost Tales, part I, III: The coming of the Valar and the building of Valinor.

[zavron]

Drows are basically Black-Elves. The ones that wnet away. Some were caught by melkor and turned into Orcs, and some went into caves and dark places into hiding.

[Sister Golden Hair]

Originally posted by BeardofPants
Didn't they pop up in the lays as well?

Yes. They are called Gnomes throughout the Lay of Lethien.

[Ñólendil]

zavron, you are worrying me.

Where the heck are you getting these descriptions of Gnomes? They do not come from any Tolkien source. Gnomes = Noldor.

In the legendarium that the Lord of the Rings belongs to, there are no Gray-Dwarves, Centaurs, Griffons, Sprites, Gargoyls, or Drows.

I have found a few things about that:

"...brownies, fays, pixies, leprauns, and what else are they not called, for their number is very great...they were born before the world and are older than its oldest, and are not of it, but laugh at it much..."
Book of Lost Tales, part I, III: The coming of the Valar and the building of Valinor.

The Book of Lost Tales is a different mythology, and nothing in it belongs in the same world as Treebeard, or Hobbits.

Drows are basically Black-Elves. The ones that wnet away. Some were caught by melkor and turned into Orcs, and some went into caves and dark places into hiding.

I am afraid you are very confused. There is no Melkor in Dungeons & Dragons, and there are no Drows in Middle-earth. If there is one thing in Tolkien that I know pretty well, it is the divisions of the Elves.

I don't know where you get Gray-Dwarves or Duergar either, but Tolkien did not write about them, so far as I know. I have a suspicion you're getting races from some kind of fantasy RPG. The rest you added belong to folklore and mythology, but not to Tolkien's (save Trolls, but your description doesn't seem fitting).

[Sister Golden Hair]

zavron, Nolendil is on the money.

[BeardofPants]

Zavron, as far as Middle Earth goes, Gnomes = Noldor. However, if you wanted the Gnomes to mean the garden variety, then my suggestion is to ask an admin/mod to move the thread out of the middle earth forum, and into the general discussion forum.

I, of course, need to have a whole line devoted to me.

[Coney]

A few of the lines are from Treebeards list, a few lines of which he recited to Merry and Pippin.

Deurgar and Drow I definitly remember from the old AD&D books

Could be interesting to see how many races do get listed. Tho' gotta agree with BoP, it shouldn't be in the Middle Earth forum (poor newbies to Tolkiens work have enough to deal with the Sil, never mind getting confused elswhere).