The reason the Orcs detest the sunlight so much is down to the time and place of their creation. Morgoth bred the Orcs at a time when Middle-earth was still shrouded in darkness, the light of the Two Trees of Valinor unable to reach the furthest corners of the world.

What are orcs afraid of?

While the other answers are certainly not incorrect in stating that Elves, Men and Dwarves were enemies - and to a point feared by Orcs, this is not the real answer. Their most feared enemy was the Great Eagles.

Have orcs always been hurt by sunlight?

Thinking that he would rule Middle-earth forever, Morgoth created the Orcs to thrive in darkness and serve his evil purposes. Thus, thousands of years later, when the Sun rose for the first time, it was a literal shock to the Orcs' bodies. The heat burned, and the light was blinding.

Why do the orcs in The Hobbit not burn in the sun?

Orcs and Trolls are older than the sun, they came about when middle earth was bathed in darkness, after Melkor broke the lamps, but before the creation of the sun. Neither tolerated light all that well, with trolls even being petrified by it. Later breeds of trolls and Orcs were more tolerant of sunlight.

Why do you never see female orcs?

Females are likely used entirely as breeding stock as horrible as it sounds. Then again, Tolkien never described the actual "Fight scenes." in great detail. It's possible females fought along-side the "males" but there was no distinguishing between the two in his writing.

Why do Orcs fear the light?

Are orcs just dark elves?

Especially in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, orcs appear as a brutish, aggressive, ugly, and malevolent race of monsters, contrasting with the benevolent Elves. They are a corrupted race of elves, either bred that way by the Dark Lord Morgoth, or turned savage in that manner, according to the Silmarillion.

How do orcs reproduce in LOTR?

Unlike Dwarves and Hobbits, Orcs wouldn't be bred with any sort of awesome-looking spiky Orcish Marriage Ring. Instead, the breeding process would be closer to breeding animals. Man-flesh would have to be fed to both an Orc and an Orc woman nearby, and they'd both initiate the process.

Why are trolls afraid of sunlight?

According to the film Trollhunter from 2010:

If they didn't hide in time, the first rays of the sunlight would turn them into stone.

Why do Orcs serve Sauron?

Orcs were the primary soldiers of both Dark Lords' armies, and their most common servants. Invented by Morgoth during the Years of the Trees of the First Age, they served him and later his successor, Sauron, in their aims to dominate Middle-earth.

Do Orcs fear Sauron?

But there's unlikely to be a place in Mordor for an Adar that orcs will love more than they fear Sauron.

Why does Azog look different?

In The Battle of Five Armies, Azog wore a chestplate and replaced his usual prosthetic arm with a double blade attached at the elbow. During his final battle with Thorin, he also abandoned his usual mace in favour of what appeared to be a large brick on a chain, perhaps salvaged from the decrepit towers of Ravenhill.

What's the difference between Orcs and Uruk-hai?

Basically, the Uruk-hai were faster, smarter, stronger, and larger than orcs (though they were still shorter than men.) And while orcs will generally refuse to travel during the day, and would be severely weakened if they had too, the Uruk-hai could do this with few problems.

What happens to sting when Orcs are around?

Sting had the (apparently) magic ability to detect the presence of goblins in its vicinity. When Orcs were nearby, it glowed blue, as Bilbo noticed when alone in the dark just prior to meeting Gollum.

What is the lifespan of an orc?

Orcs bred fast and lived short lives compared with most other races. They were considered adults anywhere between 11 and 14 years of age, middle-aged at 17, old at 23, and venerable at 35 years of age. The average orc seldom lived longer than 40 years, even if it managed to avoid violent death.

Who is the most feared orc?

Uruk-hai (for short, Uruks) were brutal warriors of Middle-earth, and the strongest breed of Orc. In The Lord of the Rings, the term Uruk-hai refers chiefly to those bred in Isengard as Isengarders, while the Uruks from Mordor are referred to as black Uruks of Mordor.

How are orcs born?

Mordor Orcs refer to the Orcs that Sauron bred for his own army. The first Dark Lord Melkor took hostage some Elves from Cuiviénen. He tortured them, beat them, and broke their bodies into the first deformed and twisted beings known as Orcs.

How did elves become Orcs?

Yes, they are. As Melkor could not create real life (only Eru could) he captured elves, torturing and maiming them both in physical and spiritual terms, corrupting them to the breaking points: orcs.

Are there female Orcs?

No female Orc character is ever depicted in the Lord of the Rings, and no information about orcs' society and upbringing (apart from it being violent and cruel)is given, but there are indeed female orcs and for what we know they might be hardly distinguishable from males (like it happens for dwarves) and even be apt to ...

Why do Orcs come from mud?

Jackson's depiction of the Uruks being spawned from the mud came from Tolkien's old description of orcs being "bred from the heats and slimes of the earth." It is said they were a result of cross-breeding orcs and "Goblin-men", instead of Orcs and Men. In Tolkien's writings "Goblin" is just another term for orc.

What mental illness do trolls have?

Specifically, they have added to the Dark Triad—of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism—the trait of sadism. Sadism refers to inflicting harm, cruelty, humiliation, suffering, or pain (physical, sexual, psychological), all for the sake of dominating others and experiencing pleasure and enjoyment.

Why don't LOTR trolls turn to stone?

So, with this lore in mind, it seems obvious that Mordor's trolls should turn to stone. Yet, they survive in sunlight numerous times because they're a new breed of troll made by Sauron. This specific race was created in Mordor during the Dark Lord's rise to power and named the Olag-hai.

Why do trolls get eaten?

Pre-Trolls

The Bergens were creatures who lived in total misery. This ended when one day a Bergen ate a Troll. The Bergen was filled with a feeling it had never felt before, which was happiness. Realizing that eating Trolls granted the feeling of happiness, the Bergens wanted to feel this again and again.

Are Orcs bred or made?

Tolkien never stated that they are grown, and that Orcs are descended from the first elves that Morgoth approached before the other Valar had found them. He tortured and ruined them. They're essentially bastardized elves, since Morgoth could not create life on his own. That's supposed to be the realm of Iluvatar alone.

How long are Orcs pregnant?

Orcs have fast gestation periods, lasting only 5 - 6 months from conception to birth, and it's rare for them to have only one child, where it is common for them to have Sextuplets, or Octuplets at once.

Can Orcs breed with humans in lotr?

They can. It is specifically stated that Saruman bred orcs with humans to create beings not afraid of sunlight. Frodo saw one of these in Bree, and others were seen at the battle of Helm's Deep.